Podcasts about asians

There are shit bags in every nation, race, continent, neighborhood..........   They come in every shape, size, and form.    I know a lot of good Asians, Blacks, Mexicans, Africans.......Europeans.....   I know the good and bad in every sector represented in the human race.    They're everywhere.    One thing I can tell you is, you can't group everyone into one category just because one of them has made mistakes or became a bad example for their people.    We can't lump people together in anything.    Operating with absolutes.    It cripples us as a whole.    What I can tell you is, we do have a responsibility to call people out of every race, creed, color, etc.    As the human race, we have to make clear the directions of what's acceptable and not acceptable in society.    So, the next time you hear someone of a certain race, color or creed did something fucked up, just know there's a counter balance in existence.    One person does not have the power or authority to represent one whole population or segment of people.    Keep it light and do right, no matter the shades of good and bad.    About the ReWire Podcast The ReWire Podcast with Ryan Stewman – Dive into powerful insights as Ryan Stewman, the HardCore Closer, breaks down mental barriers and shares actionable steps to rewire your thoughts. Each episode is a fast-paced journey designed to reshape your mindset, align your actions, and guide you toward becoming the best version of yourself. Join in for a daily dose of real talk that empowers you to embrace change and unlock your full potential.    Learn how you can become a member of a powerful community consistently rewiring itself for success at https://www.jointheapex.com/   Rise Above

Join Lia and Megan as they recount Chicago and LA stops of Arirang and discuss I Heart Radio. The North American chapter of the 2026 BTS Tour has come to a close but the memories are life-changing. This isn't goodbye, it's see you laterAnd remember--keep listening to Arirang top to bottom on your favorite streaming platform! And Come Over is now out on all platforms. Make sure to grab your copy on the iTunes Store. Also don't snooze on Normal! Watch, like, comment on the music video and add it to your playlists.Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Check out our sister pod www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness. And don't forget about the newest members of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas.Want to find more great BTS content? Head over to Afternoona Army for more takes on Bangtan life and links to our social media.

Today we review No Other Choice, a Park Chan-Wook (Old Boy) directed dark comedy movie about a fired paper company employee played by Lee Byung Hun. It's weird. It's creepy. Do we recommend it? Listen to find out!Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession. Check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness.And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas.Last but CERTAINLY not least....love BTS? Or curious what all the fuss is about? Check out our sister pod Afternoona Army for takes on Bangtan life.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In 2016, Singapore declared a War on Diabetes. This BRAVE compilation looks at what the Singapore blueprint gets right on health and public policy, and what that stability may cost in entrepreneurial drive. Dr. Sue-Anne Toh of NOVI Health explains TOFI (thin outside, fat inside), why Asians develop diabetes at lower BMI, and how insulin resistance works. Adriel Yong of Clouted lays out the efficiency paradox: when public services work this well, fewer people grow up as problem solvers, and state ownership leaves few business families to build on. Dr. Joshua Wang of VerImmune covers why cancer is detected too late, why new therapies are tested on late-stage patients first, and how diabetes went from a death sentence to a chronic disease. Watch the full episodes: Navigating the Longevity Market | Dr. Sue-Anne Toh - E718 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP0L_qhSRJA  Singapore Works Too Well To Be A Great Startup Hub? | Adriel Yong - E705 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOimzcac29w  Joshua Wang: Reprogramming Cancer, Biotech's Funding Shift & Why AI Will Rewrite Biology – E628 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roXPyXASiRk  Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/singapore-health-policy  BRAVE is Southeast Asia's leading tech podcast, hosted by Jeremy Au. Honest conversations with the region's top founders, investors, and operators on building startups in Southeast Asia. New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one. Listen & Subscribe YouTube (English), YouTube (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (English), Spotify (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (Chinese), Spotify (Vietnamese), Apple Podcasts Follow BRAVE LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp Follow Jeremy Au LinkedIn, X / Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Twitch Resources Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com #Singapore #Healthcare #SoutheastAsia #PublicHealth #Diabetes #WarOnDiabetes #HealthPolicy #Longevity #Biotech #Cancer #Immunotherapy #Startups #SingaporeStartups #VentureCapital #Founders #Entrepreneurship #SEAstartups #TechPodcast #BRAVEsea 00:00 Intro 01:02 Dr. Sue-Anne Toh: Singapore's War on Diabetes 01:47 TOFI: thin outside, fat inside 03:38 Insulin resistance and the pancreas "factory" 06:43 AI, manual labor and the WALL-E future 08:28 Adriel Yong: the Efficiency Paradox 10:04 Temasek, GLCs and the missing business families 11:39 Focus or numbing? HF0 and founder distraction 14:21 Why swing for a billion? 16:12 Dr. Joshua Wang: therapeutic, not preventative 18:36 Why cancer is detected too late 21:27 From death sentence to chronic disease 22:55 Outro

In Dearborn, video circulated showing a group of Black men confronting a Muslim community representative after Arab men allegedly menaced a Black woman, stole her purse, and damaged her car.The men didn't arrive with diversity consultants.There was no PowerPoint presentation titled Building Bridges Through Intentional Listening. Nobody passed around a talking stick. These men delivered a much older message:You don't disrespect one of ours.[X] SB – Detroit Blacks v Muslims 1They put on notice.We still piss.I've been trying to be cool…Disrespect…yo cultureThey challenged the men allegedly responsible to come forward. They talked about holding a block party in that neighborhood. Their point was unmistakable: Black people were not going to be intimidated, displaced, or instructed to accept disrespect in the name of somebody else's culture.But this may be about more than defending one woman.This could expose a fault line inside the Left's political coalition.For decades, Democrats have treated Black Americans, Muslims, immigrants, feminists, Hispanics, Asians, and practically every other designated minority as members of one permanent political family. They call it a coalition. Kevin Jackson has been called, the "white-collar" Joe Rogan. Given their similar backgrounds in TV, comedy, and martial arts, it's easy to see why people enjoy Kevin's show so much. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sad world waiting. Converse ad. Kaepernick. NY gender protest. The View, Sunny Hostin: Clancy. Pearl! WH blocks media. Insanity defense? Walmart worker attack. NFL "God" fine.

Your noonas will be continuing to watch the C-Drama, Pursuit of Jade, for the next several days/weeks/months, but we are VERY much looking forward to K-Dramas dropping in September. Join us for a Smash or Pass episode where we review dramas dropping this week and whether or not we're adding them to our list. But first, we kick things off by exploring the endless sea of quintuple stacked screen snips on Lia's desktop. Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession. Check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness.And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas.Last but CERTAINLY not least....love BTS? Or curious what all the fuss is about? Check out our sister pod Afternoona Army for takes on Bangtan life.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Last time we spoke about the beginning of the Malayan Campaign. In December 1941, Japan invaded British Malaya, aiming to cripple Allied power. Despite British defenses, General Yamashita's battle-hardened 25th Army overwhelmed them. The British fumbled early, failing to strike Japanese beachheads, while the sinking of Force Z left Malaya without naval protection. At Jitra, the absence of tanks proved devastating for the Indian defenders. Yamashita employed blitzkrieg tactics, using tanks and bicycles to exploit the terrain. The British, spread thin and under-resourced, retreated south, facing constant attacks and encirclements. The evacuation of Penang further demoralized the Allies, with locals turning against their colonial rulers.   #220 The Malayan Campaign Part 2: The Collapse of Johore Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War.   While British forces retreated southward in disarray, a different response was taking shape within the local Chinese population. Ethnic Chinese volunteers, motivated by decades of Japanese aggression in Asia and the brutality of Japan's ongoing war in China, began organizing into military formations to resist where the British colonial administration was failing. These volunteers lacked the resources of official forces, but they possessed something the dwindling British garrisons did not: deep roots in Malayan territory and an existential stake in defeating the Japanese. As British commanders abandoned town after town, Chinese resistance fighters prepared to stay and fight.   Despite acts of heroism, such as at Kampar, the Japanese advanced relentlessly. The defenders prepared a new line of defense at Trolak, five miles north of Slim River. Reinforcements arrived, and the 45th Brigade was dispatched to repel the enemy's advance on Kuala Selangor. General Paris established a new defensive line at the Slim River, approximately 50 miles north of Kuala Lumpur. Though the river presented a significant anti-tank obstacle with its consistent 200-yard width, insufficient troop numbers prevented complete coverage. The next delaying action was staged at Trolak, a narrow point 9 miles north of the river. Paris positioned Lieutenant Colonel Ian Stewart's depleted 12th Brigade in the forward constricted area, the 28th Brigade to cover the road and railway, and the 15th Brigade in reserve at Tanjong Malim. This represented a defense-in-depth strategy. Stewart deployed his battalions strategically, but the forward commander, Lieutenant Colonel Wilson Haffenden, was wounded in an air attack shortly after taking position. Japanese fighters exploited the predictable concentration of defenders along the narrow road, attacking with impunity against limited anti-aircraft defenses. The forward battalion's role was to serve as a tripwire, alerting the brigade to large-scale attacks and delaying the Japanese advance. A critical weakness was the inadequate deployment of artillery. Only eight 25-pounder guns were positioned forward, while over sixteen were kept further back for safer withdrawal across the river. The forward defenses also lacked mines and anti-tank guns, though these were available to the supporting battalion. By this point, the campaign had drained morale—troops were exhausted, underfed, unwashed, and sleep-deprived from constant movement, aerial attacks, and minimal time for proper defensive construction. A Tamil laborer reported seeing at least 80 "tanks" in a nearby village. British officers dismissed the report, mistakenly assuming he confused trucks for tanks. The men remained unaware of the imminent danger. The Japanese initiated minor probes along the railway that morning, repelled by artillery fire with approximately 60 enemy dead. The remainder of the day was quiet. Stewart requested 48 hours' rest for his exhausted men. Paris agreed and sent divisional reserves to positions south of Trolak. Ninety minutes after they arrived, the Japanese attacked. Major Hajime Shimada commanded approximately 30 Type 95 tanks and 10 light tanks, plus trucks carrying infantry. After setbacks at Kampar, Shimada convinced his superiors to permit a night armored assault—uncommon in World War II but calculated as a worthwhile risk given the narrow defensive front where artillery could devastate his concentrated force. At 3 a.m. on January 7th, heavy rain fell. Defenders in foxholes along the jungle road heard gunfire at dusk, indicating Japanese attempts to pinpoint positions. At 3:30 a.m., Japanese mortars and artillery shells opened fire. Fifteen minutes later, Japanese infantry within 300 yards attempted to breach barbed wire obstacles. At 4 a.m., tanks arrived, their yellow tracer rounds causing widespread panic. The forward anti-tank gun remained silent, its crew possibly dead or fled. Defenders retreated in chaos. At 4:30 a.m., one of Shimada's tanks detonated an anti-tank mine. The tank behind was disabled by a Boys anti-tank rifle. Punjabi defenders on high ground began launching Molotov cocktails against the vehicles. Shimada's plan backfired. His immobilized armored column became vulnerable to artillery fire, illuminated by the burning Molotov cocktails. The tanks lacked radios; commanders opened hatches to shout orders, exposing themselves to grenades. Ironically, the Molotov fires revealed escape routes, and Shimada's force managed to break through. The opportunity to destroy the entire column was lost, possibly due to the newly arrived reinforcements failing to establish telephone lines for directing artillery fire. By 6 a.m., most Japanese tanks had advanced, mopping up infantry. The leading tanks were halted again by another anti-tank mine. Molotov cocktails were deployed, and two anti-tank guns engaged, destroying one tank. But the crews soon fell silent, possibly unnerved by advancing Japanese infantry. By 7 a.m., organized resistance collapsed, and defenders fled the Trolak area. In the central sector, Captain Kenneth McLeod watched turbaned soldiers stream past: "I stood there like a traffic officer to whom no one pays any attention." Roadblocks were hastily established as commanders attempted to prepare bridge demolition charges. The first four tanks appeared in the remaining darkness, easily overcoming initial roadblocks. The second defensive line included armored cars and Boys rifles. One tank was set ablaze by Molotov cocktail and immobilized by a Boys shot. The armored cars were hit and disabled. Defenders heroically pushed the damaged vehicles to the southern end of the Trolak bridge to delay the Japanese before destroying it around 6:30 p.m. Many Japanese forces bypassed this sector, attempting to encircle fleeing defenders before they reached the Slim River. Tank ambushes along roadways forced many into the jungle. Second Lieutenant Ian Primrose was knocked unconscious during an ambush. Upon regaining consciousness, he discovered Japanese soldiers taking prisoners and segregating the wounded. Primrose recalled: "Everybody had heard the stories about Japanese atrocities in China, but that was Asians dealing with Asians. We never expected this sort of thing to happen to us." Afterwards, surviving prisoners were forced to dig graves for the murdered and carry wounded Japanese soldiers. En route south of Trolak, Paris's reinforcements approached with ammunition and heavy weapons. Shimada's vanguard, led by 2nd Lieutenant Sadanobu Watanabe, ambushed the approaching vehicles. The first two companies—approximately 250 men—were decimated. Watanabe pushed on. Near the Slim River, his tanks attacked the Gurkha brigade's headquarters. Captain Tom Mooney, rather than seeking cover, "drew his .455 revolver, stood his ground and fired upon the tanks until he was shot dead." Watanabe's objective was seizing the Slim road bridge. He encountered Gurkha forces, many young recruits. Major Winkfield recalled: "The next thing I knew a machine-gun blazed in my ear; a bullet grazed my leg and I dived into the ditch as a tank bore down on me. It had passed through half my battalion without my realizing that anything was amiss." The casualties were severe. Colonel Fulton was wounded and later died in captivity. At his headquarters in Tanjong Malim, Archibald Paris remained unaware of the rapid collapse. Two hours after the Japanese attack, intelligence ceased. Reports of enemy breakthroughs surfaced. Paris dispatched Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Harrison to investigate. Harrison recalled: "The next thing I knew was a deafening volley as machine gun bullets shattered my windscreen. I wrenched the wheel hard to starboard, crashed into the ditch, opened the door, leapt out and ran like hell over 50 yards of open ground to flimsy security of some scattered rubber." Behind him, his driver Ghulam, holding a wounded shoulder, asked in bewilderment: "Are those our armored cars, Sahib?" Watanabe continued his advance, killing Lieutenant Colonel Charles Holme, and reached the bridge, defended by Bofors gunners and Hong Kong Artillery men. Their anti-tank guns, using air-burst ammunition, proved ineffective against the Type 95's armor. The gunners fled. Watanabe, injured, remained on the bridge, cutting the wires to the demolition charges. Ensign Toichero Sato led three tanks south of the river toward Tanjong Malim, killing Colonel Augustus Murdoch. A Japanese soldier later remarked of Sato: "He died in an officer-like manner, with his hand on the hilt of his service sword." Tsuji, visiting the wreck, observed: "Sato had collapsed beside his gun like a dish of ame." Harrison, reflecting on the experience in his unpublished history of the 11th Division, could not conceal his admiration for the Japanese: "Heedless of danger and of their isolation they had shattered the division; they had captured the Slim bridge by their reckless and gallant determination." The Battle of Slim River represented a catastrophic collapse of British defenses. In a single night of audacious tank assault, Yamashita's forces had shattered the 11th Indian Division, secured a critical crossing, and opened the road to Singapore. The campaign's southern phase had begun.   As British formations collapsed at Slim River and scattered across northern Malaya, Dalforce—the Chinese volunteer army officially formed on December 25th—was already seeing combat. This 4,000-strong unit, hastily organized under Lieutenant Colonel John Dalley and comprised predominantly of ethnic Chinese recruits, had begun operations despite severe handicaps. Many fighters carried sporting rifles rather than military-grade weapons; critical supply shipments had been lost when the SS Empress of Asia sank. Yet they fought. Dalforce members, drawn from Chinese communities throughout Malaya and Singapore, were motivated by more than military duty. Japanese forces had invaded China in 1937, and the brutality of that occupation—massacres, forced labor, cultural suppression—was well known to these volunteers. Many had family connections to China and viewed the Japanese invasion of Malaya as an extension of the same imperial aggression. Unlike British forces, which operated under colonial orders, Chinese volunteers fought for their own survival and that of their communities. Their involvement during this phase remained largely in supporting roles and guerrilla actions, as Dalforce units engaged Japanese forces in skirmishes and ambushes across the peninsula. Though initially integrated with British command structures, their effectiveness and commitment stood in sharp contrast to the demoralization gripping the official military hierarchy. While British brigades were fragmenting and retreating in confusion, Chinese resistance fighters demonstrated the kind of stubborn determination that would characterize their struggle throughout the coming Japanese occupation. General Sir Archibald Wavell arrived in Singapore on January 7th as Percival's forces were collapsing at Slim River. Wavell carried considerable prestige. Despite his mixed record against Rommel in North Africa, even the Desert Fox himself rated Wavell highly. Auchinleck, Wavell's replacement in the Middle East, later wrote of him: "In no sense do I wish to infer that I found an unsatisfactory situation on my arrival—far from it. Not only was I greatly impressed by the solid foundations laid by my predecessor, but I was also able the better to appreciate the vastness of the problems with which he had been confronted and the greatness of his achievements, in a command in which some 40 different languages are spoken by the British and allied forces." Churchill had relieved Wavell in June following failed operations, and he was subsequently appointed commander in chief of ABDACOM (American, British, Dutch, Australian Command) for the Far East. Upon landing, Wavell assumed control of the British Far East Command and immediately traveled to Rasa to assess the situation. He encountered Brigadiers Stewart and Selby—the men responsible for defending Trolak and Slim River. Wavell recalled: "I have never seen two men look so tired." The scale of the catastrophe became apparent. Stewart's 12th Brigade, once formidable, could muster only 430 officers and men—roughly one-sixth its original strength, with barely 200 armed troops fit for combat. Selby's 28th Brigade fared slightly better at 750 men. The sight shocked Wavell, and he immediately suspected serious command failures under Percival. What Wavell did not know was that Percival had already decided to abandon central Malaya forty-eight hours before the Japanese reached Slim Bridge. This strategic decision, however, was proving catastrophic in execution. Wavell quickly grasped that Johor—the last state before Singapore—would be decisive. He needed to buy time for reinforcements and reorganize the scattered forces into defensible positions. Wavell appointed the 8th Australian Division under Major General Gordon Bennett to defend northwestern Johor, while Indian forces took responsibility for southern and northeastern Johor. Bennett, however, was frustrated by the defensive posture. The plan involved retreating 140 miles and abandoning key terrain to establish a new line in northern Johor, bolstered by incoming East Anglian Territorials. Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Harrison, who had narrowly escaped Japanese tanks at Tanjong Malim, later wrote that he "could not conceal his admiration for the men who almost killed him." Japanese officer Mustaph Ghulam observed their "heedless of danger and of their isolation they had shattered the division; they had captured the Slim bridge by their reckless and gallant determination." Even Stewart acknowledged mistakes: "I am rightly criticised for the location of Brigade Headquarters, and for not using the Field Artillery in an anti-tank role...It is no excuse, but I had never taken part in an exercise embodying a coordinated anti-tank defence or this type of attack. The use of tanks on a road at night was a surprise." Wavell intervened decisively in the dispute between Percival and Bennett. Accepting the withdrawal to Johor, he overruled Percival's reluctance to commit the Australians to the threatened western coast. As Bennett put it, they were "going into bat, we must take certain risks on the east coast temporarily in order to organize a good defense on the western side which is immediately threatened." Wavell reorganized Bennett's forces into Westforce, positioning them to counter Yamashita's inevitable coastal advance. Westforce dug in along the Muar River to buy time for Indian forces to reorganize. As the British retreated, they employed scorched earth tactics—burning rubber factories, mines, and fuel stocks. Percival acknowledged the cost to British prestige: "Pillars of smoke and flame rose into the sky as rubber factories, mine machinery, petrol and oil stocks were denied. Small wonder that British prestige sank to a very low ebb among the population." Booby traps inflicted additional casualties on the pursuing Japanese. The 5th Army advanced toward Gemas, where Captain Jack Duffy's engineers prepared a devastating surprise. When the bridge over the Gemensah River exploded, Duffy recalled the chaos: "Japanese bodies, bicycles, timber, rocks and earth flew far and wide in a huge red flash leaving a gaping space where the bridge had been." The 8th Australian Division's ambush mauled the Japanese column. Lieutenant Colonel Frederick "Black Jack" Galleghan held the position, his anti-tank gunners methodically dismantling enemy armor. Sergeant Kenneth Harrison, commanding a 2-pounder, described the grim ballet of tank warfare: "These burst on contact and the flash enabled me to see where we were hitting, and to adjust the sights accordingly. Eventually our infantry sent a message, 'Tank destroyed. Save ammunition.' It lay there with men crawling out like wood bugs from a burning log." After inflicting heavy losses, Harrison and his partner reflected on the moment: "we wave back rather lamely, but that was without doubt the proudest moment either of us will ever know." After 24 brutal hours, Galleghan withdrew. Tsuji, observing the Australians' ferocity, wrote they "fought with a bravery we had not previously seen." Fresh reinforcements—including the 53rd Infantry Brigade—arrived in Singapore, kindling hope that momentum might shift. Yet south of Gemas at Muar, Brigadier Horatio Duncan's 45th Brigade faced Japan's elite: Nishimura's Konoye Imperial Guards Division. The disparity was stark. By January 16th, Muar fell. Lieutenant Colonel John Williams, leading a Jat battalion of teenage recruits, was caught in a Japanese encirclement after being bypassed upstream. He was beheaded by a Japanese officer wielding a katana. On January 17th, Australian reinforcements under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Anderson arrived to stiffen the line at Bakri, but the situation remained precarious. As Duncan's brigade retreated, Percival grasped the threat: the Imperial Guards had become the spearhead. He committed Anderson's 19th Battalion to hold the door open while the 53rd Brigade deployed immediately into combat. One Australian officer, watching newly arrived British soldiers take up positions, noted their shock: "they were a fine body of men but almost dazed by the position in which they found themselves." The contrast was stark—while Australians fought for their lives, a British officer was reportedly heard discussing getting "the officers mess going." At Bakri, the air attacks became horrifying. Lieutenant Ben Hackney witnessed devastation that defied quick description: "just beside the road a naked waist with two twisted legs lay about two yards from a scarred bleeding head with a neck, half a chest and one arm." Gunner Russell Brandon saw their best soldier fall: "the black bastard was dead, our best soldier had not survived and we were now surrounded." The Imperial Guards attacked from multiple directions, tightening their encirclement. Malaya's situation had become critical. The defenders faced a dire situation. Muar had fallen with heavy losses to the 45th Indian Brigade, forcing a disheartening retreat. The Australians were driven from Gemas, and remnants of both forces regrouped at Bakri, establishing a defensive perimeter as Japanese forces converged. Nearly all of Duncan's officer staff had been killed in an aerial attack. The newly arrived 53rd Brigade—the 5th & 6th Norfolks and 2nd Cambridgeshires, fresh from three months at sea—were thrown into the frontlines without adequate acclimation or training for jungle warfare. Percival ordered a counterattack to recapture Muar, mobilizing the Garhwalis reserves for a three-pronged advance. But Lt. Colonel James Woolridge, the Garhwalis' commander, was killed during a dawn reconnaissance patrol. The counterattack collapsed into disaster. Most remaining British officers were killed or wounded; survivors seized Bren guns and attempted to hold a rubber estate before retreating to Bakri amid artillery and aerial bombardment. Australian gunners, watching the fleeing sepoys, dubbed them the "Galloping Garhwalis." On January 18th, General Nishimura of the Imperial Guards Division launched a three-pronged assault that turned into a siege. Captain Shiegeo Gotanda led a tank vanguard at 6:45 AM without infantry support, inspired by Shimada's success at Slim River. Waiting were 2-pounder guns commanded by Lance Sergeant Clarrie Thornton. As six tanks approached in single file through a narrow, heavily vegetated cutting, Thornton's crew hit the first, third, and fourth tanks. The armor-piercing rounds penetrated the T-95s with devastating internal damage. All six tanks were immobilized. A Japanese sniper shot Thornton in the thigh before he was evacuated; he received the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his bravery. Encouraged by this victory, Percival decided to contain the Muar front but misjudged Japanese strength, believing it to be small when it was the entire Imperial Guards Division. Some Japanese forces had landed further down the coast, preparing to cut off the Muar-Bakri line from the south. Colonel Robertson was shot in the leg while riding a dispatch rider's motorbike and did not survive. Duncan, still recovering from an aerial bombardment that killed his officer staff, relinquished command to Lt. Colonel Charles Anderson. Anderson found himself commanding about 1,000 teenage Indian boys—just over a battalion—many only 17 years old. Though he held Indian soldiers in high regard from his East Africa experience, he expressed concern about their immaturity and lack of training. Some of Anderson's Australians launched a counterattack west of Bakri and trapped 200 Japanese soldiers. Platoon commander Patrick Reynolds described the chaos of Japanese soldiers "running in circles." When a seemingly dead enemy soldier suddenly rose with a grenade, Reynolds shot him just as it exploded, injuring himself. Another Japanese attempted to push his rifle toward Reynolds; when his pistol jammed, his batman shot the enemy soldier. The Australians increasingly believed rumors that the Japanese were "fanatics." Sergeant Desmond Mulcahy was searching a fallen Japanese sergeant's body when the man suddenly sprang up with a grenade. Mulcahy grabbed it to prevent detonation, but the Japanese sergeant struck him with it and punched him until another soldier bayoneted the attacker. Private Bluey Watkins set down his rifle to inspect Japanese bodies; one seized it and nearly shot him. The lesson was harsh: capturing Japanese alive was too risky. Private Charles Warden of B Company, just five months shy of 17, remarked, "from the first engagement we learned not to trust their wounded." The Australians killed approximately 140 of the 200 trapped Japanese, suffering only 10 casualties and 15 wounded—their high point in the campaign. By dawn on January 20th, Anderson received orders to withdraw toward Yong Peng. The Imperial Guards Division had established so many roadblocks that encirclement seemed imminent. A single company from the 19th Indians held off the Japanese while the rest retreated toward Parit Sulong, then found themselves nearly surrounded as the Japanese set up additional roadblocks. At the first roadblock, Anderson instructed his Australians to charge with bayonets while singing "Waltzing Matilda." Leading personally, he fired as he directed movements; the men likened him to a comic book hero come to life. As they neared Parit Sulong, Duncan—still recovering from concussion—commanded the rearguard and led a bayonet charge of Jats to recover lost vehicles. Anderson described him as "a very able and gallant officer," but Duncan was killed during the charge. By January 21st, they approached the Parit Sulong bridge, held securely by the Japanese. Two RAF Fairey Albacores and three Brewster Buffalo escorts arrived from Singapore to drop supplies, but when Australians rushed to collect them, they found only canned beetroot instead of bully beef. By January 22nd, Anderson knew holding the triangular perimeter was impossible. He attempted one final assault on the bridge. The Japanese had set up three barricades using sandbags, oil drums, and timber, covered by heavy machine guns on high ground. Approximately 30 Australians stormed while 100 provided cover fire. They breached the first barricade, reached the third, but machine gun fire blew apart the sandbags. With only five Australians left alive, they crawled back. Anderson ended the sacrifice, deeming it futile. He faced an impossible choice: abandon 150 severely wounded and break through the jungle to Yong Peng, about 12 miles away. They believed wounded would receive decent treatment; the Japanese had allowed Australian ambulances to pass at Gemas without interference. They did not yet know the truth. Initially, the Japanese were slow to close in, contenting themselves with sniping and probing. By 2:30 PM, wounded Lieutenants Hackney and Tibbitts lay beneath a wrecked utility truck supporting the rearguard with a Bren gun until ammunition ran out. The first Imperial Guards approached from the west, bayoneting and shooting anyone unable to escape. Those who made it across a drainage ditch were assembled in front of Public Works Department buildings and garages, sitting naked except for boots while Japanese searched them for weapons or maps. Requests for medical attention and water were denied. Many passing troops stopped "to have fun at the expense of the wounded defenders." Hackney noted, "the wound in my back attracted the attention of many who, whenever possible, took delight in kicking and belting the place." The Japanese did not reserve their hatred for whites alone. An Indian soldier with half his hand blown off and bleeding profusely from a thigh wound was beaten into unconsciousness, then when he rose groaning, subjected to frenzied kicks before a bayonet repeatedly thrust into him pushed him into the drainage ditch. When his head surfaced gasping for air, he was shot. Wounded prisoners were crammed into sheds. Hackney described it as "a stinking, scrambling hellhole, full of tortured, groaning, delirious soldiers." Lt. General Takuma Nishimura arrived and ordered disposal of the wounded. Guards appeared with water canteens and cigarettes as war correspondents photographed prisoners reaching for them. Once the correspondents left, the water was poured out, cigarettes pocketed, and prisoners forced back inside. Most Australians were tied together and shot. Japanese officers drew samurai swords to execute Indians. Many were doused with petrol and set alight. In Russell Braddon's words, "after their incineration, they were systematically run over, back and forth, by Japanese-driven trucks." Lance Havildar Benedict knocked the rifle from his executioner's hands and dove into the water, swimming away while Japanese fired wildly. Hackney, stabbed by a bayonet, pretended dead, hearing men burned alive nearby. He eventually found two survivors, Sergeant Ron Croft and another private, both reeking of petrol, who had escaped into the jungle. This became known as the Parit Sulong Massacre. Yamashita later claimed that had he commanded instead of Nishimura, such a massacre would not have occurred. Nishimura later oversaw occupational forces in Singapore and allegedly presided over the Sook Ching Massacre. He received a life sentence after the war but served only four years before returning to Japan. The Australian government apprehended him, subjected him to military court, convicted him, and executed him on June 11, 1951. The Muar battle signaled the end of serious Johore defense. Percival's last chance was a lateral line from Batu Pahat to Mersing, but Yamashita struck with a three-pronged offensive across both coasts and the central trunk road. On January 26th, a Hudson patrol spotted Japanese transports heading toward Endau. Air Vice Marshal Conway Pulford's squadrons—21 Vildebeest and Albacore torpedo bombers, 9 Hudsons, 15 Buffalos, and 8 Hawker Hurricanes—launched a mass daylight attack. The Hurricanes, equipped with air-intake filters and 12 machine guns instead of the usual 8, were less maneuverable than the Zero below 20,000 feet. Among the 24 pilots were 5 Australians, 1 Texan, and 4 Canadians, including future Australian Prime Minister John Gorton, who survived a crash that injured his face against his gunsight. Leading the first wave, Tim Rowland's Vildebeests were outfitted with 250-500 pound bombs due to shallow waters. The wave broke through clouds at 2,000 feet, heavily laden and slow—"an anti-aircraft gunners dream." Rowland's aircraft exploded mid-air before starting his bomb run. RAF Flight Lt Tom Lamb dived toward the beaches, later recalling: "It's a wonder the old crate didn't fall apart. Within seconds the sky was thick with aircraft… it was disconcerting to see rows of holes appearing all over the place in the fabric and hear the twang of parting wires. I could hear Sharp [his Australian gunner] blazing away and I heard him shout that he had got a Zero. At one time I could see five parachutes in the sky and two aircraft going down in flames… I dropped my bombs at little more than tree-top height… doing some vicious skids whenever attacked. Suddenly Gil Sharp gave a shout… A shell had got him right through the knee and the lower half of his leg was hanging off. Wills [sergeant observer] took over the gun." The initial wave faced not only anti-aircraft fire from IJN warships but 19 Nates and a single Nakajima Ki-44 "Tojo." It lost 5 Vildebeests but successfully bombed 2 transports and shot down 1 Nate. The second wave—9 Vildebeests, 3 Albacores, 4 Buffalos, and 7 Hurricanes—encountered problems as escorts arrived late. Before support could assist, 10 Nates and 2 Tojos intercepted them, resulting in the loss of 5 Vildebeests, 2 Albacores, and 1 Hurricane. Over 38 aircrew went missing, with 27 confirmed dead, including both squadron leaders. Air Vice Marshal Paul Maltby assured returning pilots there would be no more daylight attacks like that. Subsequent unescorted waves had little impact. That night, HMS Thanet and HMAS Vampire attempted a hit-and-run torpedo attack. Most torpedoes missed; both destroyers came under searchlight fire. Thanet was hit in the engine room, and her crew abandoned ship. Vampire could not safely rescue them and retreated to Singapore. Of Thanet's crew, 50 men, including Captain Lt. Commander Davis, struggled to reach shore on a grueling march back to Singapore. Some 30 sailors were rescued by the IJN destroyer Shirayuki, including Sub Lt. Danger, Thanet's torpedo officer. The Shirayuki later landed at Endau, where all sailors except Danger were murdered. Danger became significant as the first Royal Navy officer captured by the IJN. Endau fell to the Japanese 18th Division. Japanese forces bypassed Mersing, defended by the Australian 18th Battalion, who were ordered to withdraw as part of a general retreat to Singapore. At dawn, the 18th Battalion reached the Nithsdale rubber estate north of Jemaluang, where they ambushed a Japanese vanguard. Using Bren guns, 16 25-pounders, and mortars firing simultaneously, they trapped Yamashita's 18th Division troops between two companies. However, orders came to disengage and retreat to Jemaluang. By January 27th, Percival instructed all commanders to gather on Singapore; the causeway would be destroyed on February 1st. On January 28th, the 26th Australian Battalion covered Westforce's rearguard south of Simpang Rengam. After a frontal assault, the Japanese launched an outflanking maneuver through rubber plantations to cut the Trunk Road. Anticipating this, Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick "Black Jack" Galleghan launched a decisive counterattack using armored cars, inflicting heavy casualties and forcing retreat in disorder. However, Japanese toxic smoke bombs forced the Australians to withdraw hours later. By January 30th, Galleghan's 26th Battalion reached Singapore safely. Meanwhile, the 15th Brigade garrison at Batu Pahat, including survivors from Slim River and the 5th & 6th Norfolks and 2nd Cambridgeshires, was tasked with holding the defense to facilitate withdrawal. However, they lacked sufficient manpower for multiple choke points. During the Muar operation, the Japanese had inserted a battalion by boat into the area that now reinforced by Nishimura's Imperial Guards, penetrated British defenses on bicycles and established roadblocks similar to those used against Anderson's men. Brigadier Bernard Challen, recently taking over after Moorhead's death, had requested permission to retreat to Senggarang, 10 miles down the coast. Percival insisted on holding the large airfield, only 60 miles from Singapore, awaiting two additional brigades from the 18th East Anglian Division. As time passed, Percival ordered Challen to withdraw, but the message came too late; Challen's approximately 3,000 men were already retreating when they encountered a roadblock just 500 yards beyond a bridge. His force probed the defenses and discovered another block being established behind them. Challen's troops were becoming encircled, and his wireless communications with divisional HQ were down. A relief effort was initiated, sending men with two armored cars to advance 5 miles north of Rengit. They were immediately fired upon from all sides, with another roadblock established behind them. Vehicles and heavy guns were abandoned as they retreated to an outpost at Rengit, soon under siege. A small relief force reached Challen, informing him that Singapore's evacuation was imminent and they needed to hurry. Thus, Challen faced a situation similar to Anderson's at Parit Sulong—forced to leave the wounded behind. One night, as the force tried to cross a river, "a burst of machine gun fire and a salvo of mortar bombs scattered the leading company. The panic spread; many men were drowned in a swamp." Challen attempted to restore order but became hopelessly lost. He encountered Japanese soldiers who shot his Indian orderly. After crawling along the roadside and climbing over barricades (which the Japanese mistook him for one of their own), he stole a bicycle and rode away. At dawn on January 29th, after being separated for over 24 hours, he was captured by an Imperial Guards patrol as he exited a hut. He was the highest-ranking British prisoner captured to that point. Colonel Morrison took command and worked to restore order. Realizing they were cut off, he decided to lead 1,500 men back to the coast and attempt to arrange a naval pickup after dark. Morrison established a defensive perimeter in a coastal village about three miles south of Rengit, less than a mile from the coastal road. The navy responded by dispatching the Yangtze River gunboats Scorpion and Dragonfly, which towed numerous small boats, sampans, and dinghies. As troops navigated through mangroves, the situation drew comparisons to Dunkirk. Men were transported partially submerged in water at night, anxiously wondering about venomous snakes or crocodiles. The force successfully reached Singapore on February 1st after Indian sappers used naval depth charges to create a 70-foot-wide gap in the Causeway. The withdrawal went remarkably smoothly, with the Japanese not pressing hard. Defenders left to the sound of Argyll pipers playing "Blue Bonnets O'er the Border." Despite their good fortune, the cost was significant—several hundred men missing, all artillery abandoned, and about 80% of their Bren guns left behind. The situation on the central front was far worse. Brigadier George Painter's 22nd Indian Brigade, already weakened during fighting in Kuantan and numbering around 2,000 men, was cut off and disappeared while trying to escape into the jungle. The problem occurred because General Arthur Barstow's 9th Indian Division kept Painter's 22nd and Lay's 8th brigades farther inland to prevent outflanking of the Eastern Australians. A railway bridge between the two brigades was blown up prematurely, possibly by accident, severing the telephone line that facilitated communication. Painter had already sent back most wheeled transport, Bren gun carriers, and notably, his headquarters' wireless truck. Without the telephone line, Lay's 8th Brigade could not inform Painter's 22nd of their movement. The Japanese from the 5th Division quickly exploited the gap, inserting themselves between the brigades and effectively cutting off Painter's 22nd. When Barstow realized what happened, he exploded at Lay: "You've sold the show...hel take you, man, get a battalion on that high ground." Barstow made his way to the railway line, intent on warning Painter. Accompanied by two Australian officers and a Sikh, they boarded a push-pull flatbed trolley. They arrived at the blown-up bridge and continued on foot, with Barstow leading the way, distinguished by the red band around his major-general's service cap—a prime target for Japanese snipers, who ultimately shot him dead. After Admiral Phillips, Barstow became the second highest-ranking officer killed in the war to that point. The 22nd was at risk of complete encirclement, prompting their retreat into the jungle. They had not received rations or supplies in some time and had several wounded soldiers whom they refused to abandon. Captain Denis Russell-Roberts noted the stretcher bearers' struggle through jungle swamps at night: "Shortly all four men were floundering in the bog. The man on the off fore position suddenly staggered, his knees were shaking wildly. He sank to one knee with a shout of terror in his hoarse voice and the stretcher lurched over on its side… This was an awful moment and it happened over and over again in one form or another. I think it was the groans and at times the shrieks of the wounded which struck the deepest note of horror… On the other side of the crossing the same difficulties were encountered. There the wounded man would almost inevitably find himself tilted backwards at the same steep angle with his head close to the level of the mud and his body uncomfortably positioned in a semi-vertical position. And through this hell passed twelve stretchers, twelve wounded men who were by now gangrenous, delirious and half-mad, forty-eight gallant men who carried the stretchers… a slow-moving picture of unforgettable misery." Despite their efforts, they ultimately had to leave the wounded behind, entrusting them to Tamil rubber workers at a large estate. The remainder of the brigade continued southward. They encountered approximately 300-400 Japanese soldiers but chose to bypass them; their own men were starving and lacked strength for combat. Just as they prepared a rearguard, they were ambushed. Commander Parkin raised his Thompson submachine gun and urged his men to fire at every visible Japanese soldier, even though most were low on ammunition. Many Indians mistakenly believed Parkin intended to surrender and were stunned when he opted to fight instead. Painter's personal battalion soon encountered more Japanese forces and was forced to surrender. The day after the causeway was destroyed, Brigadier Parkin arrived in Singapore with 24 of his soldiers, having commandeered a Chinese truck, driven to the northern side of the straits, and signaled sampans for rescue. In following days, a few stragglers from Painter's 22nd also reached Singapore, bringing the total to 63 men. Painter's 22nd brigade suffered catastrophic loss, all due to a severed telephone line. Many men did not make it to Singapore, but those who did found only brief respite. Yamashita was now preparing to lay siege to the "Gibraltar of the East," the Fortress of Singapore. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Trapped at Parit Sulong, Anderson's Australians fought through Japanese roadblocks before being forced to abandon 150 wounded—who faced massacre at enemy hands. Meanwhile, Endau fell after a costly RAF raid. Challen's brigade at Batu Pahat retreated through chaos, while Painter's 22nd Indian Brigade vanished in the jungle after a severed telephone line cut them off. Singapore's fortress awaited.

Something is happening.Not one isolated incident. Not one election. Not one country. Something broader—a series of cultural collisions occurring at roughly the same moment.In Dearborn, video circulated showing a group of Black men confronting a Muslim community representative after Arab men allegedly menaced a Black woman, stole her purse, and damaged her car.The men didn't arrive with diversity consultants.There was no PowerPoint presentation titled Building Bridges Through Intentional Listening. Nobody passed around a talking stick. These men delivered a much older message:You don't disrespect one of ours.[X] SB – Detroit Blacks v Muslims 1They put on notice.We still piss.I've been trying to be cool…Disrespect…yo culture They challenged the men allegedly responsible to come forward. They talked about holding a block party in that neighborhood. Their point was unmistakable: Black people were not going to be intimidated, displaced, or instructed to accept disrespect in the name of somebody else's culture.But this may be about more than defending one woman.This could expose a fault line inside the Left's political coalition.For decades, Democrats have treated Black Americans, Muslims, immigrants, feminists, Hispanics, Asians, and practically every other designated minority as members of one permanent political family. They call it a coalition.But sometimes a coalition is just several people sharing an Uber until they discover they're going to different addresses.I wrote in Sexy Brilliance that Muslim political organizations would adopt tactics pioneered by Black Leftist activists: organize around identity, claim institutional mistreatment, consolidate voting power, demand accommodations, and convert demographic influence into political authority.We have watched versions of that strategy develop among Somalis in Minnesota and Muslims in Dearborn. Kevin Jackson has been called, the "white-collar" Joe Rogan. Given their similar backgrounds in TV, comedy, and martial arts, it's easy to see why people enjoy Kevin's show so much. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week we have a VERY special guest from the Yay Area, aka P-Lo, the goat, the legend. We talk about the hyphy movement, getting “gerped”, producing a TikTok viral song, and how (GASP) Filipinos are the coolest Asians. Help us decide in the comments - who has better burritos?? The Bay Area? Or LA?  Follow the IG: https://www.instagram.com/homeroom.show   Follow the TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@homeroomshow   Subscribe to our Substack: https://substack.com/@homeroomshow Guest: P-Lo: https://www.instagram.com/p_lo/  Hosted by:  Jonnie Park: https://www.instagram.com/dumbfoundead https://www.tiktok.com/@dumbfoundead  Steffie Baik: https://www.instagram.com/steffiebaik https://www.tiktok.com/@steffiebaik  Podcast Producer: Caroline Y Choi  Audio: Johnny Chay Podcast Media Team: GGEZ Media Sponsor: Download Cash App today and make your money work for you. Visit our link in bio. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Cash App Green features, Savings, Direct deposit, Round ups, Overdraft coverage and Discounts provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

405 years ago Lia, Megan and Amy decided to watch My Royal Nemesis. Only one of us completed the homework. Was it Amy? Nope. Was it Megan? Nah. And it was so long ago Lia is genuinely a little muddled on all the souls with their backpacks in the conclusion. Our verdict was not bad, not good. But that opening episode? Chef's kiss...so long as it isn't a bowl of poison. Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession.Check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness.And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Once again, a Bo French social media post gives every anti-Republican ammunition to label conservatives and Republicans as racists and/or bigots. Bo French is condemnable as much for his political stupidity as he is for the apparent bigotry of his online post BUT, don't buy into the media attempt to get you to vote for the Democrat over this. Big Media has been pushing outright bigotry and racism for years including Marxist Critical Race Theory and D.E.I. racism that includes a call for racial discrimination against Caucasians, Asians, etc.Ken Paxton Responds to James Talarico's Call to Condemn Bo French. Paxton is right on this. All these leftist Dems are race focused in almost everything they do.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.In the Texas House, James Talarico said that parents who disagree with their own child over “gender identity” or homosexuality are engaged in child abuse. He voted against protecting parents from abuse liability for such and voted for an amendment in a bill that specifically would say that  “rejecting a child's gender identity or sexual orientation is abuse” and “should be treated as such under Texas law.” [See more on Talarico's real record here.]Lubbock Lights has learned, county paid two commissioners for same precinct job. Well, Lubbock Lights did learn it, as well as did I, and is writing about it. I mention a thing or two not in the Lights' story as of mid-day. Much more will be coming out I'm sure. This is ALL Bowtie Bully Curtis Parrish from the beginning and the pay problem appears to have been at his hand.Texas Stock Exchange gets another listing: Texas Capital Bancshares Inc. leaving Nasdaq for the new Texas exchange.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

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. Friday is the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11. 9/11 marked a turning point in American history when two planes were hijacked by extremists who flew into two buildings at the World Trade Center in New York and another at the Pentagon, and two thousand nine hundred and seventy-seven people were killed. It was the deadliest attack on the US since Pearl Harbor sixty years prior. Following 9/11, the US government implemented multiple pieces of significant legislation around curbing and countering terrorism and enemy combatants. Policies such as the USA Patriot Act and the Special Registration Program targeted and disproportionately affected Arabs, South Asians, and Muslims in America. Tonight on Apex Express, in recognition of the twenty-fifth anniversary, we are hearing from members of the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action, ASATA. Several ASATA members will listen to Apex Express episodes about the impact of 9/11 and share their thoughts. You will hear pieces of shows starting all the way back to two thousand two and as recently as this spring.   LINKS Alliance of South Asians Taking Action, ASATA Bay Area Solidarity Summer (BASS) Black Panther Party History   SHOW TRANSCRIPT [00:00:00] Opening: Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express. [00:00:34] Miko Lee: Welcome to Apex Express. This is Miko Lee, and I'm introducing a show that is recognizing the time that we're in. And as many of you might know, this Friday is the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11. 9/11 marked a turning point in American history when two planes were hijacked by extremists who flew into two buildings at the World Trade Center in New York and another at the Pentagon, and two thousand nine hundred and seventy-seven people were killed. It was the deadliest attack on the US since Pearl Harbor sixty years prior. Following 9/11, the US government implemented multiple pieces of significant legislation around curbing and countering terrorism and enemy combatants. Policies such as the USA Patriot Act and the Special Registration Program targeted and disproportionately affected Arabs, South Asians, and Muslims in America. Tonight on Apex Express, in recognition of the twenty-fifth anniversary, we are hearing from members of the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action, ASATA. Several ASATA members will listen to Apex Express episodes about the impact of 9/11 and share their thoughts. You will hear pieces of shows starting all the way back to two thousand two and as recently as this spring. So stay tuned to Apex Express and reflections on the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11.   [00:02:06] Arati: Hi everyone. Welcome. Can you please introduce yourselves?   [00:02:09] Hafsa: Hey everyone. My name is Hafsa. I'm here from ASATA.    [00:02:13] Palvinder: Hi all, Palvinder Kaur a Sikh community organizer here in Sacramento.   [00:02:19] Priya: Hi, I'm Priya. I'm also an organizer with ASATA and a teacher based in Oakland.   [00:02:23] Arati: We're gonna start listening to our clips now.    [00:02:25] Speaker 5: I can clearly remember my parents repeating, “Please don't let it be a Muslim. Please don't let it be a Muslim,” while watching the news. I didn't process at age five the type of impact this would have on my family, but as I got older, those words stuck with me as I watched police outside our mosques and soldiers touching down in Muslim countries around the globe.   [00:02:45] George W. Bush: Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward.    [00:02:50] Speaker 7: I got a call after the first tower had been hit.    [00:02:53] Speaker 8: I was right here. My roommate was like, “Hey, man. Wake up. You should watch this.”    [00:02:59] Speaker 9: My mom called me at 7:00 in the morning, and whenever my mom calls, I always think, “Oh, God,” you know? “What happened,” right? And my immediate reaction was, Bush has got his war now.    [00:03:10] George W. Bush: Make no mistake, the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts.   [00:03:25] Speaker 9: Pretty much as soon as the towers fell and it was determined to be a terrorist act, people were talking about Pearl Harbor, you know, day of infamy and making all those parallels. And of course, there was that immediate fear of backlash against Arab Americans. But what's the point of revenge? It's not gonna bring the people who died back. It's not gonna prevent future attacks, in my opinion. If anything, it might create the conditions for more hatred.    [00:03:55] Speaker 10: It is heartbreaking when you hear somebody who's not even a Muslim or Arab got killed in Arizona who just happened to wear this traditional clothes.   [00:04:10] Speaker 9: Within the first week, I started seeing reports on the internet about hate crimes that occurred in San Francisco.   [00:04:15] Speaker 11: Arab American Discrimination more than two hundred incidents of hate crimes. Six of these people died.    [00:04:30] Speaker 7: My mom actually called me and she was like, “Shave your beard,” you know, like, “Don't do anything stupid.” My partner actually from Urban Groove, is a Sikh, and he was in Pittsburgh at the time, and he called me up and he said, “I'm scared for us right now.” I can't even go to the library. I can't even go to the gym. People are looking at me funny just getting in your car and going outside. You know, at that time we realized the education that really needed to come to a lot of Americans that Muslim or not, these are not people that blew up the World Trade Center. These are not people that hurt other Americans. You know, these are our friends, our coworkers, our family.   [00:05:15] Speaker 12: It took me a while to find my voice and publicly react and respond to the events at the close of 2001. Part of that has to do with the memory of how irrational Americans become during times of war. I didn't wanna be on any blacklists, be monitored, stand out.    [00:05:34] Speaker 8: One of the things that I thought was really ironic was the question the media posed to the, the public. You know, how could this happen to us? Well, kind of stop and look at the history of our foreign policy. It's pretty evident in why something like this would happen.    [00:05:50] Speaker 9: I didn't feel like I was being disrespectful, and I didn't think that I was somehow, like, less American for also criticizing the government. But then again, the appropriate response is that we all just fall in line behind the Bush administration, whatever they do. It doesn't matter. Civil liberties are trampled. This is the appropriate response. You know, this is the way we show our patriotism.   [00:06:12] Arati: So most of those clips were from Robyn Takayama's 2002 documentary in which she's using different community voices to explore her own discovery of what patriotism looks like. It starts with, like, a small cut from the 20th anniversary, and then the rest of that is from these series of immediate reactions and lived experiences from Robyn's documentary. So reflecting on when this documentary was released, 2002, and where we are now, what still feels resonant? Does anything feel stale or stuck in time, or are there things that you're still like, “Yeah, that's really where we're at now”?    [00:06:43] Hafsa: I think for me, growing up with the Muslim community in Southern California, I remember 2002 being a very scary time as the people in this audio clip are kind of sharing. And I think now I don't feel as stranded as an American Muslim in America as I did at that time. And to provide context, I was 11 years old at that time, and I could feel the fear from people older than me and, even my friends as we would go to recess, and we would think we'd get sniped down by someone who's, like, looking out for us because we're little Muslim kids. yeah, I think that's something that I can definitely feel, where I don't feel stranded. I don't feel like there are, there is a lack of other communities who've been harmed who can also make bridges with us.    [00:07:34] Arati: Yeah. Thanks, Hafsa.    [00:07:35] Palvinder: Yeah, similarly, I was, I was a teen as well, probably 11. I grew up Sikh. My dad wore the star, a turban. I remember seeing it on the news. And I didn't really register for me for about a little bit of time until, like, the first racist comment was made towards my dad or we heard about, the Arizona death. It wasn't until, you know, Brown communities, Sikh communities, uh, Muslim communities were targeted, anyone who looked Muslim, right, And so for me, I think at the time, it took a while to fully register. But, you know, once it did, it was like, oh, this isn't about it just being a Muslim. It's like people are just perceiving anybody. And, as I grew up, I realized, the need for, communities not to say like, “Oh, but we're not Muslim,” you know? And I think that was like a really strong push from a lot of the Sikh community organizers, reflecting back on it. But of course, you still have folks who are in the community who are just like trying to say, “But we're not Muslim.” And that's a, that was a problem. You know, I wanna call out that, that problematic nature, and I think the same thing happens today when we see it around communities who have different immigration statuses. and it's like, oh, we might be X, Y, Z race, but we're not. You know, we're, we're American, or we were born here, we're a citizen. And it's just like, but why are we othering ourselves? So I still see some of those similarities around othering. I struggle with it because I can understand from the perspective of, you know, some of the individuals trying their best, working hard, and wanting to not be targeted, but at the same time, like, it's not the right thing to do. I think we're seeing a lot more, collaboration now, I would say, a lot more shifting in the narrative. I know we've had a lot of conversations across, the Sikh community over the past two and a half decades around the problem with othering ourselves from other races and other, other identities. And so I, I think that's one aspect of it, but I still see that same sort of nature, right? Like, um, when an attack happens or when there's a shooting, it's constantly like, don't let it be a interracial identity or immigration identity, right? and, I feel like the media continues to fail us, like the narratives around people of color, immigrants, is just very dehumanizing. and somehow, white folks get humanized in all of the actions that they're taking. I do feel like there's a media component to it, and we have to call that out. The one thing that, you know, when one of the individuals had shared that they were like falling in line, I think about just the over-surveillance that's occurring and the way that social media recordings and just everything going live in public, you know, the need to be vocal, but there is a sort of line, right, that we all know that we shouldn't cross, and the fear of being seen as un-American.   [00:10:15] Arati: Thank you, Balvinder.   [00:10:16] Priya: I can briefly add on to what was shared. Something you said, Hafsa, really struck me that when you were 11 years old, even going to recess was something that created a culture of fear, and honestly, I still see that in some of my students. When there were threats of ICE in the Bay Area, my classroom was empty. I mean, like, 90% of students didn't come to school that whole week. That culture of fear still exists, among, like, Black and brown communities, even here in the Bay. but we have made a lot of connections with each other as people of color in our organizing histories. But the culture of fear is still salient.   [00:10:51] Arati: Thanks, Priya. Do you feel like there's stuff, you know, a lot of these were current day organizers still 25 years later reflecting on their experiences. Are there pieces of the strategy that we still feel like are salient and that we want to bring with us and continue implementing in 2026?   [00:11:06] Hafsa: I think the communities that reach out to each other, that's something that's still working out for us now. I remember the Japanese community reached out to our masjid because they had been interned. Like, they were in internment camps, and they knew what it felt like to be othered in America in a very vile way. And I remember learning, oh, wow, like, A) there's a big Japanese community in Southern California, and B) they are so resilient that they care enough to reach out to us even though they went through all this already, and now they wanna show us or they wanna be there for us in whatever capacity. So I think, like, as we grow and go through these traumatic events, whatever we learn, there's a resilience that we build when we reach out to other communities.    [00:11:55] Arati: Yeah, absolutely. All right, we're gonna move to our next set of clips. this is gonna be a little heavy, but there's some really incredible stuff in here thinking about the organizing that is birthed of necessity, and a lot of the Sikh coalition's actions in the immediate aftermath, and specifically Asata's actions here in the Bay Area.   [00:12:11] Speaker 8: At the end of the day, necessity is the mother of invention. On the day of 9/11 Sikhs in New York, where the Sikh Coalition is based, saw hate crimes occurring the afternoon of 9/11. Three members of our community were literally chased through the streets of Manhattan. The afternoon of 9/11, an elderly man was beaten to the point of having broken bones, and Sikh young children were shot with paintball guns. And so the night of, we issued a press release grieving against attack on the country and calling on a police to protect our community from hate crimes. Our first real action beyond the press release on the night of 9/11 was to create a website where community members could report hate crimes and other forms of discrimination that were occurring to them. And within that first month after 9/11, more than three hundred people logged in and, and reported acts of discrimination. Everything from, from people who had been shot at, one gentleman who was murdered, to beatings, school bullying, employment discrimination alike. And we really used the information there to get the word out to the media and the policymakers that we have a real problem that needs to be addressed immediately.   [00:13:24] So I think, you know, the heart of the activism in that first month was really creating a space for people to report what was happening and then using that information to call for change. We were able to persuade the, the city of New York to create a regulation on school bullying where none existed before, and where school administrators are required to track bullying incidents and keep statistics on them. They have to ma– use all means they possibly can to take non-punitive measures. And that regulation protects one point one million students in the public school system in New York City, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, religion, and the like. We were just able to get the New York City mayor to sign a bill that raises the bar for when employers can reject a request for religious accommodation in the workplace. Post 9/11, Sikhs have been barred from a number of jobs, including city jobs, because of their turbans. And if you wanna work for the public transit system, you have to brand your turban or if you're a Muslim, your hijab, with a Metropolitan Transportation Authority logo. And so we were able to get the mayor to sign a bill last week that basically bans most of those practices. And again, it protects literally millions of New Yorkers who work in the city from discrimination based on religion in the workplace. But at the end of the day, it's again, a regulation that pushes back on the government being able to do whatever it wants and creates a space for anyone to enjoy those protections.   [00:14:50] Speaker 13: So in the Bay Area, ASATA members distributed multilingual know your rights flyers and provided legal support in collaboration with other activist groups, such as the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, the former ADC in San Francisco, the National Lawyers Guild, Council of American-Islamic Relations and the Progressive Bengali Network, and ASATA members provided support by taking down the contact information of the men standing outside the Department of Justice to register so as to notify families in case they were detained or disappeared, and also provided information about free legal resources.    [00:15:28] Speaker 14: There's a really moving testimony of a young Muslim girl from Seattle, Washington. Her and her mother were held in detention for, I think, nine months- Mm … without charges or anything, and her mother actually almost died while they were in detention. It was just such a traumatic experience, and I mean, we really need to let these stories be heard.    [00:15:46] Speaker 15: I wanted to point something out, that the figures from May 2003 from the INS or BCIS say that the number of people registered as of May 11th, 2003, were 82,581. Number of people detained, and these are their figures, so who knows what the real figures really are, 2,761. Number of people still detained at that time, 158, and the number of people charged with terrorism-related crimes, zero.    [00:16:19] Speaker 16: Reports indicate that some of those taken into custody were harshly treated. They were handcuffed, shackled, placed in cold cells without adequate clothing or blankets, blankets, forced to sleep standing or on concrete floors, hosed down with cold water, and denied adequate food and water.    [00:16:40] Speaker 17: And I would like to ask for volunteers because when we monitor, when we stand here and monitor people, there are less detentions, there are less questions, and people get done quickly. Some people are afraid to go alone, and they can take a companion with them. If we want safety and security, we cannot buy it by terrorizing other people. We need to change our thinking. We need to change our ways. As superpowers, we need to start empowering people, not taking them away, not putting them in prisons, not detaining. This country has become so secretive. Secret evidence, secret detentions, secret deportations. Everything is secret except our privacy. So we need to really take our country back.   [00:17:32] Arati: Okay. So that was a little longer and definitely somewhat heavy. but I think it's really interesting to hear how people were talking about this, especially post 9/11, and how they were talking about the country in general, and then their work in specific. What things stood out to you from how our communities were able to spring into action immediately post 9/11?   [00:17:49] Palvinder: I was a teen, so to me, as I learned all of the immediate action that was taken, it was really incredible and inspiring, so many different areas of it, right? Raising awareness around the detentions, trying to create that website. Working on school policies. Like, there was so much that was happening, and so much that continues to happen. Great to see community springing into action. I also struggled for so long in my early organizing days, being frustrated that these systems were not created for us, these policies were not created for us. And then when you learn so many of the policies were literally created against us- post 9/11, the over-policing, the over-targeting, it was just so challenging, right? Like, we have already so much, so many more challenges that we're dealing with, and then here we have additional barriers to just kind of living a, a decent life here. But you know, still continue to be inspired by, the way that folks sort of look to heal the community and support. And so I think that, like, one of the things I think about is, is the community within the communities that we were able to create that culture of healing, as much as possible, and then also thinking about the greater change and sort of protections for our community. I struggle with the hate crime stuff, you know, and the data there because, you know, there's so much around how data is used. Is it used in a beneficial way? Is it even, you know, supporting anything that's gonna create some real change? and then of course there's a surveillance question. But again, like I truly feel that folks thought this was coming from a good place. Um, and so I just continue to be mindful around the tactics that we're using, being mindful of like going fast but also being thoughtful and considerate around how these might impact us in the long run. And I, I hope that we continue to look at that. not just finding sort of immediate solutions that might work for us now, but seeing the long-term impact of them too.    [00:19:34] Arati: Yeah, totally. Would love to hear folks' thoughts on this as well, and also I'm curious, I've, I've now heard a few of you say a couple times just like what it meant to be a child at the time, and yeah, maybe not actually being tapped in in that moment of what organizing and activism was taking place when you were that young. But I'm curious also about kind of hearing about it more, and I'm sure as you grew up but also now as an adult, kind of what, how you feel like that maybe has shaped you.    [00:20:00] Hafsa: It's great to hear that there was a collection of bullying and racism happening in schools and that being reported because 100% I'm sure each of those data points represents so many other unreported happenings. For reference, I went to high school in Huntington Beach, California. I did not know the demographics of that area until I left high school, and it helped me understand my experiences there, especially with the teachers who were allowed to be racist. One of the only books in my history teacher's class was a book about how the Quran is false. He was a white man, Christian white man, and this was a history class. and he was a beloved teacher, beloved. And this is just one of many things that happened and that went unreported because we thought, oh, we are lesser than them. We do have to stick together. This is how they talk to us in front of us and behind our backs. So I remember hanging out exclusively with other Muslim students who also wore hijab because that's who we were pushed into a corner and you look around and that's who's there. And I remember going to the masjid and every time there was someone who didn't quite look Arab or South Asian or generally Muslim, if it's like a white person entering the masjid, I'm thinking, “Is that a government operative?” And it was sometimes. Every masjid I knew had at least one person who was hella shady, and they were spying on us, and I wonder where that data lives right now.    [00:21:30] Arati: Yeah. Absolutely. And that's hard not to think about in the surveillance state we're living in now.   [00:21:36] Priya: I was only three when 9/11 happened, but as an organizer now, I am really looking back on how our communities showed up for each other and provided like mutual aid relationship building, and that's the kind of organizing that I wanna build on now in the Bay Area. So the way that like we showed up and we did know your rights in different languages and we, you know, took people's names down, like we're still doing that, and that's the kind of work that I like want us to keep doing and that I feel really proud to be a part of. We have ICE watch at our school where neighbors walk around our school every single morning for an hour, and they have their whistle ready. So if they see ICE, they know how many times to blow the whistle, and we will, you know, spring into action immediately. But yeah, that kind of like relationship building and my neighbor's got my back, and I've got yours, and we're like in this together, and, and we live together, but we also like know each other's names, and we know what it means to keep each other safe because that's not what the government is doing for us. That's what stands out to me from post 9/11 organizing, and that's what I wanna build on.    [00:22:46] Palvinder: Yeah, echoing that. Community and connection and relationship building and healing. I remember specifically there was, in Fresno, Piara Singh, an elderly Sikh man, got attacked. And, our first thing was like, “Okay, what do we do? Like, how do we heal as a community as well?” Of course, the news media attention is there forefront for, like, a day or two, maybe a week max. but you know, when the individual recovers, or they are gonna be recovering, there's really not much attention after that. And for us, it was really like, how do we allow our elders to feel safe, right? How do we allow our community to feel safe, that same walk that this individual is taking, you know? And so I think there was components around that about healing, but also wanting to move fast. I think one of my greatest lessons would just be, centering healing and community and relationship building throughout all of it. no matter how fast we wanna go or how quickly we need to go, I just think about the need to center that. And I think more and more trying to find ways when we aren't springing into action about how we can implement some of that and make sure that that's also centered to the work that we're doing.   [00:23:51] Arati: Yeah. I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts on pieces of the specific organizing that was happening that feel maybe relevant. I'm thinking about the non-punitive bullying measures, the non-discrimination activities that had broad benefits, monitoring for safety and security, the description of the detention conditions. I know we've touched on some of these already, but I wonder if there's anything else that's coming up when people are thinking about strategizing and coalition building in 2026.   [00:24:16] Hafsa: All the information I got as a child was through gossips and rumors from elders who were talking, and they were saying, “Hey, we have CIA operatives in the masjid. Hey, we might be attacked. You gotta watch out.” So I think just that sort of conversation or that kind of community interaction is so important because the media wasn't telling me how to save my butt. It was telling me that I'm a scary person, and I'm gonna grow up to do something terrible one day. And I couldn't find an ounce of that within me, so.   [00:24:51] Arati: All right. Thanks everybody. Let's move to our next clip. speaking of media, perfect transition. this is a reflection around the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, and a lot of the audio in these clips are actually thinking about when the media started talking to us rather than just about us.   [00:25:07] Speaker 19: It's the first time we actually have media approaching us around the time of the anniversary asking us what have been the effects on our communities. Uh, whereas before it would, you know, sort of be focused very much around the families that were directly affected by 9/11 and occasionally we'd get a call to check in about, oh, you know, are you– is your community facing any backlash? We've received a decent number of media requests talking about what the last ten years have been like. What have the various ways that our communities have been affected. And at the same time, uh, you know, I think a lot of the exposés in particular that have been criticizing what law enforcement and government agencies have done in the last ten years, a lot of those have seemed to come out in the last, uh, couple of weeks. Mother Jones did a extensive special on, uh, the FBI and their use of undercover agents and informants across the country. The AP has been doing a series, uh, the Associated Press has been doing a series on the NYPD, their collaboration with the CIA and, and their, uh, mapping of Muslim communities in New York. NPR has been doing stories and, and that it seems that they– there is an interest in the media to sort of be more critical, uh, slightly more critical of law enforcement agencies and, uh, starting to demand some form of transparency and accountability that so far they were just given a free leeway to do whatever they wanted, and everything was justified in the name of protecting, uh, our cities. Uh, but now there's starting to be some questions are starting to be raised.   [00:26:48] Arati: Yeah, I feel like this kind of feels really specific in terms of what we were just talking about, and it draws us back into that idea. and I'm curious about if we have reflections on how movement work has changed, especially now that we do have to kind of consider how to engage with the current media apparatus and how does responding to what the media is saying about us, trying to work with the media to share out different kinds of messaging, is that something that folks are thinking about?   [00:27:11] Priya: It just reminds me of how like three weeks ago it came out that the federal government was spying on organizing activities in Minnesota among unions, among organizers. Like this is … no surprise this is still happening, but it can be helpful to look back and, and think about how our communities have experienced this before, and how we came together and how we can prevent it. Or just be more aware of the possibility that it will continue to happen.   [00:27:40] Palvinder: I think the common thing that I kinda see in, my perspective of it is, like, in the moment when something happens, it's constantly the same thing, right? Oh my gosh, let's go talk to the community, and, like, media wants to paint their narrative of it, right? Questions are very specific. and then there's, like, a timeframe where the reflection happens, right? 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 years later. And it's like, oh, let's see the impact on the community. Let's see how they're affected. But in the moment, when the opportunity is so prime, like, we don't really have that. I mean, I think more and more I've seen folks, even in, like, media trainings with the community. And so I've really appreciated when folks don't actually answer those questions, and they just shift their response to what they really wanna get across because that's really what our community wants to share. You know, we don't wanna just always answer the question and kind of fill the narrative that the media wants in the moment. but really, like, sharing it from our perspective. And so just greater need to write our own histories, document what's happening. I think we're so caught up in the moment sometimes that we don't even do that. And of course, there's a balance, right, of, action is being taken, what sort of impact those, taking photos or videos of those actions have as well. I just really think that we need to continue to make sure that the stories and the narratives that we want to share even in the moment are shared. and so flipping that script is really great for folks who can do that. I'm not an expert on that. I hope to be one day. But, yeah, just wanna also acknowledge that the reflection piece is, when I feel like the media starts talking to us.   [00:29:14] Hafsa: Yeah, I think, something that I've shifted within myself because, just, talking to media and, you know, being able to represent myself and my community, that's not something that's within my skillset. Like, that's not something I definitely work on. But what I do love to work on is increasing representation of people who look like us in other areas. And I think back as 11-year-old American Muslim immigrant growing up in America, what did me and my friends need? And something that we didn't have access to was really, like, the outdoors and nature, and that is just the number one healing thing, and that's something that a lot of immigrant communities cannot find when we come to America 'cause we are put in areas that don't have nature, where it's redlined districts or places that we can afford. They don't have access to nature. So something I like to do is try to organize for those communities to get us out in nature and feel safe because when we can feel safe in the world alone, we can feel ourselves in a way that we can't when we hear media tell us that we are scary or we are worthless or whatever else. It's a great place to unwrap those lies and really feel ourselves.    [00:30:22] Arati: That's a beautiful reflection. I really appreciate you thinking about what you needed as a child, what our communities need, and, what, what it feels like to work with the media, but also to be like, ” That might not be our friend.” So how do we protect ourselves from the media? Thank you for sharing that.   [00:30:37] Palvinder: I'll also just quickly add on the media piece, and this is like a definitely based off my, my experiences. There are certain folks who have access to media, you know, in the community. There are certain folks and organizations who the media will always go to. And, you know, I understand they've built those relationships, they've invested those resources, and I would just really encourage, you know, and continue to encourage those folks to really think about the folks who are on the ground doing the work as well, and giving opportunity to those voices as well when they want them. cause of course, not all organizers and activists want those, opportunities. But, I just think that it's important to share the diversity of voices amongst the community, and while many of those who have access and privilege with media, they are very niche. and yes, they're eloquent in their speaking, they're great at sort of getting what message they want across, but we're also very diverse communities. You know, there are some folks who are gonna pick up the pen and then others who are gonna go to the streets, you know, and organize. There's others contacting decision-makers. So it just all depends. But, yeah, I would just really encourage our communities to really think about, sharing the mic really.   [00:31:46] Arati: Okay. Thanks so much for sharing that. These are really, really incredible reflections. Um, we're gonna move to our next set of clips. A lot of this is gonna be audio from a massive Stop Urban Shield demonstration in 2014, which is nested inside of an interview with Zahra Billoo from CAIR or the Council on American Islamic Relations. So we get to hear from Zahra, we get to hear from the Stop Urban Shield work, which was happening right here in the Bay Area, and, um, I'm excited to hear y'all's thoughts.   [00:32:14] Speaker 20: I think a, a really huge local victory for Bay Area residents to celebrate is all of the organizing that happened to push back Urban Shield. I don't know if folks are familiar with Urban Shield, but it's essentially like a massive law enforcement training exercise where they train SWAT teams and sell weapons and, you know, military-grade weaponry for domestic police agencies. And so when you wonder why the local police department in Ferguson has a tank or things of that sort, or why people are dying because police are using military-grade weapons, a lot of that's happening in this culture of this Urban Shield convention, and so it's been coming to Alameda County for a couple of years now.   [00:32:54] Speaker 21: On the second day of Urban Shield, community members filled the intersection of 10th and Broadway, just outside of the Marriott where the vendor show was taking place.   [00:33:11] Speaker 23: Can you read the sign that you're holding?    [00:33:15] Speaker 22: Don't shoot. From Ferguson, Gaza to Oakland, our homes are not war zones.    [00:33:21] Speaker 23: Simi Makhijani. I'm here with the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action. We're out here to stand in solidarity with all those that are targeted by state-sponsored violence, whether at the hands of Oakland, Ferguson, New York Police Department, or the drone attacks on Pakistan, or the struggles against Zionism in Palestine or Hindu supremacy in India. After September 11th here, in terms of surveillance and unwarranted detentions of Muslims and those mistaken as Muslims in the Sikh population, and in other countries from Kashmir to Gujarat to Gaza, you know, the attacks on Muslims. We haven't always been recognized or as visible as we should be in standing together, walking together in these struggles here, and it's the primary reason that we're trying to be here, because it's really important that non-Black communities of color not be silent on this issue.   [00:34:13] Speaker 21: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders came out in force, and nearly everyone I spoke with made links between the militarization of police in our communities in the US and the militarism perpetuated by the US throughout Asia.    [00:34:26] Speaker 24: The increasing brutality of the local police and the paranoia about terrorist attacks stems directly from the attack on the Twin Towers. Of course, giving local police military-grade equipment is older than 9/11, but we've seen an upswing in funding from the Department of Homeland Security. So in that way, Urban Shield is one facet of the war on terror.    [00:34:45] Speaker 20: There was a really great coalition that formed on the ground in the Bay Area, primarily out of Oakland and San Francisco, that said, “Look, you can't push violent policing in our community, that we're not going to let you use Oakland as a base for that kind of development and activity.” And so they organized for a couple of months leading up to it, and then around the convention last weekend, there were very large rallies and huge visibility events. They also got a couple of people to move their events from the Oakland Marriott, which is where the convention was happening. And as a result, the, the news or the rumor out right now is that Urban Shield will not be returning to the Bay Area. And even if it does, I always find victories even in the organizing, right? Getting hundreds if not thousands of people out to push back against violent policing, against civil liberties erosion is a very big deal. And so if folks wanna learn more about that campaign, they can simply Google Stop Urban Shield.   [00:35:41] Arati: I just think there's so many incredible moments in that and, that was a big win in 2014. In thinking, in particular about how the speakers described Urban Shield as an extension of the surveillance state and as an extension of the war on terror, and then about the campaign itself around that event, I'm wondering what lessons the current day movement organizers can take from this.   [00:36:01] Palvinder: I think the biggest thing is probably that it's not in a vacuum, right? there's a lot of other movements that are very similar. There's a lot of other things that are a part of these larger systems, right? specifically, it was mentioned as the war on terror, right? So this is just one part of that, one facet of it, and I think it was really great that there was specific call-out for Ferguson, Gaza, other international movements as well across the globe, and I think that that's super critical, in the organizing work that we do. As much as we feel like our local communities might be targeted, this is all part of a greater system. It's not happening in a vacuum, and we have so much to learn from the organizing that's happening in those areas as well.   [00:36:39] Hafsa: Yeah, thanks for mentioning that. I think something that helped me get through the time post 9/11 was just realizing that this has happened in America before, like many different times, specifically to the African American community. And I remember reading about Malcolm X, reading about Martin Luther King and thinking, “Oh, these are people who can be my role models. I don't look like them, but I'm pretty sure I feel things that they felt.” And even, like, reading bell hooks or Du Bois, like they didn't look like me, but we shared a similar struggle, and I hope that in the future someone can look at our community, and maybe they don't look like us, but they will say, “Hey, these people fought for the same thing I did,” and it was basically against America's attack on human rights, which has been happening since America was founded.   [00:37:27] Arati: I know for me, one of the reasons it feels great to listen to this clip is because right now it feels like we're just in a cacophony of oppression, right? Like, every single day there are these new policies, new initiatives, absurd tweets, just so much messaging coming, and so many policies also happening that we're constantly contesting with. We're constantly trying to fight against. And, it can feel really hard. It can feel really hopeless. And I guess I'm curious about how we can think about these examples of, like, local work, like Urban Shield or any other work that you've engaged in recently, and think about how does, that local, work on the ground help fit into this larger thread or this national moment around liberation   [00:38:07] Hafsa: I also very much appreciate that these communities were able to show up to stop things like Urban Shield, because specifically, like in my experience growing up in the Muslim community, I was just so much in my corner just trying to survive that I wouldn't even be able to think about this larger picture of what's happening on the local government le- level that's going to affect me and my kids or whomever else. So I really appreciate that recognition of solidarity and people showing up and saying, “Hey, I know someone who hurts more than me and I'm gonna go out to the streets and stand up for them and protest for them.” ‘Cause I think that's something that's also helped me even when my community has been demonized. It's always think about someone else who's been demonized more than you and make that my fight song rather than my own experiences, because that can be a little harder.   [00:38:55] Palvinder: I think the other thing for me is realizing that when folks can't show up, there's other avenues too, right? So not everyone has to be in the streets protesting or showing up to these causes. I think about the need to make sure that our organizing is accessible for all people, and that accessibility looks different. I feel like especially when I was in my, like, 20s, I felt like showing up at protests and, at organizing events was the main way. And if you weren't there, you weren't down for the cause. And I think for me, I learned very quickly that there were reasons why they actually couldn't go and show up there, you know, for their own safety. Just the need to be able to have those different actions so organizing can be accessible.   [00:39:33] Hafsa: And I think having CAIR as an organization has been really great. That's been a constant in my life. It was pretty new when I was younger, and I'm so glad that it's still up and running and they're still, like, you know, fighting the good fight. and Balvinder like what you're talking about, like how not everyone can show up to a protest. I remember my first protest, and I told myself at the time, it's my last protest. It was with the Sierra Club in Huntington Beach, and it was a silent protest on the Iraq War. And I was one of two hijabis. The other one was my friend. Everyone else was white, and we were supposed to be silent, walking down Huntington Beach. And who was targeted? It was me by other white people, racists. And I'm like, “I'm silent protests. Don't talk. I don't know what to do.” And I was, like, 17, 18, and I was like, “I'm never doing this again.” So I'm so glad that organizations like CAIR are there and I can actually organize in the Bay Area with people who look like me rather than being told how to organize by people who don't understand my struggle, don't understand my experience, and won't stand up for me when they see something go wrong.   [00:40:36] Arati: Oh my, oh my-    [00:40:37] Palvinder: Yeah. Oh, oh my gosh. I would not have shown up to any protest if that was my only experience with a protest. I would've been like, “No, these people are all crazy,” and like, “Where's my community at?”    [00:40:47] Hafsa: Oh my- No, I switched to anarchism after that. I was like, “No, the Democrats don't have it figured out. I cannot… Y'all don't understand me. You want to maybe, but that's it.”   [00:40:59] Arati: Yeah. I feel like at this point I'm like, if there's a protest, we need to have a safety training. We need to know what are the people's risk tolerances. I'm so sorry that happened to you. That is wild. But it's also… I mean, sadly, it's not unique. I think a lot of people have a story of being, like, at a protest and then not being protected. So yeah, how are we, how are we really thinking about how we're protecting ourselves and our community, for sure.    [00:41:21] Hafsa: Yeah, and it was a good experience because the Sierra Club fights for land, and knowing that they don't necessarily fight for me gives me information that, hey, I have to do that fight because I'm in environment. I'm a field biologist, so that's something I keep in mind, I think. I'm one of the few people who can actually understand the struggles of the animals and the humans, and that's very rare.   [00:41:41] Arati: Do we have any other thoughts on the Bay Area specifically and how we might be positioned in the Bay to support this fight for liberation?   [00:41:48] Hafsa: I moved to the Bay Area because I saw that there was a solidarity there that wasn't quite there in Southern California where I lived, in Orange County, and I wanted to learn more from that because I didn't wanna just hang out with people who look like me. I wanted to hang out with people who had all these different kinds of experiences with the American government, with being discriminated against, because The answer is there. It's between all of us. It's not within our little silos of community. It's when we all connect together, and that's also what brought me to joining ASATA as well.   [00:42:17] Priya: I echo that. I also grew up in SoCal in a really white, wealthy suburb called Manhattan Beach, which sounds not too dissimilar from Huntington Beach. And yeah, the message of solidarity that the Bay Area really espouses is what brings me here. And, the way that we show up for each other in the Bay feels uniquely inspiring. Whether it's Urban Shield, whether it's like, oh, there's a Muslim ban, we're at SFO within like hours. Oh, we're gonna, accompany people to their ICE court hearings. Like, I really feel like we just show up in unique ways. And yesterday I did canvassing for ICE Out of Dublin, and it's, that similar message of like we're out here, we're talking to neighbors. And like Balvinder said, there are so many ways that you can show up for each other, but we have a history of doing it.    [00:43:03] Arati: I love that. This takes me right to the next thing I wanted to talk about, which is, a lot of people organizing now don't have a living memory of 9/11, right? And so we're gonna listen to some clips, from Deepa, who's a community organizer, and Fahd Ahmed, who was the legal and policy director of Desis Rising Up and Moving. And, they both have some kind of reflections around social movements, young organizers, and, yeah, we're gonna, we're gonna think a little bit about that as we continue to, like, look forward.   [00:43:29] Speaker 19: Social movements have always been the main vehicle for change whether in the United States or the world abroad. And and the power of social movements is that the democratic potential that you build, the people's political awareness that you build, the power that you build doesn't dissipate away just based on an election. Doesn't dissipate based on the changing of a person in power and that if we really had truly strong social movements that built coalitions, built alliances as were discussed earlier, that those movements retain power through various ups and downs, through various issues. And if those movements are infused with a deeper political understanding, historical awareness, that they can be very powerful in holding government accountable. While all these sorts of acts may happen, blowbacks may happen, backlash may happen, at the end of the day, we– the best– the government is the only place that we can hold accountable through our taxes, through our votes, through our social mobilization.   [00:44:33] Speaker 25: Some of the young folks that are entering or working at nonprofits now, supporting South Asian nonprofits don't have a living memory of 9/11 and the global war on terror, and they have been politicized in different ways, right, over the last eight years, for example, the pandemic, global wars, etc. And so there are a couple of ways in which I've been thinking about how we can support South Asian young people. So for example, how can we share historical analysis and political analysis so that young people understand that they are part of a trajectory of South Asian activism that actually started well before 9/11, before the nineteen sixties, right? And that continues to today. So they don't feel fragmented. So that's something that I've been sitting with a lot. Another is around pathways into public service and community service and into the nonprofit sector. So how could we support young people in terms of building their skills in having pathways open to them into our nonprofit organizations? And then finally, how do we support them, um, so that they can do this work for the long run? You know, we all struggle with burnout. We all struggle with sustainability. What are some lessons learned that we can pass on? What are some best practices? That's something that's been sitting with me quite a bit, and I hope that the coalition will really think about supporting young people's leadership and finding different avenues and pathways to do that.   [00:46:00] Arati: What do we think about how we can share historical analyses that will help people new to organizing and understanding their role? Or how can we support young people in building skills that kind of help get them into movement work?   [00:46:11] Hafsa: I think reading literature is very, very, very important. When I think about what's helped me understand myself better, it was things like the Black Panthers, and that's another reason why I moved to the Bay Area. Like, they're organizing. They weren't just there armed guards, like, policing their, policing other people from their community. It was also, like, you know, free lunch programs for the kids. It was a holistic understanding of community and what it meant, what it really meant. Like, hey, we got us and no one else got us.    [00:46:43] Palvinder: Some of my favorite things has been around BASE, so Bay Area Solidarity Summer gives context to like, young organizers, about the long-standing history of South Asian organizing, and it is so diverse. I remember the first time I saw it, I was, like, amazed. I was just like, “Wow,” “This is really great.” It was so inclusive of different communities, in the larger sort of South Asian stream of organizing, and so it was just really great. I think Anirudha and Mrinalini cover that South Asian timeline, each year at BASE, and it just allows you to see the context that this was pre-9/11. This is, going back to the '60s, '70s there's been so many other movements that have happened, and just all of the different actions that have been taken. And so I think that's really, really helpful to see it across communities, religious, minority, state, countries, all of that, in the larger, broader South Asian group and then just the need for training and educating and informing young people. I think it's never too early to start. And then I think just investing in our communities. I have to say, I know for the Punjabi Sikh community, I worked for Jakara Movement, was our first community organizer. We had a part-time staff member, turned full-time staff member prior to me working. And I remember when I would tell people that I'm, like, an organizer, they would be like, “No, no, no, but like, like, what's your job? Like, what do you actually do?” So it was interesting to see when I would do the work, they would be so appreciative, they'd love it, and they wanted it to happen. But the investment in understanding that this can also be a job and needs to be a job, in doing development work in the community around the organization, I just saw that, we want things to happen, but we don't wanna put our money there always. And I think that if we want for greater social movements and greater advancements in our communities to happen, we need to be like other communities. We need to have organizations that are established, investing in paid positions. And so many of us do this in our free time, right? And I think that so much of it happens in that. But we can see where folks in social movements have gone further, and that's because there's been intentional and critical investments that have sustained them. So great call-out to, I think all of our communities to making sure that we're investing in this because we can only do so much of it in our free time.   [00:48:50] Priya: I really appreciated the thread of education, and I was a BASE alum, and Aditi gave me a great overview of South Asian organizing. And, like you said, Balvinder, it's such an in-depth history. and it really has helped inform my current politics and what South Asian organizing can look like today. and I think the other way that I try to educate myself is just, like, be curious, ask questions. Ask my grandparents what their experience during partition was like. Ask my parents what their experience post 9/11 was like, and just, learn from each other and learn those histories also, public education curriculum, especially in Oakland, is getting better and better. Like, all ninth graders have to take ethnic studies. We talk about the Black Panther Party starting in, like, fifth grade in Oakland schools, so I feel like there's a lot of progress being made.   [00:49:39] Speaker 27: I think that we need to begin to dream again. I think especially among progressives, there is a great despair and a cynicism and even a pessimism as we're entering a new decade and so much of the apparatus of oppression that we've inherited after 9-11 have not, has not been rolled back. The wars persist. And I think it begins with dreaming again enough to inspire the, inspire movement building. And I think that we need a new frame for movement building. I think rights separate us as if, you know, immigrant rights is separate from LGBT rights is separate from Muslim and South Asian rights. I think that we need to ground our movement building in shared moral imperatives. There is a groundswell out there of not only young Sikh and Muslim and South Asian Americans, but really a whole generation of Americans who are really hunger, hungry to emerge from the shadow of 9-11 and think of this, the end of the 9-11 decade as an end to a chapter of history and the beginning of a new chapter.   [00:50:37] Esha: So again, this is kind of us tying back to what we've been talking about, which is just how, how do we connect that work and build on top of it, and also keep people engaged and continue to build solidarity. so would love… I know we've kinda touched on this as a through line of all of our conversation, but would just love to hear your hopes for the future and, and what you see as a positive, and where we can go from here.   [00:51:01] Palvinder: Esha, I'm a bit critical about this, I'm gonna start with the critical, but I'm hoping to end on a positive here. I think when I hear a lot of this dreaming and need to close this chapter, I struggle because I think there is a lot of healing that still needs to take place and a lot of healing that never took place because we come from communities that sweep things under the rug. When I think about a lot of my experiences, a lot of my parents' generation's experiences, they just never talked about it. They had to provide for their family. They had to move on. They had to figure out how do they continue to have space for Punjabi Sikh folks in the Central Valley or in, in Northern California. I know when I went to college and was exposed to folks who came from different socioeconomic backgrounds, things just really changed, and there was a privilege with being able to dream and think about your future without having to think about, “Is my dad gonna be safe?” “Are we gonna have enough food?” Right? Or any of those questions. So Yes, all in for dreaming. I think there's a need to make sure that we're healing and we're uplifting everyone that's a part of the community as well. and so dreaming means that we're thinking about the organizing. We're thinking about what's coming into our futures and how are we gonna get there, and it means taking everyone with us. I am very hopeful, and I've seen in the last two decades of my own organizing and my own community building, the ways that folks are showing up for others who don't have those same backgrounds. I see the conversations around those who are detained in this current climate right now conversations that my own parents may not have had, right? Just advancements in their own thinking around, a lot of the politics in the past eight to 12 years even, and I see that across the community as well. Not everyone, of course. I don't know when we'll get there, but I definitely see greater humanity and just connecting back to folks and seeing those inhumane conditions that people are living through. Still have a lot of work to do around, when we talk about homelessness and substance use and so much other stuff. But I think we're making ample progress, and it's because we're really trying to bring everyone, the generations ahead of us that, never wanted to have these conversations and we never thought we could ever change their perspective. Some of them are slowly moving over. But I am grateful for just organizations and people and spaces and community, who can come together. And I know Aisa was like, “Oh, this has been great.” I feel the exact same way, right? Like, you know, three of us are joining on a call, and I feel like we're able to come and connect in this space because of that sort of shared linkage around organizing and care and healing. So just really grateful for spaces like this and people who continue to really think critically about the way that we do this work.   [00:53:43] Hafsa: Yeah, thanks for sharing that, Balvinder. I also grew up in, like, a very low-income household in government housing in Southern California, and I think a lot of American Muslim immigrants in the area were also in a similar situation. And, I think about the struggles, the everyday struggles that my parents still have to go through. There's no, like, healing. There's no understanding of 9/11 still. They're still working every single day. And yeah, I can dream of a better life for them, but I've kind of been coming to terms now that they're not gonna experience the freedom that I wish we could all experience in their lifetime. And yeah, like I said, it all comes down to the socioeconomic fight in this country, and really throughout the world, where we can say it's all these marginalized communities because of what we look like, but it all really comes down to keeping the classes separate and keeping a very high income class continuously growing, and the rest of us are just the soil that they use to extract nutrients from. And there has been a larger struggle of socioeconomic issues throughout history, and that's also something that's really helped me understand my own position in the world. Because even though 9/11 did position me as a perpetrator of violence that I've never done, I realize that there's… it, it, it really helps to link myself and my experiences to struggle that have already happened because it makes you not feel alone, and it really helps you feel that solidarity even with people who are not alive still, and that's really helpful. I, I think about ancestors a lot, and I think of we… A lot of us don't have access to our actual grandparents or great-grandparents because of partition or whatever else, so I've looked to people like Malcolm X and other people like that. And even I've read a lot of Tolstoy . Like, even it, it's not just something that, um, has to happen right now with the people that are alive right now. It's a long line of human rights movements and the thirst for freedom that we're all a part of, and that makes me feel a lot more contained as I'm going through the more difficult parts of being part of a marginalized community in America today.   [00:56:05] Arati: We would love to hear your thoughts as well on that last clip.   [00:56:08] Priya: I appreciate the call to dreaming and thinking beyond what exists, and I feel like music and art and all the ways that we, you know, practice joy and experience that in community with each other is part of dreaming and, um, yeah, like creating what we don't yet see.   [00:56:29] Arati: Absolutely. So that was a clip from Valarie Kaur, who's an award-winning filmmaker, and we thought it was, her words about dreaming, y'all's words about the future, hope, solidarity, also pain, and how we heal and how we move together, that's the note we wanted to end on. So thank you so much for sharing your stories, your strategy, your, hope, your dreams, your experiences of isolation, and your experiences of community, because we're not gonna get through this without each other, and we look forward to continuing working together and organizing together. And one day we will, we will win, and we'll all be liberated. Thanks, everyone.   [00:57:09] Miko Lee: Please check out our website, kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about our show and our guests tonight. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating, and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. Apex Express is produced by Ayame Keane-Lee, Anuj Vaidya, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Jalena Keane-Lee, Miko Lee, Miata Tan, Pretti Mangala-Shekar and Swati Rayasam. Tonight's show was produced by Swati Rayasam, and edited by Ayame Keane-Lee. Have a great night. The post APEX Express – 9.10.26- Reflections on the 25th Anniversary of 9/11 appeared first on KPFA.

We heard you! We have received so many DMs and messages asking us to watch Pursuit of Jade, and we finally did it! Your noonas watched episode one of the Cdrama that had everyone talking this year and... spoiler: We loved it. Listen to us chat about why it snagged our attention and some theories on what's to come!Book recs:The Knight and the Moth by Rachel GilligThe Knave and the Moon by Rachel GilligAre your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession.Check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness.And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Michael Ridley is joined by comedian Andre Kim to talk about their frustrating trip to a liberal coffee shop, how goated Pablo Fransisco was, underwhelming moments meeting famous people, Michael's aversion to weed smell & more. Watch the bonus hour with Andre Kim & more on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/radioridleyradio Don't sleep on @ultrapouches. New customers get 15% off with code RIDLEY at http://takeultra.com #UltraPouches #ad Follow Andre Kim: https://www.instagram.com/andrethecomedian/ @andrekimcomedy4429 Follow us: Michael Ridley: https://www.instagram.com/ridleysweaty Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/radioridleyradio #AndreKim #RadioRidleyRadio #MichaelRidley #ComedyPodcast #Funny #Podcast #comedy #Comedian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This show has been flagged as Clean by the host. Heinlein published his first novel in 1948, and within a decade had published some major works. What distinguishes these early novels from his later ones is that he has not pushed the boundary of what he can write about to the degree he does in the 1960s and later. But there are fine novels in this period. Heinlein's Earlier Novels During the 1950s Heinlein was busy with his Juvenile series, but also found time to write some adult novels, and some of them are very good. A few of them were expansions of earlier, shorter works that he turned into full novels. Beyond This Horizon (1948) – This is Heinlein's first novel after the lackluster For Us The Living (which never was published during his lifetime; Heinlein knew it was sub-par). It is set in a future society that is practicing a form of eugenics, with a breeding program designed to produce the perfect human by selecting for health, longevity, and intelligence. The protagonist, Hamilton Felix, is not the one, but he is near to the end. And this society has also made it a point to keep a certain number of people who are not part of the breeding program, as a form control for the experiment. Hamilton Felix is in fact the penultimate step in this program, but has so far shown no interest in marriage or procreation. But in the course of the novel he is persuaded. His children are shown to be the end point of the program at the end of the novel. A sub-plot involves his friend Mordan Claude (in this book everyone puts their family name first) who falls for a woman he meets. When she sneezes, he begins to suspect she is one of the “control naturals”. They are protected, but clearly this is a class society, which is to be expected in any society that practices eugenics, and should be off-limits for Claude. But love conquers all, and then he discovers that she is not a control natural after all, which to my mind is a somewhat weaker outcome.Another aspect of this society is that most people are armed, and dueling is common. This is explained as “An armed society is a polite society,” since if you offended someone you could find yourself in a duel very quickly. A lot of gun enthusiasts have picked up on this and repeated it as if it was revealed truth, but even a cursory examination of societies with a lot of guns shows it to be false. Sixth Column (1949) – This novel was originally a serial written in 1941, when the Sino-Japanese war was in full swing, and this motivates some of the ideas in this book. The setting is a United States that has been conquered by the Pan-Asian Federation. This Federation had previously absorbed the Soviet Union and India, and is portrayed in very much Yellow Peril manner. John W. Campbell had a lot to do with this, and it makes the novel something that you can skip without losing much. The Pan-Asians regard the Americans as slaves. And their policy towards their slaves is “Three things only do slaves require: work, food, and their religion.” In an American military outpost hidden in the mountains of Colorado a miracle weapon is found that can kill, and it can somehow be tuned to only affect the Asians and not the Americans. Since the Pan-Asians have allowed religion (better to pacify the slaves), the Americans create a religion and use that to infiltrate the Pan-Asian facilities. Heinlein himself had a low opinion of this novel, and deservedly so. The Puppet Masters (1951) – This novel is a product of the paranoia of the times regarding Communists. But this novel is more of an allegory than a direct anti-Communist screed. It is fundamentally about “the enemy within”, in the form of alien parasites called slugs that can take over a human by controlling the nervous system, making the human a powerless slave to the alien. And they are attempting to conquer the world, though all of the action we see takes place in the United States. This is essentially The Body Snatchers plot, and has been done many times. But both this novel and the previous Sixth Column reflect the feeling of paranoia prevalent in society when people thought there were communists under every bed looking to corrupt the youth and subvert The American Way of Life. And it is notable that the organization that leads the fight against the slugs is a top secret outfit established without the knowledge of Congress and responsible only to the President. Double Star (1956) – This is when Heinlein as a novelist starts to really click, and it was shown by his winning his first Hugo for best novel. The plot is somewhat reminiscent of Prisoner of Zenda. In a future solar system, Earth, Venus, Mars, and the Jovian satellites are united under a parliamentary democracy, which is in turn under a constitutional monarchy. Think of it as similar to the UK, only in this case it is the House of Orange that are the monarchs. A politician named John Joseph Bonforte is the leader of the Expansionist coalition, and one of the most prominent politicians in the solar system. And he has been kidnapped sat a crucial time. His staff find an actor, stage name The Great Lorenzo, who is similar enough physically to impersonate Bonforte, while they try to get the real Bonforte back. They do succeed, but he has been very badly treated by the kidnappers, so the actor has to continue for the election campaign. And he wins the election, but the real Bonforte dies. The actor then continues to impersonate him to the point of really becoming him. The two things that make this novel so interesting are first, the focus on acting as seen through the eyes of Lorenzo; and second, the focus on the machinery of politics. And this draws upon Heinlein's own experience in electoral politics. Though he was not successful in getting elected, he clearly had absorbed a lot about the how-to of the process. And he did write a non-fiction book called Take Back Your Government (1992), which was published posthumously. It was subtitled A Practical Handbook for the Private Citizen Who Wants Democracy to Work, and was originally written in 1946. It was based on his experience with EPIC and in trying to get Upton Sinclair elected Governor of California in 1934. The Door Into Summer (1957) – This is another good novel, which features several themes that would reappear through Heinlein's work. The first is that Heinlein was a very confirmed cat lover. The title comes from a cat who went from door to door in the middle of winter, trying to find the door into summer. Second, the protagonist is an engineer, which is of course Heinlein's background. The third is the time travel element. People can travel into the future through a type of suspended animation called Cold Sleep. But for the purposes of the plot a scientist has invented a time travel device that sort of works. It sent a grad student named Leonard Vincent a few centuries back in to Italy where he became Leonardo da Vinci. But it sends our hero, Daniel Boone Davis, back exactly where he wanted to go. We see a few things in this novel that are of interest. First, the cat, Pete, has the full name of “Petronius the Arbiter”, who was the author of the Satyricon, so Heinlein's interest in sex is starting to make an oblique appearance. Second, when Dan goes back in time, he lands in the middle of a nudist camp, and that is also something Heinlein was very interested in.The plot can be summarized as Dan gets robbed of his inventions by his business partner and his secretary/fianceé, gets put into Cold Sleep, then goes back in time to just before he got robbed and fixes things to his satisfaction, then takes the Cold Sleep again to finish his plans. It is a pretty good yarn. Methusaleh's Children (1958) – This was originally a novella written in 1941, then expanded into a novel. It is part of the Future history. It introduces Lazarus Long, who would go on to be Heinlein's alter ego through many of his future books, and thus implicitly makes those books part of the Future History, though most scholars will dispute this. What cannot be disputed is that this novel is a cornerstone for where Heinlein would go in many of his future stories.The story begins with a successful businessman named Ira Howard who dies of old age at around the age of 49 in the 19th century. In his will he leaves his estate to trustees with the mandate to find a way to extend human life span. The best they can come up with is to encourage (financially) people who had long-lived grandparents to marry each other and have children. They carry this on and by the 22nd century the Howard Families, as they call themselves, have an average life span of 150 years. But they have to hide this form the rest of society, and arrange from time to time to “die” and then become someone else. This masquerade helped them survive the years of Nehemiah Scudder and his successors, but a few of them reveal themselves during the Covenant government. This has a bad result because people want the secret that they assume the Howard families are hiding, and they might be willing to kill to get the secret. So the Howard families steal a starship and make their escape. One of the people onboard is Andrew Jackson “Slipstick” Libby, who we first met in the short story Misfit, and he manages to come up with a Faster-Than-Light drive. They finally decide to go back to Earth, where they discover that scientists have found ways to prolong human life and they are no longer enemies, in fact they are welcomed for bringing the FTL drive.This is definitely a must-read novel for anyone who wants to get into the Heinlein universe. So many other works are based on it. Links https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_This_Horizon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Column https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Puppet_Masters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Star https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Back_Your_Government https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Door_into_Summer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah%27s_Children https://www.palain.com/science-fiction/the-golden-age/robert-a-heinlein/heinleins-earlier-novels/ Provide feedback on this episode.

Tough New York City police captain Stanley White, a Vietnam War veteran, becomes obsessed with destroying an emerging Chinese-American Triad drug ring in Manhattan's Chinatown.Mickey Rourke plays White and he sure does hate the Asians and says racist stuff constantly, all while cheating on his wife with a young asian reporter. At least he is sweet to her (just kidding, he's awful). Has Michael Cimino struck gold in this, his fourth film? Has he made another masterpiece? Tune in and find out!

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. Tonight on APEX Express, Host Miko Lee is going Beneath the Surface — with two incredible artists, Margaret Cho and Masaki Fujihata. Both artists have been working in their fields for decades. Margaret Cho — stand-up comedy, sitcom, filmmaking, writing. Masaki Fujihata — a pioneer in new media art.And here's what they have in common: they've both shifted with the times… but never lost their own voice. Their vision has stayed singular, even as the world around them changed. Listen in to APEX Express   Check out: BeHere / 1942: A New Lens on the Japanese American Incarceration at the Oakland Museum from Friday, September 18, 2026—Sunday, December 27, 2026 Masaki Fujihata website Choligarchy at Berkeley Rep, September 15-19th, 2026  Margaret Cho website Interweaving: Indo-Persian Exchanges Interweaving: Indo-Persian Exchanges at Oakland Asian Cultural Center, September 11, 2026 7pm Artists featured: arjun-verma.com www.pezhham.com  MazdakAlipour.com emanhashimi.com   Show Transcripts [00:00:00] Opening: Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.   [00:00:34] Miko Lee: Tonight on Apex Express, I'm going beneath the surface with two incredible artists, Margaret Cho and Masaki Fujihata. I'm your host, Miko Lee.   [00:00:57] These are two artists who've been working in their fields for decades. Margaret Cho, stand-up comedy, sitcom, filmmaking, writing, and Masaki Fujihata, a pioneer in new media art. And here's what they have in common. They've both shifted with the times, but they never lost their own voice. Their vision has stayed singular, even as the world around them have changed. So stick with me. First up, my conversation with Margaret Cho   [00:01:29] Welcome Margaret Cho to Apex Express.    [00:01:32] Margaret Cho: Thank you.    [00:01:34] Miko Lee: I wanna start with my question I ask most of my guests, which is who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    [00:01:41] Margaret Cho: I think my people are Asian American, my people are queer, my people are all ages, my people are progressive, my people have hope for the future. That's what I'm hoping. I think that's it, and that's who I am too.    [00:01:56] Miko Lee: Thank you. You started stand-up so young in this very Bay Area, and I think you started at age 14. I'm wondering what's your earliest childhood memory of being a performer?    [00:02:08] Margaret Cho: My earliest childhood memory of being a performer was I was actually a singer. I was a singer in a band of children, and I was probably maybe five years old. We were on a show on KTVU. I believe it was called Asia Now, and it was filming in the studio and I wouldn't stop waving at my mother, who was just off camera. And after the performance the band leaders asked me not to come back. Aw. I remember that because I could not stop waving at my mother and so I kept breaking that fourth wall. That was my first memories of performance.   [00:02:47] Miko Lee: And what did that feel like to you?    [00:02:50] Margaret Cho: I didn't really get the idea. I didn't really understand television exactly quite. I didn't understand why we were performing. I didn't understand why I couldn't say hi to my mother while I was performing. I didn't have a real comprehension of like even like rejection of what that meant or even performance or what that meant or television. So all these things that I come to learn about very well, rejection, performance, and television is my whole life. But back then I didn't understand the importance of all those things.    [00:03:22] Miko Lee: But there must've been some kind of zhuzh for you that you said, “Ooh, I wanna keep doing this,” right?    [00:03:28] Margaret Cho: Yeah, I think so. Much later though, you know, I did perform as a pianist. I was a classical pianist. I was also a ballet dancer. So those things required performance, which actually would make me really, really nervous, I think because in piano you're playing a classical piece. You're playing Beethoven, you're playing Mozart. So if you make a mistake, everybody's gonna know. Also with ballet you're choreographed and you're in as a troupe. If you're doing choreography with a bunch of other people- If you make a mistake, everybody's gonna know. But with comedy, mistakes are a little bit more of, something you can gloss over a bit. There's a little more control there, a little more room for chaos, which I absolutely need, I think, as a performer.   [00:04:22] Miko Lee: Mm, this is interesting. You've already described some of the different types of performance that you do, and you've also done so many things in your life. But I'm wondering if there is a type of art form that still makes you nervous.    [00:04:34] Margaret Cho: Music. I think playing an instrument in front of people, I think because when I was a child and would perform these recitals, I would be so nervous. There were a couple of times in recitals where I had to start over, you know? When you're, like, eight or nine years old and you make a mistake and have to start over, and this audience is, like, hundreds of people, it's, like, really mortifying. I still carry that. I play m- numerous instruments, and I really dread playing them in public. What helped me a little bit is busking, which I did quite a lot of over, over the years because when you're playing out on the street, there's a… I don't know. It's like people are not really paying attention to you, and therefore you're kind of in this divide of I'm in performance, but I'm also kind of not. So that helped. In general, I refrain nowadays from when I do music, I don't usually play my instrument along with the band. I usually just focus on singing. Even that is quite nerve-wracking. Singing and doing music still, even though I've been doing it really my whole life, there is something about it that, that quite, um… because when you're singing, you're actually also the instrument. So there's a bit of more required. That's why I always prefer comedy. Your quality of voice doesn't matter because the music you're making doesn't have to sound pleasing.    [00:05:59] Miko Lee: And when you were busking, what instrument were you playing?   [00:06:02] Margaret Cho: Guitar. Ah. So I would play guitar, sometimes a six-string banjo, sometime, I'd play all manner of sort of guitar-necked instruments, which can go from, guitar to mandolin to a cello that's, it has a guitar neck, so I can play- Ah that as well. So all those things, I cheat at everything 'cause I have a guitar neck.    [00:06:21] Miko Lee: I love that. The improv just comes out of you in all different ways, I guess.    [00:06:27] Margaret Cho: Yeah.   [00:06:27] Miko Lee: So you have been a path maker, rule breaker in so many aspects of your life, from comedy obviously, and producing and starring in the first Asian American TV show, actor, fashion maven, author, rapper, podcast host, and out and proud queer role model. I'm wondering, what's a career dream that you aspire to?    [00:06:46] Margaret Cho: Ooh, well, I wanna be an old lady crime show, like Murder She Wrote. I wanna just solve crimes. I love, like, a British crime show, like an old lady solving crime. Like a Prime Suspect, like a Helen Mirren. I love that kind of genre of television, and so I would love to mature in that 'cause, like, it's so interesting and also so rich and, I feel really drawn to it. So that's something that I haven't… I'm a participant in a lot of those types of shows. I'm on a show called Bull Trent, which is very much that, which is really cool. And then I've been on Law & Order, which is the ultimate, SVU is the ultimate sort of crime show. So I would love to engage in that genre more.   [00:07:31] Miko Lee: Ooh, are you developing that on your own?    [00:07:34] Margaret Cho: I'm not, but I am participating in lots of other people's versions of it. They're not out yet, so they will be coming, forthcoming.    [00:07:44] Miko Lee: Coming soon, and then your own version starring you. Yes. The- Yeah … modern Murder She Wrote. I would love it. In what town would this be? In San Francisco or in-    [00:07:53] Margaret Cho: Oh, San Francisco would be great. Yeah. San Francisco or, like, Marin.    [00:07:56] Miko Lee: Oh, God. That would be really funny.    [00:07:58] Margaret Cho: Sausalito. Sausalito would be so fun. You know, Napa Valley. You know, something, like, very, like, th- this community that looks very, like Saint Helena, like Calistoga, s- community that's very quaint and peaceful and, like, kind of like foodie oriented and, like, very, you, you know, you think very upscale, but actually there's a lot of dirty dealings going on underneath the surface.   [00:08:20] Miko Lee: The wine country Murder She Wrote.    [00:08:23] Margaret Cho: Yes, I love it.    [00:08:24] Miko Lee: I would watch that. That's fun. So you also have expressed your art in so many ways. Your body is filled with so many tattoos. I think you have over 70. Which of your tattoos evokes the strongest emotion for you?    [00:08:38] Margaret Cho: Well, right now I'm in this, like, trend only getting art from Korean artists, and these are guys. People from Korea who are tattooing now are really the best in the world. They are the state of the art. Like, their eye and their talent is just so innovative. There it's semi-illegal, so they do it under duress, you know, and they have to sort of do all these different things to do it. But their ability to just visualize things that are just, that seemed impossible, you know, these miracles on skin that they can do. The art now I'm really resonating with. There's an artist now that works exclusively in Dancheong, which is a kind of the color scheme of Korean temple art. And so all of his tattooing reflects that. And so I'm working on a very, very large piece on my leg that is, all Dancheong, which you know, for me, like having had lots of different kinds of tattoo, like I had sort of Japanese traditional and a lot of American traditional, and a lot of just kind of different kinds of art. Now to just really delve into the art of my ancestors is quite powerful, and by being done by very young, very skilled tattoo artists from Korea. You know, so I get to speak in Korean to them. We communicate in a language that is shared, that's ours, which is very different from the way that I've communicated with all of the other artists that I've had over my time as a tattooed person. So, um, yeah, tattooing for me, it's, it's all about Korea right now.    [00:10:21] Miko Lee: And what inspired your first tattoo?    [00:10:25] Margaret Cho: My first tattoo was done by Don Ed Hardy, who is a legendary Bay Area tattooer, also, an amazing guy and he was a friend of the employees of my father, who, my father owned Paperback Traffic, which is his gay bookstore just going in the 1970s. And so a lot of people were getting tattooed by Don Ed Hardy. They were getting full body suits in the '70s and '80s, and the, the, um, images, like, so on our refrigerator as a… When I was a child, my father would put up, um, the full body tattoos of these guys that worked for him. So that's what I would see every day. Instead of, like, our graded papers or, like, stuff that you usually have on a refrigerator, it was photographs of completely tattooed people. Um, and that really stayed with me. And so when I was ready to be tattooed, and this is, like, 2002, um, my father's employees and all of our, like, old friends took me down to see Don Ed Hardy, who was doing these body suits, and, he gave me my very, very first very large Japanese-inspired piece on my stomach and back. And that kind of started it off. I got the most painful, most difficult place in your body tattooed first, which is, like, basically your stomach, and your sternum, your chest. All those areas are really, like, those are the worst, and I got that over with. And so I realized, oh, I could actually keep on doing this. And I always knew that I would be heavily tattooed because of that.   [00:11:59] Miko Lee: So your first one you chose really big, not just like a small something. You got a really big one.    [00:12:03] Margaret Cho: Yeah.    [00:12:04] Miko Lee: Wow. Yeah. Just jump in, girl. Just jump in.    [00:12:07] Margaret Cho: Well, I just knew that was right, and I knew also this was probably, like, the only time that I would be able to get a very large piece from Don Ed Hardy, you know? Yeah. People know him, of course, from the clothing line- That's right … and the sort of Y2K influence. But he is so much more than that. His influence on tattooing is really significant. That was towards the end of his tattooing career. He didn't have many years where he kept doing it after, 'cause he explained to me that he absorbs the pain of people. Wow. And so he realized, like, that probably wasn't so good for him physically as he aged, I was really lucky to get what I got from him, which is a very, very large piece and a very important piece.   [00:12:51] Miko Lee: Amazing. And as you're talking about your childhood and growing up in the bookstore, it just makes me reflect on how your childhood was so unique and so interesting. Mm-hmm. And I'm wondering if today you were to make a television show about your childhood, how very different… With, with more artistic freedom. It would be so fun. It would be so fascinating. There's so many more streaming options than just the three networks that we grew up with. Yeah. So, what would that be like for you to do a TV show on your childhood now?    [00:13:23] Margaret Cho: I would love it. I mean, I would love to create that world, recreate that world, because, you know, we had the influence of, like, people who were doing a lot of very early body modification, meaning these full, full body tattoos, and, like, body piercing, which was such a different thing. I mean, in the 1970s we had the rise of Harvey Milk you know, and his assassination.    [00:13:44] Miko Lee: Mm-hmm.    [00:13:44] Margaret Cho: We also had the devastation of the People's Temple, which was all San Francisco people.    [00:13:50] Miko Lee: Yep, yep.    [00:13:51] Margaret Cho: It happened in Guyana, people don't realize this originated in San Francisco and came from there. All the people who died were San Franciscans, and Oakland, Bay Area people. This is our people. My parents actually rented the recently vacated People's Temple for my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. Wow. Like, crossing the police tape. To go in and have a Korean party, and then my mother's, “Lot of ghosts.” She saw all the ghosts.   [00:14:19] Miko Lee: Yeah, I'm sure.   [00:14:21] Margaret Cho: “Ghosts, ghosts, lot of ghosts. Well, ghosts don't really do anything. They just make food get cold very fast.” You know, like that kind of a thing. So it would be a great TV show, I think.    [00:14:32] Miko Lee: Ugh, I would watch that too. We're talking about your new show, Choligarchy, which is gonna be at Berkeley Rep, and I read that you said it brings you back to your roots as a political comedian. Can you share more about this?    [00:14:44] Margaret Cho: Well, I had the luxury of the Obama administration where I didn't feel like I had to fight so hard to be heard and seen as a queer Asian American woman, 'cause I worked on the Obama campaign, I worked on, getting people registered to vote in 2008 in Philadelphia. I worked on all these different things with Cal Penn in 2008 to assure a kind of future where we are gonna have something different, and then we did. And then so I got to spend about eight years where I could do dance, I could do music, I could kinda like drift into these other arenas of work that I hadn't been able to do because, before, had been, like, so much about fighting the Bush administration, so much about fighting what was going on. So now to be able to return to a thing that I'm very used to, like political commentary, where I'm really focused on using my voice to affect change and to create change, and it's really profound, you know? I love doing this show. It's got me thousands and thousands of death threats, which is also really terrifying and bizarre. I've always had a kind of very confrontational relationship with conservatives, but now it's escalated to the point of, like, oh, I actually do fear for my safety. But I think that it's worth it. The message is worth it, and I'm proud to do this show, and I'm very, very excited to bring it to very progressive Berkeley, which they're gonna hear it better than anyone. I do think Berkeley is even more progressive than San Francisco. So it's exciting.    [00:16:27] Miko Lee: Well, San Francisco is filled with tech bros now, so it's a very- Yeah … different vibe than when we were-   [00:16:32] Margaret Cho: That's right.   [00:16:32] Miko Lee: growing up. I'm wondering, I heard you say about how different it was during the Bush regime, which is actually relatively tame in retrospect compared to the fascistic times we're living in now. I'm wondering how different, now that you're going back to the kind of political roots, how different is it from that Bush time in your approach to your comedy?    [00:16:51] Margaret Cho: Well, Bush never descended into a cult. Bush never had the sort of magnetism as a person, to demand the cult-like sort of atmosphere that sort of exists now, where we have a leader who will gladly let all of his followers be on a decoy plane while he rushes away in a catering van. We think the decoy plane, that's really America. Like, the decoy– we are all, as a nation, on the decoy plane. He's happily content to let us all die to ensure his safety. It's like they're, and they're still gonna follow him after that. So that's a cult, you know? This is a different beast than we're dealing with just sort of patriotism or the idea of like xenophobia or the idea of wanting this kind of America that Bush wanted. Bush couldn't create that because he was not a cult leader, whereas now we have a bona fide cult and cult leader on a path to destruction.    [00:17:57] Miko Lee: So given this time that we're living in and how complicated it is, I'm wondering, especially as you're going on tour with this show, what brings you comfort and makes you feel connected to home when you're on tour or when you're away?   [00:18:10] Margaret Cho: Well, my dog is with me all the time, so that's really special. She'll be there at Berkeley. She's really, really amazing. I'm a big fan of social media. It's connecting with people on there, and people are encouraging me through there. There's a lot of points where I carry home with me. I'm also, at home on the road, because I've been traveling and performing for over 40 years, so it's a place that I feel a great deal of comfort in.    [00:18:35] Miko Lee: Because you mentioned social media, I'm just wondering, isn't that where the death threats are coming from, though, is social media? Or are you getting them in—   [00:18:42] Margaret Cho: Yes. But I'm also get, I get them on my phone. I get them, like they—   [00:18:45] Miko Lee: Oh, you, they- Yeah … find your cellphone and contact you—   [00:18:47] Margaret Cho: Yeah.   [00:18:48] Miko Lee: directly? Wow.    [00:18:49] Margaret Cho: Yeah, I get them, like, you know… I'm also concerned about, I've been doxxed, you know, they threatened to kill my dog, and I'm like, “She's white. She's one of you. Why would you kill her?” It's kind of funny.   [00:19:01] Miko Lee: But you don't respond to any of these folks, right?    [00:19:04] Margaret Cho: No, you can't, because you just don't know what… I always think about, like, Melissa Hortman. They killed her dog. I don't wanna be another example of, like, MAGA lunacy. When you speak out and you are a symbol of what they don't want. They don't want women, they don't want people of color talking. When you are that you're really in the line of fire. That's why traveling works for me, I get to be very, very stealth and hidden. Um, and that's kinda also why I travel so much, is to be stealth. Mm. I get so much encouragement from social media. I don't wanna cut myself off from it. But yeah, you have to be careful.    [00:19:42] Miko Lee: So you feel like that balance outweighs it?    [00:19:45] Margaret Cho: Yeah, for sure.   [00:19:45] Miko Lee: And I'm wondering if you think there's something that's misunderstood about you?    [00:19:49] Margaret Cho: When I'm talking and people don't like what I'm saying, they will say, “Oh, look at this has-been talking again.” And I'm like, “I'm not talking because I think I'm a celebrity. I'm talking because I am alive, and everybody who is alive has the right to speak.” I think this is really important. I don't talk because I feel like I have a responsibility to talk because I represent anything. No, I talk because we should all be talking. We should all have a voice. I don't have a sense of importance about myself or who I am or what I do. I think that everybody should be talking, and now we should all be talking because now we are all on that decoy plane, and he will leave us to die. So I'm going to say something about it. People have a myth about celebrity that somehow it involves our ego, and that's why we feel compelled to have a voice. But I think we should all have a voice no matter who we are.    [00:20:41] Miko Lee: I've heard you call yourself the patron saint of outsiders. Can you talk about what that means to you?    [00:20:47] Margaret Cho: I think for me it means to be able to have, my queerness front loaded, my Asianness front loaded, my gender front loaded, all these things that I want to be able to talk to those who feel like they don't feel represented by mainstream culture, by white supremacy. If you have felt rejected or even just not included by society at large, I wanna hear your voice. I wanna hear your opinion, and I wanna know you.    [00:21:15] Miko Lee: And last question, why should folks go and see Oligarchy at Berkeley Rep?    [00:21:20] Margaret Cho: Oh, it's Choligarchy.   [00:21:20] Miko Lee: Choligarchy.   [00:21:22] Margaret Cho: It's my nation. It's my dictatorship. In my dictatorship, we have universal healthcare. In my dictatorship, we have a universal living wage. If we actually made the billionaires pay their share, if we actually stopped supporting Israel and Argentina, other countries which I don't know why we give them so much money, but we do, if we stop doing that, we stop supporting the billionaires, if we stop giving corporations handouts, we could actually have a universal living wage where everybody in this nation would just be able to just live. We could just live because we are American. We could just live. And then your work could be what you really wanna do. That would be such an important change to the way that we exist as Americans. And we could do that if we actually stopped giving b- bailouts to corporations, actually made billionaires pay their share, and stopped giving money to countries that are not ours. That's what my platform is. That's what I run on, and that's what I plan to do.    [00:22:35] Miko Lee: And folk can find out more by going to see the show at Berkeley Rep, and we'll put a link in our show notes. Thank you so much, Margaret Cho, for joining us on Apex Express.    [00:22:45] Margaret Cho: Thank you.    [00:22:46] Miko Lee: Next up, get a preview of an upcoming unique performance at Oakland Asian Culture Center. Listen to Sawaal Jawaab    MUSIC   [00:24:01] Miko Lee: That was Sawal Jawab with Arjun Verma, Eman Hashimi, and Pezhham Akhavass in Interweaving: Indo-Persian Exchanges, a one-night-only performance on Friday, September 11th at the Oakland Asian Culture Center. The concert's a rare opportunity for Bay Area audiences to experience the interplay of some of Asia's richest classical music traditions from India, Iran, and Afghanistan. Next up, we hear from two voices, multimedia artist Masaki Fujihata and Carin Adams, senior curator at the Oakland Museum. Masaki Fujihata is a world-renowned sound, installation, interactive, and new media artist. He's also a professor at Keio University. His work has been shown all around the world, and now it's coming to the Oakland Museum, opening September 18th and running through the end of December. The piece is called BeHere / 1942, A New Lens on the Japanese American Incarceration, and it's a new augmented reality work. So tune in to my interview with Masaki and Carin Welcome to Apex Express, multimedia artist Masaki Fujihata and Carin Adams, senior curator at Oakland Museum.    [00:25:13] I'm so happy to have you both with me, and we're talking about the new exhibit BeHere / 1942: A New Lens on the Japanese American Incarceration, which opens at the Oakland Museum from Friday, September 18th to Sunday, December 27th. So thank you so much for joining me. I wanna start with a question I ask all of my guests. I'm gonna start first with you, Carin, and then I'll go to Masaki, and the question is, who are your people, and what legacy do you carry with you?    [00:25:53] Carin Adams: Oh, wow. I think there are lots of different facets of my family and who I think of as my people. Um, I think in, in this work in particular, I'm really, um, thinking a lot about my grandparents, my, my mother's parents, and, um, my mom, who's turning 91 in, um, October, and, um, her and her siblings' experience, um, being incarcerated in Tule Lake. So- Mm … that, I think has, has a lot to do with wh- why I'm here, and thank you so much for having me.    [00:26:36] Miko Lee: Mm-hmm. Thank you so much. And Masaki, what about you? Who are your people, and what legacy do you carry with you?    [00:26:43] Masaki Fujihata: Yeah, in my case, my, career started with the computer graphics long time ago in the '80s, so I came in, uh, Bay Area and, uh, West Coast quite frequently to join a big, uh, conference and so on. But then in '90s, I was very many times to be invited to be in Europe, so-called media art, i- is so dominant. So my curiosity is about the visual arts plus computer technology. Then nearly 10 years ago, I started to play with augmented reality. I recognized AR is a very good technology to put the history in actual moment. So the title Be Here 1942 means, I try to call the people in the past in the present. After one of my friend, the professor at UCLA invite me to be in Los Angeles, then we started to focus onto the Japanese Americans' history. That was the first, a kind of coincidence, but it was, very interesting to me because, I was born in Tokyo and grew up here in Tokyo, so usually I didn't think about who is a Japanese. [00:28:10] Along with this production, I studied a lot, not only the racial problems, but also the identity, , not only the personal identity, but also identity of Japanese and also American. It's really difficult to understand what's is the identity in the America because so many different people are living together and of course there are several conflicts. This is very good study for me, through the new media technology and, through the meeting with the people. Some of them really had, severe experience inside the camp. I never had a chance to think about these opportunities. Then I really want to recreate what had happened in the 1942. That was my point of view for this project.    [00:29:08] Miko Lee: I'm wondering when you were growing up in Japan, did you learn about the Japanese American incarceration?    [00:29:15] Masaki Fujihata: Maybe, maybe, but a tiny. Most of the young students just thought, oh, this is the history, not mine    [00:29:27] Miko Lee: And did you… Were there kibei that were there? Cause I know there were a lot of Japanese Americans that had been pushed out and repatriated to Japan. Did you grow up knowing any of those people?    [00:29:39] Masaki Fujihata: Mm, not, not really. Not really. Um, how can I say? Mm, maybe this is the education, the Japanese education. They didn't talk much about the history. The first part is an ancient moment, is very, very, you know, impressive. But, at the end of the term, so the modern age usually passing very, very fast.    [00:30:10] Miko Lee: Oh, interesting.    [00:30:11] Masaki Fujihata: Yeah, so n- not only about, history between America and Japan, but also China and Japan.   [00:30:18] Miko Lee: Mm-hmm.    [00:30:19] Masaki Fujihata: We have very few knowledge in, on the context of, uh, history education. I mean—   [00:30:24] Miko Lee: So sort of World War II- I mean- and forward? From World War II—   [00:30:27] Masaki Fujihata: Yeah, yeah …   [00:30:28] Miko Lee: You didn't really learn about it?   [00:30:28] Masaki Fujihata: Yeah, modern age. Modern age. I believe this is very big problem in the education.    [00:30:35] Miko Lee: That's so interesting. So the first that you really learned about the Japanese American incarceration was during, when you started this project at UCLA? Is that right?    [00:30:44] Masaki Fujihata: Yeah, yeah. I know something about the history in the US, but when I started to do research, there are many details, and every people's history is very, very different. So the textbook of the history is just the surface- So that's why I wanted to show more the detail through a new media technology.    [00:31:16] Miko Lee: I read a quote from you that said, “My aim was to peer deeply into photographs to derive from them more than was visible on the surface.” Can you talk a little bit more about what that means to you?   [00:31:29] Masaki Fujihata: Yes, because, I started to think about to focus on the moment when they ride the bus. So then, of course, I did some research to read some oral history, but, most of them didn't tell about the moment because I think this was just one hour or two hours for waiting. I suppose they usually don't want to remember, and also they thought that this is not important day, then they forgot.   [00:32:04] Miko Lee: What was it about the bus that you were curious about?    [00:32:08] Masaki Fujihata: We planned to realize our project, to think about the beginning. What is the beginning? There, there are quite many novels and writings about the life in the camp because of, of course, this is so heavy. Four years in the camp is unbelievable. According to my research, some people said they thought the war will ends in three months. But in there they spend in the camp, over four years. So of course, this is a heavy story and also while in the inside the camp. There are some conflict between the first generation, second generation or American side or Japanese side. The beginning is, of course, the Pearl Harbor raid, but, the bus, suddenly one day the bus came into your town and you were asked to ride the bus, and before riding they didn't tell them where they are going. So so if it happened now, how can we behave? So this is my question. This is the beginning, and they didn't know what will happen in the future. And then in parallel, I did some research to see the photographs because, there are many documentary photographs were in the archive, in National Archive, and also Library Congress. I tried to, see the photography, but as I said, when see the picture, you know, the detail is telling a different story, against the comment. The comment is just they are lining up for riding a bus or something, or Japanese American families get together and waiting. Of course they have some name card. At last I found through one of small girl's eye, there is a reflection of the photographer. But, not only the photographer, there are two, three, or four more people standing with the cameraman. Then, of course I understand they are all Caucasians. They are not Japanese American people. So for the little lady, for the little girl, when she was surrounded by, white officer, perhaps military police, she has nothing to do. But on the surface of the photography, she's smiling. So this contrast is the beginning. So this is a problem about media, visual media. So then I really want to share this experience with the other audiences through the exhibition. That was my intention.   [00:35:18] Miko Lee: And had you seen the photographs from Dorothea Lange and Russell Lee prior to working on this project?   [00:35:25] Masaki Fujihata: Of course, I know these names because they are very famous,, documentary photographer, the magazine Life started to publish from the year 1933, it was hit, so popular. I was really surprised because they did the job to make a document for Japanese Americans, and there is over 4,000 pictures left in the archive. I saw all of these so many times, so I can tell each picture. I can tell what is the difference, between the Dorothea and Russell Lee. So each photographer has, different characteristics. But I really surprised because, Dorothea Lange's photography is very different from others. And—   [00:36:18] Miko Lee: And the government didn't like them. They locked them away for years because they were too real.    [00:36:25] Masaki Fujihata: Yeah, and because, Dorothea's photography is always associated with the object inside the photography. She tried to understand who is she, who, who is—-    [00:36:38] Miko Lee: Mm-hmm …    [00:36:39] Masaki Fujihata: and try to have a good relationship with the object. Most of the photographer, like a press cameraman, it's just go there, “Hey, smile,” and shot is their, you know, way of business. But Dorothea's way is very different, so sometimes, I can tell she is always calculating the distance from her to the object. I enjoyed very much to have a chance to see all of these details. Of course, another luckiness because all of these photograph were shot by the government, then all of these are now public domain. Even me from Tokyo, I can see so many photographs with high resolution. I think those are made after year 2000 because of the technology came in. Then now they are supplying 3,000 by 4,000 pixels. That's why I could enlarge and to see the reflection on the girl's eye. It's a coincidence, but also it's the evolution of computer technology from analog photography. So this is also interesting part to share with the audience.   [00:38:01] Miko Lee: Thank you. Carin, I wonder if you could talk about what an audience will see when they come in to see the exhibit.    [00:38:08] Carin Adams: The exhibition is going to happen inside and outside the gallery. So if people are visiting the museum coming up through our entrance on Oak Street, they will have an opportunity to enter the augmented reality application that Masaki has designed where they're, standing there grounded in, the architecture of the Oakland Museum. But they're also seeing people, dressed as if they were in 1942, waiting with their belongings and their family members. They'll be able to see the buses that lined up on Oak Street in '42. There was a civil control station that was across the street, and Dorothea Lange took some very famous photographs of people waiting with their belongings in front of their houses that, on the museum side of the street. Masaki has adapted the augmented reality that he first developed for Los Angeles for Oakland. So people on entrance onto our campus will have that experience, and then if they come into the gallery, then they'll really be entering into the gaze of these eyes. They'll be surrounded by very high resolution images that Masaki has blown up, to mural size. You're forced to encounter the people that were reflected in the eyes of the subjects that Lange photographed.    [00:39:45] Miko Lee: Thank you, and I know that in the collection, you've had these Dorothea photos for a long time, right, in the Oakland Museum's—   [00:39:53] Carin Adams: Yeah. The Oakland Museum is the holder of the Dorothea Lange archive, including some of her images of the incarceration. The Bancroft Library also has extensive holdings of her work and material , related to this history. And of course, Masaki did lots of research in the National Archive and Library of Congress.   [00:40:16] Miko Lee: Masaki, I know this is the second version of the show since you have opened it first at JAMM and at UC, with UCLA. Yeah. What was it like for you to recreate it for the Oakland Museum? How has that experience been?   [00:40:30] Masaki Fujihata: I'm very, very lucky to find OMCA. Mm-hmm. We started to think about the production in OMCA. I made a research through, of course Dorothy Lang's photography. Then there is a number of the street, 1117 Oak Street is the place where people apply their address and family name. The Civil Control Station is that address. I was very surprised because this is a street in front of the museum, and actually the other side of the street was the Civil Control Station where the bus came in. So this is exact place I really wanted to put my augmented reality models. So I was very shocked because I never think about the museum is a real place.   [00:41:24] Miko Lee: So it's truly a place-based piece of art because that is the history coming alive in that very spot.    [00:41:31] Masaki Fujihata: Yes. Yeah. So, all the projects start from the realization of augmented reality.    [00:41:39] Miko Lee: Mm-hmm.    [00:41:40] Masaki Fujihata: So augmented reality is a kind of tech term, but augmentation is adding some information rather than the first wa- surface or rather than the display. In this case, we are putting the happenings in the 1942 in present, and then try to make a contrast between now and the past. The exhibition inside the gallery is showing a kind of process of the research to make this augmented reality piece because for making the 3D model data, we invite many volunteers into a special studio. I have to direct them. I have to prepare some scenario for them. In some cases, you are the university students. Coincidentally, you met the professor, while waiting for the bus. This is a fiction I made. When I need to make a scenario, I really need a research what is possible, what is not possible. So then the photography help me a lot to make a small scenario.    [00:43:01] Miko Lee: How many volunteers worked with you on this?    [00:43:04] Masaki Fujihata: I think totally 64 volunteers.    [00:43:08] Miko Lee: Wow. That is amazing.    [00:43:10] Masaki Fujihata: Each one was asked to walking towards the point where the bus would come, and then the second part is waiting, and then the third part is just lining up for the bus. So there is three different scenario. Then each person appears three times. Then totally you will see nearly 200 people.    [00:43:37] Miko Lee: Wow. And I understand that you use, in order to utilize the AR, you use cameras that kind of replicate those used during the incarceration, and I'm wondering what made you decide to choose that?   [00:43:53] Masaki Fujihata: So I try to know the core idea of each technology, because the technology is usually used for capitalism. My manifest is liberate technology from capitalism. So technology has another dimension, not only for serving for the capitalism to make money for your life more rational, but the technology also can give you a chance, who are you? What is life? What is the world? So I really want to use the technology another dimension of the technology usually used by the companies, and capitalism. In this case, this project is really good because very nice photography was left in the archive. But imagine in the 1942, photography was a high technology. Very few technicians or rich people could have the camera. Now so popular everybody has a camera inside their mobile phone, but it was high tech. And now augmented reality is somehow popular technology, but no one didn't use the AR technology to think about what we are doing as an art. So I wanted to use augmented reality to, to think about what is our life    [00:45:32] Miko Lee: Ooh, that is so interesting. I really appreciate that. And I'm wondering because you've seen audiences go through the first exhibit, I'm wondering if anything surprised you by audiences that have seen it and what, what you'd like people to walk away with after going to your installation.    [00:45:51] Masaki Fujihata: I was really surprised because this was my first case the audience had a tear. So after they saw the augmented reality, some of the person said, “Masaki,” I suppose, she suppose that, “Perhaps my grandfather was here.” Could feel the same impression or imagine, she could imagine what had happened on her grandfather So it's a bit like a cinema, but there is no written story, so each person can explore the images through a tablet. But, uh, maybe five minutes later, uh, the user will feel inside the scene. So In another words, I can say you are going to feel you are inside a cinema studio. You will be captured by the camera. And also another, okay, another interesting aspect because, I could develop this project because the photographs were left made by Dorothy and other people, uh, professional documentary photographer made these photography. So photography was left. And then, um, while you are using iPad in the entrance plaza of, Oakland Museum, you will see many Japanese people wearing the costume and, waiting for the bus. But now you are the cameraman. You believe you are seeing what had happened through the display, but, imagine for them inside the image were looked by you. So this is the viewer you are going to see, but also from them, from the object, you are the cameraman.   [00:48:04] Miko Lee: So you want people to feel both sides, both being the watcher but also in it—   [00:48:09] Masaki Fujihata: Yeah.   [00:48:10] Miko Lee: Immersed in the experience.    [00:48:11] Masaki Fujihata: Yeah, hunter.    [00:48:13] Miko Lee: Mm.    [00:48:13] Masaki Fujihata: Image hunter, yeah.    [00:48:15] Miko Lee: Image hunter, mm. I, I feel like you're saying utilizing technology as a tool for your emotions as opposed to a capitalistic gain. I'm wondering if you're working with AI at all, and your thoughts about it. Because you've really been on the forefront of so much multimedia since the '80s and I'm just wondering now people are just talking about AI and the impact of artists  and I wonder what your thoughts are about that.   [00:48:39] Masaki Fujihata: I, I think, uh, it's too early to, uh, work with AI as an artist because, uh, e- even the developer of, uh, AI didn't know what happened inside, so it's a black- totally black box. So that's interesting part of AI. Uh, maybe you know some, some story about this. Very recently, uh, the AI ju- just hack the connection, then they escape from the inside the laboratory to go outside the internet. So this could happen. Uh, that's why, because a human couldn't imagine. So the AI doing something different, and it's really a black box. Then, uh, that's interesting point. If I can be inside the development company as an artist, I can make something interesting hacking software, but it's a huge business, and, uh, I think this is not the moment for the artist. And also, as you know, all the data inside the AI is, uh, happenings in the past.    [00:50:02] Miko Lee: Right.    [00:50:04] Masaki Fujihata: And then, right, the present is important for the humans. What is the role of the artist? There is some, uh, sentence, artist is the person who is creating something new which has not exist before. so, uh, we are not AI, so w-we have to know who, what we should do in contrast to AI is the important moment    [00:50:37] Miko Lee: Thank you so much. I wonder if you would want to just reflect briefly on how this, this piece that you're presenting at Oakland Museum is very resonant right now in America because of the current politics of incarceration of peoples and you know, we're at the same, at the exact same concentration camps where Japanese Americans were held. Immigrants are being detained and put there right now. I'm wondering how this piece speaks to the moment that we're living in in the United States right now.   [00:51:13] Masaki Fujihata: Um, please do not make more mistakes that American government did before in 1942. So Our project can be a kind of reference what the American government did after the Pearl Harbor.    [00:51:39] Carin Adams: Masaki, would you wanna talk a little bit about the new piece that you're making?    [00:51:45] Masaki Fujihata: Oh, I see, I see. I think- That's a good idea. I, I totally forgot. Yeah. Thank you, Carin. Because I proposed to Carin and museum about to make a new piece. The idea is about, uh, the poster. The, that they… So the, in Okura case, maybe, uh, to l- late April in 1942, the poster paste on anywhere, everywhere inside the town, and talking about the, at the certain day, you cannot be stay here. You will be criminal. So, so this is the s- starting point. Then they need to come to the civil control station to sign up, and then one week later, the bus came in, then they need to go to the camp. Then the poster is now very famous, but, uh, usually, people didn't read it Then I, I asked to, collect volunteers to ask read this text on the poster, uh, several different locations inside the Oakland. So when you see the final result, the view of the people reading the text aloud is very peaceful, very bright, California sunshine and there is a lake behind and sometimes, you know, the buses came and stop and go there. So this is very peaceful, but the content is very strong- strongly contrast- co- contrasted. So it's a command from the government. I really wanted to, to make this contrast through this new production. So you, you will see three vertical monitors, and, 25 different group of people. I think there was nearly 45 people helped me to realize this   [00:54:02] Miko Lee: What is it you hope to evoke by adding this new piece of the relocation poster?   [00:54:08] Masaki Fujihata: I really wanted to involve some of the young generation and family and also, known Japanese American people. So all of these people, of course, have some fear against the, this moment, and then try to, uh, send messages. So they helped me to realize this.   [00:54:39] Carin Adams: The video is really going to provide the soundtrack for the exhibition. There is no sound in any of the other film elements or in the AR other than what visitors bring in conversation into the space. But they'll be able to hear the local volunteers that Masaki assembled reading the exclusion order text and we're expecting that to be very profound- impactful. And yes, some of the people who volunteered for this new video element were incarcerated themselves, others are descendants, and then there are just people who are representing different immigrant experiences who wanted to participate. So it's a very local production, and it really cites us in the present moment with this really chilling text from the past.    [00:55:33] Miko Lee: Thank you so much for joining me and chatting with me about the exhibit BeHere / 1942. I'm really excited to check it out, and I hope our audience gets a chance to go and see it all the way through the end of December at Oakland Museum.   [00:55:48] Carin Adams: Thank you so much for having us.    [00:55:50] Miko Lee: Please check out our website, kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about our show and our guests tonight. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating, and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. Apex Express is produced by Ayame Keane-Lee, Anuj Vaidya, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Jalena Keane-Lee, Miko Lee, Miata Tan, Preti Mangala-Shekar and Swati Rayasam. Tonight's show was produced by me Miko Lee, and edited by Ayame Keane-Lee. Have a great night.   The post APEX Express – 9.3.26 – Beneath the Surface with Margaret Cho & Masaki Fujihata appeared first on KPFA.

For the first time since 2023, all three noonas were in the same place at the same time! We converged on Chicago for BTS and made the most of our short time together, including snuggling up in Amy's bed to record this episode. You're welcome, video viewers! For this self-indulgent episode, we took the opportunity to reintroduce ourselves as the hosts we are now compared to the timid, newbie podcasters we were five plus years ago. Today we share things we never would have shared--like our underwear packing habits and how Bigfoot was an integral figure in our early author lives--on that first, VERY scripted episode. So snuggle up, listeners, and hop in bed with us for Afternoonas Unwrapped!Want to cringe listen to our first episode when we didn't know how to have a conversation? You can find it on Apple HEREYou can find it on YouTube HERERead An Infinite Love Story by Chanel Cleeton! Want to see Lower Wacker, where Megan should NOT have been walking? Head HERE Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession. Check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness. And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas. Last but CERTAINLY not least....love BTS? Or curious what all the fuss is about? Check out our sister pod Afternoona Army for takes on Bangtan life.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

This week we talk about some hot hitters like Steven Kwan and Brett Bateman, who is also lighting up social media with his play on the field and his smile and charisma off the field. In a dark year for Toronto, the Asians are the bright spots.Naomi has a potentially controversial take on how to handle Ohtani for the rest of the season, and we give the bump to the pitchers not named Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

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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. Join Host Miko Lee as she introduces Dr. Robynn Rodriquez's show “Spitting Fire.” Dr. Robynn speaks about Filipinx and colorism with Dr. Joanne Rondilla.   LINKS Dr. Robynn, The People's Professor   SHOW TRANSCRIPT [00:00:00] Opening: Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.   [00:00:35] Miko Lee: Welcome to Apex Express. I'm your host, Miko Lee, and tonight we get to hear the podcast from Dr. Robin Rodriguez called Spitting Fire, and I'm so excited for you to listen to it. Check it out, and if you wanna hear more, we're gonna link in the show notes an earlier interview I did with Dr. Robin Rodriguez. So please listen to Spitting Fire with Dr. Robin   [00:01:01] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: I can't actually remember a specific episode when my parents or my Lola, who helped raise me, explicitly said, “Don't stay out in the sun.” But I always knew growing up that staying out in the sun was something I shouldn't do because being dark was something to be avoided. I remember being embarrassed by my mom who would bust out an umbrella on a bright and shiny day. “Mom, it's not even raining outside,” I remember complaining. I hated the big hats she would wear or insist I wear, or the comments of, “You're getting darker,” also in a disapproving tone. I remember, too, the high praises anyone with lighter skin was heaped, even when I didn't think they were that particularly attractive. Or how if my relatives knew someone was going to be marrying an American, basically a white person, they would exclaim, “Oh, they're going to have beautiful children.” When I brought home a hapa, a dude who was Filipino and white, I was told that if we got married, I would be improving the race. I've always known, whether I can remember being told, “Don't stay out in the sun,” that if there was a skin hue to aspire to, it was to be light.   [00:02:49] To be called mestiza was to receive one of the best compliments. To be a mestiza is always already to be beautiful. Of course, if anyone said I was mestiza, it was always qualified as mestizang morena. That is, someone who exhibits certain types of physical traits that are associated with a mestiza, like having a more pointed nose or being slightly taller than the average Pinay, but not the lighter skin of a genuine mestiza. So that's why I was sometimes called mestizang morena. Still meant as a compliment. After all, I could still enjoy the privilege of being associated with mestizaje, but only partially So many Filipinas in the diaspora, especially those of us who live in white settler colonial societies like what we now know as the United States as well as Canada, so many of us share experiences similar to the ones I've experienced.   [00:03:58] My dear friend and colleague, a fellow sociologist, Dr. Connolly De Leon, who currently teaches at Ryerson University in Canada, made this shared experience a topic of study in her book chapter, “Mas Maputi Ako Sa'yo,” I'm Lighter Than You: The Spatial Politics of Intraracial Colorism Among Filipina-Filipino Youth in the Greater Toronto Area. It was a chapter that was part of the very historic anthology, Filipinos in Canada: Disturbing Invisibility, edited by Roland Coloma, Bonnie McElvaney, Ellen Ethel Dongohan, John Paul Katungol, and Lisa M. Davidson, and it was published in 2012. Now, I've taught, uh, Dr. De Leon's chapter, Connolly's chapter, in my Filipino American experience courses in the past, and it's always, always deeply resonated with my Filipina students. In Dr. De Leon's chapter, she starts off with a quote that so many of us are familiar with in some way. She writes, quote, “You're so dark. Yuck.' My cousin would say to me in disgust as she would place her forearm beside mine to compare her light skin to my dark skin.” End quote. Dr. De Leon continues, quote, “As early as the age of four, as early as the age of four, I was taught to feel ashamed of my complexion. I did not understand what was so shameful about being the particular shade of brown that I was.” End quote. The shaming that Dr. De Leon and so many of us experience comes from colorism, which scholars define as the discriminatory treatment of individuals falling within the same racial group on the basis of skin color.   [00:06:01] On this episode of Spitting Fire, Dr.- Doctora Robyn Speaks, you'll actually hear less from me and more from yet another friend and colleague, Dr. Joanne Rondilia, who I recently hosted as part of a lecture series jointly sponsored by the Bolosan Center for Filipinx Studies, of which I serve as the founding faculty director, and the School for Liberating Education, my platform for offering Filipinx or Filipinos and ethnic studies courses that are often only available to those who happen to be able to get accepted into the four-year, often elite institutions where they are taught. It's where I get to teach all of these amazing courses that I think all of us should have to the broader community. Dr. Rondilia has researched on colorism in the Philippines and the diaspora for over a decade. It was a topic of her 2012 dissertation, which was entitled Colonial Faces: Beauty and Skin Color Hierarchy in the Philippines and the United States. In her 2007 book, co-edited with Paul Spickard, entitled Is Lighter Better? Skin Tone Discrimination Among Asian Americans, she explores colorism as a phenomenon that no- not only plagues Filipinos, but Asian Americans actually more broadly. So now I'm gonna turn to Dr. Rondilia and her lecture entitled Don't Stay Out in the Sun: Understanding Filipinx and Colorism. Go ahead, Joanne. Take it away. So happy you're here.    [00:07:44] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: All right. Thank you so much, Robyn. It's, uh… Do you mind if I call you Robyn? Shall I call you Dr. Robyn?    [00:07:50] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: Oh my God. You only know me as Robyn. Okay.    [00:07:56] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: I will call you Robyn, but everybody else, you, you are required to call her Dr. Robyn- … Queen Robyn. You know, that's, that's how. But it's, it's such a, a joy to be here. Um, you know, before we opened the doors, uh, Robyn and I were talking about, um, you know, what it is to be an academic and the type of language and, and spaces in which we share our research. And I think one of the things that's really hard, especially for the soul of a lot of, uh, academics, is that we… it's so rare for us to really share our research, uh, with the community, right? ‘Cause I don't think of myself as a researcher. I think of myself more as a, a storyteller Right? And I think that that's really, uh, when students- when I have students who refuse to, like, engage in research, I try to remind them, like, research is not… I don't think of research as, uh, sort of like the white person's, uh, uh, game. I think of research as something that is connected to us, um, and it's our birthright. It's our ancestral birthright, right? Because storytelling is our ancestral birthright, and that's the lens in which I come into, uh, to exploring this issue of colorism.   [00:09:15] So show of hands, for those of you in the room, I'm curious to know how many of you were told, uh, were, were told this: “Don't stay out in the sun or you're- or, or else you'll get too dark.” How many of you were raised with that sort of mantra? Yes. Right. I, I almost feel like these words, uh, are so quintessential to the Filipino experience or the Filipinx experience. Like, “Don't stay out in the sun or else you'll get too dark.” And I'm someone who, I was born and raised on Guam, um, and so everybody on Guam is dark because we are always out in the sun, right? And my mother is very light-skinned. Uh, she came from a middle-class family from San Pablo City in the Philippines. My father's from Lucena, and he ca- he grew up poor, uh, and rai- was raised by a single mother. And so m- there was this definite class difference between my parents, uh, but there's also a, a skin tone difference between my parents. Like, my dad was someone who was very, very kuripot. He was very cheap, but he had this great love for my mother. Um, you know, and I think part of that was he saw her as like, you know, this, this wonderful, like, prize almost, you know. Because she came from a well-to-do family, and, you know, when they got married, her family did not want them to get married because, uh, he was not wealthy. But he was someone who, because he works on Guam as an engineer for the government of Guam, uh, and, and the US military, like that sort of… and, and he had, uh, I think in total like 13 deeds to his name. That's sort of what eased my, my mother's family into, you know, being supportive of their marriage. But there was… And, and on my mother's side of the family, this is a family, and mind you, I love them very much, but this is a family that, um, values beauty a lot, right? My mom and my aunties were all some form of provincial, uh, beauty queen And so this is why me and my brother and my sister were always told, “Don't stay out in the sun or you'll get too dark.” Because the idea was you had to preserve whatever, whatever it was our mother gave us, right? Even though, um, you know, like, uh, you know, even though, like, members of her family say didn't, didn't necessarily find us attractive , you know, the idea was, like, you know, as children of this, this woman or as chil- as, as, you know, members of this particular family, you had to, um, you had to sort of preserve yourself.   [00:12:18] So as a young kid growing up on Guam, I always wanted to go swimming, uh, 'cause my, my neighbors across the street, actually one of them, uh, represented the island of Guam, uh, during the 1988 Olympics in, in Seoul, right? So I always wanted to go swimming. I wanted to learn swimming, but my mother wouldn't let me because I would get too dark And so that, you know, like, there, there was so much of our lives that were limited because of this need to preserve beauty. And this is how I entered the research, uh, the exploration of colorism. So very quickly, for those of you who do not know what colorism is, simply put, colorism is a looks-based or, you know, um, you know, physical look, a looks-based system of discrimination where light skin and Eurocentric features are favored over darker skin and non-Eurocentric features.   [00:13:13] These discriminations typically occur within the same racial or ethnic community. Uh, the term colorism was coined by, um, the writer Alice Walker. And when she first started writing about colorism, she was talking about, she was talking about colorism in a very intimate way. She was talking about the way in which lighter-skinned Black women evoked pain, right, uh, onto darker-skinned Black women. And so this is where she comes up with this term called colorism. Colorism is intimate. It happens within the same racial or ethnic group, typically. And the reason why I say typically is because, um, in our society, we live in a very colorist society. So I'm sure some of you, and you can throw up reactions, some of you know people, may be related to people who say, “I'm not a racist. I don't have a racist bone in my body, in my body. I love Black people. I listen to Beyoncé. Halle Berry's my favorite actress.” Like, you know, they'll go on and on and on about how they're not racist. But when you look at the patterns of what they deem is attractive or, um, sort of civilized among, uh, the Black or African American community, they always resort to people who tend to be, like, lighter skinned, right? And that's also a way that, um, colorism manifests itself. It starts in the intimate space, but it manifests itself in a much larger, um, you know, in a much larger sphere. So for, um, the Filipinx community, when we look at popular culture, right? And, um, I don't know if any of you have heard of the show or are watching a show called, uh, The Cleaning Lady It's a new show that was, uh, it just premiered last week through Fox. And The Cleaning Lady, the reason why this is really big for, uh, the Filipinx community is because the… It, it's supposed… It originally was supposed to be a Filipino storyline, right? And it was a way to sort of introduce, uh, you know, Filipinx characters in the public sphere. But what happened was S- Shannon Sossamon, the actress Shannon Sossamon, uh, was originally slated to play the main character, who is an undocumented, uh, Filipina maid, right? But something happened during the initial table read, so they end up casting Elodie Yung, who's, uh, French Cambodian. So they changed the character a little bit, but when you look at the setting, it's set in Los Angeles. It's really a Filipino family. And my argument when I look at popular media and colorism is that oftentimes in popular media when they're trying to introduce Filipino, Filipinx characters, it's done through the mixed race body. It's done through a mixed race person, right? So for those of you who may be familiar with Shannon Sossamon, she's mixed race. She's a mixed race Filipina, but she's very white-passing, and it's usually mixed race white-passing or mixed race white-pleasing, what I call white-pleasing, uh, Filipinos that popular culture suddenly becomes interested in us, right?   [00:16:45] And that's what we see in a show like The Cleaning Lady. In the next few months, I think Jo Koy, uh, is going to have a movie called, um, I think it's called Easter Sunday. And again, Jo Koy, very Filipino, right? It, it's ingrained in his comedy. But what makes, what allows his fame to happen in the United States is that he's very white-passing and white-pleasing, very different from someone like a Rex Navarette, whose career is much longer, right, than someone like a Jo Koy, right? So there's definitely colorism at play, right? But when we're looking at the intimate spaces, the way colorism plays out in the Filipinx community, it's the lighter skinned Filipino discriminating against the darker skinned Filipino. In the Asian American community, it's the Chinese person discriminating against the, the Cambodian person, right? So there, there's these different levels of, of colorism at play. Colorism, um… It's important to know that colorism is the discriminatory system that makes anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism exist. It actually maintains anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism. And the reason why this is important is, one, when we look at anti-Black racism, and you, you're hearing this a lot, you know, um, either in academic circles or even in, uh, sort of, um, more popular conversations. I feel that it's important to talk about anti-Black racism in conjunction with anti-Indigenous racism because they happen hand in hand. And when we look at the founding of the United States, for example, the founding of this country happens through the genocide of Indigenous peoples as well as the enslavement of African peoples. So they're not separate. They come together. And so when we're looking at colorism, the system of colorism, right? Colorism is what, is what allows anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism to exist Um, what makes, um… And, and, and we see this through the different, uh, colonial periods of the Philippines. There's something very distinct about colorism in the Filipinx community, and it really has to do with our, um, our, our colonial history.   [00:19:25] And so on the worksheet, there's just a very sort of like quick and dirty kind of list of like these three major periods of colonization in the Philippines. What I really wanna ta- uh, point to is the role of the Chinese throughout these historical periods in the Philippines. Because, um, typically when you talk about colorism, uh, colorism is most prevalent in, um, the African American community and the Black diaspora. But there's something very distinct about Filipinx colorism, and it's that our notion of lightness is defined by Eurocentric standards of beauty, right? And this is because of Spanish colonization. But it's also defined by Chinese standards of beauty or East Asian standards of beauty, and this is because of the positioning of the Chinese throughout these colonial periods. Because the Chinese, um, historically were the, um, were the merchant class, they were often elevated above indigenous Filipinos, right? And so that's why today in the Philippines when you see people who are in power and you look at the mixed race or mestizo, you know, uh, the mixed race people who are in power in the Philippines, they're often, uh, mixed race Chinese, right? And that's because of the, the legacy and the presence of Chinese in the Philippines. And so it's, um, it's, it's the history of the Chinese in the Philippines, th- these notions of Chinese lightness that really make colorism in the Philippines and among Filipinx very distinct. Uh, it's a very distinct conversation.   [00:21:14] Um, uh, I wanted to pause and say if you have any questions or if I'm going too quickly, feel free to, you know, put this in the chat, and I will try to address it, um, as I go along. Um, in– At the beginning of the talk, I asked how many of you were told, “Don't stay out in the sun.” And for those of you who said that you were told this, by show of hands, how many of you heard this in the context of family? How many of you were told this in the context of friends or any other intimate, uh, setting? ‘Cause oftentimes these messages are circulated among the family. And so When w- uh, and again, like colorism, you know, relative to racism, colorism has a very… There is this intimate aspect because oftentimes how we understand our own value and our own self-worth has to do with the messages that are articulated in the family, right? So, uh, one of the interviews that I had conducted, uh, was this, with this woman who when I conducted the interview, this was in the Philippines, and she worked in the entertainment industry in the Philippines. And she, um She, uh, had talked about how her lola would address her and her cousins. So the woman I interviewed, very light skin, light eyes, light hair, and that's why she's an entertainer in the Philippines.   [00:22:47] She's a model, and at the time she was hosting a television show. And she said that growing up, her lola always called her Miss Universe, right? And it was because of the way that she looked. Her lola would call her cousin, who was, um, like Spanish mestiza, sh- so, uh, this person who I called Tyler, Tyler was Miss Universe. Her cousin was Miss Philippines 'cause she was mestiza, and then Tyler's sister was Miss Cebu. So here, you know, like… And this is very blatant, and I'm not saying that all families are like this, but here you have this very explicit example of, a lola articulating the differences between these three young girls. Queen of the universe, queen of the Philippines, queen of the province. And in her interview, Tyler had said, “Yeah, it was very clear that Lola had her favorites, and it was in the way that she designated you in this spectrum of, like, these sort of beauty queen titles,” right? In another interview that I had, uh, conducted there, and this was an interview here in, um, the United States, uh, I- in the research I called her Milen. Milen talked about how whenever there was a dance or prom or something like that, there was this whole process of, you know, her and her brothers having to go to Lola's house so that Lola could see, you know, what everyone was wearing and that there could be pictures. But what was very clear was, um, Milen's youngest brother was clear…   [00:24:29] You know, her words were, “He was clearly not a favorite,” and this was largely because he was darker. He was often omitted from the photos. Um, Lola didn't really care about what he was wearing and things like that. She always put attention to Milen, who was very light-skinned, uh, and her two brothers who are also very light-skinned. So there's a very central role in which the family plays in how we understand, um, colorism and how we understand personal value And so as I was, uh, exploring this, uh, in sociology there's a term called the beauty cue, and the beauty cue is a system of classification. It's a societal system of classification that classifies women from lightest to dark to, you know, from most valuable to least valuable. And so what I did using this theory that Margaret Hunter had wr- uh, she wrote about, I added to this conversation by talking about the intimate beauty cue, because the beauty cue itself is about a societal, uh, a societal structure, but the intimate beauty cue is how we understand our value, how our notions of beauty are created in the most intimate spaces.   [00:25:47] And the reason why this is important to look at is because I think each and every one of us can, um, we can look at the TV and we can look at societal messages and say, “Yes, that's how society understands beauty, but that's not me because I'm my own person.” But in the intimate space among family and friends, when you're getting the messages that you're not beautiful or you're not valuable and it's coming from an unconditional love space such as the family, therein lies the problem and why colorism is such an intimate issue, because these are messages that are articulated by people, usually by people that you love or by people that you're closest to.   [00:26:35] There is a gendered aspect to colorism. Women in families are often seen as being more responsible for, um, you know, for beauty or engaging in beauty practices over men. However, men do… You know, like, there is some pressure for men Uh, when we look at colorism in popular media, again, in the US sphere, the few chances we get to see Filipinos or Filipinx in popular media, they are oftentimes light-skinned, mixed-race people, such as, and again, the example of, um, The Cleaning Lady. We have the example of Jo Koy and his future projects. It's not until we get into the independent sphere that we can see more variation. But when major institutions such as, uh, a Fox network or Netflix is trying to introduce a public to the Filipinx community, they're gonna go with what they feel is safe, and it's usually someone who's light-skinned, someone who is white passing, someone who's white pleasing, right? You know, there is something about, uh, the way in which popular media uses the mixed-race person or the mixed-race body. When you look at skin-lightening advertisements, oftentimes it's a mixed-race person that is being used to model such products. Uh, this is over t- I think it's over 10 years ago now. Um, there is a company in the Philippines called Glutamax, and when they launched their line, they used a mixed-race, um, Black Filipina model named Jinkee Oda.   [00:28:27] And what they did was they showed the sort of before and after, and one of the taglines in the advertisement in Tagalog, it said, “You could be white like me,” because it showed this progression of her being dark-skinned and then being light-skinned. And again, like, here for this particular, um, product, you're seeing the usage of, um, you know, that, that progression. It harks to very old, uh, beauty advertisements that, um, sold products specifically to Black women, um, you know, especially skin-lightening products to Black women. So there's, there's a way in which the mixed-race person is often used to sell beauty, to sell product, to sell, to sell us our notions of, um, lightness Having said that, I'm not trying to demonize the mixed race person. I, you know, I, I don't think it's fair to, um, I do not think it's fair to, for example, um, boycott Jo- Jo Koy because he's so fair, right?   [00:29:35] Or, um, yes, I love that comment, how we lift up Olivia Rodrigo, but our love for her or Saweetie is very, is, it's fairly limited. Exactly. You know, um, you know, like, I, I don't want to attack the person, but if you're light, you cannot… You, you have to recognize the amount of privilege that you have, right? Um, and then when we're looking at skin lightening products, again, like this is a global, um, this is a, you know, a multi-billion dollar global industry. Um, in 2018 it was valued at 8.3 billion. 2022, those numbers have gone, have gone up. Um, and as of late there has been a lot of talk about, uh, skin lightening products for various reasons. Globally it's because that market is so high, but here in the United States this has become an issue because skin lightening products and the usage and sale of skin lightening products has actually reached our policies.   [00:30:41] So for example, uh, the CARES Act. Um, because of the work of… Excuse me Because of the work of Ilhan Omar in the CARES Act, what, um, what was able to happen was the enforcement of the usage of a particular ingredient called hydroquinone. So this ingredient, uh, it's a derivative of mercury, which is very harmful to the skin. Um, this is a very popular ingredient that is used by a lot of, uh, skincare professionals. Now there's an enforcement about how you can buy or have access to this particular, uh, ingredient. So skin-lightening products and the, the conversation about skin-lightening products has been a huge issue as of late. Um, I wanna end with two thoughts, and it's this. I want you to, to reflect, and I know this was a lot of me talking. I want you to reflect on the way in which we articulate ideas of colorism on a daily basis. I want you to think about, you know, just, uh, a few weeks ago, for those of you who may have gathered with family, what are the ways in which you've heard these, you know, certain ideas about colorism articulated? It's often, “Oh, this, uh, this person is so beautiful.” Sometimes there's a comparison of children. Sometimes when you're greeted by the people you love, there's comments about, oh, how dark or light you've gotten. Um, included in the conversations about colorism is body size, how much weight you have or have not lost. You know, um, the, this is all part of the c- colorism conversation. There's a daily… There's a way in which we articulate ideas of colorism on a daily basis. I want you to reflect on, um, the beauty practices that we engage in, you know? If we… You know, like, if I dye my hair blonde or if I wear, you know, green contacts, what is my reason behind it?   [00:32:50] Is it because I want to engage in a sense of play? Or is it because I'm trying to escape a part of my identity, right? These are, these are important questions for us to ask because these are the daily, everyday ways that we, um, sort of, we contribute to these ideas of colorism. Um, and that, um, I believe is connected to the everyday practice of anti-racism, right? Um, you know, it's important to understand that, like, there's no end because, you know, with respect to colorism, this is a systemic issue. And so what we have to do is tackle it piece by piece. Sometimes it's about the practices that we engage in, uh, individually, but it's also about the way in which we engage with the people around us. With respect to colorism, because it's so intimate, right, it's about having the hard conversations, um, with the people that we love the most, right? Our friends and family    [00:33:55] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Dr. Randilia. You know, I actually have a, a question. I'm wondering, Jo-Ann, do you feel, especially with increasingly more, um, kind of mixed race, uh, especially kind of Black and Filipinx, um, figures, um, you know, uh, in popular culture, is your sense that there is a shifting around colorism, um, or not?   [00:34:28] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: I think that there's small shifts, right? So I think of, uh, for… And I'm looking at the com- the comment, the Magandang Morenx, and then also, you know, we, we do have like, um, you know, the, the Black and Filipinx sort of mixed race entertainers like her and Saweetie. Um, also, uh, there's some no- notable athletes that are Black and, um, Filipinx. Like, I think of, I think of their popularity as moments as opposed to actual, like, movements, right? And the reason being is because white supremacy is so prevalent, it's going to take so much to dismantle that system, right? The magnitude of, of white supremacy is, is beyond anything that we can, you know, like, we can quantify, right? And so, um, I, you know, like, so I, I think of, uh, I, I think of something like the Magandang Morenx movement, I think that they're important. I, I think of them more as moments because… And it's not because, uh, they're not powerful. It's because white supremacy is just so prevalent, right? Um, and so, and I, I don't mean to be the pessimist in, in that, you know.   [00:35:50] Um, I think the way that we, the way we move forward is to do the heart and soul work, right? To do the anti-racist work, to recognize the ways in which, um, we contribute to anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, but to make the conscious decision that this is gonna, like, I, I'm going to work towards eradicating it e- while knowing that eradication may not happen in your lifetime. And I'd hate to be the pessimist. It's not gonna happen in our lifetimes. But our jobs right now is to plant the seeds towards that vision, right? It's to plant the seeds to make these moments the actual movement, to make it so overwhelming to white supremist systems that white supremist systems have no choice but to go away. But it takes so much, um, so much seed planting. Um-    [00:36:49] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: So Joanna, it looks like there's two questions that are sort of interrelated, and both, I think you probably saw them, um, kind of connect with concretely, you know, some ideas around or strategies around addressing, um, both colorism and anti-Blackness in the intimate space of the family or among friends, et cetera.   [00:37:10] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Okay. Think that is an excellent, uh, question and something that I have grappled with and, you know, is very close to my heart. The first thing I'll say is there's no easy way to bring this up with family and friends, right? Especially, you know, um, in our families, especially in our respective families. Um, how… I mean, you know your moms and dads, you know your lolas. You, you know them, and you know they're hella stubborn, right? Like… And so the advice that I have is this: It's impossible to change someone's mind. What you can do is model certain behavior, right? What you can do is model certain language, right? And that alone will speak volumes- Yeah because you are not gonna change, you know, maybe you're not gonna change, like, your lolo or lola's mind. But the people around you are listening. And so here, here's an example, right? Um- W- uh, for me, e- especially in, like, having these conversations with my mom, because she's very much the driving force, uh, for a lot of the research that I do, you know, um, I know my mom, and I know that if I make her feel like crap, like if I make her feel stupid or if I make her feel like, um, what she's saying is old and antiquated, I, I know that I'm not gonna get through to her.   [00:38:36] So what I had to do with my mom was event- was create a love language of understanding, right? Because by creating a love language of understanding the ways in which, like, some of her comments have hurt me, when I started to actually honestly articulate my pain, it's not that my mom let go of some of these ideas, but she started to create an understanding of the impact of her words. And what that did was it changed the way she would… Like, she wouldn't say the things she would say. She wouldn't tell me how dark I was. She wouldn't make comments about, like, me being fat or whatever, right? Because she understood, she understood the impact of that. And as I started to, to realize, like, okay, we may not come to an agreement, but there's a love language that we can speak to, that's how I started seeing changes in, in the way that we interact, right?   [00:39:33] Um, and so you can't change someone's ideas, but what you can do is plant seeds and sort of, and really stand your ground in terms of how you feel about certain ideas, right? But you have to do that in a love language 'cause Filipinos, the language we speak is love, right? So that, I, I think that's, that's what's important. It- You have to understand that you may not change someone's mind, but you're also making it so that the people around are listening. ‘Cause I see the way that, like, my niece, you know, my nieces and nephews, they had just… They have such a better way of dealing with my mom when she would say terrible racist things, right? They had a better way of communicating with her and articulating their, their frustration and their anger, and it would change. It may not have always changed my mother's ideas, but it definitely changed her behavior, and it changed her consciousness, and I think that that's all we can really do, um, is develop that love language.   [00:40:39] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: And if I may, if, uh, if I can just also add, you know, I, I, I think what you said is absolutely spot on and really resonates, um, Joanne. And, and I would add also, I think that there's something, um, really important about how these broader social movements can also-    [00:40:55] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Mm-hmm …    [00:40:56] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: become so important. I mean, so just in my own family, you know, my eldest was, uh, biracial, Black Filipino. And, um, of course, having a biracial, uh, grandson didn't necessarily mean that my mother could also grapple with her own deep anti-Blackness. Um, and it was always a struggle. And, and I agree with Joanne. Sometimes, you know, it is really understanding the particularities of the, of your own dynamic with, with specific intimates in your circle and understanding that certain kinds of lo-lov-love languages open up possibilities for conversation whi- whereas other approaches close off. But I do have to say, you know My mother, you know, is going to be 79. It really took, it took all the movements that happened- Mm-hmm … in response to the George Floyd murder, it took all of the movements around anti-Asian hate for my mother for the very first time, and this is some- You know, I'm her daughter. I've been teaching around race and talking about race. I, you know, I, I produced a biracial grandson for her, right? Um, and it– we could never have real frank conversations about white supremacy, could not really touch it, you know? There was a way that my mother didn't want to, to name white supremacy as something that actually shaped her life. And, you know, those are really com- there may be complicated reasons for that, but being able to name that was always really, really hard. Talking about anti-Blackness was hard. But all of those movements did something for her, and it shifted things in ways that I thought w-were going to be impossible at, by the time- Yeah you know, in her period of life. And not only did she– was she able to have some real kind of honest conversations, but she actually became a kind of advocate, and then used her own platforms to start conversations about white supremacy, um, and kind of race in our community. So I guess that's to say that it's not entirely hopeless, you know?   [00:42:57] I think- Yeah … it is true change can be slow. It can be incremental. It comes in these gentle kinds of ways, um, over time that require a lot of love and patience. And couple that with, I think, also kind of these movements that are also equally invi- uh, important to grow, um, that together that you can see change is, is really absolutely possible. Um, so, you know, just to kind of share that. But it, it is. You know, it's so hard 'cause even within a family where there are biracial, uh, family members, right? It– that isn't itself even going to necessarily change even when they have, right, a loved one, um, that ought to be- Yeah … challenging that for them.   [00:43:44] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Yeah, absolutely. And I think, too, um, you know, another thing that helped me, especially, you know, like with my mom… So when I did the research, I did spend some time in the Philippines, and my mom came with me, right? So seeing my mom's very light-skinned, um, you know, uh, Filipina navigate the Philippines. And so I just wanna say for the record, I know I look really light, and it's because we're in COVID, and your girl has not had some sun, okay? Like just, just so that… ‘Cause I'm looking at them like, “God, yeah,” like I know I look light. I swear, you know, I'll show you pictures. But, you know, um, I, I didn't– At the time when my mom came with me to the Philippines, I did not realize how important it was for me to observe her in the Philippines because I was able to get these glimpses of my mom before she was a mom, right? And I was able to understand, like, okay, like… So one of the sort of things that I learned was, like, all these hurtful things that, like, my mom would say to me about the way that I look and what have you, I learned that part of the reason why she leaned in so hard to, with me is because when we would travel, you know, like go around to, like, malls or whatever in the Philippines, people would always tell her, “Oh my gosh,” like, “your daughter looks just like you.”   [00:45:09] And, like, if my mom were sitting next to me, and you can see this in, like, uh, photos with the two of us, like she's very vanilla, and next to her I look like burnt caramel. And I think that there was something about the embodiment of my body size, 'cause I'm big, you know, and, and my, my darker skin tone. It's almost like I was the physical embodiment of everything that she had feared and everything that she was told you should not. And for her, it was confronting, like, I gave birth to this, to this person who's everything that I, you know, that I was told was wrong, right? And so I think I, I… You know, like just watching her navigate, I began to understand, like, the context in which she was raised. I, I started to understand the messaging that she, uh, was, was given. Because when I finished the dissertation, I, I felt like I finished the dissertation at a place where I could actually forgive my mother for all the things that she would say about me. I c- I could forgive her for, like, the comments that she would make because all those things that she imposed onto me was a product of her own pain, and I was able to have something that she did not have, which is a sense of healing. ‘Cause until her very last breath, she was so trapped by these notions of beauty. She was so trapped by needing to be beautiful because this was the constant messaging that she was given, right? And so What we can offer, you know, and the way that we, um, the way that we engage in our sense of healing, especially with the people that we love, really comes down to I know that when my mom left the world, I planted all the seeds that I needed to plant in her, right? I know… Sorry. I know that I have this healing, something that she could not have. I know that her grandchildren don't have to suffer the pain that she did. So I think understanding our family, right? Understanding, like, um, you know, uh, the people, our family and friends, understanding them in that respect, putting into context the reason why they do the painful things we do, choosing how w- choosing the way in which we heal from the things that they did to us, that's all we can really do, right? And all of this, I think, and I'd hate to sound so cheesy but all of this is encased in, like, this deep, profound sense of the love that we have for ourselves, the love that we have for each other. In the midst of confronting immense colonial legacies that time and time again tell us that we are not worth it, right? If we can find that light, and if we can find that value, and if we can share that value with the people around us, that's all we can really do.    [00:48:20] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: Joanne.   [00:48:25] Thank you.    [00:48:26] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Sorry about that.    [00:48:27] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: You don't have to apologize. I think that's one thing about this space, Bulosan's space, the School for Liberating Education, is we all do this out of deep, deep, deep love, right? That that's the whole purpose- Yeah … of being able to host, um, share s- to create space like this, to share space like this. Um, we all know, um, people like you, me, uh, those of us who chose this path into academia, we didn't do this because we wanted to produce knowledge for an institution that wasn't built for and by us.    [00:49:00] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Mm-hmm.    [00:49:00] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: But it was precisely to produce knowledge that could heal and liberate our people. Yeah. And so, you know, so appropriate for you to feel all of those feelings, and that's why it was so important to have you here, because this is such, uh, for so many of us, a deeply, deeply hurtful kind of… We s- we struggle with this, and I think what I-    [00:49:25] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Mm-hmm …    [00:49:26] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: What's so valuable, what you bring to the table is it's so much more complicated than the colorism. There are all of the ways in which colorism intersects with class, intersects with body. I, I mean, you know, even the whole notion of, like, the magandang morenx. I mean, you know, that there are even these fine distinctions that exist in the Philippines about the morena mestiza. You know? Like, that was, like, the, the way that I would get, like, weirdly, like, sideways complimented. Like, “Oh, she's a morena mestiza, though,” you know? Mm-hmm. What does that mean? But, you know, our bodies, um, are subject to such scrutiny within at least that context, and even in this context, right? We're constantly dealing with… We're actually dealing with multiple contexts, right? Contexts, Filipinx folks in the diaspora, where our bodies are subject to examination and evaluation- Mm-hmm … every single day, and we subjected ourselves also, our bodies to- Yeah … these valuations all the time. And, you know, um, and we do this work because we're trying to find, you know, a way out, right?   [00:50:29] A way, um, to heal all those, um, bits of hurt and brokenness and, you know- I mean, thank you so much, uh, Joanne, for not just sharing your amazing research, but also your heart with us. And I think I can m- I can feel that, um, people came away with, uh, from today with just that much more, um, just healing. And, you know, that's the point. That is why we do what we do here. Yeah. Um, uh, that's why we created, uh, the Balosan Center and, um, why I launched the School for Liberating Education. Um, this is the whole, this is the reason why we do this. And so I, with that, I do wanna thank everybody for joining us, um, and, you know, really invite everyone to continue to follow, uh, the work, um, that we're doing at the Balosan Center, what we're doing at the School for Liberating Education.   [00:51:27] The next major thing actually is next week. So my next book is coming out, um, on Asian American activism. Uh, it's actually really cool to talk about coming full circle, Jo-Ann, because basically this is a collab between our professor, our old professor, um, when we were undergrads at UC Santa Barbara, Diane Fujino and I, um, ended up collaborating on a couple things, and this is the latest collab, which is a anthology on Asian American activism. And one of the things I'm doing is launching a mini course, um, on Asian American activism, uh, that's based on the book, but also stuff I've done, um, on activism. So next week, I guess on Thursday, we're officially launching, um, the, the new, uh, the registration for the new course. And so we're launching it with this conversation I have with, um, Art Nagin Concordia, who is the godfather of ethnic studies in the K through 12 system, basically the ninong of ethnic studies in K through 12. Uh, was one of the key authors for the ethnic studies model curriculum and does m- uh, ethnic studies work at Santa Barbara, actually, also with Diane. So anyway, um, that's coming up next week. But do keep following, um, you know, the, the work that we're doing. This is, uh, you know, such important work, um, supporting our scholars and our artists, our community historians. And again, thank you so much, Jo-Ann. Yeah, no. I really think we have our real, real conversation. ‘Cause one of the projects I always wanted to do is, uh –    [00:53:09] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Yes.    [00:53:09] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: No, thank you … a podcast that gets real, real, like real, real. Yes. Like, let's really talk about-    [00:53:13] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Just so you know, you're- … those    [00:53:14] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: real stories …    [00:53:15] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: you're looking at, like, 25 years- of friendship, so I know lots of, uh, Robyn's secrets. I have lots of pictures 'cause I- Yeah. Oh, my God … was very good at documenting these things.    [00:53:24] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: You, you did that photo shoot of my… I think you did a before and after of my ja- my, my, my eyebrows.    [00:53:30] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: I have a photo of you, like, in a, in a, like, a face mask.    [00:53:34] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: Yes. Yes, yes. You can- So- If, if, if I look this good coming on 50- … it's because Joanne taught me about makeup and skincare regimens.    [00:53:46] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna launch a course on my skincare regimen.    [00:53:51] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: Oh my God.    [00:53:54] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Skincare after your 30s, right?    [00:53:57] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: No, seriously, I'm about to launch, I'm not, I'm not even joking. I'm totally launching a whole, uh, journey to 50, so y'all can come because I, I'm, I'm, I'm going. I'm getting there. As of next, or the week after next, it's T minus 365 days to 50. So join in the fun. Anyway, Joanne, it's so great to see you. I wish I could give you a big hug. Uh,   [00:54:21] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: well, we'll see each other soon hopefully.   [00:54:23] Dr. Robyn Rodriguez: I can't wait to, like, really break bread with you because- Yes … you know, I always know I eat well when I'm with you. Like, I r- I will still- I still dream about the ice cream, that homemade ice cream you make. Like, nothing compares ever again to the ice cream that I consumed that you make. So thanks again. Thanks everyone.    [00:54:43] Dr. Joanne Rondilla: Thank you so much everybody. Hope to see you. Thank you.    [00:54:58] Miko Lee: Please check out our website, kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about our show and our guests tonight. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating, and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. Apex Express is produced by Ayame Keane-Lee, Anuj Vaidya, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Jalena Keane-Lee, Miko Lee, Miata Tan, Preti Mangala-Shekar and Swati Rayasam. Tonight's show was produced by me Miko Lee, and edited by Ayame Keane-Lee. Have a great night.   The post APEX Express – 8.27.26. Dr. Robynn's Spitting Fire on Colorism appeared first on KPFA.

Recessions, trade wars, labor unrest — in moments of societal crisis in the United States, Asian-Americans have been perennially targeted, from the destruction of Chinatowns by white mobs, to the mass internment of Japanese-Americans during WW2, to attacks against Asians during Covid. Historian Scott Kurashige reflects on more than 175 years of anti-Asian violence and its connection to U.S. empire abroad and a divided working class at home. (Encore presentation.) Scott Kurashige, American Peril: The Violent History of Anti-Asian Racism UC Press, 2026 Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash The post U.S. Capitalism, Empire, and Anti-Asian Violence appeared first on KPFA.

IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE...YET? Still, no, but if it's K-Drama woes that ail you, we have the remedy with Dr. Noonas Prescription Service. This is the Part 2 of us asking listeners to write in with their drama related ailments so we could prescribe the perfect medicine. Whether it's a light and fluffy romcom you can watch with the kiddos or a thoughtful drama to help you through hard times, the doctors are at your service. And if you're bummed you missed out on getting your prescription filled, have no fear! The doctors will be back with future segments. All you have to do is fill out THIS FORM to let us know what you need! Ready to download your first audiobook? Don't forget to click HERE for your free Audible trial.*Audible is a sponsor of Afternoona Delight Podcast*Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession. And check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness. And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas.Last but CERTAINLY not least....love BTS? Or curious what all the fuss is about? Check out our sister pod Afternoona Army for takes on Bangtan life. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Naomi and Scott continue holding it down as Kim settles into her new family life. We talk about Hao Yu Lee, Kumar Rocker, and we ask why the hell isn't Jahmai Jones getting more at-bats? He is beyond hot right now. Then we put Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto head to head to compare their epic rookie seasons. In the final segment we go deep into racial identity and talk about the issues of being a mixed-race Asian in the MLB. Some players openly talk about their Asian cultures, while others shy away from it. It's really just the start of a conversation that we feel is necessary as we continue to celebrate our guys as both fully AAPI, and mixed-race.

It's August (Not AgustD) and Arirang has wrapped Europe and is making its way through the last North American dates (concluding with LA in early September). Before Megan and Lea meet up at those concerts, we touched base to talk through what the last month has brought. Grab a white t-shirt and head into the rain!And remember--keep listening to Arirang top to bottom on your favorite streaming platform! And Come Over is now out on all platforms. Make sure to grab your copy on the iTunes Store. Also don't snooze on Normal! Watch, like, comment on the music video and add it to your playlists.Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Check out our sister pod www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness. And don't forget about the newest members of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas.Want to find more great BTS content? Head over to Afternoona Army for more takes on Bangtan life and links to our social media.

Thank you to my sponsor: BlueChew BlueChew - Right now, when you buy two months of BlueChew Gold, you get the third for FREE with promo code DAVID at https://bluechew.com More Yaqiao Yang IG: https://www.instagram.com/yang_comedy Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Yaqiao-Yang-61572872578748/ Shows: https://yaqiaoyang.com/shows David Lucas Tour Dates: https://www.davidlucascomedy.com/tour 0:00 Asians, Relationships 10:36 Young adults, Morgan Jay, Managers 17:51 Social media conspiracies 20:55 Uber, Jobs before comedy 28:11 Dogs, Accents, Black guys 35:21 Roasting, Hans Kim 44:13 Tattoos, Acting, Getting offended 50:52 Losing weight 56:07 Yaqiao Yang's comedy, Sushi, Jingle Bells NEW MERCH AVAILABLE https://shopdavidlucas.com/ Connect with David Lucas Website: https://www.davidlucascomedy.com Merch: https://shopdavidlucas.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidlucasfunny Twitter: https://twitter.com/funnydavidlucas Youtube: ​⁠@DavidLucasComedian David Lucas was born in Macon, GA. He started acting an early age, performing in numerous stage plays at the Macon Little Theatre. He relocated to Hollywood where he was a contestant on, “MTV Yo Momma”. He has since written for several television shows and continues to perform stand up all over the country (for such comedians as Louis CK, Erik Griffin, Joe Rogan, Brendan Schaub, Tony Hinchcliffe, Bert Kreisher, DL Hughley and many more). David is a Kill Tony Hall of Famer and currently headlining his own tour! A 7EQUIS Network Show https://www.instagram.com/7equis https://www.7equis.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's Uncensored, we chat about Megan's first BTS concert experience, check in with how our top 25 dramas are looking, and discuss if Kdramas are still making us swoon. Also... how's Janus? Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession. And check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness. And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas.Last but CERTAINLY not least....love BTS? Or curious what all the fuss is about? Check out our sister pod Afternoona Army for takes on Bangtan life.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Johnny announces his next one-week Latin American Insider seminar in Guatemala and El Salvador (November 14–20, 2026). He observes that most small tiendas, mini-marts, and wholesale businesses across Latin America are owned by Chinese and Koreans. Large chain stores like La Torre, Costco, and Walmart are owned by wealthy Latino families, while smaller scruffier shops are Asian-owned. Hardware stores (ferreterías) are a rare exception rarely owned by Asians due to the specialized product knowledge required. Asians are described as highly industrious, frugal, and work long hours, rarely spending on restaurants, bars, or vacations except for nice cars. Latinos generally do not resent Asian business dominance and would not trade places with them because of cultural differences in spending and lifestyle. Johnny strongly recommends using the “hidden wallet” feature with an extra passphrase on Ledger or Trezor cold wallets for better security after recent hacks. He reviews median fixed broadband speeds in Latin America, with Chile leading at 335 Mbps and Cuba at the bottom with only 4 Mbps. Prescription drugs (including Viagra, pain meds, opioids, and now GLP-1s) are widely available without a prescription at many mom-and-pop pharmacies despite official rules. Ecuadorian authorities have seized over 20,000 motorcycles since 2021 for lack of plates, registration, or licenses, which Johnny celebrates.  Be sure to pick up my newly updated, "2026 - LATIN AMERICAN HEALTHCARE REPORT": The new edition for 2026 (and beyond) is available now, including the latest "Stem Cell Clinic" info and data and my top picks for the best treatment centers for expats and gringos. Just go to www.ExpatPlanB.com                  

Since he was just a boy at Hilliard Davidson High School, comedian Fumi Abe used his jokes to ease the alienation of being one of the only Asians in his class.Years later, his comedy took him to Stephen Cobert, James Corden and Jimmy Fallon. Now, he's coming back home to Columbus for his tour.After spending a month in Russia as a teenager, Emelia Sheeley decided she wanted to pursue a career of international service.For almost 10 years, she has been involved with the Riverview International Center, assisting new Americans in the Riverview Drive neighborhood with their basic needs.We'll meet the executive director of PBJ Connections, an organization providing professional behavioral health therapy for families through several forms of counseling, including horses.The discussions are all part of this week's Fascinating Ohio.Guests:Fumi Abe, comedianEmelia Sheeley, executive director, Riverview International CenterHolly Jedlicka, executive director, PBJ Connections, Inc.

  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. Hosts Miko Lee & Guest Host Mia Nakano celebrate Bayanihan in Ballhalla. Bayanihan is a core Filipino cultural value of community unity, and Balhalla is the home arena of the Golden State Valkyries. Apex Express was invited to join Filipino Heritage Night at the Valkyries game. We speak with the community behind this cultural celebration. That includes Al Perez, artists Venazir Martinez and Kristian Kabuay, and coach Carolyn Sideco about the history of Philippines and basketball. Links for more information: More information on our guests: Golden State Valkyries Al Perez, President of the Filipino American Arts Exposition Artist Venazir Martinez DJ P-LO Cultural Practitioner Kristian Kabuay Carolyn Sideco Coaching Kapwa Raquel Redondiez SOMA Pilpinas     Show Transcript: [00:00:00] Opening: Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express. [00:01:13] Miko Lee: Welcome to Apex Express. I'm your host, Miko Lee, and tonight is Bayanihan in Ballhalla. Bayanihan is a core Filipino cultural value of community unity, and Balhalla is the home arena of the Golden State Valkyries. Apex Express was invited to join Filipino Heritage Night at the Valkyries game. Tonight, please join me and my guest host, Mia Nakano, as we speak with the community behind this cultural celebration. That includes Al Perez, artists Venazir Martinez and Kristian Kabuay, and coach Carolyn Sideco about the history of Philippines and basketball. Join us. Today I have the honor of having my bestie with me who's gonna co-host Welcome to Apex, Mia Nakano.  [00:01:59] Mia Nakano: Hi, Miko. Thank you for having me.  [00:02:01] Miko Lee: I was invited to a Valkyries game, and I said, “Oh, my gosh, I need somebody with me that can speak basketball.” And so I thought of you.  [00:02:10] Mia Nakano: And here we are. And the Valkyries do put on a show. That's one of the things that makes them so great.  [00:02:15] Miko Lee: Yeah, it was super fun. It was Filipino Heritage Night, and so we got a chance to talk with the different artists that are there, what is the night about, what's the cultural celebration. What were some of the things that stood out to you?  [00:02:28] Mia Nakano: I think that it really got to the roots of, one, what a great sports city San Francisco and then just the broader Bay Area is, and two, the deep connections to the Filipino community that exists within the Bay Area. When you look at how historically the Warriors really came up and the fan shots from when they were at Oracle Arena, the huge fan base that was there initially was the Filipino community. To see that translate in a very different way as the Valkyries are coming up in the WNBA as this incredible team, second year, on their way to probably making the playoffs for the second year in a row, bringing that community back, particularly with all the connections of the artists, the activations, and even the food that they have in Chase Arena brings it full circle. [00:03:26] Miko Lee: Having Natalie Nakase as the coach there is so powerful and important representation for Asian Americans as well. The other thing that stood out to me was I did not know there was this history of basketball in the Philippines, and then to talk to the different guests on our show tonight about what that history represents, where it comes from, the connection to colonization, and then also how it's really developed into its own cultural phenomena in the Philippines. [00:03:55] Mia Nakano: I played basketball- All throughout junior high and high school and was very immersed in it in Southern California, but I had no idea that basketball was the national sport of the Philippines. After we came back from the game, I did a little a bit of a deep dive, and it was really wonderful to see that it actually started in the Philippines as a women's sport? And it was making sports more accessible to folks, and also very clearly connected to,, roots of colonization and religion. But to still have that anchor and connection there, and then this interesting juxtaposition where right now there has still never been a Filipina player in the WNBA. There are folks who people really thought were almost gonna make it. So there's still that one last phase that they need to break into this sport that is their national sport, but in the United States they're not quite there yet in terms of representation.  [00:04:55] Miko Lee: And talking with Coach Caroline, which people can hear later in the episode, about that history and how it was intended to be this women's sport in the Philippines because it was easier. They thought they'd give it to the women to play. But the men were watching going like, “Oh, this looks fun. This looks more fun than baseball. So it really just took off. I love that transition for that it went and across the country. A few of our guests talked about tenement basketball courts. It's just so wildly different from this country.  [00:05:25] Mia Nakano: I think that that is contextually just how sports are played in a lot of different countries in the world where they don't have access. When you think about people playing football, right, like soccer, in different areas where they are playing barefoot. They are playing in dirt or, like, fields that are not necessarily fields. I think that in the context of playing basketball differently in the Philippines versus the United States or even in European leagues, when the United States goes to play in the Olympics, even though you have the USA women's team, USA men's teams who are supposed to be the best of the best in the world, the way that the game is played at that particular level and arena is quite different. And so they all have to adjust to the physicality, to how calls are called just slightly differently. With smaller players in the WNBA what I find really incredible, and this is what Carolyn talks about a little bit, is like the layup packages? When you get close to the rim, you don't have a Filipino who just goes up and makes a regular layup. They do it with flair, right? There's a part of that maybe is a little bit of showmanship, but also it's a part of trying to sneak your way around bigger players so that you can get the basket. And anybody that you play against, even in a league that is familiar to you, you're gonna have to change your game up, and play to your strength, and also just know what you can't do in the game, and go to another person who has more of those strengths  [00:07:03] Miko Lee: One of the other things that stood out to me in talking with one of the artists, Christian, who was there in the outside, in the cultural area, and he was doing, pre-Filipino writing with folks, and we'll interview him later in the episode. He was saying how he does this activity at a lot of different games, but it was very different. That was the first time at the Valkyries, and he said the crowd was so different, that it felt like back in the day. It felt like community. There weren't tech bros. You feel like it, The audience was way more women, As someone that goes to Warriors' and Valkyries' games, do you notice a difference in the audience?    [00:07:41] Mia Nakano: The first Valkyries game that I had the opportunity to go to last year was their Pride Night, and that is the game that my wife and I always go to for the Warriors. It's a special feeling there. I noticed there was a whole parking lot area for strollers on different levels. There was such great energy, and people just talking about the game, people cheering or rooting for players on the other team. There was not a lot of negative energy going around. When Christian mentions, the tech bro energy, the people rolling around with Patagonia shirts, and sweatshirts, that is so true. You truly feel this family environment that's also very queer friendly. There's so many folks of color, and they're not just there because the team's winning, because last year we didn't know if the team was gonna win or not. They were just showing up. The Valkyries have really created such a strong culture that is team based. That's what you see with the Valkyries, but I also think that that's a testament to the coach, to the players, who really trust in one another, and to the community that we have in the Bay Area. I think even the players did not understand when they came here what they were stepping into, and they talk about talking to other players on opposing teams who are like, “Is it always like this? Is it every night?” They're like, “Every single night, this is how our fans are, and we love it.”  [00:09:14] Miko Lee: So it's in different WNBA hometowns it's not like that? [00:09:18] Mia Nakano: Absolutely not. The Valkyries have sold out every single game from day one. They are the first WNBA team, and I think the first women's professional sports team, to reach $100 billion in valuation. then you see other teams, like the Atlantic Dream, who are playing in arenas of 3,500, or the Dallas Wings, who are playing in much smaller arenas, even though they have all these franchise players like Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers and AZ Fudd. The Dallas Wings are actually moving to the same arena that the Mavericks are gonna play in next year. It's an interesting juxtaposition given where the context of our world is at, who's in office right now, the battles that we're having to fight to keep women's rights, queer rights, trans rights in the forefront and not have them stripped away. Yet on the other side of this, we have this huge, meteoric rise of women's sports, and it's not just basketball. It's baseball. It's hockey. It's all these different leagues that are starting to emerge and have huge fan bases where you can watch women's professional sports all year round. They're nationally televised games. [00:10:31] Miko Lee: Thank you for the history lesson and current events of women's sports. I love it. One of the other things that was really special for this Filipino heritage night was the halftime show where they had DJ P-Lo playing. And then they brought onto the court, the director of SOMA Pilipinas, Raquel Redondiez, and she runs San Francisco's Filipino Cultural Heritage District. She got her name on a Valkyries jersey, and was announced in the halftime moment as a big show. [00:11:05] Mia Nakano: I had a conversation with her said, ” the work that you are doing, particularly in this moment, bringing together the artists, the culture of Filipinos and Filipino history is so critical right now because so many of our communities, cultures, and stories are getting erased, that we are the culture bearers and culture keepers, and so thank you for doing that work.” [00:11:31] Miko Lee: SOMA Pilipinas, for those that don't know, was established as a Filipino cultural heritage district in 2016 and was one of the first in the state designated as an arts district by California Arts Council in 2017. So they do so much great work, they host great things from the, United States of Asian America Festival every year. Self-defense workshops for women. I've taken those in Kapwa Gardens that were amazing. They do mental health services for Filipino folks and provided groceries and COVID education and, Filipino language training, and then artists, as you were saying. They pulled together all these different folks, for this wonderful night to introduce a sense of heritage and a sense of pride that was really powerful. [00:12:19] Mia Nakano: , It's a really lovely connection back to the Filipinos banding together with Chinese American folks in Chinatown that really helped create the broader Asian American movement and what that word and power even means. [00:12:38] Miko Lee: From the I-Hotel to today [00:12:40] Mia Nakano: exactly, and all of that being really anchored and rooted in San Francisco, as well as everything that Larry Itliong did with union organizing that I think has just recently started to get recognized in the broader social justice movement.  [00:12:58] Miko Lee: I'll put links to past shows that we've done on the I-Hotel, on Larry Itliong, because folks, if they don't know about either of those movement le- leaders and huge moments in our Asian American history, they should. It's powerful part of our labor and housing rights history. Were there other things that stood out to you at this Valkyries game? [00:13:20] Mia Nakano: I know that this is probably not gonna be a surprise to you, but the fact that we honestly just got to go behind the scenes and see the inner workings of what the Valkyries, the tunnels and getting lost and trying to figure out where we're going. [00:13:34] Miko Lee: It was a maze down there, by the way. It was like, which direction? Go to this press room. No, this press room. This place. It was very much kind of, in theater-wise, it's like going backstage and seeing how the tech is done.  [00:13:46] Mia Nakano: The thing that was the most exciting about this unique experience was being able to see Natalie Nakase talk after the game, and the snippet in here is really incredible because it shed light into not just who she is as a coach and how she approached the game, but her investment in people, and the importance of seeing people for their full selves, and the importance of the whole WNBA as a league, as a business. They have a lot of money and power, so who are we gonna lift up? It's a always a very intentional choice of what is happening at Chase Arena, at the Valkyries nights, these heritage nights that really uplift so many wonderful communities that are doing incredible work.  [00:14:36] Miko Lee: We're gonna get a chance to do an interview with Coach Natalie in a different episode, so stay tuned for that. Is there anything else that you would like to share with our audience?  [00:14:45] Mia Nakano: Go see a Valkyries game. Go to Balhalla. It will change your life.  [00:14:50] Miko Lee: Experience Balhalla. Okay. Thank you for joining me, and hopefully you'll join me back when we do an interview with Coach Natalie too.  [00:14:59] Mia Nakano: Oh, absolutely.  [00:15:00] Miko Lee: To frame the conversation, we start with Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, the first Asian American woman to coach a WNBA team. Last year, she was named WNBA Coach of the Year, and at the post-game presser, a reporter asked her, “Tonight is Filipino National Heritage Night, so can you talk a little bit about what it means for fans to be seen around the league?” This is her response. [00:15:25] Natalie Nakase: Yeah. It's huge. I love the fact that we can celebrate and acknowledge different cultures. I'm really big on that. I think it gives people almost like a superpower or a confidence for, you know, the day to be recognized like that and to be celebrated for everything that their, their culture brings. it also, I think, educates people about different cultures. And so I love the fact that we're super intentional about that because I think we have to do that more than not. And, it's exciting. I think this world needs more celebration. I think this world needs more love, more care, especially when some people are not seen as much. [00:16:01] Miko Lee: In the very loud outdoor Chase Arena area, we spoke with several of the folks involved in Filipino Heritage Night at the Valkyries. Please note that the sound quality is due to the nature of being outside a really excited fan base at the game. First off, listen in as we hear from Al Perez, who helped to curate this community celebration. [00:16:23] Al Perez: Hello, my name is Al Perez. I am a community organizer. I'm serving as president of a nonprofit called the Filipino American Arts Exposition, and we partnered with the Valkyries to help curate their cultural activation for Filipino Heritage Night tonight. [00:16:41] Miko Lee: Since the Valkyries are named after women warriors, is there a Filipina version of a woman warrior? [00:16:48] Al Perez: Absolutely. We have one that's local. Her name is Victoria Manalo Draves. She was the first American woman to win two Olympic golds in the Olympics in nine- 1928. She happens to be Filipina-American. So yeah, she was born and raised here in, in San Francisco Bay Area, so we're very proud of her to be, to represent us and be the warrior and an inspiration for all of us.  [00:17:11] Miko Lee: Excellent. And since Valhalla or Valhalla is the space that we want to get to, what is the Filipino version of that place you want to see? [00:17:19] Al Perez: Wow. [00:17:20] Miko Lee: That perfect world you wanna get to. [00:17:21] Al Perez: I think for us, we have this tradition called bayanihan. That's when we help each other towards a common goal. Yes. No matter how Herculean that task is, it's just coming together to help each other. So it's not necessarily a destination. It's more like an attitude of, coming together as a community towards a common goal, towards a cultural pride and community empowerment. [00:17:46] Miko Lee: Great. And tell us what you're doing here today with all these groups. [00:17:47] Al Perez: So we have an outreach table here because we're part of the organizing committee to curate tonight's event. So we actually have an event next weekend called the Pistahan Parade and Festival. It's the largest Filipino cultural celebration in the country, happening August 8th and 9th at the Yerba Buena Gardens, so please come check us out. There's a big parade down Market Street on Saturday to kick off the festival weekend, and then the festival's at the Yerba Buena Gardens, 11 to 5. We're here to promote that event as well as all our other upcoming events in the fall. We're also curating the Filipino Heritage Night with the Golden State Warriors, with the Giants, San Jose Sharks, and San Jose Earthquakes. And then one more. October is Filipino American History Month in the country. So we also produce official celebration proclamation by the mayor at City Hall. So we have a reception, we have entertainment, and we light the City Hall building with Philippine flag colors.  [00:18:42] Miko Lee: And when folks are coming out to these Filipino nights, what should they expect? What's happening?  [00:18:47] Al Perez: Our goal is to be here to be in community, to help showcase our beautiful culture, our traditions. So when these events happen, we usually have, cultural performances, either a pre-game or a halftime. Tonight you're gonna see, P-Lo, a Filipino rapper and a hip hop singer. Here in the plaza we have some basketball hoops, because basketball is a big thing in the Philippines, our national sport. There's also, Sarap Shop is a concession inside. They have Filipino food there. Our goal is to get people a little taste of our Filipino culture, so hopefully they'll be inspired to, to learn more about our community and our culture. [00:19:29] Miko Lee: And what's your dream for the game tonight?  [00:19:31] Al Perez: Of course, to win, right? Number, yeah, number one, Valkyries to win. And also, I hope that people will come and learn about our culture, and to appreciate it more. Maybe it will inspire them to try some Filipino food, or even come to our Pistahan Festival next weekend. Also Señor Sisig is right here in the plaza. They also do fusion Filipino food. I'm hoping that, by being here, people can get to be a little bit more familiar and curious about Filipino culture and community. We have such a, vibrant and diverse culture, we love to be in community. Our food's delicious, and entertainment's fantastic. So come check us out wherever and whenever you can.  [00:20:14] Mia Nakano: I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about the artists who are here and the community organizations that are here tonight.  [00:20:19] Al Perez: So there's several of us nonprofit organizations here. Our group's the Filipino American Arts Exposition, our mission is more about broadening awareness and deepening understanding of Filipino culture and traditions by doing these cultural events. There's another group here called Young Filipino Professionals Association, or YFPA. They're more about, , uplifting young entrepreneurs, young career-minded, individuals to help them on their path to being more successful. There's also SoMa Pilipinas Cultural District is here. That's a new, relatively new, neighborhood in San Francisco. You know, there's Chinatown, there's Japantown, there's North Beach, so now we also have a Filipino community. It's called SoMa Pilipinas, they're also celebrating their 10th anniversary this year as being, designated as a cultural district. There's also Venazir is a visual artist. She's doing live art mural here inspired by Filipino culture and the intersection of culture and basketball. So it's a great way for people to kind of learn about our fine arts, our visual arts, and our he- heritage. Kristian Cabuay is doing script writing of traditional pre-colonial Philippine script. You know, Chinese and Japanese have their own script writing. The Phi- Filipino community also did before we were colonized by Spain. It's kind of almost forgotten and almost wiped out, so there's a few people now that's trying to revive that, that old tradition of writing .. It's called Baybayin.    [00:21:42] Mia Nakano: Can you talk a little bit about the history or why basketball is the national sport of the Philippines?   [00:21:48] Al Perez: Yeah. It's interesting. Yeah, why is basketball the national sport? I'm not sure exactly, but I think it has to do when after the Philippines was colonized by Spain, and then it, the country became, a commonwealth of the United States, right? And during that time, a lot of Americans came to the Philippines, to establish educational institutions, and one of them is sports. It just got introduced to us, and somehow it clicked. Everybody loves basketball. No matter where you are in the Philippines, in every little barrio, every little town, there's always a game happening [00:22:21] Miko Lee: So are people playing in school, like they start in elementary school, or is it more community based?  [00:22:26] Al Perez: I think it's both. It's just kinda grow, ingrown when you're just a kid growing up in your community. There's always basketball around you, surrounded by basketball. And then of course in more, elementary, high school, it became more teams dynamic, and you got competitions , intramural games. Even between little neighborhoods and little towns, they also have competitions. It's really a big deal. In fact, they love NBA. All the American basketball players are so popular. Everybody knows who they are. [00:22:54] Miko Lee: Al mentioned artist Venazir Martinez, and we pulled her away from the beautiful mural she was creating to talk with us. Again, this is outside, so the sound is quite loud. Venazir is a muralist and a visual anthropreneur. She weaves a tapestry of narratives that explore the connections between human traditions and the ever-changing landscapes that shape them. Listen as she tells us about her work and how she utilizes a symbolic red thread [00:23:25] Venazir Martinez: I'm Venazir Martinez. I am a muralist and a visual entrepreneur, and I am invited to create a live painting for the Golden State Valkyries. [00:23:36] Miko Lee: What has inspired you to create this work of art? [00:23:39] Venazir Martinez: So first and foremost, of course, women empowerment, and we have a lot of very talented Filipino Americans who play basketball. In the Philippines, because I grew up in the Philippines, basketball is such a huge deal. Everywhere in the most promote areas in the Philippines, basketball is their way of enjoying themselves and just pretty much having a time of their life. Basketball tenements are everywhere in the most remote areas in the Philippines. There's this concept of Filipino resiliency that I wanted to incorporate in my work, there are basketball hoops that is made out of wood scraps and like discarded metals. I wanted to highlight that part of Philippine ingenuity. That's why I'm here is to just shed light on that beautiful concept of Filipino ingenuity that we have.  [00:24:40] Miko Lee: I love that. Thank you for sharing. Can you break down what a basketball tenement is?  [00:24:44] Venazir Martinez: Oh, basketball tenement. So tenement courts, these are,.. How do I say this? In America, there's basketball courts that is, like, roofed. Okay. With a roof, and-  [00:24:54] Miko Lee: Like in a gymnasium.  [00:24:56] Venazir Martinez: In a gymnasium, yes. But in the Philippines, anywhere can be a basketball tenement court. They'll just put up a basketball hoop in a pole, like an electricity pole, and they can already play basketball in that area. [00:25:12] Miko Lee: So their court's just made up anywhere. Yeah. Anywhere in the community.  [00:25:14] Venazir Martinez: Anywhere in the community, in the most remote areas in the Philippines, they do that all the time. I grew up in the Philippines, so, it's that really is an immersive experience of having to see basketball really change lives for young people in our community. [00:25:32] Miko Lee: So we're at a WNBA game, and I'm wondering if there was a woman basketball player that you looked up to when you were growing up.  [00:25:39] Venazir Martinez: Growing up, my dad plays basketball. That's the only experience I know that, remembering what basketball is like. ‘Cause I'm mostly in martial arts. But here I am trying to experience a different, like, more empowering way of sports. And it's when I came to America that I experienced this kind of really, it's kind of empowering.  [00:26:01] Miko Lee: And since the Valkyries are women warriors, is there a Filipina equivalent of the woman warrior? Is there a Filipina equivalent of a woman warrior? [00:26:01] Venazir Martinez: There's a lot. There's a lot of very empowering Filipina. First and foremost, it's the Filipina community leaders that I know of in the Bay Area. They are my women warriors. They helped me from the ground up. They created a home for me. They, you know, so they welcomed me. The filipina community in the Bay Area welcomed me. They're all women.  [00:26:31] Miko Lee: Who would you say are some of those folks, some of those women?  [00:26:34] Venazir Martinez: Sonia Villarin, she wears so many hats. She's president of Filipina Food Movement, founder of summer camp in the University of the Philippines Alumni Association in San Francisco. She was the, senior vice president for Bank of America Global Leasing, and she welcomed her home to me and, pretty much, helped me establish my life here as an artist. So those are my women warriors. [00:27:00] Miko Lee: And when people see your beautiful work, what do you want them to walk away with feeling? [00:27:05] Venazir Martinez: I want them to take a second look again in my work, because these, my work pretty much talks about Filipino immigrants, and immigration at large, and pretty much our contributions and the harvested hopes that we have contributed in this cultural landscape,  [00:27:28] Miko Lee: this show is a pop-up tonight, so where can folks find out more about your work or see your work in the community? [00:27:34] Venazir Martinez: I have a huge, huge mural, 2,500 square feet mural in 5th and Folsom in San Francisco, downtown San Francisco in SoMa. It's called Ani, meaning to harvest. There's one in downtown Santa Cruz. There is one in Yuba City. There are multiple murals in Michigan, in New York, mostly in Queens. It's pretty much everywhere, but if you follow the red thread, which is my signature, my artist signature, you'll know that it's my work.  [00:28:08] Miko Lee: Thank you so much. Thank you so very much. Appreciate you taking the time. Another artist presenting their work was Kristian Kabuay working on pre-Philippines calligraphy. His line was so long that we ended up interviewing him separately. Christian is an artist, entrepreneur, futurist who specializes in endangered writing systems and tattoos from the Philippines. Hello, and welcome to Apex Express. Can you tell me your name, your background and what you were doing at the Valkyries Filipino Heritage Night? [00:28:40] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah. My name is Kristian Kabuay. I'm a cultural practitioner specializing in our old, uh, pre-colonial, I say pre-Philippine, writing system and tattooing traditions. I was at the Valkyries, Filipino Heritage Night to interact with the community. I've done a lot of work with the Warriors, you know, going back to Oracle for these cultural nights, the Giants, as well. So most of the teams in the Bay Area, but it was my first time with the Valkyries, and it was quite different. [00:29:16] Miko Lee: How was it different?  [00:29:17] Kristian Kabuay: The vibe was, um… I'm telling everybody that it was my first Valkyries game, too. So the vibe was different. It reminds me of the old Oracle, it wasn't full of, like, tech money that are, you know, Patagonia vests watching the game. It felt very homegrown and it just brought me back to those days in old Oakland A's and when the Warriors were in Oracle. [00:29:42] Miko Lee: What does that evoke for you? What is that feeling like?  [00:29:46] Kristian Kabuay: It gives me a stronger sense of community and the audience is different. The demographics is different. There isn't that toxic male energy. I don't have to worry about someone being drunk and going off and, it was very homey and welcoming. It brings back, as a kid, when I used to watch A's games in the bleachers, watching at Oracle, the community, and not everyone was there to be seen. They were really there for the team.  [00:30:15] Miko Lee: Oh, I love that. I actually do feel like it is, it's such a we're together community vibe. [00:30:20] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah. They even had the wave. I know some snooty teams, they don't have the wave, so-  [00:30:26] Miko Lee: That wave went on for a long time, too.  [00:30:29] Kristian Kabuay: Exactly. I've been to a lot of games. They're, “Oh, I don't wanna look stupid,” or whatever? So that's a big part of my childhood.  [00:30:36] Miko Lee: So I was gonna try and talk with you at the game like I did the other artists, but you had a huge line waiting to see you and talk to you. Talk with me a little bit more about your art form and this pre-clo colonization form of writing.  [00:30:52] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah. Most civilizations had a writing system. It was prior to the land alphabet when the Spanish came and colonized the Philippines in the 1500s. We have this writing. There's only one ethnolinguistic group left in the Philippines that writes it. I come from a background of calligraphy, graffiti and abstract art. When I started to practice it, I incorporated those things. Later I found that I had to become an educator. Then starting to do the cultural festivals. Then you make your parents proud. It wasn't until I started to interact with the community that, there was this responsibility. I didn't come from a highly academic background, but I was being invited to Stanford and Berkeley to give talks about this. So, you know, that imposter syndrome kicked in. Because of the efforts that I've started in, 2010s, the idea of education around this specific writing system, my service isn't really needed. It's out there. Wikipedia, even AI can do it now, and there's a lot of influencers on TikTok that are, building on the stuff that I did 10 years ago. It goes in line with my idea of putting myself out of business. ‘Cause if it's a cultural practice, then you shouldn't be this gatekeeper, this apex of this this knowledge or this practice. It needs to be spread  [00:32:15] Miko Lee: What is the writing system called?  [00:32:17] Kristian Kabuay: A couple names. One of the popular names is Baybayin, and that literally means to spell. It's an adverb, but then it became a noun. So there's many different names depending on the languages in the Philippines.  [00:32:30] Miko Lee: And you said that there's a village of folks that still utilize it. Have you been there?  [00:32:34] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah, I was there in 2016 with a research trip. I stayed with them for a few days to learn, a bit about more about the culture and to donate some time and volunteer, 'cause there's the Mangyan Heritage Foundation. I did some technology work with them. But then also meet with the elders that were there. The village elder did an interview for a film project that I'm doing, but also met the heirs, the daughters in the family that ultimately inherited this practice. [00:33:02] Miko Lee: And so they know that you're teaching this cultural practice around the world, and what is their opinion of that? What do they think?  [00:33:09] Kristian Kabuay: They like it, because it's a different perspective, and a lot of questions. When I go home they go, “Oh, why are you interested in this?” It's a totally different perspective. ‘Cause out here, we have our identity, and the diaspora issues. But back home, because of circumstances, colonization, et cetera, then, the priority is to eat, to live, not to preserve these cultural practices. I've had some indigenous elders tell me that when People come over there, to do their dissertation and they need to figure out their paper to get their PhD. They ask them, “What are you doing to preserve this?” It's kind of extractive or, like, information gathering. Honestly, it really is you strip it down, it is, survival: food, clothing, and shelter.  [00:33:52] Miko Lee: When people were standing in line for you at the actual Valkyrie's game, what were they asking you to write? Were they asking you to write notes or their name, or what was the request?  [00:34:03] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah. Yeah, the line… I was telling people I've never had a line that long when I've done the Warriors. So- … you know, it's kind of different.  [00:34:10] Miko Lee: That's interesting. Just saying [00:34:11] Kristian Kabuay: Yes. I was writing mainly people's names- Mm um, and some words. Maybe a, a good third were non-Filipino, some were there just curious and asking and cultural sharing. Someone knows a Filipino and they go, “Oh, can you write mahal kita?” Like, I love you. And so, we pick up things, just here in the Bay Area. I have conversations with people wanna hear a family name that I never heard about. I say, “Whoa, where's your family from?” Kids learn the stories on how they combine names and some of the origins. It's always interesting when I do this with folks. [00:34:44] Miko Lee: I love that. And you're also a tattoo artist. Do you use some of this writing in your tattoo artistry?  [00:34:51] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah, I do. And that's where the separation between the art and the cultural practice is. Where the writing wasn't tattooed traditionally, but that's where I kind of balance the art. And I separate those two where art is my expression, my personal expression on paper or maybe even on a body, but a cultural practice is more about them and their lineage. So I have to be clear to make those two distinctions.  [00:35:20] Miko Lee: So a question I've asked all the different people that have been involved in this night is that the Valkyries are based on women warriors, and I wonder if there's a Filipina woman warrior that comes to mind to you? [00:35:32] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah, there is. There's one that, part of the lore. Where my dad's from, in his area called Pangasinan, the land of the salt. There's a princess warrior named Princess Urduja that was thought of as a great warrior. This specific Princess Urduja has that Valkyrie's spirit. All the artwork that you see and Academics will say, “Oh, it's you're romanticizing,” and things like that. But you know what? We need a little romance in our lives, right? And romance leads to action.  [00:36:03] Miko Lee: Ah, we certainly do. I'm wondering, with all those people, the long line that stood waiting for you, and you're having these conversations, what would you like them to walk away with after interacting with you?  [00:36:14] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah. That's why there was a sign, and I took a picture of it. It doesn't say, Philippine writing. So it says pre-Philippine calligraphy. I made that term up in 2007 as a way to jolt someone's idea of what pre-Hispanic, pre-colonial is. ‘Cause those things kinda just fly overhead. But if I said pre-Philippines, people, they take a step back and they, “What's that mean?” Or they try to have a smart comeback, “Well, what were we before then?” And my question's always then, “Well, I don't know. Let's talk about it.” That gray area, that being uncomfortable, leads to more curiosity, and ultimately, that's what I want folks to go ahead and, you know… oh, I have this banana leaf. I ran out of index cards. I brought 100 of them. I had these banana leaves that I just meant to decorate the table. I said, “You know what? Let me write on these banana leaves like how our ancestors did.” People are asking, “Oh, what, we wrote on banana leaves?” I'm all, “Yeah, we wrote on, organic materials.” So this thing is probably gonna wilt away in a few weeks or a month or so, but that's how it is. So it's a metaphor for our physical selves, but then also, the message. Maybe they can go ahead and learn how to write it themselves or until we reconnect again. [00:37:31] Miko Lee: Hmm. That's beautiful. And how can our audience find out more about you and your work?  [00:37:36] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah, you can just search for me online. My last name's K-A-B-U-A-Y. First name's Kristian, both with a K. All over the internets and the socials, pretty easy to find.  [00:37:46] Miko Lee: Thank you. And we'll put links to your website in our show notes, so thank you so much for chatting with me today. [00:37:52] Kristian Kabuay: Thanks, Miko [00:37:54] Miko Lee: I honestly didn't know that basketball was such a revered sport in the Philippines. So wanting to find out more, I reached out to a bunch of community folks, and multiple people said, “Reach out to Coach Carolyn Sudeco. She's the one. She's in the know.” So talking to me from her vacation spot halfway around the world is Coaching Kapwa's Carolyn Sudeco. Welcome, Carolyn Sideco, to Apex Express. I'm so happy to have you here.  [00:38:19] Carolyn Sideco: Thank you for having me.  [00:38:21] Miko Lee: Can you first start by telling me who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you? [00:38:27] Carolyn Sideco: Oh my gosh, my people are, collectively, folks who identify as, Philippinics, Filipina, Filipino, and American, and, migratory, and those who claim blood relation and those who I'm still looking for. I live in San Francisco, California, Ohlone land, and also in the land of Choctaw Bulbancha, which is New Orleans, Louisiana. Those are the two places I reside.  [00:39:04] Miko Lee: Can you share about your work with Coaching Kapwa?  [00:39:08] Carolyn Sideco: Coaching Kapwa is what I love to do, and my background professionally is as a certified athletic administrator. I'm a physical educator at the high school level by profession, by certification, by training. But really what I love to do, and so what I do in my consultancy, is I explore and I examine and I think about and learn about everything related to sports cultures and how the culture of sports in all its various ways affect our societies. Specifically, I geek out over learning about my own Filipino American histories and other peoples. Learning that through the concept or the constructs of culture and how sports really is, for me, the funnest way to investigate who I am and who we are to each other. I call myself a sports relationship coach. I am a sports cultures consultant. I also like to identify as a sports liberator. [00:40:16] Miko Lee: Ooh, can you break down what a sports liberator is? [00:40:20] Carolyn Sideco: Miko, I took that from a friend of mine, Danya Cabello, also from the East Bay. Played at Cal, played professionally, and when I first met her years ago, she identified as such, and I said, “That is exactly the kind of person that I wanna be, like, in sports.” I wanted sports to be a way that I could share with people who we are to one another. I wanted to teach young people that they can express themselves in a way that helps make them feel free. With my background in sports administration, I was feeling like the sports industrial complex was really the antithesis of that. And what a lot of people in my profession were striving for was this success that was not defined in the same way that I was defining what my liberation was, and what I felt through sports. So I adopted that. I asked Dania, “Can I call myself a sports liberator too?” And she said, “Girl, you call yourself whatever you want.” So that's what I go by.  [00:41:37] Miko Lee: Ooh, thank you for sharing. That's so interesting in the midst of our kind of capitalization of sports, how corporate it has become. Interesting. Thanks. I also wanted to thank you for sharing with me, Rafe Bartholomew's Hoop Nation and Cassidy Hubbard's, Hoop's Paradise. So those, along with your YouTubes, really gave me a grounding in the connection to between basketball and the Philippines. I'll put a link to those in the show notes for other people that like to do deep dives like me. But can you just give our audience a sense of why basketball is so popular in the Philippines?  [00:42:10] Carolyn Sideco: I learned about the history of basketball and Filipino culture in the Philippines through various people, Rafe Bartholomew one of them, and his book Pacific Rims. A friend of mine here in the San Francisco Bay Area, Kevin Santos, was doing his master's thesis on the history of basketball in the Philippines, and putting an ethnic studies frame on it, so he was the one who actually, practiced his thesis and presentation with me, and I learned a lot through him, and through other people as I was learning about this myself, and how basketball when it was initially, or as we, the modern game of basketball was invented, by Dr. Naismith in Massachusetts with the peach tree basket. Most of us are familiar with that history, but also that was around the time of the Philippine-American War, and US colonization was at its beginning. And so what did the United States export, was its culture, and a lot of that was through sports, mainly baseball, 'cause baseball was already the national pastime. Basketball was relatively new, and basketball was taught in the Philippines also, like in conjunction with the American education system by teachers, by the Thomasites, and by others who were using that form of colonization. They gave basketball to the women and the girls, because it was the lesser sport. It was the newer sport, so it was the lesser sport. They gave it to the women. The men were supposed to play baseball. The Philippines is a collective society- Baseball is a spread out sport, and people aren't close to one another. You're out on a field, it's hella hot, and it's boring. [00:44:17] Miko Lee: Agree. Totally agree …  [00:44:19] Carolyn Sideco: it's easy, to make this assumption that these people playing baseball were watching the girls and women play basketball, and it's faster. Close to one another. It's easy to make a space. So they started playing basketball.  [00:44:39] Miko Lee: Also, you don't need all the things. You need a ball. [00:44:41] Carolyn Sideco: Exactly. In the early days, you didn't even need shoes. Yeah. So it took off in that way because basketball already itself was an activity that Filipino people, kinda took hold of already, and they made it their own. Trained teams started forming and the Philippines had national teams that were already very successful in Asian context, so Asian tournaments they were dominating. In 1975, the Philippine Basketball Association became the first men's, basketball league in Asia, and the first after the NBA in America. So the Philippines has had a long history of relationship with the sport of basketball, but because it's been so long, the sport itself was formed in response to all the cultural aspects that were already existing, right? a lot of town squares had basketball courts 'cause it was so easy to put there. So the same plazas, meeting spaces where people would have their town gatherings, social places, were also courts  [00:45:56] Miko Lee: And why do you think or just surmise that basketball has taken off more than, football or American term soccer, which is developed so much in other countries, which is also a little bit more communal? [00:46:08] Carolyn Sideco: My opinion is that American colonization, in the United States dictated, much more the United States cannot dictate because football or soccer is a more global sport, and the US didn't have as much stake in guiding that as a colonization tool as they did basketball. [00:46:29] Miko Lee: Hmm. Interesting. Speaking of the colonization and politics, I'm wondering about the connection between basketball and politics. In, Cassidy's podcast, they were talking about a politician who released their own basketball shoe, which is wild to me. Yes. So I wonder if there's other connections between basketball or politics, and if that's generally somebody who's more on the colonizer's viewpoint or more conservative viewpoint. Hmm.  [00:46:58] Carolyn Sideco: Hmm. Interesting. I, hmm, I go back and forth with this a lot, Miko, the colonizing tool that is sports, especially the capitalistic sort of, extraction, of sports, right? Of its players, who I like to think of as workers. They're also workers, right? The professional, Philippine Basketball Association is not much different than even professional sports in America with the way they're set up, right? You have owning groups or companies, and so you have these ways that exploitation and that workers' rights are… how do I say it? Because it's at the professional level, these concepts are very much at play, excuse the pun. The Philippines also has a governmental arm related to sports. So sports in and of itself is recognized, right? It doesn't have as much of this sort of altruistic thing as, as we say in the United States, like the sports is like the good of mankind, like that sort of thing. Like, I think, you know-  [00:48:08] Miko Lee: The kind of Olympic idea of unity, it brings us all together. [00:48:11] Carolyn Sideco: Right, like that, those conceptual sorts of virtues.  [00:48:15] Miko Lee: Mm-hmm.  [00:48:15] Carolyn Sideco: Yeah. So in the Philippines, I think it's so much more practical because it's fun, and you could get in a game anywhere, and it's accessible. Mm-hmm. It's accessible to all strata, economic strata, right? You see basketball courts everywhere, in rural areas in cities. Everywhere you'll see basketball courts. The Philippines itself as a country- I think that relationship to sports is something different than the American relationship to professional sports, where dominance and, winning and, beating others and making as much money as possible in that is at the forefront. In the United States even with youth sports now. I do some consulting work, especially in youth sports spaces, and the privatization and the extraction of the youth sports space is, is… We could go on all day about that. I think, this is obviously from a Filipino American perspective. For sure. I've never lived in the Philippines. I was born in the Philippines, but my relationship to the Philippines is also, being mitigated by how I experience American sports, right? So when I think about how I've experienced basketball when I've gone to the Philippines, , and it's the same as any aspect of that culture, right? It's warm, it's welcoming, it's friendly, and those are the cultural aspects that kind of, , supersede the fact that basketball… Basketball has its place, but it's in service to the cultural needs, right? To the need to be social, to participate in a town gathering. It's so sociopolitical.- And because it is, it's still a colonizing tool, right? But it's still mitigated in a way that I think just like Filipino basketball players are so, like, quick. They're known for quickness, agility, and finesse, and, like, drama, right? I used to joke around, like, you can always tell where a Filipino basketball player is in the United States 'cause no Filipino who has Filipino blood in them can do a regular layup. Like they have to make it all fancy. I think that, those sorts of aspects that are not tangible, that bring to light, the way a culture of people affect the sport. it enables a culture to push out through the boundaries of that sport what was given to them. What was given to them is, “This is how you play. These are the rules,” and all that kinda stuff, and that's great, but Filipino history of basketball is always, like, how do you integrate all the really cool things about your culture? It's something that's very different, and it emerges as something that's not quite American. [00:51:36] Miko Lee: Thank you so much. I'm wondering how our audience can find out more about you and your work.  [00:51:43] Carolyn Sideco: They can, follow me on Instagram at coachingkapwa, K-A-P-W-A. Kapwa is the Filipino word for the concept of interrelationship, interconnectedness. And so everything I learned about being, being a person really is through being a good teammate, and sports is the funnest way, like I've said before to practice being a good teammate  [00:52:12] Miko Lee: Thank you so much, Coach, for sharing with me about Sports Liberation and your work, and I'll put links to all that in our show notes. And I thank you so much for joining us on Apex Express.  [00:52:23] Carolyn Sideco: Thank you, Miko [00:52:25] Miko Lee: Please check out our website, kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about our show and our guests tonight. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating, and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. Apex Express is produced by Ayame Keane-Lee, Anuj Vaidya, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Jalena Keane-Lee, Miko Lee, Miata Tan, Preti Mangala-Shekar and Swati Rayasam. Tonight's show was produced by me Miko Lee, and edited by Ayame Keane-Lee. Have a great night.    The post APEX Express – 8.13.26 – Bayanihan in Ballhalla appeared first on KPFA.

Since he was just a boy at Hilliard Davidson High School, comedian Fumi Abe used his jokes to ease the alienation of being one of the only Asians in his class.Years later, his comedy took him to Stephen Cobert, James Corden and Jimmy Fallon. Now, he's coming back home to Columbus for his tour.After spending a month in Russia as a teenager, Emelia Sheeley decided she wanted to pursue a career of international service.For almost 10 years, she has been involved with the Riverview International Center, assisting new Americans in the Riverview Drive neighborhood with their basic needs.We'll meet the executive director of PBJ Connections, an organization providing professional behavioral health therapy for families through several forms of counseling, including horses.The discussions are all part of this week's Fascinating Ohio.Guests:Fumi Abe, comedianEmelia Sheeley, executive director, Riverview International CenterHolly Jedlicka, executive director, PBJ Connections, Inc.

We're back with more Better Late Than Single! This week, we're discussing season 2's reunion show, Better Late Than Single: After Service. There's a lot we liked about this six episode special, especially the nice, bite-sized episode length (30 minutes!). But do we still have suggestions on how to make things more helpful and meaningful to our eternal singles? Absolutely. We're here, Netflix! Bring us in for season 3!Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession. And check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness. And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas. Last but CERTAINLY not least....love BTS? Or curious what all the fuss is about? Check out our sister pod Afternoona Army for takes on Bangtan life.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

It may sound entirely bizarre but the prices you once paid for hotels, educational classes, or staplers could have all been higher because you used a Mac computer, lived in a certain zip code, or lacked an Office Depot in your neighborhood.No, really.In 2012, The Wall Street Journal reported that the travel booking site Orbitz showed Mac users pricier hotel options than PC users, because the company had determined that Mac users spend, on average, 30% more a night on hotels. That same year, The Wall Street Journal (once again) reported that Staples.com showed higher prices to visitors who lived farther away from a competitor like Office Depot. And in 2015, the reporting outfit ProPublica revealed that customers in certain zip codes were shown higher prices for college test prep courses offered by The Princeton Review.As that investigation found, if customers:“type some zip codes into the company's website, they are offered The Princeton Review's premier course for as little as $6,600. For other zip codes, the same course cost as much as $8,400. One unexpected effect of the company's geographic approach to pricing is that Asians are almost twice as likely to be offered a higher price than non-Asians.”This is surveillance pricing put into action.Under surveillance pricing, companies collect as much data as possible about consumers so that they can alter the literal prices those consumers pay for the exact same goods as everyone else. It is reportedly what caused some customers to see higher prices for televisions in the Target app when those customers were physically located in a Target parking lot. It is also allegedly why Home Depot customers in wealthy neighborhoods oddly paid less. And it is what Delta Airlines walked away from after public backlash.The near-omnipresence of surveillance pricing is also why so many videos can be found online today that claim that minor alterations to a person's data trail—like changing an IP address using a VPN or shopping for airline tickets on a public library's computer—can lead to lower prices online.The proof behind these claims, however, is harder to test.Thankfully, one person has already tried.Video journalist Chris Parr, known on YouTube as Chris the Producer, ran a wild experiment into whether he could “stress-test” surveillance pricing. Far beyond changing his IP address or making online purchases from different locations, Parr started from scratch. By first registering an LLC in the state of Wyoming, Parr granted that LLC both a credit card and a phone, effectively creating a brand new consumer persona to be tracked. But creating a realistic data trail for his LLC would require a little extra help—help that Parr received from an actor he hired for the part.Today, on the Lock and Code podcast with host David Ruiz, we speak with Parr about his experiment into surveillance pricing, including a high-wire drone act to purchase a White Castle Crave Case in the air space above his home state's wealthiest neighborhood:“To the data collectors, they don't know that this phone is floating in the air, like 200 feet in the air. They just see a geolocation on it.”Tune in today.You can also find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and whatever preferred podcast platform you use.For all our cybersecurity coverage, visit Malwarebytes Labs at malwarebytes.com/blog.Show notes and credits:Intro Music: “Spellbound” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Outro Music: “Good God” by Wowa (unminus.com)Listen up—Malwarebytes doesn't just talk cybersecurity, we provide it.Protect yourself from online attacks that threaten your identity, your files, your system, and your financial well-being with our exclusive offer for Malwarebytes Premium for Lock and Code listeners.

Hour 1 Segment 1 Tony starts the first hour of the show talking about President Donald Trump signing executive orders on birthright citizenship. Hour 1 Segment 2 Tony talks about who is in favor and opposing the confirmation of Todd Blanche as the new attorney general. Hour 1 Segment 3 Tony is joined with Ed Morrissey of HotAir.com to talk about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the rest of the DSA supporters being “thin-skinned”. They also talk about Abdul El-Sayed narrowly winning his Michigan primary election. Hour 1 Segment 4 Tony wraps up the first hour of the show continuing his conversation with Ed Morrissey talking about how the left has abandoned the Black voter as necessary talking points. Hour 2 Segment 1 Tony tarts the second hour of the show talking about a $20 burrito dividing the GOP as the party debates food prices. Hour 2 Segment 2 Tony talks about if the high food prices have any influence through DoorDash. Hour 2 Segment 3 Tony gets into three more things: rent control and new car prices, Duke University’s law school discriminates against whites and Asians, and President Donald Trump denying a rift with Pete Hegseth over munition shortages. Hour 2 Segment 4 Tony wraps up the second hour of the show talking about Purdue University’s new athletic director, Tommy McClelland, saying if you don’t want to win championships, go to Indiana. Hour 3 Segment 1 Tony starts the final hour of the show joined with Dr. Matt Will, economist from the University of Indianapolis, to talk about the latest unemployment rates and rate hikes. Hour 3 Segment 2 Tony talks about what the latest negotiations are with President Donald Trump and Iran. Hour 3 Segment 3 Tony talks about Megan Rapinoe’s rant on Riley Gaines and Sophie Cunningham’s comments towards transgender athletes. Hour 3 Segment 4 Tony wraps up another edition of the show talking about Russian President Vladimir Putin looking to test NATO.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hour 2 Segment 1 Tony tarts the second hour of the show talking about a $20 burrito dividing the GOP as the party debates food prices. Hour 2 Segment 2 Tony talks about if the high food prices have any influence through DoorDash. Hour 2 Segment 3 Tony gets into three more things: rent control and new car prices, Duke University’s law school discriminates against whites and Asians, and President Donald Trump denying a rift with Pete Hegseth over munition shortages. Hour 2 Segment 4 Tony wraps up the second hour of the show talking about Purdue University’s new athletic director, Tommy McClelland, saying if you don’t want to win championships, go to Indiana. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Better Late Than Single is back for a second season, and your noonas are back to see if producers heard our pleas after watching Season 1. Spoiler--they heard some, but not all. So hop on board as we sail back into the lives of this year's eternal singles to see if they find love or--at the very least--find the confidence needed to continue the search once the show comes to an end. Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession. And check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness. And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas. Last but CERTAINLY not least....love BTS? Or curious what all the fuss is about? Check out our sister pod Afternoona Army for takes on Bangtan life.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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. The post APEX Express – July 30, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

It's only Lia in the studio tonight...and is it going to be debauchery, and fingers in mouths, and no "Amy Button" in sight? Ha! No! It's all melancholic reflections and enough confessionals to rival any 90's era album. While K-Dramas started as an escape, Lia shares how they quickly became a mirror, reflecting self (good and uncomfortable). From My Mister and the stillness it asked for before she was ready to give it, to Her Private Life and the ache of wanting to be met in joy, to why does she return to one specific drama for comfort — she reflects on love, homesickness, family, and the parts of herself she'd rather not admit she recognizes.Because that's the strange gift that can often happen with a good story: you think you are  watching them. Turns out, the whole time, you were watching yourself.Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession. And check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness. And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas.Last but CERTAINLY not least....love BTS? Or curious what all the fuss is about? Check out our sister pod Afternoona Army for takes on Bangtan life. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Join Lia and Megan as we yap as hard as Yoongi on a 10k jog about Busan. We cover FIFA, Arirang Europe, Bangtail High Tea, Fashion Choices, Normal Music Video drop, and more because at this point we just live in a purple-tinged hurricane. And no we're not mad about it.And remember--keep listening to Arirang top to bottom on your favorite streaming platform! And Come Over is now out on all platforms. Make sure to grab your copy on the iTunes Store. Also don't snooze on Normal! Watch, like, comment on the music video and add it to your playlists.Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Check out our sister pod www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness. And don't forget about the newest members of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas.Want to find more great BTS content? Head over to Afternoona Army for more takes on Bangtan life and links to our social media.

MEGAN LAWLESS from OBSESSION chats with JLB about the movie taking the world by storm and shares her origin story as well as what life can really be like for an actor when you're part of a worldwide phenomenon like Obsession. Follow That Was Pretty Scary on Instagram and TikTokFollow Jon Lee Brody on Instagram Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Some Kdramas have haunting melodies, some have upbeat vibes, and others... well... they have squelching. AfterNoona Megan introduces a new bombshell to the podcast: The Squelch Meter. Violent kdramas have lots of squelching, and Megan is here to give a rating system to all the knife fights, underground boxing matches, and tentacled monsters.Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession. And check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness. And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas.Last but CERTAINLY not least....love BTS? Or curious what all the fuss is about? Check out our sister pod Afternoona Army for takes on Bangtan life. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

This episode might be the most uncensored to ever uncensored. We hope you enjoy us fangirling over Kelsey Pfendler's solo, record-breaking row from California to Hawaii, our anticipation of upcoming dramas, and  an unexpected discussion about...burial at sea? You never know what you're gonna get when the noonas just let 'er rip! Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession. And check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness. And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas.Last but CERTAINLY not least....love BTS? Or curious what all the fuss is about? Check out our sister pod Afternoona Army for takes on Bangtan life. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Intracerebral hemorrhage carries high morbidity and mortality, but growing evidence highlights meaningful opportunities for prevention, risk reduction, and long-term recovery. This episode covers key strategies, including blood pressure management, interpretation of neuroimaging markers, and individualized decisions around antithrombotic therapy. It also emphasizes the prolonged recovery timeline and the importance of a holistic, patient-centered approach to improving outcomes. In this episode, Casey S. Albin, MD, FAAN, speaks with Wendy C. Ziai, MD, and Vishank A. Shah, MD, coauthors of the article "Intracerebral Hemorrhage" in the Continuum® June 2026 Cerebrovascular Disease issue. Dr. Albin is a Continuum® Audio interviewer, associate editor of media engagement, and an assistant professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Ziai is a professor of neurology and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Shah is an assistant professor of neurology and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Additional Resources Read the article: Intracerebral Hemorrhage Subscribe to Continuum®: shop.lww.com/Continuum Earn CME (available only to AAN members): continpub.com/AudioCME Continuum® Aloud (verbatim audio-book style recordings of articles available only to Continuum® subscribers): continpub.com/Aloud More about the American Academy of Neurology: aan.com Social Media facebook.com/continuumcme @ContinuumAAN Host: @caseyalbin Guest: @VishankShah3 Full episode transcript available here Dr Albin: A patient has suffered an intracerebral hemorrhage. They're taken to the neuro ICU, and they fortunately survive. But the journey does not end there. In fact, in some ways, the journey has just begun. Join us today as we unpack holistic care for ICH patients.  Dr Jones: This is Dr. Lyell Jones, Editor-in-Chief of Continuum. Thank you for listening to Continuum Audio. Be sure to visit the links in the episode notes for information about earning CME, subscribing to the journal, and exclusive access to interviews not featured on the podcast.  Dr Albin: Hello to our audience. This is Dr. Casey Albin. Today, I'm interviewing Dr. Wendy Ziai and Dr. Vishank Shah about their article on intracerebral hemorrhage. This article appears in the April 2026 Continuum issue on cerebrovascular disease. Welcome to the podcast. I am so delighted that both of you are joining. To begin, let's just do a brief introduction of who you are and, and a little bit of how you got interested in the topic.  Dr Ziai: Hi, I'm Wendy Ziai. Thank you for having me on this podcast. I am a professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins. I am a neurointensivist, and I think I got primarily interested in this topic through clinical trials that I have been a part of since my fellowship days.  Dr Shah: Hi, everyone. I'm, uh, Vishank Shah. I am also, uh, very thankful for being invited to be a part of this podcast. I'm also a neurointensivist at Hopkins and the fellowship program director here for neurocritical care, and I'm interested in recovery after ICH, and that's why I'm a part of this work.  Dr Albin: Welcome to you both. It is such a treat for me to get to interview fellow neurointensivist, particularly those who have such a wealth of experience. So, I am delighted to dive into this. All right. So, to set the stage for our audience, intracerebral hemorrhage has long been approached with pessimism. But your article really highlights that there are meaningful advantages in prevention and risk stratification and long-term recovery for these patients. Though you both are neurointensivist, this article really emphasizes primary prevention and the holistic long-term care for the survivors. And so, to begin, Dr. Shah, can you just lay out a little bit for our listeners the scope of intracerebral hemorrhage and its community impact?  Dr Shah: Yeah. So, you know, ICH is the second most common type of stroke. There are more than three million new cases of ICH globally each year, and it accounts for thirty percent of all stroke types, but it is the one that has the highest mortality, with more than forty to fifty percent of the patients dying in the first thirty days, and then continued long-term impact on both functional as well as outcomes, as well as survivorship after the early period. And it also disproportionately impacts lower socioeconomic, and then minority races like Blacks, Asians, as well as Hispanic ethnicity. And so, there's a lot of work that needs to be done to reduce the burden of this disease.  Dr Albin: Absolutely. I mean, these can really be devastating for families, and I really am appreciative of your highlighting that there's a lot of disparities, and there's a lot of work to be done to really increase equity to these patients. I think a lot of this goes into really the AAN's focus on brain health and trying to improve some of what we're doing to maintain brain health. And I really wanted to kind of drill down on this because for ICH, there's a lot that can be done upfront as we think about how do we counsel patients who may walk into the office about strategies to prevent ever becoming an intracerebral hemorrhage patient. So, Dr. Shah, can you walk us through a little bit about what neurologists in the community need to be doing to make sure that no one ends up with us in the neurointensive care unit?  Dr Shah: Yeah, sure. So, I think, you know, one of the most important risk factors is, of course, hypertension and long-standing uncontrolled hypertension. And so really recognizing the need for early onset screening with regular blood pressure monitoring at a very early age, particularly in the races that I discussed earlier. And then I think another big part, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type two diabetes. And I think there's a lot of interesting new work that with the GLP-1 agonist, you know, in a large multicenter cohort studies showing that patients receiving these had a significantly lower reduction risk of ICH. And so, this might be a really important part that, you know, clinicians need to start increasingly recognizing and using in their practice. And then, of course, other risk factors that are common include smoking, diet high in sodium, exposure to air pollution, both indoor as well as outdoor. And so, mitigating all of these risk factors can also reduce the burden of ICH.  Dr Albin: Absolutely. And I really want to highlight that hypertension plays such an important role and that we as neurointensivist, as community neurologists, really need to be creative about ways that we can help people meet those blood pressure target and meeting people in the community where they are, making sure that they're not suffering from side effects from their medication that would prevent them from sticking with it long term. Dr. Ziai, anything else to add about what we can do in the community?  Dr Ziai: So, we really want to emphasize, even in the acute phase, that patients moving forward need to have targeted interventions to reduce blood pressure, smoking, enhance their physical activity, have a diet that is high in fruits and vegetables and low in alcohol and salt, and then promoting weight loss, of course.  Dr Albin: And Dr. Ziai, I'm gonna ask you a little bit about one of the things that maybe not all of our listeners have heard about is this APOE2, APOE4 genetic risk for intracerebral hemorrhage. What's going on there and, and should clinicians be testing for that? Dr Ziai: That's a great question, and it is not one that we currently test people for at least acute ICH presentation. APOE2 and A4- E4 alleles, these give patients a two to three times higher risk of ICH by increasing cerebral amyloid deposition. And if you happen to have APOE2 carrier ship status, then along with other risk factors like white matter disease and vascular risk factors, these predict the onset of new microbleeds even during very short follow-up periods of about two years. And as we know, having cerebral microbleeds are associated with an increased risk of all strokes, ischemic and ICH, but they are one of many MRI markers of small vessel disease, which along with cortical superficial siderosis, does significantly increase future ICH risk. And so even in people who've never had an ICH, if they happen to have an MRI, it may be reasonable to look at the MRI and incorporate this burden of small vessel disease, and especially these hemorrhagic markers into, uh, decision-making about interventions.  Dr Albin: That's a really excellent point. And so, I think that your article did a really beautiful job of thinking holistically about the patient, incorporating clinical markers of their risk for having ICH, but also those radiographic markers. I'm just gonna ask you to summarize those again one more time because not everyone will be familiar with these. So, when you're looking at an MRI, what are the things that you're particularly clued in on that would increase the patient's risk of future ICH?  Dr Ziai: In the past, what we're looking for really is markers of cerebral amyloid angiopathy, which significantly increase a person's risk for lobar hemorrhage in particular. And so, we have a set of criteria called the Boston Criteria, and there's a new version of these, version 2.0. And these, um, incorporate a number of imaging markers that provide a very high sensitivity and specificity to diagnose CAA after an ICH. But even if someone's never had an ICH, and they evaluate that risk-benefit ratio for different cardiovascular prevention strategies. And so, the markers that we're specifically interested in are, of course, microbleeds. But not just having microbleeds, but are they lobar or are they deep? Lobar having a higher risk for lobar ICH. How many microbleeds are there? Is it greater than five, or is it just one or two? Also, cortical superficial siderosis is a marker, a hemorrhagic marker, that does portend a significant increased risk of recurrent ICH, along with having a lobar ICH. And now we have these new markers, which are the white matter hyperintensity multi spot pattern, which requires these hyperintensities on flare imaging in the subcortical area, having greater than at least ten of these multi spots, and also having enlarged perivascular spaces in the centrum semiovale, and having at least twenty of those. And finally, white matter hyperintensities, which can be measured with the physica score or just by visualizing them. We can look at white matter hyperintensities as well as being a measure of small vessel disease.  Dr Albin: Got it. And so just to summarize, we're looking for small vessel disease markers because that puts our patients at higher risk of ongoing future bleeds. And then we're also looking for markers of particularly small vessel disease that's caused by cerebral amyloid angiopathy, which again, because it's having that protein deposition, that puts the patient at risk of those leptomeningeal very small vessels, putting the patient at risk of lobar ICH. Just confirming I've summarized this all correctly.  Dr Ziai: Yes. That was perfect.  Dr Albin: Amazing. Dr. Shah, I'm gonna go back to you. Let's say we have a patient. Let's say this is a sixty-five-year-old man who comes in and they want follow-up and they're... And you're trying to think about they've had an ICH in the past, and they are also at risk for ischemic disease. Let's say they, they have hypertension, they've had a smoking history. They have some risk for ischemic events. And you're trying to think about how do you balance those. Let's say the patient needs to be on aspirin but does have some of those high-risk features on their MRI. Is there any guidance on how we think through preventing them from having a recurrent bleed if they're a high-risk patient, also preventing them from having an ischemic event, which they might be at high risk for as well?  Dr Shah: Yes. So, I think, you know, the first step is of course trying to understand what was the type of bleed. I think that has a very important role, like you mentioned. If it's a lobar hemorrhage versus a deep hemorrhage, the risk of recurrent ICH and ischemic events is very variable. So lobar hemorrhages, there's obviously a higher risk of recurrent hemorrhage events, whereas deep hemorrhage is actually at or behaves sort of like small vessel ischemic strokes and have a higher risk of recurrent arterial ischemic events. So that distinction in itself can help you gauge which patients would be safe and would benefit from these therapies. To begin, and of course, looking for some of these markers on MRI that were mentioned by Dr. Ziai for recurrence of hemorrhage risk. In terms of antiplatelet, the, there is a lot more data now to guide treatment, and we have the RESTART as well as the ESTART trial that showed that starting an, a single antiplatelet after intracerebral hemorrhage did not increase the risk of hemorrhage recurrence. They were very variable in the timing when aspirin was started, and so that remains still a question about what is the safest time point to start aspirin. For example, in the ESTART trial, they started them very early, within the first three days, whereas in  the RESTART it was all the way up to two months after the hemorrhage. And so... But in general, the risk of recurrent ICH was very low with a single antiplatelet agent. And so, if it's needed for ischemic prevention, it's relatively safe broadly across all types of hemorrhages.  Dr Ziai: Yeah. I would just mention that there was also a subgroup analysis of the RESTART trial using MRI. And so, this more than likely included patients with CAA, since 40% of the hemorrhages were lobar in that study, and therefore seeing that there was no increased risk of recurrent ICH in RESTART, it is thought that putting patients back on their antiplatelet therapy is safe.  Dr Albin: That's a really huge takeaway pearl for our listeners, that regardless of whether it's a lobar bleed or a deep bleed, if there is a strong indication, you know, this is not just, oh, because someone gave them aspirin 81, but truly that there is a reason that they need to be on a single antiplatelet agent, it probably benefits them to be on that agent, and there's good data that there's not a huge increase in risk. Summarizing all of that?  Dr Ziai: Great.  Dr Albin: Now, things are gonna get a little bit tricky here, because what if the patient, what if they need to be on dual antiplatelet therapy? Or what if they need to be on anticoagulation? Dr. Ziai, I'll, I'll throw that to you. How do you tackle that patient population?  Dr Ziai: Yeah, the safety of dual antiplatelet therapy hasn't really been studied in patients who've had a prior ICH. Although, in people who've had previous strokes, putting them on dual antiplatelets doesn't seem to increase the risk of ICH, but it does increase extracranial hemorrhage. And so there may be other reasons not to put patients on dual antiplatelet agents. Patients who have cancer and also cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease, putting them on dual antiplatelet therapy does seem to increase the risk for intracranial hemorrhage. So, I think there is enough of a bias against DAPT therapy in patients who have had an ICH that we would not recommend DAPT for patients with a prior ICH.  Dr Albin: Absolutely. And, and then what about, let's say they have atrial fibrillation, and you know that they have a high CHA2DS2-VASc score, and they are at very high risk of ischemic events, but they've also had a prior intracerebral hemorrhage. Walk us through a little bit, how should we approach that patient? Dr. Ziai, I'm gonna start with you again.  Dr Ziai: Sure. So again, looking at the MRI, which all patients with ICH should have nowadays. If patients do have these hemorrhagic findings, a lobar ICH, evidence of CSS, cortical superficial siderosis, especially if it's disseminated, and also lobar microbleeds, especially if there are greater than five, if they're multiple, then anticoagulation should really be avoided in those patients.  Dr Albin: Absolutely. So, I'm really hearing that when we have a patient with ICH, it is just critically important that we understand is this a hypertensive bleed or is this a lobar bleed that is probably related to cerebral amyloid angiopathy? And getting to that distinction is going to play a major role in our deciding whether or not the patient can be on DAPT or can be on anticoagulation. And then what are some of the strategies for patients that you're referring them to if they really cannot tolerate being on anticoagulation, but they have atrial fibrillation, and they do need some sort of ischemic stroke prevention?  Dr Shah: There's still a lot of controversy, even in non-lobar hemorrhages, about resuming anticoagulation and when that would be safe. HAF trial, there was a reduction in ischemic stroke recurrence, uh, but a significantly higher increase in hemorrhage recurrences. I think that trial included both deep and lobar hemorrhages. So, we still need more data, and I think the ASPIRE trial and maybe a meta-analysis would answer that eventually. But in the meantime, if a, specifically for lobar hemorrhages, which are, uh, thought to be CAA related, if they, uh, and the patient has AFib, you know, where anticoagulation would be contraindicated, a watchman device or, you know, AFib ablation may be some of the other strategies that can be looked into for those patients specifically.  Dr Albin: Right. I think that's a really important point to emphasize, that we don't just don't give up and say, "Oh, you're not a candidate for anticoagulation," but we really reach out to our cardiovascular friends and say, "Hey, what other procedures can you offer that will minimize the risk of recurrence?" You know, we don't want them to have an ischemic event, but we also know long-term that there would be a real risk of anticoagulation. Just reminder to our listeners that there are new procedures, and our cardiology colleagues are always doing new trials and new devices, and so we should really leverage their expertise here. I am in the final minutes gonna just switch gears a little bit from talking about sort of the nitty-gritty of secondary ischemic prevention and secondary hemorrhagic stroke prevention and thinking about there has been this degree of pessimism around ICH patients, and that, you know, they have a much more severe outcome than our patients with ischemic strokes. I think that that is probably a myth that we need to do some debunking around, and I think maybe we need to reframe in terms of thinking about just the trajectory. So, Dr. Shah, walk us through a little bit about what we can expect about the recovery trajectory in ICH compared to those patients who have an ischemic stroke. Dr Shah: Yes. From some newer data and studies, it is becoming clear that recovery after ICH is much slower than we expect. In general, for ischemic stroke, recovery is measured within the first few weeks to up to 90 days. But in ICH, we now know that patients can keep recovering all the way up to six months and even beyond. In general, from just a, a study of heart recovery that occurs after ischemic stroke, there's a steep recovery in the first seven days, and then sort of after that, patients still continue to recover, but it, it starts plateauing where up to 90 days. Whereas with ICH, there is not much recovery in the first 7 to 30 days, but after that, there is a recovery that occurs significantly between day 30 and day 180, and then some patients continue to recover all the way up to one year. The more severe the hemorrhage, the slower the recovery, but there's still some evidence to suggest that even severe hemorrhage patients can recover all the way up to one year out and beyond. This is, of course, in terms of functional recovery.  Dr Albin: I think that's a really important point for our audience. Many of the listeners are residents, they're fellows, they're seeing these patients in the hospital, and they may not see a whole lot of improvement over even 30 days. But to keep in mind that just because the patient has not had a dramatic recovery within that first month that they may be in the ICU and then on the floor does not mean that that patient will never have recovery, and that we reset our expectations that recovery is possible, it's just gonna be slower. And I think that that's not only important for the healthcare team to take in mind, but also for patients and their families to know there is hope here. It's just gonna be slower. Dr. Ziai, looking ahead, what developments in this are you most excited about that you think will move the needle for care for the long-term outcomes and the prevention for these patients? What's ahead in, in ICH?  Dr Ziai: Yeah, I think the research that's going on is very exciting at the moment. We just saw the presentation at the World Stroke Organization conference in the fall of the TRIDENT trial, Triple therapy prevention of Recurrent intracerebral Disease events, meaning strokes. And these investigators found that a single pill, a fixed dose of three blood pressure-lowering agents actually was successful in significantly reducing the risk of recurrent stroke in patients who have had a history of ICH and have just normal or low-grade hypertension. So rather than having patients on multiple antihypertensive agents, it may be possible to have them on a single pill, and may dramatically reduce their stroke risk. So that's exciting. There is also a trial ongoing, ASPIRING, testing whether antiplatelet monotherapy after 24 hours only can reduce the risk of all serious vascular events in ICH survivors. So very early antiplatelets. The SATURN trial, we didn't talk about statins yet, but it is comparing continuation versus discontinuation of statin therapy in ICH patients. And then we have ongoing epidemiological studies that are really needed to understand this interaction between the cardiovascular prevention strategies, the antithrombotic use, the blood pressure targets, and these high-risk neuroimaging markers for ICH. And I think that's gonna be key, personalizing the interventions for these patients.  Dr Albin: So, I love that. And what I'm hearing is that it's really important to think about the personalized approach as well as how do we simplify things. We know that blood pressure control is critically important to the primary and secondary prevention of ICH, but we have to make it easy for patients to do so. Dr. Shah, I want to end with kind of understanding, you know, this was an unusual topic for neurointensivists to talk about. This was really about prevention. It was about long-term survivorship. It was about not what's happening in the neuro ICU. How did you guys get interested in sort of that aspect of care?  Dr Shah: Yeah, so that's a great question. Dr. Ziai has been my mentor since I was in fellowship, so now about eight years that I've been working with her, and this was a project that I started in fellowship with under her mentorship, looking at long-term recovery in ICH patients, and specifically severe patients. Happy that work has received a lot of recognition. It was published in JAMA Neurology. We looked at patients with severe intracerebral and intraventricular hemorrhage, those that survived with an mRS of four and five at day 30, and what happened to them over the course of the year. There was really not much data on recovery after ICH. And we were very surprised to see that up to 40% of patients that were an mRS of four and five, so really, really severely disabled at day 30, recovered to an mRS of zero to three by one year. About one-third of that group that recovered actually achieved functional independence with an mRS of zero to two, which was very surprising, really breaking the myths around the pessimism with ICH. We found that a lot of the baseline comorbidities like diabetes, white matter disease, as well as what happens to them during the acute hospitalization, were adding all of that information to the severity of the hemorrhage significantly improved our ability to predict long-term recovery after ICH. And so that's kind of how we got interested in this work, looking at how factors in the care that we provide in the ICU, as well as what the patients come in with, how all of that could be modified to promote recovery in these patients that are often been forgotten.  Dr Albin: I think that there's one takeaway to our listeners is that this is really a place where there's a lot of hope for recovery, and that the nihilism that has really surrounded ICH is a thing of the past, and we have to move forward with thinking about how do we proactively impact the recovery and counsel the patients and give them hope. Because just as your research shows, there really is the ability that they can attain that functional independence, which is absolutely astounding. It's really amazing. Again, today I've been interviewing Dr. Wendy Ziai and Dr. Vishank Shah about their article on intracerebral hemorrhage. This article appears in the April 2026 Continuum issue on cerebrovascular disease. Please be sure to check out Continuum Audio episodes from this and other issues. Please go and check out. They have a wonderful article with lots of tables and figures, so much data. And again, thank you to our listeners for joining us today. Thank you, Dr. Ziai and Dr. Shah.  Dr Ziai: Thanks very much.  Dr Shah: Thank you.   Dr Monteith: This is Dr. Teshamae Monteith, Associate Editor of Continuum Audio. If you've enjoyed this episode, you'll love the journal, which is full of in-depth and clinically relevant information important for neurology practitioners. Use the link in the episode notes to learn more and subscribe. AAN members, you can get CME for listening to this interview by completing the evaluation at continpub.com/audioCME. Thank you for listening to Continuum Audio.

Sometimes, our social media algorithm knows what it's doing, and delivers us classic Kdrama scenes. So these are the scenes we never skip when they show up on our feeds--ones that make us cry, get our blood pumping, or make us cringe with second-hand embarrassment.CLOY Border Scene: https://youtu.be/qiHfMceiKg8?si=85rPJLWWs7SEPhfuScenes That Make Us CryGoblin Rooftop: https://youtu.be/5JteB30DAN4?si=BK65sIk5TZBt04ReEun Tak Remembering Kim Shin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI7dByRuw5kEun Tak Going Up the Stairs: https://youtube.com/shorts/mtgoQvhFQv8?si=PUyUT3_faCfHXCRmI Am Not A Robot Reset Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSCT9tkpB14My Dearest auction scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW5XKIq_P64Scenes That Make Us LaughCondom Shower: https://youtube.com/shorts/V1eV67YPr4Y?si=Y9B4pyrduqExi8LnDokkaebi Underwear Song: https://youtu.be/UZ72CNde3h4?si=X6O0093qx6rsspoPDeath of Sebastian and Elizabeth (fish) https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8awuJTBNZAcSamantha and Rachel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KpE_IhZ1aEAction Scenes That Never Get OldLee Gon on Horse: https://youtu.be/yaZkYUUVZG4?si=lljxHs_MEEhuzSwNCaptain Ri Motorcycle Scene: https://vimeo.com/381918963Flaming bookbag from Study Group: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD3UINhqQFIK2 shower scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HexDL4OinoYSexy Scenes that Make Our Hearts RaceCoffee Prince Door Kiss: https://youtu.be/O4YZ8NHu0uQ?si=h1u2ES2WWeg3reEgDestined With You Cotton Candy: https://www.tiktok.com/@rowoon__tr/video/7290185127324421381Bad and Crazy kiss: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZbJqz9kRBIScenes That Give Us Second-Hand EmbarrassmentI Am Not A Robot Disguisehttps://www.dramabeans.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Robot17-00005-copy.jpgFight for My Way aegyo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFu3Hufti5EBadass ScenesJang Uk emerging from the funeral pyre:https://drive.google.com/file/d/15LilRRk1xDZ4OdWqrN-U_un4Bu5h3oI0/view?usp=sharingBallerina action scene with a can of pineapples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D32dnh6lF1MHonorable Mention Scenes We Will Never ForgetEnd of Train to Busan: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DYSBfIOsW27/Gyeongseong Creature monster mother: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gUS_SU9L2kReady to download your first audiobook? Don't forget to click HERE for your free Audible trial.*Audible is a sponsor of Afternoona Delight Podcast*Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession. And check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness. And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas.Last but CERTAINLY not least....love BTS? Or curious what all the fuss is about? Check out our sister pod Afternoona Army for takes on Bangtan life. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

It was a dream come true to speak with Kristi on the podcast. The whole point of this show is to celebrate Asians who bring us joy. In the 2020s, there have been many great gold medal performances by Asian Americans at both the summer and winter Olympics. But in 1992, Kristi's gold was only the 2nd gold medal won by an Asian American woman ever (first in the Winter Games)! The joy and pride of seeing a fellow Asian American (and a Bay Area kid) on top of the podium was really indescribable.  Off the ice, Kristi has helped countless others pursue their education and passions with Kristi Yamaguchi's Always Dream, https://alwaysdream.org . She is, and always has been, a great ambassador for the sport of figure skating and the Bay Area. It was a real treat to speak with her! Listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or find us at infatuasian.com Our Theme: “Super Happy J-Pop Fun-Time” by Prismic Studios was arranged and performed by All Arms Around, with a cold open by @conerclubofficial Cover Art and Logo designed by Justin Chuan @w.a.h.w (We Are Half the World) #asianpodcast #infatuasian #aapi #representationmatters

IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE? Technically, no, but if it's K-Drama woes that ail you, we have the remedy with Dr. Noonas Prescription Service. We asked listeners to write in with their drama related ailments so we could prescribe the perfect medicine. Whether it's a light and fluffy romcom you can watch with the kiddos or a thoughtful drama to help you through hard times, the doctors are at your service. And if you're bummed you missed out on getting your prescription filled, have no fear! The doctors will be back with future segments. All you have to do is fill out THIS FORM to let us know what you need! Also, if you want to see the sport Lia spent a year playing, here's a look at Underwater Hockey. Ready to download your first audiobook? Don't forget to click HERE for your free Audible trial.*Audible is a sponsor of Afternoona Delight Podcast*Are your family and friends sick of you talking about K-drama? We get it...and have an answer. Join our AfterNoona Delight Patreon and find community among folks who get your obsession. And check out www.afternoonadelight.com for more episodes, book recs and social media goodness. And don't forget about the newest member of our network: Afternoona Asks where diaspora Asians living in the West find ways to reconnect to Asian culture via Asian/KDramas.Last but CERTAINLY not least....love BTS? Or curious what all the fuss is about? Check out our sister pod Afternoona Army for takes on Bangtan life. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Send us Fan MailHate can feel natural when you grow up around it, but that's the lie we challenge today. We're looking straight at xenophobia and afrophobia in Africa and asking the question most people avoid: if we keep repeating the same cycle, what kind of future are we building for the next generation? This conversation is candid, emotional, and rooted in a clear belief that hate is learned, which means it can also be unlearned. We walk through a timeline of major anti-foreigner incidents across Africa, including Ghana's 1969 Aliens Compliance Order, Uganda's 1972 expulsion of Asians, Nigeria's mass expulsions in the 1980s, and the political identity battles that shaped Côte d'Ivoire. From there, we zoom in on post-apartheid South Africa and the repeated waves of xenophobic violence, from early attacks in the late 1990s to the horrific 2008 outbreak, later eruptions in 2015, tensions targeting Nigerian-owned businesses, and the rise of Operation Dudula-style anti-migrant campaigns. Along the way we ask what these patterns reveal about power, economics, scapegoating, and the stories people are taught to believe about “outsiders.” But this isn't just history. We connect it to everyday choices, including how quickly resentment shows up in something as simple as football support, and we wrestle with the cost of revenge logic. If “an eye for an eye” leaves everyone blind, what does it look like to be the better person in the room, to reach out, and to refuse the self-destruct button? If you care about African unity, immigration, social cohesion, and breaking cycles of violence, listen through to the end and share this with someone who needs it. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what you think is the first step to stopping this pattern.Support the showYou can support this show via the link below;https://www.buzzsprout.com/1718587/supporters/new

In this episode, the three of us catch up on:All things World Cup, the incredible vibes from all around, but especially from Korean and Mexican fans, and some history on Asians in Mexico (0:24)Is this the Asian in sports golden age? (9:00)A trip to Asia, Jazz Fest, a month in Mexico, and other recent happenings (17:38)Why we love sports (31:59)