Podcasts about aapi

What does it take to make sustainable furniture more accessible — without compromising on style, comfort, or quality? On today's episode, we welcome Phantila Phataraprasit, CEO and Co-Founder of Sabai — an AAPI and female-founded sustainable furniture brand rethinking what we bring into our homes. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Apartment Therapy Changemaker, NYU Law graduate, and board member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, Phantila brings a unique perspective to one of the most complex and overlooked consumer categories: furniture. Inspired in part by her early experience working in her mother's eco lodges in Thailand, Phantila built Sabai to address a major blind spot in the sustainability and non-toxic living conversation. We think carefully about what we eat, what we put on our skin, and what we clean with — but often know very little about the materials inside the furniture we live with every day. In this episode, Phantila shares how Sabai is challenging the traditional furniture model through thoughtful material choices, modular design, and programs that extend the life of each piece. We discuss the challenges of producing sustainable furniture in a category known for waste, hidden materials, long supply chains, and high price points. Phantila also explains how Sabai's definition of sustainability has evolved from recycled and upcycled materials toward more natural, lower-toxin options, including the brand's Elevate Natural Collection made with materials like coconut fiber, cotton, latex, muslin, and jute. We also talk about Sabai Revive, the company's national furniture buyback program, its Repair Don't Replace program, and the launch of Fabric by the Yard to make sustainable fabrics more accessible to customers and designers. Phantila shares what it takes to build trust in a category where customers cannot always see what is inside a product, and how Sabai designs furniture that feels elevated and stylish — not overly “eco.” If you're interested in sustainable design, circularity, non-toxic living, consumer trust, or building a mission-driven brand in a hard-to-disrupt category — this episode is for you. Tune in now on The Kara Goldin Show.   Are you interested in sponsoring and advertising on The Kara Goldin Show, which is now in the Top 1% of Entrepreneur podcasts in the world? Let me know by contacting me at karagoldin@gmail.com. You can also find me @‌KaraGoldin on all networks.   To learn more about Phantila Phataraprasit and Sabai:https://www.sabai.design/https://www.instagram.com/sabaidesign/https://www.linkedin.com/company/sabai-design/https://www.tiktok.com/@sabaidesignhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/phantila-phataraprasit/   Sponsored By: Whatnot - Download Whatnot today and get $20 Off and free shipping on your first purchase. LinkedIn Jobs - Head to LinkedIn.com/KaraGoldin to post your job for free. Thirdlove - Head to Thirdlove.com and use code KARA15 for $15 off your first purchase. Pendulum - get an exclusive 20% off their first order at PendulumLife.com/KARAGOLDIN Odoo - Discover how Odoo can take your business to the next level by visiting Odoo.com   Check out our website to view this episode's show notes: https://karagoldin.com/podcast/878

Africans and Caribbeans called us "dirty black Americans" with no culture — so the panel came to settle the Diaspora Wars once and for all. African American vs African, Caribbean vs Black American, delineation and reparations: Divine Prince of the US Freedmen Project, Brooke, Lovely Brown and Kesha break down why Foundational Black Americans are delineating, why "African American" stopped being an ethnic group in 1997, and who's really eating off Black American culture.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 Meet The Panel: Divine Prince, Brooke, Lovely Brown & Kesha01:38 "Dirty Black American" — The Compilation That Started It06:10 African vs Black American: Why The Disrespect Got Normalized09:01 The Black Yankees & New York's Erased Black History11:17 Immigrants Adopt The White Man's Ideology About Us12:13 "It's Like Explaining Water To A Fish" — Taking Culture For Granted14:30 We Lost Power, Ownership & Leverage In Our Own Neighborhoods16:29 The Montgomery Bus Boycott Was 381 Days — What Changed?19:02 Why Black Beauty Supply Owners Can't Get Product22:37 How The US & Korean Governments Handed Over The Hair Industry25:00 Tulsa, Set-Asides & The Only Group That Gets Sabotaged29:09 Is It Really A Diaspora War? Divine Prince Defines Diaspora33:35 One Versus Fifty: Black Americans Are Getting Jumped35:36 Not A War — Black Americans Are Setting Boundaries40:37 Karine Jean-Pierre, Byron Donalds & Wes Moore On Reparations47:29 Diaspora Wars Are An Engagement Farm50:28 Is Delineation Divisive Or Necessary?52:15 The Delineation Bill & Why Race-Based Reparations Fail57:22 Every Group Delineates — Jamaicans, Trinis, Italians, Ukrainians1:00:15 Jewish Delineation & Holocaust Reparations: The Blueprint1:05:10 Is Delineation MAGA? Divine Prince Answers The Accusation1:10:56 AAPI & MENA Disaggregation Bills Passed — Why Not Us?1:16:00 Caribbean vs Black American: Whose Crime Gets Reported As Ours1:19:11 Capital B Black vs Lowercase b black1:25:18 "African American" Stopped Being An Ethnic Group In 19971:29:09 Peter Liang, Akai Gurley & The Coalition That Never Shows Up1:31:22 Claudine Gay: Haitian Until She Got Caught1:40:31 Affirmative Action & DEI Went To Black Immigrants1:47:23 We're Never Changing The Word Black1:49:11 "Yankee" Is A Slur — New Yorkers Explain1:54:19 Kesha On Assimilation, Perms & Waking Up At 402:00:34 The Black American Heritage Flag Explained2:02:13 Where To Follow The Panel━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

In this episode we welcome Venus Moore from the New York City Problem Gambling Resource Center and Amanda Pham from the Chinatown 360 Prevention Community Coalition to discuss the connection between gambling harm and the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.What is the experience of working in the Harmony Task Force?What misconceptions might people have when it comes to AAPI communities and gambling harm?How do we avoid stigma as it relates to the AAPI community when we're discussing gambling harms?How do organizations make prevention, education and treatment of gambling harms more welcoming and culturally responsive?How can communities make it easier to ask for support?How can community members help praise awareness of gaming harms and resources?What is the most important takeaway for the listeners working with the AAPI communities?If you find yourself struggling with gambling harm, or if you suspect someone you know is facing such challenges, don't hesitate to seek help. For 24/7 support, call the NYS OASAS HOPEline at 1-877-846-7369 or text 467369. Or choose your county using our interactive map on our NYProblemGamblingHELP.org HOME PAGE to see the contact information for the Problem Gambling Resource Center (PGRC) in your region.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. For this episode of “Obbligato,” a show dedicated to AAPI classical musicians, composers, and scholars, host Isabel Li interviews Indian American composer Reena Esmail, who blends Hindustani musical themes with western classical compositional styles. Music in this episode: – This Love Between Us “Prayers for Unity”: II. [Sikhism] – Lacrimosa (from Malhaar: a Requiem for Water) – Terra infirma: IV. roaming the ghost forest Transcript Isabel Li: I'm Isabel Li, here for a new edition of “Obbligato,” which explores the AAPI community in the classical music world. Today, we're featuring the Indian American composer Reena Esmail and her unique compositions that blend Hindustani music with Western classical styles and how she writes music about religion, spirituality, and even environmentalism. Welcome, Reena, to Apex Express. Reena Esmail: Hey! It's so great to be here. IL: My first question for you is one that's probably a little bit loaded, but how do you identify and what's your story? RE: I don't know, it's interesting because I work in many different situations, and I think I always identify as the thing that isn't whatever the dominant situation is that I work in. Right? So it's like when I'm in America, I identify as an Indian American. When I'm in India, I identify as an American. When I'm working in Western classical music, I'm the person who knows stuff about Hindustani music. When I'm working in Hindustani music, I'm the person who knows stuff about Western music. So really. Actually, I think of identity not as a fixed thing, but as how you, um, delineate yourself, how you're unique in the situation you're in. You know, it's interesting because especially in the case of Asian Americans, Asia is such a broad thing, right? There are so many more East Asians in Western classical music than there are South Asians. Certainly in my generation. You know, I was surrounded by Chinese, Korean, some Japanese people who were always, you know, playing the piano when I was playing the piano. And, um, there really was not many other Indian people. And, you know, I'll, I'll actually say that even within India, um, you know, if you look at me in America, I'm just Indian. If you look at me in India, I have a very unusual lineage, which is that my dad is from the region of Gujarat and his family is Muslim. My mom is from the region of Goa and her family is Catholic. And so because of that, when I was expressing interest in music, My mom was the one who had more of kind of a musical knowledge in her family, even though there's no professional musicians in her family. So because Goa was colonized by Portugal, there is this element of Western classical music in Goan culture. And so because of that, my mom was like, oh, let's give her guitar lessons, let's give her piano lessons. And so that's how I landed up in Western classical music as opposed to doing Indian classical music. Um, so yeah, I kind of went through the Western classical scene. I was very interested in being a pianist. And, you know, I'm glad that I'm glad I'm a failed pianist in all honesty, because I see what my colleagues who are real, you know, professional pianists have to go through. And I just don't think I have what it takes to do that. It's really an intense job. Um, but when I was in high school, um, one of my theory teachers kind of said, hey, you know, you might be a composer. It seems like you think like a composer thinks, why don't you try composing and why don't you try writing things down? and one thing led to another. And basically a year and a half to two years after studying, I got one of a very few spots in the undergrad program in composition at Juilliard. And that was a point where my parents kind of said, okay, you know, we don't know a lot about the music world, but it seems like if she got into Juilliard, she's probably like somewhat good at this. Maybe we should kind of see how this goes. And, you know, from there on, I pursued composition. IL: And when and why did you start to study Indian classical music, which is a big element in your compositions now? RE: Yeah, absolutely. So I think it's interesting because in every generation, I've seen so much change in how the diaspora views itself. And certainly when I was growing up, you know, I know this is hard to believe, but there were not if you were an Indian going to school, you were kind of the only one. If you were an Indian music, you were kind of the only one. So there was this element where when I went to Juilliard, um, there were I to my knowledge, two Indians in the entire school, me and an actress who had actually come from Calcutta. And so people were trying to, you know, make conversation with me and they'd be like, well, you know, do you do stuff with Indian classical music? And I would just be like, no, I'm trying so hard to even write music for orchestra and, you know, string quartet and all the things that my peers are trying to do. Like, is that not enough? Because I'm Indian, I also have to be doing all this other stuff. And so I resisted it for a long time because I was just trying so hard to do one thing well. But then, you know, I think what, what made me kind of unique is that, you know, I stood out, I was Indian and then, you know, when I was young, that felt really cool. The older I got, the more I thought, well, you know, I know I'm from this culture that has incredible music and I know it when I hear it, I know nothing about it, and maybe I should actually pursue it. And so I really separately kind of started meeting Indian musicians who lived in New York, and I would just ask them questions, and I got to know them. And I realized that while we didn't share a type of music, we did share a culture and we did share a love of music because it is interesting that the culture of Indian classical music is actually quite similar to the culture of Western classical music. You know, you study with a teacher over a really long period of time. You're practicing for hours a day. The kind of personality that would love Western classical music would also love Indian classical music. And so I just made friends with some of these Indian classical musicians. And of course, being a composer, I thought, why don't I put them in my music? You know, how do I do that? And so it was really just curiosity that led me down that path. And for many years, that path was very separate. Because again, I know it's very hard to believe now, but there was a time where people really did not want these cultures to be combined, and people just really looked down on cultures that were not, you know, the dominant Western European classical culture. And so I kept them really separate. And even when I started combining them, people were like, oh, that's sweet. She does stuff with Indian music, you know? And it was really not taken seriously. It's only really in the last decade that people have been embracing other musical cultures. And I mean, how glad I am that that's happening. But it was very, very hard fought and very separate at first. IL: And on that note, how do you navigate the unique challenges of composing with both these cultures in mind, but also being situated in the United States, where people come from all different backgrounds? And how do you as a composer approach that in this context? RE: I mean, I think it's interesting because first of all, I am musically bilingual now, so I can. I went to India, I studied Indian classical music. Seriously. I still work with Indian classical musicians very closely. And so, you know, I can be working on a piece that has Indian classical musicians in it, and I can turn to them and immediately speak in their language and their musical language. And then I can turn to the Western musicians and speak in their musical language. So every single piece I write, especially the ones that involve Indian classical musicians. There is a way through those pieces, both through the Western lens and through the Indian lens. And so I think I'm working in a position where I actually do know how to speak both those languages. And when you do speak both those languages, you know, just the way that if you speak any two, you know, verbal languages, you would know that there are sounds that are cognates. And so you're like, oh, I say the sound. So maybe and it means one thing in one culture and one thing in another culture. But you know that that sound is the same. And so with musical language, you can actually use those musical cognates to connect across cultures by saying, just listen for this thing. And when you listen for this thing, interpret it through the lens of your own culture. So that's certainly how I work. But, you know, I mean, again, I want to say that's not the only way to work. I don't think that you have to be, you know, I mean, again, there's probably most people who are listening to this probably have one musical culture and then maybe they know much less about the other musical culture. That is also fine. You know, you don't need to be an expert in order to want to explore and, and love a thing that's just, you know, where I am because it's the, the center of my musical practice. IL: Well, let's hear a selection from Reena Esmail's oratorio, “This Love Between Us.” This is the second movement titled Sikhism. David Hill conducts Juilliard415 with the Yale Schola Cantorum. [MUSIC: This Love Between Us “Prayers for Unity”: II. Sikhism] IL: That was Sikhism, the second movement from the oratorio This Love Between Us by Reena Esmail, who is here in conversation with me today on KPFA for APEX Express. Something that I really found interesting in especially your work — and I'm sure this has been asked many times, but This Love Between Us: Prayers for Unity. This oratorio that you wrote, beautiful work where you use words from the seven major religions of India. And each movement of the choral work is also named after a different religion. In what ways did you adhere to or challenge norms of spiritual music? Because religion is so religion and music are so deeply tied together. How did you challenge those norms or how did you express those norms when you wrote this work? RE: You know, I think it's interesting because my own spiritual background is very kind of multi spiritual multi-faith. But like I said, my, my father is, is my father's side of the family is Muslim. My mom's side of the family is Catholic. My husband is Hindu. All of them grew up in a very singular practice in each of their religions. But for me, I grew up, you know, around my mom and my dad and then, you know, my husband later. And just there's a part of me that takes in the essence of each of these spiritual traditions. And, you know, I'm trying to kind of find what feels true to me in each of those places. And so to me, you know, this love between us is, is a place where I'm trying to essentially say, yes, we express things differently through whatever cultural, uh, history, that language or that that religion emerged through. And yet we're all trying to get at that same numinous thing. And, you know, I mean, I'm not saying, oh, all religions are the same. Definitely not. You know, there's, there's many different ways to practice things. And, you know, your unique way into your spirituality is your own. And that's, that's amazing. But also, we all kind of our cultures form religions for a certain reason, and it's because we want to try to understand things that are beyond ourselves. And so that's essentially what the piece is saying. So I know I'm sure there are purists who are like, you shouldn't be combining these things, but, you know, there's always going to be purists who do that and there's a role for that. But that's not really my role. So, I mean, I picked the pieces and I picked the religion specifically because of the numbers of people who practice that religion currently within India. And so it is like the largest, um, populations, you know, like Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, all, all of those things. And then there's one little tiny religion, Zoroastrianism. And while they are not, there's not many of them within India. They are the ones who are practicing Western classical music in India. So people like Zubin Mehta and all, they are Parsis that are Zoroastrians. So I thought, you know, it's important to include them too, because it's a piece that involves a lot of Western classical musicians. IL: I'm wondering now, as a composer who's working with music of different languages and religions and origins and also evoking a lot of these spiritual truths that are pretty universal in nature. What is your view on the function of music? There's the platitude that music is a universal language. Do you how to what extent do you agree with that? RE: You know, yeah, it's hard to, to, um, to think of music as a universal language. But I think sometimes we, how can I say this? It's such a broad question. When we are working in a form that isn't completely narrative, it gives us a little more chance to get at things that don't have to follow logically after one another. They're just feelings that we're able to feel. And I like working even when there are words, you know, there are certainly words in all of these, these, uh, pieces in this love between us. But I feel like sometimes we just feel something within us. And, you know, I experience this a lot when I have a piece performed, people will come up to me and say like, oh, this made me feel like this. And then the next person will come up to me and say, oh, this made me feel exactly the opposite thing. And I, I really love that we can have those experiences. And, you know, recently it's been really interesting because people have been asking these questions like interviewers, you know, before performances will be like, well, what do you want the audience to feel? And I'm like, oh, I don't want to answer that question. I want you to feel whatever you feel. There's nothing right to feel. And often, I mean, I'm not the one to ask. I'm so close to the music because when I'm listening, I'm thinking like, okay, was that C sharp in tune? Okay, you know, that's what I'm feeling. And I certainly don't want them to feel that. So I don't know. I think it's, it's just exciting to see how when we get out of these, what we should do this and this is the right thing to do. And this is the only way to do it. Um, how do we behave? And there are so few spaces left where if we don't say exactly the right words at the right time to the right people, you know, if we don't have exactly the right opinions that everyone around us has, We are so condemned and music might be one of the last places that we're allowed to feel whatever's inside of us. IL: Mhm. That's really interesting to think about. I think art in general is very beautiful because it allows people to interpret it in many different ways. I think for your music, you really draw on cultural specificity in terms of Hindustani music. What advice would you give to other young composers or also maybe artists of different mediums in creating that balance between specificity and universality? RE: Yeah, I think the thing is that the way into a deep practice is specificity. You know, I know people have asked me like, oh, you've done stuff with Indian music. Are you going to do stuff with other music? And I'm like, gosh, there's still so much to explore. I could have like three lifetimes and still not explore everything I want to explore just in the relationship between Indian and Western classical music. I mean, goodness knows I have four degrees in Western classical music, and I still am barely scratching the surface of it. Right. So I kind of feel like specificity is important because it allows you to access depth. And yet, you know, when you are specific about a certain thing, um, like for instance, like a scholar who only speaks Italian, I mean, they're going to know more than someone who maybe speaks five words of each language, right? So they can transfer over at a higher level and make more sophisticated points and understand the world with a more universal lens if they've gone really deep on one thing. So I would say, you know, to young composers, to young musicians, pick one practice and know it really, really well and deeply become go as far as you possibly can and then, you know, try to see if you can find relations between your primary practice and a different practice. Um, and I mean, some people, you know, I know in this generation that's coming up, that's like in their teens and twenties, there are South Asian, uh, kids who are here whose parents have come from India that are learning Indian and Western classical music side by side. And I think that's great. I mean, that's awesome. But I would also say make sure you don't just learn halfway. Both of those things, you know, if you're going to learn them, if at least with one thing, try to go as absolutely far as you can. IL: Let's hear another example of Reena Esmail's bilingual musicality with her work, Malhaar: A Requiem for Water, which was recorded fairly recently. The vocalist is Graycen Gardner with the choir conducted by Amy Fogerson. [MUSIC: Lacrimosa (from Malhaar: a Requiem for Water)] IL: Composer Reena Esmail used Indian classical instruments in that work, titled Malhaar: A Requiem for water. The vocalist was Graycen Gardner, with the choir conducted by Amy Fogerson. Percussionist was Rohit Panchakshari. I'm Isabel Li in conversation with composer Reena Esmail on this edition of Apex Express here on KPFA 94.1 FM. So when you integrate Hindustani classical Hindustani music, Indian classical music and those instruments into your scores, did you happen to did you have to develop a way to translate the notation of those notes in Western classical music notation, or vice versa? RE: Yeah, it it begs the greater question of what is notation for? Right? Because notation is essentially a way for Western musicians who read notation to look at a thing and be able to associate sounds with that thing. And so when I'm notating for Western classical musicians, I'm saying, okay, what is a cellist typically seeing and what are they doing based on what they're seeing? And then how can I take that language that they know really well that they play in Bach suites, that they play in Elgar, Cello Concerto, whatever it is, how can I take that language and just move it, you know, a couple degrees outward so that they're able to express different things, right? And so it's very much a psychological thing. You know, it's not a science the way that we think of it as and we learn it as this, oh, you know, eighths and sixteenths, and they divide this way. There's a lot you can do just to make someone feel a certain way with notation. On the other hand, if I'm writing for a sitar or tabla, the question is what? What is the role of the notation? Because the role of the notation for tabla player who has only Hindustani training and doesn't read music. It's certainly not for the tabla player that I'm doing the notation. Usually what I'll do is sit down with the tabla player in a, you know, more Hindustani style and say, hey, this is what I want. I want you to have like six overtones of teental. It should be at this tempo, blah, blah, blah. And they're like, oh, got it. I see what you want me to do. Right? And so all you need to figure out is the alignment points with the Western classical musicians. And so then the notation I put in the score is not really for them. It's for a conductor, for the Western musicians to be able to understand what they are doing and to be able to cue them in and help them kind of be in dialogue to one another. So it's interesting because, I mean, these days now I'm finding that there are tabla players who are both Indian and Western classical trained, and they want a part, but parts are not a thing. When I first wrote This Love Between Us, there were no parts for the tabla and sitar player. I actually had a cue sheet that I would actually point to as they were going, so that they knew, you know, what the different cues were because a part, you know, counting rests and stuff is not going to help them at all. So I think it's mostly trying to understand how is someone perceiving something and how can you give them the information they need in the most seamless way possible so that you can express what you want to express? IL: I love how technical that entire rundown was. I also wanted to talk a bit about your work, Terra Infirma, which is pretty recent. I had the honor of attending the premiere of Terra Infirma, a harp concerto that you composed based on your experiences with the Los Angeles fires in January of 2025. Um, it was such a wonderful work. I personally really loved hearing how you musically depicted the progression of a wildfire from despair to hope. It's also not the first environment based piece that you've written. YYou've written, for example, Earth Speaks in 2015. How do you approach composing works that are so rooted in environmentalism? And of course, have, have the undertones of speaking to the larger climate crisis at hand? RE: The thing that is interesting is, you know, someone was asking me about that piece, you know, you, you're, they're asking like, how do you kind of deal with activism in your work? And I was saying like, you know, I don't really think of myself as an activist because I think these issues are so fundamental to all of us, right? It's like you turn on your tap and you're just afraid that there's only going to be so long before water stops coming up. That's not, um, it doesn't feel like activism. It just feels like, you know, fear and it feels like we're tapping into these human emotions where people are so worried about what's going to happen. We don't really know what to do. And I think, you know, with anything, most people who have fear about things, you're going to just clam up if you feel that it's too, um, too much to deal with. And it is I mean, the environmental crisis is so huge that I think most people are just clamming up. And I guess, you know, what is our role as musicians? I think it's maybe to have some moments where we're not just like on our phones, seeing pictures of things burn down and freaking out where we can actually take some time to just reflect and be with one another. Because if we're going to solve this, it's going to be together and we need to come to some kind of like calm understanding of what is happening. And so a lot of my pieces are not accusatory. They're not, you know, pointing a finger. They're not supposed to rile people up. They're supposed to actually depict that experience of what it feels like to really sit with a hard thing for a long time and come to terms with it and then figure out how to move forward. And that's certainly the case with Terra Infirma and certainly the case with my Requiem. Certainly the case with curiosity, like you were saying, it's from Earth Speaks, which is many years ago. And that piece actually talks about the, the Pasadena institution's. It was actually for an organization called Pasadena Master Chorale. They commissioned the work many years ago. And what's so funny is I now live in Pasadena. I live in Altadena, up in the hills. So it's I wasn't living here at the time, but it is, you know, a place where many scientific institutions like the U.S. Geological Survey, you know, JPL, Caltech, all these places that are really exploring the environment in important ways are based. And so the piece kind of honors that and honors how we can interact positively with our environment. We can get data, we can find ways to do things that are, I mean, beyond my understanding, you'd have to ask a scientist, but but I just love that that we're in this place that sees the environment as something to understand more deeply instead of something that's just going to turn on us at a certain point. IL: Certainly. And I'm really curious, because Terra Infirma is also a work that was paired with multimedia animation and performance. Was there anything in your compositional process that differed when you're collaborating across these different mediums? RE: Yeah. So it's interesting because so the, there was, there were projections that were happening. And also in addition to that, it was a harp concerto, but a harp concerto where the harpist was also playing percussion. And so there were some elements that were so different than what would be typically like if harpist was like, I want a concerto. You would just be like, okay, you know, she sits there, she plays these notes. They're in that one position. That's all fine. Um, there was so much more, you're right with this piece than with, um, with my normal pieces. Um, and to me it's both, how can I say this? There's, there's such a different way I have to think about it, but I think that way starts with collaboration. So Yolanda Kondonassis, the incredible harp player, and Camilla Tassi, who was the production designer. These are people I know well and I've had multiyear relationships with. And so when you're thinking about how to build something, you're totally aware of what their work is like. I knew kind of the not even what Camilla's projections were going to look like, but the way that they interact with things. We've done projects together before. And so I pretty much had the sense of how she was going to respond. And I knew what she needed to know in order for her to do her work and make things kind of match up with one another. And then also with Yolanda, a lot of the stuff I put in that was like harp and percussion together. It wasn't something that I was making her do, right? It were things that we came up with together. We've spent so long workshopping things in percussion studios in, um, you know, we've met in all these different cities and we're basically like banging things against a harp and doing, you know, just so much experimentation. So for every technique you see in the concerto, you, um, you basically there's like ten things that we didn't do that didn't put in. So you're really only seeing the best of all the kind of crazy stuff that we tried. So I do think the thing is that when you're trying to invent something new and you're trying to invent new styles and new techniques, I mean, you can think of anything, but you're trying to find the things that A practically work and B allow the performers and the artists to really express themselves. So I found that I was actually choreographing the piece before I was composing it, um, that I had to figure out, okay, where are these percussion setups going to be? What are the instruments that I want? Okay. Are these chimes going to be like over her head? Or is she going to have to reach really far to get them? Are they going to be near the low end of the harp? Things like that that seem so practical. But the difference between having to reach out far and slowly versus having to like, quickly swat something near your ear, right? It makes a different choreography. And so I thought that way first. And then I kind of put the notes and rhythms and melodies and stuff in. IL: Let's now hear a selection from Reena Esmail's Terra Infirma. This is the fourth movement titled “Roaming the Ghost Forest.” Yolanda Kondonassis is the harpist with the Interlochen Center for the Arts Orchestra. [MUSIC: Terra infirma: IV. roaming the ghost forest] IL: The harpist was Yolanda Kondonassis with the Interlochen Center for the Arts Orchestra, playing the fourth movement of Terra Infirma by composer Reena Esmail. I'm Isabel Leigh, and in this episode of Apex Express, I'm joined by Reena Esmail, the composer, in conversation about her music and her approach to making art. Something else that I really was fascinated with on your on your Instagram account. You actually made a post a while back that I found to be very powerful. It's pinned as the letter to the young artists' immigrant parents. It's such an empathetic message that I also really relate to as a daughter of immigrants in the arts. And you kind of argue that these children's pursuit of the arts is a tribute to their parents immigrant struggles. Um, what motivated you to write this letter? RE: You know, I'm so glad you asked about that because so much has changed since I wrote that letter in a really good way. You know, first of all, I will say that when I wrote that letter, if you weren't a child of, you know, like Asian immigrant parents, you. And actually, I think this is true for most immigrant parents who, you know, have kind of given up everything to move to America so that their kids can explore all these opportunities they wouldn't get in their country of origin. When I first wrote this letter, it was really just, I felt like I was saying something really new. And now I think what's really interesting is that we have both parents who understand this and, um, kind of almost this parody way of seeing what Asian parents are like. Right. For me, one thing that I, that just makes my heart sing is the comedy of Zarna Garg. I don't know if you know who she is, but she is like an Indian American comic and she plays this role of being like this very typical Indian parent. And I will say, my parents weren't really like this because again, they were two different religions and married one another. So they were already quite open minded. But like 99% of Indian parents and even my parents, sometimes they have this thing of like, well, ‘why are you going into this?' Like you should make money, you should do this stuff. And I feel like, um, since Zarna's comedy came into the world, it's such an easy way to just point a finger at that and say, hey, this is what we're really dealing with as Indian immigrants. And, you know, we all just laugh at it. And I find that, you know, sometimes my friends who are just, you know, white Americans who have been in this family has been in this country for many generations. They don't get it. But like anyone who's a child of immigrant is like, oh yes, I completely understand what she's saying. So we have that. And I think that's really healthy and awesome. And she's very talented. Um, and on the other hand, I found that when I was first going into music and I mean, I, you know, when I was 18 and I was going to go to Juilliard, my parents were certainly supportive and curious and wanted me to do whatever they thought I might be good at enough to make a living and didn't want to optimize for, oh, you need to earn the most money or you need to, etc. but most other Indians around us were like, oh my God, she's so smart. Why is she like wasting her life doing music? You know, that was kind of the dominant narrative. And so I had to become very good at explaining why. And imagine my complete disbelief when I would go to conservatory and meet people whose parents had encouraged them to do music. I was like, what is happening? Like, we're like, there'd be four siblings and all of them would be in the arts. And I was like, oh wait, you're not the black sheep of your family. Like, I mean, half of my family, I don't think really knows what I do still even. Right? And so to me, it was so important to provide some kind of context. And like you said, it's like to, to come to this country and be an immigrant and to come with a lot of skills, but to have to just work in silence for so many years with no congratulation, with no one just constantly propping you up. That is what being an artist is. And you know, it's only maybe the past 10 years of my career that I've even been visible to people. Before that, it was just me doing my thing and like, no one cared about it. It was not not glamorous at all. And for me, that's what built the kind of strength in me to be able to sustain the career that I have now. And so I think if it had been a little too easy, I don't know that I would be able to handle, um, the, what I have now. So I think what's great though is that the Indian parents of kids who are teenagers and in their twenties nowadays are not coming to me being like, oh my God, what do I do with this kid who wants to be a musician? I've failed as a parent. Which again, for those of you who are not Asian, this is totally a true thing out there. They will come to me and say, hey, look, my, my child doesn't wants to be a musician. I want to help them. I can't tell like, are they good at this? Where should they be? Can you help me understand things? And that is really what my parents did. And I will, you know, kind of go further to say — PBS did a special on me a number of years ago, and I insisted on putting my parents in this special because I wanted people to see what it looked like to have really encouraging Indian parents who, again, they weren't going in blind. They were. They would go to my teachers and be like, well, I mean, is she good? Can she do this? We don't know what these answers are. Can you help us understand? And they really relied on the right people to be able to help me get to places that they couldn't get, but they also weren't just immediately dismissive of it. And that's what allowed me to kind of have a massive advantage, because I didn't have to also go back to school and do a medical degree. Or like most of my my peers of my age actually did. So I wanted to put them on that special to actually show that that is possible. And I'm seeing more and more that it is. There are many more parents like that now. And oh my goodness, I love every one of them. IL: That's wonderful. When you look back at your compositional career and how everything has changed since then, how do you think your work has evolved? RE: Oh, so you mean like since I began being a composer? IL: Yeah. Or maybe in the past ten years, even. RE: Yeah. It's interesting because I think one of the big inflection points in my work was when I did my Fulbright in India. So before that, I really didn't know very much about Indian classical music. And then the year before that, I really started to get deeper and started to integrate my Indian and Western classical world with one another. And then, you know, I from 2011 to 2012, I went to India and what was so different was actually seeing the music in its culture and actually getting to participate as an Indian in India, studying Indian classical music. Right. Because there's no filter. You're not going through a Western filter. You're just there in this culture. And I know that many of my Indian teachers, they kind of had this attitude of like, look, we don't know what kind of music you were doing before, but we're so glad you're here and studying your own music. And this is great. And so there wasn't this sense of having to go through another culture to get to their, their music. And to me, that really changed things because I don't see myself as writing music. That's one through the conduit of the other. I just see it as two streams that are equally incredible and equally independent, and they just meet each other in these interesting places. IL: And looking ahead into the future, is there an ensemble or an artist who you haven't worked with before that you'd love to work with? Ooh. It's interesting because, like, almost everyone who comes to mind is not a musician. Um, I've worked with so many. I mean, truly, I've been so lucky to work with musicians like Gil and Orli Shaham. Yolanda Kondonassis. I'm writing a piece for Hilary Hahn and Matthias Goerne right now. It's I mean, just like literally anyone who I could ever ask to work with, I have. I don't know. I mean, to me, it's like, gosh, someone like Misty Copeland would be amazing. Like, you know, there are so many actors like the world of Indian/South Asians in comedy and in drama and stuff like that is just incredible. People like Mindy Kaling who have done incredible things to me, people like that are just going outside of just music would be fascinating to me. IL: Absolutely. And I will put a link to your website, as well as the links to the music that will also be aired on this in this episode on KPFA.org, so our listeners can learn more about you and your wonderful work. Well, Reena, thank you so much for your time and thank you for talking to me today. RE: Absolutely. The post APEX Express – 8.06.26 – Obbligato – In Conversation with Composer Reena Esmail appeared first on KPFA.

We took a little break but we came back with not one but two fantastic guests: friends and fellow artists, Christy Chan and Cathy Lu, who coincidentally picked the very same dish, tomato egg, despite having grown up a thousand miles apart. But maybe that just speaks to how much of a classic this dish is (and I guess the point of this show!) We talk about Cathy's life growing up in vibrant, diverse Miami, and the contrast of Christy's childhood in rural Virginia where her family owned the one Chinese restaurant–and tikki themed at that! Of course we talk about how they each came to be artists, and why their AAPI identity is a part of their art practice. Plus, fashionable pregnancies and the freedom that can come from being just a touch feral!

We spotlight trailblazers leading change from safety laws protecting nail salon workers to the librarian defending our right to read admist book bans; Plus Author Michael Luo novel "Strangers In The Land" and a profile of America's 1st AAPI female Rabbi.

There is no shortage of arts and culture events to check out in San Diego this weekend, from a block party and music festival in Encanto to a new fellowship-driven art exhibition in National City.Thursday on Midday Edition, we speak with some of the creative forces involved in both events. Then, we highlight what else you can check out in your weekend arts preview.Guests:Kamau Kenyatta, artistic director, Encanto Block Party Music FestivalGaidi Finnie, executive director, San Diego African American Museum of Fine ArtArmaan Mumtaz, artist, AAPI Emerging Artists FellowJulia Dixon Evans, arts reporter and host, "The Finest," KPBSLinks:Encanto Block Party Music Festival — San Diego Black Arts and Culture DistrictAAPI Emerging Artist Fellowship website

Your packaging may be costing you sales, attention, and margin before a customer even tries your product. In this episode of Sharkpreneur, Seth Greene interviews Jason Wong, Founder and CEO of Paking Duck, who discusses his transition from selling products to manufacturing custom packaging for consumer brands. He explains how factory-direct production, e-commerce experience, and attention to design details can help brands improve packaging quality while reducing costs. Jason also shares how packaging can support social media marketing, strengthen the customer experience, and help growing brands prepare for retail scale. Key Takeaways:→ Packaging can influence marketing performance. → Better packaging can enhance product presentation.→ Packaging should enhance the unboxing experience.→ Strong design details can increase perceived value. → Factory-direct sourcing can reduce packaging costs. Jason Wong is an operator with a background spanning growth marketing, operations, and manufacturing. He is the CEO and founder of Pughaus, a holding company for a portfolio of consumer brands and supply chain service providers. Under the Pughaus umbrella, Jason launched Saucy, a full-service sourcing and logistics firm that helps brands identify the right supply-chain partners and drive cost efficiencies. In 2023, he introduced Paking Duck, Saucy's packaging manufacturing arm, delivering factory-direct pricing and production solutions tailored to emerging brands. Jason's CPG investments focus on backing category challengers led by AAPI founders. Notable investments include Doe Lashes, Fly by Jing, Nectar Hard Seltzer, Kaja Beauty, and Awkward Essentials. He has also invested in e-commerce martech companies, including Triple Whale, Postscript, Skio, Icon, Octane AI, Siena CX, Social Snowball (acquired), and Lyvecom (acquired). Connect With Jason:Website: https://www.pug.haus/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pugTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pugX: https://x.com/eggroli

Replay!!On today's episode of Architectette we are joined by Ming Thompson and Christina Cho Yoo, the founders of Atelier Cho Thompson (ACT), a New Haven and San Francisco based multidisciplinary practice working between architecture, interiors, graphics, and strategy. ACT's work frequently blurs the boundaries between typologies, as they draw inspiration from their work in schools, museums, offices, restaurants, and homes around the world. The firm has been awarded numerous national and regional design honors and has been featured in Metropolis, Architect Magazine, Interior Design Magazine, and at the Venice Architecture Biennale. We talk about: - The origin story of ACT and how Ming and Christina were inspired by a Parking Day collaboration to start their own firm to pursue projects that complemented their diverse sets of skills and passions. - Entrepreneurship and Motherhood: Ming and Christina talk about establishing a business while growing their families and how even though they themselves didn't take maternity leave, we talk about how each founder works hard to make sure their employees are able to do so.- The catalyst for expanding their San Francisco practice with an office in New Haven, CT. We talk about virtual collaboration, expanding in a new market, and how the firm was well-prepared for the hybrid shift that caught so many businesses off guard during the pandemic. - We end by discussing Ming and Christina's work to advance women and the AAPI community, their favorite projects, impactful pro bono work, public art installations, and how the firm has established and expanded their reputation for gorgeous, design-rich spaces>>>Connect with Architectette:- Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.architectette.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Learn more)- Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @architectette⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (See more)- Newsletter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.architectette.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Behind the Scenes Content)- LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Architectette Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Page and/or⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Caitlin Brady⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠>>>Support Architectette:- Leave us a rating and review!>>>Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ AlexGrohl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Jeff and Phil check in with Christine Chen, Executive Director of Asian Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), and Karthick Ramakrishnan, Executive Director of AAPI Data, to get a pulse on the upcoming midterm elections. They discuss the challenges of voter engagement — including new and ongoing barriers to voting (and how you can take action); significant data trends across Asian American and Pacific Islander voter demographics; some of the urgent issues affecting AAPI voters; and key races to keep an eye on that could shape the future of our democracy. Also: The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of the upcoming midterm elections.  This episode is sponsored by National Asian American Theatre Company's acclaimed production of HENRY VI: A Trilogy in Two Parts, which brings an all-AANHPI cast to The Public Theater for a decades-spanning saga of Joan of Arc, warring dukes, and the bloody birth of the War of the Roses. Performances from June 9 through July 19. Use code H6BC for $59 tickets!

As B2B technology companies scale, size often comes at the cost of agility. Processes calcify, buying cycles stretch, and marketing teams end up running up and down the stairs faster instead of building the elevator.In this episode of the FINITE Podcast, Jodi Norris sits down with Carol Carpenter, CMO at Cohesity, to unpack what it really takes to market at enterprise scale without slowing down. Fresh from Cohesity's merger with Veritas, Carol shares the realities of integrating two large marketing organisations, building trust across cultures, and holding on to startup-style velocity inside a 5,800‑person business.She explains how her team uses AI to redesign workflows – from translation and brand governance tools, to AI‑powered SDR outreach that doubles lead‑to‑meeting conversion. Along the way, she draws a firm line between what can be automated and what cannot: creativity, taste and strategic judgement.Carol has been in technology marketing for most of her career, starting as a product manager at Apple. She enjoys scaling and transforming companies and has done that in leadership roles at VMware, Google, Apple, Trend Micro and now as CMO of Cohesity. Carol gives back through mentorship programs such as the HBS Women Entrepreneurship program and Monte Jade, an AAPI professional organisation.Inside you'll find…How to merge marketing cultures without losing speed, trust or clarityWhere AI genuinely shortens a six‑month enterprise buying journey – and where humans must stay in the loopA practical framework for lifting teams out of execution and into more strategic, high‑leverage work

From child actor to Disney star to pop icon dubbed "Lesbian Jesus," Hayley Kiyoko built a career creating the representation she never had as a half-Japanese, queer artist. In this episode of She Pivots, Hayley opens up about becoming a community's symbol practically overnight while still figuring herself out, and how she moved from leading with fear to leading with confidence and self-love. She also shares how she found her fiancée, Becca Tilley, and reflects on the decade-long journey that culminated in her Girls Like Girls film and album—a project that started with high school heartbreak twenty years ago. Happy Pride Month, Pivoters! Girls like girls is out NOW. See it in theatres and check out the companion Girls Like Girls album. Chapters: 00:00.240 Welcome to She Pivots 00:39.839 Guest Intro: Hayley Kiyoko 01:55.920 Hayley's Childhood 08:12.105 Early Music Career: Joining Stunners 13:26.210 The Birth of "Girls Like Girls" 18:27.920 20GayTeen: Music and Queer Identity 20:27.837 Music Industry Challenges 28:16.883 Hayley's Personal Identity Journey 34:33.599 The Journey to Film Direction 37:16.857 The Power of Representation on Screen 40:00.669 From Low Point to Launch 41:43.024 Do You Think You'll Pivot Again? 43:25.760 Reflections on Hayley's Journey 44:17.600 Podcast Credits Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration. She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success. Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates. She Pivots is proud to be an iheart podcast.Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of On the Rocks, we get a little international as we have a roller coaster of a conversation with two leading women in entertainment. Hot on the heels of her current run in Grit, Glitter and Gaslight, Emmy-nominated musician, filmmaker, and performer Sarah McGuiness visits us from the UK. Also joining us is stand-up comedian, writer, executive producer, director, and showrunner Ana Tuazon Parsons, a first-generation immigrant from the Philippines who has blended her heritage and talent to create the show, Jokes with Joysauce, currently up for Emmy consideration, becoming the first original series from an AAPI-owned network ever eligible for consideration in the category at the Primetime Emmy Awards. We laugh, we cry, and we celebrate life's stories as we get intimate, talking about comedy through trauma and grief, finding your identity, women in stand-up, creating your own platform, honoring your heritage, and more, as well as share some funny stories from their careers...with co-host model and musician Steven Dehler and your sassy host with the sassy most, Alexander Rodriguez. Raise a glass, it's On the Rocks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, we catch up on the latest Asian American book news and publishing announcements for our June 2026 mid-month check-isUpcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:Life Is a K Drama by Sherri Shepherd & Jayci LeeOphelia No. 23 by Saou IchikawaA Girl's Spine by Saou IchikawaBirchwood Prep #1: Lina's Secret by Mae RaespicioKapa Kuiki: My Hawaiian Quilt by Ilima Kahokuhealani Todd; illus. by Mae WaiteAll the Gardeners by Varsha Bajaj; illust. by Grace EastonShifu Mama by Roger Lam; illust. by Alina ChauBamboo Magic by Teresa Robeson; illust. by Wazza PinkKung Fu Crane Girl by Mia Wenjen; ilust. by debut artist Yujie HuangBoss Games by Kelly YangEight Little Hands by Hanh Bui; illust. By Kerisa GreeneFlickers of Hope by Hanh Bui; illust. By Kerisa GreeneBook news mentioned on this episode:Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis, dies at 56Taiwan Travelogue wins the 2026 International Booker PrizeBooks & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authorsSupport the Books & Boba Podcast by:Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merchFollow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebookThe Books & Boba June 2026 pick is The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi VoThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast CollectiveMentioned in this episode:Don't miss an all AAPI production of HENRY VI: A Trilogy in Two Parts at The Public in NYCThe National Asian American Theatre Company's acclaimed production of HENRY VI: A TRILOGY IN TWO PARTS brings an all-AANHPI cast to The Public Theater for a decades-spanning saga of Joan of Arc, warring dukes, and the bloody birth of the War of the Roses. Adapted by Stephen Brown-Fried, this is Shakespeare like you've never experienced it. Part 1: Foreign Wars opens with a king dead, an infant on the throne, and a country already coming apart at the seams. Part 2: Civil Strife picks up nearly 30 years later...and the bloodbath is yet to come. Simmering feuds explode into the War of the Roses, and nothing will ever be the same. Performances from June 9 through July 19! Use code H6BC for $59 tickets!Henry VI at The Public with an all AAPI cast

Stop Chasing Algorithms and Start Answering Questions: Great Advice in the Digital AgeWelcome back. Today I'm joined by returning guest Kali Edwards, founder of June Mango Design, a branding and website design studio that specializes in helping wellness professionals create strategic brands and websites that attract their ideal patients.Kali has worked with many acupuncturists and other healthcare providers, and in this conversation we're digging into what's actually working in clinic marketing right now.In this episode we talk about:How AI search is changing SEO and what clinic owners should focus on instead of chasing algorithmsWhy blogs still matter and how to choose topics your patients are already searching forThe connection between branding, trust, and attracting the right patientsHow to use the questions your ideal patients are asking at 2 a.m. and turn them into effective marketing contentWhy networking, visibility, and genuine human connection are becoming more valuable in an increasingly digital worldHope you enjoy today's episode with Kali.

This episode contains sensitive topics.Join us for an evening in conversation with Bindu Bansinath on her book, Men Like Ours. The conversation is led by Shilpi Mahajan of the Indian Cultural Society.About Bindu Bansinath: Bindu Bansinath is a staff writer at New York Magazine's The Cut. Bindu grew up in New Brunswick and lives in Jersey City – the novel is set in a fictional NJ suburb.About Shilpi Mahajan, MBA: Shilpi is a mindfulness educator, entrepreneur, and strategic leader with over 20 years of experience across Fortune 100 companies, startups, and nonprofit leadership. She is a member .About Men Like OursWhen Matthew Pillai is found dead, slumped over the wheel of his BMW, the women of Willow Road are roped into the investigation of their friend's death.At the center of the case are the Sharmas--Anita, a widow whose late husband introduced Matthew to the neighborhood, and her boundary-pushing daughter, Leila, who called him Uncle. To Anita, who has been in freefall since her arrival in the United States as a young woman, Matthew's presence offered hope, including a promise of betterment for Leila. The truth, however, is far stranger.In this darkly funny debut, the women of Willow Road find that despite their internecine quarrels, casual backstabbing, and generational feuds, in the end, there is no one to turn to but each other.This event is co-sponsored by AAPI of East Brunswick, the Indian Cultural Society, and the New Brunswick Free Public Library.

Rachel Maeng joins Eric Kasimov to talk about NIL, college sports, influencer marketing, athlete brands, and the money changing the system.Rachel is a former Rutgers student-athlete, fractional COO, NIL strategist, and founder who built and sold an influencer agency. She explains why real NIL is different from revenue sharing, why college sports keeps getting more expensive, and why access still matters.Topics covered:Why influencer marketing is the prequel to NILWhat real NIL actually looks likeHow revenue sharing and roster caps changed college sportsWhy paid athletes face more fan pressureWhy sports has turned into a money gameThe gap between top programs and everyone elseHow recruiting rankings and camps shape opportunityWhy athletes are being asked to become media companiesWhy internships, mentors, peers, and sponsors matterChapters in This Episode00:00 — Rachel Maeng on her current work00:34 — Fractional COO work, NIL, and representation01:42 — Rutgers, student government, and alumni advocacy03:27 — Rutgers in the Big Ten and the reach of major universities05:13 — Why Rachel chose Rutgers06:55 — Big schools, small schools, and the future of college athletics07:18 — Women's flag football and Title IX09:23 — Cutting sports, roster caps, and international athletes12:57 — Syracuse, football spending, and donor ROI14:14 — Why college teams are hiring GMs16:16 — Student fees, tuition, and the cost of college sports18:00 — NIL money, fan pressure, and athlete criticism19:39 — Recruiting rankings, camps, and access22:43 — College sports deficits and the money problem25:36 — The growing gap between top programs and everyone else27:10 — Recruiting facilities, spending, and shared governance29:13 — Sports betting, expansion, and more games32:10 — Rachel's view on NIL35:43 — Why Rachel watches more college sports now37:35 — Flag football, NFL expansion, and global growth39:17 — Youth sports, cost, and the money game43:55 — Athletes as media companies46:15 — TikTok, creator marketing, and the road to NIL48:31 — Advice for young women in sports and business54:50 — AAPI representation and women in sports business57:50 — Sponsors, mentors, peers, and building community59:10 — Internships, networking, and real career experience1:03:38 — The enrollment cliff and the future of college1:10:37 — Staying curious through podcasts, documentaries, and daily learning1:11:26 — LA, the Olympics, and travel realities1:15:51 — How to find Rachel MaengConnect with Rachel Maeng:X | LinkedIn | InstagramConnect with Eric & SportsEpreneur:SportsEpreneur.com | X | LinkedInEric on LinkedIn | XRelated SportsEpreneur NIL ContentDid You Know You're Paying for College Sports?Brendan Sorsby Bet on His Own Team and Is Somehow Still Eligible to PlayThe Protect College Sports Act Explained: NIL, Transfers, Antitrust, and the Future of College Sports

APEX Express is a weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community.   This Pride Month—queer and trans AAPI community strength. On this episode, host Miata Tan is joined by guests from three organizations building queer AAPI community on their own terms. They explore what it's like to find joy, organize together, and show up for each other in this moment.   QTViệt Cafe Collective Learn more about QTViệt Cafe Collective and their new documentary Đồng Quê: Of the Same Womb Website | Instagram | Join the Collective Catch the film at an upcoming screening:  June 14 — World Premiere | 22nd Annual Queer Women of Color Film Festival | Presidio Theater, San Francisco  June 20 — Screening + Q&A with filmmaker Sage Tran | Hosted by the Q Corner | San Jose    Queer Hmong Intersectional Pride (QHIP) Learn more about QHIP and their upcoming workshops, events, and campaigns Instagram | Website | 5th Annual Elk Grove Pride   Lavender Phoenix (LavNix) Learn more about Lavender Phoenix and their Leadership Exchange program Website | Instagram | Leadership Exchange Program   Previous Episodes A Conversation with Lavender Phoenix: The Next Chapter — March 26, 2026 Trans & Queer Hmong Rise: Organizing in Central California — October 24, 2024 8 Years of QTViệt Cafe! — August 22, 2024   Transcript ​[00:00:00]  Miata Tan : Hello and welcome. You're tuning in to APEX Express, a weekly radio show uplifting the voices and stories of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. I'm your host, Miata Tan. We're nearly halfway through June, and Pride Month is in full swing. Pride is a time to celebrate, honor, and dig into the deep political history of queer and trans communities. And tonight, [00:01:00] we're zooming into a few distinct queer Asian American communities right here in Northern California. First, we'll hear from a collective of queer and trans Vietnamese artists, activists, and organizers based in the Bay Area, who have a brand-new documentary out this weekend. Then we'll dive into the political organizing of queer and trans Hmong communities in Fresno and Sacramento. And we'll close out the show with a queer Asian American community leader and some different ways that you can get involved this summer. Okay, let's get into it. First up, my conversation with QTViet Cafe Collective. And before you ask, no, QTViet Cafe is not a brick-and-mortar cafe that serves coffee. They are a Bay Area-based creative cultural hub for queer and trans Vietnamese liberation through gatherings, art showcases, cultural programming, and more. QTViet Cafe is a part of Asian Refugees United, [00:02:00] and tonight we'll be discussing their new documentary, Dong Hoi: Of the Same Womb. It is premiering this Sunday, June 14, as part of the 22nd Annual International Queer Women of Color Film Festival in San Francisco. Dong Hoi asks viewers what it means to return to a homeland, to a community, to yourself. Here's my conversation with the QTViet Cafe Collective. Miata Tan: Thank you all so much for joining me today on APEX Express. Sage, perhaps you can start us off. would you be able to introduce yourself and share a little bit about what the QTViet Cafe Collective is?  Sage Tran: My name is Sage. I use they/them pronouns. One of filmmakers/digital archivists for QTViet Cafe Collective. we are a cultural hub where we focus on, diasporic themes around intergenerational Vietnamese and identity and queerness. We do a lot our [00:03:00] events and workshops and gatherings around food, remembrance, and, our gay and they selves.  Miata Tan: Lovely. Jessie, who are you and what brought you to QTViet?  Jessie Nguyen: Sure, my name is Jessie, and my pronouns are they or Jessie, and I've been part of the collective since, 2018. I think I found the collective in a place in my life when I was really searching for ways to, bring an intersection to all parts of my identities, QTViet Cafe Just like Sage said, it's a creative hub, it's a cultural hub that is really dedicated to uplifting queer and trans Viet liberation through ancestral practices , different, forms of art and intergenerational connection. yeah, I just really appreciate the ways that QTViet Cafe has just been so dedicated to our, art and then also uplifting our art to really, bring forth community, organizing work, solidarity [00:04:00] work and our own, like, queer and trans Viet excellence  Miata Tan: Love that. Jean, could you share a little bit about yourself as well?  Jean Pham: Thanks for having us here. my name is Jean Pham. I use they/them pronouns. i've also been a part of QTViet Cafe since 2018 when I had first moved here to the Bay Area. Like Sage and Jessie had shared, QTViet Cafe is, it's a really special space. I think as d- diasporic Vietnamese, speaking broadly, like culturally we experience being displaced on many different levels. Um, when people say that it's a cultural hub, really tangible in a, in a lot of the activities and things that we do. we've hosted like art residencies. We cultural dinners. We have language groups. QTViet Cafe, it really exists to fill a need. and I think part of that need brought us, to the culmination of this specific project, to bring us back into Vietnam  Miata Tan: Yeah, lovely. And we can pick up from there your trip to Vietnam. this, was captured by Sage recently in a documentary. Sage, could you speak more about what, this new doco is about? where did this project come [00:05:00] from? Sage Tran: this project emerged from a collective hunger for wanting to return back to the motherland. for years of doing a lot of gathering here, specifically in the Bay Area, we've been able to stay rooted in the territories here. And, we all came to a consensus like , what would it be like to gather a bunch of us and connect with our siblings, brother, sisters, family, chosen fam out in the motherland? that became a seed that we cultivated, planted, tend to, and we fundraised with a lot of community support to get about 13 of us out uh, Vietnam. maybe Jessie can talk a little bit more about this, but Hai and Ma are the, folks who founded QTViet Cafe Collective [00:06:00] Jessie, Ma, and Hai. They all three went to Vietnam in 2022 and built a lot of beautiful connections of like local drag artists, queer trans collectives out there. That's kind of what birthed Dong Khoi.  Miata Tan: so  I've been lucky enough to, watch the film already. Donghui is the name of the documentary, but it's also the name of the performance that came together Jesse, perhaps you can speak to this this journey more and I know QTViet C- Cafe's been around since 2016,  this project goes back, a few years as well Jessie Nguyen: Yeah, sure. I can speak a little bit about that and just chiming into, like, what Sage already shared. there was a small group of collective members that that came up with the idea of, like, what would it be like for us as, queer and trans Viet diasporic folks to go to the homeland. the original intent was for that trip to happen in 2020. And it [00:07:00] actually, because of the pandemic, I think obviously things were, logistically it just didn't work, but that, dream, like, surfaced again, so the question came up about, like, what would it be like for us to travel together to the homeland as a collective and also share our art, to , connect with other Viets in Saigon. You know, when we're in the Bay, so much of our work is really centered around gathering communities around our food, our art, and our stories. And so it really made sense for us to think about what would that look like in Vietnam. And so in 2022, as Sage was mentioning, me, Hai, and Ma,, went to Saigon and just kind of explored, like, what is the creative scene like and were able to connect queer and trans Viet artists who are doing insanely inspiring creative work. we connected with folks from the Baxiu Collective, and they're a group of, queer and trans Viet artists who are doing drag in different, performance spaces in queer bars in Saigon. And then I think in that moment we're like, “Wait, we would love to [00:08:00] collaborate with you.” from that unfolded, a, a year-long , like, planning of, what would it look like for us to do a shared showcase together. And so we identified built relationships with a queer bar in Saigon. and then so leading up to the homeland trip, we planned this showcase where it would be a mix artists from our collective and artists from their collective, and then a whole, a whole performance that unfolded. And I think in the year of 2023, that year I think we ended up fundraising, about 50K in order to really subsidize and support the whole journey of getting us to Vietnam. Like, stipending artists and creatives that we were collaborating with. it was, one of the biggest projects I think that QTViet has ever been a part of and really undertaken, and I think it definitely is, like, a huge highlight for, like, my time with QTViet. Miata Tan: Lovely, and it's so beautiful to see it all come together in the documentary. Jean, could you speak to your experience? I understand this was [00:09:00] your first time ever visiting Vietnam  Jean Pham: Yes, it was my first time visiting Vietnam. so I had a well of emotions in terms of the lead-up to it. Like Jesse was sharing, you know, originally the plan was we were gonna go in 2020. That had to shift, you know, shelter in place and everything. A lot of the work that we do is reconnection, right? as diasporic Vietnamese being displaced from our ancestral land, as queer and trans people, um, a big rallying point for many of us is feeling displaced from our own families. And so part of, like, returning back together is fighting against it. It's like, what if we reconnect ? You know, what if we re- reunite? You know, w- if we're traveling together as queer community, we can really see and understand what it's like to be uh, Vietnam for ourselves. And so it was really, like h- it had this like gravity around it, and I think it made me really nervous but also excited. that being said, you know, a lot of other folks who are part of our cohort, even though they had gone to Vietnam before, a lot of them had also shared this is their [00:10:00] first time going without family, And we're going specifically towards, queer and trans community in Vietnam, which is also a departure from their other experiences too. Jessie Nguyen: Can I just add something? Because I just really loved what Gene shared. I just think that, yeah, I think that you really spoke to something there about how we can spend our whole lives, like, having this understanding of homeland that is actually quite disconnected from our queerness and our transness. And similar to, like, many other folks in the collective, like, I have been to Vietnam, multiple times before, but never in the context of centering my queerness and transness because I just wasn't sure, like, what felt safe. You know, without having, like, fluency in the language or even knowing, like, how to express my queerness in Vietnam. Oftentimes it just felt… I felt pretty invisibilized there, you know, because, like, being there with family, I just show up as, like, a, a family member, There's so much that is a part of me that is expressed through my queerness and my transness that [00:11:00] is that isn't as visible. And so I think that being in a space as a collective gave us permission to do and to feel deeply woven into our cultural experience was, like, in- in- incredibly liberating.  Miata Tan: Yeah. That's really beautiful, Jessie. I also noticed in the film your aunt was also, part of it as well, so you were able to hold that familial side of yourself as well as the queer side. Could you speak more to that?  Jessie Nguyen: Yeah. I was just watching the documentary yesterday too, and I was like, oh my gosh, I– it was so sweet that my aunt had a moment in that documentary. the thing that I was really interested in was trying to weave my connection with my family to, like, my connection with, like, my chosen queer family, And I think that became very possible when, we did the homeland trip. I'm, I'm not fluent in Vietnamese, and I'm especially not fluent in trying to articulate what it means to be queer and [00:12:00] Vietnamese. And so the idea of inviting QTViets to my aunt's home was, like, a way to be like, “Hey, this is who I and here are my– here's my community.” And maybe if I can't actually, like, articulate that, like, I I want my aunt to, like, feel that sense of, like, care and connection of my community. And then to me that felt like a way of inviting my Vietnamese family to this part of my life. I think that it's, it's oftentimes hard to even do that here in the Bay. You know? Like, the connection that I have to my blood family and then my connection to my chosen family here in the Bay, like, can feel quite separate. keeps me coming back to QTViet is that we always make space for that intergenerational connection that doesn't invisibilize our queerness and our gender identity . Miata Tan: Sage, could you speak more to this theme of family? It seemed to be really core to the documentary tell us about how that felt as the director, like being behind the [00:13:00] camera but also part of the QTViet team on this trip?  Sage Tran: directing and being behind the camera had a lot of challenges. I think there's something where I'm not sure if y- like folks can relate to this, but when you are filming something with your iPhone or on your camera, there's a connection and a disconnection that happens at the same time. You're not able to fully present, but you are. I was straddling the line of like is this shot looking beautiful and also crying I think there was a moment where we were in a taxi or Grab car, and it was Hai, Jesse, and Jesse's aunt, she was dropping some heavy moments, and I just remember we're all crying in the car while the Grab driver is like blasting music, and it's like a super bumpy road. People are honking at us, and it was just like such a funny and rocky, symbolic, memory I just was like, “Wow, I can't [00:14:00] believe I'm getting to document this” like historical moment, not only for Jesse, but just like for the collective and what does it mean for folks who are queer and trans that can't have moments like this. It's just like kind of a reminder to slow down and being like, ” Okay,” am I getting to embody this moment while holding the stabilization of the camera?” And I think still I find that to be a challenge, but a, a really fun dance of filmmaking, directing and being there. Miata Tan: Yeah, definitely. I can't imagine trying to keep the camera still while you're bawling your eyes out.  Sage Tran: Yes.  Miata Tan: Jean, we've talked a now about this connection of blood family and found family as well. could you speak a bit to the QTViet Cafe family that sort of came together on the trip, but also this wider, Vietnamese, queer community you were able to find over there in Saigon? Jean Pham: Every step of the way it felt really [00:15:00] good because when, like, you know, we were traveling together as this, this giant mass of just gay people. and so I always felt like, oh, I could kinda be off guard, I understand that, like, for a lot of Korean trans people, w- when traveling we're on high alert, there's just a lot of unpredictability. There is safety in numbers. There's safety in communities. I felt like, you know, the QTViets have my back. There was a bigger group that came together in SFO, and we just t- all booked the same flights. And then there were some people who were coming, like, a little bit later. I had been with QTViets at that point for about six or seven years, and so there was a lot of trust already built. With the Saigonese Viets, it, it was like a, just a natural kinship. You know? It was like, it was also as if like we were just friends off the bat or there was just this shared understanding. We had a gathering, and I think this is featured in the documentary. after gathering, people were just kind of, getting to know each other in in their flat, and they were teaching us how to walk in heels, and it was so lovely. And I remember thinking like, “Oh gosh, what music do I play here? How do I set the mood?” But the, th- I think the reality is, [00:16:00] you know, Rihanna is like a common language, like among gay people. Everyone under like … It was, it was funny 'cause like, you know, I would, you know, I would play music that I would just listen to. Like, they're just, pop girlies that would play in the States. And, yeah, gay people, like, they, they just love a diva no matter where you are. And so that that was really nice. But r- truly, like, the DIY drag scene in Saigon is huge, and it c- it's, like, so varied. And, I do wanna shout out, like, all the queens and the Baxio Collective and all the trans artists who really helped, make our show and, like, really helped hone in our craft. And they were pr- they were strict, you know? They were like, “You have to come here early, and you have to come in, like, days before. And we're gonna have to practice over and over again.” And they had, like, really specific notes on how to make the show better. And so it was interesting as a culture exchange they were learning, how we were operating in terms of how we organize and a- I think a lot of the spoken word, slam poetry style that, like, some of our members were bringing. And from them, we were [00:17:00] learning a lot of the theatrics on really how to, like, have a show and really think, holistically about all the different components. Miata Tan: Jessie, could you speak more to the show? Uh, what did it look like? How did it feel? Jessie Nguyen: So back in 2022 was when we discovered that there is actually one queer bar in Saigon, and it's in District 4. this bar called Bar Zinga. And it's, like, in this alleyway. It's pretty divey. And so when we were there in 2022, we actually spent uh, New Year's there, and we got to know the owner, and we got to know, like, what they envisioned for the space, which is they've been using it as a space for, drag, drag performances, music sets, and things like that. And we're like, “Oh, wait. Maybe this could be a good spot for us to do something for QTViet.” And So essentially the vision for the show was for us to collaborate with, Babel and Yat, who are the co-founders of Bạc Xỉu Collective, they are incredible, like, production artists and drag artists.  we [00:18:00] invited folks from the collective, if they wanted to share some of their art as well. And so we had… Let's see. I remember Irene, who is one of the poets and also, like, OG QTViets, shared, some poetry, and then we had also Hai sharing some erotica. Me, Hai, and Lan did a ao dai fashion runway show.  and then there was, Oh, Judy and Hiroshi who did, like, a whole, like, lô tô, so that was, like, based off of, like, like a Vietnamese game, and they did a whole performance on that. yeah. So it was kind of, like, cool to be in this space and inviting folks from the community to come in, and it was a full house. people were feeling so nervous, but the, also the energy of, like, I can't believe this is happening. You know? that the art that we've created in the Bay, that we get to share it in Saigon. Miata Tan: So beautiful. yeah, it's really nice to see this, cross-cultural, international, connection that you've built with, the folks in Vietnam. Sage, could you speak more to, the [00:19:00] documentary itself, what you hope viewers will take away from the film, and especially seeing depiction of, of queer joy in the performance? Sage Tran: I think what I hope viewers take is like the power of remembering and the power of remembering with community. Cause I think like also editing this film, I'm like, I remember exactly what y'all said word for word. It's like ingrained in my head.  I think there was something that, Jean, you said in… You said something where like it doesn't matter if you're Vietnamese, it doesn't matter where you were born. It matters and it doesn't, but also like there's so many cross-cultural connections and parallels that, tie us all together. And I think, on the theme of remembering and leaning into our joy and our creativity, there's so much that can unlock with, just living our truths. I think, yeah, I think that's what I hope viewers take away with  Miata Tan: Beautiful. and the documentary will be premiering, this [00:20:00] June, as part of QSMAP here in the city in San Francisco. We have A little bit of time here, so I'd love to talk about, uh, what else QTViet has on the horizon, campaigns, workshops, other performances. Jean, Jessie, would either one of you be able to speak to this?  Jessie Nguyen: The only thing that is really on my mind around QTViet is that we are celebrating our 10-year anniversary in September. And I don't know what that's gonna look like, but I think that it definitely is gonna be a invite and just a opportunity for us to reflect on everything that we've been able to cultivate as a collective, and also just to notice, like, how much we've evolved. I think that when so many of us joined in 2016 to 2018, we were, younger queers who were really looking for community and maybe felt pretty isolated. And I know that, like, where I am today, my connection to my Vietness and my queerness, like, feels so deeply ingrained. And a [00:21:00] huge part of that is because of having a container like QTViet. I was also gonna talk about Ordinary People, because it's actually a show that we're doing a audio visual storytelling performance that is led by one of the QTViet members, Jop, uh, Nguyen. And it's gonna include, several other QTViet members that are gonna be, contributing as, like, a band. there have been music and songs and videos and animations and, yeah, lots of different elements to really bring to life, like, what it feels like for our parents to, experience their homeland, their escape, their journey here, and then also how we really, how we connect to that story. Miata Tan: Thank you for sharing, Jessie. Sadly, this interview is airing after the Ordinary People performance, but I'll play a little snippet in a bit. Jean, final question. with this 10-year anniversary of QTViet Cafe, how do you see your recent [00:22:00] adventures informing your work? How you organize, how you gather Jean Pham: I think after the trip, there was, like, a re-invigoration of, purpose honestly, like, a new wave of renewed energy and also new people who were joining the space. we started practicing a lot more solidarity work. I think almo- almost immediately after returning, there were a few events that was in solidarity with, Palestine. And as we were returning from the trip, last year was also the 50th anniversary of the war in Vietnam ending, and so we used that as an opportunity to draw connections between how, the conditions of the Vietnam War was truly, like, politically activating for a lot of young people in the '60s, similarly to um, the genocide uh, Palestine was politically activating for people now, uh, and how, like, have a shared struggle. with 10 years of QTViet Cafe, I think it's more evident that QTViet is an, like, entity, a group that needs to exist. and we always invite people to join us. if anyone's listening who is diaspora queer and trans Vietnamese, is looking [00:23:00] for community, you know, looking for language classes or, like, just, uh, ways to build, you know, we're always more than happy to join people. You know, last year, Jessie and a a couple other friends organized this amazing trip to New York. there was really this big energy around uniting all the different scattered parts of QTViets all over and coming together and understanding that, you know, we, we all, um, um, have a lot in common. and so I, I do think that was really uplifted and highlighted in our trip, this feeling of, like, you know, we're not- we're actually not so alone, and there's so many of us, and we're, like, we're all so powerful. Miata Tan: Beautiful. I think that's a perfect place to end. Thank you all so much for joining me today Jessie Nguyen: Yay. Thank you so much  Sage Tran: Thank you so much. Thank you.  Jean Pham: I know, this is so lovely. Thank you. Miata Tan : That was Sage Tran, Jean Pham, and Jessie Nguyen with the QTViet Cafe Collective. Their new documentary, Dong Hue: Of the Same Womb, premieres this Sunday, June 14th at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco. That's part of the 22nd Annual International Queer Women of Color [00:24:00] Film Festival, this year featuring 47 films, 10 world premieres, all totally free and open to the public. so if you're in the Bay, this is well worth your time. You can also catch QTViet Cafe's new documentary in San Jose on Saturday, June 20th at a screening hosted by the Q Corner, followed by a Q&A with Sage Tran, the filmmaker that you just heard from. For links to these events and more about QTViet Cafe and how you can get involved in the collective, check out the show notes for this episode. That's on our website at kpfa.org/program/APEXexpress Coming up next, queer and trans Hmong communities in California's Central Valley. But first, here's a taste of Ordinary People, a recent live performance by QTViet Cafe recorded in Oakland last month. ​ Miata Tan : [00:25:00] [00:26:00] [00:27:00] That was a live recording from Ordinary People by the QTViet Cafe Collective,  in Oakland last month. This is APEX Express, a weekly radio show uplifting the voices and stories of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Tonight, in honor of Pride Month, we're turning our attention to queer Asian American communities right here in Northern California: who they are, how they organize, and the future they are fighting for. Miata Tan: My next guests are Shai Chang and Christine Thao from Queer Hmong Intersectional Pride, also known as QHIP. QHIP grows out of Hmong Innovating Politics, a grassroots advocacy group based [00:28:00] in Fresno and Sacramento, and focuses on building community and political power for queer and trans Hmong communities in California's Central Valley. Here's my conversation with Shai and Christine. Miata Tan : You both so much for joining me today on APEX Express. Could you share a little bit about yourself? Who are you, and what is your work with Hmong Innovating Politics? Shai Chang: Hi, my name is Shai, pronouns are they and them. I'm trans, non-binary, also Hmong, located in Yokuts Valley, Fresno, California. the work that I do in Hmong Innovating Politics is that I am a community organizer. I'm the Fresno Trans and Queer Community Organizer, I work specifically in the program called Queer Hmong Intersectional Pride, or QHIP, Q-H-I-P. And we do a lot of really great work with our trans and queer, in particular, like, intersectional folks, people of color within our, our communities and our members and our base to organize to fight, fascism, racism, also, like, transphobia and forms [00:29:00] of hate, moving us towards social justice and liberation. Miata Tan : It's really important work, and I'm excited to get into more of what, Queer Hmong Intersectional Pride looks like, Christine, could you share a little bit about yourself? who are you, and how long have you been with, HIP and QHIP?  Christine Thao : Thank you so much for inviting my name is Christine Thao. I use she/they pronouns, and I am currently here on Nisenan, occupied Nisenan land here in the South Sacramento area. my role is the Sacramento, Trans Queer Community Organizer. And so I came into HIP, back in 2020, so during the COVID pandemic, and, um, I came on board as the administrative assistant. um, in 2024, I transitioned into the community organizer role.  Miata Tan : Lovely. Yeah. Can't wait to get into the work that you do and the campaigns. to ground us in the history of, Hmong communities in America, Shai, could you speak to, who [00:30:00] the Hmong Americans are? I know that Fresno and Sacramento is home to some of the largest populations of Hmong people in the States. Shai Chang: Yeah, definitely. so the Hmong communities are from Southeast Asia, very much like indigenous folks that live within the mountain ranges and the hills. and the reason why we came to America was because of the Secret War the war that happened in Southeast Asia. one of our community members General Vang Pao was involved within this war and then pulled in the rest of the Hmong community to be part of this it is to say that, like many of our young men during that time was pulled into the war, and they were 13, maybe even 14, 15, and younger who were, pulled into the war to fight for America, um, with the promise of that America was going to give them a place that they could call home it was in 1975 where the war ended and, that's when the military went ahead and was able to, because of Ronald Reagan signed, um, a letter for immigration for, [00:31:00] these Hmong folks and refugees to come into the United States. Miata Tan : Yeah, perhaps you can take us back to then, 2018 when, QHIP sort of came to life. what was the need that you were seeing for, queer and trans Hmong people in, in specifically Fresno and, and Sacramento where you all are based?  Shai Chang: the way Hmong communities have always existed was very much to be lay low, you know, not be sticking your head out. And so to be very clear, it's that we are still struggling, economically. we are still very much struggling racially. The ICE attacks definitely impacted our communities we are still very much immigrants and still very much not necessarily having a place of home. But internally is that the Hmong community still very much holds on to, like, the, the traditions. And so they're very patriarchal, um, very strict gender roles, and because of these things have then developed into, gender-based violence [00:32:00] as, like, trans and queer folks, it's that we definitely do experience another deeper layer of the oppressions, especially also in our community because there isn't actually any language in Hmong to talk about what trans or queerness is, where there's no exact word to describe, like, gay or lesbian and things like that. So there is definitely, like, an erasure that also has happened, and in the Hmong community is actually very conservative. Uh, But HIP was already a very progressive organization. And so it was in 2018 because of Hmong innovating politics coming to Fresno. it was at the Hmong New Years, I saw them. I was like, “Oh my gosh, I know who you are. I love you. Like, if there's anything I can do, please let me know,” ‘ Mai Thao was able to pull me in. It was like, “Hey, I want you to do something with us.” and with- was then funded three thousand dollars through HIP, to be able to go ahead and organize for whatever it means for me to trans queer Hmong work. during that time, it grew from, like, me, three people to having, like, fifteen people, [00:33:00] meet, once a week for three hours, and then another three hours we would go out and hang out. and so it really became this place for a social space for particularly, and, and I will name it, it's that majority of the folks in that space was gay cis Hmong men. And it wasn't until a year later from that first time that we first met in 2018 to we had a really hard conversation about our future, about the political work that that we should be doing. and so I've been with HIP for four years, and we've officialized during that time QTPIP to be a program, within HIP, and yeah, it's been really good. I don't have to worry about funding and things and organizing around that front end, and HIP has been able to be s- very supportive in being able to see that, and we can really work on the ends of what does it mean for us to organize around liberation and being on the ground with our community  Miata Tan : Yeah, definitely. It's interesting to hear about the progression from [00:34:00] perhaps a group that was maybe more apolitical moving into that political space.  Shai Chang: we've also been, struggling still even now to land on what it means for us to fight more intersectionally. that's where, like, QHIP and Queer Hmong and intersectional pride comes from, right? Is this word intersectional, coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, is that We do have these cross identities that exist within ourselves. And so would love to have Christine talk more about what actually this issue is within not just Hmong communities, Hmong and trans queer communities. Christine Thao : Thank you, Shy. so Queer Hmong Intersectional Pride, we officially launched the program back in 2024. our QHIP program, It is open to young people between ages, 18 to 25. uh, young trans queer folks. Some go to college. Some, currently looking to be employed. Young people who are impacted, [00:35:00] young people who want to get involved, right, who, who do care about, this work, and who care about social justice, it's a eight-month program And our gatherings are, we call them our huddles, our QHIP huddles. And they're, we do them about biweekly, I can speak a little bit for Sacramento.  we've been meeting up at a cafe. We also use our office space. And, this is just a really a moment in time for our members to, bring up and have critical conversations about things that are happening in their lives or things that they're seeing in their community. Miata Tan : Perhaps you could speak more to the organizing piece. What does this look like? Um, what sort of work are y'all up to? Shai Chang: Some of the ways in which we have organized, in our community is through the framework of BBB. It's our belong, believe, become, and it sounds really cheesy, but this is really how we mobilize our people, we know as trans and queer people, especially as a person of color, we don't know and have enough spaces of [00:36:00] belonging. we actually have a, such a hard time believing in ourselves, and because of that, we have such a hard time in becoming. And this sounds like the story of literally just transitioning. when you Transition is that you really need to have a space of, believing in yourself. You need to have a space in which you can belong, where you are safe, and then through that you can actually become and this person that you have always wanted to be. This is how we mobilize and organize our members and our community because once they start practicing this ability to be able to believe in themselves, have the spaces for them to organize and organize with other people. and to figure out, like, , what is our campaign strategy? What is the ways in which we wanna win in our community, right? And Uh, in gender-affirming care in Fresno and the Central Valley was very, very hard. many of the times folks will have to go to, like, the bigger cities like LA SF to get their care that they needed. We need actual, like, [00:37:00] materialistic wins for our communities so that way they can get to where they need to be. when I'm talking about Materialistic things, it's that, we need them to be housed. We need them to have the affordable, uh, care. We need them to have, the affirming care that they are needing, we know how hard it is for, in particular, trans and queer people to be able to afford literally anything. and it's so much more harder for them to find a career or a job, in a place where they actually also can live and exist through their identities. we've seen the, impacts of, ICE and immigration on our own communities these were, like, the works that were coming out constantly for our communities to fight for, these kind of justice issues, through these ways, we've been able mobilize and move our people to what does it mean for us to actually start thinking about a campaign strategy for us to win some kind of materialistic need and, of course, we work with youths a lot, right? So where is our youth justice at? And this is literally our youth justice, right? We're having our young people share their voices. We [00:38:00] have our young adults organizing in the community, um, doing protestings, and fighting against the system. in particular, more recently, this, board of supervisor in Fresno County banned and denied, LBGTQ books in the Fresno County libraries. and we've organized to get people to show up to write letters and to really be there, and hundreds of people shown up and yet they still continue to, not hear their own constituency and their own community They continuously vote against us. that's why HIP is political, right? Is that we have our civic engagement side, is that, okay, well, it sounds like we need to vote them out, right? And that's what is it mean, and that's what it's about now.  Miata Tan : Yeah, I hear you. It sounds like you're really helping to build political power within Hmong communities in, in Fresno and Sacramento. I'm curious, what has wins look like, uh, for your groups there? how have, you perhaps helped to show those material, changes [00:39:00] for your young people? Shai Chang: Uh, to be honest, it's not much, We're still very new into formed more as a social group in 2018, and just finally became, you know what? Let's be political as f***.  Let's be authentic as f***, you know? y'all really wanna make trans and queer identities political, Then let's be political. and we've just started mobilizing, moving around those kind of things and identities only just more recently, right? As Christine mentioned, in  But the wins that we can really claim a name is that we have a 100% retention rate for our members. yeah. Um, we have tripled the amount of members that we had since then. and we are so excited for us to be able to, like, move and mobilize with our people intentionally and not just like, “Oh, we just need to be here for critical mass,” it is a two-part, right? It's that, one, we need critical mass. We And the other part of this is that we [00:40:00] people to come in intentionally to be a part of this movement work. I actually went to present about QHIP more recently, and they asked, “Oh my gosh, is there any, like, open meetings that you have flyers about? Like, when do y'all meet? And then, like, do you have a flyer for that? And I can share it with, my members.” And I was like, “Actually, we do meet, and it– we do meet biweekly on Fridays. The members themselves are holding the space for the meeting. and so I can ask them about that, but I also wanna let you know that it's not necessarily an open invitation for folks to just come in whenever they want.” We want people to come in intentional, and we want people to engage intentionally. And this is how we want us to move away from this autopilot into being able actively making changes and fights for our communities that will win us materialistic wins. Obviously in this administration, in the Trump administration, um, it has not been easy. just two years ago, they actually closed, the only LGBTQ [00:41:00] homeless shelter in Fresno, and a lot of folks now have, like, a hard time understanding where to go and what and how to navigate it. the Fresno, like, LGBTQ center also closed their doors for, like, the first time in, like, a long And so there is a lot of different impacts as impacting our community, from, like, LGBTQ centers closing, LGBTQ-serving organizations slowing down, And the way that our members and our community and our base have been organizing is As a community resource with one another is that like, ” Hey, I have an extra bed. Y'all can come sleep and crash ” there.” you hungry?” Let's go get food.” Right? Really checking with each other and also being able to ask our community for funding as So HIP, we were able to organize and did a fundraiser back in March 50K. That's huge we also know there are impacts that also is beyond us, too. it was with this past, like, Hmong New Year [00:42:00] that we did, that we wanted to do a Hmong New Year action, an action to really fundraise for our families who were detained by ICE. And so we did a mutual aid fundraiser, asking our community members to donate money, and we were able to raise… we only did it for, like, three hours, and we were able to raise $700. So we're like, ” What if we kept going?” Right? And that's where our fundraiser for 50K came from. so there is, like, ways in which we are trying to organize and mobilize our communities. And, to be very honest is that HIP and, QVIP is not necessarily a direct service organization and not necessarily in that way. I think many of the times people see HIP as like, “Oh, you're here to save us,” we're not that, right? We're really here to mobilize with our community, uh, we have our youth organization over in Edison High School, they were pushed into a small classroom, storage room, actually, for band and also, sports as well. And so it, it was being disruptive a lot. one of our [00:43:00] previous, like, young adult members recognized that, and they were like, ” Sh-uh, Shy and HIP, Please, can y'all do something about this issue?” And we're like, “No.” But we'll do it with you, right? and so we came in, we taught them about organizing, and literally those youths were able to organize themselves to have a classroom now, they remember that. They hold onto that, right? Regardless if we were here or not, they will still be able to know that and hold onto And so it's very much like that as well with our members, is that we want them to be able to organize within among themselves without having the need of, of HIP and entities being able to, have the, have the solution for them Miata Tan : mm, that makes a lot of sense. Really being able to work with community and give them tools so then they can continue to build is something really powerful that, you do at both HIP and QHIP. I'm curious, with this very challenging political moment that we're living through, not only for queer and trans folks, but immigrant communities as [00:44:00] well, how are you holding this, this pain alongside, trying to also celebrate and honor your communities, um, and especially your queer and trans community members? Shai or Christine,  Christine Thao : At HIP we have what is called third spaces, and third spaces are heart spaces. these are, spaces where our young people, they continue to, build their organizing. They get to organize with one another and with HIP, to hold space to build community, to build belongingness, To show up, be present, make connections. is also a space where our young people, they get to decompress as well,  in a world where it feels so chaotic, we do a lot of, the hard stuff with organizing, but then organizing can be so fun. and our young people, they get to see both sides, right, get to experience that. What I'm holding onto is being [00:45:00] engaged and getting involved, it is, Um, How can we connect our young people, to our community partners, right? To make those connections, to build deeper, this year it looks like us, being more intentional about our capacity and who we are, building out with, um… I'm on, I'm currently on the planning community for Elk Grove Pride, and so, uh, our young people are also a part of that, where they get to lead a role, and create, spaces of celebration, right? there's A lot of different opportunities our young people are also involved in, and, it, it is that wanting our young people to, feel empowered to get involved in these spaces as well.  Miata Tan : Yeah. Lovely. Thank you so much, Christine. It sounds like you're really able to create, a beautiful space and community for your young people. Shy, uh, to close out, I'd love to know what's on the horizon for QHIP. It's Pride Month. unfortunately this episode is airing after Fresno Pride, but, perhaps you could [00:46:00] speak a little bit to that and what else is on the horizon. Shai Chang: Sure thing. the first thing I need to say is Happy Pride Month. so Happy Pride Month, everyone. Fresno always hosts their Pride parade, always the first Saturday of, of the Pride month it is On Saturday, June 6. Pride parade over at Tower District in Fresno. it's gonna be very fun. It's super exciting. We will be marching in there all together, and the theme for this year is, Pride Without Border. we're gonna be Extra powerful in calling out all of the different, struggles that our intersectional folks are all facing and being able to march together in liberation. what's also coming up next is, I- I'm foreseeing it to happen probably next month or in August, is that we will have a third space event to really celebrate Pride. we spend all our energy to be part of the Pride parade preparing our members and supporting them, but we haven't necessarily celebrated QHIP's [00:47:00] own Pride, you know, we work very politically in election works, and so we always have a bunch of these like, door hangers, Vote yes on Prop 3,” things like that, right? And so we have so much of those paper, and so what we usually do during this, like, Pride event that we do in QHIP is that we- we use these as an opportunity for us to do trash drag. it's an opportunity for us to get glammed out everyone gets to participate creating this, like, image through the trash drag. And so we're excited to be able to do that, so please keep on the lookout. Miata Tan : Sorry, why is it called trash drag? I'd love to know.  Shai Chang: It's because, like, we had s- you know, this much f- okay, we, we have a lot of flyers from the our elections, And especially this year. You know how in, in the mail you'll get so much, like, ” Vote for this person, vote for this person.” all of this is all paper that is then thrown away without any second thought. and we will make them, and we'll make, like, thousands of copies , right? But we never are able to pass it all out. what we do is that we will go ahead and reuse them one last time for [00:48:00] them to have an opportunity for them to shine, We'll have them split up into teams, and then use all the different trash that they can gather and use, and glue them, tape them , staple them to make a dress, to make an outfit for this one person that they're gonna designate to be the drag mother for their team. Miata Tan : I love that. That sounds like so much fun.  Shai Chang: Yeah. We're gonna be doing it in Fresno and also in Sacramento, so we'll figure out a ways for everyone to be involved.  Miata Tan : Oh, how wonderful. Christine, could you speak to what events are coming up in Sacramento for us?  Christine Thao : We are also having, um, Elk Grove Pride on June 20th. It's from 5:00 to 9:00. it's gonna be at the Elk Grove Laguna Town Hall. And so community is very welcome to attend. It is a free event. Think of it like, kind of like a resource gathering with, um, some really amazing performances we have, a lot of like, BIPOC TQ, artistes, and then also vendors [00:49:00] as well. So please show up and, would love to, to meet folks and connect with folks in these spaces.  Miata Tan : Beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing, Christine, and we'll be sharing all the details of how you can get involved and learn more about QHIP and HIP at the end of this episode as well. Thank you both so much for joining me today.  Shai Chang: Thank you so much for having me. Miata Tan: That was my conversation with Shai Chang and Christine Thao at Queer Hmong Intersectional Pride, also known as QHIP Miata Tan : this is APEX Express on 94.1 KPFA, a weekly radio show uplifting the voices and stories of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. To close out tonight's show, I have one final guest. Cynthia Fong is the lead organizer at Lavender Phoenix, also known as LavNix, A Bay Area organization building power for queer and trans Asian and Pacific Islander communities. You may have heard of them. Their new executive director joined us on [00:50:00] air just a few months ago. Here's a short conversation with Cynthia Fong on Queer Joy, community power, and what LavNix has coming up this summer Cynthia Fong: Thank you so much for having us. My name is Cynthia. I use they/them pronouns, and I'm here with Lavender Phoenix. Lavender Phoenix, we build trans, non-binary, queer API power through organizing in the Bay Area. We work with our members to demand true solutions to care and safety, and we're excited to be here with you all. Miata Tan : I'm so excited to close out the episode with you. And as we're in Pride Month, I hoped you might be able to share a little bit about queer joy and how Lavender Phoenix is celebrating that at the moment, honoring each other.  Cynthia Fong: Yeah, absolutely. Especially in times like this, times of escalated violence against our communities, we know that queer joy, queer resistance, and queer power are truly antidotes to the systems that are making us sick. For us, that means in our work, we fight for care not cops, [00:51:00] we fight for budgets that truly reflect the needs of our people, we fight for a free Palestine, and we fight to abolish ICE. If you agree with all of the things that I just said we also do a lot of leadership exchange programs, and that is where we really cultivate that belonging and community in our trans and queer API community. Miata Tan : Oh, I love that. Could you share a little bit more about the leadership exchange with our listeners?  Cynthia Fong: Yeah, absolutely. This is one of our time-honored traditions. It's called the Queer Leadership Exchange, it's also known as LEX. And this program will run for two weekends in July. we aim to provide training on fundamental organizing skills, trans and queer history in the Bay Area, and really to provide an opportunity for trans and queer Asian and Pacific Islanders to connect with, with each other in a space that's made by and for us. We invite you to apply if you are trans or queer [00:52:00] and if you identify as Asian or Pacific Islander. Our deadline is July 1st. And in these two weekends, we usually gather with about 20 to 30 folks, and it's really interactive. We have a mix of activities that we invite people to, to skill up on and, and really to become the leaders that our movements need. Miata Tan : Love that. Could you share a little bit about some leaders you've seen come out of these programs? Like, what does that look like? How are they, helping to, to organize community?  Cynthia Fong: the folks who graduate from our LEX program, it, it's really a wide range of people, whether it's trans and queer APIs at work in other nonprofit sectors. It's also our folks who may be supporting our community in other ways, like as artists, as students, educators, as therapists. We see a lot of people take these skills and translate them into a variety of different sectors that we know trans and queer API people… we're everywhere, more and more so now. And we would [00:53:00] love every single one of us to be grounded in our histories when we do that work. And not only our histories, but also in a firm sense of belonging with one another, to know that we're not alone, to know that there are other trans and queer Asians and Pacific Islanders here in the Bay Area, all of whom share these values of wanting to build working class power. Miata Tan : that's so nice, a more multi-generational, multi-sector,  ​ Cynthia Fong: And, you know, we take it as an opportunity, too, for us to build with other organizations and people who, who are like-minded. We don't take it for granted. We know the Bay Area is a place where it's very diverse, where We are actively fighting for what values we believe in and whose agenda we are willing to put in power. And so we really welcome a wide range of people. No matter where you are, the real important thing is you, you share our values. you believe in true solutions to care and safety that are not rooted in systems of policing or incarceration  Miata Tan : [00:54:00] That's really powerful. to close this out , Could you share a little bit more about what's on the horizon for Lavender Phoenix later in the year? You mentioned a few of the campaigns, Care Not Cops. perhaps if you wanna dive into some of those.  Cynthia Fong: Yeah, absolutely. Um, we are joining a really big coalition of people from Alameda to Sacramento to San Francisco, all of whom are paying a lot of attention to our budgets, when you say Care Not Cops, we see our budgets to really be that moral document that show us where our priorities are. For us, June is Pride Month, but it's also budget season, Um, it gives us a really big opportunity to be as loud as we can about what we believe. and in San Francisco with $16 billion, it's quite shameful that we have our community partners like the San Francisco Community Health Center, Lyric, our youth programs being defunded, all the while new jails are being opened, all the while the police are getting new toys, they're [00:55:00] showing us that the money exists but it's not for us. And so we join the voices that are demanding for a people's budget, and we know that that's gonna be an ongoing fight. We've been in it for a few years now, and we plan to continue. In terms of our organization, we're actually super excited to say we have 100% of our membership really diving into what the next five years looks like for us. Folks may remember we came onto APAICS to announce a name change a few years ago. We were formerly known as API Equality Northern California. We came on APAICS a few years ago to share that we've changed to Lavender Phoenix, and we anticipate some new changes on the horizon being announced at the end of the year as well, hopefully with deeper clarity about what the next five years will look like for us. Miata Tan : Ooh. Interesting. It's not a new name change, is it?  Cynthia Fong: No, no. We, we're gonna stay… We're keeping the t- we're keeping our name. We love our name. We love the history in our name. But it's really just the theory of [00:56:00] change, you know? I think our moment today is very unique, very different, very politically tumultuous, and we wanna be sharp. We wanna know what we're organizing for, what we're organizing against, and, and what it means for us to build power.  Our last theory of change process is what resulted in us focusing on leadership programs, leadership development. It is also where we decided that healing is really important for our people. It's also where we decided that safety is really important for our people. And so I anticipate that it's gonna be a deepening not, not a change, but a deepening of how we orient to this bigger picture of our movement for liberation and justice. Miata Tan : So beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing, Cynthia. Um, it was really lovely to speak with you.  Cynthia Fong: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much. I, hope to come Back soon. Miata Tan : That was Cynthia Fong with Lavender Phoenix. If you want to learn more about LavNix, we sat down with their team earlier in the year. Find that episode and their leadership exchange program in the show notes. Tonight, we also heard [00:57:00] from the QTViet Cafe Collective and Queer Hmong Intersectional Pride. Links to all of these organizations and their upcoming work are at kpfa.org/program/APEXexpress. This is APEX Express KPFA, airing every Thursday evening at 7:00 PM. Thank you for tuning in tonight APEX Express is a proud member of the Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality, a network focused on long-term movement building, capacity infrastructure, and leadership support for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders committed to social justice. Learn more at aacre.org. This program produced by Ayame Keane-Lee, Anuj Vaidya, Isabel Li, Jalena Keane-Lee, Miko Lee, Miata Tan, Preeti Mangala Shekar and Swati Rayasam. Tonight's show was produced by me, Miata Tan. Get some rest y'all.   The post APEX Express – 6.11.26 – Pride, Power, and Queer AAPI Voices appeared first on KPFA.

On Friday, May 08, 2026, Hudson Mohawk Magazine Network Roaming Labor Correspondent Willie Terry attended the "NYS Asian American and Pacific Islander Summit AI For All" at Albany Empire State Plaza. The New York State AAPI Summit is an annual landmark legislative event uniting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) legislators, community organizations, advocates, and activists from across New York. In this labor segment, part one of two, Willie had a chance to interview one of the participants, Dr. Henry Zhu, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist based in Brooklyn, NY. He is the founder of the private practice  Mind-Body Wellness and also practices as part of the clinician team at Behavioral Health of New York (BHNY).

On Friday, May 08, 2026, Hudson Mohawk Magazine Network Roaming Labor Correspondent Willie Terry attended the "NYS Asian American and Pacific Islander Summit AI For All" at Albany Empire State Plaza. The New York State AAPI Summit is an annual landmark legislative event uniting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) legislators, community organizations, advocates, and activists from across New York. In this labor segment, part two of two, Willie had a chance to interview one of the participants, Dr. Henry Zhu, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist based in Brooklyn, NY. He is the founder of the private practice  Mind-Body Wellness and also practices as part of the clinician team at Behavioral Health of New York (BHNY).

On this episode, we're very excited to welcome booktuber, and now published author, Cindy Pham to chat about her debut novel, The Secret World of Briar Rose, a sapphic dark retelling of the legend of sleeping beauty, following a jaded thief who, while searching for her missing sister, finds herself transported into the dream world of her fallen kingdom's slumbering princess. We chat with Cindy about the inspirations behind her debut, as well as how her experience reviewing books have prepared her to be on the other side as a published author.Follow Cindy on Instagram at @readwithcindy and check out her debut novel The Secret World of Briar Rose available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authorsSupport the Books & Boba Podcast by:Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merchFollow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebookThe Books & Boba May 2025 pick is Blob by Maggie SuThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast CollectiveMentioned in this episode:Don't miss an all AAPI production of HENRY VI: A Trilogy in Two Parts at The Public in NYCNAATCO returns to The Public with their production of Shakespeare's trilogy, HENRY VI: A TRILOGY IN TWO PARTS, adapted and directed by Stephen Brown-Fried. Condensed into two parts and performed in rep, experience this saga of a nation spinning wildly out of control. Part 1: Foreign Wars kicks off with the funeral of King Henry V, leaving his infant son on the throne and sending the country into decades of spiraling chaos both abroad and at home. Part 2: Civil Strife picks up nearly 30 years later, as nascent domestic feuds rapidly metastasize into the full-blown civil war known as the War of the Roses.Henry VI - The Public

On this episode we discuss our May 2026 pick is No-No Boy by John Okada, one of the earliest in the Asian American canon following the story of Ichiro Yamada who returns home to Seattle after serving 2 years in prison for refusing to serve in the military during the internment of Japanese Americans during World War 2. We're excited to dive into this Asian American classic from 1957, who's publication journey is just as interesting as the story itself.Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authorsSupport the Books & Boba Podcast by:Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merchFollow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebookThe Books & Boba June 2026 pick is The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi VoThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast CollectiveMentioned in this episode:Don't miss an all AAPI production of HENRY VI: A Trilogy in Two Parts at The Public in NYCNAATCO returns to The Public with their production of Shakespeare's trilogy, HENRY VI: A TRILOGY IN TWO PARTS, adapted and directed by Stephen Brown-Fried. Condensed into two parts and performed in rep, experience this saga of a nation spinning wildly out of control. Part 1: Foreign Wars kicks off with the funeral of King Henry V, leaving his infant son on the throne and sending the country into decades of spiraling chaos both abroad and at home. Part 2: Civil Strife picks up nearly 30 years later, as nascent domestic feuds rapidly metastasize into the full-blown civil war known as the War of the Roses.Henry VI - The Public

When you make your way to Boston and stop by the 1965 Freedom Plaza, near the Embrace statue, you'll find dozens of names etched in the tiles. Those names honor icons in Boston's history who may not be as well known, including Harry Hom Dow. He was known for breaking barriers in the legal world and through his civic life, and it was because of that work that Embrace Boston and Everyone250 chose to name this year's "Embrace Honors" after him. Nichole talks with one of the honorees, Suzanne Lee, President Emeritus of the Chinese Progressive Association, along with Embrace Boston's President and CEO, Imari Paris Jeffries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this update, I'm sharing a little of what's been on my heart lately — learning as a storyteller, creating space through 1:1 Career Sessions with aspiring professionals, and celebrating our AAPI community by spotlighting Antonio, founder of Silver Screen Club.Whether it's career, culture, or community, the goal is the same: use our stories to open doors, build connection, and remind people that their voice matters.Your story matters. Keep building. Enjoy!

Bebe Demure hosts Part 4 of Curly Bright's unprescedented special FOUR PART takeover of the WEView for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month; featuring a total of FOURTEEN FilAm entertainers talking representation, icons, colleagues, shows, backstage, and incoporporating their heritage into their burlesque, drag, and nightlife personas. Take a listen to the 14th session of "The WEView" panel discussion show featuring: BEBE DEMURE, your moderator in Roanoke, VA & soon to be Boston, MA: https://www.instagram.com/bebedemure/ | https://bebedemure.substack.com/  GRANDMAFUN, panelist in Nashville, TN: https://www.instagram.com/grandmafun/  JOY RIDER, panelist in Montreal: https://www.instagram.com/joyridermtl/ | https://www.joyriderburlesque.com/   SAFFRON SOLEIL, panelist in Richmond, VA: https://www.instagram.com/saffronsoleil/ | https://linktr.ee/saffronsoleil  Produced by Viktor Devonne for the WEBurlesque Podcast Network Want advice, submit a question for discusison, or get consensus if you're the asshole? Submit a letter from the audience: https://weburlesque.wordpress.com/the-weview/ Feedback and Curiosities: weburlesquepodcast@gmail.com  (this conversation was recorded on 3-29-2026)... all opinions are those of our guests; this is a production of WEBurlesque, executive produced by Viktor Devonne and guest co-produced by Curly Bright.)

As we wrap up Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, many in the diaspora will also be getting ready to vote, some for the first time. Next we'll hear from the younger generation. Ralph Leaño Atanacio works with AAPI Youth. They are a queer Filipinx immigrant, and the Co-Director of the South Bay Youth Changemakers. It's an organization that builds up Asian American youth voices by fostering leadership and increasing their civic participation.With so much happening in the Bay Area and the world, we wanted to know: what do the younger generations from this diaspora care about? And do they still see elections as the only medium for change? Crosscurrents host Hana Baba spoke with Atanacio and they begin by describing the issues that have become central to their conversations about the future.

On Wednesday's show: Ken Paxton will take on James Talarico for a U.S. Senate seat in November. And there was a surprise -- at least to some -- in the Democratic primary for Harris County Judge. We pore over those and other results from Tuesday's primary runoffs as we discuss the latest developments in politics.Also this hour: We learn about a new report that looks to the future of Fort Bend County, which could see a population above two million by the year 2050.And we talk with folks involved in this year's Haapifest, celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander films and filmmakers here in Houston. Watch

we took the most intense beginner ballet class in the world, we're trying to prevent alzheimers, and we're celebrating AAPI month! nami matcha ⭐️

we took the most intense beginner ballet class in the world, we're trying to prevent alzheimers, and we're celebrating AAPI month! nami matcha ⭐️

On this episode, we welcome author Vincent Yu to chat about his debut novel, Seek Immediate Shelter, which follows the stories of several members of a small town community in Massachusetts, who have to deal with the consequences of their impulsive actions when a faulty mass alert is sent our warning them of an imminent missile strike.Follow Vincent on Instagram at @vinyu12 and check out his debut novel Seek Immediate Shelter available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authorsSupport the Books & Boba Podcast by:Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merchFollow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebookThe Books & Boba May 2026 pick is No-No Boy by John OkadaThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast CollectiveMentioned in this episode:Don't miss an all AAPI production of HENRY VI: A Trilogy in Two Parts at The Public in NYCNAATCO returns to The Public with their production of Shakespeare's trilogy, HENRY VI: A TRILOGY IN TWO PARTS, adapted and directed by Stephen Brown-Fried. Condensed into two parts and performed in rep, experience this saga of a nation spinning wildly out of control. Part 1: Foreign Wars kicks off with the funeral of King Henry V, leaving his infant son on the throne and sending the country into decades of spiraling chaos both abroad and at home. Part 2: Civil Strife picks up nearly 30 years later, as nascent domestic feuds rapidly metastasize into the full-blown civil war known as the War of the Roses.Henry VI - The Public

AI search tools like ChatGPT and Google AI are changing how patients discover local wellness providers, but what does that actually mean for your acupuncture practice?In this episode, I'm joined again by website designer Samantha Mabe of Lemon & The Sea to talk about what's really working right now when it comes to showing up in AI-powered search results. We break down why strong SEO fundamentals still matter, how niche messaging helps both humans and AI understand your expertise, and what you can do right now to strengthen your local online presence without trying to “hack” the algorithm.We also discuss how AI evaluates trust, expertise, reviews, credentials, and consistency across your website and social platforms, plus why clear messaging matters more than ever.In this episode:Why SEO is still the foundation for showing up in AI search results How blog posts and conditions pages work together strategically What AI tools are actually looking for when recommending local practitionersFind It Quickly02:57 - Meet Samantha Mabe05:06 - SEO Still Matters10:34 - Blogging for AI Queries13:18 - Niche Messaging Wins17:13 - Conditions Pages vs Blogs21:06 - Trust Signals and Links24:57 - Local Listings Consistency27:47 - Test Your AI Presence33:25 - Social Proof and VideoConnect with Samantha MabeWebsite: lemonandthesea.comInstagram: instagram.com/lemonandthesea

February 24, 2020, started out like any other day for journalist and television anchor Dion Lim of San Francisco's ABC News. Planning her pitches for the morning's editorial meeting, she checked her Instagram account and saw a message from someone she didn't recognize. Attached was a horrifying video in which men were beating and yelling racist slurs at an elderly Asian man who had been collecting cans in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco. Lim felt compelled to investigate the story, help the man who “looked freakishly like my dad,” and bring the perpetrators to justice. Thus began Lim's four-years-and-counting quest to bring attention to the appalling rise of anti-Asian hate and violence in America, which she chronicles in her new book. Featuring an emotional foreword by actress and outspoken anti-Asian harassment advocate Olivia Munn, Amplify! My Fight for Asian America (from Third State Books) brings readers on an eye-opening journey alongside Lim, who has unwittingly become a national hero for her relentless fight for Asian American visibility. Through deeply personal anecdotes about her own life as a Chinese American, exclusive interviews with survivors, activists, and historians, and incisive historical context, she provides the very first book to tackle one of the biggest political and social controversies of this century from the perspective of the AAPI community. Come meet Lim and hear her story. See more Michelle Meow Show programs at Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a special AAPI Month program featuring prominent Bay Area Asian American elected officials. We'll hear from BART Board Director Janice Li, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, and San Mateo County Democratic Central Committee member Uma Rao Krishnan. What drives them in the ultra-competitive Bay Area political scene? What are their goals, and how do they go about achieving them? About the Speakers Janice Li was first elected to the BART Board of Directors in November 2018 and was re-elected in 2022. Li served as president of the Board in 2023, and as vice president in 2022. Janice was born in Hong Kong and moved to the U.S. at a young age. In 2013, Li moved to San Francisco and began working at the SF Bicycle Coalition. Li currently works at Chinese for Affirmative Action, a San Francisco-based organization that has led Asian American civil rights advocacy for over 50 years. She leads the Coalition for Community Safety and Justice, a local coalition that addresses hate and violence targeting Asian American and Pacific Islander communities through community-based programs. David Chiu is the city attorney of San Francisco, the first Asian American to lead one of the country's top municipal law offices. Previously, he represented the half million residents of eastern San Francisco as a State Assemblymember for seven years. For six years, Chiu served as president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Before holding elected office, he served as law clerk to Judge James R. Browning of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a civil rights attorney with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, a criminal prosecutor at the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, Democratic Counsel to the U.S. Senate Constitution Subcommittee, and general counsel to a public affairs technology company. A founding member of API Equality, he also served as president of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area.Uma Rao Krishnan is a Gen Z activist, organizer, and engineer bridging the worlds of technology and politics. She holds a B.A. in computer science with a minor in public policy from UC Berkeley and is currently pursuing her Master's in data science there, with a focus on the tech-civics intersection. Krishnan is the co-founder and president of the SMC AAPI Alliance, an organization dedicated to empowering San Mateo County's AAPI community in civic engagement and political action, most recently leading Prop 50 mobilization efforts and anti-Trump actions, including No Kings, where she has served as emcee. First elected as an ADEM delegate at just 21 years old and the highest vote-getter in county history, she has since been re-elected twice and also serves as a member of the San Mateo County Democratic Central Committee and board member of the California Democratic AAPI Caucus.    See more  Michelle Meow Show programs at Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Grace and Alvina have an odds and ends episode where for AAPI or AANHPI Month they discuss their Asian American identities and how that's affected their careers. Then they discuss a recent report on book banning from Pen America, and then special guest Alison Morris joins to discuss celebrating birthdays, and then Alison gives some book recommendations! They end as always with what they're grateful for. Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1.    Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bookfriendsforever_podcast    Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookfriendsforever_podcast/

Bebe Demure hosts Part 3 of Curly Bright's unprescedented special FOUR PART takeover of the WEView for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month; featuring a total of FOURTEEN FilAm entertainers talking representation, icons, colleagues, shows, backstage, and incoporporating their heritage into their burlesque, drag, and nightlife personas. Take a listen to the 13th session of "The WEView" panel discussion show featuring: BEBE DEMURE, your moderator in Roanoke, VA: https://www.instagram.com/bebedemure/ | https://bebedemure.substack.com/  LADY MABUHARY, panelist in New York City: https://www.instagram.com/ladymabuhay/ | https://www.facebook.com/ladymabuhayburlesque  MAJA JERA, panelist in Columbus, OH: https://www.instagram.com/majatheejera/ | https://linktr.ee/majajera  LECHE FLAN, panelist in Nashville, TN: https://www.instagram.com/vintagefilamglam/  | https://vintagefilamglam.carrd.co/  Produced by Viktor Devonne for the WEBurlesque Podcast Network Want advice, submit a question for discusison, or get consensus if you're the asshole? Submit a letter from the audience: https://weburlesque.wordpress.com/the-weview/ Feedback and Curiosities: weburlesquepodcast@gmail.com  (this conversation was recorded on 3-29-2026)... all opinions are those of our guests; this is a production of WEBurlesque, executive produced by Viktor Devonne and guest co-produced by Curly Bright.)

Victoria Lai has lived several careers in one lifetime: presidential appointee at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, entrepreneur, and now business advisor and nonprofit COO. But her biggest pivot came when she nurtured her passion for making ice cream on nights and weekends while working a serious government job. In this extra sweet episode, Victoria walks us through how a $25 Craigslist ice cream maker and a promise to herself led to Ice Cream Jubilee, the award-winning DC-area business celebrated by Food & Wine, the Washington Post, and Thrillist, and what it felt like to eventually sell the business she'd spent nearly a decade building. She also opens up about her family's Chinese immigrant history and how it shaped both her flavors and her sense of purpose, and why she considers her latest pivot back to mission-driven work the most fitting chapter yet. Chapters: 00:00.160 Welcome to She Pivots 00:28.360 Guest Introduction: Victoria Lai 01:58.160 Childhood Memories and Family Influences 06:57.320 The Path to Law School and Government Work 10:58.576 Finding Inspiration in New York City 13:02.754 The Birth of Ice Cream Jubilee 26:36.392 Taking the Leap: From Government to Ice Cream 32:46.677 "Ice cream-preneurship" 36:07.043 Achieving Success and Letting Go 39:02.320 A New Chapter: Coaching and Personal Growth 44:18.680 Closing Thoughts and Gratitude 44:40.626 Podcast Credits You can keep up with Ice Cream Jubilee at their website, www.icecreamjubilee.com Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration. She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success. Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates. She Pivots is proud to be an iheart podcast.Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Season 6, Episode 20! With Christina Baal Owens is a nationally recognized advocate and nonprofit leader dedicated to advancing racial and gender justice in the United States. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, where she leads efforts to uplift the voices and rights of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander women and gender-expansive people. Before joining NAPAWF, Christina built a career at the intersection of civil rights, labor, and strategic communications. She's held leadership roles in various organizations that have promoted equity and representation, including key positions at the Service Employees International Union, where she helped to elevate the voices of workers—particularly women and immigrants—in national policy conversations. At NAPAWF, she continues this work by championing issues such as reproductive justice, economic equity, immigration rights, and community safety. Christina is committed to ensuring that AAPI women are not only included in national conversations, but centered in shaping the policies that impact their lives. Enjoy the conversation! In our conversation, Christina shares how it feels moving from Interim Executive Director to the full-time Executive Director, what NAPAWF is prioritizing, some future issues they want to tackle, and so much more. You can learn more about NAPAWF by going to their website NAPAWF.org, following their Instagram @napawf, or reading some of their research. AND you can of course Donate to support them.  If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.

How a lingering ocean heatwave could affect our weather and sea life here in SoCal. UCLA has a new tool to teach Asian American and Pacific Islander history to Gen Z. And the labor activist Dolores Huerta is honored with a new mural in L.A. Support The L.A. Report by donating at LAist.com/join and by visiting https://laist.comSupport the show: https://laist.com

What does it actually mean to be seen—and to belong—without having to earn it, explain it, or change yourself just to be understood? That's the question at the center of this conversation with Eugene Yi, an Emmy-winning director known for powerful documentary work including Free Chol Soo Lee, The Rose: Come Back to Me, and his latest HBO film The A-List: 15 Stories from Asian and Pacific Diasporas. On the surface, The A-List brings together 15 voices across the Asian American and Pacific Islander community—Connie Chung, Sandra Oh, Bowen Yang, Kumail Nanjiani, alongside people you may not know yet, but should. But this is not a celebrity documentary. It's intimate by design: no performance—just people speaking honestly. A story rooted in AAPI identity, diaspora, and lived experience. And what stands out is that even these leaders and public figures have felt like they didn't belong in the rooms they were in. This is a universal challenge. People trying to find their place.People trying to be understood. And what you see in this film is a community of people who have felt unseen—realizing those shared experiences don't just connect us, they strengthen what community actually is. If you've ever felt unseen, you're not understood or need to change everything you are to belong. This conversation on REPPIN will help you feel less alone in that experience, and see it differently. Full Conversation here: https://open.spotify.com/show/1tq2vuZiWLvhmTMaaWX2w8 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we're celebrating AAPI month and the recent Drama Desk nominations with guest Maria-Christina Oliveras. "MCO" was just nominated for her current performance in the new Tony-nominated play THE BALUSTERS, but long before that, she was part of the original team that created the groundbreaking musical HERE LIES LOVE. This listener request musical is an unusual piece created by "capital A" artist David Byrne that tells the story of the famous Filipina dictator, Imelda Marcos. Tune in this week to learn a little about the political history of the Philippines, the United States' possible influence on the Marcos regime, and how creating a disco musical about it all started in a basement. Be sure to catch Maria-Christina in THE BALUSTERS on Broadway until June 7th! You can also follow her on Instagram at @mcoliveras. If you enjoyed this episode, check out another one featuring more innovative theatre that found its way to Broadway: PASSING STRANGE with Todd Underwood. Join us on ⁠⁠PATREON!⁠⁠ for bonus episodes and conversations while supporting the show for only a few dollars each month! Share our posts and videos on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠. If you're feeling like giving back, check out our ⁠⁠TeePublic Store⁠⁠. The profits we receive are donated to ⁠⁠Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS⁠⁠. More than anything, thank you for being part of this wonderful podcasting community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest on all the celebrity gossip headlines in 'The Scoop.' Also, Sophia Bush on her new film 'Broad Trip.' Plus, celebrating AAPI month with a woman's viral adoption story. And, what causes brain fog and how to keep your brain healthy.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to Season 6, Episode 19! Our guest today is Sruthi Chandrasekaran. She serves as The Asian American Foundation's Director of Data and Research. She leads strategy development and implementation for the Data and Research team and targeted studies that identify and address the needs of the AAPI community.  The Asian American Foundation, or TAAF, is the leading organization advancing safety, belonging, and prosperity for the AAPI community. Through groundbreaking programs, essential research, and cross-sector partnerships, TAAF addresses our community's most persistent challenges. We love their vision which states, "An America where opportunities to participate in all aspects of society are equally accessible, and individuals and communities are not rendered invisible, nor singled out for false stereotypes, discrimination, or hate on the basis of race."  On May 1st, TAAF released the sixth edition of the Social Tracking of Asian Americans in the U.S. Index, AKA the STAATUS Index. This year's STAATUS Index was created with the collaboration of NORC at the University of Chicago. In this essential study, they examine how Americans view AAPI communities and how AAPIs understand their own place in the country. To learn more about TAAF, you can visit their website https://taaf.org/, download the STAATUS Index, visit their AAPI History Hub for great educational resources, follow them on Instagram @taaforg, or donate to support their work. Enjoy the conversation. If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.  

Meet Cute and Manta Present: I've Become A True Villainess - Part 6. Original story by Flowing honEy. After she wakes up trapped in the body of a story's villain, one woman fights to escape her tragic ending. Based on the hit Manta webcomic, I'VE BECOME A TRUE VILLAINESS stars Rebecca Rose, Shogo Miyakita, Suzie Rai, and Hao Feng, in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month. The magicians attack Seria and she might not have enough power to fend them off. Then Rouche arrives. Story by Orin Calcagne. Directed and Produced by Liz Fields. Sound Editing and Design by Eliot Krimsky. Story Editor: Amarlie Foster. SVP, Production: Lucie Ledbetter. Starring: Rebecca Rose, Shogo Miyakita, Hao Feng, Suzie Rai, Allen Enlow, Katie Flamman, Jimmie Yamaguchi, Kenny Wong.Enjoying I've Become A True Villainess? Get even more of Seria and Rouche with the full story, available only on Manta. Follow @MeetCute on Instagram and @MeetCuteRomComs on Twitter & TikTok.Check out our other rom-coms, including KERRI with Pauline Chalamet, IMPERFECT MATCH with Arden Cho, and DUMP HIM! with Minnie Mills. Check out our other dramas, including FIRE & ICE with Chiara Aurelia and Jack Martin, and POWER TEN.  Check out our other fantasies, including A PROPHECY OF INCENSE AND SNOW and I'VE BECOME A TRUE VILLAINESS. Have a crush on us? Follow Meet Cute, rate us 5 stars, and leave a review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Book Lounge by Libby, Joe is joined by Jananie K. Velu of thisstoryaintover to celebrate AAPI Month with a stack of incredible Asian lit you'll want to add to your TBR immediately.  Together, they dive into a wide range of must-read books highlighting stories that span genres, perspectives, and lived experiences. From deeply personal narratives to sweeping, unforgettable storytelling, this conversation is all about discovering books that stay with you and expanding your reading list to celebrate these voices all year long.  Whether you're looking to build out your AAPI Month reading list, discover new favorite authors, or simply find your next great read, this episode is packed with recommendations that bring heart, perspective, and unforgettable storytelling.  Looking for the video version of our show? Check out the Libby App YouTube channel!  Link to our full book list:  Find all the books mentioned in Season 3 on Libby Life!  Book recommendations:  Jananie's Picks:  We Dance Upon Demons - Vaishnavi Patel  Burn the Sea - Mona Tewari  Capitalists Must Starve - Park Seolyeon  Natural Beauty & Immaculate Conception - Ling Ling Huang  Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead - Mai Nguyen  A Kiss of Crimson Ash - Anuja Varghese  Breasts and Eggs – Mieko Kawakami  Tall Water – SJ Sindu  Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop - Hwang Bo-reum   Joe's Picks:  Counterattacks at Thirty & Almond – Won-Pyung Sohn  Séance Tea Party – Reimena Yee  What You Are Looking For is in the Library – Michiko Aoyama  The Midnight Taxi – Yosha Gunasekera  Convenience Store Woman & Earthlings - Sayaka Murata  Detective Aunty & Moonlight Murder - Uzma Jalaluddin  Shoutout: Strange Pictures, Strange Houses & Strange Buildings - Uketsu  Who's in this episode:  Jananie K. Velu - Links  Time stamps: 00:00:00 Title 00:00:23 Intro 00:01:06 Catching up with Jananie K. Velu! 00:02:20 What are Jananie's guiding lights when choosing for her imprint 00:03:57 Starting the reading recs 01:03:46 Outro   Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today's episode in Libby. Library friends can add these titles to their digital collections for free in OverDrive Marketplace and Kanopy. Check out our Cumulative List for the whole season, or this list for today's episode!  Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!  We hope you enjoy this episode of Book Lounge by Libby. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can watch the video version of our show on the Libby App YouTube channel. Keep up with us on social media by following the Libby App on Instagram!   Want to reach out? Send an email to bookloungebylibby@overdrive.com. Want some cool bookish swag? Check out our merch store at: http://plotthreadsshop.com/booklounge!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Outer Country, a debut novel from Davin Malasarn, follows multiple generations of a family split between Thailand and the United States. Malasarn drew from his own life for its story, including an experience of conversion therapy when a monk is called to perform an exorcism on a young boy exhibiting effeminate traits. Malasarn joins us. Cover art courtesy of the publisher

Jiyoung Han's debut novel Honey in the Wound follows multiple generations of women with magical gifts in early 20th century Korea, against the violence and oppression of Japanese control. Han joins us. Cover art courtesy of Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster

The characters of The Memory Museum, the debut short story collection from M Lin, are millennial Chinese women in their home country and among the global diaspora, whose stories reflect experiences of contemporary China and migration from the present day to the near future. M Lin discusses her debut. Cover art courtesy of the publisher

Meet Cute and Manta Present: I've Become A True Villainess - Part 5. Original story by Flowing honEy. After she wakes up trapped in the body of a story's villain, one woman fights to escape her tragic ending. Based on the hit Manta webcomic, I'VE BECOME A TRUE VILLAINESS stars Rebecca Rose, Shogo Miyakita, Suzie Rai, and Hao Feng, in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month. Seria is at Laurel Manor with Rouche and things are heating up between them. For one thing, they're sharing sleeping quarters. Magicians arrive to Laurel Manor to rid it of its demonic energy. Story by Orin Calcagne. Directed and Produced by Liz Fields. Sound Editing and Design by Eliot Krimsky. Story Editor: Amarlie Foster. SVP, Production: Lucie Ledbetter. Starring: Rebecca Rose, Shogo Miyakita, Allen Enlow, Jimmie Yamaguchi, Kenny Wong. Enjoying I've Become A True Villainess? Get even more of Seria and Rouche with the full story, available only on Manta. Follow @MeetCute on Instagram and @MeetCuteRomComs on Twitter & TikTok.Check out our other rom-coms, including KERRI with Pauline Chalamet, IMPERFECT MATCH with Arden Cho, and DUMP HIM! with Minnie Mills. Check out our other dramas, including FIRE & ICE with Chiara Aurelia and Jack Martin, and POWER TEN.  Check out our other fantasies, including A PROPHECY OF INCENSE AND SNOW and I'VE BECOME A TRUE VILLAINESS. Have a crush on us? Follow Meet Cute, rate us 5 stars, and leave a review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Cute and Manta Present: I've Become A True Villainess - Part 4. Original story by Flowing honEy. After she wakes up trapped in the body of a story's villain, one woman fights to escape her tragic ending. Based on the hit Manta webcomic, I'VE BECOME A TRUE VILLAINESS stars Rebecca Rose, Shogo Miyakita, Suzie Rai, and Hao Feng, in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month. Lina corners Seria on the Archduchess's terrace, then is swallowed by the moon! Callis accuses Seria of hurting Lina.Story by Orin Calcagne. Directed and Produced by Liz Fields. Sound Editing and Design by Eliot Krimsky. Story Editor: Amarlie Foster. SVP, Production: Lucie Ledbetter. Starring: Rebecca Rose, Shogo Miyakita, Hao Feng, Suzie Rai, Ainsleigh Barber, Allen Enlow, Katie Flamman, Kenny Wong.Enjoying I've Become A True Villainess? Get even more of Seria and Rouche with the full story, available only on Manta. Follow @MeetCute on Instagram and @MeetCuteRomComs on Twitter & TikTok.Check out our other rom-coms, including KERRI with Pauline Chalamet, IMPERFECT MATCH with Arden Cho, and DUMP HIM! with Minnie Mills. Check out our other dramas, including FIRE & ICE with Chiara Aurelia and Jack Martin, and POWER TEN.  Check out our other fantasies, including A PROPHECY OF INCENSE AND SNOW and I'VE BECOME A TRUE VILLAINESS. Have a crush on us? Follow Meet Cute, rate us 5 stars, and leave a review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Cute and Manta Present: I've Become A True Villainess - Part 3. Original story by Flowing honEy. After she wakes up trapped in the body of a story's villain, one woman fights to escape her tragic ending. Based on the hit Manta webcomic, I'VE BECOME A TRUE VILLAINESS stars Rebecca Rose, Shogo Miyakita, Suzie Rai, and Hao Feng, in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month. Callis wants Seria back, even though he's married to Lina! He swears he'll get a divorce. Seria and Rouche attend the wedding feast as a couple… is Seria getting butterflies for Rouche? But this wasn't in the original story! Story by Orin Calcagne. Directed and Produced by Liz Fields. Sound Editing and Design by Eliot Krimsky. Story Editor: Amarlie Foster. SVP, Production: Lucie Ledbetter. Starring: Rebecca Rose, Shogo Miyakita, Hao Feng, Suzie Rai, Ainsleigh Barber, Allen Enlow, Katie Flamman, Kenny Wong.Enjoying I've Become A True Villainess? Get even more of Seria and Rouche with the full story, available only on Manta. Follow @MeetCute on Instagram and @MeetCuteRomComs on Twitter & TikTok.Check out our other rom-coms, including KERRI with Pauline Chalamet, IMPERFECT MATCH with Arden Cho, and DUMP HIM! with Minnie Mills. Check out our other dramas, including FIRE & ICE with Chiara Aurelia and Jack Martin, and POWER TEN.  Check out our other fantasies, including A PROPHECY OF INCENSE AND SNOW and I'VE BECOME A TRUE VILLAINESS. Have a crush on us? Follow Meet Cute, rate us 5 stars, and leave a review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices