Podcasts about Lowell High School

Ongoing facility problems at Lowell High School's new athletic center has school administrators and city officials calling for more actions. For more, ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio.

Today, our host Roberto Germán sits down with graphic novelist Julio Anta and Lowell High School senior Junior Han for a compelling discussion that takes us deep into the world of storytelling, activism, and identity. Julio Anta, known for his impactful works like "Frontera," "Home," and "This Land is Our Land," shares his journey from childhood influences like Archie comics to creating graphic novels that vividly depict culturally rich narratives and social issues. In this episode, we'll explore how graphic novels can enhance learning through their visual storytelling—a concept that resonates with Roberto's appreciation for multimodal learning. You'll hear Julio speak about drawing inspiration from his personal and historical experiences, tackling themes like immigration and identity to fill gaps he noticed in children's literature. We'll delve into the educational value of graphic novels, how they help convey complex themes, and Julio's advice for educators on advocating for diverse texts in curricula. There's also a touching conversation about the significance of community, solidarity, and learning from historical figures during challenging times. Tune in to hear this insightful conversation on how graphic novels can serve as powerful tools for empathy, education, and understanding in our contemporary classroom. This episode promises to inspire, educate, and broaden your perspective on the transformative power of storytelling.

History of the Bay LIVE PODCAST with Black C (RBL Posse), Herm Lewis & T.C. on July 27th in San Francisco - grab tix here: https://www.ticketweb.com/event/history-of-the-bay-podcast-brick-and-mortar-music-hall-tickets/13735123 -- History of the Bay Episode 71: Fillmore Slim is respected worldwide as the Godfather of the Game. Growing up in Jim Crow-era Louisiana, Slim moved to California for a better life. Although he went to the prestigious Lowell High School and played in blues bands, he was attracted to the nightlife of Fillmore Street and entered into the pimp game. As a musician and a player, Slim came across the likes of Etta James, Ike and Tina, SF Mayors Willie Brown and London Breed, and rappers like Snoop Dogg and Suga Free. His experience in the entertainment industry includes being friends with Rudy Ray Moore aka Dolemite and turning down the lead in "The Mack." -- Sponsored by Stem Social https://stemsocial.io https://instagram.com/stem.social Also sponsored by Lost Soul Courier Collective - call or text (415) 275-1922 for free Narcan delivery in San Francisco https://lostsoulcouriercollective.org For more info contact @traceyh415 -- For promo opportunities on the podcast, e-mail: historyofthebaypodcast@gmail.com --- History of the Bay Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZUM4rCv6xfNbvB4r8TVWU?si=9218659b5f4b43aa Online Store: https://dregsone.myshopify.com Follow Dregs One: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1UNuCcJlRb8ImMc5haZHXF?si=poJT0BYUS-qCfpEzAX7mlA Instagram: https://instagram.com/dregs_one TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@dregs_one Twitter: https://twitter.com/dregs_one Facebook: https://facebook.com/dregsone415 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historyofthebay/support

In the wake of a “major Summit” on Ukraine which neither the Russians nor the Chinese attended, the war remains as murky and inconclusive as ever. And it's this murkiness and inconclusiveness that the San Francisco based writer Sasha Vasiljuk explores in her new novel, Your Presence is Mandatory. But Vasiljuk's semi-autobiographical, semi-fictional canvas focuses on more than just Putin's invasions of Ukraine. It's a sweeping panorama of the last seventy-five years of Ukrainian history - although there's nothing particularly sweeping or panoramic about the awkward secrets that Vasiljuk digs up in this most most morally murky of geographies.Sasha Vasilyuk is a journalist and author of the debut novel Your Presence is Mandatory (Bloomsbury) about a Ukrainian Jewish WWII soldier and his family who reckon with his lifelong secrecy. The novel will also come out in Italy, France, Germany, Finland and Brazil in Fall 2024. Sasha grew up between Ukraine and Russia before immigrating to the U.S. at the age of 13. She has a MA in Journalism from New York University and her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, CNN, TIME, Los Angeles Times, Harper's Bazaar, BBC Radio, USA Today, KQED, San Francisco Chronicle, The Telegraph, and Narrative. She has won several writing awards, including the Solas Award for Best Travel Writing and the NATJA award. Besides writing, she has founded a leading wedding PR company and the first coworking space in San Francisco. She also spent a year traveling alone around the world. Sasha is a graduate of Lowell High School, UC Berkeley (BA in Comparative Literature and Italian Studies), and New York University (MA in Journalism). She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Justice Stephen G. Breyer returns to the City Arts & Lectures stage to discuss his first book since retiring from the United State Supreme Court, Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not TextualismDuring his 28-year tenure on the United States Supreme Court, which began with his appointment by President Bill Clinton in 1994, Justice Stephen G. Breyer authored 551 opinions. As a liberal voice in the federal judiciary, he has played a key role in reforming criminal sentencing procedures, protecting the environment, and preserving abortion rights. In 2022, Justice Breyer was succeeded by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, his former law clerk. The Justice credits his time at Lowell High School in San Francisco for helping to instill in him a commitment to civic engagement. Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism is his first book since retiring from the Supreme Court.Sarah Isgur is a legal analyst at ABC News and a staff writer for The Dispatch. She was a leader in political campaigns for Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, and Mitt Romney, and was the spokeswoman for The Department of Justice under former President Donald Trump. Isgur now hosts the legal podcast Advisory Opinions and is the “R” panelist for KCRW's Left, Right, & Center.

Notes and Links to Sasha Vasilyuk's Work      For Episode 234, Pete welcomes Sasha Vasilyuk, and the two discuss, among other topics, her childhood in Ukraine, Russia, and then San Francisco, her experiences with multilingualism, early formative and transformative reading, seeds for Your Presence is Mandatory, including the ways in which Ukrainian Jewish grandfather's experiences informed the book, gender balances in the USSR post-WWII, humanity and the ways it's expressed in the book, connections between contemporary separatist movements and World War II, and salient themes like grief, trauma, and the ways in which secrecy affects generations.         Sasha Vasilyuk is a journalist and author of the debut novel Your Presence is Mandatory about a Ukrainian Jewish WWII soldier and his family who reckon with his lifelong secrecy, which is coming out in 2024. Sasha has written a lot about Eastern Europe, art, culture, travel and business. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, TIME, NBC, Harper's Bazaar, BBC Radio, USA Today, KQED, San Francisco Chronicle, The Telegraph, Los Angeles Times, and Narrative. She has won several writing awards, including the Solas Award for Best Travel Writing and the NATJA award. Besides writing, she has founded a leading wedding PR company, the first coworking space in San Francisco, and the first U.S. magazine for Russian-speaking emigre teens. She also spent a year traveling alone around the world. Sasha is a graduate of Lowell High School, UC Berkeley (BA in Comparative Literature and Italian Studies), and New York University (MA in Journalism). She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children.   Buy Your Presence is Mandatory     Sasha's Website   Review of Your Presence is Mandatory in Los Angeles Review of Books     At about 2:55, Sasha talks about her language background, early life  At about 6:00, Sasha talks about early reading through talking about a trip to her San Francisco childhood home At about 9:00, Pete tests Sasha's British English and NorCal slang and Sasha talks about her experiences in ESL in school At about 10:40, Sasha responds to Pete's questions about if and how Russian enhances/affects her English writing At about 13:15, Sasha shares her thoughts on A Woman Warrior and other formative and transformative texts At about 16:20, Sasha highlights contemporary and not so contemporary books that challenge and inspire her, including Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate and Yaa Gaasi's Homegoing At about 19:10, Sasha shares a cool story about the origin of her cover At about 21:35, Sasha gives background on the book's seeds At about 26:20, Sasha shares how Masha and other voices are important in the book At about 27:20, Pete provides some of the book's exposition and how a famous Yevtushenko poem is related  At about 28:45, Pete wonders about atheism and its connection to the Soviet Jews and Christians featured in her book At about 32:10, Pete provides information on key characters in the book, especially Yefim and Niña, and Sasha addresses the note from the book that is a catalyst for important events in the book At about 34:00, The two discuss Baltic/Soviet Union history that informs a lot of the book's key events At about 38:45, Sasha discusses the peculiarities of gender balance (due to the massive death from the WWII-era) that inform the relationship between Yefim and Nina and so many in the book and in real-life At about 42:55, The two discuss Stalino/Donetsk, which features in the book prominently  At about 44:20, Pete reflects on how a possible extramarital affair is so suggestive of the secrecy of the post WWII Soviet Union At about 45:00, Pete's wondering about Yefim's avoiding admittance of his Jewishness and how it paralleled Sasha's grandfather; her response deals with a key question that propelled  At about 50:20, Pete compliments Sasha's fresh take on the events of history/the book  At about 51:40, Pete highlights a key and well-drawn scene that takes place within Germany, and Sasha recounts her experiences in traveling in Berlin and Germany as a whole, and how humanity and nuance come into play  At about 57:20, Pete brings up The Book Thief in praising the ways in which Sasha portrays humanity and the closeness of history  At about 59:15, Sasha discusses her “post-pub weird mental state” and future projects     You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.    I am very excited about having one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review-I'm looking forward to the partnership! Look out for my interview with José Vadi sometime around May 17.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!       This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 235 with Lindsay Hunter, whose novel, DON'T KISS ME, was published by FSG Originals in 2013 and was named one of Amazon's 10 Best Books of the Year: Short Stories; her latest novel, Eat Only When You're Hungry, was a Book of the Month Club selection, a finalist for the 2017 Chicago Review of Books Fiction Award, and a 2017 NPR Great Read. She has been a great help to me as the marvelous host of the podcast I'm a Writer But; her fifth book, 2023's Hot Springs Drive, was named one of the 12 Best Thrillers of the Year by the Washington Post.  The episode will go live on May 22.  Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

In this edition of Big Deal/No Big Deal, Fauria and Andy Hart talked about Lowell High School's new cell phone policy.

Lowell High School is the latest school to combat teen phone usage in the classroom, causing pushback from many students.

For the past six years, teacher Jessica Lander of Lowell High School has worked with immigrant students in her U.S. History 2 seminar to write a cookbook. Each student brings a recipe from home. We hear from Lander, along with two students, about this year's book and what their dishes mean to them.

Join us on today's riveting episode of 'The Adams Archive,' where host Austin Adams delves into a medley of current, hard-hitting topics. We begin with an extraordinary event in the political arena: Senator MarkWayne Mullins' open challenge to fist fight a Teamster boss during a Senate hearing. Austin provides a unique analysis of this rare display of raw emotion in politics, examining the intricate backstory of these two figures and the implications of their confrontation. Shifting gears, we explore Elon Musk's bold stance against the 'woke mind virus.' Austin breaks down Musk's recent comments and actions, discussing their broader impact on cultural and corporate landscapes. This segment promises to provide an insightful look into the intersection of technology, culture, and free speech. The episode then navigates the complexities of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Austin offers a nuanced perspective on the recent developments in this longstanding geopolitical struggle. Listen in as he dissects the intricacies of this conflict, including the global reactions and the profound consequences on regional stability. In addition to these thought-provoking discussions, Austin will share his personal experience of being confronted and harassed for his views, offering a candid reflection on the current state of public discourse. Don't miss this episode packed with deep dives into politics, technology, and international affairs. Subscribe now, leave a five-star review, and join Austin Adams on this journey through some of today's most pressing issues in 'The Adams Archive.' All the links: https://linktr.ee/theaustinjadams Substack: https://austinadams.substack.com ----more---- Full Transcription  Adam's Archive.   Hello, you beautiful people, and welcome to the Adam's Archive. My name is Austin Adams, and thank you so much for listening today. On today's episode, we have a lot to catch up on. There's been some wild stuff that's happened over the last week and a half or two weeks since our previous episode, and I'll catch you up on... All of it, at least all of it that I'm interested in. And the very first thing I'm interested in this week is going to be that there was a Senator, Senator Mark Wayne Mullins, who actually challenged a Teamster boss to a fist fight on a Senate hearing of the Senate floor during a hearing. Um, and personally, I think this should probably happen more often as it did.  A long time ago. Uh, so we'll dive into what actually happened in that exchange. The bad blood between this Senator and the Teamster boss, as well as diving into Markway Mullins previous history. Cause this man was actually a MMA fighter. Uh, so probably not the guy that.  You would want to mess with if you were some fat, bald, uh, bald old dude like this Teamster boss was. Uh, so, my money is on Senator Mullins. That's all I gotta say. So we'll dive into that. We'll actually break down some of his MMA fights, um, and dive deeper into the bad blood because it goes back months and months ago where this exchange originally happened that got brought to The Senate floor just a couple days ago,  after we address that, we will also jump into the next topic, which is going to be that there is a overwhelming well, and I guess, yeah, the next article after that, we'll have a few small quick ones. First of all, apparently some people think that white people that are generated by AI look more real than photographs. Uh, so there was a, basically this, um,  statistical study that showed that if people were generated, like if there was images generated by AI and they were white, according to white people, it was harder to decide who was real and who was AI. Which is interesting. So we'll talk about that and how they tried to spin this into somehow AI is now racist, I guess? Hmm. Anyways,  after that, we will dive into another article, which is all about, uh, the majority of Americans taking notice in the rise of tipflation across industries.  And it's all about when you go to every single place ever now, whether they give you service or not, or you're just. paying for gas. It seems like everybody's asking you for a tip, asking you for a handout. I don't think that's how this works. And it drives me nuts. So we'll talk about that. After that, we will go into the police arresting the ex  arresting the  hockey player. I believe this was in the  ECHL, not the East Coast Hockey League, but the European League, I believe we talked about it in the last podcast, but they actually arrested the guy who ended up having his Gate hit the guy's throat and ended up in the death of Adam Johnson.  So we will discuss that, and I still hold true to my thoughts on that. So, uh, I, I don't believe that that was rightful for them to do So. Uh, there was a California team who was suspended from school for wearing, uh, the black, uh, paint on his face during a football game, which everybody all knows what I'm talking about, right under your eyes.  was suspended from school for wearing that because the principal says he was wearing blackface.  After that, we will dive into some of the conversation that was had between Elon Musk and Lex Friedman, including his thoughts on the Israel and Hamas war, leading us into a conversation about a poll that was done around people's support or lack thereof of what is happening by Israel. Then we'll jump into a discussion of, uh, between Theo Vaughn and Dana White. So all of that and more. And at the very end, I have a little interesting tidbit about, uh, the interstellar movie that I thought was interesting. Let's jump into it. But first, go ahead and hit that subscribe button, leave a five star review. I appreciate you being here from the bottom of my heart. I love, love, love doing this for you guys. And I don't ask for much. I don't even give you advertisements.  I'm making nothing off of this conversation right now other than the joy of knowing that you're about to hit that subscribe button. You're about to leave a five star review. And I'll even tell you a story about how I was chased down, harassed after being noticed by some liberal in a bar recently last night, to be exact.  And we'll talk about that. So,  uh, all of that more hit the five star review button, subscribe. That's all I got. And let's jump into it.  The Adams archive.  All right. So the very first thing that we're going to talk about today is that there was a senator who challenged a teamster boss to a fist fight on the Senate floor, only to be stopped by the one and only Bernie Sanders, who would have thought that that man would be the voice of reason,  but let's go ahead and watch this clip. And then I will give my opinion on what happened because.  You probably know my stance. I think they should have thought it out.  First for you here, here is the article. Let's go ahead or the video actually. Let's go ahead and take a look and watch this. Clip together. Um,  and here we  go. So actually I'll read you a little bit about the article because Bernie Sanders is going off here in the background, but it says that a Congress, a congressional hearing devolved into an angry confrontation between Senator and a witness on Tuesday after Republican Senator Markway Mullen of Oklahoma challenged Sean O'Brien, the president of the international brotherhood of Teamsters, otherwise known as unionized mob boss. Uh, To stand your butt up and settle ongoing differences right there  in the room.  Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, uh, the chairman of the Senate panel that was holding the hearing yielded at Mullen to sit down as he challenged O'Brien to a fight. Mullen had stood up from his seat at the dais and appeared to start taking his ring off.  Might be a good move to leave it on, actually, I'm, you know, cut him up a little bit. This is the time, this is the place, Moen told O'Brien, after reading a series of critical tweets O'Brien had sent out about him in the past. If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults and we can finish it right here.  And here is...  Video for you.  It's quite different, but after you left here, you got pretty excited about the keyboard. In fact, you  tweeted at me  one, two,  three, four.  Five times. And let me read what the last one said. Um, it said, greedy CEO who pretends like he's self made.  Sir, I wish you was in the truck with me when I was building my plumbing company myself and my wife was running the office because I sure remember working pretty hard and long hours.  Pretends like he's self made. What a clown. Fraud. Always has been, always will be.  Quit the tough guy act and these Senate hearings. You know where to find me. Anyplace, anytime, cowboy.  Sir this is a time, this is a place. If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults, we can finish it here. Okay, that's fine. Perfect. You want to do it now? I'd love to do it right now. Well, stand your butt up then. You stand your butt up. Oh, hold on. Oh, stop it. Is that your solution every poll? No, no, sit down. You  know, you're a United States Senator. Actively. Okay, sit down, please. All right. Can I respond? Hold it. Hold it.  If we can't, no, I have the mic. I'm sorry. This is what he said. You'll have your time. Okay. Can I respond? Oh, no, you can't.  This is a hearing,  and God knows the American people have enough of contempt for Congress. Let's not make it worse. I don't like thugs and bullies. I don't like you, because you just described yourself.  Hold it.  You have the mic. You have time. Make your statement. And let's do this, because I did challenge you, and I accepted your challenge.  And you went quiet. No, I didn't go quiet. was... No, hold on. You challenged me to a cage match acting like a 12 year old schoolyard bully. Hold it. Hold it. No, excuse me. I will say, I will say exactly what you said. Senator Mullen, I have the mic.  You have questions on any economic issues, anything that's said, go for it. We're not here to talk about physical abuse. You brought him here. We're not talking about... Of course I did. And let me tell you, let me show you his hearing, because I want to, I want to expose this thug. To who he is and you're not pointing me. That's disrespectful. All right. I don't care about respecting you at all. I don't respect you at all So hold it. Hold it. No  You don't want to hold it the most all day. Please act it please. All right  This is a excuse me. Mm hmm. This is a hearing to discuss Economic issues. All right, if you have questions for mr. O'Brien or anybody else on what  He has said, go for it, but we're not here to talk about fights or anything else. I'm quoting exactly what he said and say what you want. This is, this is your, this is your witness. You brought it. Let me, I'm, I'm exposing him. You can talk anything you want. So in 2013,  in 2013, O'Brien was suspended by the Teamsters for intimidating your own members. In 2014,  uh, you were, um. Uh,  part of, what would you say, organizing the harassment and intimidation of the top shelf crew? Chef, not chef.  Oh, top, oh, top, top chef, okay. And then, uh, and I think in the reports it says sexual racist and homophobic slurs and death threats. Fourteen tires were sliced and five teamsters were arrested and you said, well, I had nothing to do with it. But however, in that same statement, you said, but if I get called to test file, plead the fifth. This is, this is what, this is a witness you brought in here.  In 2017, you were removed as lead negotiator by then president Hoffa for UPS for your actions. And then in 22, when this guy was elected, what he said after he got elected was he wanted to bring the mob mentality back to the teamsters. This is your guy. And you're obviously going to give him a chance to respond to your questions. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Because this is my question. Because you called me out. I didn't call you out. You said any time, any place. That's that. Let's get the record straight. Miss, hold it. No, hold on. Senator Mullen. Do you have a question for the witness? Yeah. Okay, let's let's hear it. And there  you go. Absolutely hilarious  that that's what just went on. But honestly, I like it. I think that, I think that we should probably have more fist fights in the Senate. Just like, If you go back 100 years, 150 years ago, senators were literally dueling in the streets, killing each other. Go back and look at Andrew Jackson. How many duels did that man win? How many fistfights did he get in for arguing about politics, which is should be passionate like that, right? So if this mobs boss, this teamster boss wants to run his mouth on Twitter, and then all of a sudden hide behind Bernie Sanders, when this guy actually wants to do something about it face to face,  that's what we call a coward, right? You want to run your mouth until you're face to face with somebody. Maybe just don't run your mouth. Right? If you're not the big, tough guy that you think you are, maybe don't say anything to somebody who you know nothing about because what it turned out is that this man  was actually an ex MMA fighter. And you're really not an ex MMA fighter, you know, to me is like, you still can fight. Maybe you don't actively engage because the guy's probably like 45, 50, maybe, but he's an MMA fighter, right? You see a little bit collier on this end of there. Right? So, I think this is awesome. I think there should be more fistfights in Senate. I think that the reason that it's shaped like a circle is for everybody to watch as two Senators fistfight or a Senator and a Teamster mob boss who are talking shit on Twitter get together face to face and actually do something about it. Because imagine how much shit would be, how much less shit would be talked on Twitter if you had more people Like Senator Mullins out there willing to actually confront people when they're seeing them face to face.  So speaking of, I'll take a little sidetrack here. Speaking of seeing people face to face, I was at last night, I was at a, uh, business, uh, networking event. Um, I, I do have a life outside of this podcast guys. I do have a family and children to feed. So I do, I am in a professional environment and. In that professional environment, I have to go out and speak to people and promote my business and, uh, build the business and have connections with other people. Now I don't talk about my business very much here because I don't see much of a need to yet. But  in this case, I was walking around doing some networking at a nice bar, had a beer in my hand, and all of a sudden I have this guy out of nowhere go, Austin Adams, the far right. Podcaster didn't expect to see you here. Why are you here, Austin? This is a blue state. You don't belong here. You hate gay people. You hate transgenders. You, you don't agree with this and that, and just. heart straight up harassing me loudly belligerently drunk man who could barely string a sentence together, uh, let alone formulate a proper argument to back up his criticisms of my alleged positions, which he seemed to have wrong more than right, but he also seemed to have followed my stuff for a fairly long time, which is really interesting. Um, if you ever see me out and about, come say hi, uh, I'll shake your hand. I'd love to talk to people. I've had several, several, several people come up to me and notice me just walking around, whether it's an event or, you know, I had somebody come up to me and I talked to for a long time at Jordan Peterson. You know, it's, there's, there's some, I love interacting with you guys. So  if you want to get belligerent and you don't like me, that's fine too. Cause Guess what, bitch? Just like Senator Mullins, I ain't scared. Come up and say hi. Tell me what you disagree with. I'd love to have a conversation with you. So anyways, this guy comes up to me belligerently drunk, starts yelling across this bar at a nice, nice bar  at a nice,  well put together networking event. And, uh, And so this guy follows me around the bar because I just go are you here for business or are you here for politics? I'm confused and Just just tried to walk away from the guy and he follows me follows me follows me and start keeps Yelling belligerent shit at me And so finally I set my beer down and I just turn and face him because this guy wasn't going anywhere and I obviously wasn't in any physical danger with this belligerent  out of shape older man  So, I put my beard down, and I faced the guy, and I go, Okay, what do you want to talk about, man? What is it? What is it? What am I, what do you think about my positions, since you know them so well? First of all, he starts off with the fact that I hate gay people, and don't think gay people should get married. I don't agree with gay marriage. Which...  It is not my opinion. I think gay people should be able to do whatever they want. I think they should get married. I think that the marriage that we have today is essentially a tax write off. And they should be able to have just as much of a tax write off depending on their sexual orientation as anybody else. And honestly, the gays are the homies now.  You have the trans agenda that I think everybody, whether you're straight or gay, can agree with is the problem, not sexuality, right? And this is, you know,  you look at the,  uh, you go into animalistic, uh, Parallels, right? Animal kingdoms. And you look at, okay, there's absolutely, uh, homosexual tendencies within the animal kingdom. But I don't think you see anywhere a hippopotamus throwing on a tutu and putting lipstick on its face and calling itself a rhino.  I don't think that's directly comparable. Um, but essentially that's what it's doing, right? Um,  So, you know, to me, the, the, the gay agenda, the gay whatever, I don't care. Do what you want to do. I totally think that you should have every right that straight people have. I don't think there should be any, I don't know, I think basically, literally, everybody agrees with that, unless you're a super evangelical, you know. Very, very right conservative. Hyper old school conservative. I think basically everybody agrees that gay people should be able to do whatever they want, whenever they want, as long as it's not shoving your education about sexual tendencies down my child's throat in school, which you haven't done at all, so nobody's saying shit about that.  Then he goes into about the trans agenda. Right, he starts talking about, oh, you hate trans people, and again, how many times will I say this? I don't hate trans people. I, in fact, think there's probably a certain portion of trans people that I'm empathetic to. I think it's an obvious mental illness that I couldn't imagine dealing with, where you feel stuck in this body that isn't yours. And, and, Again, I think that's maybe a 30, 20 percent of, it probably gets smaller and smaller percentages the day, that actually have legitimate gender dysphoria, where they live in the wrong body according to them. And I can't imagine being stuck in that frame of mind. And I'm sure it's mental torture every day to wake up thinking that you should be this when you're that. I'm empathetic to that.  But I also think that they're being taken advantage of for medical pharmaceutical profits. I also think that, you know, we talk about the 20 percent of actually having gender dysphoria. I think there's about 80, 70, I don't know. I'm throwing fucking numbers out there for you guys. But I do think there's a, there's a larger percentage than not that is doing it for attention. That is doing it because That's the new thing. It makes them important. It gives them a reason to wake up every day and be better than you. That, that makes them feel special on the inside.  And that I have no empathy for you. I, I, I, I don't hate you. I don't have a reason to hate you, but I don't have empathy for you. And I, and then I think there's a smaller subsection of that. That's looking, both looking for attention and then also trying to peddle a pedophilia. Uh, agenda down the throat of children, which is, you know, maybe it's not the majority of that percentage, but who knows, you know, but we see it consistently every day. You see a new thing come out about that. So yeah, those are the people I don't like is the people who think that you should shove the trans agenda, hyper sexualization of children down the throats of, of young children  at a very early age. At really any age, you shouldn't talk to my child about sexual orientation, or gender binary, or this or that, or how to give a blowjob, at all. Because guess what? That makes you a pedophile creep.  And I don't like pedophile creeps. Whether you think you're a boy and you're a girl, or you think that you're a rhinoceros when you're a hippopotamus. I, I just, that's where I stand on the trans agenda, so let's be very clear on that.  And then next he gets into, you know, uh, all these other things that he just assumes my position on and I've said this before, I, I'm much more, more, uh, when it comes to political affiliation, probably more on the side of libertarian than I am on the side of, you know, extreme conservatism. And I think that the government is essentially bad at almost everything that it does. And the more that you give the government, the more that they're going to want to take and that. Most of the government shouldn't exist. That's my position. Um,  but with that comes not intervening in people's lives, including gay people, including, you know,  I just don't think the government should have their hand in things that aren't about  eliminating the golden, or, you know, uh, people from trespassing on other people's body and property. That's essentially where I stand. I, you know, everything else is inflated. There should be some social programs for people who are disabled. There should be some social programs for people who make a lower income, um, who are intellectually incapable of earning a better living. I think there's some of that to be had. Uh, but I don't think that the government is essentially very good at anything that it's ever done, almost ever as a whole. And I think it's comprised of traditionally. And and historically corrupt individuals who are very bad at what they do and only align their positions with where the money That funded them came from  so it's a flawed  system to begin with  so that doesn't really put me on the side of Extreme far right, you know like it's just not where I land and if you think that you'd probably just don't listen enough And you know if you think that are you know? And then this is the thing too because we've seen my opposing opinion several times irk people who think I am And this or I am that  And it's like, I am me. I have my own opinions on basically every topic. I don't align with a political affiliation in the way that I view most things as non political. I don't think trans is a political issue. It doesn't have to do with the government or politics. It's a social issue, and it's, it's a dangerous one, and it's a part of this woke mind virus that we'll listen to Elon Musk talk about in a little bit, and I don't think that's a political affiliation to have a problem with the, the, the mind virus that is Woke ideology, which is permeating across the entire consciousness of American culture, which is killing the once great nation that we were.  That's where I stand on that. So anyways, this guy follows me around and all of a sudden, you know, I'm, I'm, you know, not being hyper aggressive back and I just ask him, are you here for business or are you here for politics? Do you actually know my positions or are you assuming? Because I think... You're wrong on this. I don't think that. I do think this. I, I, you know, something that we talked about abortion and I said, yeah, absolutely. I don't think that the government, I think the government should because he, I said, I'm more libertarian than I am  traditional conservative and he goes, Oh, well, then you must think that, uh, you know, you probably voted this on that about abortion. And, uh, you know, I said, I think that the government should have a place in stopping the ending of human life. And I do believe that a baby in the womb is a baby and is of value and shouldn't be murdered senselessly for your own, statistically speaking, comfort. Or, uh,  lack of maturity.  Again, that's my position. So anyways, that was my, and by the end of this conversation, this drunk man standing next to me, thinking he was gonna come, I don't know what he was thinking he was gonna do, um,  demeaned me personally for having opinions and sharing them and people finding value in them.  Eventually was like, you know what? I actually kind of like you. I'm sorry that I came up to you and did this and that and you seem like a nice guy and you know,  Maybe you'll find that too if you come up to me whether you like me or not But always come up and say hi. I would love to talk to you guys if you ever see me out and about but anyways,  the next part of this topic on Senator  is that,  uh, this feud goes back several months. So let's see if we can find the video here because, um, this feud goes back all the way to, uh, a time where the original contact that they had together. And give me a second. Cause I'm, uh, delaying this because my  connection with my other screen wasn't working properly. Um, there we go. So. The the what essentially happened four months prior to this. There's a there was a video that came out But after this in engagement, so let's watch this one first and then we'll go back to that after this engagement the news crew Caught up to him and had some questions for him in which they asked him about this Engagement and what his thoughts were on it. So let's go ahead and take a look At this,  here's the video.  Well, you should probably ask him that. I mean, he's the one that kept tweeting at us. Uh, we didn't respond until the fifth tweet. And when he said, any place or any time, any place, and you know where to find me, cowboy, I thought, well, this is the time, this is the place, and you don't do that in Oklahoma. You don't run your mouth unless you're gonna answer the call. Well, that might be the question. Was that the place? Was the Senate hearing the right place to challenge someone to a physical confrontation? Well, I'd already challenged him to September 30th. He could have done it then for charity. Um, I said April. They're the, the, um... What's it called? The smoking guns charity for the firefighters and police force. We could have done it then. I've been happy to, but he said, stand up. And so I stood up. Yeah. But what about, I mean, just the idea that fighting as a way to solve a problem, is that  kind of, are you concerned the way the conversation is happening here on Capitol Hill? People's been fighting for a long time. I canings. It was legal to do duels. Um, if you have a difference, you have a difference. I didn't start it. I didn't tweet at him. I didn't go after him. I have no beef with a guy. I mean,  I don't even know the last time I've gotten a street fight. I used to get paid to fight. I'm not, I'm not looking. What do I have? What victory is it for me to beat up O'Brien? That would be a shock, right? Uh, but he said it and I just simply responded. If he wants to call it off and we just go have a cup of coffee, fine. Let's go have a cup of coffee. I have no hard feelings. It's not personal to me. He just challenged me, and I accepted the challenge. Do you regret it? Regret this moment at all? You should probably ask him. I mean, he's the one that said it. I don't regret asking him. You know, he said any time, any place, so. And has leadership talked to you at all about this? No. No, not at all. Have you done any outreach to him at all, or has he reached out to you? O'Brien, meaning, reached out to you afterwards. No, no, no. You know, I ended it and said, if you want to end it here, that's fine. If you want to sit down and have a cup of coffee, I'll sit down and have a cup of coffee. It's not personal, you guys. This is not personal. Nothing personal. It's just he made the challenge, and I accepted it. It's just that simple. What about just the general tension right now on Capitol Hill? Do you feel as though things are, there's more angst than there has been at other times? And is it preventing you from getting things done? I don't, you know, I can only speak for my time here, right? Uh, ever since I've been here, there's always been a little bit of tension. This is a total separate issue. You know, this doesn't have to do with that. This has nothing to do with policy. This doesn't have to do with politics. This had to do with a guy calling me out and I simply responded to it. Uh, that, that's, so I don't think the two are really  comparable. This has nothing to do with me against unions either. I have nothing against unions. I made that very clear at the end of the hearing. I have nothing against unions. A lot of good friends and family are, are union members. This has to do with just his thug mentality. I mean, look at his background, look at his history. The guy has a history of this constantly. Um, I mean, he was the one, after he got, became president, he was the one to bring back the mob mentality. What the heck is a mob mentality? And then you're gonna bring that mob mentality to me? Okay, well... You can't run your mouth against me. I'm just not that guy. If you want to run your mouth, then we can settle it a different way.  Literally, if you were to run your mouth to anybody in politics at all, this was the wrong guy to run your mouth to a former pro MMA fighter and Oklahoma state wrestler. Like. Literally the worst person you could have thrown a dart at the board and probably fought 90 percent of these old hacks sitting in on Capitol Hill, but you picked the absolute wrong Motherfucker to pick the only guy who is an ex professional MMA fighter  So what I want to do next is just watch a little bit of his one of his MMA fights because there actually is a couple of them that is up on, uh, that is up on YouTube that I found. So let's go ahead and I will pull this up for you.  But man, I totally agree. Bring it back. Bring back duels. I don't care if you really want to be tough. I'm pretty sure there would be no Democrats left if there was still duels or fistfights in politics.  They would probably just all be dead.  Um, but let's go ahead and see if we can pull this up again. Um,  And get this MMA fight pulled up for you because, um, I'm sure, uh, if he's from Oklahoma and he wrestled, I'm sure he's, uh, not, not a bad MMA fighter. Um, so here we  go.  Maybe not.  Here it is.  Director Rick.  I now recognize, uh, Mr. Pflueger, the gentleman from Texas and the chair. Is that what we're looking for?  There was an MMA fight posted from one of his...  Here we go from, uh, March, may,  and it's only three  minutes long.  Your fight Psych com trading cards  get noticed with these high quality, full color trading cars.  So let's see if we can get the order your background today and get noticed some of the moments here. These  high quality.  Notice.  Somebody just went for a takedown, bad shot, and immediately to the UTI. Oh my god.  Problems holding against him. He's a little bit too long. He looks like he's about to give up. Um, which is just not a good thing. He's a rapper. He's got a bad side of his shoulder. You know, he's a rapper. He's got a bad wrist. He's a rapper. You know, he can actually create a terrible spine fracture on his shoulders. Um, it gets on top of that. It gets on top of that. Um, Okay, I'm not sure which one's which, I guess it's supposed to be. I'm going to have to go back to the, uh, organization to figure out who. But I would assume the guy on top is probably the one on top. So keep, safe to assume. Uh,  they're up against the cage.  And,  looks like he's about to take his back. Oh no, he's in full mount.  And...  Still looking for what looks like that.  Kimura.  Transitions.  As the guy tries to get up to his back a little bit.  Arms stuck behind his hip. Flattens him out. Has his back. Has his arm trapped. You're pretty much done there. Because you can't even defend with one hand.  And man, that would have just been so refreshing to watch a fist fight in Senate. Where. Uh, you know, a Republican Senator just  demolishes a shit talking mobster, and he's on full mount now, just raining down  haymakers on this dude's face. Guy gives his back up, transitions to the back,  and that's probably all she wrote right there, huh?  We're just dominating. Dominating.  And, that's you.  Has his hooks in.  Yeah, that's it. I'm gonna tap. Took his back. Rear naked choke. Few shots thrown.  Uh, not sure if we can get a verification that this is actually the right guy here, but, uh,  we'll assume so. Um, but it looked like it, you know, looked like his wrestling was, was pretty decent and, uh, has the same exact name, so we'll assume.  Alright, moving on. Outside of this.  Let's talk about some other stuff, which is not nearly as interesting or exciting as watching a senator beat up a mob boss on the Senate floor. Uh, but hey, there's not too much that you can do to,  uh, get that. Um, looks like Markway Mullins is really enjoying this guy's ground game. Uh,  yeah, a lot of people have been seeing that. Um...  Let's see, it looks like Mark Wayne Mullins is really enjoying this guy's groggy. Uh, the big question is, nine months after this fight, who is going to get custody of the baby? What? I'm so confused.  Um,  Interesting. So it was him who, it looks like,  uh,  Yeah, he, he was actually the loser here. So his wrestling didn't look all that good for coming out of Oklahoma. If somebody takes your back so easily and you don't really have much of an answer to it. Um, but anyways, I digress.  Either way, he's still beating the shit out of that teamster boss. Um, all right, the very next article that we're going to discuss here is going to be  that the  If you didn't know, AI is now racist, according to some news articles who claim so after,  uh, white people seem to be able to get more confused by pictures of people who are AI thinking they're real more than they think.  Real white people are real. And where this gets, uh, pretty funny is that this was white on white racism, not even, you know.  They're saying by definition, because white people are confused by other white people, that the language learning models, the, the, the AI algorithms,  are biased because they're being fed more white people photos and they are being fed other races. Um, so let's read this article. It comes from, uh, popular science and it says, as technology evolves,  AI generated images of human faces are becoming increasingly indistinguishable from real photos.  But our ability to separate the real from the artificial may come down to a personal biases, both our own as well as that of AI's underlying algorithms. According to a new study recently published in the Journal of Psychological Science, certain humans may misidentify AI generated white faces as real more often than they can accurately identify actual photos of Caucasians.  More specifically, it's white people who can't distinguish between real and AI generated white faces.  In a series of trials conducted by researchers collaborating across universities in Australia, the Netherlands, and the UK, 124 white adults were tasked with classifying a series of faces as artificial or real,  then rating their confidence for each decision on a 100 point scale. The team decided to match white participants with Caucasian images. examples in an attempt to mitigate potential own racial or race recognition bias, the tendency for racial and cultural populations to more poorly remember unfamiliar faces from different demographics. And then remarkably white AI faces can convincingly pass as more real than human faces and people do not realize they are being fooled. Research is right. In their paper, this is a no slim margin. Either participants mistakenly classified a full 66 percent of AI images as photographed humans versus barely half as many as the real photos. Meanwhile, the same white participants ability to discern real from artificial people of color was roughly 50, 50 in a second experiment, 610 participants. You could also say, it's like, how do you take this and go, Oh, AI is racist. Because you could also say that white people are just bad at distinguishing. What's real and not real, in which case, now you're the racist one.  How's that for the UNO reverse card? Um, in a second experiment, 610 participants rated the same images using 14 attributes, contributing to what made them look human, without knowing some photos were fake.  Of those attributes, the faces proportionality,  familiarity, memorability, and the perception of lifelike eyes ranked highest for test subjects. They have a beautiful little... Graph here  has qualitative. Uh, it says the team dubbed this newly identified or identified tendency to overly misattribute artificially generated faces, specifically white faces as AI hyper realism. The starts to stark statistical differences are believed to stem from well documented algorithmic biases within AI development. AI systems are trained on far more white subjects than POCs. According to who?  Leading to a greater ability to both generate convincing white faces as well as accurately identify them using facial recognition techniques. This disparity ramifications can cripple through countless scientific, social, and psychological situations from identity theft to racial profiling to basic privacy concerns.  Our results explain why AI hyperrealism occurs and shows that not all AI faces appear equally realistic, with implications for proliferating social bias and for public misidentification of AI. The team writes in their paper adding that the AI hyperrealism phenomenon implies there must be some visual differences between AI and human faces, which people misinterpret.  It says, it's worth noting that the new studies test pool was both small and extremely limited. Oh, it's worth noting that everything that we just wrote about really has no scientific basis and extremely limited. And some research is undoubtedly necessary to further understand the extent and effects of such biases.  Hmm.  Interesting. So AI is racist because what? Because it's generating more real white faces according to white people.  Because there's no grading system other than this hundred or sixty whatever people that they just had take this survey But now all of a sudden AI is racist  who would have thought  although when working out is you know when working out is a sign of white nationalism and Eating healthy is now also classified as you being a racist or whatever  I guess it's no surprise.  Now, the next thing that we're going to talk about is that, uh, that's something that, you know, you probably heard about is they all look alike. Um, this comes from a foreign book, four vertical, it's called the other race effect, where, um, people who are white or people who are Indian or people who are black or Hispanic or whatever have a much easier time distinguishing the differentiation between somebody of their own race than other races. Um, so that's actually contradictory to what you would kind of expect here, where you would think that.  And I wonder if they did, how well will white people  rate other colors, other races, right? Um, and vice versa, right? Did they only do white with white people and black with black people and Hispanics with Hispanic people and Mexicans with Mexicans and Indians with, I don't know. They really gave us very little information to go off scientifically. Um, but I die. Grass.  All right. The very next article that we're going to discuss here is going to be about, Oh, you know what? Let's hold that thought right there because I appreciate you because I know earlier when I asked you that you hit that subscribe button. I also know that you probably left a five star review, but I also know that maybe there's one of you out there, one of you that unlike all of the other people who are listening to this, maybe didn't. Leave a five star review. Maybe you're the one person. Maybe you think I'm talking to you right now because I am. I'm talking directly at you because you still haven't left a five star review and it takes five seconds and all you have to do is click the button, press the five stars. If you're on Apple Podcasts, all you do is scroll down just a little bit.  Hit the fifth star and then type something nice. I don't know. Maybe act like that blurs and guide the bar and tell me what you hate about me, but just leave you as long as it's a five star review. It's cool. Right.  Anyways, um, go ahead, leave a five star review. Tell me what you liked about the episode. What you like about the podcast in general. Um, love feedback. So anything that I can do for you guys to improve, I would be happy to. All right. And.  Back to the thing. The next thing we're going to talk about is that majority of Americans are now taking notice to the rise of tipflation is what this is being coined across industries. It says around seven and 10 us adults say tipping is expected in more places today than it was five years ago. And I. Completely agree. If you are in a regular business establishment, if you are not actively serving me, nothing drives me crazier is when you flip around your little card reader and you go, Hey, could you just.  You know, just, just tap one of those buttons right there and it says, Hey, do I want to give you seven dollars for me? Swiping my own debit card and you doing your job and nothing more or nothing less, right? There's very little that you could do to make me want to tip some person that works at 7 eleven  I don't know the last time I was in a 7 Eleven, but, uh, I, it's just so wild to me  how confident people in restaurant industries, and this, it's really comes down to the point of sales. And you have to understand that the psychology around this is it's just a, it's just a sales technique. You know, it's like 90 percent of people, uh, don't even ask for the sale when it comes to sales. And that's why most people suck at selling stuff, but they just integrated into the point of sale systems, a way to say, Hey, do you want to give me more money? Then what, you know, inflation has already caused us to increase our prices for, right? Because who knows where this money is actually going? Is it actually being distributed amongst the, the, the staff at  a coffee place? Like when all they did was make the coffee when they're getting paid to. Make the coffee, right? Like I get if you're a bartender, I get if you're waiting on somebody, I get a few, you know, like I have a rule,  everybody basically gets 2025 percent unless you do something terrible or you never check in on me or my drinks completely empty the whole time and you get 40 percent or more. If you, wiping the table in front of me, getting the crumbs off the table, like taking it that extra step that you would expect when you go to a really nice restaurant, um, so it's like if you are going above and beyond, you deserve a tip if you're in a service industry and your wage depends on it, but you do not deserve a tip for literally Um, almost any industry you're getting paid for a service,  right? There's no reason that I should have to pay you above and beyond what that amount is. And even in the service industry, tipping should go away overnight and the restaurants should just start paying fair wages to their employees. Not working through this loophole to where you have to beg people to work. And again, I'm for commission. I'm for incentivizing people to do their job well. When you're selling and there's a transaction and I guess maybe that's kind of what it is. That'd be a counter argument or a devil's advocate to my position, which is that  you want to incentivize your weight staff to work. And be better at servicing people that are at your restaurant and the way to do that is to allow a capitalistic form of that, which is if you give good service, then you get more money.  But this probably doesn't work generally out that way. I just think that the restaurant should pay the people like everybody else in the entire world and just pay them what they should get paid for doing their job.  Would make more sense to me.  Anyways, nothing drives me crazier than going through a drive thru and then having them  turn around. their point of sale system and then look me dead in the eye like their puppy just died, hoping that I give them 3 off of, or for as a tip for my 3 coffee. Like, no, thank you. But this article says, and I'll just skim it for you. Cause we just talked about it for Probably too long as it is. Americans are realizing the tips for servers aren't just for restaurants and bars anymore. Pew Research surveyed 12, 000 adults almost in August 2023 using the center's nationally represented American Trends. Don't care. Um, they feel about the practice across a variety of different services from takeout to haircuts. That's another one. If you're giving me food, you charge me for the food, not for making it. That's inherently built into the price. A broad majority of Americans say they're being asked to tip service workers more frequently than in the past around seven and 10 us. Adults say tipping is expected in more places today than it was five years ago. Finding that tracks with anecdotal reporting has never been dubbed deflation and I guess. All that you're realizing is that the new point of sale systems have integrated this completely because why wouldn't you just ask for more money?  This appears to be true  across demographics and is partially due to changing technology as the adaptation of the point of sale tablets, apps, and digital kiosks have made it easier for businesses to provide customers with tip prompts and suggestions. Yeah,  exactly what I said. The report noted that even as Americans are increasingly asked for paid tips, relatively few have a great deal of confidence about what and how or when and how to do so. Only about a third say it's extremely or very easy to know whether or To know whether or how much to tip for different types of services. How about zero for all of them? Unless you're waiting on me and bringing me beer consistently. There's also not a consensus on whether tipping is a voluntary choice or an expected obligation. Around two in 10 Americans say it's more of a choice. While 30 percent say it's more of an obligation. Ew. The largest share of 50 percent says it depends on the situation, underscoring the lack of a single set of rules of expectations.  Okay. More Americans oppose than favor businesses suggesting tip amounts to their customers. For example, on the bill or on a checkout screen, another 32 percent neither favor nor oppose the practice.  Interesting. Who cares? Let's move on.  Anyways. Hmm.  It has some percentages as to which, you know, what people think about certain industries asking, which, you know,  who cares? Anyways, uh, the next thing that we're going to talk about here is going to be that what is this one? Um, yeah, so  we talked about this last week, but, um, the individual. Let me see if I can pull his name back up.  Police in England have arrested a suspect in connection with the death of former NHL player Adam Johnson, who tragically died last month when his neck was slashed by the skate of an opposing player. The South Yorkshire Police released a statement Tuesday confirming an arrest in their investigation into the death of 29 year old Johnson. The suspect, who was not identified by law enforcement, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.  Police said the suspect remains in custody. Teammate of ex player... NHL player calls tragic deaths the most traumatizing thing that I've seen in my entire life. Yeah, definitely. The former Pittsburgh Penguin forward was playing in the challenging or a challenge cup between the Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers on October 28th when, during the second period, he suffered a fatal neck wound. Matt Peckgrave  collided with another player causing a skate to go up in the air. Um, so basically they  Uh, the police said on Thursday that an autopsy revealed his official cause of death was the result of a fatal neck injury. Yeah, he bled to death on the ice, guys. That's, you're not finding anything new. And it's exactly what these like, witch hunt that we saw with all these conservative voices, including the people that I mentioned last time.  You know, the DC draino, the, uh, libs of TikTok, the, all of these, you know, gross attempts at trying to act like you actually know what was going on in the ice. But what you find is when you look at that footage a little bit slower, you'll see that the skate basically traveled up the, the stick of another player as this guy was in a weird, like, hip check position and his leg went up the, the skate or the stick and hit the guy's neck, which is like, again.  It's just, it's tragic what happened. But should this guy get, go to jail? No, he shouldn't go to jail. Like, if a cleat hit a guy's throat on accident, and again, I absolutely believe this was an accident. I don't think it was a... You know, in Dominic and Sue's situation where he jabbed his cleat into the guy's throat purposefully to try and hurt him. And then yeah, if that's the case, but there's just nothing that indicates intent here. There's nothing that indicates that this guy should go to jail for anything other than playing the sport that he loved and having inherent risks. Because where does this stop now? Because guys literally fist fight each other on the ice. Right? And granted, that doesn't generally end in death. I don't think there's been a single case of that that I can recall. Um...  Besides maybe one where the guy fell on his head in the ice like a long long time ago  But  to me, there's just there's there's no true reason that this guy should be arrested. I Completely disagree with this. I Absolutely believe that this was an accident But I just wanted to tie that loose end for you guys that that guy was arrested and is currently incarcerated for suspicion of manslaughter. Now, it'll be interesting to see this case go to trial and to actually listen and then see what's being said and what the argument is, because I just do not see an argument for this man going to jail for playing a sport that is inherently dangerous and having something happen. Like what happened, which again is tragic. Um,  just wanted to tie that loose end for you guys.  Now that leads us to the next sporting event, which is that there was a California teen who was suspended following a blackface allegation on the football field for literally wearing eye black.  You know, the thing that you've seen every football player almost ever have on their face  was suspended from school and told that he cannot return to his sport because he was wearing blackface.  This article coming from Toronto Sun says that an 8th grade student of Loyola  California has reportedly been suspended for allegedly wearing blackface to a local football game.  However, a national civil rights group called the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression claims the boy identified as J. A. was wearing black eye paint to reflect any glare as many football players do.  You should. According to the New York Post, the student was photographed on October 13th attending a high school football game between the Lowell High School and Morse High School, with dark face paint covering his cheeks and chin. We had a fun, great night without any trouble. This is literally a, what, a 13  year old  that wore eye black on his face to a football game?  And probably put a little bit too, it's not, it's so silly, I guess, kind of need to see a picture of it to make a real distinction, but it can't be worse than what Justin Trudeau did, you know, literally wearing the turban on his head and wore blackface acting like a, I don't know, a snake charmer or something, the most racist thing that you'll ever see if you want to talk about blackface, right? Go look at Justin Trudeau, not some 13 year old going to a football game wearing paint under his eyes.  Like, this is where we've gotten to where AI is racist and wearing eye black under your 13 year old's eyes is now blackface. Like, let's find real demons to slay here. I think that's where we've gone as a society now is like,  there's always been,  there's always been eyes in the bushes. Right? And our amygdala is constantly surveying our surroundings, looking for something to jump out and attack us. And obviously that's not the case with what we're talking about here. But I think that we've been so conditioned to find... Uh, to find problems with our surroundings that now there's, we're in such a cushy, soft environment where very little violence actually occurs, you know, unless you're on the Senate floor next to Bernie Sanders,  um, but  very little violence occurs, very little real confrontation occurs, and, and In a world where that happens, we seek it because we are biologically wired to engage in confrontation, to have real demons, the, the, the, the monsters that have been around for years and years and thousands of years, as we know it, the raping, the pillaging, the war, the, this, the, that, and obviously war is still going on, and we'll talk about that in our next subject, but in the day to day life, people are so removed from real violence. People are so removed from, from what it meant to be a human a hundred years ago.  Right? And so you have a principal going off of a social media picture, suspending a student for literally wearing  sport eye black under his eyes.  looking for to make a monster out of a child who literally just went to a football game.  This is the first amendment projects J. A. 's non disruptive expression of team spirit via style commonly used by athletes and fans notwithstanding your inaccurate description of it as blackface. Fire calls upon the school to remove the infraction from J. A. 's disciplinary record and lift the ban on his attendance at future athletic events.  Tear said J. A. 's appearance emulated the style of iBlackWarm by many athletes.  Noting that such use of eye black began as a way to reduce glare during games, which is different from blackface, as is dark makeup worn to mimic the appearance of a black person and especially to mock or ridicule black people.  Yeah, there's some horrific actual instances of that. Go look at Howard Stern's, uh, old, um, I don't know what you call it, bit. Where he did, uh, blackface,  pretending to be talking to Whoopi Goldberg, I think it was. And he said the actual N word, like, seven times, thinking he was being funny. And then,  what is it? The Prime Minister of Canada! Wearing blackface. I'm pretty sure like multiple times for Halloween. Um, all right now, speaking of war, let's go into this transition. Elon Musk was on Lex Friedman's podcast and during this conversation together,  uh, Elon Musk, um,  had a really interesting and similar opinion to what I have when it comes to the Israel Hamas situation, which is it. What I will play for here you hear in just a second But I would say something that I've noticed more recently is that Lex Friedman his podcast if you don't listen to this podcast It's it's it's one of my favorites. I definitely think there's  Is probably the best most tactful well done podcast that is out there today Above even Joe Rogan. You go listen to the podcast with Joe Rogan and Elon Musk. It's not half of as insightful and empathetic and interesting as the conversation that was had with Lex Friedman. Um, so just a side note, but let's listen to this conversation and see what he had to say about the Israel and Hamas war.  All right. And here it is. He wants to do that. So like I said, somehow controversial. You've been a proponent of peace. A little bit of technical difficulties here. I'm having a problem with my other screen is freezing every single time I go  to use the screen. So just give me one second here. But while that happens, I'll kind of give you the.  TLDR of what Elon Musk says, which is essentially that if he had to give advice to Israel in his position today, what would he say to the leadership there? How do you get out of this and have it,  uh, is there a winning side? Is there a possibility to even win this war? And  what, what would you say to Israel in order to  to, to  come out of this better than you went into it, right? Because they're quickly, as we'll find in the next, the next situation, they're quickly losing favor by the American people. Um, so when, when that's happening and you're, you're seeing it in real time, them start to have, you know,  coming out with propaganda campaigns just today saying that, Oh, look, we found these weapon caches and in this hospital that we just bombed and raided. It's like, uh, okay.  Because you could have just as easily planted those weapons to justify your war, which would be one of the least  bad things that has ever happened in war as a false flag. But anyways, I digress. Here is this clip, Lex Friedman and  Elon Musk.  Or maybe it's not, because my computer is freezing again. Um, so let's see, one last time here, and then  we'll move on to the next one if we can't get it here.  Uh, so  we will jump out. We will jump  back in and share that screen one last time.  The  path to peace could be, how do you hope the current war in Israel and Gaza comes to an end? Uh, what path do you see that can minimize human suffering in the longterm in that part of the world?  Well, I think that part of the world is definitely, like, if you look up the, there is no easy answer in the dictionary, it'll be that, like, the picture of, uh, the Middle East, um, and Israel especially. So there is no easy answer.  Um,  what my,  this is strictly my opinion of, uh, you know, uh, is that, uh,  the, the goal of Hamas was to provoke an overreaction from Israel.  Um, they obviously did not expect to, uh, you know, have a military victory. Um, but they, they expect, they really wanted to  commit the worst atrocities that they could in order to provoke the,  the most aggressive response possible from Israel. Um, and then leverage that, uh, aggressive response to Um, rally Muslims worldwide, uh, for the cause of, uh, Gaza and Palestine, which they have succeeded in doing.  Um, so the, the, the  counterintuitive thing here, I think that the, the thing that I think should be done, even though it is very difficult, uh, is that, um, I, I would recommend that Israel engage in the most conspicuous acts of kindness possible, every part, everything.  That is the actual thing that would towards the goal of the mosque.  So in some sense, the degree that makes sense in geopolitics, turn the other cheek, implemented. It's not exactly turn the other cheek, um, because I do think that there's, um,  you know, I think it is appropriate for Israel to  find the Hamas members and, you know, um,  either, either kill them or incarcerate them. Um, like that's something that's something has to be done because they're just going to keep, keep, keep coming otherwise. Um, but.  In addition to that, they need to. Do whatever they can. Um, there's some talk of...  So I do like what he said there. Conspicuous acts of kindness. Right? And then he gets into the philosophical reason as to why he believes that, you know, those conspicuous, you know, obvious acts of kindness that everybody sees should be happening as a way to  gain public, uh, uh, gain public,  I don't know if, um... What the right word would be there to gain public popularity, and I don't even know if it's popularity, but acceptance of this war and the acts that they're committing, right? And he's saying that because the way that people are viewing this right now, we're going to find, find out that almost 70 percent of people in the US today believe that Israel is going overboard in its reaction against Palestine in Hamas,  right? Bombing the, the Um, safe zones, like hitting ambulances with rockets and all of these things are, are war crimes. That's exactly what they are. They're war crimes. And as a established nation state that is, uh, uh, uh, a,  a agreed upon nation.  By all the other countries in the world, you don't get to commit acts of terrorism. And I see constantly, constantly people are arguing me saying that Israel is justified in committing acts of terrorism because they're dealing with terrorists. Well, guess what? You know what that makes you? A terrorist, regardless of your reasoning, because if you look to Hamas, they have their reasons too. But the way that they act is not within the confines of what's allowable in order for them to be an agreed upon nation, to be a part of the Geneva Convention, to be, uh, to be somebody that is recognized on a world stage, right? That makes you a terrorist organization, right? And so when everybody says, Oh, well, how are you supposed to deal with this? You deal with it with a scalpel. Not with Roman candles,  right? You didn't see the United States bombing hospitals. You didn't see them bombing ambulances. You didn't see them killing unbelievable amounts of women and children, which to be fair is not completely true. There was lots of women and children killed by the United States command during our war in Afghanistan and Iraq, which are, again, I totally disagree with, you know, and I have other people going, well, you know,  casualties have to be made in war. It's like, to what extent? Or are you just perpetuating sickness and, and, and, and murder and, and hate that is going to be generational now, because even if I knew that my grandparent was killed by Israel or whoever, fill in the blank, because they hated them or to, to, in response or revenge for whatever silly act, it's never about the reasoning. It's just about who did what to who, when, and if you're related to me and. or if you kill somebody who's related to me, I will spend my life coming after you,  right? I absolutely will dedicate my life to hunting you down  as any sane man in protector should.  So you mitigate that by  inconspicuous acts of kindness, which I like the way that he phrased that by, by showing compassion and showing empathy and showing love. For, for this, the civilians that are on the other side of this, that are truly the victims of both sides, whether it's Hamas or Palestine or Israel, the, the Palestinian civilians are, are literally the, the, the worst off of anybody,  right? Cause they're getting it from Hamas. They're getting it from Israel, and they have nothing to do with either side of it. They're just stuck in the middle.  And so,  he goes on to explain the philosophical reasons why, and I won't ruin it, because he will probably explain it maybe the high level better than me, and I might have a little bit to add to it. So establishing, for example, a mobile hospital. I'd recommend doing that, um,  just making sure that, uh, you know, there's food, water, uh, medical necessities,  um,  and, and just be over the top about it and be very transparent. So it's, it's, so that it can't, people can't claim it's a trick. Like just put a webcam on the thing,  you know, all 24 7.  Deploy acts of kindness.  Yeah, conspicuous acts of kindness  that, that with, that are unequivocal, meaning that can't be.  Somehow, because Hamas will then, their response will be, oh, it's a trick, therefore you have to counter how, how it's not a trick.  This ultimately fights the broader force of hatred in the, in the region. Yes, and I'm not sure who said it, it's an apocryphal saying, but an eye for an eye makes everyone blind.  Now that next to the words, they really  believe in the whole eye for an eye thing. Um,  but.  I mean, you really have,  if you're not going to just outright  commit genocide, like it against an entire people, which obviously would not be acceptable to, to, to really shouldn't be acceptable to anyone, um, then you're, you're going to leave basically a lot of people alive who subsequently, you know, hate Israel. So really the question is like,  how,  for every Hamas member that you kill, how many did you create?  And if you. Create more than you killed. You've not succeeded. That's the you know, the real situation there  and it's safe to say that if  you know  If you know if you kill somebody's child in Gaza  If you've made at least a few  Hamas members  who will die  just, just to kill an Israeli.  That's the situation. So,  but, but I mean, this is one of the most contentious subjects one could possibly discuss, but, but I think if, if the, if the goal ultimate is some sort of long term peace, one has to be, look at this from standpoint of over time, are there more or fewer, um, terrorists being created?  Which is the pe

Dr. Deji Ayoade (ah-yo-AH-day) is the first African immigrant to become a nuclear missile operator in the United States Air Force and serve in three U.S. military branches. He's a trained veterinary surgeon, combat medic, Nuclear Weapon System SME, Senior Program Analyst, and U.S. Space Force Department of Defense Civilian at the Pentagon. He turned to storytelling as solace from an early life of poverty and loss. His new book is Underground: A Memoir of Hope, Faith, and the American Dream. Learn more at: https://dejiayoade.com/, Deji Ayoade | The Memoir Blogger We talk about: How Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth's (my previous Lowell High School, Algebra 2 teacher) Ted Talk on Grit resonated with him because grit is what contributed to his successes Challenges he faced beginning in childhood in Nigeria and throughout his journey (initiating conversations with colleagues about his accent) The therapeutic value of story-telling  How having an American Dream facilitates hope and motivation SOCIAL MEDIA: https://www.facebook.com/thememoirblogger https://www.linkedin.com/in/deijyng/ https://twitter.com/dememoirblogger https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23086380.Deji_Ayoade ======================================== Don't miss any updates by signing up for the Color of Success Newsletter here. Dr. Wong will share exciting updates on her soon-to-be-released book!

This week, a conversation with two brothers, both distinguished members of the federal judiciary, Justice Stephen Breyer and his brother, Judge Charles Breyer. Stephen Breyer retired in summer 2022 after nearly 28 years as a member of the Supreme Court. Prior to that, he served nearly 14 years as a Court of Appeals Judge. He is especially appreciated for his pragmatism, issuing decisions most often informed by their real life consequences, and his firm belief that judges are loyal to the law, not to a political party. Born in San Francisco, both he and brother Judge Charles Breyer attended Lowell High School. Their father served as legal counsel to the San Francisco Board of Education, and their mother focused on public service. Senior United States District Judge Charles Breyer has served on the bench for 25 years. He was an assistant special prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force from 1973 to 1974, and then entered private practice 1974 to 1997, interrupted by a brief stint as chief assistant district attorney of San Francisco in 1979.  On January 7, 2023, the Breyer brothers appeared on stage at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with Judge Vince Chhabria, who served as a law clerk for both Breyers.  This is an encore presentation of a program which originally aired in January 2023.

Welcome back to a special episode of Highest Aspirations. Our guests this week are 3 students from Lowell High School in Massachusetts. I was introduced to them through our friend Jessica Lander, who has appeared on the podcast and facilitated an inspiring session at our annual IMPACT conference last year. She also happens to be the teacher of our three guests, Lucas, Ana Sofia, and Kasi - all of whom are students at Lowell High School who came to the US in the last 5 years.  You'll hear elements of their testimonios as they share their immigration stories, their experience contributing to and sharing a class recipe book called “Tasting History” with their classmates and beyond, and some recommendations for any teachers listening on how to help their MLL students be more successful in their schools and communities. You can find more information about Tasting History and much more on Jessica's website: jessicalander.com.  Thanks for listening to Highest Aspirations and please enjoy this conversation with some amazing students and their contributions to their school and community.  Link to episode transcript download. Subscribe to the show here: https://open.spotify.com/show/0W4CYdurgYRIwFGif3H6Qk For additional episodes, blog posts and free resources relating to multilingual education, visit our community page: https://ellevationeducation.com/ell-community. Visit our EL Community page for episode resources, related content and more. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/highest-aspirations/message

For the last five years, her immigrant students have compiled their family recipes in a cookbook. This year's edition contains recipes from 21 countries. We speak with the teacher behind the cookbook, as well as two students about their dishes, and their stories.

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. Host Miko Lee talks about Theatre & Memory with Bay Area native artists: composer Byron Au Yong and playwright Lauren Yee. They provide behind the scenes news about their upcoming productions at ACT and Berkeley Rep. More info on our guests: Byron Au Yong, composer The Headlands, ACT   Lauren Yee, playwright Cambodian Rock Band, Berkeley Rep   Transcript: Theatre and Memory or Why Art Matters [00:00:00] Miko Lee: Good evening and welcome to APEX Express. I'm your host, Miko Lee, and tonight we're talking about theater and memory or why art matters. So many artists grapple with this concept of memory and how each of us has a different story to share. And tonight we get to hear from two bay area locals, a playwright, and a composer, each share a bit about their creative process and why art matters to them. I have the pleasure of speaking with composer, Byron Au Yong who had been creating music for the Headlands, which opens this weekend at act. And with playwright Lauren Yee who's musical Cambodian rock band comes back home to Berkeley rep at the end of the month. First off. Let's take a listen to one of Byron Al Yong's compositions called know your rights. This is part of the trilogy of the Activists Songbook. This multi-lingual rap, give steps to know what to do when ice officers come to your door. song That was know your rights performed by Jason Chu with lyrics by Aaron Jeffries and composed by my guest, Byron Au Yong. Welcome, Byron Au Yong to Apex Express. We're so happy to hear from you. [00:04:11] Byron Au Yong: Thanks, Miko. It's so great to be here. [00:04:13] Miko Lee: I wanna talk to you about a couple of things. First and foremost, you have the Headlands that is opening up at ACT really soon. Tell me about who your people are and where you come from. [00:04:27] Byron Au Yong: Sure. So my grandparents, both maternal and paternal, left China in the late thirties and they both immigrated to the Philippines. And so both my parents were born to Philippines in different areas. And so I come from a family of refugees who then settled into Philippines and my parents were not the first in their family. They were actually both the fourth and they left and immigrated to the United States when the United States opened up immigration in post 1965. So they were part of that wave. And then I was born in Pittsburgh. They, they were actually introduced here in Seattle. And I was born in Pittsburgh because my dad was in school there. And then they moved back to Seattle. So I'm from Seattle and in 2016 I moved to San Francisco. [00:05:17] Miko Lee: Thank you. So you are a composer. Have you always played music and have you always been attuned to audio? Tell me about how you got started as a composer. [00:05:28] Byron Au Yong: Sure. As a kid my parents divorced when I was age seven and I was an only child up until age 16. My mom worked. In the evenings. And my dad wasn't in the household and so I had a lot of time to myself and I would sing a lot to myself. And then my next door neighbor was a piano teacher, and so I started to play the piano at age nine, and then at age 11 I started to write stuff down. And yeah, so I've been doing music for a bit. [00:05:59] Miko Lee: So music has always been a part of your life, essentially. It's been your playmate since you were young. [00:06:04] Byron Au Yong: Yes, absolutely [00:06:05] Miko Lee: Love that. So tell us about the Headlands that's gonna be opening at ACT pretty soon. [00:06:11] Byron Au Yong: Yeah so The Headlands is a play by Christopher Chen, who you may know is playwright, who is born and raised and continues to live in San Francisco. And it's his love letter to San Francisco. It's a San Francisco noir play. It's a whodunit play. It's a play about a main character who's trying to figure out who he is after the death of his dad. Which causes him to wonder who he is and where he is from. I'm doing original music for the show, this is gonna be an American Conservatory Theater, and Pam McKinnon, who's the artistic director, will be stage directing this production as well. I actually met Chris Chen in 2013 when I had a show called Stuck Elevator that was at ACT. And I've been really fascinated with his work as a playwright for a while, and so I was thrilled when ACT invited me to join the creative team to work on music. Miko Lee: Oh, fun. Okay. I wanna talk to you about Stuck Elevator next, but first let's stick with the headlines.This is a play that's about memory and storytelling. I'm wondering if there is a story that has framed your creative process. Byron Au Yong: Yeah. Thinking about this show as a memory play, and, memory as something, we go back in our memories to try and figure stuff out, which is very much what this play is. And also to claim and to. figure out if something from our memory was recalled maybe in completely. And so the main character is, piecing together fragments of his memory to figure out who he is in the present. And considering this I actually went back to music. I composed when I was still a teenager. I actually dropped outta school and was working a lot. I think I realized early on that I was indeed, I wanted to dedicate myself to being an artist and was very concerned about how I would make a living as an artist in the United States. And so I thought I'll figure out how to make money away from the music. And so I had a lot of jobs and I was trying to write music, but, I was in a sad place, and so I never finished anything. I have a bunch of fragments from this time. But on Memorial Day I woke up and, it was sunny in Seattle and so I said, I'm gonna finish a piece of music today. And that became part of a project in mine where every Memorial Day I finish a piece of music and it's a solo piano piece that I finish. And so, going back in my personal history, I found one of these Memorial Day pieces and thought, oh, this actually works. Because it's a bit awkward and it doesn't resolve, and I remember who I was back then, but it's also me piecing together things and so I used that as the foundation for the music, for The Headlands, which is a different thing. If you didn't know that was my source material, that's in some ways irrelevant. But that's my personal connection in thinking about music for this. And of course I've also done a lot of research on film noir. A lot of noir films were set in San Francisco. And and the music is awesome, amazing of this genre. And, it's mysterious it is a certain urban Americana music. And so I include those elements as well. [00:09:36] Miko Lee: Thank you. That's so interesting that you have a Memorial Day ritual to create a piece of music. I'm wondering if, aside from the Headlands, have you used the Memorial Day Music in other pieces you've created? [00:09:48] Byron Au Yong: No this is the first time. [00:09:51] Miko Lee: Wow. Yeah. That's great. [00:09:53] Byron Au Yong: I think Miko is because, it's a private thing for me. I think the other thing too is as you mentioned, music was my friend growing up. The piano was. Definitely one of my best friends. And so solo piano pieces for me are, it's where you can have an audience of one. And one of the things that helped me, when I was not in school was. Playing through a lot of different other solo piano pieces. And so part of these Memorial Day pieces too are that they're meant to be simple enough that they could be sight read. And so if, if there's a musician who you know, is in a similar state of, oh, I'm not able to really do anything, but I want to be with music. I can sight read through, these different Memorial Day pieces. [00:10:38] Miko Lee: And do you have them set in a specific part of your house or where, how, where do you keep your Memorial Day projects and when do you open them up to look at them? [00:10:48] Byron Au Yong: Oh yeah. They're handwritten in a folder. None of the things so special. [00:10:54] Miko Lee: What was it that inspired you to go back and look at them for the headlands? [00:10:58] Byron Au Yong: Oh, you know what it is there are, be, because I know you, you also create stuff too in your memory of your catalog.I'm wondering if you have. If you have works that, that you remember that you made and then tho those works may remind you of a certain mood you were in or a certain room or and so I think they're musical things from certain or, things I was experimenting with for these Memorial Day. Said, I'm like, oh, I remember this. Let me go back to the folder where I collect this stuff every year and look through it. And I think that parallels actually the headlands and what the main character is doing because he recalls, and what's so cool about the production is we go into the same scene, but there's like a clue that's been revealed. And so we as an audience get to revisit the scene again. And there's a different interpretation of what was happening in the scene. And so what might have been like a scene between Henry's parents, Lena and George, which he thought, oh, this is how it was when I was a kid, when I was 10 years old. Thinking about it, remembering it, but now with this new information, this is how I'm gonna interpret the scene. And so I think similarly with, music from my past, these Memorial Day pieces, I'm like, oh, this is what I was interested in working on. But now as a older composer, I'm like, ah, and I can do this with this material. [00:12:26] Miko Lee: I love that. And I also really appreciate that this play about memory you pulled from your Memorial Day pieces, that it goes with this whole flow of just re-envisioning things with your own frame and based on where you're at in any given time. [00:12:42] Byron Au Yong: Totally. [00:12:43] Miko Lee: I know that the show was created 2020, is that right? Yes. Is that when, first? Yeah, Byron Au Yong: I think it's right before the pandemic. Miko Lee: Yeah. And you've had several different directors, and now in a way you both are coming home to San Francisco and artistic director, Pam McKinnon is directing it. I wonder if you have thoughts about some of the difference approaches that these directors have brought to the process. [00:13:06] Byron Au Yong: Oh, yeah. And, miko, this is the first time I'm working on the headlands. And so when it was at Lincoln Center, there was a different creative team. [00:13:12] Miko Lee: Oh, so the music, you're just creating the music for this version of the show. [00:13:16] Byron Au Yong: Yes, correct. Wow. And it is a new production because that Lincoln Center was in a stage called LCT 3, which is a smaller venue. Whereas this is gonna be in a Toni Rembe theater, which is, on Geary. It's a 1100 seat theater. And the set is quite fabulous and large . And what's also great is, aside from Johnny, all the cast is local. And like it will have the feel of a San Francisco production because many of us live here, have lived here and know these places that are referenced in the show. [00:13:51] Miko Lee: Thanks for that clarification. So that's really different to go from a small house at Lincoln Center to the big house at a c t Yes. With local folks with, your local music. That brings a very different approach to it. I'm excited to see it. That sounds really interesting. And now I wanna go back to talk about Stuck Elevator, which I was so delighted to learn about. Which was your first piece That was at ACT what, back in 2013? So tell our audience first about where Stuck Elevator came from and then tell what it's about. [00:14:23] Byron Au Yong: Sure. So stuck elevator. So I was living in New York in 2005 and there were some there were some images of like photos in the newspaper, initially it was local news because it was a Chinese delivery man who was missing. And most of the delivery people at the time, they carry cash, they won't go to the police. And there, there had been a string of muggings and then one was actually beaten to death. And so it was local news that this guy was missing. And then a few days later, and in New York Times, there was a big article because he was found in an elevator in the Bronx and he had been trapped in his elevator which had become stuck. And he was trapped for 81 hours, which that's like over three days. And so it made international news. And then when I read the article and learned more about him, there were many parallels like where he was from in China, which is Fujan Province, which is where my grandparents left that he was paying a debt to human smugglers to be in the United States. And different things that I thought, wow, if my grandparents hadn't left I wonder if, I would be the one who was, paying to be smuggled here rather than paying for grad school. And so I became quite fascinated with them. And then also, realized at the time, in 2005, this is like YouTube was just starting, and so all like the Asian American YouTube stars, they weren't as prominent in the news. And, BTS wasn't around then. So for me to see an Asian male. In the US media there was always this feeling of oh why is this Asian male in the news? And then realized, oh, it's actually part of a larger story about being trapped in America about family obligation, about labor, about fear of, in his specific case because he's an undocumented immigrant, fear of deportation. So there were many issues that, that I thought were broader than the specific story. And so I thought, this would be a great opera slash musical. So that's what it became at [00:16:23] Miko Lee: you, you basically read a story and said, whoa, what is this? I feel this is so wild. And then created it into an opera. Yes. Also, it just resonated with me so much as a person who has been trapped in elevators, in broken elevators six different times, . Oh my goodness. Yes. I'm like, wow. And his story, that many hours, that has to be like a record. Byron Au Yong: Right? Nobody else has been trapped that long. Yeah. It's a record. Miko Lee: So you created this piece, it premiered at ACT? Yes. Did you ever connect with the guy that was stuck in the elevator? [00:16:59] Byron Au Yong: No. So the New York Times did something which is actually not cool. They they revealed his immigration status and that at the time I'm not sure if it's still the case,but at the time, you're not allowed to reveal people's immigration status. Especially, in such a public way. And so what was cool was that the AALEDF, which is the Asian American Legal Education and Defense Fund, they the volunteer attorneys there step forward to represent Ming Kuang Chen and his case and ensure that he had legal representation so he would not be deported. The thing is, he was suffering from PTSD and there was also another case at the time it was a different un undocumented immigrant case that AALEDF was representing that had a bit more visibility and so he actually didn't want to be so much into public eye, and so he went back into hiding. And so while I didn't meet him specifically, I met his translator. I met other people at AALEDF met with other people who were related to the stories that he was a part of. So for example, used to be an organization, which I think they've changed their name, but they were the Fujanese Restaurant Workers Association. Most of the undocumented immigrants who worked in restaurants at the time are from Fujan Province. Also, Asian Pacific American Studies at New York University. Is a mix o f people who were working in restaurants as well as people, scholars who were studying this issue. [00:18:46] Miko Lee: Can you describe a little bit about Stuck Elevator for folks that haven't seen it? Sure. How did you conceive of this piece, that song? [00:18:53] Byron Au Yong: Yeah so it's a thru sung piece about a guy who's trapped in America. He's a Chinese food delivery man, and he's, delivering food in the Bronx. And what I think is You know what I didn't realize when I started it. And then I realized working on it was the thing about being stuck in the elevator is, especially for so long, is that you and I don't know if this is your case, Miko it's so fascinating to hear you've been trapped six different times. There's the initial shock and initial oh my gosh, I have to get out. And then there's this. Maybe not resignation but there's this, okay. Okay. I'm gonna be here so now what? Now what I'm going to do and the time actually, especially for someone who works so much delivering food and sending money back home to his wife and son in China and his family is that he actually is not working, right? And so he has time to consider what his life has been like in New York for the past, the two years he's been there. And to consider the choices he's made as well as to remember his family who are back in China. And part of this too is you're not awake the entire time. Sometimes you go to sleep, and so in his sleep he dreams. He has hallucinations. He has nightmares. And this is where the music theater opera really starts to confront and navigate through the various issues of being trapped in America. [00:20:22] Miko Lee: Any chance this will come into production, somewhere? [00:20:26] Byron Au Yong: Yeah, hopefully, we were just at Nashville Opera last week, two weeks ago. [00:20:30] Miko Lee: Oh, fun. [00:20:31] Byron Au Yong: so Nashville Opera. So the lead Julius Ahn who was in ACT's production is an opera singer. And and he had told the artistic director of Nashville Opera about this project years ago. And John Hoomes, who's the artistic director there had remembered it. Last year John Hoomes reached out to me and said, you know, I think it's the time for to be an operatic premiere of Stuck Elevator. And so we had an amazing run there. [00:20:58] Miko Lee: Great. Wow. I look forward to seeing that too somewhere soon. Yes. I also wanted to chat with you about this last week, a lot of things have been happening in our A P I community with these mass shootings that have been just so painful. Yes. And I know that you worked on a piece that was called The Activist Songbook. Are you, can you talk a little bit about that process and the Know Your Rights project? [00:21:23] Byron Au Yong: Yeah, absolutely. And I'm gonna back up because so Activist Song Book is actually the third in a trilogy of which Stuck Elevator is the first, and related to the recent tragedies that have happened in Half Moon Bay and also in Monterey Park. The second in the trilogy is it's called the Ones. It was originally called Trigger, and it also has the name Belonging. And I can go through why it has so many different names, but the first in the trilogy was Stuck Elevator, and it was prompted by me again, seeing an Asian male in the US media. So the second actually all three are from seeing Asian males in the US media. And the second one was an incident that happened in 2007 where a creative writing major shot 49 people killing 32, and then himself at Virginia Tech. And and when this happened I realized, oh shoot Stuck elevator's part of a trilogy. I have to figure out how to do this show called Trigger or what was called Trigger. And then realized of the different layers in a trilogy. Yes. There's this initial thing about Asian men in the US media, but then there's this other thing about ways out of oppression. And so with Stuck Elevator, the way out of oppression is through the main character's imagination, right? His dreams, his what ifs, right? The possibilities and the different choices he can make with the second one, what me and the creative team realized is that, the way out of oppression is that the creative writing major who you may remember was a Korean American he was so isolated at Virginia Tech and the tragedy of him being able to purchase firearms and then kill so many people, including himself in working on it, I was like, I need to understand, but it's not this story I necessarily want to put on stage. And so what it became is it became a story, and this is also the national conversation changed around mass violence in America. The conversation became less about the perpetrator and more about the victims. And so it became a choral work for community performers. So rather than a music theater opera, like Stuck Elevator, it's a music theater forum with local singers. And this was actually performed at Virginia Tech during the 10 year memorial of the tragedy. And this one I did eight site visits to Virginia Tech and met with people including the chief of police of Blacksburg. First responder to director of threat assessment to family members whose children were lost. A child of, teachers were also killed that day to counselors who were there to Nikki Giovanni, who was one of the faculty members. So yeah so many people. But this one, the second one, the way out of oppression is from isolation into community, into belonging. And Virginia Tech Administration said we could not call the work trigger. And so the work there was called (Be)longing with the be in parentheses. And now we've done a new revision called The Ones partially influenced by the writer, one of his teachers was June Jordan who was at UC Berkeley. And she has a phrase, we are the ones we've been waiting for. And so the ones which is a 2019 revision, the show, what it does is Act three youth takeover, right? It's about coming of age and an age of guns, and the youth have become activists because they have no choice because they are being shot in places of learning, and so Parkland in Chicago and other places have been influential in this work. And then the third in the trilogy is Activist Songbook. And for this one we went back to an earlier asian male who was in the US media, and that was Vincent Chin who you may know was murdered 40 years ago. And so activist song book is to counteract hate and energize movements. And it's a collection of different songs that is even further away from musical theater opera production in that the rally component of the songs can be taught within 10 minutes to a group of people outdoors to be used right away. And that one, the way out of repression is through organizing. [00:25:49] Miko Lee: Well, Byron Au Young, thank you so much for sharing with us about all the different projects you've been working on. We'll put a link in the show notes to the headlands that folks can see at a c t. Tell our audience how else they can find out more about you and your life as a composer and more about your work. [00:26:05] Byron Au Yong: Sure. I have a website. It's my name.com or b y r o n a u y o n g.com. [00:26:12] Miko Lee: Thank you so much for spending so much time with me. [00:26:14] Byron Au Yong: Of course. [00:26:15] Miko Lee: You are tuned into apex express on 94.1, KPFA an 89.3 K P F B in Berkeley and online@kpfa.org. We're going to hear one more piece by composer, Byron Al young called This is the Beginning, which was prompted by Lilly and Vincent chin and inspired by Helen Zia and other organizers. song That was, This is the Beginning by Byron Au Yong and Aaron Jeffrey's. Featuring Christine Toi Johnson on voice and Tobias Wong on voice and guitar. This is a beginning is prompted by organizing in response to the racially motivated murder of Vincent Chin in Detroit. This hate crime was a turning point for Asian American solidarity in the fight for federal civil rights. Lily chin Vincent's mom refused to let her son's death be invisible. Next up, I have the chance to speak with playwright Lauren Yee who's musical Cambodian rock band. Returns to Berkeley rep where it first got its workshop and it will be there from February 25th through April 2nd. And here's a teaser from Cambodian rock band by Lauren Yee. Take a listen to seek CLO. song Miko Lee: Welcome Lauren Yee to Apex express. [00:34:35] Lauren Yee: Thank you so much, Miko. [00:34:37] Miko Lee: We're so happy to have you a local Bay Area person. Award-winning playwright. Coming back to town at Berkeley Rep with your show, Cambodian Rock Band. Yay. Tell us about the show. [00:34:51] Lauren Yee: Yes so Cambodian Rock Band. Is actually a piece that has some of its like earliest development roots in the Bay Area and also like specifically at Berkeley Rep. Getting to bring the show to Berkeley rep really feels like some sort of poetic justice. In addition to the fact, that it's like my old stomping grounds. . Essentially Cambodian rock Band started in 2015, or at least the writing of it. It actually started, if I'm being honest much earlier than that. I think it was about 2010 2011. I was down in San Diego in grad school and one of my friends was just like dying to go see this band play at a music festival. She was like, I saw this band play. They're amazing. You should totally come. And I was like, sure. And I don't know if you've ever had this experience, but it's like, going somewhere, hearing a band, and even before you know anything about them or their story, you just fall in love. You fall like head over heels in love and you say, oh my God who are these people? And I wanna know everything about them. And that band was Dengue Fever. Which is amazing. You fell in love with the band first. Yep. Before the play. Yes. And it was the band Dengue Fever which is an LA band. And their front woman Choni Mall is Cambodian American and she leads this sound that I think started in covers of Cambodian oldies from that golden age of rock for them, and has over time morphed into Dengue Fever's own original sound. Like we're nowadays, they're coming out with an album soon, their own original songs. But I fell in love with Dengue Fever and I was like, oh, okay, who are these people inspired by? And I just went down that rabbit hole of learning about this whole musical history that I never knew about. My own background is Chinese American. I'm not Cambodian American. And so a lot of kids who grew up in the public school system, I did not get basically any education about Cambodian history and America's role in seeding the elements that led to the Khmer Rouge's takeover the country, and the ensuing genocide. [00:37:12] Miko Lee: So you first fell in love with the band and then you went down an artist rabbit hole. We love those artist rabbit holes. Yes. And then what was your inspiration for the play itself? The musical? [00:37:22] Lauren Yee: Yeah so I fell in love with the music and I was like, there is something here because you had all these musicians in Cambodia who like, when 1975 hit and the communists took over the country there was just a time when like the country was a hostile place for artists where artists were specifically targeted among other groups. And so much of Cambodia's musicians and its musical history, was snuffed out, and I was like, there is a story here, that I find deeply compelling. And for a long time I didn't know how to tell that story because there's just so much in it. And then came 2015 where two things happened. One was that I was commissioned by a theater in Orange County called South Coast Rep, and they invited me to come down to their theater and just do research in the community for two weeks on anything you want. So I was like, I wanna look at malls, I wanna look at the video game culture down there, all kinds of things. And one of the things that I was interested in and just bubbled to the surface was the Cambodian American community, which is not in Orange County proper, but in, situated largely in Long Beach, right next door. And it just so happened that while I was there, There were just a lot of Cambodian American music related events that were going on. So the second annual Cambodian Music Festival, the Cambodia Town Fundraiser, Dengue Fever, was playing a gig in Long Beach. Like all these things were happening, that intersected me, with the Kamai or Cambodian community in Long Beach. And the other thing that happened coming out of that trip is that I started beginning to write the seeds of the play. And I did a very early workshop of it up at Seattle Rap. And I'm the sort of playwright. probably like writes and brings in collaborators like actors and a director sooner than a lot of other people. Most people probably wait until they have a first draft that they're comfortable with, whereas I'm like, I have 20 pages and I think if I go up and get some collaborators, I think I can generate the rest of it. So I went up to Seattle with kind of my, 20 or 30 pages and we brought in some actors. And that workshop had an actor named Joe No in it, and I knew Joe from previous work I'd done in Seattle. But during our first rehearsal when we were just like chatting he said to me like, this is my story. And I was like, oh, it's a story that calls out to me too. Thank you. And he was like no. You don't understand. Like, So my parents were born in Battambang Cambodia. They were survivors of the Khmer Rouge. I feel deeply connected to this material. And that conversation sparked. a very long relationship, between me and Joe and this play. That I, I think of him as like the soul, of this play. He became just like an integral part. And in the South coast rep production and in subsequent productions he's kind of been like our lead. He is Chum, and it's a role that I think is like perfectly suited for who he is as a human being and what his like essence is. And also he plays electric guitar which I think influenced things a lot because initially it was a play about music, right? It wasn't a musical, it was just people like talking about a music scene that they loved. And as I went along and found like the perfect people for these roles it was like, Joe plays electric guitar. It would be crazy not to have him try to play a little electric guitar in the show. And that kind of began that, the evolution of this play into a piece where music is not only talked about, but is an integral part of the show. You know that it's become a show that has a live band. The actors play the instruments. They play about a dozen songs. And it's a mix of Dengue, half Dengue Fever songs, half mostly Cambodian oldies. It's kind of been an incredible journey and I could not have imagined what that journey would be, it's hard to replicate. [00:41:53] Miko Lee: I love that. So has Joe been in every production you've done of the show so far? [00:41:57] Lauren Yee: So he hasn't been able to be in everyone. There were two productions happening at the same time, and so he could only be in one place at one time. But I bet you he would've tried to be in two places at once. But he's basically been in almost every production. And the production that he's in currently running at the Alley Theater in Houston is is like the production, the original production directed by Chay Yew. [00:42:24] Miko Lee: Wow. And was it difficult to cast all actors that were also musicians? [00:42:30] Lauren Yee: In some ways there there's I think if you were starting from scratch and you like open your window and you're like, where could I find some actors? I think it would be tough. But I just kept running into kind of like crazy happenstance where I would find a person and I wasn't even thinking about them musically. And they'd be like, yeah, like I've played bass, for 15 years. and I could kind of do drums, right? That what was remarkable is that there were all these Asian American actors who were like known as actors. But then once you like, dig down into their biographies, you're like, Hey, I see like you've actually played drums for X number of years, or, Hey, I see that you play like guitar and bass. Miko Lee: Tell me more about that. Lauren Yee: So it's almost like finding all these stealth musicians and like helping them dust the instruments off and being like, Hey, come back here. Fun. And so it's just been, it's just been like a joy. [00:43:27] Miko Lee: Oh, that's so great. I know the play is about music and also about memory, and I'm wondering if there's a story that has framed your creative process that stands out to you. [00:43:39] Lauren Yee: I don't know if it's one specific memory, but I find that just a lot of my stories I think they deal with family. I think they deal with parents and their grown children trying to reconnect with each other, trying to overcome family secrets and generational struggles. I would say I have a great relationship with my father. But I think, in every parent and child relationship, one thing that I'm fascinated by are these attempts to get to know someone, like especially your own parent, even when you know them well, and especially when you know them well. That kind of is able to penetrate that barrier that sometimes you hit in generations, right? That there's a wall that your parents put up. Or that there's this impossibility of knowing who your parents were before you had them because they had a whole life. And you only know this like tiny bit of it. And I think I'm just like fascinated by that. I'm fascinated by the impact of time. I'm fascinated by extraordinary circumstances and the ordinary people who lived through those times. And I think for a large part, even though Cambodian rock band features a family whose lived experience is different from my own. I think there's a lot of my own relationship with my father that I put into that relationship. This desire to know your parent better, this desire to know them even as they're trying to protect you. So yeah. [00:45:06] Miko Lee: What do your parents think about your work? [00:45:10] Lauren Yee: I think my parents are incredibly supportive, but like different in the way that one might think because my parents aren't arts people they of course like enjoy a story or enjoy a show, but they're not people who are like, I have a subscription to this theater, or I'm gonna go to this museum opening. and so their intersection with the arts, I feel like has been out of a sense of like love for me. Their ways of supporting me early on when like I was interested in theater and trying to figure out a way to go about it, like in high school when I was trying to like, put on a show with my friends and they were like in the back folding the programs or like building, the door to the set. And hauling away, all the furniture, so we could bring it to the theater. So like my parents have been supportive, but in a very, like nuts and bolts kind of way. Miko Lee: That's so sweet and that's so important. When I was doing the theater, my mom would come to every single show. Lauren Yee: Just Oh, bless that is, bless her. [00:46:14] Miko Lee: Ridiculous commitment. Yeah. I don't that for my kids, like every show. I wanna back up a little bit cuz we're talking about family. Can you tell me who are your people and where do you come from? [00:46:27] Lauren Yee: Ooh. That's such a great question. I think there are like many ways of answering that. When I think of home, I think of San Francisco, I live in New York now. But my whole youth, I grew up in San Francisco. My parents were both born there. My grandmother was born and raised there, one of my grandfathers was, born more like up the Delta and the other side of my family, my grandparents came from Toisan China. So on one hand, my family's from like that Pearl River Delta part of China. And at various times, like made a break for the United States. I think starting in the 1870s and spanning into the early 20th century you know, so we've been here for a while. And another way of thinking about it is we're all very, I think, suffused in our family's history in San Francisco. It's hard for me to go to a Chinese restaurant with my family without somebody from our table knowing somebody else in the restaurant, like inevitable. And it's something that never happens to me. I don't think it's ever happened to me when living in New York. Yeah. And I think And that's fun. That's fun. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. And I think b eing able to be Chinese American. Growing up in San Francisco, it's different than other, Asian Americans living in other parts of the country. Like in a strange way, it allows you to like be more of whoever you wanna be, right? When you're like not the only one. That it allows you to like, potentially choose a different path and not have to worry about. I don't know, just like carrying that load. [00:48:01] Miko Lee: That is so interesting. Do you mean because there's safety, because you're around so many other Chinese Americans, Asian Americans, that you can bring forth a greater sense of your individuality? [00:48:13] Lauren Yee: Yeah, I think so, like I went to Lowell High School where, you know, two thirds of the class is Asian American. There's just such a wide range of what an Asian American student at Lowell looks like. And what we're interested in and how our weird obsessions manifest so I think I just felt more freedom in differentiating myself cuz I like theater and I like storytelling. [00:48:36] Miko Lee: That's really interesting. Thanks so much for sharing that. I'm wondering, because Cambodian rock band is partially about when the communists took over Cambodia. If, when you were growing up as a multi-generational Chinese American, did you hear very much about communism and the impact on China? [00:48:57] Lauren Yee: I did not. And possibly it was swirling around. And I was too young to really understand the impacts. But when I look back on it, a lot of my plays, Cambodian Rock Band included, have to do with the intersection of Communism and American culture. Like another play I have called The Great Leap which was at ACT in San Francisco, also dealt with American culture like basketball, intersecting in communist China in the 1970s and then the 1980s. And like, honestly, in retrospect, the effects of communism were all around me growing up in San Francisco in the nineties. That the kids that I went to school with, like in elementary school, came there in various waves, but a lot of them pushed from Asia because of the influences of communism that you had of a wave of kids who came over. In the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union, you had kids who came preempting, the Hong Kong handover back to China. You had kids, who came to San Francisco in the wake of the fall of the Vietnam War. So there were like all these, political movements the effects of war that were like shaping the people around me. And I didn't realize it until like very much later. [00:50:19] Miko Lee: Oh, that's so interesting. Thank you so much. By the way. I really loved the Great Leap. It was such an interesting thank you way of really talking about some deep issues, but through such an American sport like basketball I enjoyed that so much. So thank you so much for sharing about your San Francisco influence. I'm curious because you've been writing TV now limited series like Pachinko and also congrats on writing the musical for Wrinkle In Time. Amazing. Thank you. [00:50:49] Lauren Yee: That is a book that I loved and just shook me, I forget what grade I was in, but I was probably like, 10 or 11 or something. So I think the fact that I get to interface and get to dig into such an iconic work as Wrinkle in Time, blows my mind. [00:51:05] Miko Lee: That is going to be so exciting. I'm really looking forward to that. Yeah. Yeah. But my question was really about you working on Pachinko and these other series, how different is playwriting to screen versus TV writing? [00:51:17] Lauren Yee: Yeah. I think in a way like the work that I did on Pachinko, for instance, like I was on the writing staff, that's a role where you're like supporting the creator of the show, which in this instance is Sue Hugh, who is just an incredible mind. And she had like kind of this vision for what she wanted to do with the adaptation of Pachinko. And, you know, you, as a writer on staff you're really helping to support that. So I think your role is a little bit different when you're brought on staff for tv that you're helping to birth the thing along and contribute your part. Whereas when you're a playwright like the piece remains with you, and you just have I think a greater sense of control over what happens to it. [00:52:00] Miko Lee: What surprised you in your creative process while you were working on this play, this musical? [00:52:08] Lauren Yee: I think the thing that I realized when I was writing Cambodian Rock Band is that in order for the play to really click together is that joy has to be at the center of it. That Cambodian rock band is a piece about art and artists and family surviving really horrific events. And in order to tell that story, you need to fall in love with the music. You need to understand why these people might have risked their lives. For art, you need to understand why art matters. And I think a feature of my work is finding the light in dark places that there is a lot, in the play that is heavy. There are points where it is surprisingly and shockingly funny and that there are moments of just incredible heart in places like you probably won't be expecting. And I think that's been a big lesson of developing this piece. [00:53:14] Miko Lee: Lauren Yee thank you so much for talking with me and sharing about Cambodian Rock Band and your artistic process. I know it's gonna be running at Berkeley rep February 25th through April 2nd. Where else is it running for folks that might not live in the Bay? [00:53:30] Lauren Yee: Yeah, so if you live in the Bay Area, or if you want just see it again, which is totally fine. Lots of people see it again. This same production is going to travel to arena stage in DC over the summer in the fall it'll be at Fifth Avenue and Act Theater up in Seattle, and then at the very beginning of 2024 it will be at Center Theater Group. [00:53:54] Miko Lee: Thank you so much for chatting with me today. I really appreciate you and your work out there in the world. [00:54:00] Lauren Yee: Thank you, Miko. [00:54:02] Miko Lee: That was playwright Lauren Yee. And I'm going to play you out, hearing one song from Dengue Fever, which is in Cambodian rock band. This is Uku. song [00:56:55] Miko Lee: Thank you so much for joining us. Please check out our website, kpfa.org backslash program, backslash apex express to find out more about the show tonight and to find out how you can take direct action. 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 and Paige Chung and special editing by Swati Rayasam. Thank you so much to the KPFA staff for their support have a great night. The post APEX Express – 2.9.23 Theatre & Memory or Why Art Matters appeared first on KPFA.

This week, a conversation with two brothers, both distinguished members of the federal judiciary, Justice Stephen Breyer and his brother, Judge Charles Breyer. Stephen Breyer retired in summer 2022 after nearly 28 years as a member of the Supreme Court. Prior to that, he served nearly 14 years as a Court of Appeals Judge. He is especially appreciated for his pragmatism, issuing decisions most often informed by their real life consequences, and his firm belief that judges are loyal to the law, not to a political party. Born in San Francisco, both he and brother Judge Charles Breyer attended Lowell High School. Their father served as legal counsel to the San Francisco Board of Education, and their mother focused on public service. Senior United States District Judge Charles Breyer has served on the bench for 25 years. He was an assistant special prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force from 1973 to 1974, and then entered private practice 1974 to 1997, interrupted by a brief stint as chief assistant district attorney of San Francisco in 1979.  On January 7, 2023, the Breyer brothers appeared on stage at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with Judge Vince Chhabria, who served as a law clerk for both Breyers.

We talk with Lowell High School history teacher Jessica Lander about her new book, "Making Americans: Stories of Historic Struggle, New Ideas, and Inspiration in Immigrant Education," and one of her former students, Safiya, who was born in Iraq and is featured in the book.

#202 - Thanksgiving is the biggest day for running races in the United States. Over a million runners participate in races across the country. And Turkey Trots are so fun! One of the most fun is the neighborhood SF Turkey Trot! This year was special as it was the 20th Annual! This week, I review the race, as well as talk to runners before the race! Martha Runs the World websitehttps://www.martharunstheworld.com/Email:martharunstheworld@gmail.comInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/martha_runs_sf/

Have you ever met a person who simply exudes "character, honor, and humility"? If not, you will now!R.J. wrestled for two years at the University of Michigan and then two more years with Michigan State University. After his college career, he began coaching at Lowell High School. As head coach these past 9 years, he has lead his squad to 9 consecutive state championships! 9!!! This currently stands as the MHSAA record for ALL sports. He is a husband to his amazing wife, Kelli and the father of four superstar daughters; Dani, Brynlee, Lexi, and Carlee.He's so humble, that I decided to do the bragging for him. You don't want to miss his amazing story and his immense wisdom. https://wrestlingvault.com/Thank you, R.J. and to you in The Bamboo Pack! You are the most team in the podcasting world!Your host,BrianVenture Europepersonal conversations with the entrepreneurs and investors reshaping our futureListen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify All Business. No Boundaries.A collection of supply chain stories by the North American leader in contract logisticsListen on: Apple Podcasts Spotifyhttps://bamboolab3.com/

How would you respond if told by your parents you could not marry the love of your life… That special someone you had known since the age of seven?     Fletcher's book is an autobiography, a memoir, and a biography of her husband Al to whom she was a caregiver for 59 years. This is a journey of two determined people through their garden of stones overcoming hurdles that could have destroyed a marriage, but God was good, always, even performing miracles.   From eloping to living happily ever after with Al, the forbidden love of her life, Fletcher captures significant moments with a dose of nostalgia and a bit of humor. At the age of 85, Gladys Fletcher published her first book after taking a few memoir writing classes at Calvin University in Grand Rapids. "At 80, I decided to do something," she said. "At first I just wanted to leave a legacy for my children, but the instructor encouraged me to write a book." "You've got more to share than just with your family," the instructor said. Fletcher shut the door and meditated while sitting in front of the computer for hours. In two years, she had a book. "I had to write it chronologically," she said. "I was honest. It's all true." Listen in to Fletcher's great feats together with Al who was handicapped with rheumatoid arthritis and graduated from Lowell High School at Mary Free Bed in 1941. Sponsored by Doc Chavent and The Lowell Ledger

It is 2022 and we are still fighting the same fights as generations before us. The world is upside down and it is up to us, the younger generation, to try and fix it. The generation of today is no longer going to be silence, we are demanding change and a better world. Generation Z (ages 10-25) has been left a world that has been plagued by economic crisis, a deteriorating climate, a global pandemic and so much more. Come hear from two Bay Area change makers who are asking for more. Both apart of Generation Z, these young activist are working to change the political system and the world around them one action at a time. About the speakers: About Tiana Day: Tiana Day is an 19-year old activist and founder of the nonprofit, Youth Advocates for Change. Day was named one of “CNN's 2020 Heroes, Young Wonder”, named a Golden State Warrior's “Impact Warrior”, featured in over 30 publications and has been in campaigns with major companies like HP, Canva, and Lululemon. She is an advocate for many social justice issues, most notably with her work within the Black Lives Matter movement. The start of her activism career at age 17, Day conducted and lead the first ever Black Lives Matter march across the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco, California in June 2020. The rally was said to bring roughly 50,000 individuals from different backgrounds together with her message to “Lead with Love”. Shortly after, she founded her 501(c)(3)nonprofit organization, Youth Advocates for Change, to give youth a creative outlet to amplify and empower them through intersectional social justice issues. The nonprofit has since expanded throughout California high schools and spread to 5 additional state chapters. About Shavonne Hines-Foster: Shavonne attended San Francisco's Lowell High School, where she served as the San Francisco Unified School District student representative to the Board of Education, as well as serving on the Student Advisory Council to the School District, where she was instrumental in the introduction of new policies at Lowell to promote change to the school culture, such as a resolution to remove its elitist admissions policy. She also served as Lowell's Black Student Union President her senior year where she also promoted greater diversity within the student body. Shavonne also co-founded a nonprofit to increase youth voting turnout called When YOUth Vote in 2020. She is now attending Hampton University and remains active in her school community. In her first year, she served on the Student Government Association Senate as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Co-Chair where she writes bills to fix issues on campus. This year, Shavonne will serve on Hampton University's Student Government Association Cabinet and Women's Caucus. Shavonne continues to serve her community through activism and philanthropy. This year, Shavonne created her own scholarship titled "My Voice, My Power" and awarded $2,000 to a Senior in a San Francisco public school. Shavonne plans to continue serving San Francisco, Hampton, and other communities in need. About Adrianna Zhang: Adrianna Zhang is a 17-year-old policy advocate who currently serves as the Chair of the San Francisco Youth Commission. On the commission, she helped lead the Vote16SF/Prop G campaign to 207k+ votes in 2020, successfully advocated for Free Muni for Youth, and several pieces of legislation that reached the SF Board of Supervisors on a range of topics from addressing anti-AAPI hate crimes to increasing affordable housing and climate action. As the district 7 appointee, she has also hosted the YC's annual participatory budget town hall to increase understanding and voice on the city's budget. Adrianna is also the founder and Executive Director of San Francisco Communities who Help Advance the New Generation of Education, or SF CHANGE , a nationwide organization that has presented free educational workshops to over 30,000 students around the United States. Passionate about education equity, she has led SF CHANGE to partner with organizations such as UNICEF, SF Public Libraries, and more to sponsor and provide resources for the organization. Adrianna is a member of the National Vote16 Advisory Board and was a speaker at TEDxCity of San Francisco 2021. She will attend Stanford University in the fall of 2022.

Scott and Guy Marzorati discuss the House vote to recognize same-sex marriage on the federal level and local criticism to the federal response to the monkeypox outbreak. Then, Board of Equalization chair Malia Cohen joins to discuss her childhood in San Francisco, the meeting with then-mayor Dianne Feinstein that changed her life, her experience at Lowell High School and her run for state Controller.

NEW: Supreme Court decisions on abortion & gun rights sends city officials scrambling; SFPD won't negotiate budget requests; school board reverses decisions on Lowell High School admission and controversial mural cover-up. NEXT: SFMTA decision makers to vote on union salaries and $7M cost for temporary facility; voters will decide fate of sales tax; SFPD equipment scrutinized; proposal to add gender identity to anti-discrimination rules; mitigating impact of ride-hailing and self-driving passenger service; upcoming 4th of July celebrations; supervisors weigh in on proposed $717M budget.

A bitter debate about the criteria for enrolling students at Lowell, in California, has echoes of the soul-searching happening across the U.S. education system.Guest: Jay Caspian Kang, a writer for Times Opinion and The New York Times Magazine; and Jessica Cheung, a senior audio producer for The Daily. Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The decision to replace Lowell High School's admission process with a lottery system was a key factor at play in a recall election in February that ousted three members of San Francisco's school board.For more information on today's episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

San Francisco's Lowell High School will return to a merit-based admissions system after the School Board vote yesterday.  For more, KCBS Radio news anchors Melissa Culross and Eric Thomas spoke with  KCBS Radio Insider Phil Matier.

GUEST BIO Martin Jay Ruiz is someone that found his way on a skateboard and later on to the wrestling mat as a troubled youth. At an early age, he found the blank canvases of the skate deck and the wrestling mat to be the wide-open spaces that allowed his soul the room for infinite expansion. To this day, his heart never lost its passion for the two mediums. He came from the streets of Santa Maria, California, pulled to the magnetic energy of San Francisco – a pilgrimage for skaters because of its steep, long, concrete hills that can send one bombing down a dance between weightlessness and death. As a former collegiate wrestler for SF State, he became the wrestling coach for Lowell High School, one of the most prestigious public high schools in the United States. Under his tutelage, he's coached both boys and girls to multiple state championships. Martin also coaches wrestling to adults at Fight Culture Gym in Daly City; he earned his Blue Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is still an active competitor at thirty-three.   EPISODE NOTES Segment 1 brush with a murderer benefits of learning self-defense | Combat sports working with a moving company what you find inside other people's homes biggest takeaways from working at a moving company Martin Bio + Background Injury stories (ankle + leg) boneless skate move Bones Brigade mental and physical recovery from injuries Segment 2 Dealing with anxiety and depression through wrestling and skating mental and physical support during injury Injury Stories (shoulder) Dolores Park Hill Bombing GX 1000 High School Wrestling Santa Maria Gangland How Martin developed mental toughness Chasing the flow state Segment 3 undefeated as a senior tournament stories handling losses Coach Lars Jensen, SF State Wrestling Moving to SF | College Wrestling Career Experience Mauricio Wright Collegiate Wrestling Practice Structure Segment 4 Collegiate vs High School Wrestling How skateboarding helped mentally for wrestling the power of repetition the prototypical wrestling personality Depletion in relation to stress and trauma “cleansing yourself” How to hold attention in the practice room coaching high schoolers Goal Structuring Coaching a state champ Segment 5 where did you learn how to restructure goals? 7 habits of highly effective people the joys of coaching anxiety and depression from childhood trauma finding a therapist Where does your work ethic come from? intrinsic value, motivation What is your coaching philosophy? Differences between coaching boys and girls How to coach someone who is unmotivated Segment 6 how do you deal with when your best is not enough? coaching strategy/ practice structure Jiu Jitsu vs Wrestling Training West Coast Wrestling Evolution of wrestling Fight Culture, Daly City what is it like to bomb a hill in sf 

Today Carl shares his unique perspective of the Uvalde, Texas shooting, having been the victim of 2 violent crimes himself. He offers a stark reminder that although it's maddening to watch the video of cops standing by while children are slaughtered, we can't expect cops to come to our rescue. They only respond to 911 calls after someone has been attacked. Carl urges parents to arm themselves and get involved in school board meetings to make sure their local schools are as safe as possible from mass shooters. Other topics include: Georgia sees a major increase in minority voting after the Georgia Election Integrity Act was passed; How many active shooters were stopped by citizens; Audio of China planning to attack Taiwan is leaked and San Francisco parents demand Lowell High School return to merit based curriculum instead of wokeness that's dumbing their kids down.   More: www.Carljacksonshow.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carljacksonradio Twitter:https://twitter.com/carljacksonshow Parler: https://parler.com/carljacksonshow http://www.TheCarlJacksonPodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today Carl shares his unique perspective of the Uvalde, Texas shooting, having been the victim of 2 violent crimes himself. He offers a stark reminder that although it's maddening to watch the video of cops standing by while children are slaughtered, we can't expect cops to come to our rescue. They only respond to 911 calls after someone has been attacked. Carl urges parents to arm themselves and get involved in school board meetings to make sure their local schools are as safe as possible from mass shooters. Other topics include: Georgia sees a major increase in minority voting after the Georgia Election Integrity Act was passed; How many active shooters were stopped by citizens; Audio of China planning to attack Taiwan is leaked and San Francisco parents demand Lowell High School return to merit based curriculum instead of wokeness that's dumbing their kids down.   More: www.Carljacksonshow.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carljacksonradio Twitter:https://twitter.com/carljacksonshow Parler: https://parler.com/carljacksonshow http://www.TheCarlJacksonPodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. men's and women's soccer teams will split pay and prize money in a groundbreaking new collective bargaining agreement with the U.S. Soccer Federation. In Pennsylvania, John Fetterman, who recently had a stroke, won the Democratic nomination for Senate. Doug Mastriano, who backed Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, won the GOP nomination for governor.  It's not true that corporations are orchestrating inflation because they see an opportunity to pad their bottom lines, says the Washington Post's Catherine Rampell. At California's competitive Lowell High School, many students are from working-class Asian families, and they're struggling to get into Ivy League colleges.  Evan Kleiman offers recipes featuring spring fruit. Use strawberries for scones, blueberries for pies, rhubarb for BBQ sauce, and Meyer lemon sugar for cookies. 

In her new film, "Try Harder," Debbie Lum takes viewers through the reality of the American college application process and the intersections of race, class, educational opportunity and attainment.  The documentary focuses on students who attend Lowell High School in San Francisco California, a school known for academic excellence. Asians represent the majority of the student body, but all of the students at Lowell high school face intense pressure from their families and peers to get into the most competitive colleges.   

In her new film, "Try Harder," Debbie Lum takes viewers through the reality of the American college application process and the intersections of race, class, educational opportunity and attainment.  The documentary focuses on students who attend Lowell High School in San Francisco California, a school known for academic excellence. Asians represent the majority of the student body, but all of the students at Lowell high school face intense pressure from their families and peers to get into the most competitive colleges.   

4/28/22--This week, Steve and Lisa discuss the state of COVID rates in Massachusetts, and what we might be missing when we talk about numbers of positive cases. New data from The MassINC Polling Group shows there are disparities between the households that use at-home tests to test for COVID and those that get tested at a testing site. That means we may be undercounting cases in specific places and groups. Wealthier people are more likely to have been testing themselves at home, where positives would not be reported. Schools and lower-income areas are perhaps overrepresented since they would potentially be caught in official reporting channels. Later on in the show, Steve is joined by Manny Cruz, Director of Advocacy in Massachusetts for Latinos for Education, and Ralph Saint-Louis, a Policy Fellow at Teach Plus Massachusetts and a science teacher at Lowell High School, to discuss the Educator Diversity Act, which, if passed by the legislature, would seek to make Massachusetts educators a more diverse workforce. As of now, 42% of all students in Massachusetts identify as students of color, but only 10% of all teachers in the state identify as Black, Latino or API.

An award-winning filmmaker, Debbie Lum's projects give voice to the Asian/American experience and other unsung stories. Her documentary, TRY HARDER!, shines a light on San Francisco's iconic Lowell High School as it follows members of the senior class as they navigate the system and the pressure they feel applying to Ivy League colleges. It premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews and was broadcast on PBS' Independent Lens, along with a campaign to promote student health and AAPI stories. So much to talk about, so join us for one fascinating, eye opening conversation.

In this episode you will hear:   (07:45) In this week's “In the news” segment,  Mark and Dave discuss a February 14th, 2022 article,  by Scott Jaschik that appeared in the Inside Higher Ed. The article is entitled, “Does calculus count too much in admissions.” The article presents a pretty compelling case that there is a lot of resistance to the weight placed on calculus in admissions decisions. Mark and Dave look at why study after study can report that statistics or data science is more correlated with life sciences and other course work but that has had little effect on the primacy of calculus.     (30:48) Question from a listener-   Question 1   How common is it on today's campuses that they give “credit” for AP/IB but still require a distribution requirement in the same subject area? I am trying to minimize unnecessary stress for my kid.    Bobbi from Ohio   Question 2   Victoria applied early admission 2 to Auburn. We thought it would be an easy "yes" with her 4.7 unweighted GPA after senior year. However, she applied test optional because her score is 1260 on the SAT. Auburn deferred her. The college counselor at our school and I were completely shocked when they did not accept her. Our college counselor called the admissions officer for our area. She said they did not look at anything except grades and test scores. They did not consider anything else in the application. The Auburn admissions officer encouraged Victoria to send in her test scores. She said her full file would be considered for admission in March.    In hindsight, Victoria remembers our tour guide at Auburn in July hinting that Auburn says it is test-optional, but not really. She didn't say it that way, but Victoria realizes now that was meant what she meant.   Victoria sent in her scores in late February and was accepted on March 4th.     Unfortunately, the delay caused her to miss out on Auburn scholarship opportunities.  We wish we had known they were not really tested optional? How common is it for colleges to tell you that they are test-optional but they really aren't completely test-optional?    Melinda from NC   Question 3-   Are all hooks equal or do some count more than others? How can we know which ones count the most    (Anonymous question asker)   (01:06:55) Our interview is with Chris Gruber-Vice President and Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid at Davidson College-"How the pandemic forced Davidson to examine its own admission biases and make changes" Part 2 of 2   (01:22:15) Our recommended resource for episode 221 is the Documentary “Try Harder”. Lisa and Mark were both transfixed watching this documentary and they cannot recommend “Try Harder” more highly. The documentary looks at how the pressure students at Lowell High School feel to go to a prestigious college and the impact this pressure has on their self-esteem and mental health.   (01:40:45) Our College Spotlight looks at, “Understanding Danish Universities” with International Specialist Kevin Newton (Part 2 of 2)   To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our free quarterly admissions deep-dive, delivered directly to your email four times a year, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign up on the right side of the page under “the Listen to our podcast icons”   Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news,  and updates about the podcast before they go live. You can ask questions on Twitter that he will answer them on the podcast. Mark will also share additional hot topics in the news and breaking news on this Twitter feed:     To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/ Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript   We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK.   Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple's search feature so others can find our podcast.   Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: questions@yourcollegeboundkid.com.   If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!   If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you subscribe to our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.   Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends:   Check out the college websites Mark recommends:   If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link:     If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at lisa@schoolmatch4u.com. All they ask is that you review their services on their website before the complimentary session. Their counseling website is:

Continuing the school theme, this week, we repodcast an episode on Lowell High School. It wasn't always located near Stonestown and Lake Merced.

This Week: It's America in 2022, and while right wing folk are literally threatening to kill kids of school board members across the country, we find ourselves in a media frenzy over the recall of three San Francisco Unified School District Board members. And what's to blame? Well, the LA Times, SF Chronicle, NY Times, the Atlantic, and the AP sort of agree. Kinda. Was it the effort to rename dozens of schools named after problematic, and arguably problematic, white folk? Was it the effort to make the legendary Lowell High School, an elite and predominantly Asian American school, a lottery based admissions school so its demographics would be more representative of the city? Was it the pandemic safety practices that resulted in SFUSD having distance learning longer than most districts? Was it backlash against an equity and racial justice agenda? Is it the end of “woke” politics and doom for Dems in the midterms??!?!?!?! Manuel and Jeff attempt a reasoned discussion. Get your All of the Above swag, including your own “Teach the Truth” shirt! In this moment of relentless attacks on teaching truth in the classroom, we got you covered. https://all-of-the-above-store.creator-spring.com Passing Period is an AOTA podcast extra that gives us a chance to check-in, reflect, and discuss powerful stories in between our full episodes. Watch, listen and subscribe to make sure you don't miss our latest content! Website: https://AOTAshow.com Stream all of our content at: linktr.ee/AOTA Watch at: YouTube.com/AlloftheAbove Listen at: apple.co/38QV7Bd and anchor.fm/AOTA Follow us at: Facebook.com/AOTAshow and Twitter.com/AOTAshow --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/aota/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/aota/support

A Supreme Court bombshell today, as Justice Stephen Breyer decides to retire at the end of this term That will give President Biden his first Supreme Court vacancy to fill, and it will come in the middle of a contentious midterm election year Justice Breyer is from San Francisco, he went to Lowell High School, he was a contemporary of Jerry Brown, he was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton 28 years ago. Retiring, at age 83, opens up one of the three remaining seats in the court's liberal wing. For more on Breyer's retirement and what comes next, KCBS News Anchors Patti Reising and Jeff Bell along side KCBS political reporter and host of The State of California, Doug Sovern spoke with Jessica Levinson, law professor at Loyola Law in Los Angeles.

In our second Anatomy of a Scene featurette, we delve into two key scenes from TRY HARDER! with director Debbie Lum. In this illuminating conversation, Debbie offers some fascinating back story to deepen our understanding of the complex dynamics that play out on screen.   The Scenes: Scene 1: Winter Holiday at Le Soleil Restaurant - 42:37 – 45:06 Scene 2: Chinese New Year at R&G Restaurant - 51:28 – 53:37   The Setup: In these two scenes from the second half of the film, Debbie Lum and her crew tag along with Alvan, a senior at San Francisco's Lowell High School and one of the film's main characters, during the most intense phase of the college admission process. In the first scene, which takes place at Le Soleil restaurant, Alvan's mom, Capri, discusses how the college admissions process in the U.S. is vastly different from Capri's native country of Taiwan. It's a scene rife with code-switching: between an immigrant parent and her son, as well as between filmmakers and subject.   In the second scene, which occurs the next month on Chinese New Year, the holiday plays a key role in Alvan's potential prospects for admission to Brown University. By offering the Brown interviewer a small gift, has his mother, accustomed to traditions of gift giving on such occasions, made a serious misstep that could hurt Alvan's chances? Once again, Alvan is the master code switcher. But this time, he is more assertive in his interactions with his headstrong mother. How this family traverses the minefield of the high-stakes college admissions process sheds light on the hurdles and discrimination that Asian Americans must overcome if they hope to gain admission to America's most elite colleges. Listen also to our full-length interview with Debbie about “Try Harder!”

"Try Harder" director Debbie Lum talks to Emil Guillermo about Lowell High School and the college admissions process captured in the film's profile of five students of diverse backgrounds. What are AAPI going through to get to the elite colleges of their choice? And how are their parents dealing with it? Is it possible that the African American parent wins the "Tiger Mom" competition?  And what of the white student who knows he has no chance to compete? Everyone wants to go to an elite college but no one ever asks if it's a right fit. The kids grow up as the film progresses. When it's over, you'll want to know why some got in, and others didn't.  Emil, a Lowell alum, also compares his experiences with those of the students in the film. Find out where the film is showing at www.tryharderfilm.com Listen to Emil Amok's Takeout Live at 2pm Pacific on Facebook, Twitter @emilamok, and on YouTube. Copyright 2021-2

Welcome to Flash Back Friday! With 600+ episodes, we're excited to revisit some of our favorites with our new listeners (and maybe new to our regular listeners).We're bringing you back to the Sundance Film Festival of 2021, where we discussed a local story directed by San Franciscan Debbie Lum. Her film, Try Harder!  focuses on  Lowell High School - a public school that kids have to test into - and a handful of students that are (and sometimes their parents) obsessed with getting into Ivy League colleges. The film made us think about our high school experiences and appreciate that our parents didn't pressure us about getting into college. Like, not at all. Try Harder! is out in theaters today! For more info, click hereFollow Try Harder! on IG, FB, and Twitter.Thanks for listening and for your support! We couldn't have reached 600 episodes without your help! --Be well, stay safe, Black Lives Matter, AAPI Lives Matter, and thank you for being vaxxed!--SUPPORT US HERE!Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage!Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.comFollow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.Listen every other Thursday 9:30 - 10 am on BFF.FMPOWERED BY GO-TO Productions 

For many 17- and 18-year-olds, life exists on the unsettling edge between the daily grind of high school and the promised land of freedom and opportunity: college. The brilliance of Debbie Lum's enthralling new documentary “Try Harder!” is that it occupies the treacherous space in between these two worlds by focusing on the hyper competitive college application process. With an all-access pass to Lowell High School, San Francisco's top-ranked public high school, “Try Harder!” profiles five endearing students (and their parents) who are struggling to make it through the process in one piece. In this up-close-and-personal conversation, Mike and Ken discover that they went to the same college as Debbie (but during a much less competitive time). When Mike shares his recent experiences as a parent of a student who has just gone through all this, Debbie jokingly calls Mike a “wolf dad”, and the podcast is off-and-running… How did Debbie get access to Lowell and what got the students to open up to her and her crew? Why was it so important to Debbie to explore — and explode — the myth of Asian Americans as a model minority? (At Lowell, the majority of the student body is Asian American). And why did Debbie want the silly and fun side of adolescence to shine through just as much as the academics? Join us for this silly/fun/warm conversation about growing up. To be admitted, all you need to do is press “play”. “Try Harder!” (Greenwich Entertainment)  debuts in theaters December 3rd in New York, LA and the SF Bay Area and will have its broadcast premiere on PBS' Independent Lens on May 2, 2022. Follow us on twitter @topdocspod Hidden Gem:  AKA Don Bonus

3 members of the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education will be facing a recall vote in February. The special election encompasses a whole host of polarizing issues in the district: in-person learning, the admissions policy at Lowell High School, the effort to rename schools, Commissioner Alison Collins' 2016 tweets that were seen as anti-Asian, and more. Throughout these crises, student voices have often remained on the periphery. So today, we're revisiting an episode from April where we hear SFUSD students sharing their views — and how they feel about the debate happening around them. Guest: Holly J. McDede, KQED reporter and producer This episode originally aired on April 19, 2021. More Reading: 'It's a Question of Competence': San Francisco to Hold Recall Election of 3 School Board Members 'All Political': SF Board of Education President Gabriela López on the Recall Effort Against Her, 2 Other Board Members SF School Board Recall Funded Mostly by Local Donors, With Venture Capitalists Topping the List

After a flood of criticism from parents, three members of the San Francisco Board of Education are facing recall in a special election set for Feb. 15. Recall supporters accused the board members of mismanaging school re-openings during the pandemic, misplacing energy on renaming schools and changing the admissions process for Lowell High School, the elite magnet school, and being ill-prepared to steward the district's finances amid a looming $116 million budget deficit. We'll discuss what's next for the school board.

Three San Francisco school board members will face a recall vote in a mid-February special election, city officials announced Monday. Officials confirmed they verified enough signatures to put the recall on the ballot, which will determine the fate of President Gabriela López, Vice President Faauuga Moliga and commissioner Alison Collins. The Feb. 15 election will also select the city's next assessor-recorder. Organizers launched the recall effort as San Francisco families expressed anger and frustration that public schools remained closed for much of last school year even as other districts and private schools reopened in the Bay Area. Critics of the board said even as distance learning devastated many families, commissioners spent significant time and energy on renaming 44 schools, a decision later reversed, and ending the merit-based admission to academically elite Lowell High School. Several public officials as well as political organizations and community groups previously called for Collins to resign over anti-Asian tweets she posted prior to her election. Collins refused to take the tweets down or apologize for the wording, saying they were taken out of context. Mayor London Breed, 10 of 11 supervisors as well as dozens of current and former elected officials demanded her resignation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three San Francisco school board members will face a recall vote in a mid-February special election, city officials announced Monday. Officials confirmed they verified enough signatures to put the recall on the ballot, which will determine the fate of President Gabriela López, Vice President Faauuga Moliga and commissioner Alison Collins. The Feb. 15 election will also select the city's next assessor-recorder. Organizers launched the recall effort as San Francisco families expressed anger and frustration that public schools remained closed for much of last school year even as other districts and private schools reopened in the Bay Area. Critics of the board said even as distance learning devastated many families, commissioners spent significant time and energy on renaming 44 schools, a decision later reversed, and ending the merit-based admission to academically elite Lowell High School. Several public officials as well as political organizations and community groups previously called for Collins to resign over anti-Asian tweets she posted prior to her election. Collins refused to take the tweets down or apologize for the wording, saying they were taken out of context. Mayor London Breed, 10 of 11 supervisors as well as dozens of current and former elected officials demanded her resignation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Damon Amato has gone from zero to hero as a real estate investor and developer in just six years. Tune in to hear his story, tips and advice on finding great properties, creating a great team and thinking outside the box on this episode of Get Your FILL-Financial Independence & Long Life Podcast. Watch the video About Damon Amato: Co-Founder, Downeast Residential | Business Development/Loan Coordinator Damon has 11 years' experience as a real estate developer and investor. He understands what is needed to succeed in the real estate market and is able to quickly and efficiently assess any proposal, as well as liaises with clients in order to provide an enjoyable experience building houses. With a vast knowledge of various intricacies of what can make a house a home, Damon enjoys giving clients a life-changing experience. In addition to being a real estate entrepreneur, Damon is a practicing Athletic Trainer for Lowell High School in Lowell Massachusetts. He has a master's degree in applied nutrition and wrote the 2018 textbook: An Athletic Trainer's Guide to Sports Nutrition. Damon is very active building single family homes, entitling land and acquiring large multi-family buildings. https://www.downeastresidential.com/ https://www.instagram.com/downeastresidential/ https://www.facebook.com/downeastres

Co-hosts Heather and Ashley discuss homelessness in the Bay Area with Elena Field, president and founder of the Youth Homeless Advocacy Club at Lowell High School. CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PLATFORMS https://linktr.ee/youthforyou Music Credit: LAKEY INSPIRED Track Name: "Blue Boi" Music By: LAKEY INSPIRED @ https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired Original upload HERE - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAukvwLCVbM Official "LAKEY INSPIRED" YouTube Channel HERE - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOmy8wuTpC95lefU5d1dt2Q License for commercial use: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported "Share Alike" (CC BY-SA 3.0) License. Full License HERE - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/nz/ Music promoted by NCM https://goo.gl/fh3rEJ Cover by: @Drew_Creates

​Ed. note: As with Part 1 of Larry's episode, a reminder that we recorded under the BART tracks, so we took pauses when trains passed by overhead. We left that audio in the final edit and we hope you enjoy. In this podcast, Larry picks up where he left off in Part 1. He talks about going to Lowell High School in The City and then Academy of Art University, where he first got to know people very unlike himself. In his high school days, Larry had started to question things he was into as well as stereotypes of Black young men such as himself. He took some acting and movies courses at AAU and then went on to actual theater school. But Larry didn't wanna be an actor. A chance ride one day turned out to be fortuitous. He got an in at The Punchline. As he was coming up in comedy, as he puts it, he "disappeared from the world" to hone his craft. It was around this time that he also got an internship at KMEL. Larry traces his activism to his time at City College. He worked with Black Lives Matter, various Black student unions around The City, fed houseless folks. He makes light of his activist work, but ties it back to his comedy. He shares stories of some of his first times on the comedy stage. He lets us know about his 101-year plan. 2020 being 2020 threw things off a little, but thanks to his week-by-week plan, Larry was able to pivot. And he ends the podcast sharing his hopes for San Francisco to get its soul back through culture and youth and how he wants to focus on reparations. Follow Larry on social media @larrydorseyjr We recorded this podcast at Cayuga Park under the BART tracks in April 2021. Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Co-hosts Heather and Ashley discuss homelessness in the Bay Area with Elena Field, president and founder of the Youth Homeless Advocacy Club at Lowell High School. CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PLATFORMSSPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/7lhHxpjux2K8gztB0RexpR?si=127DNjodTo6EZAaGQWBC2QYOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1KlaqCtOEr5NPb2T4mMUKfmiO9xCgZLo​SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/youth-for-youAPPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/youth-for-you/id1553646159 ​Music Credit: LAKEY INSPIREDTrack Name: "Blue Boi"Music By: LAKEY INSPIRED @ soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired​Original upload HERE - www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAukv...​​Official "LAKEY INSPIRED" YouTube Channel HERE - www.youtube.com/channel/UCOmy...​​License for commercial use: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported "Share Alike" (CC BY-SA 3.0) License.Full License HERE - creativecommons.org/licenses/...​Music promoted by NCM goo.gl/fh3rEJ​Cover by: @Drew_Creates

San Francisco Unified School District has been mired in several controversies over this past year, and the politics around its school board have been especially tense. Whether it's the attempt to rename 44 schools, the debate over Lowell High School's admissions process, or tweets by Commissioner Alison Collins, adults have been taking up the most space in these public debates. And some student leaders say that the way these adults have been handling these conversations needs to change. Guest: Holly J. McDede, KQED reporter

The Unverifieds discuss the horrific Atlanta Asian spa murders and their concerns that the righteous energy from it will disappear once the narrative becomes more complex as it was before (as opposed to blaming the creepy white religious incel). Also, they discuss the need for more specific language when discussing the topic of fetishization and the whole craziness going on at Lowell High School in San Francisco. Follow us on Twitter at @unver1fiedaccts! Intro Song: "Chairman Mao" by Bambu TWITTER: Chris: @JesuInToast Liza: @aesthdistance1 Filip: @filipgwriting REFERENCED RESOURCES: Support Red Canary Song Christine Liwag Dixon's article on dangers of Asian female fetishization r/asiantwox thread on white women and Asian fetishization r/asiantwox thread on Asian women fighting back against fetishization EMAIL: unverifiedaccts@gmail.com  

We talk RIP Marvin Hagler, Myers Leonard and the soft racism of Jewish slurs, nobody is talking about China, stimulus, kratom, SFUSD, Lowell High School and the racism of merit and Old Lew harasses Christians.

On Thursday, the California state legislature approved a $6.6 billion plan to encourage school districts to resume in-person learning for the youngest public school students in the state. Meanwhile, some students have noticed their perspectives missing from the conversation about re-opening schools. Today, we hear from some. Guests: Joy Cheng, senior at Lowell High School in San Francisco; Melina Kritikopoulos, senior at Santa Clara High School; Isabella Brenneman, junior at Kit Carson International Academy in Sacramento Subscribe to our newsletter here. Episode transcript here: http://bit.ly/3sPLTPB

Manufou and Reno Anoa'i are the guests and talk about the Samoan Dynasty wrestling family and Rodney Anoa'i "Yokozuna" documentary released last week the WWE entertainment as well as the controversay at Lowell High School in San Francisco.

It's been a big week for the San Francisco Unified School District: first the city filed a lawsuit against the district in an effort to get students back in the classroom. The two sides are also at odds over the admissions policy at Lowell High School, the academic high school in the city. Not only that, there is a long list of schools up for being renamed. To dissect all of this, Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle Education Reporter, filling in for Phil Matier, joined KCBS Radio news anchors, Jeff Bell and Patti Reising. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Try Harder!" is a documentary by Debbie Lum about Lowell High School, Asian Americans, and the competitive world of modern college admissions that premiered this week at the Sundance Film Festival. We chat about this doc that hits close to home as former "high-achieving" Asian Americans. What's Popping? - Shadow & Bone, Lisa Kleypas, The ExpanseFollow our hosts:Marvin Yueh - @marvinyuehJess Ju - @jessjutweetsHanh Nguyen - @hanhonymousFollow the show and engage with us at @goodpopclubPart of the Potluck Podcast CollectiveProduced by HappyEcstatic Media

While the experience of the students at Lowell High School is many standard deviations from my own, its exploration is an empathy trip, nevertheless.  The college application process has become increasingly rigorous and the competition for top tier schools is tight.  The teens in Try Harder! have centered their entire high school experience around joining the “right” clubs, making the “correct” connections and constantly seeking perfection in the name of “Stanford”.  Granted, Lowell kids aren’t your average students, but their plight is shared by so many teens today. Try Harder! reminds us how relieved we are that high school is over  Filmmaker Debbie Lum, takes us on a eye-opening anxiety ride (I do mean that kindly) that follows 5 students with very different familial and socioeconomic backgrounds.  Beyond that, the film explores the realities of racial bias and its role in educational opportunities.  For a moment, we get a peek into these teens lives and boy, it's stressful. Catching up with filmmaker Debbie Lum  I had mentally prepared for Rob to unknowingly alienate me from the conversation as he and Lum exchanged “Thurston Howell” chuckles about the good-old-days of being in advanced high school programs.  To be clear, this premonition didn’t come from a place of insecurity, but rather born of Try Harder!’s connectedness to “nerd culture” in high performing schools.  But I was wrong (you can blame that on my 23 I got on the ACT).  Lum’s intimate portrait of high school’s many intense pressures was really just the work of an experienced filmmaker.  In fact, her experience was much like mine. Sorry Rob.  We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did - you can check out Try Harder! when it releases on February 12, 2021. Catch our video interview with Debbie Lum! ****************************************** Love the Podcast? Leave us a review! Other places to follow Alternate Ending. Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitter Tim Letterboxd – Rob Letterboxd – Carrie Letterboxd

Street Soldiers speaks with current students and alumni of Lowell High School to find out what’s going on. Guests-Diane Gray, Tachelle Herron, Sadie Grice, Shavonne Hines-Foster, Tsia Blacksher and Gabrielle Grice. The post Street Soldiers Radio: Racism at San Francisco’s elite public high school? appeared first on Alive and Free.

Third times a charm, y'all. We're back at the Sundance Film Festival, virtually of course, and we're starting it off with a local story directed by San Franciscan Debbie Lum.  Her film, Try Harder!  focus's on a handful of Lowell High School - a public school that kids have to test into - and their (and sometimes parents) obsession with getting into Ivy League colleges.  The film made us think about our high school experiences and appreciate that our parents didn't pressure us about getting into college. Like, not at all. So let's get into our first of many Sundance 2021 interviews and find Try Harder! once it gets its official release date. --Follow Try Harder! on IG,FB, and Twitter.--Be well, stay safe, Black Lives Matter, and thank you for wearing a mask. --Buy us a cup of coffee!Subscribe to our channel on YouTube for behind the scenes footage!Rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts!Visit our website! www.bitchtalkpodcast.comFollow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.Listen every other Thursday 9:30 - 10 am on BFF.FMPOWERED BY GO-TO Productions 

During his administration, Trump set a combative tone with the White House press corps, especially with reporters who were women of color. Weijia Jiang, senior White House correspondent for CBS News, reflects on her time covering the Trump White House. Also, a new documentary "Try Harder!" highlights the pressures on high-achieving students at nationally-ranked Lowell High School in San Francisco.

In this podcast, Rodrigo picks up where he left off in Part 1. He came back to the Mission to go to middle school at Horace Mann, where he met many of his lifelong friends. He ended up at Lowell High School near Lake Merced and temporarily lost touch with those friends. From there, Rodrigo went to San Diego for college. He explains the influence on his life that came from Carlos Aceituno, a capoeira teacher he met at Mission Cultural Center, and how that affected his decision to go to UCSD. That move led to Rodrigo's time in Brazil, which he talks about extensively in this episode. He ends this podcast with his return to The City and his involvement with Calle 24 and San Francisco's Carnaval and starting his latest project, Real City Ambassadors. We recorded this podcast at the offices of Calle 24 Latino Cultural District in November 2020. Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Progressives all across America have declared war on Asians, meritocracy, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Recently, the San Francisco Unified School District voted to replace their merit admissions process at Lowell High School, one of the best high schools in America and also happens to be 61% Asian, with a lottery-based system. https://www.asian-dawn.com/2020/11/19/progressives-declare-war-on-asians-meritocracy-and-stem/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/red-pill-man/support

Progressives all across America have declared war on Asians, meritocracy, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Recently, the San Francisco Unified School District voted to replace their merit admissions process at Lowell High School, one of the best high schools in America and also happens to be 61% Asian, with a lottery-based system. https://www.asian-dawn.com/2020/11/19/progressives-declare-war-on-asians-meritocracy-and-stem/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/red-pill-man/support

A proposal to change how students are admitted to one of the nation's top public schools has ignited an emotional debate that spilled into a San Francisco school board meeting late Tuesday. Due to pandemic restrictions, Lowell may take students based on a lottery rather than academic scores. Is that the right move? Education reporter Jill Tucker breaks it down. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rubi Sanchez is a San Francisco native, Lowell High School alumna, UC Berkeley graduate, and currently a Product Manager at Google. She is passionate about AI powered technologies that create a lasting meaningful impact. Before Google, she co-founded a computer vision company that was recognized by President Obama at the first ever White House Demo Day.#RealCityAmbassadors #RCA #SanFrancisco #Frisco #LowellHighSchool #LatinasinTech 

On this edition of the High School Football America Podcast, Jeff Fisher talks with Noel Dean, the former head coach at Lowell High School in Michigan, who is a member of the state's Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Bill is broadcasting live from Lowell High School today as they're “Hoopin' it up for the Hollern's!” Lowell High School along with Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern got together to help raise awarness and support Tim Hollern on his journey with the fight against Cancer. Tim is the Principle at Forest Hills Eastern and his kids go to Lowell. All of the boys and girls basketball teams are “Hoopin' it up” together today to help spread the word! In our First hour we had MSU Head Basketball Coach Tom Izzo on as well as Tim McCormick to talk some college hoops! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill is broadcasting live from Lowell High School today as they're “Hoopin' it up for the Hollern's!” Lowell High School along with Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern got together to help raise awarness and support Tim Hollern on his journey with the fight against Cancer. Tim is the Principle at Forest Hills Eastern and his kids go to Lowell. All of the boys and girls basketball teams are “Hoopin' it up” together today to help spread the word! In our second hour we had Tony Ortiz and Logan Lamorandier on to discuss the Lions draft. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill is broadcasting live from Lowell High School today as they're “Hoopin' it up for the Hollern's!” Lowell High School along with Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern got together to help raise awarness and support Tim Hollern on his journey with the fight against Cancer. Tim is the Principle at Forest Hills Eastern and his kids go to Lowell. All of the boys and girls basketball teams are “Hoopin' it up” together today to help spread the word! In the final hour we talked with Graham Couch about some MSU football, replayed the Tom Izzo Interview, and Tom Rosenbach from Beenegarter let Bill know how he did on his weekend picks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill is broadcasting live from Lowell High School today as they're “Hoopin' it up for the Hollern's!” Lowell High School along with Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern got together to help raise awarness and support Tim Hollern on his journey with the fight against Cancer. Tim is the Principle at Forest Hills Eastern and his kids go to Lowell. All of the boys and girls basketball teams are “Hoopin' it up” together today to help spread the word! In our First hour we had MSU Head Basketball Coach Tom Izzo on as well as Tim McCormick to talk some college hoops! In our second hour we had Tony Ortiz and Logan Lamorandier on to discuss the Lions draft. In the final hour we talked with Graham Couch about some MSU football, replayed the Tom Izzo Interview, and Tom Rosenbach from Beenegarter let Bill know how he did on his weekend picks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisa Lau Aquino is a proud graduate and parent of an alumna of The Hamlin School. She attended Lowell High School and U.C. Berkeley, and has done graduate work in Multicultural Education at University of San Francisco. Ms. Aquino has taught primarily Science and Health at The Hamlin School for 16 years prior to becoming the Director of Admission in July 2002. She is a member of the Senior Administrative team at Hamlin. Ms. Aquino is also the leader for Hamlin’s Lower School Affinity for Girls of Color group, a California Association of Independent School (CAIS) Accreditation Team Member, President of the Board for the Bay Area Directors of Admission (BADA) and a Board Member of Holy Family Day Home, a preschool in San Francisco's Mission district that serves primarily low income and homeless children and families. Int his podcast, she reflects upon the unique value of single sex education and the importance of considering independent school culture through a lens of inclusivity.

Muni is the through line in this week's podcast story from Simone Herko Felton, a senior at Lowell High School in San Francisco. Simone has lived here all her life and takes the 23-Monterey to go to school daily. She explains what it's like to be a high school student in San Francisco taking this cross town bus, and why this particular line is symbolic of her multi-ethnic identity. Simone is the President of the literary magazine at Lowell High School called The Junkyard. If you have a story to share, we are all ears! Pitch your story to muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com.

Yev Barkalov is an 18 year old hacker who recently graduated from Lowell High School and committed to Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) for Computer Science. In 2018, he organized San Francisco's first high school hackathon and has since been working at software startups in the Bay Area including Repl.it as well as LaunchDarkly (where he currently works). https://yev.bar https://facebook.com/yevbar https://linkedin.com/in/yevbar ******* Simulation interviews the greatest minds alive to inspire you to build the future ► http://simulationseries.com Design Merch, Get Paid, Spread Thought-Provoking Questions ► https://yoobe.me/simulation ******* Subscribe across platforms ► Youtube ► http://bit.ly/SimYoTu iTunes ► http://bit.ly/SimulationiTunes Instagram ► http://bit.ly/SimulationIG Twitter ► http://bit.ly/SimulationTwitter Spotify ► http://bit.ly/SpotifySim ******* Facebook ► http://bit.ly/SimulationFB Soundcloud ► http://bit.ly/SimulationSC LinkedIn ► http://bit.ly/SimulationLinkedIn Patreon ► http://bit.ly/SimulationPatreon Crypto ► http://bit.ly/SimCrypto PayPal ► https://paypal.me/simulationseries ******* Nuance-driven Telegram chat ► http://bit.ly/SimulationTG Allen's TEDx Talk ► http://bit.ly/AllenTEDx Allen's IG ► http://bit.ly/AllenIG Allen's Twitter ► http://bit.ly/AllenT ******* List of Thought-Provoking Questions ► http://simulationseries.com/the-list Get in Touch ► simulationseries@gmail.com

Team VNN interviews Lowell High School athletic director Dee Crowley ahead of the annual Pink Arrow game versus rival Rockford High School. Pink Arrow, now in its 11th year, supports the Gilda's Club of Lowell through a week of events culminating with the football game. Produced by Romy Glazer, Aubrey Clark, Paul Dunteman

  See Emil's latest at http://www.aaldef.org/blog This podcast on Emil's DACA take, plus clips from the news call of UC President Janet Napolitano on the lawsuit seeking to protect DACA recipients.  Also Tom Wong of UCSD talks about his survey of DACA recipients And Luis Quiroz, one DACA recipient hints at how Trump's action has bred a new distrust. A betrayal of Trump?  Emil thinks it may be Trump's ruse to slap down another Obama legacy an rebrand DACA as the Trump Action for Childhood Arrivals.  From DACA to TACA? A prediction. Listen to the podcast for what you need to know about DACA and the upcoming Oct. 5 deadline for eligible renewals. Even with the UC lawsuit, the deadlines aren't apt to change for now.  For DACA help go to http://www.aaldef.org for information Read Emil's latest at http://www.aaldef.org/blog   Emil Guillermo wrote for almost 15 years his "Amok" column for AsianWeek, which was the largest English language Asian American newsweekly in the nation. "Amok" was considered the most widely-read column on Asian American issues in the U.S. His thoughtful and provocative social commentaries have appeared in print in the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com, San Francisco Examiner, USA Today, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and in syndication throughout the country.  His early columns are compiled in a book "Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective," which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2000. Guillermo's journalistic career began in television and radio broadcasting. At National Public Radio, he was the first Asian American male to anchor a regularly scheduled national news broadcast when he hosted "All Things Considered" from 1989-1991. During his watch, major news broke, including the violence in Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of dictatorships in Romania and Panama. From Washington, Guillermo hosted the shows that broke the news.  As a television journalist, his award-winning reports and commentaries have appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. He was a reporter in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. After NPR, Guillermo became a press secretary and speechwriter for then Congressman Norman Mineta, the former cabinet member in the Bush and Clinton Administrations.  After his Hill experience, Guillermo returned to the media, hosting his own talk show in Washington, D.C. on WRC Radio. He returned to California where he hosted talk shows in San Francisco at KSFO/KGO, and in Sacramento at KSTE/KFBK. Guillermo's columns in the ethnic press inspired a roundtable discussion program that he created, hosted, executive produced, resulting in more than 100 original half-hour programs. "NCM-TV: New California Media" was seen on PBS stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and throughout the state on cable. Guillermo also spent time as a newspaper reporter covering the poor and the minority communities of California's Central Valley. His writing and reporting on California's sterilization program on the poor and minorities won him statewide and national journalism awards. In 2015, Guillermo received the prestigious Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice from the Asian American Journalists Association. The award, named after the late Korean American physician from Texas, recognizes excellence in the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Guillermo, a native San Franciscan, went to Lowell High School, and graduated from Harvard College, where he was an Ivy Orator and class humorist.

Come by  the I-Hotel/Manilatown Center, 868 Kearney St. SF,CA Friday, Aug. 4 to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the eviction. Emil will moderate a panel and Curtis Choy will screen his film. 6pm - 9pm. PDT   See more at http://www.aaldef.org/blog See more about Curtis Choy, director of "The Fall of the I-Hotel." http://www.chonkmoonhunter.com/Asian-American-History.html   Emil Bio:   Emil Guillermo wrote for almost 15 years his "Amok" column for AsianWeek, which was the largest English language Asian American newsweekly in the nation. "Amok" was considered the most widely-read column on Asian American issues in the U.S. His thoughtful and provocative social commentaries have appeared in print in the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com, San Francisco Examiner, USA Today, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and in syndication throughout the country.  His early columns are compiled in a book "Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective," which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2000. Guillermo's journalistic career began in television and radio broadcasting. At National Public Radio, he was the first Asian American male to anchor a regularly scheduled national news broadcast when he hosted "All Things Considered" from 1989-1991. During his watch, major news broke, including the violence in Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of dictatorships in Romania and Panama. From Washington, Guillermo hosted the shows that broke the news.  As a television journalist, his award-winning reports and commentaries have appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. He was a reporter in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. After NPR, Guillermo became a press secretary and speechwriter for then Congressman Norman Mineta, the former cabinet member in the Bush and Clinton Administrations.  After his Hill experience, Guillermo returned to the media, hosting his own talk show in Washington, D.C. on WRC Radio. He returned to California where he hosted talk shows in San Francisco at KSFO/KGO, and in Sacramento at KSTE/KFBK. Guillermo's columns in the ethnic press inspired a roundtable discussion program that he created, hosted, executive produced, resulting in more than 100 original half-hour programs. "NCM-TV: New California Media" was seen on PBS stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and throughout the state on cable. Guillermo also spent time as a newspaper reporter covering the poor and the minority communities of California's Central Valley. His writing and reporting on California's sterilization program on the poor and minorities won him statewide and national journalism awards. In 2015, Guillermo received the prestigious Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice from the Asian American Journalists Association. The award, named after the late Korean American physician from Texas, recognizes excellence in the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Guillermo, a native San Franciscan, went to Lowell High School, and graduated from Harvard College, where he was an Ivy Orator and class humorist. Find out what he's up to at www.amok.com.  

See more info at http://www.aaldef.org/blog Eddie Huang at the Asian American Journalists Association convention.  Speaks candidly on race and identity. See previous story on Huang: http://aaldef.org/blog/emil-guillermo-is-fresh-off-the-boat-historical-or-the-taming-of-eddie-huang.html Emil bio: Emil Guillermo wrote for almost 15 years his "Amok" column for AsianWeek, which was the largest English language Asian American newsweekly in the nation. "Amok" was considered the most widely-read column on Asian American issues in the U.S. His thoughtful and provocative social commentaries have appeared in print in the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com, San Francisco Examiner, USA Today, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and in syndication throughout the country.  His early columns are compiled in a book "Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective," which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2000. Guillermo's journalistic career began in television and radio broadcasting. At National Public Radio, he was the first Asian American male to anchor a regularly scheduled national news broadcast when he hosted "All Things Considered" from 1989-1991. During his watch, major news broke, including the violence in Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of dictatorships in Romania and Panama. From Washington, Guillermo hosted the shows that broke the news.  As a television journalist, his award-winning reports and commentaries have appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. He was a reporter in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. After NPR, Guillermo became a press secretary and speechwriter for then Congressman Norman Mineta, the former cabinet member in the Bush and Clinton Administrations.  After his Hill experience, Guillermo returned to the media, hosting his own talk show in Washington, D.C. on WRC Radio. He returned to California where he hosted talk shows in San Francisco at KSFO/KGO, and in Sacramento at KSTE/KFBK. Guillermo's columns in the ethnic press inspired a roundtable discussion program that he created, hosted, executive produced, resulting in more than 100 original half-hour programs. "NCM-TV: New California Media" was seen on PBS stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and throughout the state on cable. Guillermo also spent time as a newspaper reporter covering the poor and the minority communities of California's Central Valley. His writing and reporting on California's sterilization program on the poor and minorities won him statewide and national journalism awards. In 2015, Guillermo received the prestigious Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice from the Asian American Journalists Association. The award, named after the late Korean American physician from Texas, recognizes excellence in the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Guillermo, a native San Franciscan, went to Lowell High School, and graduated from Harvard College, where he was an Ivy Orator and class humorist. Find out what he's up to at www.amok.com.

See more about my conversation with B.D. Wong at http://www.aaldef.org/blog           Emil's bio: Emil Guillermo wrote for almost 15 years his "Amok" column for AsianWeek, which was the largest English language Asian American newsweekly in the nation. "Amok" was considered the most widely-read column on Asian American issues in the U.S. His thoughtful and provocative social commentaries have appeared in print in the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com, San Francisco Examiner, USA Today, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and in syndication throughout the country.  His early columns are compiled in a book "Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective," which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2000. Guillermo's journalistic career began in television and radio broadcasting. At National Public Radio, he was the first Asian American male to anchor a regularly scheduled national news broadcast when he hosted "All Things Considered" from 1989-1991. During his watch, major news broke, including the violence in Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of dictatorships in Romania and Panama. From Washington, Guillermo hosted the shows that broke the news.  As a television journalist, his award-winning reports and commentaries have appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. He was a reporter in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. After NPR, Guillermo became a press secretary and speechwriter for then Congressman Norman Mineta, the former cabinet member in the Bush and Clinton Administrations.  After his Hill experience, Guillermo returned to the media, hosting his own talk show in Washington, D.C. on WRC Radio. He returned to California where he hosted talk shows in San Francisco at KSFO/KGO, and in Sacramento at KSTE/KFBK. Guillermo's columns in the ethnic press inspired a roundtable discussion program that he created, hosted, executive produced, resulting in more than 100 original half-hour programs. "NCM-TV: New California Media" was seen on PBS stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and throughout the state on cable. Guillermo also spent time as a newspaper reporter covering the poor and the minority communities of California's Central Valley. His writing and reporting on California's sterilization program on the poor and minorities won him statewide and national journalism awards. In 2015, Guillermo received the prestigious Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice from the Asian American Journalists Association. The award, named after the late Korean American physician from Texas, recognizes excellence in the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Guillermo, a native San Franciscan, went to Lowell High School, and graduated from Harvard College, where he was Ivy Orator and class humorist. Find out what he's up to at www.amok.com.  

One of our favorite interns of all time has come back to the show for the summer!  Connor is freshly graduated from Lowell High School and is here all summer long before he makes his way to Ball State University to begin his degree in broadcasting!  Glad to have you back.  Also on the shoe we give pregnancy tips for women getting ready for hot summer, we analyze an incredible photo of a man mowing his lawn during a tornado, and John Mellencamp tells everyone that is happy that they have something wrong with them.  What?  All of that, Curtis' Whatever, and much more on today's show!

Show log  Emil Amok’s Takeout Ep. 15 :00  Emil’s opening rap 1:46 San Diego Fringe Festival and SF Marsh shows 2:30 Coming up intros of top stories 5:05 What made me go amok this week 6:25 Martial Law in the Philippines? Oh, just “Partial Martial”? 18:12 Intro Celestino Almeda, the 100-year old  Filipino WW2 Vet still Fighting for his equity pay 24:12 Interview with Almeda 42:28 Intro and interview with Association of Asian American Studies President-elect Theo Gonzalves, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. 1:30:00 MY NBA FINALS PICK ---- Emil Guillermo: Emil Amok's Takeout Podcast - No rest on Memorial Day for a WWII Filipino Vet; and a conversation with AAAS President-elect Theo Gonzalves on APAHM May 26, 2017 7:36 PM Memorial Day always winds up the annual observation of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. And what better way to remember the one story (along with the Japanese American Internment) that lingers as the moral compass of the community. For that reason, this Memorial Day will be a special one for Filipino WWII Veteran Celestino Almeda. Despite many vets seeing an equity pay windfall in 2009, a handful like Almeda are still in appeals. His fight for justice with the U.S. government has been the bureaucratic version of the Bataan Death March. hat's no disrespect to the survivors of that historic event 75 years ago. Almeda certainly will remember deceased friends like retired U.S. Air Force Major Jesse Baltazar, a former POW who survived the Bataan Death March in 1942, and died just last year at age 96.   Baltazar often accompanied Almeda, fighting side by side in the latter's bureaucratic battle with the VA over equity pay. Almeda was a young soldier in the Philippine Army reserve, when he answered the call of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to protect the Philippines with the U.S. Armed Forces of the Far East. The added lure was full benefits as a soldier, including U.S. citizenship. As you'll hear in my interview with him on Emil Amok's Takeout, Almeda, the reservist, was made active for a year.  He was then made inactive when Gen. MacArthur retreated to Australia as the Japanese took over Manila. Almeda has official Philippine Army documents signed by U.S. officers to document all that. What he doesn't have is the record that he served in the guerrilla forces, which Almeda says were only verbal orders. Once the war was over, he was made active again and served side-by-side Americans. There would be no problem until President Truman signed the Rescission Act of 1946. which stripped the Filipino veterans of any right to the benefits that had been promised for their service. Ever since then--for more than 70 years--Filipinos like Almeda have been fighting piecemeal for a restoral of all the benefits due them.    Almeda's service has been good enough to help get him U.S. citizenship in 1990. He's even been given a VA card for medical benefits.  But it wasn't until President Obama in 2009 finally came through with a lump sum payment of $15,000 to Filipino veterans living in the U.S., and $9,000 for those still in the Philippines, that Almeda found himself in the bureaucratic battle of his life. The VA has approved more than nearly 19,000 cases, according to its website. The payout has been more than $220 million. But it's also rejected close to 24,000 cases.  There's about $56 million left in the pot. But that doesn't mean the VA is willingly giving it out, at least not to Almeda. The VA wouldn't honor his Philippine Army documents, though he has kept the originals in pristine condition. He's still currently in appeal, but in the meantime, he's taken to public protests like one last year when Robert McDonald, the VA Secretary under Obama appeared in public. In the Q&A part of the program, Almeda tried to appeal to McDonald but had his mic turned off. MacDonald's reaction got a stern rebuke from retired General Antonio Taguba, the general who led the investigation into Abu Ghraib.  Taguba additionally pointed out that updates to the law--PL 111-5, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation)--directed the Secretary of VA to consider all forms of evidence of service and not just those originally considered.  "This amendment has not been fully executed by the VA," Taguba complained to Mc Donald. Now a year later, McDonald's out, a new VA head is in, and Almeda is still fighting for justice, seemingly locked in the Bataan Death March of appeals, hoping to get approved for his lump sum before he turns 100. It's Memorial Day, but his taste for justice has not died. Listen to him tell his story on Emil Amok's Takeout. Days before his 100th birthday, Almeda's still got a lot of fight left.   AAAS President-elect Theo Gonzalves on the relevance of Asian American Studies today On my recent trip to Washington, DC, I was able to talk to an old friend, Theo Gonzalves of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and the president-elect of the Association for Asian American Studies. What are they doing? How has Asian American Studies stayed relevant? How valuable is the AAS degree? Use the fast forward and listen to Gonzalves, where he thinks Asian American Studies is going, and the importance of APAHM.   And if you want to read my Emil Amok column on Martial Law https://usa.inquirer.net/4026/martial-law-not-needed-can-stop-dutertes-destiny   Contact Emil at http://www.aaldef.org/blog, the site of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.  If you like what you see, consider clicking the "DONATE" button.  AALDEF is a 501 C3 and your contribution is tax-deductible.  Give us your feedback there, or at www.amok.com Leave a voice message on Speakpipe.  We might use it in a future show. Consider subscribing for free on iTunes, where you can rate and review. You'll also find us on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.      BIO Emil Guillermo wrote for almost 15 years his "Amok" column for AsianWeek, which was the largest English language Asian American newsweekly in the nation. "Amok" was considered the most widely-read column on Asian American issues in the U.S. His thoughtful and provocative social commentaries have appeared in print in the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com, San Francisco Examiner, USA Today, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and in syndication throughout the country.  His columns are seen in Asia and around the world, on Inquirer.net.  His early columns are compiled in a book "Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective," which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2000. Guillermo's journalistic career began in television and radio broadcasting. At National Public Radio, he was the first Asian American male to anchor a regularly scheduled national news broadcast when he hosted "All Things Considered" from 1989-1991. During his watch, major news broke, including the violence in Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of dictatorships in Romania and Panama. From Washington, Guillermo hosted the shows that broke the news.  As a television journalist, his award-winning reports and commentaries have appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. He was a reporter in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. After NPR, Guillermo became a press secretary and speechwriter for then Congressman Norman Mineta, the former cabinet member in the Bush and Clinton Administrations.  After his Hill experience, Guillermo returned to the media, hosting his own talk show in Washington, D.C. on WRC Radio. He returned to California where he hosted talk shows in San Francisco at KSFO/KGO, and in Sacramento at KSTE/KFBK. Guillermo's columns in the ethnic press inspired a roundtable discussion program that he created, hosted, executive produced, resulting in more than 100 original half-hour programs. "NCM-TV: New California Media" was seen on PBS stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and throughout the state on cable. Guillermo also spent time as a newspaper reporter covering the poor and the minority communities of California's Central Valley. His writing and reporting on California's sterilization program on the poor and minorities won him statewide and national journalism awards. In 2015, Guillermo received the prestigious Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice from the Asian American Journalists Association. The award, named after the late Korean American physician from Texas, recognizes excellence in the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Guillermo, a native San Franciscan, went to Lowell High School, and graduated from Harvard College, where he was named Ivy Orator as the class humorist. Thanks for listening to Emil Amok's Takeout! http://www.twitter.com/emilamok http://www.aaldef.org/blog

Links to columns touched on by Emil in Podcast No.14: http://aaldef.org/blog/emil-guillermo-last-fable-day-asian-americans-emmy-snub-fresh-off-the-boat-easter-xua.html   http://aaldef.org/blog/emil-guillermo-is-fresh-off-the-boat-historical-or-the-taming-of-eddie-huang.html http://aaldef.org/blog/emil-guillermo-wong-kim-ark-gop-anchor-baby-suzanne-ahn-award.html   http://aaldef.org/blog/emil-guillermo-asian-americans-no-1-by-2065-immigration-pew-report.html *     *     *     Emil Guillermo PODCAST: Randall Park at the APAICS gala for AAPI Heritage Month talks about Asian American representation in the media May 22, 2017 10:19 AM On Emil Amok's Takeout, I corner Randall Park at the gala dinner of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS). a/k/a Asian Prom. Listen to my short conversation with the "Fresh Off the Boat" star, as well as an excerpt from his speech accepting the 2017 APAICS Vision Award. Oddly, I forgot to ask him if politics was in the cards for him. Writing and producing was. But politics? He does play a governor in HBO's "Veep."  As I flew into D.C., I noticed at the airport magazine racks the conservative National Review trying to make the case for a presidential bid by "The Rock"--a Republican. President Rock? Dwayne Johnson hosted the season finale of "Saturday Night Live" this past weekend, and was joined by Tom Hanks. Hanks said if they ran as a ticket, he'd "get them the senior vote because he fought in WWII--in ten different movies. The Rock added that he'd get the minority vote, "because everyone just assumes, I'm, well, whatever they are."   It got a big laugh.    It sounds like a joke, but given the rise of a reality show star to the presidency and the immense popularity of Johnson and Hanks, you never know. And with that, the SNL banners unfurled to reveal the slogan "Johnson Hanks 2020." Considering that The Rock and Hanks seem like stable personalities with decent vocabularies, anything would be an improvement over the present White House occupant.                       Emil Guillermo is an independent journalist/commentator.   Updates at www.amok.com. Follow Emil on Twitter, and like his Facebook page. The views expressed in his blog do not necessarily represent AALDEF's views or policies. Contact Emil at http://www.aaldef.org/blog, the site of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. If you like what you see, consider clicking the "DONATE" button.  AALDEF is a 501 C3 and your contribution is tax-deductible. Give us your feedback there, or at www.amok.com Leave a voice message. We might use it in a future show. Consider subscribing for free on iTunes, where you can rate and review. You'll also find us on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.     BIO Emil Guillermo wrote for almost 15 years his "Amok" column for AsianWeek, which was the largest English language Asian American newsweekly in the nation. "Amok" was considered the most widely-read column on Asian American issues in the U.S. His thoughtful and provocative social commentaries have appeared in print in the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com, San Francisco Examiner, USA Today, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and in syndication throughout the country.  His columns are seen in Asia and around the world, on Inquirer.net.  His early columns are compiled in a book "Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective," which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2000. Guillermo's journalistic career began in television and radio broadcasting. At National Public Radio, he was the first Asian American male to anchor a regularly scheduled national news broadcast when he hosted "All Things Considered" from 1989-1991. During his watch, major news broke, including the violence in Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of dictatorships in Romania and Panama. From Washington, Guillermo hosted the shows that broke the news.  As a television journalist, his award-winning reports and commentaries have appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. He was a reporter in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. After NPR, Guillermo became a press secretary and speechwriter for then Congressman Norman Mineta, the former cabinet member in the Bush and Clinton Administrations.  After his Hill experience, Guillermo returned to the media, hosting his own talk show in Washington, D.C. on WRC Radio. He returned to California where he hosted talk shows in San Francisco at KSFO/KGO, and in Sacramento at KSTE/KFBK. Guillermo's columns in the ethnic press inspired a roundtable discussion program that he created, hosted, executive produced, resulting in more than 100 original half-hour programs. "NCM-TV: New California Media" was seen on PBS stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and throughout the state on cable. Guillermo also spent time as a newspaper reporter covering the poor and the minority communities of California's Central Valley. His writing and reporting on California's sterilization program on the poor and minorities won him statewide and national journalism awards. In 2015, Guillermo received the prestigious Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice from the Asian American Journalists Association. The award, named after the late Korean American physician from Texas, recognizes excellence in the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Guillermo, a native San Franciscan, went to Lowell High School, and graduated from Harvard College, where he was named Ivy Orator, the class humorist. Thanks for listening to Emil Amok's Takeout! http://www.twitter.com/emilamok http://www.aaldef.org/blog    

Ep. 13  Emil Guillermo: "Mommy, I need you," a Mother's Day podcast memory; plus Trump grows more Nixony by the day May 12, 2017 3:04 PM   From the AALDEF blog:  http://aaldef.org/blog/emil-guillermo-mommy-i-need-you-mothers-day-podcast-trump-nixon.html I wrote an essay about my mother that was in my collection of Emil Amok columns in my book Amok back in 2000.   I read it here, along with a preamble on the podcast, because I've too often given short shrift to my mom's story, in favor of my dad's.   But my mother's story was pretty incredible too. She survived the Japanese occupation of Manila during WWII and found her way to the U.S. with the help of an angel, a Spanish aristocrat who was unrelated, and whom I remember as having so much makeup on her face that she she looked like a ghost. I only knew her as Lola Angelita, world traveler. My mom is in this picture, on the left. Another one of her comadres, my Lola Rosie, is holding me. I'm just horribly disoriented looking for the right nipple. And probably crying.   All that and more on the podcast for Mothers Day in May, which is also AAPI Heritage Month.   Here's a shoutout to The New Yorker for its funny, satirical cover, the positive yellowfacing of Dr. David Dao, who is replaced by the ousted FBI chief James Comey. It's funny, not racist, as some have suggested. It's a recognition of how we felt about Dao, and how we should all feel about what's happened to Comey. In Trump-speak, the Comey thing is as important as the Russia thing, and so much more important than any email thing.    In the firing, Trump as Nixon was pretty obvious from Day 1. But Trump doesn't leave well enough alone. He's compounded it with subsequent steps that only create a growing credibility gap between his White House and the American public.   Where is the Truth about the firing of Comey? We have several versions, at this point. One too many for a real democracy.   And if Trump isn't getting really Nixony, why did he tweet about the possibility that conversations with Comey were taped?   Follow Donald J. Trump   ✔@realDonaldTrump James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press! 5:26 AM - 12 May 2017         So our democracy under Trump is getting shakier and shakier, especially when Trump feels his people must be loyal to him and not the American people.            King Donald?            It leaves us with motherhood to hang on to for now, while we can.   Show Log: 00:    Opening :20     About our show 1:15   My theater performance 1:56   This episode 3:17   New Yorker spoof: Comey as David Dao 4:29    More on Trump 10:26  Preamble on my Mom, followed by the "Mom's Sundae" commentary from my Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective *     *     * Emil Guillermo is an independent journalist/commentator. Updates at www.amok.com. Follow Emil on Twitter, and like his Facebook page. The views expressed in his blog do not necessarily represent AALDEF's views or policies.     Contact Emil at http://www.aaldef.org/blog, the site of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. If you like what you see, consider clicking the "DONATE" button.  AALDEF is a 501 C3 and your contribution is tax-deductible. Give us your feedback there, or at www.amok.com Leave a voice message. We might use it in a future show. Consider subscribing for free on iTunes, where you can rate and review. You'll also find us on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.     BIO Emil Guillermo wrote for almost 15 years his "Amok" column for AsianWeek, which was the largest English language Asian American newsweekly in the nation. "Amok" was considered the most widely-read column on Asian American issues in the U.S. His thoughtful and provocative social commentaries have appeared in print in the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com, San Francisco Examiner, USA Today, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and in syndication throughout the country.  His columns are seen in Asia and around the world, on Inquirer.net.  His early columns are compiled in a book "Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective," which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2000. Guillermo's journalistic career began in television and radio broadcasting. At National Public Radio, he was the first Asian American male to anchor a regularly scheduled national news broadcast when he hosted "All Things Considered" from 1989-1991. During his watch, major news broke, including the violence in Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of dictatorships in Romania and Panama. From Washington, Guillermo hosted the shows that broke the news.  As a television journalist, his award-winning reports and commentaries have appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. He was a reporter in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. After NPR, Guillermo became a press secretary and speechwriter for then Congressman Norman Mineta, the former cabinet member in the Bush and Clinton Administrations.  After his Hill experience, Guillermo returned to the media, hosting his own talk show in Washington, D.C. on WRC Radio. He returned to California where he hosted talk shows in San Francisco at KSFO/KGO, and in Sacramento at KSTE/KFBK. Guillermo's columns in the ethnic press inspired a roundtable discussion program that he created, hosted, executive produced, resulting in more than 100 original half-hour programs. "NCM-TV: New California Media" was seen on PBS stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and throughout the state on cable. Guillermo also spent time as a newspaper reporter covering the poor and the minority communities of California's Central Valley. His writing and reporting on California's sterilization program on the poor and minorities won him statewide and national journalism awards. In 2015, Guillermo received the prestigious Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice from the Asian American Journalists Association. The award, named after the late Korean American physician from Texas, recognizes excellence in the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Guillermo, a native San Franciscan, went to Lowell High School, and graduated from Harvard College, where he was named Ivy Orator, the class humorist. Thanks for listening to Emil Amok's Takeout! http://www.twitter.com/emilamok http://www.aaldef.org/blog  

SHOW LOG: :00 Opening rap 3:25 Health care vote 8:15 Duterte and Trump 11:42 Corky Lee intro 18:20 Corky Lee interview   From the blog at http://www.aaldef.orgblog By Emil Amok My late mother, the wise Filipina, would always say, "Your health is your wealth." And when her health failed, she was thankful for her health care through Medicare. And now after today, we're a step closer to the danger zone. I talk about #TrumpNoCare on the podcast. But we won't let the threat to health care mar Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. And if you're wondering, yes, Donald Trump did tweet about it. His proclamation mentioned Dr. Sammy Lee, the great Olympic diver and the first Asian American man to win an Olympic gold medal in the 1948 Olympics. He also mentioned Katherine Sui Fun Cheung, who embodied the spirit of this month. In 1932, she was the first Chinese American woman to earn a pilot license at a time when only one percent of all pilots in the U.S. were women. Trump, of course, likes any One-percenter of any kind. Trump's proclamation was fairly boilerplate, as you'd expect from a man who thinks diversity is identity politics and not a hallmark of a nation that believes in equality. Trump even cites Public Law 102-450, which makes May each year "Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month." He's not going to try to repeal it like, say, Obamacare. (Listen to the podcast for my take on that.) "I encourage all Americans to learn more about our Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander heritage, and to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities," Trump proclaimed Let's see if he takes his own advice, and learns how many Asian Americans will be threatened by his #TrumpNoCare. Or we can just go back in history with that legendary picture of the railroads and the Golden Spike uniting America by rail. You've seen it, right? Photographer Corky Lee saw it when he was a kid growing up in New York. It was the first mention of any Chinese people that he saw in his history books. The text said Chinese people helped build the railroad. But Corky didn't see any Chinese in the picture. On the AALDEF podcast, Emil Amok's Takeout, Corky said he bought the best magnifying glass he could find at Woolworth's. And he still couldn't see any Chinese. "We were excluded again," he told me. May is quite a month. May 6 is the 135th Anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act, signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur in 1882.    Important, no doubt. But May 10 is the 148th anniversary of the photographic exclusion that has been bothering Corky since he first saw that picture of the Golden Spike at Promontory Summit, Utah. On May 10, Corky will stage a flash mob photo, hoping for people coming in period dress to do what people have done for years. Only Corky wants to make a picture with actual Chinese people--like the people who built the railroads.   He's been doing it as a matter of tradition for the last few years, his build-up to a grand 150th anniversary shot.  But every year, there's something special besides "the picture." One year, it was the Buddhist ceremony at the Chinese Arch, believed to be the first one ever.  Go ahead, make a pilgrimage to Utah for AAPI Heritage Month. I doubt if The Donald will be there.  Find out more by going to Corky Lee's Facebook page. Listen to the podcast on how Corky developed his sense of "photographic justice," and how the activist's heart merged with the photographer's eye to produce some of the most memorable photographs of modern Asian American life ever taken.  Corky talks about his first camera and his father's style of teaching. And several times throughout, he talks about the picture that has been his driving force to include Asian Americans in everything he sees through the lens.    Contact Emil at http://www.aaldef.org/blog, the site of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.  If you like what you see, consider clicking the "DONATE" button.  AALDEF is a 501 C3 and your contribution is tax-deductible.  Give us your feedback there, or at www.amok.com Leave a voice message. We might use it in a future show. Consider subscribing for free on iTunes, where you can rate and review. You'll also find us on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.      BIO Emil Guillermo wrote for almost 15 years his "Amok" column for AsianWeek, which was the largest English language Asian American newsweekly in the nation. "Amok" was considered the most widely-read column on Asian American issues in the U.S. His thoughtful and provocative social commentaries have appeared in print in the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com, San Francisco Examiner, USA Today, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and in syndication throughout the country.  His columns are seen in Asia and around the world, on Inquirer.net.  His early columns are compiled in a book "Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective," which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2000. Guillermo's journalistic career began in television and radio broadcasting. At National Public Radio, he was the first Asian American male to anchor a regularly scheduled national news broadcast when he hosted "All Things Considered" from 1989-1991. During his watch, major news broke, including the violence in Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of dictatorships in Romania and Panama. From Washington, Guillermo hosted the shows that broke the news.  As a television journalist, his award-winning reports and commentaries have appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. He was a reporter in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. After NPR, Guillermo became a press secretary and speechwriter for then Congressman Norman Mineta, the former cabinet member in the Bush and Clinton Administrations.  After his Hill experience, Guillermo returned to the media, hosting his own talk show in Washington, D.C. on WRC Radio. He returned to California where he hosted talk shows in San Francisco at KSFO/KGO, and in Sacramento at KSTE/KFBK. Guillermo's columns in the ethnic press inspired a roundtable discussion program that he created, hosted, executive produced, resulting in more than 100 original half-hour programs. "NCM-TV: New California Media" was seen on PBS stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and throughout the state on cable. Guillermo also spent time as a newspaper reporter covering the poor and the minority communities of California's Central Valley. His writing and reporting on California's sterilization program on the poor and minorities won him statewide and national journalism awards. In 2015, Guillermo received the prestigious Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice from the Asian American Journalists Association. The award, named after the late Korean American physician from Texas, recognizes excellence in the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Guillermo, a native San Franciscan, went to Lowell High School, and graduated from Harvard College, where he was named Ivy Orator, the class humorist. Thanks for listening to Emil Amok's Takeout! http://www.twitter.com/emilamok http://www.aaldef.org/blog  

  Emil Guillermo: Dragged United passenger Dr. David Dao is no Rosa Parks, but he could be a poster boy for all consumers April 13, 2017 4:45 PM When the U.S. drops the "mother of all bombs" on Afghanistan as a worldwide message, it's time for a little sobering perspective. Maybe we could take a little more time to treat all people with a little more respect, fairness and dignity in our everyday lives. Person to person. And certainly, corporation to consumer.  Which brings us to the viral bombshell of a story that won't die.  If United, or anyone else, thought the dragging of Dr. David Dao was a short-term headline that would go away with a simple apology, they were sorely mistaken. Dao's tale is bigger than anyone thought. It's soon to become the last stand for the modern global consumer.  Dao, the 69-year-old man dragged off a United flight so that the airline could seat its own employees, has hired Thomas Demetrio, a top-notch personal injury lawyer based in Chicago. At a press conference Thursday, Demetrio made it clear how he saw things. Demetrio didn't think the case was about race, even though Dao in one of the now numerous cell phone videos could be heard asking if United was asking him to leave the plane because he was Chinese. (At the press conference, Dao's daughter, Crystal, clarified that Dao immigrated from Vietnam.)   To further his point, Demetrio shared with the media an e-mail he'd received from someone suggesting that Dao was the "modern day Asian Rosa Parks." "I don't think that's the case at all," Demetrio said. "What happened to Dr. Dao could have happened to any one of us." Demetrio said Dr. Dao "has come to understand that he's the guy to stand up for passengers going forward." In other words, he's the universal little guy.  But race did come into play in one significant way when Dao told Demetrio how he felt about the dragging. On one of the phone videos released, Dr. Dao was seen crying out, "just kill me, just kill me." A reporter asked what Dao meant by that?   "I asked him that question; here's what he told me," said Demetrio. "He said that he left Vietnam in 1975 when Saigon fell. And he was on a boat. And he said he was terrified. He said that being dragged down the aisle was more horrifying and harrowing than what he experienced in leaving Vietnam." If there's a lawsuit coming, and indeed there is, I don't think United stands a chance. As a writer on race issues in America, I've often wondered what one factor in our society could become our common ground and end the pain of discrimination. Twenty years ago, I thought age would allow us to see beyond race. The ageists of the world have proved me wrong. In Dao, a 69-year old loving father with multiple grandchildren, I think we have the answer.  He's the battered consumer in this angry, short-tempered society, standing up to the corporation.  Race? Not primary. It may have helped the Chicago Airport cops to see him as an "other" so they could drag him away with zeal. But basically, race is irrelevant.   Dao was a seated ticket holder, a profit center to the corporation. And when it didn't need him anymore, it violently bullied Dao and treated him like crap.  We can all relate to that. It's what I thought on Monday when I first heard the story.   Now Dao is poised to become the one who fights for what all consumers deserve.  Demetrio said there were three things every consumer should demand:  fairness, respect, and dignity. "That's it," Demetrio said. "I hope [Dao] becomes the poster child for all of us."  It's not the position that most Asian Americans willingly seek out. Most hold on to the stereotype--unless you are chosen, and it's beaten out of you. And then there's no other option but to speak up. You take a stand, and become what I've long called since my Asian Week days: a "Public Asian." Dr. Dao wasn't at the press conference.  Demetrio said he was at a secure location and appreciated if the media would leave him alone. Ultimately, Dao will return to Louisville, but probably by car. Said Demetrio: "He has no interest in ever seeing an airplane."  Hear bits of the media conference in Ep.9 of the ALDEF podcast, Emil Amok's Takeout. I also interview an Asian American from Kentucky, Mimi Hwang. She talks about the local reaction to Dao, who lives in the Louisville area, and gives her own perspective as a business owner and as someone who has experienced what it feels like to be bullied due to her Asian background. It happened to her family in 2015. She also says that while the Dao story is empowering, the micro-community of Asians has little voice and no support from social justice organizations. I even mention if the community has heard from Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation, who happens to be the wife of Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. No, Hwang said. But she'd welcome Chao's support in the community.   Show notes Opening 1:54 The Shriek 5:08 “I am not going…” 5:34 Thomas Demetrio, Dao’s lawyer 5:53 Rosa Parks? 6:13 Opening of Press conference 11:58 Dao’s the guy 12:25 On United CEO’s Apology 14:20 Crystal Pepper, Dao’s daughter 15:46 On seeing Dad dragged on video 16:00 Dao’s injuries 17:41 “Just kill me.” 19:06 The first 20 minutes of the whole conference (including a repeat of the first 6 minutes). 39:00  End of conference 41:48 Mimi Hwang at her martial arts studio, talk about the Louisville community where Dr. Dao is from and about her own experiences with racism. 1:06:51 Emil’s conclusion. Contact Emil at http://www.aaldef.org/blog, the site of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.   If you like what you see, consider clicking the "DONATE" button.  AALDEF is a 501 C3 and your contribution is tax-deductible.   Give us your feedback there, or at www.amok.com Leave a voice message. We might use it in a future show.   Consider subscribing for free on iTunes, where you can rate and review. You'll also find us on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.      BIO Emil Guillermo wrote for almost 15 years his "Amok" column for AsianWeek, which was the largest English language Asian American newsweekly in the nation. "Amok" was considered the most widely-read column on Asian American issues in the U.S. His thoughtful and provocative social commentaries have appeared in print in the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com, San Francisco Examiner, USA Today, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and in syndication throughout the country.  His columns are seen in Asia and around the world, on Inquirer.net.  His early columns are compiled in a book "Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective," which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2000. Guillermo's journalistic career began in television and radio broadcasting. At National Public Radio, he was the first Asian American male to anchor a regularly scheduled national news broadcast when he hosted "All Things Considered" from 1989-1991. During his watch, major news broke, including the violence in Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of dictatorships in Romania and Panama. From Washington, Guillermo hosted the shows that broke the news.  As a television journalist, his award-winning reports and commentaries have appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. He was a reporter in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. After NPR, Guillermo became a press secretary and speechwriter for then Congressman Norman Mineta, the former cabinet member in the Bush and Clinton Administrations.  After his Hill experience, Guillermo returned to the media, hosting his own talk show in Washington, D.C. on WRC Radio. He returned to California where he hosted talk shows in San Francisco at KSFO/KGO, and in Sacramento at KSTE/KFBK. Guillermo's columns in the ethnic press inspired a roundtable discussion program that he created, hosted, executive produced, resulting in more than 100 original half-hour programs. "NCM-TV: New California Media" was seen on PBS stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and throughout the state on cable. Guillermo also spent time as a newspaper reporter covering the poor and the minority communities of California's Central Valley. His writing and reporting on California's sterilization program on the poor and minorities won him statewide and national journalism awards. In 2015, Guillermo received the prestigious Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice from the Asian American Journalists Association. The award, named after the late Korean American physician from Texas, recognizes excellence in the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Guillermo, a native San Franciscan, went to Lowell High School, and graduated from Harvard College, where he was an Ivy Orator and class humorist. Thanks for listening to Emil Amok's Takeout!

We visit the oldest public high school west of the Mississippi River.

Today we welcomed the newest edition to the Connie and Curtis show! Connor is our brand new intern that will be joining us every Tuesday for the remainder of the summer. Connor is a student at Lowell High School as well as an evening DJ on their radio station, 92.3 WRWW! Check him out! Also on the show today we talked about dirty magazines, the differences between gerbils and hamsters, and we found out that Curtis and Steve saw some pretty big stars in concert before they became popular. All of that, Curtis' Whatever, and MUCH more on today's show!

The show begins at Texas A&M Commerce with a live studio audience supporting Breast Cancer Awareness and the Make A Wish Foundation. Feature interviews include talking with former Nazareth College Lacrosse player Tom Coons, talking about teamwork and overcoming adversity. We also talk with Lowell High School principal Lori Pavell about Special Olympics and Champions […]

High School Football America is LIVE in Lowell, Michigan for this edition of America's premiere national high school football talk show. Host Jeff Fisher is joined by Theresa Beachum of Lowell High School's Pink Arrow Pride football game, that in three short years has raised $750,000 to help community residents in their battle with cancer. At the heart of the game is the Lowell Red Arrows football team wearing pink uniforms to bring awareness to the cancer journey being walked by members of the tiny town of 4,000 outside of Grand Rapids. The home crowd supports the cause by wearing pink t-shirts to the game that turns entire football stadium into a sea of pink. Lowell quarterback Gabe Dean, the 2010 Division 1-2 Player of the Year, also joins Fisher to talk about his third game in a pink jersey. Also on the show is Gehrig Dieter of South Bend's Washington High School, who last week set a national record with 437 yards receiving.

8PM CST- Join Ed the Pagan and TraciLogan Wood for WIld Wednesdays where anything goes! Join us for the lovely songstress Jenna Greene!! Jenna Greene “The Greene Lady”, is a Celtic singer-songwriter and harpist, a weaver of myth and magic. Her songs are inspired by the essence of ancient lore: the quest to follow one's own dreams and a child-like wonder toward life.  9 PM CST- Over to Oberon and Ariel (OOA) with Oberon Zell Ravenheart and Ariel Monserat from CAW and Green Egg 'zine TOM DONOHUE is a recently retired teacher from Lowell High School in San Francisco, where he taught for twenty years. Prior to that, he was a Public Health Microbiologist, first in Bacteriology then in Virology. He has been a researcher on telomerase at the Blackburn Lab, UCSF. under Nobel laureate Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn. He has been a member of CAW for twenty five years but considers himself Pagan since the age of seven. He has an identical twin brother who is also Pagan.