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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comMusa is a sociologist and writer. He's an assistant professor in the School of Communication and Journalism at Stony Brook University. His first book is We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite. He also has a great substack, Symbolic Capital(ism).For two clips of our convo (recorded on October 9) — how “elite overproduction” fuels wokeness, and the myth of Trump's support from white voters — head to our YouTube page.Other topics: raised in a military family; a twin brother who died in Afghanistan; wanting to be priest; his stint as an atheist; converting to Islam; how constraints can fuel freedom; liquid modernity; going to community college before his PhD at Columbia; becoming an expert on the Middle East; getting canceled as a professor because of Fox News; his non-embittered response to it; engaging his critics on the right; my firing from NY Mag; the meaning of “symbolic capitalism”; how “white privilege” justifies the belittling of poor whites; deaths of despair; the dilution of terms like “patriarchy” and “transphobe”; suicide scare tactics; fairness in sports; books on wokeness by Rufo, Kaufmann, Caldwell, and Hanania — and how Musa's is different; Prohibition and moralism; Orwell's take on cancel culture; the careerism of cancelers; the bureaucratic bloat of DEI; “defund the police”; crime spiking after June 2020; the belief that minorities are inherently more moral; victim culture; imposter syndrome and affirmative action; Jay Caspian Kang's The Loneliest Americans; Coates and Dokoupil; Hispanic and black males becoming anti-woke; Thomas Sowell; and the biggest multi-racial coalition for the GOP since Nixon.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy (the first 102 are free in their entirety — subscribe to get everything else). Coming up: Damon Linker on the election results, Anderson Cooper on grief, David Greenberg on his new bio of John Lewis, Christine Rosen on humanness in a digital world, and Mary Matalin on anything but politics. Sadly Peggy Noonan can't make it on the pod this year after all. We tried! And a listener asks:Is Van Jones still coming on the show? You said he was going to, and now his upcoming interview hasn't been spoken about for the last few episodes.He said he would but his PR team put the kibosh on it. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com. Our episode with Sam Harris last week was a smash hit, driving more new subs than any other guest in a while. A fan writes:I always really like your conversations with Sam Harris. You always seem to bring out the best in each other.A listener dissents:On your episode with Sam Harris — besides the fact that it was an “interview” of you, not him — your insistence that Harris and Biden haven't done anything about immigration needs more investigation. For example, see this new piece in the NYT:The Opinion video above tells the little-known story of how Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris worked behind the scenes to get the border crisis under control. I found that they acted strategically, out of the spotlight, since the earliest days of the administration. They even bucked their own party and fulfilled Republican wishes, though they've gotten little credit for it. Their hard work finally paid off when illegal crossings dropped significantly this year.Sam said toward the end of the episode, “I hope we haven't broken the Ming vase here. … We both want a Harris presidency. … It's the least bad option.” I listen to Kamala all the time, and your rants against her are warranted and should be done, but honestly, the two of you have done more to smash the bloody vase than carry it!I tried to make it through that NYT op-ed video. It's an absurdist piece of administration spin. There was nothing to stop Biden enforcing his 2024 executive order in 2021. He didn't because his core policy is expediting mass migration, not controlling it. As for Harris, it's not my job to be her campaign spokesman. I know a lot of legacy journalists seem to think it's their job to push her over the finishing line. But that has never been my thinking. I'd like both Trump and Harris to lose. But if I had to pick one, it would be Trump. The idea of four years of Harris is soul-sucking.Sam is also putting the episode on his own podcast, so the conversation was intended to be a two-way “interview” — though the Dishcast in general is always meant to be a conversation. On the following clip, a listener writes:You're absolutely right. But this is so obvious, and the fact that Harris can't articulate what would clearly be advantageous to her indicates she is incapable of clearly articulating positions. She's turned out to be the same horrid candidate she was in 2019. Unfortunately.Another writes about that clip, “As a prosecutor she makes a great case against voting for Trump, but she doesn't have the defense attorney skills needed to make the case for herself.” This next listener has an idea for a Sister Souljah moment:Sam asked you what Harris could do in the final stretch, and you both agreed that she needed to show some independence from Biden and also distance herself from the craziness of the woke left. I want to point you to my latest Substack post, which points out an opportunity she currently has to do both in one press conference.In the past couple of weeks, the Biden Justice Department has sued the Maryland State Police, the Durham Fire Department, and the South Bend Police Department over “racially disparate” employment tests. They are testing skills such as literacy, basic math, and the ability to communicate, all in the context of doing the actual job. The DOJ is calling it discrimination because black people do worse on the test than white people. There is also a physical test where you have to prove you have the minimum level of fitness to do the job, and the DOJ calls that sexist because fewer women are able to pass.This is obviously complete insanity. Anyone but the wokest of the left understand that these jobs require standards, and that implementing any objective standards is likely to have a disproportionate impact on race and gender. While Maryland and Durham quickly settled the suits and signed consent decrees, South Bend is fighting it. South Bend is, of course, the hometown of former mayor Pete Buttigieg. Harris could schedule a campaign event in South Bend with Mayor Pete where she defends the South Bend police and pledges that a Harris administration will drop this suit and not prosecute any similar cases. This could be a “Sister Souljah moment,” as Sam called for. It would also show independence from Biden, since his DOJ has been filing these suits. It could bring the last few undecideds over to her side. Dream on, I'm afraid. This kind of race discrimination and abandonment of objective standards in hiring is at the heart of Harris' leftism. She hasn't renounced it. Au contraire. Here's another clip from the Sam pod:Another listener writes:I happen to subscribe to both the Dishcast and Sam's podcast, so I know you both well. I'm so surprised that you two can't understand the appeal of Trump to one half of the country. Let's be honest and clear: Trump voters care LESS about preserving the system as-is (the peaceful transfer of power) than about RESCUING the nation from the cancer of woke. It is almost completely cultural.Trump supporters despise the anti-white, anti-male, anti-Christian hatred that has been so deeply ingrained into our daily lives. We all live in terror for wrong thought and wrong speech. We feel disgust for being called racist, misogynist, xenophobic — with the knowledge that woke progressives control the apparatus of power in our media, corporations, entertainment, and education. It is cancer when our entire body politic has been so thoroughly invaded by this malignant force.We are sick of this cancer. Sick. Sick. Sick. Kamala is a shill of this force. Her tepid disavowals (and convenient pivot to the center) are not genuine. We know who she is. She protects and metastasizes this cancer into every touchpoint of our lives. Sam says she is “no woke Manchurian candidate,” but he is wrong. Even if he IS right, why should we trust her when she so clearly made her wokeness clear in 2019? We shouldn't.The left is cancer. Trump is radiation. No one wants cancer and no one wants the radiation, but that's where we are.I feel you. I do. It's what makes this election so painful for me. Another listener comments on “the subject of why the Democrats and Harris can't say what the majority of Americans want to hear on issue after issue”:Isn't the fundamental problem very simply that the Overton window of the Democratic Party doesn't allow it? Harris may know that Americans want to hear a defense of fracking, but can a Dem really speak in favor of fracking at a San Francisco dinner party and expect to be invited back? Can a Dem really speak against the trans activist position? Against DEI? Against abuse of asylum rules at the Southern border? Of course not. Those are not acceptable positions in Dem activist and donor circles. Contra what Michelle Goldberg tried to say when she was on your podcast, or what Rahm Emanuel told Sam Harris, the activist position sets the limits of acceptable discourse among Democrats.All of us who live in NPR-listening land know this. I would never say what I actually think about gender revolutionaries at a social gathering in my left-liberal community, because it'd be the last social event I'd ever attend. It might be safe to talk about the need for some actual policing these days — that issue might get a few cautious nods — but everyone in the room would be nervous, because who knows if one of these guests we've never met before who works at a nonprofit is going to turn out to be a social justice activist and trot out “systemic racism” and the carceral state and all the rest of it. Maybe Rahm and Michelle are right that most Democrats don't actually buy most of far-left activist thinking, but that doesn't mean it's okay to disagree. And remember, most Democrats are riddled with guilt about everything: climate change, systemic racism, patriarchy, theft of land from Indigenous peoples … it's all our fault, isn't it? So we need to be humble, check our privilege, and listen to the activists and their moral truths.By the way, I listened to your podcast with Sam only a week after finishing Tom Holland's Dynasty — about Caesar Augustus and his heirs through Nero. I know comparisons between America and ancient Rome can get tiring, but holy s**t: an elite appealing to the masses not as one of them, but as their tribune? Check. Entertainment value winning the day every time over serious speeches by humorless patrician elites? Check. Amusing the plebs by publicly humiliating the most esteemed senators, reducing them to flattery and groveling? Check. I'm not saying Trump is knowledgeable enough to copy a Caesar's playbook intentionally, but he seems to have stumbled on a remarkably similar (and similarly effective) approach.I have explored the Roman parallels myself. One more listener on the episode:The conversation with Sam Harris was really what we need right now: insightful and often humorous in light of the grave situation we face. It's not Trump I'm afraid of; it's everyone else. If Trump does not win, I fear there will be violence — and he won't even have to call for it this time. Whether it's business or politics, the leader sets the tone, and Trump's tone is angry and permissive of trampling perceived enemies. I don't think it's a stretch to predict self-formed Trump militias springing up as a pretense to defend election integrity, hunt down illegal migrants, or generally “keep order” where another organization has failed to do so. I pray that I'm wrong. Another thing to consider is that if Trump loses, we won't be rid of him. He's controlled the Republican Party and influenced the culture wars for the last four years, and we won't see that endSam brought up Nixon, and it's something I've been thinking a lot about in the Trump years. Watergate — the foolish break-in itself — was nothing compared to what Trump has said and done since 2016, but the scandal took down the president because the public perceived that the president's behavior was reprehensible to the office. Nixon KNEW he lied and had enough integrity to actually resign over it. I was a kid then and can remember how appalled people were by Watergate and thought of Nixon as a disgrace. How things have changed in 50 years.I'm also worried about leftist violence if Trump wins. Another writes, “I thought your episode with Tina Brown was tremendous”:She's an exceptionally astute and admirable woman. I immediately took out a full year to her new substack. It was touching to listen to the account of her model marriage to Harold Evans (I think the Sunday Times was at its greatest when he was the editor). And the description of her autistic son and their time together shows her to be a beautiful, loving mother, as well as a towering intellect.I particularly appreciated the comparison you both made of US to UK politicians:Like you, Andrew, I studied at Oxford in the mid-1980s and always felt that institutions like the Oxford Union (where I saw you, Boris, and Micheal Gove perform, amongst others), and later Prime Minister's Question Time, toughened up UK politicians to a degree that is unheard of in the US. I actually had the pleasure of witnessing Question Time live when Thatcher was PM. What struck me was not only the substantive issues raised during those sessions, but also the sheer brilliance of the repartee. Thatcher gave as good as she got, and she made mincemeat of the Labour opposition. Question Time compared to the deliberations of the fatuous Congress is like comparing Picasso's work to that of a 5-year-old finger painter. It doesn't even bear thinking about how Biden would cope in an environment like that, let alone Trump. Both you and Tina come from that glorious UK debating tradition, and it shines through consistently throughout the episode.My massive disappointment when I first watched the US House and Senate was related to this. So unutterably tedious. Another on the Tina pod:If not too late, perhaps this will offer some help to Tina Brown, as your other listeners have suggested communities for adults with special needs: Marbridge in Austin, TX. Our daughter is only 12 and she has a rare genetic condition that basically means she will not be able to fully integrate into society. We are in the process of learning about opportunities for her to have some level of independence as she ages, if she so desires.Here's a suggestion for a future guest:I'm glad you are gaining new subscribers, but I think it may be time to cull the herd and have on someone who will make the smugs' blood boil. The brilliant and caustic Heather Mac Donald — one of a few prominent conservatives to excoriate Trump for January 6th — is scrupulously honest yet merciless in attacking left-wing hypocrisies on topics ranging from race and policing to the DEI takeover of classical music.She sure is. Amy Wax anyone? Another rec:I know you have quit Twitter somewhat, so I am not sure if you know who Brianna Wu is, but I strongly suggest looking her up. Bari Weiss just interviewed her:I think you and Wu would be absolutely fantastic, and I think you would really like her — as would Dishheads.Yep, great rec — we're already planning to reach out to Wu. Another plug for a trans guest:In case you didn't see it, here's an interesting interview with a trans man, Kinnon MacKinnon, who researches detransition. I found it refreshing to hear someone speak about detransition from an empirical perspective. It's a real phenomenon that to date has either been denied by trans activists or turned into red meat for the right-wing. A fact of logic so often forgotten is that two things can be true at the same time. Thus, adults who are truly trans should be allowed to live the lives they want; AND society should protect children against fervent trans activists who would rush them into radical “gender-affirming care.” The reality of sex (as opposed to gender) needs to be more firmly established in the public's understanding. In short, we need more honest brokers in the discussion about trans issues if we are ever going to find the proper balance between allowing adults to make their own life decisions and respecting biological females on issues where sex (not gender) should be the overriding variable on which to make public policy and healthcare decisions. I don't know if Kinnon MacKinnon is truly an honest broker, but he seems to have potential. Perhaps you could consider him for a Dishcast.I passionately defend the right of trans adults to do whatever they need to make their lives as fruitful as possible. It's children — and children alone — I'm concerned with. On the topic of sex-changes for kids, a frequent dissenter writes:When confronted with evidence that only a minuscule percentage of kids in the US are being prescribed puberty blockers and hormones in the late 2010s, it's an artless dodge to try to reframe the discussion around the experiences of 124 kids who presented at a UK gender clinic in the 1990s, the vast majority of whom never transitioned at all. You cannot use that data to imply that the majority of kids being prescribed puberty blockers in America today are actually gay kids destined for detransition and regret. You are distorting the facts to fit your narrative.Time and time again, the evidence shows that there is no epidemic of “transing” gay youth.
Sports betting is now mostly legal, and, if you watch sports, its advertisements are inescapable. Now, a series of scandals has rocked the professional leagues. When everyone bets, odds are – someone will cross a line. Guest: Jay Caspian Kang, staff writer for “The New Yorker” and author of The Loneliest Americans. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sports betting is now mostly legal, and, if you watch sports, its advertisements are inescapable. Now, a series of scandals has rocked the professional leagues. When everyone bets, odds are – someone will cross a line. Guest: Jay Caspian Kang, staff writer for “The New Yorker” and author of The Loneliest Americans. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sports betting is now mostly legal, and, if you watch sports, its advertisements are inescapable. Now, a series of scandals has rocked the professional leagues. When everyone bets, odds are – someone will cross a line. Guest: Jay Caspian Kang, staff writer for “The New Yorker” and author of The Loneliest Americans. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sports betting is now mostly legal, and, if you watch sports, its advertisements are inescapable. Now, a series of scandals has rocked the professional leagues. When everyone bets, odds are – someone will cross a line. Guest: Jay Caspian Kang, staff writer for “The New Yorker” and author of The Loneliest Americans. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jay Caspian Kang, staff writer for The New Yorker, documentary film director, and the author of The Loneliest Americans (Crown, 2021), shares his thoughts on what he calls the "ideology of the internet" and its tangible effects on culture, democracy, institutions and our day-to-day lives. → Arguing Ourselves to Death
A wide ranging interview with The New Yorker writer, NPR correspondent, and author of “The Loneliest Americans.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jay Caspian Kang, staff writer for The New Yorker, documentary film director, and the author of The Loneliest Americans (Crown, 2021), offers thoughts about pressure, rejection and teen unhappiness in the context of college admissions in the TikTok age. → The Particular Misery of College-Admissions TikTok
Last weekend, a man shot and killed eleven people at a ballroom-dance studio in Monterey Park, California, an Asian enclave outside of Los Angeles. Then, less than forty-eight hours later, in Half Moon Bay, California, another man shot and killed seven Chinese farmworkers. Notably, both alleged killers were older men with Asian backgrounds. While mass shootings take place with mind-boggling regularity in America, these attacks also happened amid an alarming rise in hate crimes targeting people of Asian descent. Jay Caspian Kang, a New Yorker staff writer and the author of “The Loneliest Americans,” joins Michael Luo, the editor of newyorker.com, to discuss how these two types of American violence shape our understanding of such disturbing events.
Sharon Kleinbaum, senior rabbi and spiritual leader of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York City, Jay Caspian Kang, staff writer for The New Yorker, documentary film director, and the author of The Loneliest Americans (Crown, 2021), Eddie Glaude, Jr., chair of Princeton's African-American studies department and the author of Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own (Crown, 2020), on the verbal and physical expressions of hate in 2022, and how to combat it.
After a year with so much hate-motivated politics and violence, we take a step back with three perspectives on bigotry and hate movements, and on responding with love. On Today's Show:Sharon Kleinbaum, senior rabbi and spiritual leader of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York City, Jay Caspian Kang, staff writer for The New Yorker, documentary film director, and the author of The Loneliest Americans (Crown, 2021), Eddie Glaude, Jr., chair of Princeton's African-American studies department and the author of Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own (Crown, 2020), on the verbal and physical expressions of hate in 2022, and how to combat it.
Alex Wong is joined by Jay Caspian Kang to chat about his book “The Loneliest Americans,” discovering your Asian identity growing up, Linsanity vs. MC Jin's “Freestyle Friday” run, LL Cool J. vs. Canibus, the Raptors fan base, and how online conversations about basketball have changed over the past decade. Later, the two dive into their Western Conference tiers and chat about the Warriors' chances of repeating, if the Pelicans or Wolves can be a surprise team, and Jay's newfound Sacramento Kings fandom. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.
Hello from a Korean sublet! This week, our friend Jennifer Wilson joins us to discuss the art of cultural criticism and test out some takes on James Harden, Gramsci, and Russia. First, we discuss Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka's suspension and the ongoing fallout. What can fans' reactions teach us about today's top sports commentators and the proliferation of meme culture? Then, we glide seamlessly into a discussion of Italian communist Antonio Gramsci. Jen talks about furthering his mission to decode capitalist values in mass culture, and argues for the return of the true pan. We also explore the restraints of representation, the joy of grappling with stuff in messy ways, and what it means when POC content is a hit with privileged white audiences (the “Get Out” effect). Jen also discusses her Indian husband's lack of interest in “Indian Matchmaking” and her interview with ”Luster” author Raven Leilani. Finally, Jen, a Ph.D.-holding Russianist, briefly discusses what she's hearing about this stage of the war. We have a few fun events coming up for TTSG listeners and subscribers: This Saturday, October 1st: TTSG subscriber picnic in Seoul! Subscribe via Patreon or Substack to join our Discord and get the details. Thursday, October 13 (see below): A virtual talk on the U.S. military presence in Asia with Tammy in Korea, journalist and unionist Jonathan de Santos in the Philippines, and author Akemi Johnson (on Okinawa) in California. Register here! Thursday, December 1: TTSG LIVE with Hua Hsu, in NYC! The free RSVP will drop soon, but in the meantime, save the date. Also: Pre-order the paperback of Jay's book, “The Loneliest Americans.” And as always, feel free to email us (timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com) and follow us on Twitter! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe
Big Wos and Nando Vila are joined by journalist Jay Caspian Kang of the New York Times. They touch Roe v Wade, Jay's recent NYT's opinion pieces about elites monopolizing empathy and his book The Loneliest Americans Jay: https://twitter.com/jaycaspiankang The Loneliest Americans: https://www.amazon.com/Loneliest-Americans-Jay-Caspian-Kang/dp/0525576223 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Big Wos and Nando Vila are joined by journalist Jay Caspian Kang of the New York Times. They touch Roe v Wade, Jay's recent NYT's opinion pieces about elites monopolizing empathy and his book The Loneliest Americans Jay: https://twitter.com/jaycaspiankang The Loneliest Americans: https://www.amazon.com/Loneliest-Americans-Jay-Caspian-Kang/dp/0525576223 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week on the Handsell, Amanda recommends The Loneliest Americans by Jay Caspian Kang. Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Danny speaks with Jay Caspian Kang, writer at The New York Times and author of the The Loneliest Americans, about the history of Asian American Studies, the role of empire in shaping his perspective, contemporary progressive politics, and much more. Check out The Loneliest Americans here! Become a patron today for the full ep! www.patreon.com/americanprestige
Guest: Jay Caspian Kang is an author, a columnist for the New York Times, and co-host of the podcast, Time To Say Goodbye.Topic: Adrian and Jay discuss Jay's new book The Loneliest Americans, blindspots in progressive politics, when equity in education goes wrong, and the devastating effects of California's affordable housing crisis.
Millions of Asians have immigrated to the U.S. since a restrictive 1965 law was lifted. Jay Caspian Kang, writer-at-large for The New York Times Magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the evolution of what it means to be Asian-American – and about his own family's story as they moved across the country to find their footings. His book is called “The Loneliest Americans.”
Three men — White, Black, and Asian — discuss the nuances of identity that divide this country. A bonus episode, introducing a new podcast we love: “Some of My Best Friends Are…” Our host Kai Wright talks with Khalil Gibran Muhammed about the new show. And we share an episode in which Khalil and Ben Austen, two best friends who grew up together on the South Side of Chicago in '80s, talk with New York Times journalist and author Jay Caspian Kang about his new memoir, The Loneliest Americans, and his experience growing up Asian in America. Companion Listening: Listen to more episodes of the Some of My Best Friends Are... Podcast: “Some of My Best Friends Are… is a podcast hosted by Khalil Gibran Muhammad and Ben Austen, two best friends who grew up together on the South Side of Chicago in the 1980s. Today a Harvard professor and an award-winning journalist, Khalil and Ben still go to each other to talk about their experiences with the absurdities and intricacies of race in America. In Some of My Best Friends Are... with Khalil Gibran Muhammad and Ben Austen, they invite listeners into their unfiltered conversations about growing up together in a deeply-divided country, and navigating that divide as it exists today." “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at anxiety@wnyc.org.
This Day-After-Thanksgiving, some conversations about coming together, across differences: Jay Caspian Kang, opinion writer for The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine and the author of The Loneliest Americans (Crown, 2021), talks about how he thinks Asian-Americans -- a large and not monolithic group -- fit into American society. Celeste Headlee, author of Speaking of Race: Why Everybody Needs to Talk About Racism―and How to Do It (Harper Wave, 2021) draws on science and her own experience to offer guidance for having good conversations around issues of racial identity. Childhood friends Khalil Gibran Muhammad, professor of History, Race and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, and director emeritus of the Schomburg Center, and Ben Austen, journalist and author of High-Risers: Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing (Harper, 2018), talk about their new podcast, "Some of My Best Friends Are...," which examines race and racism through the lens of their interracial friendship. Tracy K. Smith, Pulitzer Prize winning poet, former Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019, author of Such Color: New and Selected Poems (Graywolf, 2021) and editor of The Best American Poetry 2021 (Scribner, 2021), shares some of the best recent poetry, her own and that of other poets, to end the show. These interviews were edited slightly for time, the original versions are available here: What Does the Label 'Asian-American' Really Mean? (Oct 7, 2021) Let's Talk About Racism (Nov 4, 2021) Race and Racism Through the Lens of an Interracial Friendship (Sep 14, 2021) Tracy K. Smith Reads 'The Best American Poetry 2021' (Oct 13, 2021) Tracy K. Smith Picks the Best Recent Poetry (Oct 14, 2021) Tracy K. Smith Shares Poems From Her New Collection (Oct 15, 2021)
John, Emily and David discuss Biden's approval numbers, authoritarianism on the rise, and they are joined by author Jay Caspian Kang to talk about his new book, The Loneliest Americans. Here are some notes and references from this week's show: FiveThirtyEight, Latest Polls Isaac Chotiner for the New Yorker: “Can Biden's Agenda Survive Inflation?” Jason Furman for the Wall Street Journal: “Biden Can Whip Inflation and Build Back Better” The Loneliest Americans, by Jay Caspian Kang Pew Research Center: “Where Do You Fit In The Political Typology?” Christopher Borrelli for the Chicago Tribune: “What We're Reading: 4 Korean American Memoirs, From Personal Stories To An Unsettling Confrontation on Identity and Assimilation” Anne Appelbaum for the Atlantic: “The Bad Guys Are Winning” Freedom House: “Freedom in the World 2021: Democracy Under Siege” The Dictator's Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy, by William J. Dobson Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest, by Zeynep Tufekci Zeynep Tufekci for the Atlantic: “How the Coronavirus Revealed Authoritarianism's Fatal Flaw” Here's this week's chatter: Emily: Ashley Southall and Jonah E. Bromwich for the New York Times: “2 Men Convicted of Killing Malcolm X Will Be Exonerated After Decades” John: The Faber Book of Reportage, by John Carey; The Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope audiobook David: Geoffrey Leavenworth for the New York Times: “One Chaste Marriage, Four Kids, and the Catholic Church”; Spencer Buell for Boston magazine: “New England Hidden Gems You'll Find on the New Atlas Obscura App”; City Cast Houston Listener chatter from Melissa Ocepek: A fox listens to the banjo For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David discuss the most useful friend to have. Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank. Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Khalil and Ben talk with New York Times journalist and author Jay Caspian Kang about his new memoir, The Loneliest Americans, and his experience growing up Asian in America. In this episode, the three men — one White, one Black, one Asian — discuss notions of identity that divide the country, and how one race experiences invisibility as a result. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
John, Emily and David discuss Biden's approval numbers, authoritarianism on the rise, and they are joined by author Jay Caspian Kang to talk about his new book, The Loneliest Americans. Here are some notes and references from this week's show: FiveThirtyEight, Latest Polls Isaac Chotiner for the New Yorker: “Can Biden's Agenda Survive Inflation?” Jason Furman for the Wall Street Journal: “Biden Can Whip Inflation and Build Back Better” The Loneliest Americans, by Jay Caspian Kang Pew Research Center: “Where Do You Fit In The Political Typology?” Christopher Borrelli for the Chicago Tribune: “What We're Reading: 4 Korean American Memoirs, From Personal Stories To An Unsettling Confrontation on Identity and Assimilation” Anne Appelbaum for the Atlantic: “The Bad Guys Are Winning” Freedom House: “Freedom in the World 2021: Democracy Under Siege” The Dictator's Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy, by William J. Dobson Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest, by Zeynep Tufekci Zeynep Tufekci for the Atlantic: “How the Coronavirus Revealed Authoritarianism's Fatal Flaw” Here's this week's chatter: Emily: Ashley Southall and Jonah E. Bromwich for the New York Times: “2 Men Convicted of Killing Malcolm X Will Be Exonerated After Decades” John: The Faber Book of Reportage, by John Carey; The Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope audiobook David: Geoffrey Leavenworth for the New York Times: “One Chaste Marriage, Four Kids, and the Catholic Church”; Spencer Buell for Boston magazine: “New England Hidden Gems You'll Find on the New Atlas Obscura App”; City Cast Houston Listener chatter from Melissa Ocepek: A fox listens to the banjo For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment Emily, John, and David discuss the most useful friend to have. Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank. Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Emma talks about some new releases for your radar. You might have heard of them, you might have not-- let her know if you've picked them up! Books mentioned: The Loneliest Americans, Jay Caspian Kang Not A Nation of Immigrants: Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure and Exclusion, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and The Pursuit of Freedom, Derecka Purnell We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice, Mariame Kaba Speculative Fiction for Dreamers: A Latinx Anthology, edited by Alex Hernandez A People's Future of the United States, edited by Victor LaVelle Iron Widow, Xiran Jay Zhao Light From Uncommon Stars, Ryka Aoki The Easy Life in Kamusari, Shion Miura Slug and Other Stories, Megan Milks Follow and support our host: Emma: Instagram Beyond the Box: Our weekly round-up of blog and podcast content delivered directly to your inbox every Friday This episode was edited by Phalin Oliver and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people. Original music by @iam.onyxrose Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.
In 1965, a new immigration law lifted a century of restrictions against Asian immigration to the United States. Over the next four decades, millions arrived, including Jay Caspian Kang's family. Kang is the author of The Loneliest Americans, a new book that explores Asian-American identity in a Black and white world. Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pPGoXog_CJU Follow Jay Caspian Kang: https://twitter.com/jaycaspiankang Follow Andrew Yang: Follow Andrew Yang: https://twitter.com/andrewyang | https://forwardparty.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Join us for a conversation with Jay Caspian Kang, who draws on a combination of family history and original reporting to explore—and reimagine—Asian American identity in a Black and white world. In 1965, a new immigration law lifted a century of restrictions against Asian immigrants to the United States. Nobody, including the lawmakers who passed the bill, expected it to transform the country's demographics. But over the next four decades, millions arrived, including Jay Caspian Kang's parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. The Loneliest Americans is the unforgettable story of Kang and his family as they move from a housing project in Cambridge to an idyllic college town in the South and eventually to the West Coast. Their story unfolds against the backdrop of a rapidly expanding Asian America, as millions more immigrants, many of them working-class or undocumented, stream into the country. At the same time, upwardly mobile urban professionals have struggled to reconcile their parents' assimilationist goals with membership in a multicultural elite—all while trying to carve out a new kind of belonging for their own children. Kang recognizes this existential loneliness in himself and in other Asian Americans who try to locate themselves in what he calls the country's racial binary. There are the businessmen turning Flushing into a center of immigrant wealth; the casualties of the Los Angeles riots; the impoverished parents in New York City who believe that admission to the city's exam schools is the only way out; the men's right's activists on Reddit ranting about intermarriage; and the handful of protesters who show up at Black Lives Matter rallies holding “Yellow Peril Supports Black Power” signs. Kang ties these various strands together amid a wave of anti-Asian violence and he adds his call for a new form of immigrant solidarity—one rooted not in bubble tea and elite college admissions but in the struggles of refugees and the working class. About the Speaker Jay Caspian Kang is a writer-at-large for The New York Times Magazine. His other work has appeared in The New York Review of Books and The New Yorker, and on "This American Life" and "Vice," where he worked as an Emmy-nominated correspondent. He is the author of the novel The Dead Do Not Improve, which The Boston Globe called “an extremely smart, funny debut, with moments of haunting beauty.” NOTES This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. SPEAKERS Jay Caspian Kang Writer-at-Large, The New York Times Magazine; Author, The Loneliest Americans Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter @msmichellemeow—Co-Host John Zipperer Producer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club—Co-Host In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 4th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Join us for a conversation with Jay Caspian Kang, who draws on a combination of family history and original reporting to explore—and reimagine—Asian American identity in a Black and white world. In 1965, a new immigration law lifted a century of restrictions against Asian immigrants to the United States. Nobody, including the lawmakers who passed the bill, expected it to transform the country's demographics. But over the next four decades, millions arrived, including Jay Caspian Kang's parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. The Loneliest Americans is the unforgettable story of Kang and his family as they move from a housing project in Cambridge to an idyllic college town in the South and eventually to the West Coast. Their story unfolds against the backdrop of a rapidly expanding Asian America, as millions more immigrants, many of them working-class or undocumented, stream into the country. At the same time, upwardly mobile urban professionals have struggled to reconcile their parents' assimilationist goals with membership in a multicultural elite—all while trying to carve out a new kind of belonging for their own children. Kang recognizes this existential loneliness in himself and in other Asian Americans who try to locate themselves in what he calls the country's racial binary. There are the businessmen turning Flushing into a center of immigrant wealth; the casualties of the Los Angeles riots; the impoverished parents in New York City who believe that admission to the city's exam schools is the only way out; the men's right's activists on Reddit ranting about intermarriage; and the handful of protesters who show up at Black Lives Matter rallies holding “Yellow Peril Supports Black Power” signs. Kang ties these various strands together amid a wave of anti-Asian violence and he adds his call for a new form of immigrant solidarity—one rooted not in bubble tea and elite college admissions but in the struggles of refugees and the working class. About the Speaker Jay Caspian Kang is a writer-at-large for The New York Times Magazine. His other work has appeared in The New York Review of Books and The New Yorker, and on "This American Life" and "Vice," where he worked as an Emmy-nominated correspondent. He is the author of the novel The Dead Do Not Improve, which The Boston Globe called “an extremely smart, funny debut, with moments of haunting beauty.” NOTES This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. SPEAKERS Jay Caspian Kang Writer-at-Large, The New York Times Magazine; Author, The Loneliest Americans Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter @msmichellemeow—Co-Host John Zipperer Producer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club—Co-Host In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 4th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Hart-Celler Immigration Act of 1965 lifted a century of restrictions against Asian immigration to the United States. And while not necessarily appreciated at the time, it inaugurated a sea change in American society, setting the nation on the course towards multicultural democracy. Asian Americans now represent the fastest growing demographic group in the country, and yet the category itself feels insufficient for the sheer scope of experiences, backgrounds and cultures it encompasses. What exactly does it mean to be Asian American at this moment? What does it mean for an America whose central axis of political conflict seems to hover over the color line? New York Times opinion writer Jay Caspian Kang probes these questions in his new book, “The Loneliest Americans.” The podcaster and son of Korean immigrants joins to talk about assimilation amidst a wave anti-Asian violence, increasing wealth gaps, limited representation and the need for more solidarity in pursuit of upward mobility.
Welcome to another episode of Radio New Bloom! Today we're excited to debut a new program, that we're calling New Bloom Happy Hour where New Bloom members get together to discuss a topic. Today we'll be discussing Jay Caspian Kang's new book, The Loneliest Americans, with a focus on the New York Times' excerpt of the book and the first chapter of the book. Participants in the discussion are SueAnn Shiah, Daniel Yo-Ling, Wen Liu, and Eathan Lai
Chris, Filip, and Adam form a makeshift book club after reading Jay Caspian Kang's "The Loneliest Americans." They particularly focus on the chapter on Asian American male online spaces, especially since it actually features Adam in one of its narrative arcs. Other points of discussion include what it would mean to listen more to working-class Asian Americans and why there was some Twitter controversy over this book by those who hadn't even read it. Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag TWITTER: Chris (@JesuInToast) Adam (@snbatman) Filip (@filipgwriting) REFERENCED RESOURCES: American Accomplice by Matthew Shen Goodman | n+1: https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-39/essays/american-accomplice/ SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com UA Theme: "Chairman Mao" by Bambu
Millions of Asians have immigrated to the U.S. since a restrictive 1965 law was lifted. Jay Caspian Kang, writer-at-large for The New York Times Magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the evolution of what it means to be Asian-American – and about his own family's story as they moved across the country to find their footings. His book is called “The Loneliest Americans.”
Tammy and Andy grill Jay about his new book, The Loneliest Americans! This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at goodbye.substack.com/subscribe
David talks with author Jay Caspian Kang about his new book, 'The Loneliest Americans,' a book that explores and reimagines Asian American identity.Support me on Patreon!Links:Buy The Loneliest AmericansFollow Jay Caspian Kang on TwitterWeekly RecommendationsDave Chappelle The Comedy RelicConcepcion by Albert Samaha This podcast is powered by Simplecast. Check them out at simplecast.com for a great podcast management and analytics solution.Let me know your feedback for the podcast by emailing culturallyrelevantshow(AT)gmail(DOT)com.Follow the show on Twitter.Find every episode of the show at CulturallyRelevantShow.com.
Hello! This week, we talk The Loneliest Americans and MSG, worker rebellion and infrastructure purgatory. (Apols for slight audio glitches.) This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at goodbye.substack.com/subscribe
In his new book, "The Loneliest Americans," Jay Caspian Kang sets out to challenge the assumed solidarity of Asian Americans of different classes and waves of immigration. What unites all the peoples from all the different places in the globe's largest continent? Maybe not enough to create a cohesive political unit, Kang argues. We'll talk with Kang, a staff writer for the New York Times Opinion page and New York Times Magazine, about his book, radical politics, and Berkeley through the eyes of a recent East Coast transplant.
Jay Caspian Kang, opinion writer for The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine and the author of the forthcoming The Loneliest Americans (Crown, 2021), talks about how he thinks Asian-Americans -- a large and not monolithic group -- fit into American society. Plus, shares his thoughts on the recent demographic shifts of many suburban school districts.