Nuances: Our Asian Stories

S4 E05: Er-Gene Kahng found community, Florence Price, and her Asian American identity in Arkansas

If you enjoy this show and would like to help me spread the word about it, or support it financially, you can find out more at nuancespod.com/supportGUEST BIOEr-Gene is a Korean-American violinist and college professor who lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas. As an immigrant, she was always interested in assimilation as a survival strategy until she discovered Florence Price, the first Black American woman composer whose compositions were performed by major symphony orchestras. Since then, she has championed Price's music and continues to investigate ways classical music can participate in global conversations around diversity, social justice, and equity..
Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn | Web MENTIONEDFlorence PriceEr-Gene Kahng performing Florence Price's concertosRandall GoosbyDoenjang JjigaeTAKEAWAYSPeople from so-called progressive states like California often make assumptions about the South but fail to realize the same issues exist at home.Exposure to classical music early and ability to afford lessons is a key determinant of one's chances of making it into an orchestra. Diversity efforts need to start there.History is far from static because it only shows the perspective of those who wrote it. Whose perspective might have been left out?To be in community is not only to receive, but also to give back. CONTACTInstagram | TikTok | Web | LinkedIn | TwitterHost: Lazou
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S4 E04: Ed Pokropski talks about his Emmy nominations, his comedy show about adoption, and doing his best even if he doesn’t always get it right.

If you enjoy this show and would like to help me spread the word about it, or support it financially, you can find out more at nuancespod.com/supportGUEST BIOEdward Yoo Pokropski is one of the Executive Producers of the Asian Comedy Fest and Emmy Nominated Senior Writer/Producer at NBCUniversal. He is also a comedian touring his storytelling show, Case 84: Adopted in the U.S.A.. The show touches on how the media shapes our view and misconceptions about adoption. .
Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Web MENTIONEDAlso-Known-As (AKA)Case 84: Adopted in the USA in Minneapolis 3/23/24TAKEAWAYSEveryone has an accent. Part of decentering whiteness is to no longer center certain types of accents and look down on othersIt's better to try, fail, and do better next time, than to not do anything at all. We don't make choices based on whether it's an Asian thing to do. Breaking the mold or fitting into a stereotype is often not the intention driving our choices, but a side effect of being ourselves.When we have limited time to to tell a story, we build on existing understandings as a shortcut. We just gotta make sure that those foundation pieces are solid.Writing for kids is a lot harder than it sounds. You have to be family friendly, educational, and still exciting and fun.There's never been a better time to create art.CONTACTInstagram | TikTok | Web | LinkedIn | TwitterHost: Lazou
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S4 E03: Ryan Alexander Holmes reminds us the importance of art to connect us with our humanity, and that Asians don’t all look alike.

If you enjoy this show and would like to help me spread the word about it, or support it financially, you can find out more at nuancespod.com/support
GUEST BIO
Ryan Alexander Holmes [何仁安] is an actor and content creator based out of Los Angeles, CA. Having garnered a sizable presence on social media by using his platform to embrace his mixed Chinese/African American background through comedic story telling and poignant writings about his family’s perseverance, Ryan has made it his goal to encourage others of mixed ethnic/cultural backgrounds to fully embrace who they are and to show the world there is unimaginable strength in discovering harmony in multiculturalism. His acting credits include For the People on ABC, Dear White People on Netflix, The Morning Show on AppleTV+ and Back on The Strip, where he stars alongside Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes.
Instagram | TikTok
DEFINITIONS
D.A.R.E.: Drug Abuse Resistance Education is a program in which police officers make visits to elementary school classrooms, warning children that drugs are harmful and should be refused. It was created as a part of Reagan's so-called war on drugs initiative. Its effectiveness is highly contested and some studies show it can be counterproductive.
TAKEAWAYS
If you are Asian, then you look Asian. Just like if you are American, then you look American.
It is not our job to educate white people about their racist behavior.
It is our job to hold our own community accountable by having non-judgmental conversations about racism that is embedded in our culture.
If you’re an artist, then you create art, people see themselves reflected in it, and it makes them feel connected to other humans. That’s pretty magical if you think about it.
Keeping in mind that the industry is a box can be helpful to remember when your art doesn’t fit in.
How can we celebrate our cultures in more inclusive ways that don’t implicitly put others down? How do we decolonize our culture?
CONTACT
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Host: Lazou
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S4 E02: Dr. Paul Song on why medicare-for-all would help both patients and doctors. Also: Natural Killer cells & Alzheimer’s

GUEST BIO
Paul Y. Song is an MD, entrepreneur and health activist.
He is currently CEO of NKGen Biotech.
Dr. Song served as the very first visiting fellow on healthcare policy in the California Department of Insurance in 2013.
His last clinical role was Asst. Professor at the Samuel Oschin Cancer Center at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.
He currently serves on several boards including:
the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago Mercy Corps,
The Center for Health and Democracy,
Gideon’s Promise, and
Progressive Democrats of America.
Dr. Song graduated with honors from the University of Chicago and received his M.D. degree from George Washington University. He completed his residency in radiation oncology at the University of Chicago..
Instagram
DEFINITIONS
Single-payer healthcare: A type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from private organizations (as is the case in Canada) or may own and employ healthcare resources and personnel (as is the case in the United Kingdom).
Medicare: A government national health insurance program in the United States. It primarily provides health insurance for Americans aged 65 and older, as well as for disabled people.
MENTIONED
Natural Killer Cells - Alzheimer's Clinical Trials
Physicians for a National Health Program
Courage CA
TAKEAWAYS
Alliances are powerful. Finding common goals across movements can amplify each of their individual causes more effectively.
A single payer system isn't just better for patients, but also for doctors, who won't have to spend resources fighting insurance companies, or worrying about malpractice insurance.
In reality, US patients are not really free to choose their providers. Most of the time, the insurance provider is the one dictating who you have access to, and what medication you're allowed to take under their coverage.
As long as our politicians remain beholden to the insurance lobby, we will not get universal healthcare.
A new therapy using the patient's own natural killer cells may be the key for Alzheimers, Parkinsons and Cancer patients.
CONTACT
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Host: Lazou
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S4 E01: Soo Jin Lee’s mom never told her she was undocumented, but she just knew. Also: therapy isn’t the only way to heal.

GUEST BIO
Soo Jin Lee is a licensed therapist, the author of 'Where I Belong: Healing Trauma and Embracing Asian American Identity,' and a guiding force at the Yellow Chair Collective. Her journey from an undocumented immigrant to a mental health advocate shapes her unique approach to healing. When not writing or in session, she’s reconnecting with nature on a hike. Let’s dive into her story!.
Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn | Web
DEFINITIONS
DREAM act:short for The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, is a United States legislative proposal to grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, to illegal immigrants who entered the United States as minors—and, if they later satisfy further qualifications, they would attain permanent residency. It was first introduced in 2001 and has been reintroduced multiple times since, but has never gotten majority votes from either house of the U.S. congress.
In 2012, President Obama signed an executive branch memorandum called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative, DACA for short, which provided a temporary reprieve from deportation to qualified unauthorized immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
In 2017, the Trump administration announced the program's termination.
MENTIONED
"Where I Belong: Healing Trauma & Embracing Asian American Identity"
TAKEAWAYS
Undocumented migrants take great risks to come here because they believe in the American dream so much, but often have no chance of getting a work visa if they are poor or uneducated. People will do anything if it means a better future for their kids.
Undocumented migrants are often very self-conscious about their status and eager to prove they are hard working, and self-sufficient. They are diligent about paying their taxes and steer clear of anything resembling government aid. Many, like Soo Jin's father, even create businesses that employ Americans. This is not the portrayal we see in the news very often, but it is an important one.
Undocumented migrants can be smart professionals, they can be Asian, they can be entrepreneurs and employers. They aren't a monolith.
Mental health and wellness can and should look different depending on who you are and what you value. Especially for our elders, healing can come from sharing memories, teaching the next generation their family recipes or their favorite games, instead of going to therapy and talking about their traumas.
CONTACT
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Host: Lazou
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S3 E15: Amanda B. on 6 degrees of cats, educating in the domestic violence space, and her experience as a trans-national & trans-racial adoptee.

https://nuancespod.com/2023/09/24/amanda-b/
GUEST BIO
Amanda B. is the executive producer and host of 6 Degrees of Cats, a cat-themed culture, history and occasionally science podcast that investigates the surprising intersections between human and feline kind, with the help of a interdisciplinary roster of guest experts. She has worked internationally in the fields of clinical research, public health, social impact and tech, and is a trained advocate for violence survivors and youth mental health. As a musician, Amanda composes and plays lead guitar in Leathered, an NYC-based rock 'n' roll band and has supported major artists on live broadcasts and stages in the U.S. and Europe. Amanda also freelances as a producer of live and virtual professional development programming for clients such as The Podcast Academy. She can be followed on Instagram and Twitter @6degreesofcats and @leathered4ever..
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DEFINITIONS
Rust Belt: a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s
Tabula rasa: Blank slate
Cisgendered: a person whose gender identity corresponds with the sex registered for them at birth; not transgender.
Trauma-informed: Trauma informed, which is a buzzword, simply means that I have training and education, understanding the neurobiological holistic impacts of Big T trauma, which is different than the way we use the word trauma in our common language, on the way we expect people to react.
MENTIONED
RAINN
OkaySo
Right to Be
Womankind
Center for Anti-Violence Education
Restore NY (fka Black Women's Blueprint)
Anti-Violence Project
Kimberlé Crenshaw


TAKEAWAYS
The reasons behind toxic masculinity is different for men with oppressed identities, versus men who are part of the majority, and we need to acknowledge that difference if we want to meaningfully address the problem.
Consent is not something that you give once and is valid forever. Consent has to be given every single time.
If you wouldn't ask the same question to a non-adoptee, then don't ask it to an adoptee either. By the same token, if you wouldn't ask a question to a white dude, (eg. where are you really from), then don't ask it from a POC either. It comes off as ignorant.
We do our most compelling work when we embrace who we are and all our quirks. See Amanda's 6 degrees of cats or Ivy Le's FOGO: Fear of Going Outside
CONTACT
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Host: Lazou
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S3 E14: Charles Levan on his career working at EMI/Capitol Records, and becoming a licensing agent for independent artists.

https://nuancespod.com/2023/09/17/charles-levan/
GUEST BIO
Established in 2002, Charles Levan, C.E.O/Owner of Blue Buddha Entertainment, LLC specializes in sync placement for independent artists and labels, serving as a premier conduit for contemporary groundbreaking artists and repertoire. Past sync placements include: Shrinking, Found, All American, This Is Us, Supreme Models, & Grey's Anatomy to name a few. With over 27 years of experience in the music industry, Charles' passion in the sync space is coupled with a focus on artist development, helping artists hone their musical craft in an ever-changing entertainment world. Starting out at The Right Stuff/EMI-Capitol Records (North America), in the Marketing & Radio Promotions Department. Charles’ most notable work includes marketing Al Green’s platinum-selling Greatest Hits album and other high profile reissues. Charles balances his work life through an extreme passion for music, basketball, working out and mediation to stay spiritually grounded. .
Instagram | YouTube | Web
DEFINITIONS
Wet behind the ears: Lacking experience/immature
AAPI: Asian American Pacific Islander
Sync: Synchronizing music to another medium such as video or even podcasts.
Music supervisor: A music expert who typically offers music suggestions to be used in a scene, and is also responsible for clearing the licenses from all stakeholders for the song to be used.
MENTIONED
S1 E11 - Dr. Ashley Chung-Fat-Yim
Spotify developing AI trained on host voice
TAKEAWAYS
Even in industries that are white dominated, there are some good mentors out there who can actually shield you from a lot of the discrimination. So make every effort you can to find those supporters who will use their privilege to back you when you need them to!
When you have the opportunity to work with a mentor, showing up and developing that relationship makes it more rewarding for both parties. As someone who has been mentoring podcasters and music producer, I 100% agree with that.
Because East Asians often have baby face, they are often assumed to be younger and less experienced than they actually are. So if you find yourself thinking an Asian colleague is likely too young or too inexperienced, it's good to quickly check yourself and make sure you haven't been fooled by the genes we stole from the fountain of youth.
We’re not a monolith so our experiences vary widely. That’s expected and one does not invalidate the other. Charles, as an Asian American cis-straight man, has a different experience from Tonie (S1E3) who is non-binary, or Summer Swee Singh (S2E6) who's a woman, or Dani Saldo (S3E5) who is a disabled woman. We exist across a broad range of experiences.
CONTACT
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Host: Lazou
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S3 E13: Samantha Ong on the need for representation in toys, colorism in Asian culture, and how her culturally accurate dolls sold out on launch day.

https://nuancespod.com/2023/09/10/samantha-ong/
GUEST BIO
Samantha Ong is an entrepreneur, business owner, and mother to two young girls based in Toronto, Canada. Samantha founded Joeydolls in response to the rise in anti-Asian hate around the world during the pandemic lockdowns. Her goal is to help young children feel proud of their heritage and feel valued in society by creating diverse Asian cultural dolls that celebrate every culture.
As the founder and CEO of Joeydolls, Samantha is on a mission to provide a representation of Asian culture in a cute and playful way and also deconstruct both racism and colorism. Joeydolls are designed to be a child's friend for life, with soft and cuddly bodies, and culturally accurate attire. She hopes the dolls will help create more awareness and education around Asian culture and diversity..
Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn | Web
DEFINITIONS
MENTIONED
Children notice race several years before adults want to talk about it
TAKEAWAYS
Better done than perfect. At some point perfectionism gets in the way of the positive impact you could already be having on your community.
Kids internalize concepts of race and belonging as early as 10 months old, so feeling represented as early as possible is important.
Entrepreneurship keeps you on your toes, no matter how prepared, so might as well jump in if you have an idea you believe in.
Telling expecting parents you hope their kids have certain physical features is hurtful.
Colorism in Asian culture is very real. If you see this in your family, gently remind them that the child will be loved and welcome no matter what they look like.
CONTACT
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Host: Lazou
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S3 E12: Ivy Le on being a comic, a mom, and a flaming bisexual whose nature show, FOGO, explores the outdoors so you don’t have to!

https://nuancespod.com/2023/09/03/ivy-le/
GUEST BIO
Ivy Le is a Vietnamese American comedian, actress, and writer based in Austin, Texas. She is the creator of the critically-acclaimed Spotify Studios podcast FOGO: Fear of Going Outside, a nature show by the most reluctant host ever. FOGO is featured on Delta flights and recommended by The Guardian, CBC, Oprah and, inexplicably, Outside. She hosts the only queer comedy open mic in Austin, and performs at comedy festivals all over the country. She is also mom to two as-yet untraumatized kids..
Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | YouTube | Web
DEFINITIONS
CPTSD: Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) can result from experiencing chronic trauma, such as prolonged child abuse or domestic violence. It’s closely related to PTSD and borderline personality disorder.
ADHD: ADHD is a long-term (chronic) brain condition that causes executive dysfunction, which means it disrupts a person’s ability to manage their own emotions, thoughts and actions.
Heteronormativity: When heterosexuality (cis-man & woman) is the norm, and any other sexual orientation or gender identity is seen as outside the norm, and hence has less privilege.
MENTIONED
Kim's Convenience
""Come to Me, Daddy"" by BedPost Confessions
Ali Siddiq
TAKEAWAYS
Representation can get in the way of real institutional progress if we're not demanding more than just visible representation on screen, but also behind the scenes at all levels of organizations.
Each child is our collective responsibility to raise as a society, and community support can help us all thrive together rather than struggling in isolation.
Texas is a lot more diverse than its politicians make it out to be.
We do not need to assimilate into America. We are America and we're defining what America is.
CONTACT
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Host: Lazou
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S3 E11: Nastassia Jagatsingh on deconstructing her Mauritian and Canadian identities, unlearning colorism, and living with chronic illness.

For the full show notes, go to https://nuancespod.com/2023/08/27/nastassia-jagatsingh
GUEST BIO
Nastassia is a 31 Indo-Mauritian Montrealer currently based in so-called Vancouver. After a little under a decade in the banking and ESL teaching spaces, she’s exploring non-traditional avenues for work and embracing slow living as she learns to live with chronic illness. During the “summer of racial reckoning” she, like many, turned to social media spaces and literature to make sense of the world around her. Since then, she’s been reading and writing at the intersections of indenture, diasporic Brownness and disability while cultivating a keen interest in the millennial/Gen Z zeitgeist. She’s also a photographer, an aspiring bookstagrammer and is working on her first book! .
Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Web
DEFINITIONS
Creole Mauritians: mostly descendants of African slaves, or racially mixed Mauritians who are also Christians.
Creole: A stable natural language that has been created through the mixing of two other languages.
Kaya: A Mauritian artist who pioneered the Seggae genre, which mixed Mauritian Sega with Reggae influences. He was arrested for smoking marijuana at a concert and died in police custody in 1999. He was our George Floyd.
Substack: A blogging/newsletter platform that allows writers to monetize their content through subscriptions.
MENTIONED
"People Change" by Vivek Shraya
Death of Mauritian artist Kaya, 1999
"Anti-Blackness is hiding in plain sight" by Nastassia Jagatsingh
"Hunger" by Roxane Gay
"Le Sari Vert" by Ananda Devi
US physicians in Canada
TAKEAWAYS
It's important to talk to people in your community and ask rather than assume what their experience has been like.
Believing that Western countries were better is white supremacist thinking and something we're both trying to deconstruct.
Although Mauritius has very few whites, white people still hold a lot of economic & social power, and are treated as such.
Beyond the US, the 2020 BLM protests had the worldwide effect of giving people the vocabulary and the tools to start the painful process of confronting and healing from racial trauma.
Canada is often touted as an immigrant-friendly country, but it actually is really hard for immigrants to find jobs if they did not study in Canada.
Behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blaming, slut-shaming, sexual objectification, trivializing rape, denial of widespread rape, refusing to acknowledge the harm caused by sexual violence, etc. This is a huge problem in Mauritius, but it exists everywhere. If you see this in your community, speak up and let them know that it's not okay.
Looking good doesn't matter if you don't feel good.
Brown kids are given so many signals so early on that lighter skin is the standard of beauty. Comments like ""don't go in the sun"" or ""oh she's lighter now, she's more pretty"" are so harmful. Again, if you hear these comments, gently educate your circles on why these are harmful.
SONG
"Where Do We Go" by 23rd Hour. Written by LAZOU & Edi Jon Yuk
CONTACT
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Host: Lazou
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