Podcasts about Ellis Island

Brian tells colorful stories of our family from Ellis Island to Montana origins. Garret Mahaffey shares his hunting stories of when he was in Montana in his 20's as he migrated from Indiana to Montana.

Curious about your Italian heritage? Ancestry research in Italy is a wonderful way to connect with your family history and see more of the country. Listener Pam shares her story discovering her family's migration story from Marche to Ellis Island and how her research has transformed her travels in Italy.Read the full episode show notes here > untolditaly.com/306Untold Italy App  •  Trip Planning Services  •  Small Group Journeys through regional ItalySupport the showSubscribe to our mailing list and get our FREE Italy trip planning toolkit - subscribe hereNeed help with your trip? Check out our Trip Planning ServicesJoin us on tour. Browse our Trip scheduleFollowSubstackInstagram • Facebook • YouTube Editorial InformationThe Untold Italy travel podcast is an independent production. Podcast Editing, Audio Production and Website Development by Mark Hatter. Production Assistance and Content Writing by the other Katie Clarke 

Think about the histories of your family or memories from your past. What if you recounted them with a dash of magic? What happens when we infuse our stories on film with some magical realism? Tonight's edition of APEX Express features three filmmakers who created magical realism short films centering AAPI women. Listen to directors Cami Kwan, Dorothy Xiao, and Rachel Leyco discuss their films and experiences behind the scenes with host Isabel Li. Cami Kwan: Website | Instagram | Seed & Spark Dorothy Xiao: Website | Instagram  Rachel Leyco: Website | Instagram   Transcript 00:01 [INTRO] Isabel: You're tuned into Apex Express on KPFA. Tonight's edition is all about stories. Think about the histories of your family or memories from your past. Now, what if you recounted them with a dash of magic? What happens when we infuse our stories on film with some magical realism? I'm your host, Isabel Li, and today we have three very special guests, Cami Kwan, Dorothy Chow, and Rachel Leyco. All of them are AAPI filmmakers who received the Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge grant from the Coalition of Asian Pacifics and Entertainment and have created short films featuring AAPI stories with magical realism. My first guest of the night is Cami Kwan, a Chinese-American director specializing in stop-motion animation who directed the short film Paper Daughter.  Hi Cami, welcome to APEX Express!  Cami: Hello, thank you so much for having me. Isabel: How do you identify and what communities do you consider yourself a part of?  Cami: So I identify as a queer Asian American woman um and I am a descendant of immigrants, of Chinese immigrants. um Then the communities that I am part of, part of the queer community, part of the Los Angeles community, part of the Chinese American and Asian American community, part of the mixed race community and part of the stop-motion animation and independent artist community.  Isabel: I'm so excited to talk to you about your upcoming short film, Paper Daughter, a gothic stop-motion animated Chinese-American fairy tale about a young woman grappling with the guilt of using the identity of a deceased girl to immigrate to the US via Angel Island in 1926, which is such a fascinating concept. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about how you came up with this story and the historical specificity behind it?  Cami: Absolutely, yeah. So like I mentioned, I'm the child of immigrants, descendants of immigrants rather. So my great grandparents immigrated to the US from China. My great grandfather came over in 1916 and my great grandma came over in 1926. And so I've always grown up knowing the story of Angel Island and knowing the story about the paper sons and paper daughters who had to find any way into the United States that they could. And so they were forced to, you know, take on the identities of other people. And those stories have always stuck with me, you know, like it's very personal. Angel Island means a lot to me and my family. And just the extreme measures that people have always had to take just for the chance at a better life have always been really meaningful to learn about. just the like, I'll use romances in like the art movement, like romantic. It's very romantic and kind of fairy tale-ish, the idea of having to take on a new identity and pretend to be somebody that you're not. And often those identities would be people who had passed away, and then those families had then sold those identities or given those identities to new people. And so it's so interesting the idea of being like the last person to know somebody so deeply, but you'll never get to meet them and you'll never be able to thank them or repay what they sacrificed for your future. And that's kind of how I feel as a descendant of immigrants. The sacrifice that my family made for me was made so long ago that there's no way for me to ever pay it back. And I didn't really get a say in whether I received that sacrifice or not. And I think a lot of descendants of immigrants kind of have to struggle with this. What does it mean for us to be given this new chance at the cost of somebody who came before us? And so that's all of that kind of rolled up into this 14-minute film. Isabel: You describe your film as being in a gothic style? Can you describe what this looks like and why gothic?  Cami: The subject matter is just so naturally gothic. It's dealing a lot with death and a lot with guilt and those big capital R romantic subjects and stuff. My day job, my day-to-day job is working in stop-motion animation directing mostly like children's series and mostly toy related stuff. And so I spent so much of my time in the happy brighter like birthday party storyline kind of like space. But what really made me want to be a filmmaker in the first place were all these like heavier themes, these bigger themes, films by Guillermo del Toro and like Tim Burton and Henry Selig and Hayao Miyazaki and all of those kind of have this like gothic edge to them. And so that's like a story that I've been a type of story I've been wanting to tell for about a decade now.  Isabel: Stylistically, how does this show up in your film? So I imagine darker colors or do you have a visual like preview for us?  Cami: it is a little bit in the darker color space, but it's still very colorful despite all that. It's moody more so than dark, I would say. um We have a lot of like light and dark themes, a lot of like shadow. stuff and um a lot of magical realism, which is where that fairy tale aspect kind of comes in, because you're dealing with things that are so abstract, like guilt and sacrifice and wearing the identity of somebody else, that there's no literal way to convey that. Well, there are literal ways to convey that, but none of those literal ways I feel fully convey the emotional weight of everything. And so we've gone in this very magical realism space where people are tearing information out of these booklets that contain information about the person they're supposed to be and creating these paper masks out of them. And so yeah, there's this whole like magical aspect that tends to be kind of darker. There's imagery of just like being consumed by the identity that you're just supposed to temporarily wear. And there's a lot of like, yeah, there's a lot of darkness in those themes, I think.  Isabel: Wow, that's so interesting. I'd love to learn more about stop motion. What does stop motion make possible that isn't as easily accomplished through other forms of filmmaking? Cami: Yeah, I think the reason why I'm drawn to stop motion, what I stop motion makes possible is like a universality of just like a human experience because with other kinds of animation and other kinds of filmmaking, like there is kind of like an opacity to like how it's made. There's this this veneer, this magic to it, and there's that magic to stop motion too. But the difference between all of those and stop motion is made out of like everyday materials. It's made out of fabric. using paper. We're using clay. We're using materials that people have encountered in their day-to-day lives. And like, that's the one thing that we are all guaranteed to have in common is that we live in a material world and we encounter these textures and materials around us. so by like taking such a specific story and trying to convey such universal themes, it really like behooves us to be using like um a medium that is as universal as stop motion is. So I think that's like the big thing that stop motion unlocks for us. Plus also story-wise, like it's very paper centered, paper daughter, they're tearing paper strips, they're making paper masks. So like physically using these paper textures adds a lot to our world. um And I think working in stop motion gives you a degree of control that live action doesn't give you because we're creating. all of our characters, all of our sets by hand, which gives us so much of a say over what they look like and what they convey based on how they're constructed and stuff. And that's just a degree of communication that nothing else brings.  Isabel: I love that this is a magical realism film and you mentioned Guillermo del Toro. I know that in your campaign trailer, you featured Pan's Labyrinth, which is my all-time favorite movie.  Cami: Me too! Isabel: Yeah! How exactly did you come up with this specific blend of history and fantasy for your film?  Cami: I think that it's almost a natural human instinct to kind of have history and fantasy. Like, that's all that histories are, just stories told to us. And it's just being less literal about it and really leaning into the metaphors that we might use to convey the emotional realities of those histories, right? And so I feel like Del Toro does that a lot with his work. And Miyazaki as well does a lot of that with his work. So much of it deals with unpacking like World War II and things like that. And that's something that I've always just personally been drawn to. Even as a kid, my dream jobs were archaeologist or animator. And so here I kind of get to like do a little bit of both of those, know, like using the magic of animation to make history feel a lot more present and tangible and like emotionally relevant, which is It's really quite poetic to be able to be telling this story right now because it's going to mark the 100 year anniversary of my great grandmother's immigration to the US. I think we are due for an examination of immigration in our country. And I'm very interested to see how people respond to the questions that this raises of how different is the immigrant experience 100 years later. Have we gotten better? Have we gotten worse? Like I would posit it's perhaps worse now than it was then, but I'm really hoping to like, yeah, bring that reality into a more approachable space. And I feel like having that blend of magic and history just makes it a little bit more approachable than telling it in a literal way, you know? Isabel: Those are some great questions to ask. And on that same note, I'm interested in the specificity of Angel Island as well. What types of research did you do to produce your film?  Cami: Oh, gosh, I read every book I could find about it. have… How many books were those? Oh, my gosh, I want to say, like, not as many as I want there to be, you know? Like, Angel Island is not as well covered in history as places like Ellis Island, and there's a lot. to unpack as to why that may be, especially like the racial aspect of it. But I probably read about a dozen different books to prepare for this film. One of the most concrete and useful books that I read is a book called Island, and it's a collection of the poems that are carved into the walls of the men's barracks that remain on Angel Island. And those poems are a huge part, perhaps, the reason why Angel Island has even been preserved as a historical landmark. And so um the three authors went to great pains to replicate these poems, translate them into English, and provide a lot of historical context for the different topics of the poems. And there's a lot of like first-hand testimony from people who immigrated through Angel Island that they interviewed and included in this book. And so I do think that that book, Island, is like the primary source of most of my research for it. Everything else is more like quantitative history and quantitative data. Oh, also The Chinese in America by, I believe it's Iris Chang, that it's not just about Angel Island, but I read that and that gave me a much better understanding about like the place that Chinese immigrants have in American history. Because when I was a kid, like I really only ever learned about great grandma came over through Angel Island and now we're American and we live in America. But our history, as far as I was ever taught, begins and ends with us entering the United States. And so reading um the Chinese in America gave me a much broader understanding about, like, why did we leave China in the first place? And like, what has it meant for us to be in America as Chinese people since then? Yeah, all that came out of like in 2020 and 2021 when the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes were kind of coming about. I personally had to have a huge reckoning with like my racial identity and like how that has impacted like my experience growing up as a mixed-race person who's pretty perceivably Asian and all that stuff. So it was a really whole circle broad situation. Oh, I want to do a quick shout out to the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation. They were very generous with their time and they answered a lot of my questions and sent me a lot of archival images from Angel Island. So I want to thank them so much for their help in the research process of this.  Isabel: Oh, wow. How fascinating. Did you have any expectations on how the production process was going to go? And now that you're on the other side of it, what are your reflections?  Cami: I had no expectations as to whether we were going to get outside funding or not. Like I, I'm not an experienced or adept grant applicant. Like, it was really just because this was the right kind of project to fit with those kinds of grants. So I had no expectations there. So I am beyond thrilled to have received the support from Cape and Janet Yang and Julia S. Gouw and Shorescripts that we've received, like beyond thrilled for that. So that exceeded all of my expectations. um But as far as how the actual production has gone, the fabrication and the animation and the post-production, that's all stuff that I'm extremely familiar with. Again, that is my day-to-day life, that is my job, that is like what I have done for the last eight years at my studio, Apartment D.  So that all went pretty much as I hoped and expected that it would, but here on the other side, the one thing that has surprised me about it was how much love all of the artists put in this project because like we've said so much in this conversation, there's so much specificity to this. This is about my great grandma. This is about my family and my feelings about being a descendant of immigrants. It's so specific that I wasn't sure how emotionally it would resonate with anybody else that wasn't me or wasn't part of the AAPI community, you know?  But every single person — doesn't really even matter if they were Asian, doesn't really even matter if they have a specific connection to immigration — every artist that I asked to join me on this project, I immediately understood what it meant and understood what we were trying to say. And they put so much love into it. And like, we all put a lot of love into everything we do. It's stop motion. It's like, you don't do this unless you love it, you know, because you certainly are not doing it for the money or anything. um everyone was just so…I'm gonna say careful, but I don't mean careful like cautious. I mean careful like full of care. And I did not expect that and I am so grateful for it. Yeah, looking back, it's just so precious and so tender and like I'm so fortunate to have had the crew with me that I had to make this film.  Isabel: That's so lovely. What are you most excited about upon completing your film?  Cami: I'm just excited to share it with the world. I'm so proud of it. It is truly, and I'm not just saying this because it's my baby, but it is very beautiful and it is very special. For a lot of us, one of the first times that we've been able to be in charge of our own departments or to make the decisions that we wanna make and tell things, do things, show things the way that we think they should be done. And so it's kind of significant for many of us to have this film come out and to be received. What I want people to take away from it is an appreciation and a gratitude for everything that has had to happen for us to be where we are now. And I also really want people to take away the unconditional love that has occurred for us to be in the country that we have and to be the people that we are. Every single person is where they are. doesn't matter if you're in America or anywhere else, like we are all here because of the sacrifices that were made by the people who came before us. And those were all made out of unconditional love. And that's like, I want people to come away from this film remembering that our country is built on the unconditional love and sacrifice from people who came before us. And then wanting to give that unconditional love and sacrifice to everybody who's gonna come after us. Isabel: Such an amazing message. And I know that there's still lots to do and you still have a lot to celebrate with your upcoming film and with the festival circuit with Paper Daughter. But looking ahead, do you have any plans of what you want to do after the short film?  Cami: Yeah, I would love to bring it into a feature. There was so much that we had to cut out to make this film. On one hand, I'm glad that we cut out what we did because I think the film as it is, is like so tight and so like airtight and good and perfect and sparse in a really nice way, but we don't even get to delve into life before Angel Island. It begins and ends on the island, and I would love to explore the stories that brought this all about and the stories that come after. So bringing this up into a feature version and getting that in front of people would be amazing. And I have a couple other short film and feature film and script ideas that I would like to start working on as well. I've kind of really, I'm really grooving on the like Asian early Chinese American history. um So most of them are going to be set in California and focus on like Chinese immigrants and their role in the founding of America. um I'm really excited for the like, after all the film festivals, I really want this film to end up in classrooms. And I even just the other day like I have a friend who's a third and fourth grade teacher and she showed it to her class and then the students asked me questions about Angel Island and about animation. if this can play any part in helping to spread the story of Angel Island and the people that immigrated through there, like that's all that I could ever want from this. So I'm really excited for that.  Isabel: That's wonderful. I'll put your website, social media and seed and spark page for Paper Daughter up on kpfa.org so our listeners can learn more about this stop motion film and get updates for how they can watch it. I can't wait to see it when it comes out. And Cami, thank you so much for joining me on Apex Express today.  Cami: Of course, thank you so much for having me. It was a great, great time talking with you.  Isabel: You just heard Cami Kwan talk about her film Paper Daughter. On Apex Express tonight, we have two more special guests who made magical realism short films. Next up is Dorothy Xiao, who made the film Only in This World. She's a Los Angeles-based award-winning filmmaker who likes to create grounded family dramas with a hint of fantasy.  Hi, Dorothy. Welcome to APEX Express.  Dorothy: Hi. Thanks for having me!  Isabel: Of course! Thank you for coming here. My first question for you is actually quite broad. How do you identify and what communities are you a part of?  Dorothy: Oh, that is a good question. I think in a broader sense. I would say, obviously, I identify as an Asian American. um But I think, like, for me, because I grew up in the 626 or the San Gabriel Valley, I grew up with a lot of people who looked like me. So I think I didn't truly identify as being Asian or had awareness of my identity until later on when I went to college. And then I took Asian American Studies classes and I was like, oh, wow, I'm Asian. Or like, what does it mean to be Asian? You know, like, I think I, at that time, prior to recognizing and understanding what it meant, and also even to be a minority, because at that, like I said, growing up in 626, even going to UCLA, where I'm surrounded by a lot of Asians, I never really felt like a minority. But I think it was really after graduating where I, depending on the spaces that I would enter into, especially in the film industry, I was learning like, oh, yeah, I am a minority and this is what it feels like. And prior to that, I think I just identified as being a daughter of immigrants. And that still is very strongly the case just because I grew up listening to so many stories that my parents would tell me, like coming from China, growing up like they grew up in China during a completely different time. I can't even imagine what it would be like living in the way that they did, you know, during the Cultural Revolution, under communism, in an intense way where they were starving, all this political stuff. But yeah, a second gen or for a lot of people, first generation, daughter of immigrants, of parents who decided that they wanted to make a better life for their kids out here in the States. I think that I want to stand by me saying that I don't feel like I am, I don't really want to identify as only just single categories all the time, just because within each community, could be, you could have nuances, right? Because I am a woman, but I'm also like a woman who doesn't want children, you know, and there was just so many different things of how I identify. So hard for me to categorize myself like that. But they are, there are tidbits of different communities. Like I still identify, identify as Asian American. I identify as a daughter of immigrants. I identify as a female filmmaker and yeah. And a business owner, I guess. Yeah.  Isabel: Right. Yes. Thank you for that nuanced answer. You know, it's so fascinating because I was reading about your work and you have worked in animal research administration and an afterschool program and even web development for nonprofits. How did you get into writing and directing?  Dorothy: Yeah. So after graduating college, I was definitely in a place where many, I'm sure, fresh grads understand what we call the quarter life crisis, where we don't know what we wanna do with our lives. And I was working at UCLA because that was the only job that I could get out of college for an animal research administration office. And really, I worked for them as a student. So I was like, well, it makes sense to have that be my full-time job, because you're in a place where you don't have skills. So how do you get a job if you don't have skills? That weird silly catch-22 situation. So I studied psychology in undergrad because my goal was to become a therapist. I wanted to work with Asian and Asian immigrant communities to help them with mental health because there's such a stigma attached to it. And being somebody who found mental health really important and also found that it was a really great way to understand myself. I wanted to work with, I guess, the people of my community. But at that time, I realized that there's still a stigma attached to mental health and it's really hard to get people to even go to therapy. Like living with my parents, it's really difficult. I cannot ever convince them to go. um And so I had pivoted into, or at least I discovered this filmmaking competition and ended up just like making a film for fun with a couple of friends, random people that um were not in film at all. And I had a lot of fun and I realized that we could actually create stories talking about things that are very similar to mental health or could provide that catharsis and validation that you could probably get in a session, in a therapy session. And it's not clinical at all. It's not as clinical. So, you know, on all those different jobs that you mentioned, they're all day jobs, know, animal research administration and then working for an after school program. That was me still trying to figure out how to be a filmmaker on my weekends. I still needed a day job. I didn't have the luxury of going to film school. So I would work at different places that gave me the flexibility of having a day job. But then also I had free time during the weekend to just make films with my friends, make friends films with people like my mom, who was one of my first actors earlier on. Love my mom. She did not do the greatest in my film, but I love her for being there for me. But yeah, like the different organizations or just jobs that I worked for were all really good in terms of providing me management skills and also communication skills because I worked in different industries, you know, and so at the end of the day, it all culminated in me at my current place. Like I am a freelance filmmaker and I also run my own video production company. So um becoming a writer, I mean, being a writer director is my main identity as a filmmaker. However, I don't think you could be a good writer-director if you don't have life experience. And having all those different jobs that I've had provided me with a lot of varied life experience and I interacted with a lot of different people, many different personalities.  Isabel: Yeah, no, I love that. So you grew up in Alhambra, which I'm familiar with because I too grew up in the San Gabriel Valley. How would you say that growing up in Alhambra has shaped you as an artist?  Dorothy: Alhambra is really special, I feel like, because in the San Gabriel Valley, there are many cities like this. You have Chinese people who can actually get by without ever having to learn English. And the same goes for Latin communities as well. And, you know, I have aunts and uncles who lived in Alhambra for years and never learned how to speak English. So I think it's like, what's so special about it, it feels like a safe space for a lot of immigrant communities. And then my parents being immigrants from China. living in Alhambra was a place where they could feel safe and feel connected to the people that they left behind in another country. And so being a child of immigrants, a daughter of like an Asian American, like a Chinese American growing up in Alhambra, I definitely felt like I grew up with a lot of people who were similar to me. know, we were like a lot of times the first American born children of our families even, and it was, we had to essentially understand what it meant to be Asian versus American and all of that.  But I think like being in Alhambra, I never felt like I wasn't seen, or at least I never felt like I was a minority. I think I mentioned this earlier, in that growing up in Alhambra, you do see a lot of people who look like you. And I have a lot of friends in the film industry who have moved out to California because they grew up in towns where they were like one, the only person, the only Asian person in their school or whatever. And I didn't have that experience. So for me, it was really special just being able to have a whole group of friends where there's a bunch of Asians. And we all spoke different languages. Like I had a lot of friends who were Cantonese speakers, but I'm a Mandarin speaker, but it was just really cool. It was like going to your friends' places and then you have aunties. So it's almost like having more family. You could feel like you have more aunts and uncles that will feed you all the time because that is the way they show love, right?  Isabel: Oh, certainly. I think there's so many stories in multicultural places like Alhambra. And speaking of which, you did in your film Only in This World. It's about an empty nester who has to face her ex-husband's mistress in order to summon her daughter back from the afterlife, which is featured in the 2025 Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Festival in Sunnyvale. Congratulations on such a beautiful film. I will say that I am a huge fan of magical realism, and Only in This World has some magical elements to it. So I'd love to get to know, how did you come up with this specific plot and characters that make up this film? Dorothy: Yeah, and thank you for wanting to talk about this one. It's a special story to me just because it is, I think it's the first film that I've made where I just decided to incorporate elements of where I grew up. And so Only in This World is inspired by my mom and her Tai Chi group at our local park, so Alhambra Park. My mom would go to do Tai Chi every morning for years. And in Alhambra, actually, as I mentioned, because there are so many immigrant communities, many of the immigrant communities tend to stay together with the people who speak their language. So Chinese people usually stick together with the Chinese speakers, Spanish speakers stick together with the Spanish speakers. You don't see a lot of mingling or intersectionality. But one of the special things that I saw with my mom's Tai Chi group was that they were not just Chinese people or Asian people, but there were Latino people in their group as well. And so even though they couldn't speak the same language, they would show up and still do Tai Chi every morning because it was a matter of doing something together. And so I love that a lot. And I wanted to tell a story about just older women who are finding friendship because I think that's really important in older age and in these groups because you see that a lot of the people in these Tai Chi groups are even the ones, not just Tai Chi groups, but there are dancers in the park, you know, like you'll see them in the mornings, not just in Alhambra, but in Monterey Park, all the different parks, open spaces, they'll have little dance groups.  A lot of the people who are part of those groups happen to be seniors, and I think it's just because they don't have work, they don't have children, they're lonely. And so…I think it's really important to be aware that where friendship or loneliness is actually an epidemic in the senior community. And it's really important to providing good quality of life is to just have them have that connection with other people. And seeing that in my mom, because my mom is getting older, having her be part of that community was what kept her happier. And so, yeah, and also my mother-in-law is Colombian. And she's done Tai Chi before as well with her group in Rosemead. And so I just was like, well, I'm part of a multicultural family. I want to tell a multicultural family story. Yeah, in terms of the magical realism element, I thought a lot about just how my family, if our house has ever burned down, the things that they would take out are our photos, the print four by six, like, you know, just the print photos because they're just so precious to them. There's something about hard copy pictures that is so special that digital photos just can't take over. Like there is an actual energy to how a photo is made or even like back then when we used to use film, there's energy that's required to actually create photos. And so, you know, I wanted that to be the power that powers this magical scanner where energy is taken from the picture and then you have the ability to bring someone you love back from the afterlife. And I really love grounded magical realism because I think it just makes difficult things a lot easier to understand when you add a little bit of magic to it, a little bit of fantasy.  Isabel: Yeah, magical realism is such a special genre. What part of the production process that you find the most profound?  Dorothy: I think it was just really my gratitude in how much my family came together for me and also just like the people of this team, know, like there were, I think one major situation that I can think of that I always think is really funny was, um so we filmed at my mother-in-law's house and my husband, Diego, was also working on set with me. He is not in the film industry. He's a software engineer manager. He's like in tech, but he is one of my biggest supporters. And so…when we were like, yeah, can we film at your mom's house? He was like, okay. But he had to end up being the, quote unquote, location manager, right? Because the house was his responsibility. And then, and he was also my PA and he was also DIT. Like he would be the one dumping footage. He did everything. He was amazing. And then ah one day we found out that his neighbor was actually doing construction and they were hammering. It was like drilling stuff and making new windows. They were doing new windows. And we were just like, oh, like, how do we get them to, like, not make noise? And so, and they don't speak English. And so we were like, oh crap, you know. So like, unfortunately, my producers and I don't speak Spanish, like we're all just English speaking. And then I did have Latinos working on my set, but they, you know, they had other jobs. I wasn't going to make them translate and do all that other stuff. So then Diego so kindly went over and talked to them and was like, essentially we set up. They were totally cool about it. They were like, yeah, okay, you're making a film. then whenever you're rolling sound, we'll just like prevent, like not hammer. And then so Diego is sitting outside with a walkie and talking to the first AD and other people inside the house, because we're all filming inside. don't know what's going outside. And then so like, we would be rolling, rolling. And then um the workers, I think his name was Armando, are like…whenever we cut, Diego would hear it through the walkie and he'd be like, Armando, okay, you're good to go. You can drill. Armando would drill. And then when we're going, and we'd be like, I'm going for another take. And then Diego would be like, Armando, please stop. So it was so nice of them to be willing to accommodate to us. Because you hear a lot of horror stories of LA productions where neighbors see you're filming something and they'll purposely turn on the radio to make it really loud and you have to pay them off and whatever. And in this case, it wasn't it was more like, hey, like, you know, we're making a movie and they were so supportive and they're like, yeah, totally. This is so cool. We will definitely pause our work, our actual work and let you roll down during the brief period. So we're really grateful. We definitely brought them donuts the next day to thank them. But that was just something that I was like, oh yeah, like I don't think I could have pulled that off if I didn't have Diego or if the fact, if it wasn't for the fact that these were the neighbors, know, that we were filming at someone's house and the neighbors already had a relationship with the people who lived here.  Isabel: Wow, that's really adaptable. And I'm so glad that went well for you. Dorothy, you've directed 13 films by now. Have you ever seen one of your films resonate with an audience member that you've interacted with in the past?  Dorothy: So there was this one short I had done a couple years ago called Tarot and it came at a time when I was struggling with the idea of whether or not I wanted to have kids and many of my friends are off having their first or second kids, you know, and so I never really wanted to be a mom, but then I have a partner who I can see being a great father, so I'm more open to the idea of being a mother, but it was still something I was conflicted about. And so I put this all into a short film, just my feelings of how my identity would change if I were to become a mom, because I've read so much about that. I found a Reddit thread one day where people were just talking about how being a mother is hard. And they openly stated how much they hated it. And it's okay to feel that way. And I wanted to put those feelings into this film to just put it out there like, hey, like if you don't like being a mom, even though you love your kid, you could still hate having that identity and be lost about, and it's okay to be lost or not sure about who you are. And so it was a really short film and it ended kind of open ended. It was like five minute film, so it didn't have like a full ending, but it was an open ended ending. And then afterwards I had a bunch of people come up. I had people who were parents, not just mothers, like even, or like fathers who had just had their first kid who were coming up and telling me like, oh, I totally identify. I understand that struggle of learning about who your new identity is after you've had a kid. And then I had people who were child free who were coming to me and saying like, yeah, this is a similar feeling that I've had about whether or not I should have any kids. Because, you know, as women, we have a biological clock that ticks. And that's something I feel frustrated about sometimes where it's really because of my body that I feel pressured to have a kid versus wanting to have one because I want one. And so that was a story I wanted to, or just something I wanted to put into a film. Yeah, and I also had another person come up and tell me that they were like, this was something I felt, but I never really openly talked about. And so I resonated a lot with this and it just helped basically articulate or helped me identify like, oh, I totally feel this way. And so that was really validating to me as a filmmaker because my goal is to reach others who don't feel comfortable talking about certain things that they tend to hide because I have a lot of those types of thoughts that I might feel ashamed or embarrassed to share. But then I put it into a story and then it makes it more digestible and it's like, or it's more, it's entertaining. But then like the core message is still there. And so people watch it and if they feel that they can connect to it, then I've done my job because I have resonated with somebody and I've made them feel seen. And that's ultimately what I wanted to do when I wanted to be a therapist was I just wanted to make people feel seen. I wanted to make them feel connected to other people and less lonely because that's something that I also have struggled with. Yeah, so filmmaking is my way of putting something small out there that I feel and then finding other people who feel the same way as me. And then we can feel validated together. Isabel: Ah yes, that is the power of film, and Dorothy's work can be viewed on her website, which I'll be linking on kpfa.org, as well as her social media, so you can get new updates on what she is working on. Dorothy, thank you so much for joining me on APEX Express today!  Dorothy: Thank you! Thank you for having me, it was so great to meet you!  Isabel: That was Dorothy Xiao, our second guest for tonight's edition of Apex Express, featuring magical realism AAPI filmmakers. Now time for our final guest of the night, Rachel Leyco, who is a queer, award-winning Filipina-American filmmaker, writer, actress, and activist. We'll be talking about her upcoming short film, Milk & Honey.  Hi Rachel, it's such an honor to have you here on APEX Express. Rachel: Hi, thank you so much for having me.  Isabel: How do you identify and what communities do you consider yourself a part of?  Rachel: Yeah, I identify as a queer Filipina-American. Isabel: So we're here to talk about your short film, Milk & Honey, which is about an ambitious Filipina nurse who leaves her family behind in the Philippines to chase the American dream in the 1990s and facing conflicts and hardships along the way. How did you come up with this specific 90s immigration story?  Rachel: Yeah. So Milk and Honey is inspired by my mom's immigrant story. you know, that's really her true story of coming to America in the early 1990s as a very young Filipina nurse while, and also a young mother and leaving behind her daughter, which was me at the time. um you know, following her journey in the film though fictionalized, a lot of the moments are true and there's a lot of exploration of assimilation, cultural barriers, loneliness and the emotional cost of pursuing the American dream.  Isabel: Yeah, when I read that synopsis, I immediately thought of this short film could totally be something that's feature length. How did you sort of this story to something that is like under 15 minutes long?  Rachel: Yeah, so I wrote the short film script first. And actually, you know, this is a proof of concept short film for the feature film. I actually wrote the feature film script after I wrote the short because there was just so much more I wanted to explore with the characters and the story. It definitely couldn't fit into a short film, though I have that short film version. But there was just so much richness to my mom's story that I wanted to explore, so I expanded into a feature. So I do have that feature film version, which I hope to make one day. Isabel: And you mentioned that this film is inspired by your mom's story. Is there any other sort of research that you did into this story that really helped you write? Rachel: Yeah, one of the main reasons I wanted to write the story, I mean, there's many reasons, but one is because there, if you ask the average American or the general public, they won't really know why there are so many Filipino nurses in the healthcare system. Because if you walk into any hospital, you'll see a Filipino nurse, more than one for sure. ah so I was really curious about the history. ah Having my mom as a nurse, my sister's also a nurse, I have a lot of healthcare workers around me. I grew up with that. I, you know, growing up, I also didn't really know or learn Filipino American history because it's not taught in schools. And I, you know, I took AP US history and didn't learn anything about, you know, my culture and our history. It's, not in the books at all. And it wasn't until like my early twenties that I was really curious about my roots and my upbringing and what it means to be Filipino-American specifically. And so um I really went into like a deep dive of just researching Filipino-American history. And specifically last year, I had been wanting to tell a story about a Filipino nurse because of my proximity to it with my mother. And you know, myself being an artist, being a filmmaker in the industry, there's so many medical shows out there, like, know, Grey's Anatomy, that's been long running, but very, very few, and rarely do we see Filipino nurses at the forefront and at the center of those stories. um You know, rarely are they series regulars. You know, sometimes they'll feature a Filipino nurse for like one episode or two and, you know, a recurring or a side character, but Filipino nurses are never the main character, never the series regular. And so that was another big driving force for why I wanted to make this story. And, you know, really making my mom's character the center of it. And so as far as like research, too, I definitely interviewed my mom and I asked her to just tell me her her entire story and specifically why she even wanted to move to the United States because she could have stayed in the Philippines or she could have moved somewhere else. um she saw a newspaper or her friend actually at the time when she was in a nursing school, a friend of hers saw an ad in the newspaper that America was sponsoring nurses. And so she had it in her mind already like, oh, yeah, I've heard of America. I've heard of the United States that it's, you know, there's better opportunities for me there. And at the time she had just had me. And so she had, you she's a young mother. She's trying to take care of her baby, her newborn. And so, you know, she had her eyes set on moving to the United States and that's kind of how her journey happened. And on top of that, I also did my own research on you know, our history, I watched this really amazing documentary um by Vox. It's on YouTube. It's all about why there are so many Filipino nurses in America. And it really just ties back to U.S. colonization. And after World War II, was so many, there was big nursing shortage in the United States. you know, white Americans did not want to, you know, fill that role. So they turn to Filipino women to fill the gap.  Isabel: Yeah, was there something special about the production process that looking back, you would want to replicate in the future or that really speaks to you?  Rachel: Absolutely. um Yeah, mean, definitely this experience and a lot of the people that I brought on to this project, I want to continue to make films with them and continue to make art with them because um I'm just so proud of the team that we put together. Everyone was so passionate and they knew how important the story was. They also had their own special connection to the material that they brought so much heart and passion into the film. that really comes through in the project. so like a lot of the people I brought onto this film, I want to continue to make art with them forever. That's one thing that I'm really, really grateful for, because I got to work with some really awesome people that I had never worked before or I had been wanting to work with. And so it was such a great opportunity that was given to me to be able to connect with such amazing and talented AAPI creatives in my circle.  Isabel: Yeah, I saw on your Instagram page for the film that you shot this film in both Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. Have you ever done a production where you had to sort juggle two different sets in two very different locations? And how was that entire process?  Rachel: Yeah, that was really, it was really fun. It was my first time being able to film in two different cities, let alone like two different states, really. A lot of my past projects have just been, you know, shooting it with the resources that I had that were available to me. You know, usually like my past short film, Thank You for Breaking My Heart, that I did last year, we shot all of it in one location, which was of course like, know, that is something that's really impressive in and of itself, of course. But, you know, because of the bigger budget that we had for Milk and Honey, I really wanted to challenge myself with this. And I really advocated for filming a part of the film in Texas because it is set in Texas. I was raised there. That's where my mom was placed when she, because how the process goes is, you know, she applied for the nursing sponsorship and then they placed them in certain areas. And so she was placed in El Paso, Texas at the time. And so that's where I also grew up. So I set the film there and I really advocated for filming in Texas because I wanted the film to have that feeling of the environment and atmosphere of Texas. um And so we shot some exteriors there for like this really fun Texas montage where you can really like feel that the character is there in, you know, in that heat, the Texas heat. So that was really, that was really fun. And I, you know, we shot, we shot two days in LA and we shot half a day in Austin, Texas. And we hired a second unit in Texas, because, you know, again, like, even though we had a really good budget, was still, you know, it was still pretty small. So I wasn't able to, you know, fly my LA crew over there. um So what we did was we just hired a second unit crew in Austin, Texas, and they were amazing. And most of them were queer, non-binary filmmakers. And it was just such a fun, intimate crew that you know, we just breezed by and had such a great time shooting that.  Isabel: That's wonderful. As a director, what inspires you and what are some of your filmmaking influences?  Rachel: Yeah, I mean, I'm constantly inspired by, you know, new films, filmmakers that I've seen, em particularly for Milk and Honey. I um so the film is, you know, this grounded drama, but there are a lot of moments of magical realism that I mix into it. love magical realism. love one of my favorite movies is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It's such a beautiful film, also very grounded, but it's filled with all of this, you know, magical realism, surrealism. And so I infused that into, you know, Milk and Honey, which was really fun and a challenge to execute. But yeah, and some other filmmakers and creatives that I'm inspired by are Ava Duvernay. think her work is just incredible and also just an incredible artist overall. I love the kind of work that she does because it comes from such a deep place. And I love that she can combine art with politics and social justice as well. Isabel: I also love that you said in your one of your project funding descriptions that you use your art as your act of revolution, which is so relevant given that, you know, in our current state of, you know, our administration is silencing and suppressing voices of our immigrant communities. And how do we as filmmakers, as artists, what does that revolution and representation mean to you as a filmmaker and artist?  Rachel: I truly believe that that art is our act of revolution and just merely creating the art is that act in and of itself. We don't have to do more than that as from, in my opinion, as an artist, because the mere fact of us existing as artists, existing, myself existing and creating the work and having the work exists out there and putting it out. The most powerful thing that an artist can do is to make their art and share it with the world. And after that, just let it go, you know, forget about how it's going to be received. Forget about like, you know, the critics and, and, and the, you know, self doubt you may have and all of those things, because yeah, it's going to come. I think especially in the landscape of, like you said, of where we're at right now with our current administration and you know, just who knows what's going to happen in the next few years, but also in the face of like AI and technology and all of that, I think all we can really do as artists is to, in order for us to change the system is we have to be the change, right? And in order for us to be that change is just to continue to tell our stories and stay authentic to ourselves. Because I think that's also what a lot of people out there are really craving right now. People are craving authentic, real stories by people that we really don't get to see or hear their stories very often. And so um that for me is something that fuels me and my artistry every day.  Isabel: Very well said and a great reminder to all of us artists out there to keep making our art. What do you hope for audiences to take away when they watch your film?  Rachel: What I hope for audiences to get out of watching the film, well, one, at the core of it is a mother-daughter story. And I also did it to honor my mother and her sacrifices and her story. So I hope that, one, audiences will, you know, maybe reflect on their relationship with their mother and… um think of ways to honor their mother and their family and their ancestry as well. And another thing is to really think about what the American dream means to you, because that was another driving force for me with the film is it's called Milk & Honey because a lot of immigrants coined Milk & Honey as America's milk and honey as this like land of abundance, land of opportunity and you know, this is a, this is a place for creating a better life for ourselves. But I, for me, as I've grown up and as an adult now, really looking at like, well, what does the American dream mean to me? Is that still true to me? Do I still think the U S is a place where I can, where I can build a better life? Is it a place of abundance and something in the film, a big theme in the film is where Cherry's character scrutinizes that dream and thinks for herself, like, is the American dream worth it? And what does the American dream actually mean to me? What is the definition of that? So I think that's a big thing I would love audiences to also take away from it, you know, asking themselves that question. Isabel: That's a great thought to end on. I'll be including Rachel's social media and website on kpfa.org as usual so you can see if Milk and Honey will be screening in a film festival near your city during its festival run. Well, Rachel, thank you so much for joining me on APEX Express today. Thanks so much for having me. I really enjoyed it. Please check our website kpfa.org to find out more about magical realism in AAPI stories and the guests we spoke to. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting. Keep organizing. Keep creating and sharing your visions with the world. Your voices are important. APEX Express is produced by Miko Lee, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Swati Rayasam, Cheryl Truong, and Isabel Li. Tonight's show was produced by me, Isabel Li. Thanks to the team at KPFA for their support. Have a great night. The post APEX Express – 1.08.26 – Magical Realism and AAPI Short Films appeared first on KPFA.

I KNOW IT WAS YOU, FREDO!! The Godfather Part II Full Movie Reaction Watch Along: ⁠  / thereelrejects  ⁠ THE GODFATHER (1972) Movie Reaction: ⁠   • THE GODFATHER (1972) MOVIE REACTION! ABSOL...  ⁠ Gift Someone (Or Yourself) An RR Tee! ⁠https://shorturl.a⁠ Having finally seen the OG, Coy & Aaron are BACK to continue the quintessential Cinematic Crime Saga, giving their Godfather 2 Reaction, Breakdown, Recap, Analysis, Commentary & Spoiler Review! Coy Jandreau & Aaron Alexander react to The Godfather Part II (1974), Francis Ford Coppola's landmark crime drama sequel that expands the Corleone saga into an operatic meditation on power, legacy, and moral decay. Widely regarded as one of the greatest sequels—and films—ever made, Part II deepens the tragedy of the Corleone family while mirroring past and present in devastating fashion. The film intercuts two parallel narratives: the ruthless consolidation of power by Michael Corleone (Al Pacino – Scarface, Dog Day Afternoon) in the late 1950s, and the immigrant rise of his father Vito Corleone, portrayed by Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull) in a career-defining performance. As Michael tightens his grip on the family empire, paranoia and betrayal corrode his relationships, particularly with Kay Adams-Corleone (Diane Keaton – Annie Hall, Something's Gotta Give) and his brother Fredo (John Cazale – The Deer Hunter, Dog Day Afternoon). Meanwhile, young Vito's journey from Ellis Island to the streets of New York reveals the roots of the Corleone myth and the choices that shaped it. Follow Aaron On Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/therealaaronalexander/?hl=en⁠ Follow Coy Jandreau:  Tik Tok:⁠ https://www.tiktok.com/@coyjandreau?l...⁠ Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/coyjandreau/?hl=en⁠ Twitter:  ⁠https://twitter.com/CoyJandreau⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwYH2szDTuU9ImFZ9gBRH8w⁠ Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...⁠ Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! ⁠https://www.rejectnationshop.com/⁠ Follow Us On Socials:  Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/⁠  Tik-Tok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/reelrejects⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/⁠ Music Used In Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...⁠ POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit⁠ https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo⁠ and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en⁠ Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.⁠ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO:⁠ https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects⁠ Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB:  ⁠https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/⁠ INSTAGRAM: ⁠ https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/⁠ TWITTER:  ⁠https://twitter.com/thereelrejects⁠ Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:  ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/⁠ TWITTER:  ⁠https://twitter.com/thegregalba⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom and Noelle Crowe are back with another American Catholic History lesson. Today they tell you about the first immigrant to come to the U.S. through Ellis Island, Annie Moore.Subscribe to the Morning Blend on your favorite podcast platform.Find this show on the free Hail Mary Media App, along with a radio live-stream, prayers, news, and more.Look through past episodes or support this podcast.The Morning Blend is a production of Mater Dei Radio in Portland, Oregon.

I KNOW IT WAS YOU, FREDO!! The Godfather Part II Full Movie Reaction Watch Along:   / thereelrejects   THE GODFATHER (1972) Movie Reaction:    • THE GODFATHER (1972) MOVIE REACTION! ABSOL...   Gift Someone (Or Yourself) An RR Tee! https://shorturl.a Having finally seen the OG, Coy & Aaron are BACK to continue the quintessential Cinematic Crime Saga, giving their Godfather 2 Reaction, Breakdown, Recap, Analysis, Commentary & Spoiler Review! Coy Jandreau & Aaron Alexander react to The Godfather Part II (1974), Francis Ford Coppola's landmark crime drama sequel that expands the Corleone saga into an operatic meditation on power, legacy, and moral decay. Widely regarded as one of the greatest sequels—and films—ever made, Part II deepens the tragedy of the Corleone family while mirroring past and present in devastating fashion. The film intercuts two parallel narratives: the ruthless consolidation of power by Michael Corleone (Al Pacino – Scarface, Dog Day Afternoon) in the late 1950s, and the immigrant rise of his father Vito Corleone, portrayed by Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull) in a career-defining performance. As Michael tightens his grip on the family empire, paranoia and betrayal corrode his relationships, particularly with Kay Adams-Corleone (Diane Keaton – Annie Hall, Something's Gotta Give) and his brother Fredo (John Cazale – The Deer Hunter, Dog Day Afternoon). Meanwhile, young Vito's journey from Ellis Island to the streets of New York reveals the roots of the Corleone myth and the choices that shaped it. Follow Aaron On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealaaronalexander/?hl=en Follow Coy Jandreau:  Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@coyjandreau?l... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coyjandreau/?hl=en Twitter:  https://twitter.com/CoyJandreau YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwYH2szDTuU9ImFZ9gBRH8w Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Follow Us On Socials:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/  Tik-Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en Twitter: https://x.com/reelrejects Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ Music Used In Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB:  https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Cofield & co host Jeff Parles host the show live at Ellis Island for MNF's matchup of the Falcons against the Rams! Steve Bartle of KSL in Utah is the guest for the final hour of C&C breaking down the latest sports news. LISTEN NOW!  

Steve Cofield & co host Jeff Parles host the show live at Ellis Island for MNF's matchup of the Falcons against the Rams! Former NFL QB Brock Osweiler and Steve Kim of the Three Knockdown Rule Podcast are the guests for the first hour of C&C breaking down the latest sports news. LISTEN NOW!  

Steve Cofield & co host Jeff Parles host the show live at Ellis Island for MNF's matchup of the Falcons against the Rams! Nick Bogdanovich and Jesse Merrick of the Silver and Black Sports Network are the guests for the second hour of C&C breaking down the latest sports news. LISTEN NOW!  

A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt's deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

In this episode of the Chuck ToddCast, Chuck examines Donald Trump’s holiday Truth Social spree as a revealing window into his worldview and leadership style. From angry, vaguely threatening posts tied to Epstein to Christmas messages laced with grievance and insults, Trump’s online behavior paints a picture of a lonely, aggrieved figure who often sounds less like a head of state and more like a mob boss issuing warnings. Chuck unpacks how Trump’s rhetoric on immigration, religion, and military force—sometimes delivered in the same breath as holiday greetings—reflects a transactional “Trump Doctrine” where identity and loyalty justify power, and sovereignty becomes negotiable. The conversation then widens to the global consequences of this approach. Chuck argues that Trump’s selective isolationism and deal-making have badly damaged America’s reputation, eroded trust with Europe, and risk pushing allies toward China in search of stability. By prioritizing short-term wins and performative toughness over alliances and norms, Trump may be trading momentary leverage for long-term strategic loss—reshaping the global order in ways that could haunt the United States for a generation. Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to the date Ellis Island closed its doors for immigrant processing and traces the messy history of immigration policy in the United States. He also answers listeners’ question in the “Ask Chuck” segment and does a roundup from the world of sports. Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too! Go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order. Got injured in an accident? You could be one click away from a claim worth millions. Just visit https://www.forthepeople.com/TODDCAST to start your claim now with Morgan & Morgan without leaving your couch. Remember, it's free unless you win! Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 1:00 What to make of Trump’s Truth Social posts over the holidays? 2:15 Trump makes angry, potentially threatening post over Epstein 3:45 Trump doesn’t have any true close friends/relationships 5:00 Trump spent Xmas behaving lonely on the internet 5:45 The “Trump Doctrine” was on display on his Truth Social feed 6:30 Trump sounded more like a mob boss than head of state 7:00 Trump added immigration rant into his NORAD Santa appearance 7:45 Trump wishes Merry Xmas to “radical left scum” 8:30 Trump announces military strikes in Nigeria to protect Christians 9:15 Trump uses identity as justification for military force 9:45 Trump’s posts about Venezuela through lens of ownership 11:15 Trump strikes different tone with Ukraine, sovereignty is collateral 12:15 Trump’s worldview looks incoherent, but it’s selectively transactional 13:30 Trump has damaged the US’s reputation for a generation 14:30 Europe doesn’t trust the United States anymore 15:45 If oil seizures become precedent, any country could be next 17:15 Allies could turn to China looking for a better deal 18:00 Trump is trading short term wins for long term damage & distrust 20:00 Trump views himself as a TV style mob boss 22:15 Isolationism will cause the EU to strengthen & compete with US 23:15 Trump picks on small countries & does deals with strong ones 28:30 ToddCast Time Machine - December 31st 1954 29:30 Ellis Island closes its doors & becomes a museum 30:00 America has always argued about being a nation of immigrants 30:45 We romanticize Ellis Island, but it caused tension at the time 31:30 America has never experienced immigration surge without fear 32:15 Immigration quota with discriminatory qualifiers enacted 33:30 Ship based migration collapsed after quota 34:45 Cold war politics influenced immigration debate in 1960’s 35:45 Immigration policy was sold as modest and non-transformational 37:00 Chain migration shifted where immigrants came from 38:00 The country relied on illegal immigrant labor & didn’t enforce law 38:45 Congress left immigration policy unfinished due to political constraints 40:30 Trump admin leans on enforcement, makes immigration a cultural fight 41:30 We are a reluctant nation of immigrations 43:00 The central question is “Who gets to be an American?” 43:45 Ask Chuck 44:00 Favorite political comedy? 46:00 Should congress intervene on exorbitant live event prices? 53:30 How will midterms shape push for new congressional leaders? 56:15 Sports roundupSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the Chuck ToddCast, Chuck examines Donald Trump’s holiday Truth Social spree as a revealing window into his worldview and leadership style. From angry, vaguely threatening posts tied to Epstein to Christmas messages laced with grievance and insults, Trump’s online behavior paints a picture of a lonely, aggrieved figure who often sounds less like a head of state and more like a mob boss issuing warnings. Chuck unpacks how Trump’s rhetoric on immigration, religion, and military force—sometimes delivered in the same breath as holiday greetings—reflects a transactional “Trump Doctrine” where identity and loyalty justify power, and sovereignty becomes negotiable. The conversation then widens to the global consequences of this approach. Chuck argues that Trump’s selective isolationism and deal-making have badly damaged America’s reputation, eroded trust with Europe, and risk pushing allies toward China in search of stability. By prioritizing short-term wins and performative toughness over alliances and norms, Trump may be trading momentary leverage for long-term strategic loss—reshaping the global order in ways that could haunt the United States for a generation. Then, Yaron Weitzman, author of “A Hollywood Ending: The Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers”, joins Chuck to unpack the remarkable rise, impact, and legacy of LeBron James—on the court, in Los Angeles, and far beyond basketball. Drawing from his reporting and authorship, Weitzman explains how access-driven sports journalism shapes the stories we’re told, why LeBron was always more than just another superstar chasing rings, and how the Lakers–LeBron partnership became a mutually saving force for two global institutions. The conversation traces LeBron’s path from Miami to Cleveland to Los Angeles, the myths around his ambition and loyalty, and how “The Decision” reshaped the power dynamics between players and franchises. The episode also looks ahead to LeBron’s next chapter: his eventual role as an owner, the possibility of a farewell tour, how Bronny factors into his decisions, and what a post-LeBron Lakers era might look like. Weitzman and Todd explore LeBron’s business instincts, cultural influence, complicated relationship with fans and social media, and why—despite universal respect—he’s never been universally beloved. In the end, they ask the defining question of any icon: how history will remember LeBron James, and who gets to tell that story. Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to the date Ellis Island closed its doors for immigrant processing and traces the messy history of immigration policy in the United States. He also answers listeners’ question in the “Ask Chuck” segment and does a roundup from the world of sports. Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too! Go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order. Got injured in an accident? You could be one click away from a claim worth millions. Just visit https://www.forthepeople.com/TODDCAST to start your claim now with Morgan & Morgan without leaving your couch. Remember, it's free unless you win! Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 03:00 In the 80’s many fans identified with NBA players over teams 05:00 LeBron will be one of the four most consequential millennials 08:15 What to make of Trump’s Truth Social posts over the holidays? 09:30 Trump makes angry, potentially threatening post over Epstein 11:00 Trump doesn’t have any true close friends/relationships 12:15 Trump spent Xmas behaving lonely on the internet 13:00 The “Trump Doctrine” was on display on his Truth Social feed 13:45 Trump sounded more like a mob boss than head of state 14:15 Trump added immigration rant into his NORAD Santa appearance 15:00 Trump wishes Merry Xmas to “radical left scum” 15:45 Trump announces military strikes in Nigeria to protect Christians 16:30 Trump uses identity as justification for military force 17:00 Trump’s posts about Venezuela through lens of ownership 18:30 Trump strikes different tone with Ukraine, sovereignty is collateral 19:30 Trump’s worldview looks incoherent, but it’s selectively transactional 20:45 Trump has damaged the US’s reputation for a generation 21:45 Europe doesn’t trust the United States anymore 23:00 If oil seizures become precedent, any country could be next 24:30 Allies could turn to China looking for a better deal 25:15 Trump is trading short term wins for long term damage & distrust 27:15 Trump views himself as a TV style mob boss 29:30 Isolationism will cause the EU to strengthen & compete with US 30:30 Trump picks on small countries & does deals with strong ones 37:15 Yaron Weitzman joins the Chuck ToddCast 39:45 How Yaron got started as an author 41:30 Sports journalists now have to trade accountability for access 42:30 Sports journalists don’t have a Freedom of Information Act 43:45 Yaron wasn’t dependent on the Lakers for a credential 45:45 Original LeBron pitch was for the Big 3 Heat, not the Lakers 48:45 LeBron is a cultural icon, not just a basketball icon 50:00 LeBron and the Lakers are both institutions 51:00 LeBron’s brand is even bigger than the Lakers brand 51:45 LeBron’s post basketball life was always going to be in SoCal 53:00 LeBron will be involved in an ownership group eventually 55:00 The Lakers/LeBron pairing was a win-win 56:15 Jerry Buss was not as rich as he portrayed himself to be 57:45 How accurate the Lakers TV shows portray real life 58:45 LeBron was a lifeline for a struggling Lakers franchise 01:00:15 Lakers are the team LeBron has spent most consecutive years 01:01:45 LeBron wasn’t a ring chaser despite his reputations 01:02:15 LeBron turned down the Warriors 01:03:30 LeBron offended Pat Riley during his time in Miami 01:04:45 LeBron’s return to Cleveland 01:06:45 Which franchises will be putting up LeBron statues? 01:07:30 Lakers fans were slow to warm to LeBron due to Kobe rivalry 01:08:30 Not all Kobe fans are Lakers fans 01:09:45 LeBron lived up to his sky high expectations and with no scandals 01:11:00 “The Decision” was the event that made LeBron polarizing 01:12:00 After The Decision fans started siding with players over franchises 01:13:00 LeBron showed that greatness and longevity require hard work 01:14:15 LeBron is universally respected but not universally beloved 01:15:15 Is this LeBron’s last year? 01:16:15 Farewell tour only makes sense with Lakers or Cavs 01:17:45 LeBron could remain a bench player for several more years 01:18:15 How Bronny will factor into his decision 01:20:15 Bronny is beloved by other players and the organization 01:22:00 LeBron’s relationship with Luka Dončić 01:23:45 Lakers began preparing for the post-LeBron era before Luka trade 01:25:45 Does Magic Johnson still have a relationship with the Lakers? 01:28:45 LeBron has mostly stayed away from politics 01:31:00 LeBron lets social media get under his skin from time to time 01:33:45 LeBron is reactive politically, not proactive 01:35:30 LeBron made smart business decisions starting at 20 years old 01:36:00 LeBron’s legacy 01:39:00 Lakers threatened to sue over the book 01:42:00 LeBron likely won’t ever run for office 01:43:30 LeBron will be doing his own documentary version of The Last Dance 01:47:30 ToddCast Time Machine – December 31st, 1954 01:48:30 Ellis Island closes its doors & becomes a museum 01:49:00 America has always argued about being a nation of immigrants 01:49:45 We romanticize Ellis Island, but it caused tension at the time 01:50:30 America has never experienced immigration surge without fear 01:51:15 Immigration quota with discriminatory qualifiers enacted 01:52:30 Ship based migration collapsed after quota 01:53:45 Cold War politics influenced immigration debate in the 1960’s 01:54:45 Immigration policy was sold as modest and non-transformational 01:56:00 Chain migration shifted where immigrants came from 01:57:00 The country relied on illegal immigrant labor & didn’t enforce law 01:57:45 Congress left immigration policy unfinished due to political constraints 01:59:30 Trump admin leans on enforcement, makes immigration a cultural fight 02:00:30 We are a reluctant nation of immigrants 02:02:00 The central question is “Who gets to be an American?” 02:02:45 Ask Chuck 02:03:00 Favorite political comedy? 02:05:00 Should Congress intervene on exorbitant live event prices? 02:12:30 How will midterms shape push for new congressional leaders? 02:15:15 Sports roundupSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt's deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt's deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt's deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt's deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith.

A scion of the Protestant elite, Theodore Roosevelt was an unlikely ally of the waves of impoverished Jewish newcomers who crowded the docks at Ellis Island. Yet from his earliest years he forged ties with Jews never before witnessed in a president. American Maccabee traces Roosevelt's deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led.As a rising political figure in New York, Roosevelt barnstormed the Lower East Side, giving speeches to packed halls of Jewish immigrants. He rallied for reform of the sweatshops where Jewish laborers toiled for pitiful wages in perilous conditions. And Roosevelt repeatedly venerated the heroism of the Maccabee warriors, upholding those storied rebels as a model for the American Jewish community. Yet little could have prepared him for the blood-soaked persecution of Eastern European Jews that brought a deluge of refugees to American shores during his presidency. Andrew Porwancher uncovers the vexing challenges for Roosevelt as he confronted Jewish suffering abroad and antisemitic xenophobia at home.Drawing on new archival research to paint a richly nuanced portrait of an iconic figure, American Maccabee chronicles the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catholic immigration reshaped the early United States long before Ellis Island. This episode follows the people pulled into the new nation through shifting borders, and the millions pushed across the Atlantic by famine, poverty, political upheaval, and limited opportunity. From the French traders of the Old Northwest to Mexican Tejanos, from German radicals to Irish famine survivors, we explore how faith, identity, and movement transformed a rapidly expanding country. #HistoryPodcast #CatholicHistory #USHistory #IrishImmigration #GermanImmigration #TexasHistory #EarlyAmerica #PapacyPodcastSupport the show:Buy me a coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/historyofthepapacyPatreon: http://patreon.com/historyofthepapacyBuy me a book: http://bit.ly/40ckJ8EHave questions, comments or feedback? Here are ways to contact me:Email Us: steve@atozhistorypage.comHow to listen: https://www.atozhistorypage.com/podcastMusic Provided by:"Sonatina in C Minor" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"Funeral March for Brass" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"Crusade Heavy Perfect Loop" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Agnus Dei X - Bitter Suite Kevin MacLeaod (incomptech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A whole mess of AI generated shownotes. Enjoy! 00:25 – Christmas in Hong Kong, KFC in JapanJoel (Jack the Insider) opens Episode 138 and checks in with Jack (Hong Kong Jack) about Hong Kong's love of Christmas shopping, surreal mall installations and the absence of nativity scenes, before detouring to Japan's KFC-at-Christmas tradition.​01:50 – Australia's world‑first social media ban for under‑16sThe Jacks unpack the new national ban on social media for under‑16s, the generational politics of Gen Alpha kids and millennial parents, and the “pick up a book, go for a bike ride” messaging from Anthony Albanese and Julie Inman Grant.​They read out Vox pops about kids discovering life without apps, YouTube‑driven body image issues, and the early scramble to alternative chat and file‑sharing apps like LemonAid.​05:35 – Social engineering, High Court challenge and mental health concernsThey describe the policy as a conscious piece of social engineering aimed at reshaping youth culture over a decade, and note the High Court challenge led by the Digital Freedom Movement and Libertarian MLC John Ruddick.​Beyond Blue, Headspace, ReachOut and the Black Dog Institute warn about cutting off access to online mental‑health support, as the Jacks weigh the internet's harms against the value of peer support communities for young people.​09:35 – Enforcement gaps, workarounds and parental resistanceThe Jacks discuss uneven implementation, with some under‑16s apparently still able to access Facebook and Instagram while other apps are wiped, and a rush into less‑regulated platforms.​They note reports that up to a third of parents will quietly help kids stay online and float the idea of a nationwide “kitchen‑table” style forum to help parents understand the risks and responsibilities around kids' social media use.​12:00 – A social experiment the world is watchingThey canvas overseas interest, with Denmark, Spain and others eyeing bans at 15 rather than 16, and Sarah Ferguson's description of Australia's move as a live “social experiment” whose results are very much unknown.​13:05 – Richo's state funeral and the dark arts of NSW Labor RightThe conversation turns to Graham “Richo” Richardson's state funeral, his reputation as Labor's master organiser and electoral numbers man, and his long life “on the public purse”.​Joel recounts Richo's link to Balmain Welding and Stan “Standover” Smith, arguing that New South Wales Labor Right's success always had a darker underbelly.​15:10 – Paul Brereton, the NACC and conflicts of interestThey examine National Anti‑Corruption Commission boss Paul Brereton's updated disclosures about his ongoing work with the Inspector‑General of the ADF and Afghanistan war‑crimes inquiries, revealed via FOI.​The Jacks question whether someone so intertwined with Defence can credibly oversee corruption matters touching Defence acquisitions, and whether carving out whole domains from his remit makes his appointment untenable.​18:25 – A quiet NACC, no perp walks and media theatreThe Jacks note how quietly the NACC has operated in Canberra—“blink and you'd miss them”—with none of the televised “perp walks” beloved of New South Wales ICAC coverage.​Jack welcomes the absence of media spectacle; Joel admits to missing the grimace‑through‑the‑cameras moment as accused figures run the gauntlet.​19:50 – Victorian youth vote turns on LaborNew polling of 18–34‑year‑olds in Victoria shows Labor's vote down 11 points to 28 per cent and the Coalition's up 17 points to 37 per cent, with the Greens steady at 20 per cent.​The Jacks argue the Victorian Labor government looks to be in terminal decline, discuss leadership options for Jacinta Allan, and canvass how quickly preference “cascades” can flip a long‑term government once momentum turns.​22:15 – Green exports vs coal, Treasury modelling under fireThey dissect Treasury modelling which suggests “green exports” (critical minerals, rare earths, battery inputs) will surpass coal and gas within a decade, and note scepticism from former Treasury official and now CBA chief economist Stephen Yeaman.​The Jacks highlight International Energy Agency updates showing coal demand in key markets staying high, and the reality that renewables growth is largely meeting new demand rather than cutting deeply into existing coal and gas use.​25:05 – Coal to 2049 and the reality of the gridJack points to Australian market operator projections that coal will remain in the domestic mix until at least 2049, while Joel questions which ageing coal plants will physically survive that long without new builds.​They agree modelling must continually be revised against actual demand profiles in China, India, Indonesia and elsewhere, where coal still supplies half or more of electricity.​27:20 – 30‑year suppression orders and transparencyThe Jacks shift to a 30‑year suppression order over evidence behind Tanya Plibersek's decision to block a $1 billion coal mine until 2055, and more broadly the proliferation of long‑term suppression orders in Australia.​They criticise the over‑use of secrecy in both environmental and criminal matters, arguing it breeds suspicion that justice and accountability can be bought by the wealthy.​28:25 – The “prominent family” sexual assault case in VictoriaWithout naming the individual, they discuss a Victorian case involving the convicted son of a prominent family whose identity remains suppressed even after guilty findings for serious sexual offences.​They worry that blanket suppression encourages rumour, misidentification and a sense that powerful people get special treatment, even when protection of victims is a legitimate concern.​30:05 – From undercover cop to gangland wars: how secrecy backfiresJoel revisits an NSW example where an undercover police officer's drink‑driving conviction was suppressed for 55 years, and Melbourne gangland cases where key cooperating witnesses remained pseudonymous for decades.​The Jacks argue that when authorities create information vacuums, gossip and conspiracy inevitably rush in to fill the space.​33:50 – MP expenses, family reunion travel and Annika Wells' bad day outThey turn to MPs' entitlements and “family reunion” travel: Annika Wells' ski‑trip optics and poor press conference performance, Don Farrell's extensive family travel, and Sarah Hanson‑Young's $50,000 in family travel for her lobbyist husband.​While acknowledging how hard federal life is—especially for WA MPs—they question where legitimate family support ends and taxpayer‑funded lifestyle begins.​37:05 – Why family reunion perks exist (and how they're abused)The Jacks recall the tragic case of Labor MP Greg Wilton as a driver for more generous family travel rules, given the emotional cost of long separations.​They conclude the system is necessary but ripe for exploitation, and note the Coalition's relatively muted response given its own exposure to the same rules.​39:15 – Diplomatic drinks trolleys: London, New York and the UNJoel notes Stephen Smith's stint as High Commissioner in London—the “ultimate drinks trolley” of Australian diplomacy—and his replacement by former SA Premier Jay Weatherill.​Jack mentions Smith's reputation for being stingy with hospitality at Australia House, in contrast to the traditionally lavish networking role of London and New York postings.​40:40 – Barnaby Joyce joins One NationThe big domestic political move: Barnaby Joyce's shift from the Nationals to One Nation, including his steak‑on‑a‑sandwich‑press dinner with Pauline Hanson.​The Jacks canvass whether Joyce runs again in New England or heads for the Senate, and the anger among New England voters who may feel abandoned.​42:25 – One Nation's growth, branch‑building and Pauline's futureThey dig into polling from Cos Samaras suggesting 39 per cent of Coalition voters say they'd be more likely to vote One Nation if Joyce led the party, and the risk of the Coalition following the UK Tories into long‑term decline.​The Jacks note One Nation's organisational maturation—building actual branches and volunteer networks in NSW and Queensland—and wonder whether Pauline Hanson herself now caps the party's potential.​45:20 – Kemi Badenoch, a revived UK Conservative Party and Reform's ceilingAttention swings to the UK, with fresh polling showing Labour slumping to the high teens, the Conservatives recovering into the high teens/low 20s, and Reform polling in the mid‑20s to low‑30s depending on the firm.​They credit new Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch for lifting morale by dominating Keir Starmer at the despatch box, but caution that Reform's rise may still be more protest than durable realignment.​49:45 – Fragmenting party systems in Europe and the UKDrawing on Michael Gove's comments, the Jacks sketch the new “four‑party” pattern across Europe—radical left/Green, social democratic, Christian Democrat centre‑right, and populist right—and argue the UK is slowly following suit.​They suggest both Labour and the Conservatives can no longer comfortably absorb all votes on their respective sides of politics, with Reform and Greens carving out durable niches.​53:05 – US seizes a Venezuelan tanker, Trump calls it the “biggest ever”The Jacks look at the US Coast Guard's seizure of a sanctioned Venezuelan oil tanker accused of moving Venezuelan and Iranian oil in support of foreign terrorist groups.​Joel notes Trump's boast that it's “the largest tanker ever seized”, while quoting Pam Bondi's more sober explanation of the sanctions basis.​54:45 – Five years of social media to enter the US?They examine a Trump‑era proposal to require even visa‑waiver travellers to provide five years of social media history before entering the United States.​The Jacks question the logistical feasibility, highlight the trend of travellers using “burner phones” for US trips, and argue measures like this would severely damage American tourism.​57:10 – SCOTUS, independent agencies and presidential powerThe Jacks discuss a pending US Supreme Court case about whether presidents can hire and fire the heads of independent agencies at will, with even liberal justices expressing sympathy for expansive executive authority.​They link this to a broader global question: how much power should be handed from elected ministers to expert regulators, and how hard it is to claw that power back once delegated.​01:00:25 – Trump's national security strategy and an abandoned EuropeThey turn to the Trump administration's new national security strategy framing Europe as both security dependent and economic competitor, and signalling an end to automatic US security guarantees.​The Jacks describe openly hostile rhetoric from Trump figures like J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio towards Europe, and portray it as part of a broader American drift into isolationism as China and Russia advance.​01:02:20 – Europe rearms: Germany, Poland and conscription talkThe conversation moves to European responses: big defence spending increases in Poland and Germany, and German plans to assess 18‑year‑olds for potential limited conscription.​Joel argues Europe may need to build its own strategic table rather than rely on a fickle US ally, while Jack stresses serious military capability is the price of a genuine seat at any table.​01:03:50 – Biden, the border and a blown political callThe Jacks examine a New York Times reconstruction of how the Biden administration mishandled southern border migration, from 75,000 encounters in January 2021 to 169,000 by March.​They say Biden officials badly underestimated both the scale of migration and the law‑and‑order backlash, including resentment from migrants who followed legal pathways.​01:07:05 – Migration then and now: Ellis Island vs the Rio GrandeJack recounts Ellis Island's history: the small but real share of arrivals turned back at ship‑owners' expense, and how many migrants later returned home despite being admitted.​They contrast a heavily regulated, ship‑based 19th‑century system with today's chaotic mix of asylum flows, cartels and porous borders, and argue that simple “open borders” rhetoric ignores complex trade‑offs.​01:09:55 – Americans know their ancestry, and that shapes the debateJoel notes how many Americans can precisely trace family arrival via Ellis Island, unlike many Australians who have fuzzier family histories.​He suggests this deep personal connection to immigration history partly explains the emotional intensity around contemporary migration and ICE enforcement.​01:10:30 – Ashes 2–0: Neeser's five‑for and Lyon's omissionSport time: Australia go 2–0 up in the Ashes with an eight‑wicket win at the Gabba.​The big call is leaving Nathan Lyon out for Michael Neser; the Jacks weigh Nesser's match‑turning 5/42 and clever use of Alex Carey standing up to the stumps against the loss of a front‑line spinner over key periods.​01:11:55 – Basball meets Australian conditionsThey discuss the limits of “Bazball” in Australia, praising Stokes and Will Jacks' rearguard while noting most English batters failed to adapt tempo to match situation.​Jack cites past blueprints for winning in Australia—long, draining innings from Alastair Cook, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahul Dravid—that hinge on time at the crease rather than constant aggression.​01:15:05 – Keepers compared: Alex Carey vs England's glovesJoel hails Carey's performance as possibly the best keeping he's seen from an Australian in a single Test, including brilliant work standing up to the seamers and a running catch over Marnus Labuschagne.​They contrast this with England's struggling keeper, question whether Ben Foakes should have been summoned, and note Carey's age probably rules him out as a future Test captain despite his leadership qualities.​01:17:05 – England's bowling woes and Jofra Archer's limitsThe English attack looks potent in short bursts, especially Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, but lacks the endurance to bowl long, hostile spells over a five‑day Test in Australian conditions.​Archer hasn't bowled more than 10 overs in an international match for over two years, and the Jacks argue that's showing late in games as speeds drop and discipline wanes.​01:25:45 – World Cup 2026: Trump's “peace medal”, Craig Foster's critiqueSwitching codes to football, they note FIFA awarding Donald Trump a “peace” medal ahead of the 2026 World Cup and his delight in placing it on himself.​Craig Foster attacks world football for embracing a US president he accuses of human‑rights abuses, prompting the Jacks to point out FIFA's recent World Cups in Russia and Qatar hardly make it a moral authority.​01:27:20 – Seattle's Pride match… Iran vs EgyptJack tells the story of Seattle's local government declaring its allocated World Cup game a Pride match, only to discover the fixture will be Iran vs Egypt—two teams whose governments are unlikely to embrace that framing.​01:27:55 – Stadiums in the desert and the cost of spectacleJoel reflects on vast, underused stadiums in the Gulf built for the World Cup and now often almost empty, using a low‑attendance cricket game in Abu Dhabi as an example of mega‑event over‑build.​01:29:05 – Wrapping up and previewing the final show of 2025The Jacks close Episode 138 by flagging one more episode before Christmas, thanking listeners for feedback—especially stories around the social media ban—and promising to return with more politics, law and sport next week.​a

Officially, there are 53 million foreign-born people in currently in the US. That is about 1 in 7 people.  This is higher both in total number and percentage than the peak of the Ellis Island period.  42 million people currently are on the food stamp program (SNAP). 48% are illegal aliens, 34% are legal immigrants. Neither should be receiving benefits.   Ellis Island immigrants mostly wanted the opportunity of the American Dream. Millions of current immigrants, both legal and illegal, do not want to assimilate or contribute. They are freeloaders. If an immigrant you cannot afford food, they should go home. Taxpayers should not have to pay for food for people who should not be here.  Fewer people equals lower cost of housing, rent, food, and insurance. Fewer people equal less crime, less crowded schools and hospitals.

In this episode, Carl compares Biden’s open border policies to Ellis Island immigration, and past legal immigrants to current illegal and legal immigrants to explain where America has gone wrong.The top headlines this week including, the terrorist attack against 2 National Guardsmen, the Minnesota fraud scandal, Tennessee’s District 7 congressional race, and blowing up Venezuelan drug boats are all connected to immigration policy. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carljacksonradio Twitter: https://twitter.com/carljacksonshow Parler: https://parler.com/carljacksonshow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecarljacksonshow http://www.TheCarlJacksonShow.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Carl compares Biden’s open border policies to Ellis Island immigration, and past legal immigrants to current illegal and legal immigrants to explain where America has gone wrong.The top headlines this week including, the terrorist attack against 2 National Guardsmen, the Minnesota fraud scandal, Tennessee’s District 7 congressional race, and blowing up Venezuelan drug boats are all connected to immigration policy. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carljacksonradio Twitter: https://twitter.com/carljacksonshow Parler: https://parler.com/carljacksonshow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecarljacksonshow http://www.TheCarlJacksonShow.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our second in a series of podcasts about New York City and American immigration history. Between the late 1890s and early 1920s, over 2 million Jews from Eastern Europe fled their homes and made the long journey to America, escaping persecution and violence in their native countries. Many were fleeing state-sanctioned antisemitism in Russia.This mass immigration effort was, in large part, brought about by three entrepreneurial men: Albert Ballin, the director of the Hamburg-America line; Jacob Schiff, the German-born New York-based philanthropist and financier; and the Gilded Age financial titan J.P. Morgan.It is through the research and writing of historian Steven Ujifusa that many details of this story have finally been brought to light in his book The Last Ships from Hamburg: Business, Rivalry, and the Race to Save Russia's Jews on the Eve of World War I. In this special presentation of the Gilded Gentleman podcast, Steve joins Carl to discuss these momentous events. In addition, Steve shares his personal story about how he uncovered little-known material to bring this history to life. Check out last week's show on Ellis Island after you've listened to this one. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ellis Island is one of America's great landmarks, a place in New York Harbor that represents the millions of people who arrived in this country during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The north side of Ellis Island, now operated by the National Park Service as the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration (part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument), saw nearly 12 million immigrants processed between 1892 and 1954. Part of the "processing" involved medical and mental health tests. Most people passed successfully, then boarded a ferry to the mainland — and a new life.But some were kept behind, those who did not pass those tests. They were then sent to the other side of Ellis Island.In this special episode, sponsored by Founded By NYC, Greg and Tom recount the history of immigration into New York during the 19th century and the founding of Ellis Island in the 1890s. Then they pay a visit to ‘the other side' — the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital — with Justin Southern and Jim Dessicino of Save Ellis Island.This non-profit leads hard-hat tours through these spectacular and unique ruins.This episode was edited and produced by Kieran GannonRead all about New York City during the holiday season and all the other exciting events and world-class institutions commemorating the five boroughs' legacy of groundbreaking achievements, and find ways to celebrate the city that's always making history at Founded By NYC. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Catholic leaders are speaking out against immigration enforcement in President Donald Trump’s second term. One Chicago priest’s protest strategy? Walking from Pope Leo’s childhood home in Illinois, through Pennsylvania, on his way to Ellis Island in New York. A resolution approved by the state House designates this week as "Pennsylvania Education for Youth Experiencing Homelessness Week." State Rep. Ismail Smith Wade-El of Lancaster County is a co-sponsor of the resolution. Also in Harrisburg, state lawmakers are investing in childcare. This year’s state budget includes a $25 million fund for childcare workers. There's positive news in Pennsylvania's latest education assessments. The scores show improvements in math proficiency and graduation rates. A new White House initiative is aimed at reshaping how young people transition out of foster care. Pennsylvania experts share their reactions. A new study finds higher rates of skin cancer across central Pennsylvania's "farm belt" including Dauphin, Cumberland and York counties. Internal probes uncovered errors in chemo treatment and toxic leadership by Penn State's cancer chief. That's according to reporting - bringing those probes to light - by our partners at Spotlight PA. Pennsylvania and its county and local governments are on track to spend nearly all of the $13 billion received in federal pandemic relief funding by the end of 2026. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/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. Powerleegirl hosts, the mother daughter team of Miko Lee, Jalena & Ayame Keane-Lee speak with artists about their craft and the works that you can catch in the Bay Area. Featured are filmmaker Yuriko Gamo Romer, playwright Jessica Huang and photographer Joyce Xi.   More info about their work here: Diamond Diplomacy Yuriko Gamo Romer Jessica Huang's Mother of Exiles at Berkeley Rep Joyce Xi's Our Language Our Story at Galeria de la Raza     Show Transcript Opening: [00:00:00] 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.    Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:00:46] Thank you for joining us on Apex Express Tonight. Join the PowerLeeGirls as we talk with some powerful Asian American women artists. My mom and sister speak with filmmaker Yuriko Gamo Romer, playwright Jessica Huang, and photographer Joyce Xi. Each of these artists have works that you can enjoy right now in the Bay Area. First up, let's listen in to my mom Miko Lee chat with Yuriko Gamo Romer about her film Diamond Diplomacy.    Miko Lee: [00:01:19] Welcome, Yuriko Gamo Romer to Apex Express, amazing filmmaker, award-winning director and producer. Welcome to Apex Express.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:01:29] Thank you for having me.    Miko Lee: [00:01:31] It's so great to see your work after this many years. We were just chatting that we knew each other maybe 30 years ago and have not reconnected. So it's lovely to see your work. I'm gonna start with asking you a question. I ask all of my Apex guests, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:01:49] Oh, who are my people? That's a hard one. I guess I'm Japanese American. I'm Asian American, but I'm also Japanese. I still have a lot of people in Japan. That's not everything. Creative people, artists, filmmakers, all the people that I work with, which I love. And I don't know, I can't pare it down to one narrow sentence or phrase. And I don't know what my legacy is. My legacy is that I was born in Japan, but I have grown up in the United States and so I carry with me all that is, technically I'm an immigrant, so I have little bits and pieces of that and, but I'm also very much grew up in the United States and from that perspective, I'm an American. So too many words.    Miko Lee: [00:02:44] Thank you so much for sharing. Your latest film was called Diamond Diplomacy. Can you tell us what inspired this film?   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:02:52] I have a friend named Dave Dempsey and his father, Con Dempsey, was a pitcher for the San Francisco Seals. And the Seals were the minor league team that was in the West Coast was called the Pacific Coast League They were here before the Major League teams came to the West Coast. So the seals were San Francisco's team, and Con Dempsey was their pitcher. And it so happened that he was part of the 1949 tour when General MacArthur sent the San Francisco Seals to Allied occupied Japan after World War II. And. It was a story that I had never heard. There was a museum exhibit south of Market in San Francisco, and I was completely wowed and awed because here's this lovely story about baseball playing a role in diplomacy and in reuniting a friendship between two countries. And I had never heard of it before and I'm pretty sure most people don't know the story. Con Dempsey had a movie camera with him when he went to Japan I saw the home movies playing on a little TV set in the corner at the museum, and I thought, oh, this has to be a film. I was in the middle of finishing Mrs. Judo, so I, it was something I had to tuck into the back of my mind Several years later, I dug it up again and I made Dave go into his mother's garage and dig out the actual films. And that was the beginning. But then I started opening history books and doing research, and suddenly it was a much bigger, much deeper, much longer story.   Miko Lee: [00:04:32] So you fell in, it was like synchronicity that you have this friend that had this footage, and then you just fell into the research. What stood out to you?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:04:41] It was completely amazing to me that baseball had been in Japan since 1872. I had no idea. And most people,   Miko Lee: [00:04:49] Yeah, I learned that too, from your film. That was so fascinating.    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:04:53] So that was the first kind of. Wow. And then I started to pick up little bits and pieces like in 1934, there was an American All Star team that went to Japan. And Babe Ruth was the headliner on that team. And he was a big star. People just loved him in Japan. And then I started to read the history and understanding that. Not that a baseball team or even Babe Ruth can go to Japan and prevent the war from happening. But there was a warming moment when the people of Japan were so enamored of this baseball team coming and so excited about it that maybe there was a moment where it felt like. Things had thawed out a little bit. So there were other points in history where I started to see this trend where baseball had a moment or had an influence in something, and I just thought, wow, this is really a fascinating history that goes back a long way and is surprising. And then of course today we have all these Japanese faces in Major League baseball.   Miko Lee: [00:06:01] So have you always been a baseball fan?   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:06:04] I think I really became a fan of Major League Baseball when I was living in New York. Before that, I knew what it was. I played softball, I had a small connection to it, but I really became a fan when I was living in New York and then my son started to play baseball and he would come home from the games and he would start to give us the play by play and I started to learn more about it. And it is a fascinating game 'cause it's much more complex than I think some people don't like it 'cause it's complex.    Miko Lee: [00:06:33] I must confess, I have not been a big baseball fan. I'm also thinking, oh, a film about baseball. But I actually found it so fascinating with especially in the world that we live in right now, where there's so much strife that there was this way to speak a different language. And many times we do that through art or music and I thought it was so great how your film really showcased how baseball was used as a tool for political repair and change. I'm wondering how you think this film applies to the time that we live in now where there's such an incredible division, and not necessarily with Japan, but just with everything in the world.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:07:13] I think when it comes down to it, if we actually get to know people. We learn that we're all human beings and that we probably have more in common than we give ourselves credit for. And if we can find a space that is common ground, whether it's a baseball field or the kitchen, or an art studio, or a music studio, I think it gives us a different place where we can exist and acknowledge That we're human beings and that we maybe have more in common than we're willing to give ourselves credit for. So I like to see things where people can have a moment where you step outside of yourself and go, oh wait, I do have something in common with that person over there. And maybe it doesn't solve the problem. But once you have that awakening, I think there's something. that happens, it opens you up. And I think sports is one of those things that has a little bit of that magical power. And every time I watch the Olympics, I'm just completely in awe.    Miko Lee: [00:08:18] Yeah, I absolutely agree with you. And speaking of that kind of repair and that aspect that sports can have, you ended up making a short film called Baseball Behind Barbed Wire, about the incarcerated Japanese Americans and baseball. And I wondered where in the filmmaking process did you decide, oh, I gotta pull this out of the bigger film and make it its own thing?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:08:41] I had been working with Carrie Yonakegawa. From Fresno and he's really the keeper of the history of Japanese American baseball and especially of the story of the World War II Japanese American incarceration through the baseball stories. And he was one of my scholars and consultants on the longer film. And I have been working on diamond diplomacy for 11 years. So I got to know a lot of my experts quite well. I knew. All along that there was more to that part of the story that sort of deserved its own story, and I was very fortunate to get a grant from the National Parks Foundation, and I got that grant right when the pandemic started. It was a good thing. I had a chunk of money and I was able to do historical research, which can be done on a computer. Nobody was doing any production at that beginning of the COVID time. And then it's a short film, so it was a little more contained and I was able to release that one in 2023.   Miko Lee: [00:09:45] Oh, so you actually made the short before Diamond Diplomacy.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:09:49] Yeah. The funny thing is that I finished it before diamond diplomacy, it's always been intrinsically part of the longer film and you'll see the longer film and you'll understand that part of baseball behind Barbed Wire becomes a part of telling that part of the story in Diamond Diplomacy.   Miko Lee: [00:10:08] Yeah, I appreciate it. So you almost use it like research, background research for the longer film, is that right?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:10:15] I had been doing the research about the World War II, Japanese American incarceration because it was part of the story of the 150 years between Japan and the United States and Japanese people in the United States and American people that went to Japan. So it was always a part of that longer story, and I think it just evolved that there was a much bigger story that needed to be told separately and especially 'cause I had access to the interview footage of the two guys that had been there, and I knew Carrie so well. So that was part of it, was that I learned so much about that history from him.   Miko Lee: [00:10:58] Thanks. I appreciated actually watching both films to be able to see more in depth about what happened during the incarceration, so that was really powerful. I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about the style of actually both films, which combine vintage Japanese postcards, animation and archival footage, and how you decided to blend the films in this way.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:11:19] Anytime you're making a film about history, there's that challenge of. How am I going to show this story? How am I gonna get the audience to understand and feel what was happening then? And of course you can't suddenly go out and go, okay, I'm gonna go film Babe Ruth over there. 'cause he's not around anymore. So you know, you start digging up photographs. If we're in the era of you have photographs, you have home movies, you have 16 millimeter, you have all kinds of film, then great. You can find that stuff if you can find it and use it. But if you go back further, when before people had cameras and before motion picture, then you have to do something else. I've always been very much enamored of Japanese woodblock prints. I think they're beautiful and they're very documentary in that they tell stories about the people and the times and what was going on, and so I was able to find some that sort of helped evoke the stories of that period of time. And then in doing that, I became interested in the style and maybe can I co-opt that style? Can we take some of the images that we have that are photographs? And I had a couple of young artists work on this stuff and it started to work and I was very excited. So then we were doing things like, okay, now we can create a transition between the print style illustration and the actual footage that we're moving into, or the photograph that we're dissolving into. And the same thing with baseball behind barbed wire. It became a challenge to show what was actually happening in the camps. In the beginning, people were not allowed to have cameras at all, and even later on it wasn't like it was common thing for people to have cameras, especially movie cameras. Latter part of the war, there was a little bit more in terms of photos and movies, but in terms of getting the more personal stories. I found an exhibit of illustrations and it really was drawings and paintings that were visual diaries. People kept these visual diaries, they drew and they painted, and I think part of it was. Something to do, but I think the other part of it was a way to show and express what was going on. So one of the most dramatic moments in there is a drawing of a little boy sitting on a toilet with his hands covering his face, and no one would ever have a photograph. Of a little boy sitting on a toilet being embarrassed because there are no partitions around the toilet. But this was a very dramatic and telling moment that was drawn. And there were some other things like that. There was one illustration in baseball behind barbed wire that shows a family huddled up and there's this incredible wind blowing, and it's not. Home movie footage, but you feel the wind and what they had to live through. I appreciate art in general, so it was very fun for me to be able to use various different kinds of art and find ways to make it work and make it edit together with the other, with the photographs and the footage.    Miko Lee: [00:14:56] It's really beautiful and it tells the story really well. I'm wondering about a response to the film from folks that were in it because you got many elders to share their stories about what it was like being either folks that were incarcerated or folks that were playing in such an unusual time. Have you screened the film for folks that were in it? And if so what has their response been?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:15:20] Both the men that were in baseball behind barbed wire are not living anymore, so they have not seen it. With diamond diplomacy, some of the historians have been asked to review cuts of the film along the way. But the two baseball players that play the biggest role in the film, I've given them links to look at stuff, but I don't think they've seen it. So Moi's gonna see it for the first time, I'm pretty sure, on Friday night, and it'll be interesting to see what his reaction to it is. And of course. His main language is not English. So I think some of it's gonna be a little tough for him to understand. But I am very curious 'cause I've known him for a long time and I know his stories and I feel like when we were putting the film together, it was really important for me to be able to tell the stories in the way that I felt like. He lived them and he tells them, I feel like I've heard these stories over and over again. I've gotten to know him and I understand some of his feelings of joy and of regret and all these other things that happen, so I will be very interested to see what his reaction is to it.   Miko Lee: [00:16:40] Can you share for our audience who you're talking about.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:16:43] Well, Sanhi is a nickname, his name is Masa Nouri. Murakami. He picked up that nickname because none of the ball players could pronounce his name.   Miko Lee: [00:16:53] I did think that was horrifically funny when they said they started calling him macaroni 'cause they could not pronounce his name. So many of us have had those experiences.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:17:02] Yeah, especially if your name is Masanori Murakami. That's a long, complicated one. So he, Masanori Murakami is the first Japanese player that came and played for the major leagues. And it was an inadvertent playing because he was a kid, he was 19 years old. He was playing on a professional team in Japan and they had some, they had a time period where it made sense to send a couple of these kids over to the United States. They had a relationship with Kapi Harada, who was a Japanese American who had been in the Army and he was in Japan during. The occupation and somehow he had, he'd also been a big baseball person, so I think he developed all these relationships and he arranged for these three kids to come to the United States and to, as Mahi says, to study baseball. And they were sent to the lowest level minor league, the single A camps, and they played baseball. They learned the American ways to play baseball, and they got to play with low level professional baseball players. Marcy was a very talented left handed pitcher. And so when September 1st comes around and the postseason starts, they expand the roster and they add more players to the team. And the scouts had been watching him and the Giants needed a left-handed pitcher, so they decided to take a chance on him, and they brought him up and he was suddenly going to Shea Stadium when. The Giants were playing the Mets and he was suddenly pitching in a giant stadium of 40,000 people.    Miko Lee: [00:18:58] Can you share a little bit about his experience when he first came to America? I just think it shows such a difference in time to now.    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:19:07] Yeah, no kidding. Because today they're the players that come from Japan are coddled and they have interpreters wherever they go and they travel and chartered planes and special limousines and whatever else they get. So Marcie. He's, I think he was 20 by the time he was brought up so young. Mahi at 20 years old, the manager comes in and says, Hey, you're going to New York tomorrow and hands him plane tickets and he has to negotiate his way. Get on this plane, get on that plane, figure out how to. Get from the airport to the hotel, and he's barely speaking English at this point. He jokes that he used to carry around an English Japanese dictionary in one pocket and a Japanese English dictionary in the other pocket. So that's how he ended up getting to Shea Stadium was in this like very precarious, like they didn't even send an escort.   Miko Lee: [00:20:12] He had to ask the pilot how to get to the hotel. Yeah, I think that's wild. So I love this like history and what's happened and then I'm thinking now as I said at the beginning, I'm not a big baseball sports fan, but I love love watching Shohei Ohtani. I just think he's amazing. And I'm just wondering, when you look at that trajectory of where Mahi was back then and now, Shohei Ohtani now, how do you reflect on that historically? And I'm wondering if you've connected with any of the kind of modern Japanese players, if they've seen this film.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:20:48] I have never met Shohei Ohtani. I have tried to get some interviews, but I haven't gotten any. I have met Ichi. I did meet Nori Aoki when he was playing for the Giants, and I met Kenta Maya when he was first pitching for the Dodgers. They're all, I think they're all really, they seem to be really excited to be here and play. I don't know what it's like to be Ohtani. I saw something the other day in social media that was comparing him to Taylor Swift because the two of them are this like other level of famous and it must just be crazy. Probably can't walk down the street anymore. But it is funny 'cause I've been editing all this footage of mahi when he was 19, 20 years old and they have a very similar face. And it just makes me laugh that, once upon a time this young Japanese kid was here and. He was worried about how to make ends meet at the end of the month, and then you got the other one who's like a multi multimillionaire.    Miko Lee: [00:21:56] But you're right, I thought that too. They look similar, like the tall, the face, they're like the vibe that they put out there. Have they met each other?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:22:05] They have actually met, I don't think they know each other well, but they've definitely met.   Miko Lee: [00:22:09] Mm, It was really a delight. I am wondering what you would like audiences to walk away with after seeing your film.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:22:17] Hopefully they will have a little bit of appreciation for baseball and international baseball, but more than anything else. I wonder if they can pick up on that sense of when you find common ground, it's a very special space and it's an ability to have this people to people diplomacy. You get to experience people, you get to know them a little bit. Even if you've never met Ohtani, you now know a little bit about him and his life and. Probably what he eats and all that kind of stuff. So it gives you a chance to see into another culture. And I think that makes for a different kind of understanding. And certainly for the players. They sit on the bench together and they practice together and they sweat together and they, everything that they do together, these guys know each other. They learn about each other's languages and each other's food and each other's culture. And I think Mahi went back to Japan with almost as much Spanish as they did English. So I think there's some magical thing about people to people diplomacy, and I hope that people can get a sense of that.    Miko Lee: [00:23:42] Thank you so much for sharing. Can you tell our audience how they could find out more about your film Diamond diplomacy and also about you as an artist?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:23:50] the website is diamonddiplomacy.com. We're on Instagram @diamonddiplomacy. We're also on Facebook Diamond Diplomacy. So those are all the places that you can find stuff, those places will give you a sense of who I am as a filmmaker and an artist too.    Miko Lee: [00:24:14] Thank you so much for joining us today, Yuriko. Gamo. Romo. So great to speak with you and I hope the film does really well.    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:24:22] Thank you, Miko. This was a lovely opportunity to chat with you.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:24:26] Next up, my sister Jalena Keane-Lee speaks with playwright Jessica Huang, whose new play Mother of Exiles just had its world premiere at Berkeley Rep is open until December 21st.    Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:24:39] All right. Jessica Huang, thank you so much for being here with us on Apex Express and you are the writer of the new play Mother of Exiles, which is playing at Berkeley Rep from November 14th to December 21st. Thank you so much for being here.   Jessica Huang: [00:24:55] Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It's such a pleasure.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:24:59] I'm so curious about this project. The synopsis was so interesting. I was wondering if you could just tell us a little bit about it and how you came to this work.   Jessica Huang: [00:25:08] When people ask me what mother of Exiles is, I always say it's an American family story that spans 160 plus years, and is told in three acts. In 90 minutes. So just to get the sort of sense of the propulsion of the show and the form, the formal experiment of it. The first part takes place in 1898, when the sort of matriarch of the family is being deported from Angel Island. The second part takes place in 1999, so a hundred years later where her great grandson is. Now working for the Miami, marine interdiction unit. So he's a border cop. The third movement takes place in 2063 out on the ocean after Miami has sunk beneath the water. And their descendants are figuring out what they're gonna do to survive. It was a strange sort of conception for the show because I had been wanting to write a play. I'd been wanting to write a triptych about America and the way that interracial love has shaped. This country and it shaped my family in particular. I also wanted to tell a story that had to do with this, the land itself in some way. I had been sort of carrying an idea for the play around for a while, knowing that it had to do with cross-cultural border crossing immigration themes. This sort of epic love story that each, in each chapter there's a different love story. It wasn't until I went on a trip to Singapore and to China and got to meet some family members that I hadn't met before that the rest of it sort of fell into place. The rest of it being that there's a, the presence of, ancestors and the way that the living sort of interacts with those who have come before throughout the play.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:27:13] I noticed that ancestors, and ghosts and spirits are a theme throughout your work. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about your own ancestry and how that informs your writing and creative practice.   Jessica Huang: [00:27:25] Yeah, I mean, I'm in a fourth generation interracial marriage. So, I come from a long line of people who have loved people who were different from them, who spoke different languages, who came from different countries. That's my story. My brother his partner is German. He lives in Berlin. We have a history in our family of traveling and of loving people who are different from us. To me that's like the story of this country and is also the stuff I like to write about. The thing that I feel like I have to share with the world are, is just stories from that experience.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:28:03] That's really awesome. I guess I haven't really thought about it that way, but I'm third generation of like interracial as well. 'cause I'm Chinese, Japanese, and Irish. And then at a certain point when you're mixed, it's like, okay, well. The odds of me being with someone that's my exact same ethnic breakdown feel pretty low. So it's probably gonna be an interracial relationship in one way or the other.   Jessica Huang: [00:28:26] Totally. Yeah. And, and, and I don't, you know, it sounds, and it sounds like in your family and in mine too, like we just. Kept sort of adding culture to our family. So my grandfather's from Shanghai, my grandmother, you know, is, it was a very, like upper crust white family on the east coast. Then they had my dad. My dad married my mom whose people are from the Ukraine. And then my husband's Puerto Rican. We just keep like broadening the definition of family and the definition of community and I think that's again, like I said, like the story of this country.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:29:00] That's so beautiful. I'm curious about the role of place in this project in particular, mother of exiles, angel Island, obviously being in the Bay Area, and then the rest of it taking place, in Miami or in the future. The last act is also like Miami or Miami adjacent. What was the inspiration behind the place and how did place and location and setting inform the writing.   Jessica Huang: [00:29:22] It's a good question. Angel Island is a place that has loomed large in my work. Just being sort of known as the Ellis Island of the West, but actually being a place with a much more difficult history. I've always been really inspired by the stories that come out of Angel Island, the poetry that's come out of Angel Island and, just the history of Asian immigration. It felt like it made sense to set the first part of the play here, in the Bay. Especially because Eddie, our protagonist, spent some time working on a farm. So there's also like this great history of agriculture and migrant workers here too. It just felt like a natural place to set it. And then why did we move to Miami? There are so many moments in American history where immigration has been a real, center point of the sort of conversation, the national conversation. And moving forward to the nineties, the wet foot, dry foot Cuban immigration story felt like really potent and a great place to tell the next piece of this tale. Then looking toward the future Miami is definitely, or you know, according to the science that I have read one of the cities that is really in danger of flooding as sea levels rise.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:30:50] Okay. The Cuban immigration. That totally makes sense. That leads perfectly into my next question, which was gonna be about how did you choose the time the moments in time? I think that one you said was in the nineties and curious about the choice to have it be in the nineties and not present day. And then how did you choose how far in the future you wanted to have the last part?   Jessica Huang: [00:31:09] Some of it was really just based on the needs of the characters. So the how far into the future I wanted us to be following a character that we met as a baby in the previous act. So it just, you know, made sense. I couldn't push it too far into the future. It made sense to set it in the 2060s. In terms of the nineties and, why not present day? Immigration in the nineties , was so different in it was still, like I said, it was still, it's always been a important national conversation, but it wasn't. There was a, it felt like a little bit more, I don't know if gentle is the word, but there just was more nuance to the conversation. And still there was a broad effort to prevent Cuban and refugees from coming ashore. I think I was fascinated by how complicated, I mean, what foot, dry foot, the idea of it is that , if a refugee is caught on water, they're sent back to Cuba. But if they're caught on land, then they can stay in the us And just the idea of that is so. The way that, people's lives are affected by just where they are caught , in their crossing. I just found that to be a bit ridiculous and in terms of a national policy. It made sense then to set the second part, which moves into a bit of a farce at a time when immigration also kind of felt like a farce.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:32:46] That totally makes sense. It feels very dire right now, obviously. But it's interesting to be able to kind of go back in time and see when things were handled so differently and also how I think throughout history and also touching many different racial groups. We've talked a lot on this show about the Chinese Exclusion Act and different immigration policies towards Chinese and other Asian Americans. But they've always been pretty arbitrary and kind of farcical as you put it. Yeah.   Jessica Huang: [00:33:17] Yeah. And that's not to make light of like the ways that people's lives were really impacted by all of this policy . But I think the arbitrariness of it, like you said, is just really something that bears examining. I also think it's really helpful to look at where we are now through the lens of the past or the future. Mm-hmm. Just gives just a little bit of distance and a little bit of perspective. Maybe just a little bit of context to how we got to where we got to.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:33:50] That totally makes sense. What has your experience been like of seeing the play be put up? It's my understanding, this is the first this is like the premier of the play at Berkeley Rep.   Jessica Huang: [00:34:00] Yes. Yeah. It's the world premier. It's it incredible. Jackie Bradley is our director and she's phenomenal. It's just sort of mesmerizing what is happening with this play? It's so beautiful and like I've alluded to, it shifts tone between the first movement being sort of a historical drama on Angel Island to, it moves into a bit of a farce in part two, and then it, by the third movement, we're living in sort of a dystopic, almost sci-fi future. The way that Jackie's just deftly moved an audience through each of those experiences while holding onto the important threads of this family and, the themes that we're unpacking and this like incredible design team, all of these beautiful visuals sounds, it's just really so magical to see it come to life in this way. And our cast is incredible. I believe there are 18 named roles in the play, and there are a few surprises and all of them are played by six actors. who are just. Unbelievable. Like all of them have the ability to play against type. They just transform and transform again and can navigate like, the deepest tragedies and the like, highest moments of comedy and just hold on to this beautiful humanity. Each and every one of them is just really spectacular. So I'm just, you know. I don't know. I just feel so lucky to be honest with you. This production is going to be so incredible. It's gonna be, it feels like what I imagine in my mind, but, you know, plus,    Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:35:45] well, I really can't wait to see it. What are you hoping that audiences walk away with after seeing the show?   Jessica Huang: [00:35:54] That's a great question. I want audiences to feel connected to their ancestors and feel part of this community of this country and, and grateful and acknowledge the sacrifices that somebody along the line made so that they could be here with, with each other watching the show. I hope, people feel like they enjoyed themselves and got to experience something that they haven't experienced before. I think that there are definitely, nuances to the political conversation that we're having right now, about who has the right to immigrate into this country and who has the right to be a refugee, who has the right to claim asylum. I hope to add something to that conversation with this play, however small.   Jalena Keane-Lee:[00:36:43]  Do you know where the play is going next?   Jessica Huang: [00:36:45] No. No. I dunno where it's going next. Um, exciting. Yeah, but we'll, time will   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:36:51] and previews start just in a few days, right?   Jessica Huang: [00:36:54] Yeah. Yeah. We have our first preview, we have our first audience on Friday. So yeah, very looking forward to seeing how all of this work that we've been doing lands on folks.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:37:03] Wow, that's so exciting. Do you have any other projects that you're working on? Or any upcoming projects that you'd like to share about?   Jessica Huang: [00:37:10] Yeah, yeah, I do. I'm part of the writing team for the 10 Things I Hate About You Musical, which is in development with an Eye Toward Broadway. I'm working with Lena Dunham and Carly Rae Jepsen and Ethan Ska to make that musical. I also have a fun project in Chicago that will soon be announced.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:37:31] And what is keeping you inspired and keeping your, you know, creative energies flowing in these times?   Jessica Huang: [00:37:37] Well first of all, I think, you know, my collaborators on this show are incredibly inspiring. The nice thing about theater is that you just get to go and be inspired by people all the time. 'cause it's this big collaboration, you don't have to do it all by yourself. So that would be the first thing I would say. I haven't seen a lot of theater since I've been out here in the bay, but right before I left New York, I saw MEUs . Which is by Brian Keda, Nigel Robinson. And it's this sort of two-hander musical, but they do live looping and they sort of create the music live. Wow. And it's another, it's another show about an untold history and about solidarity and about folks coming together from different backgrounds and about ancestors, so there's a lot of themes that really resonate. And also the show is just so great. It's just really incredible. So , that was the last thing I saw that I loved. I'm always so inspired by theater that I get to see.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:38:36] That sounds wonderful. Is there anything else that you'd like to share?   Jessica Huang: [00:38:40] No, I don't think so. I just thanks so much for having me and come check out the show. I think you'll enjoy it. There's something for everyone.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:38:48] Yeah. I'm so excited to see the show. Is there like a Chinese Cuban love story with the Miami portion? Oh, that's so awesome. This is an aside, but I'm a filmmaker and I've been working on a documentary about, Chinese people in Cuba and there's like this whole history of Chinese Cubans in Cuba too.   Jessica Huang: [00:39:07] Oh, that's wonderful. In this story, it's a person who's a descendant of, a love story between a Chinese person and a Mexican man, a Chinese woman and a Mexican man, and oh, their descendant. Then also, there's a love story between him and a Cuban woman.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:39:25] That's awesome. Wow. I'm very excited to see it in all the different intergenerational layers and tonal shifts. I can't wait to see how it all comes together.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:39:34] Next up we are back with Miko Lee, who is now speaking with photographer Joyce Xi about her latest exhibition entitled Our Language, our Story Running Through January in San Francisco at Galleria de Raza.    Miko Lee: [00:39:48] Welcome, Joyce Xi to Apex Express.    Joyce Xi: [00:39:52] Thanks for having me.    Miko Lee: [00:39:53] Yes. I'm, I wanna start by asking you a question I ask most of my guests, and this is based on the great poet Shaka Hodges. It's an adaptation of her question, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?   Joyce Xi: [00:40:09] My people are artists, free spirits, people who wanna see a more free and just, and beautiful world. I'm Chinese American. A lot of my work has been in the Asian American community with all kinds of different people who dreaming of something better and trying to make the world a better place and doing so with creativity and with positive and good energy.   Miko Lee: [00:40:39] I love it. And what legacy do you carry with you?   Joyce Xi: [00:40:43] I am a fighter. I feel like just people who have been fighting for a better world. Photography wise, like definitely thinking about Corky Lee who is an Asian American photographer and activist. There's been people who have done it before me. There will be people who do it after me, but I wanna do my version of it here.   Miko Lee: [00:41:03] Thank you so much and for lifting up the great Corky Lee who has been such a big influence on all of us. I'm wondering in that vein, can you talk a little bit about how you use photography as a tool for social change?   Joyce Xi: [00:41:17] Yeah. Photography I feel is a very powerful tool for social change. Photography is one of those mediums where it's emotional, it's raw, it's real. It's a way to see and show and feel like important moments, important stories, important emotions. I try to use it as a way to share. Truths and stories about issues that are important, things that people experience, whether it's, advocating for environmental justice or language justice or just like some of them, just to highlight some of the struggles and challenges people experience as well as the joys and the celebrations and just the nuance of people's lives. I feel like photography is a really powerful medium to show that. And I love photography in particular because it's really like a frozen moment. I think what's so great about photography is that. It's that moment, it's that one feeling, that one expression, and it's kind of like frozen in time. So you can really, sit there and ponder about what's in this person's eyes or what's this person trying to say? Or. What does this person's struggle like? You can just see it through their expressions and their emotions and also it's a great way to document. There's so many things that we all do as advocates, as activists, whether it's protesting or whether it's just supporting people who are dealing with something. You have that moment recorded. Can really help us remember those fights and those moments. You can show people what happened. Photography is endlessly powerful. I really believe in it as a tool and a medium for influencing the world in positive ways.   Miko Lee: [00:43:08] I'd love us to shift and talk about your latest work, Our language, Our story.” Can you tell us a little bit about where this came from?   Joyce Xi: [00:43:15] Sure. I was in conversation with Nikita Kumar, who was at the Asian Law Caucus at the time. We were just chatting about art and activism and how photography could be a powerful medium to use to advocate or tell stories about different things. Nikita was talking to me about how a lot of language access work that's being done by organizations that work in immigrant communities can often be a topic that is very jargon filled or very kind of like niche or wonky policy, legal and maybe at times isn't the thing that people really get in the streets about or get really emotionally energized around. It's one of those issues that's so important to everything. Especially since in many immigrant communities, people do not speak English and every single day, every single issue. All these issues that these organizations advocate around. Like housing rights, workers' rights, voting rights, immigration, et cetera, without language, those rights and resources are very hard to understand and even hard to access at all. So, Nik and I were talking about language is so important, it's one of those issues too remind people about the core importance of it. What does it feel like when you don't have access to your language? What does it feel like and look like when you do, when you can celebrate with your community and communicate freely and live your life just as who you are versus when you can't even figure out how to say what you wanna say because there's a language barrier.    Miko Lee: [00:44:55] Joyce can you just for our audience, break down what language access means? What does it mean to you and why is it important for everybody?   Joyce Xi: [00:45:05] Language access is about being able to navigate the world in your language, in the way that you understand and communicate in your life. In advocacy spaces, what it can look like is, we need to have resources and we need to have interpretation in different languages so that people can understand what's being talked about or understand what resources are available or understand what's on the ballot. So they can really experience their life to the fullest. Each of us has our languages that we're comfortable with and it's really our way of expressing everything that's important to us and understanding everything that's important to us. When that language is not available, it's very hard to navigate the world. On the policy front, there's so many ways just having resources in different languages, having interpretation in different spaces, making sure that everybody who is involved in this society can do what they need to do and can understand the decisions that are being made. That affects them and also that they can affect the decisions that affect them.   Miko Lee: [00:46:19] I think a lot of immigrant kids just grow up being like the de facto translator for their parents. Which can be things like medical terminology and legal terms, which they might not be familiar with. And so language asks about providing opportunities for everybody to have equal understanding of what's going on. And so can you talk a little bit about your gallery show? So you and Nikita dreamed up this vision for making language access more accessible and more story based, and then what happened?   Joyce Xi: [00:46:50] We decided to express this through a series of photo stories. Focusing on individual stories from a variety of different language backgrounds and immigration backgrounds and just different communities all across the Bay Area. And really just have people share from the heart, what does language mean to them? What does it affect in their lives? Both when one has access to the language, like for example, in their own community, when they can speak freely and understand and just share everything that's on their heart. And what does it look like when that's not available? When maybe you're out in the streets and you're trying to like talk to the bus driver and you can't even communicate with each other. How does that feel? What does that look like? So we collected all these stories from many different community members across different languages and asked them a series of questions and took photos of them in their day-to-day lives, in family gatherings, at community meetings, at rallies, at home, in the streets, all over the place, wherever people were like Halloween or Ramadan or graduations, or just day-to-day life. Through the quotes that we got from the interviews, as well as the photos that I took to illustrate their stories, we put them together as photo stories for each person. Those are now on display at Galleria Deza in San Francisco. We have over 20 different stories in over 10 different languages. The people in the project spoke like over 15 different languages. Some people used multiple languages and some spoke English, many did not. We had folks who had immigrated recently, folks who had immigrated a while ago. We had children of immigrants talking about their experiences being that bridge as you talked about, navigating translating for their parents and being in this tough spot of growing up really quickly, we just have this kind of tapestry of different stories and, definitely encourage folks to check out the photos but also to read through each person's stories. Everybody has a story that's very special and that is from the heart   Miko Lee: [00:49:00] sounds fun. I can't wait to see it in person. Can you share a little bit about how you selected the participants?    Joyce Xi: [00:49:07] Yeah, selecting the participants was an organic process. I'm a photographer who's trying to honor relationships and not like parachute in. We wanted to build relationships and work with people who felt comfortable sharing their stories, who really wanted to be a part of it, and who are connected in some kind of a way where it didn't feel like completely out of context. So what that meant was that myself and also the Asian Law Caucus we have connections in the community to different organizations who work in different immigrant communities. So we reached out to people that we knew who were doing good work and just say Hey, do you have any community members who would be interested in participating in this project who could share their stories. Then through following these threads we were able to connect with many different organizations who brought either members or community folks who they're connected with to the project. Some of them came through like friends. Another one was like, oh, I've worked with these people before, maybe you can talk to them. One of them I met through a World Refugee Day event. It came through a lot of different relationships and reaching out. We really wanted folks who wanted to share a piece of their life. A lot of folks who really felt like language access and language barriers were a big challenge in their life, and they wanted to talk about it. We were able to gather a really great group together.    Miko Lee: [00:50:33] Can you share how opening night went? How did you navigate showcasing and highlighting the diversity of the languages in one space?    Joyce Xi: [00:50:43] The opening of the exhibit was a really special event. We invited everybody who was part of the project as well as their communities, and we also invited like friends, community and different organizations to come. We really wanted to create a space where we could feel and see what language access and some of the challenges of language access can be all in one space. We had about 10 different languages at least going on at the same time. Some of them we had interpretation through headsets. Some of them we just, it was like fewer people. So people huddled together and just interpreted for the community members. A lot of these organizations that we partnered with, they brought their folks out. So their members, their community members, their friends and then. It was really special because a lot of the people whose photos are on the walls were there, so they invited their friends and family. It was really fun for them to see their photos on the wall. And also I think for all of our different communities, like we can end up really siloed or just like with who we're comfortable with most of the time, especially if we can't communicate very well with each other with language barriers. For everybody to be in the same space and to hear so many languages being used in the same space and for people to be around people maybe that they're not used to being around every day. And yet through everybody's stories, they share a lot of common experiences. Like so many of the stories were related to each other. People talked about being parents, people talked about going to the doctor or taking the bus, like having challenges at the workplace or just what it's like to celebrate your own culture and heritage and language and what the importance of preserving languages. There are so many common threads and. Maybe a lot of people are not used to seeing each other or communicating with each other on a daily basis. So just to have everyone in one space was so special. We had performances, we had food, we had elders, children. There was a huge different range of people and it was just like, it was just cool to see everyone in the same space. It was special.    Miko Lee: [00:52:51] And finally, for folks that get to go to Galleria de la Raza in San Francisco and see the exhibit, what do you want them to walk away with?   Joyce Xi: [00:53:00] I would love for people to walk away just like in a reflective state. You know how to really think about how. Language is so important to everything that we do and through all these stories to really see how so many different immigrant and refugee community members are making it work. And also deal with different barriers and how it affects them, how it affects just really simple human things in life that maybe some of us take for granted, on a daily basis. And just to have more compassion, more understanding. Ultimately, we wanna see our city, our bay area, our country really respecting people and their language and their dignity through language access and through just supporting and uplifting our immigrant communities in general. It's a such a tough time right now. There's so many attacks on our immigrant communities and people are scared and there's a lot of dehumanizing actions and narratives out there. This is, hopefully something completely different than that. Something that uplifts celebrates, honors and really sees our immigrant communities and hopefully people can just feel that feeling of like, oh, okay, we can do better. Everybody has a story. Everybody deserves to be treated with dignity and all the people in these stories are really amazing human beings. It was just an honor for me to even be a part of their story. I hope people can feel some piece of that.    Miko Lee: [00:54:50] Thank you so much, Joyce, for sharing your vision with us, and I hope everybody gets a chance to go out and see your work.    Joyce Xi: [00:54:57] Thank you.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:55:00] Thanks so much for tuning in to Apex Express. Please check out our website at kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about the guests tonight and find out how you can take direct action.   Apex Express is a proud member of Asian Americans for civil rights and equality. Find out more at aacre.org. That's AACRE.org.   We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating, and sharing your visions with the world. Your voices are important.    Apex Express is produced by  Miko Lee, Jalena Keene-Lee, Ayame Keene-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar, Anuj Vaida, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Nina Phillips & Swati Rayasam. Thank you so much to the team at KPFA for their support and have a good night.       The post APEX Express – 11.20.25 – Artist to Artist appeared first on KPFA.

Live from Ellis Island with Steve Cofield and Jeff Parles, Recap of NFL Week, MNF Preview, Louie LaRusso Jr. talking Cowboys, UNLV FB Recap, Steve Kim Int - Talking Fight Game and Football

Visiting the Statue of Liberty is often at the top of NYC visitors' lists of things to do, and with good reason. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are two deeply important historical monuments that encapsulate a significant portion of New York City's history.But is it worth visiting the actual Statue of Liberty when you come to NYC?We're gonna answer that question and so much more in this article.Here's what we'll cover:Brief History of the Statue of LibertyVisiting the Statue of Liberty – Island Access vs Pedestal vs CrownEllis Island Overview + Hard Hat Tour ReviewCommon Statue of Liberty ScamsCheapest Ways to See the Statue of LibertyLet's look at them all below.

DML interviews Michael Cutler about the origins of Ellis Island

Dick Fosbury is trying to leap over GamBLOR outside of the Ellis Island breakfast spot in Las Vegas while "5" is assaulting anyone willing to watch as tear rolls down "1"s face. Trust me, it will all make sense after you listen. 

Ellis Island closed its doors on this day in 1954. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Back on this day in 1954, Ellis Island closed it's doors. The gateway to America shut it's doors after processing more than 12 million immigrants since opening in 1892.

National happy hour day. Entertainment from 1974. Leotard invented, Ellis Island closed, 1st selfie in space. Todays birthdays - Grace Kelly, Brian Hyland, Neil Young, Buck Dharma, Les McKeown, Mega Mullaly, Ryan Gosling, Anne Hathaway. Wilma Rudolph died.Intro - God did good - Dianna Corcoran    https://www.diannacorcoran.com/Happy hour - WeezerAint seen nothin yet - Bachman Turner OverdriveCountry is - Tom T. HallBirthdays - In da club - 50 Cent     http://50cent.com/Itsy bitsy teeny tiny yellow polkadot bikini - Brian HylandHeart of gold - Neil YoungBurnin' for you - Blue Oyster CultSaturday night - Bay City RollersExit - This town aint big enough for the both of us - Chris Guenther https://www.chrisguenthermusic.com/countryundergroundradio.comHistory & Factoids about today webpage

Want more MTM Vegas? Check out our Patreon for access to our exclusive weekly aftershow! patreon.com/mtmvegas Want to work with us? Reach out! inquiries at mtmvegas dot com Episode Description This week Wynn Las Vegas announced their earnings along with a number of other little nuggets about the current state of their business. While Wynn doesn't seem to be suffering as much as other Vegas properties, we dive into what makes them different, why they are able to charge high prices and what makes them different from their competition. In other news we finally learned more details about the Nevada state hack, what info was taken and how the state we recovered. We also discuss: free haircuts on the Strip, Odyssey Manor, felting tables, cooking in a casino, MGM's terrace suites and why you might want to grab a slice of Metro Pizza at Ellis Island. Episode Guide 0:00 Free haircuts on the Strip! 0:31 Another emergency landing on I-15! 0:50 Learning more about the Nevada state hack 2:09 Metro Pizza reopens at Ellis Island - Great prices! 3:53 Marc Anthony My Way coming to Fontainebleau 5:15 California's insane social media strategy 7:07 Hot or not - Rio felting on the casino floor 7:52 Hot or not - Slowcooker at a poker table 8:48 Hot or not - Benjamin Martini with edible $100 bill 9:45 Inside MGM Grand's terrace suites 11:40 Vegas Chinatown is expanding 13:07 Odyssey Manor now open at Area15 14:23 Wynn is winning 15:23 Encore renovation incoming 16:15 How Wynn is dealing with "Vegas social media backlash" 18:30 Why Wynn is benefiting from the strong premium travel market 20:20 How Wynn is becoming a global luxury brand Each week tens of thousands of people tune into our MtM Vegas news shows at http://www.YouTube.com/milestomemories. We do two news shows weekly on YouTube with this being the audio version. Never miss out on the latest happenings in and around Las Vegas! Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or by searching "MtM Vegas" or "Miles to Memories" in your favorite podcast app. Don't forget to check out our travel/miles/points podcast as well!

Live from the Front Yard at Ellis Island, NFL Recap and Fired Giants HC, Steve Kim Talking Football and Boxing

In this Episode, Kelly is joined by historian, Justin Southern!  Join them as Justin tells Kelly how he first became a tourguide. He talks about his time teaching English in Italy, responding to an ad to become a tourguide while living in Italy, and how he came to New York.  Kelly asks Justin about imigration before Ellis Island. Justin talks about the different ways that people emmegrated from their home countries before the US created a way, on the federal level, for people to immigrate to the United States. Justin talks about the creation of Ellis Island and the first ship that landed on the island. He talks about how many immagrants went through Ellis Island during its peak use. Then he talks about how many immigrants were turned away from staying in the US due to sickness, and puts into perspective how small a number that is. Kelly asks Justin what people did while they were on Ellis Island. Justin tells him how they had different wards of the hospital and the different patients they took at each. He tells us about how due to the previlance of disease, children had to be seperated from their families. He also talks about how nurses and doctors made huge advancements in health during this time period because they were able to study so many patients. Justin also gives somes stories about how nurses befriended their patients and stayed connected even after they made it back to the mainland.  Finaly, Kelly asks Justin about the Hard Hat Tour, Justin tells everyone what they can experience when they take the tour. He also gives some great tips for visiting Ellis Island and the stature of Liberty. He also tells everyone how they can take the hard hat tour.  Kelly also tells everyone about his experience taking the hard hat tour. He talks about what he saw on the tour as well as what it felt like to be in the space that so many immagrants went through.    But above all else; Justin Southern is a New Yorker.   Follow Justin Southern  @Southbysouthern   Follow Kelly Kopp's Social media @NewYorkCityKopp   Follow Jae's Social Media @Studiojae170 Chapters (00:00:00) - New Yorkers: Episode 1(00:01:04) - Hard Hats at Ellis Island(00:01:39) - I Made A Lady Cry In My First English Teacher Lesson(00:04:59) - Telling stories of Ellis Island(00:10:49) - How Ellis Island Changed the Immigration Process(00:16:28) - Immigrant Customs Agents on the Titanic(00:21:33) - Ellis Island: A story of the hospital(00:27:34) - Ellis Island: The Stories of the Nurses(00:31:22) - How Would an Imm Get to America?(00:34:41) - The story of the girl with the boat(00:41:34) - The story of Ellis Island(00:43:44) - The Ellis Island Hardhat Tour(00:45:46) - What It Means to Be a New Yorker(00:48:11) - Ellis Island Tours

In a historic victory, New Yorkers elect Zohran Mamdani as their next mayor -- thanks, in part, to a surge of young voters. One 24-year-old tells us why she jumped to help him run. A fellow Nova Scotia candidate says he did everything he could to get his friend Chris d'Entremont elected as a Conservative -- so it's a serious betrayal that he crossed the floor to the Liberals.A controversial new proposal would see teachers in Germany educating students on a subject that hasn't been on the curriculum for a long time: wartime preparedness. We'll get hold of a Catholic Priest from Chicago in the middle of his weeks-long trek to Ellis Island, New York -- to send a message of support for immigrant rights.A TikToker rates pedestrians on their sidewalk manners, becoming a social media darling in the process -- and you may find his sidewalk criticisms to be a real change of pace. People are still very upset about the shocking jewelry heist at the Louvre -- and now, they're arguing that the museum has never really had security down to a fine art.As It Happens, the Wednesday Edition. Radio that eavesdrops on a Louvre's quarrel.

You're listening to American Ground Radio with Louis R. Avallone and Stephen Parr. This is the full show for November 3, 2025. 0:30 We unpack the controversy out of Dearborn, Michigan, where Mayor Abdullah Hammoud told a Christian resident he was “not welcome” in the city after objecting to a street being renamed for a man who once praised Hezbollah. We break down the mayor’s remarks, the misuse of the term “Islamophobe,” and what this moment says about free speech, civic respect, and the growing confusion between disagreement and hate. 9:30 Plus, we cover the Top 3 Things You Need to Know. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Federal Government spent less money in 2025 than it did in 2024. Some details are finally coming out about the alleged Halloween Terror Plot in Michigan.The FBI filed a 73 page complaint in court against 2 men under the age of 21 and a teenager. Tomorrow is election day in several states across the country.New York City will be selecting a new mayor, and most polls say communist anti-semite Zohran Mamdani will win easily. 12:30 Get NSorb from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20. 13:30 We take a hard look at what it means to be American in 2025 — and whether today’s immigration policies are helping or hurting the nation’s civic fabric. From nostalgia for Ellis Island to sharp criticism of mass resettlement policies, assimilation and shared civic norms — including pledging allegiance to the Republic — are non-negotiable for national unity. 16:00 The American Mamas are back together! After a wild stretch of floods, car troubles, and chaos, Kimberly Burleson rejoins Teri Netterville for a candid and fiery conversation about boundaries, truth, and common sense in a world that seems to have lost all three. In this episode, the Mamas share a surprising story about a massage appointment gone wrong — when “preference” meets “policy” and customer comfort gets dismissed in the name of virtue signaling. They also unpack Glamour UK’s controversial “Women of the Year” cover featuring transgender models and ask: how far can society bend reality before it breaks? If you'd like to ask our American Mamas a question, go to our website, AmericanGroundRadio.com/mamas and click on the Ask the Mamas button. 23:00 We dive into actor George Clooney’s surprising reversal — admitting that Democrats made a mistake pushing Joe Biden aside for Kamala Harris during the 2024 election. 26:00 We Dig Deep into another glaring example of failure under the Biden administration — a 54% surge in SNAP (food stamp) spending, now topping $120 billion a year. We unpack new revelations from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who says an internal review uncovered thousands of cases of EBT card fraud — from duplicate benefits across states to payments to the deceased. Even more alarming? Twenty-one states — nearly all Democrat-run — refused to share their data, with several even suing the federal government for asking where the money went. We contrast the left’s “compassion equals more checks” philosophy with a conservative vision of empowerment and accountability. True compassion lifts people up rather than locking them into dependence. 32:30 Get Prodovite from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20. 33:30 After nearly forty years in Congress, Nancy Pelosi is reportedly preparing to step away from politics — announcing she won’t seek re-election in 2026. We reflect on Pelosi’s legacy — from her two Trump impeachments and dramatic moments on the House floor to her role in deepening partisan division. 36:00 Plus, the U.S. Navy has manager 273 nuclear reactors over 6,200 reactor-years and 177 million miles — all with zero accidents, zero injuries, and zero environmental pollution, and that's a Bright Spot. 40:30 Violence continues in Chicago. Over Halloween weekend alone, at least 23 people were shot across the city. As President Trump calls to deploy the National Guard to restore order, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and federal courts have resisted — even as the Supreme Court signals growing concern. The people of Chicago will continue to suffer so long as they continue to vote for Democrats who hate Donald Trump. It's time for somebody to step up and say, "Whoa!" 42:30 And we finish off with Scott Johnson, a STEAM teacher at Red Cross Elementary in Kentucky, whose creativity and compassion changed a young boy’s life. Follow us: americangroundradio.com Facebook: facebook.com / AmericanGroundRadio Instagram: instagram.com/americangroundradio Links: Key races across U.S., redistricting at stake as voters head to polls Tuesday Secretary Brooke Rollins X Post - SNAP Fraud RealRobert X Post - Illegal Aliens Social Security Mike Netter X Post - States Refuse to send SNAP Data Shutdown Silver Lining: Brooke Rollins Reveals Staggering SNAP Benefits Numbers Andre Cote X Post - US Navy Nuclear ReactorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Velkommen til Elk Horn, Iowa – en lille by med omkring 650 indbyggere, kendt som Dane Country. Jeg bor hos lokale, spiser æbleskiver og medister til morgenmad, besøger en dansk mølle fra 1848 ,der er sejlet hele vejen fra Nørre Snede til Midtvesten, og ser hvordan dansk kultur stadig lever her. Jeg fortæller også historien om de danskere der i 1860'erne forlod alt, sejlede over Atlanten, kom gennem Ellis Island og slog sig ned på de åbne marker i Iowa for at starte et nyt liv. Lyt med – og hvis du vil se billederne og læse mere om turen, finder du det her: https://www.radiovagabond.dk/384-elk-horn-iowa-usa/

Steve and Willie from Ellis Island and Steve thinks about he should have middled a bet and Sports Gaming gets bashed and that's personal to Vegas. Are the Colts for real this year? And College Football firings?

Send us a textAlanis Morissette has a residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace and we were there opening night. This show is different than most Las Vegas shows but you will get your money's worth. It's more than 2 hours long and she mixes in storytelling, skits, dance and all the big hits! Dayna also went to the Venetian to see Earth, Wind and Fire. A must-see show if you love live music! Plus, Fontainebleau Las Vegas has an incredible wellness program... a state-of-the-art fitness center, award-winning spa, and a new wellness bar. People are really starting to enjoy healthy travel. We also tell you about the new F1 Arcade at The Forum Shops. Ellis Island also just opened The Deck Rooftop Bar. The views are great! It's all part of their ongoing renovations. Monsoon damage? Insurance company low-balling you? Call Jonathan Wallner of Galindo Law for a FREE Claim Review at 800-251-1533. If your home was damaged in the California wildfires, Galindo Law may be able to help you get more compensation. Call 800-251-1533 or visit galindolaw.com VegasNearMe App If it's fun to do or see, it's on VegasNearMe. The only app you'll need to navigate Las Vegas. Support the showFollow us on Instagram: @vegas.revealedFollow us on Twitter: @vegasrevealedFollow us on TikTok: @vegas.revealedWebsite: Vegas-Revealed.com

Steve and Alex from Ellis Island, Recapping the Football Weekend, Value take the Plus Money Mariners....and Steve Kim talking Football and Fighting Sports

It's 1903. This day, Teddy Roosevelt is visiting Ellis Island amid a fierce conversation about American immigration policy.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Andrew Porwancher of Arizona State to discuss how Roosevelt's views on immigration were always shifting, from a humanitarian instinct to electoral concerns to scientific ideas about racial superiority. They also discuss the blunt language used around race and immigration at the time, including Roosevelt's fears that the "right" kind of immigrants were commiting "race suicide."Andrew's new book is "American Macabee: Theodore Roosevelt and The Jews." It's available now!Sign up for our America250 Watch newsletter, where you'll also get links and lots more historical tidbits.https://thisdaypod.substack.com/Find out more about the show at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Lionel addresses the cancellation of the 81st annual New York City parade and then Lionel delves into heritage, immigration, and the American melting pot. Lionel and callers share powerful, nostalgic stories about their foreign-born grandparents (Sicilian, Greek, Azorean) who came to America—often through Ellis Island—with nothing, faced severe hardship (including quarantine, KKK threats, and the "black hand"), but persevered through hard work and bravery. The conversation highlights the resilient spirit of grandmothers (nonnas), the complexities of Italian and Portuguese dialects, and the love of "peasant food" like polenta and baklava. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How many stories died with our grandparents because we didn't ask in time? In this Bro History segment, we get personal: a 1950s interfaith marriage (Methodist → Catholic conversion), Irish/Polish/Ukrainian roots, Puerto Rican and Palestinian family lines, language barriers, Alzheimer's, and the regrets that come with unanswered questions. We talk about identity across faiths and borders, what we'd ask our grandparents today—from the Naqba to Cold War escapes—and why you should call yours now. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – 1950s taboo? Henry's Catholic–Methodist grandparents & a conversion 01:05 – NYC then vs now: Irish UWS, German Upper East Side 02:00 – How they met: Army base in Lawton, OK → marriage → NYC 03:00 – “Did her parents care?” Interfaith in practice, not theory 03:50 – The regret: we waited too long to ask real questions 05:00 – Danny's side: tracing lineage envy, Ellis Island vs no records 06:00 – Puerto Rican roots, indigenous/Afro-Caribbean threads, losing language 08:00 – Palestinian father's side, displacement, Jordan, U.S. arrival 10:00 – Only-in-America pairing: Catholic Puerto Rican x Muslim Palestinian 11:00 – Naming, faith, and why the relationship didn't survive 13:30 – Interfaith realities: Christian–Jewish common, Christian–Muslim rare 15:00 – Stakes of belief vs secular mixes; community & raising kids 17:00 – Growing up Catholic as a community center vs diverse church worlds 19:00 – What we'd ask: prejudice, context, and uncomfortable truths 22:00 – Henry's European grandfather: expelled from Kyiv, smuggled out by servants 26:00 – Bike-racing champion, Poland to America pre-WWII 29:00 – Don Manolo: the Cuban refugee who slapped Castro's brother (wild story) 31:30 – Call your grandparents. Seriously. Before memory fades. 33:00 – Boomers aren't just “ok boomer”: moon landings, Vietnam, and real grind

America saw a significant reverse-migration in the 1800s and 1900s, with 20–50% of Italian immigrants returning to Italy as ritornati and tens of thousands of Americans, including ideologues and workers, moving to Germany, Italy, and the USSR in the 1930s seeking political or economic opportunities. Some of these American expatriates were drawn to revolutionary movements in Europe and Asia, blending idealism with political activism Today’s guest is David Mayers, author of Seekers and Partisans: Americans Abroad in the Crisis Years, 1935–1941. We discuss alienated Americans who went abroad during the interwar years in search of a new home and/or to further deeply personal causes. They include John Robinson, a black aviator who in 1935 led the Ethiopian air force against the Italian invasion; Agnes Smedley, who joined the Chinese communists during the Sino-Japanese war; Helen Keller, an advocate of the seeing- and hearing-impaired; Ezra Pound, a lauded poet who championed Mussolini; and Anna Louise Strong, drawn to Stalin's USSR.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Larz and Carz return to the God's Country for another searing chapter in the RHOSLC saga. But first, they discuss Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's shocking split and Tiffany Pollard's entry into her non-binary era. Back in Utah, the Queen of Sundance strikes back at the naysayers in the only way she can: planning a premiere party for an HBO Max original film. Angie K visits her 89-year-old father, who recounts his harrowing journey from Greece to Ellis Island during WW2, inspiring her to expedite her path to Greek citizenship. Bronwyn introduces us to her own ailing mother, the cruelest lady in all of Salt Lake, as Heather begins to renovate her at-home office/lady cave. Then, Lisa assembles the group at the austere Blue Sky Lodge, where she doms them in the board room with a lesson on lawsuit dismissals, misinformation, triangulation, and the time-honored tradition of shitting on the Wild Rose.Chapters:00:00:00 It's Locktober.00:02:16 Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's shocking split00:19:42 Tiffany Pollard is non-binary00:21:53 RHOSLC Recap!Listen to this episode ad-free AND get access to weekly bonus episodes + video bonus episodes by joining the SUP Patreon. Watch video episodes of the pod on Thursdays by subscribing to the SUP YouTube. Relive the best moments of this iconic podcast by following the SUP TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Comedian Jordan Carlos joins Ophira Eisenberg to talk about parenting two kids with very different personalities—his 10-year-old daughter, a perfectionist baker supplied with Costco-sized vanilla extract, and his six-year-old son, who polices Halloween candy wrappers with post-it notes. Jordan shares how his daughter's three grandmothers got her hooked on baking, and how his son's sharp eye caught him sneaking Whoppers late at night. The conversation moves into the emotional leap from age eight to ten, the Simon & Garfunkel “Hello Darkness” phase, and balancing attention between siblings. Jordan also compares Black and White Thanksgivings—Dallas versus New Hampshire—while marveling at his in-laws' quiet avoidance of conflict. He tells a wild story about losing his wallet while paddle boating on Governor's Island, diving into the muck to retrieve it as his son scolded him for swearing. From babysitters drinking beer on the job to a childhood broken arm he let heal on its own out of fear of getting in trouble, Jordan reflects on rule-following, parenting negotiations, and the strange privileges kids have today. The episode ends with Jordan imagining how much more his kids might care about U.S. history if Taylor Swift told the story of Ellis Island.

If you teach American literature, chances are you're touching on the theme of the American Dream somehow, through book clubs, a poetry unit, a look at Gatsby, or an essential question that binds together a variety of genres and perspectives. So when I received this request for our Plan my Lesson series, "How about a fun way to introduce the American Dream unit for juniors, about 36 of them," I was ready. In today's episode, we're going to talk about how you might introduce the concept of The American Dream through a series of multimedia activities, first letting students choose which ones to explore, then letting them respond with multimedia of their own, creating a collage of dream experiences for the class to view. American Dream Text Possibilities (Starter List): Death of a Salesman Trailer (Royal Shakespeare Company) American Gothic Painting (Painting at The Art Institute of Chicago) Reyna Grande: A Migrant's Story (Video on Youtube) The Sun is Also a Star (Movie Trailer) "American Dream" (Video from the Beltway Poetry Slam on Youtube) "Let America be America Again" (Poem by Langston Hughes at Poets.org) "Immigrant Photos by Augustus Sherman" (Photos from Ellis Island at the National Park Service) "An American Sunrise" (Poem by Joy Harjo at Poets.org) "American Dreamers Mural" (Mural by Shepard Fairey and Vils, Photo at Obey Giant) - you'd want to pull the photo out of the blog post "Lincoln, Nebraska 1977" (Photo by Keith Jacobshagen at the Spencer Museum of Art) American Dream Exhibit (Punto Urban Art Museum) "Gold Mountain Dreams" (PBS: Bill Moyer's Becoming American: The Chinese Experience") "This Hill we Climb" (Amanda Gorman on PBS Youtube) "I hear America Singing" (Poem by Walt Whitman at The Poetry Foundation) Start-up Story: "Jerry Yang" (The Immigrant Learning Center) Multimedia collage response example (one illustration, one quotation, and an interpretive 6 word memoir):  Go Further:  Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Launch your choice reading program with all my favorite tools and recs, and grab the free toolkit. Join our community, Creative High School English, on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram.  Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend, snagging a screenshot to share on the ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!   

1. "Plentiful Country, The Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York" by Professor Tyler Anbinder details the experiences of famine Irish immigrants who arrived in New York between 1845 and 1850, highlighting their journey from hardship to significant socioeconomic advancement. A primary source for this account is the extensive records of the Immigrant Savings Bank. Unlike other immigrant records, such as those from Castle Garden and early Ellis Island, which were lost to fire, these "test books" captured detailed biographical information—including names, occupations, mother's maiden names, family members, and arrival details—used as a security measure in the absence of photo IDs. This data enabled the author to trace individual immigrant stories. The narrative begins with the devastating Great Potato Famine in Ireland, caused by a fungus that thrived in the cool, damp climate, destroying the staple crop on which much of the population depended. Fleeing starvation, many, often the strongest, endured perilous voyages. They frequently traveled through Liverpool, England, to access cheaper passage, only to face overcrowded and disease-ridden "coffin ships" across the Atlantic, where typhus and cholera were common. Arrival in New York was typically unceremonious, with immigrants disembarking directly onto docks before Castle Garden became a central reception point. Upon arrival, many Irish immigrants, like Bartholomew O'Donnell, initially found work as day laborers, often in physically demanding construction jobs in impoverished areas such as Five Points and its infamous Old Brewery. They also faced significant prejudice rooted in their Catholicism and racial stereotypes, exemplified by "no Irish need apply" notices and movements like the Know Nothing Party. Despite these challenges, the Irish displayed remarkable ambition, determination, and entrepreneurial spirit. They were diligent savers, motivated by the psychological scars of the famine to establish emergency funds in banks. The book provides numerous examples of their success: Captain James Kavanagh of the 69th Regiment (Irish Brigade) fought heroically in the Civil War, later finding a civil service position. The Lynches saved for a decade before moving west to become successful farmers in Minnesota, founding Irish communities. The Ruddics, after missing the gold rush in California, became landlords and real estate investors in San Francisco. Michael Quigley built a thriving boat business in New York Harbor, which his son Bill Quigley successfully continued. Tailor George Fox rose to prominence through savvy marketing, even creating clothes for figures like President Millard Fillmore. Most notably, Michael Failen, a billiards champion, and his son-in-law Hugh Colander patented an improved pool table cushion, mass-produced their high-quality tables, and became wealthy, even supplying President Ulysses S. Grant with a custom table. Anbinder's most significant discovery was the extent to which these famine Irish, often portrayed as permanently stuck in low-wage jobs, actively overcame discrimination and lack of education to climb the socioeconomic ladder through their immense resourcefulness and entrepreneurial drive. 1859 FIVE POINTS