Nuances: Our Asian Stories

S2 E6: Summer Swee-Singh on becoming a successful pianist with zero connections, being female and Asian in the industry, the importance of representat...

GUEST BIO
Summer Swee-Singh is an AAPI studio/event/touring pianist and keyboardist, string and orchestral arranger, composer, music director, string contractor, backing vocalist, and music educator. Summer graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Legal Studies and a Music Minor. After graduating, she worked full-time at Jones Day San Francisco, a law firm, as their Recruiting and HR Assistant and was planning on applying to law schools when she decided to take a chance on her passion—music. She cold-called her way into her first piano residencies, as she had no music industry connections when she first transitioned to a music career, and her unique piano and string arrangements that she posted to social media led to her first touring experience ever with the band Circa Survive. Now Summer's notable studio and live performance credits include Bebe Rexha, KSHMR, Chon, Circa Survive, Naia Izumi, Roddy Ricch, Anthony Green, Chief Keef, Keiynan Lonsdale, Until the Ribbon Breaks, Gashi, Thunder Jackson, Mothe, Psychic Barber, and Alexandra Shipp. Summer also founded and runs the blog AAPI Musicians and its corresponding Instagram which spotlight established AAPI music creators and touring pros.
Summer Swee-Singh Insta | TikTok | Web
DEFINITIONS
Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men.
TAKEAWAYS
Statistically, if you cold-call enough potential clients, you’re bound to get a few good leads.
The first gig is the hardest to land, but each gig opens doors to more opportunities. So get those first few and blow their socks off.
Women in the music industry are often assumed to be less competent than men before they even play the first note. Their looks are also micromanaged while men rarely get any comments on their outfits. If you ever find yourself questioning a woman’s abilities, or criticizing her outfit in your head, stop yourself and ask - would I ask these same questions if she was my white male buddy? If not, congratulations, you have just recognized a subconscious bias that you now have the power to dismantle in your own life.
Women can also be sexist toward other women and often are, so we need to examine ourselves too and choose to uplift each other instead.
Lack of transparency in auditions causes many like Summer to waste their time on try outs that were never going to land them anything because of their race, ethnicity, or gender.
A career in music isn’t limited to starving musician or Beyonce level fame. There is a middle class where you can be successful and financially stable, without being a household name.
Careers don’t have to be static.
If you want your kids to learn an instrument, let them play music they love.
Representation inspires people to consider paths they didn’t think were possible for them before.
Money is important, but it isn’t everything. Our fulfillment, our physical and mental health, and time spent with loved ones are equally important variables in the equation for success.
Insta | TikTok | Blog | LinkedIn
Hosts: Sherry-Lynn Lee, Ariadne Mila
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S2 E5 - A Holiday Special featuring our guests’ holiday traditions and how they have evolved over time.

GUESTS
Rahul Borkar - S1 E2
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/kzFw6I4UYvb
Tonie Nguyen - S1 E3
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/ubIj3IUUYvb
Lisa Danaë - S1 E4
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/nI5yMIUUYvb
Cece Chow - S1 E7
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/I69BSHUUYvb
Edmond Chan - S1 E8
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/he0PAHUUYvb
Ashley Chung-Fat-Yim - S1 E11
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/ViJkAGUUYvb
Charlene Vela - S2 E2
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/zL8HEFUUYvb
Tiffany Chou - S2 E3 (see link for giveaway instructions)
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/HfuLDn6UYvb
Upcoming season 2 guests:
Rod Kim
Offering Rain
MUSIC
“Have You Noticed the Season?” and “Let a Day Together Be Christmas” by 23rd Hour
Spotify | Apple | Website
CONTACT
Instagram | TikTok | Blog | LinkedIn | Twitter
Host: Sherry-Lynn Lee (Lazou) & Ariadne Mila
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S2 E4: Qasim Rashid on how Islam inspires him to advocate for women, for the poor, and even for his haters, and how he remains focused in a world full...

GUESTQasim Rashid is a Pakistani-born human rights lawyer, author, and Executive Director of Common Purpose, an organization dedicated to electing more women and underrepresented Americans to public office. Through his work, he supports survivors of domestic and sexual violence, represents asylum seekers, uplifts the incarcerated through prison chaplaincy, and advocates for universal religious freedom. Instagram | TikTok | website
TW: Domestic violence
🇺🇸: ☎️ 800-799-7233 | text START to 88788 | visit thehotline.org
🇲🇺: ☎️ 139
Other: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_domestic_violence_hotlines
DEFINITIONSJim Crow era - when local and state governments enforced racial segregation in various parts of the U.S. from late 1800s to 1965.
MENTIONEDUnworthy victims
TAKEAWAYS
If you don’t tell your story, someone else will write a narrative for you, and you might not like it.
Many African slaves were Muslim and were educated. They organized revolts and protests against slavery. They also built much of the country.
White supremacy thrives on pitting minorities against each other.
DV takes on many forms including physical abuse, verbal abuse, threats of deportation, financial restrictions, and other forms of intimidation.
Without financial, legal, logistical, and emotional support, it can be nearly impossible for someone to escape from an abusive relationship.
DV is everyone’s problem and Qasim calls on especially his fellow men to do their part and intervene when they see men abusing women.
When discussing serious topics such as race, keep in mind the end goal. If the goal is to change hearts and minds, then you have to assume positive intent, and truly try to understand where the other person is coming from.
Often, you won’t change someone’s mind. But if you’ve conveyed your message in the way that you wanted to, it might inspire others watching to learn more about your perspective. Collateral education.
Activism is different for everyone. The key is doing something that is sustainable for you.
It is important to be on many different platforms both to connect with different people, and to protect yourself from being subject to the whims of any particular platform.
Pick your lane, and elevate the experts voices in other areas you care about without stepping on shoes.
When someone sets a boundary with you, that means they want you in their life, AND they want that relationship to be a healthy one.
Know what is truly important to you, and organize your life around it.
CONTACTWebsite | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn | TwitterHosts: Sherry-Lynn Lee (Lazou) & Ariadne Mila
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S2 E3: Tiffany Chou on never underestimating people, and why she founded Depo Market to give disabled people like her brother enjoyable, meaningful, a...

GIVEAWAY
To win our giveaway from Depo Market, do one of the following:
Follow @depo_market and @nuancespod on Instagram AND comment on this episode's IG post on @nuancespod.
Follow @depomarket and @nuancespod on TikTok AND comment on this episode's TikTok post on @nuancespod.
Leave a review on any podcast platform and send us a screenshot at nuancespodcast@gmail.com
Winner will be announced at the end of the season. You can enter all 3 ways, which would triple your chance of winning!
GUEST
In 2019 Tiffany moved home to Maui, Hawaii to become primary caregiver to her brother Christian, who was diagnosed with autism at 5 years old. Inspired by her brother's interest in jewelry and wanting to help him find a job, Tiffany created Depo Market, a retail business that provides jobs to other adults with disabilities like Chris.
Instagram | TikTok | website
DEFINITIONS
Allistic - someone who is not affected by autism.
Neurodivergent - Someone who has some sort of variation to their neurology or overall brain structure. This umbrella term can apply to:
Autism
ADHD
PTSD
Alzheimers or dementia
Epilepsy
Tourette's syndrome
Traumatic brain injuries (or TBIs)
Blindness
Deafness
TAKEAWAYS
When disabled people like Chris are kept away from customer-facing jobs, it further perpetuates stereotypes and fear. Depo Market thinks that having disabled employees interact with customers is the best way to help able-bodied people get to know them, empathize with them, and truly give them the space they deserve in our communities.
Whatever it is that you want to do, just start somewhere, even if you’re scared of failing. Because whatever might fail might also create something amazing for your community.
Don’t underestimate people just because they’re disabled. With a few adjustments they are just as capable provided a conducive environment.
Finding community in our shared experiences is invaluable. For Tiffany, meeting so many other families like hers and exchanging tips and stories on TikTok has been an unexpected but very welcome gift. If you’re feeling alone in your struggles, there’s a good chance that there’s a community out there waiting for you. Go find it.
Chris has never seen himself represented on the TV shows that he loves to watch, and the lack of representation as a disabled Asian man has made it hard for him to celebrate his ethnicity. This is why representation matters
CONTACT
Instagram | TikTok | Blog | LinkedIn | Twitter
Hosts: Sherry-Lynn Lee (Lazou) & Ariadne Mila
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S2 E2: Charlene Vela on dance aesthetics, Asian accents, and what to do if you don’t know how to pronounce someone’s name.

GUEST
Charlene is a Filipino American. She was born in Switzerland and moved to the states with her parents and younger brother when she was four years old, living most of her life in Texas. During the day she works at a tech company in Austin, and in her free time she loves being part of the local dance community, and playing board games with her friends and husband. Instagram
DEFINITIONS
Body shaming is criticizing or mocking someone for supposed bodily faults or imperfections, such as their height, weight, facial features, skin, hair texture, tattoos, etc.
TAKEAWAYS
Growing up in the only Asian family in town can make it hard to connect with one’s culture when we have no one to compare notes with. It becomes hard to know what’s a family quirk versus a cultural thing.
Negative comments about accents add pressure on immigrants and their kids to assimilate. When people commented on their parents’ accents, both Ari and Charlene were embarrassed, thinking there was something wrong with their parents. So they tried to sound more white, and do what the white kids do, which sometimes meant distancing themselves from their Asian culture in order to fit in.
Careless words can have lasting impact.The people making these off-hand comments often don’t think they said anything hurtful and soon forget about it. But their words have lasting impacts on the people receiving them.
While it might be hard to understand someone with an accent, it’s worth remembering that they are speaking in a language other than their mother tongue, and appreciate their ability and willingness to do so for our benefit.
Simply being surrounded by people who look different can make you self conscious, even if no one ever body shames you. In ballet for example, the costume sizes being unrealistically small, or the curvier dancers being placed in the back enforce a culture of valuing thinness without necessarily saying so.
If you don’t know how to pronounce someone’s name, ask them how to pronounce it, and then give it a shot. People will appreciate you trying rather than giving up and saying “Oh I’m not even gonna try to pronounce that”. Coz that makes them feel like they don’t belong and that they’re an inconvenience to you.
Finally, it doesn’t matter whether you speak the language, or spent time in the country your ancestors came from. You are Asian enough.
CONTACT
Instagram | TikTok | Blog | LinkedIn | Twitter
Hosts: Sherry-Lynn Lee (Lazou) & Ariadne Mila
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S2 E1: Masaru Tanabe on attitudes towards disabled people in Japan vs. the U.S., anti-Asian hate in liberal states like Oregon, and the model minority...

GUEST
Masaru Tanabe is a 34 year old disabled trans non-binary Japanese American fiber artist. Contracting the H1N1 (Swine flu) virus in 2009 left them with ME/CFS, a post-viral syndrome which, combined with their genetic disability of Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos, has left them so disabled that they are now unable to work. They now spend their time making and selling fiber art online, and bringing awareness about Disability issues, anti-Asian Hate crimes, and Trans Rights issues.
Instagram | TikTok | Ko-fi shop
DEFINITIONS
Pansexual - someone who is attracted – either emotionally, physically or both – to all genders. This includes cisgender, transgender, agender and gender nonconforming individuals.
Ableism - discrimination against disabled people, in favor of able-bodied people.
TAKEAWAYS
1. If you are a victim of discrimination, you do not owe closure to your oppressor. You do not have to suppress your own feelings in order to make them feel better about what they did.
2. Disabled is not a dirty word. It’s just a fact. Talking about disability should not be a taboo. Not talking about disability keeps the disabled community invisible, and makes it harder for them to access the support they deserve.
3. The way we view disability in the west is only one of many possible ways to do so, and a better system is possible for all the stakeholders. In Japan, instead of viewing disabled people as a liability, they use technology to empower disabled people to work and to continue to be an integral part of their community.
4. Despite the Americans with Disabilities Act, the accessibility standards are not comprehensive enough to ensure access. Builders will often meet the minimum ADA requirements and neglect to add essential features such as curb cuts if they are not required to do so.
5. Anti-Asian hate crime has been on the rise since the pandemic, and many of us, myself included, do not feel safe in spaces where we are the only Asian or person of color.
6. Even if you live in a community that is deemed liberal or progressive, you cannot assume that there isn’t racism. Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles are not immune to racism. If you want to be true allies, ask your friends about their experiences, and ask them how you can be of help. Most of us will not tell you unless you ask, because we don’t always know how you’ll react.
7. Being an ally is a title that you earn through action, not by association.
CONTACT
Instagram | TikTok | Blog | LinkedIn | Twitter
Hosts: Sherry-Lynn Lee (Lazou) & Ariadne Mila
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S1 E12: Ariadne & Sherry-Lynn reflect on season 1 and its impact on the creators and listeners of The Nuances Podcast.

For the final episode of the season, Sherry & Ari take the mic to reflect on Season 1.
We've learned and grown so much in 12 short weeks. We are so proud of the safe space we've created for our guests and listeners alike and are eternally grateful for the gift of your time. Some of you were gracious enough to send us your comments on how much you enjoyed the podcast. We are happy to include those here.
We also give you a glimpse of our lives outside of the podcast, through our music reels at the end of the episode.
To listen to all of our episodes, you can visit our website
You can also find us on Instagram | Blog | LinkedIn | Twitter
Hosts: Ariadne Mila & Sherry-Lynn Lee
- Season 1 Spotify playlist.
- Spotify playlist of music by indie AAPI artists.
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S1 E11: Dr. Ashley Chung-Fat-Yim on how bilinguals’ brains differ from monolinguals’, and how bilingualism improves performance at other tasks.

This week, Dr. Ashley Chung-Fat-Yim brings some excellent news for bilinguals! Find out how speaking another language makes your brain more efficient, as early as infancy. You do not want to miss this one.
GUEST BIO
Dr. Ashley Chung-Fat-Yim is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Bilingualism and Psycholinguistics Research Group at Northwestern University. Her research focuses on the neural and cognitive consequences of bilingualism. During her PhD, she was awarded the ThinkSwiss Research Award and Mitacs Globalink Research Award to conduct research abroad at the Institute of Multilingualism in Fribourg, Switzerland. Before her postdoctorate position at Northwestern University, Ashley earned her PhD from York University in Psychology.
https://sites.google.com/site/ashleykchungfatyim/
TERMS
Mauritian
Mauritius
Creole
Monolinguals
Bilinguals
Psycholinguistics
WEIRD samples
MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
The Power of Language - Dr. Viorica Marian
TAKEAWAYS:
Many immigrants pride themselves on working hard, contributing to their adopted country, and assimilating to the best of their ability.
When we move out, our parents can’t be responsible for our safety and success anymore. This sometimes helps them relax and shift into a more supportive role rather than actively worrying 24/7.
We can’t always articulate our need for diversity. Even though Dr. Chung-Fat-Yim never experienced overt racism, moving to a school with more Asian kids was a welcome change.
Both Dr. Chung-Fat-Yim and Sherry feel that moving to the U.S. made them more aware of their Asianness and their status as a minority.
Sexism is alive and well in academia. If you see your female colleagues’ ideas shot down, then applauded when coming from a male, speak up and give the female colleague due credit.
Cross-linguistic and cross-cultural research is driven by questions posed by people like Dr. Chung-Fat-Yim, whose unique backgrounds help identify gaps in psycholinguistics that are only beginning to be filled.
In a bilingual brain, there isn’t a switch to use one language or the other. Rather, every language is activated at the same time, and we have to inhibit all of them except the one we want to use.
Bilinguals’ language processing areas of the brain develop more grey matter and white matter. This translates to better performance on both linguistic and non-linguistic tasks. Bilinguals also process some information faster than monolinguals and can be observed even in infants who have not yet acquired language, but who live in a bilingual household.
Some cultures place more emphasis on the tone of voice to detect or express emotions, while others rely more on facial expression.
It does not matter at what age you start learning a language, you can reap the benefits of bilingualism as long as you keep practicing and maintain fluency.
Using the Duo Lingo app is as effective as doing brain training exercises and leads to improvements in performance in older adults.
If you learn a new language later in life, you experience the foreign language effect, where you process things with more emotional distance in the new language than in your native tongue.
Instagram | Blog | LinkedIn | Twitter
Hosts: Ariadne Mila & Sherry-Lynn Lee
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S1 E10: Nathan Rogers on being an AAPI from the South and his evolution on his political beliefs

This week, Nathan Rogers chats with us about his experiences growing up as a biracial Filipino-American in the South, the evolution of his political views, his thoughts on religion and faith, and the importance of representation.
TERMS
Capitalism, Aquino Administration, HeLa cells, Moral majority, Abrahamic religions, Lobbying
MENTIONED:
Atlantic article - “Even My Business Students Have Doubts About Capitalism” - Glen Hubbard
“Seeing White” Podcast
“Southern Baptists Refused to Act on Abuse, Despite Secret List of Pastors”
Racial bias in medicine
TAKEAWAYS:
The ideals that the United States promotes–of freedom and self-determination–are appealing in theory. But in practice they are not equitably accessible to everybody.
In America, Christianity is strongly associated with being Republican, but actually, many Democrats are devout Christians too. In most countries, there is no strong association between political parties and specific religious sects. And religious beliefs typically don’t influence political policy.
In many conservative Christian households, the pressure to go along with the party’s political stances often leaves no room for nuance because any questioning of the GOP is immediately reframed as an attack on Christianity and a weakening of their faith.
It takes a lot of work to disentangle identity, religion, and politics. Asking ourselves if the systems and policies we have in place truly represent the people’s interests is uncomfortable. It takes unlearning, and re-learning, to piece together a more objective worldview that is free from religious or political agendas.
If religion is to be a safe space and a supportive community, religious leaders need to help depolarize politics and encourage true separation of church and state.
It’s important to hold political leaders accountable, & research each candidates' platform before voting, instead of simply voting along party lines.
One of the main issues with the “pro-life” movement is that, for them, “pro-life” seems to stop at childbirth. They do not advocate for these children once they become school children, mothers, or members of marginalized minorities. This has caused many religious conservatives to question their affiliation with the GOP.
The two party system has led to two fractured parties by which many Americans do not feel adequately represented due to an increasing disconnect between the party’s values and the people’s interests.
Capitalism and the free market function as intended. They were designed to enrich some and exploit the rest.
Many BIPOC & AAPI grew up as conservative Christians and their voices can bring great perspectives to these conversations, as we’ve heard today.
Finally, if you’re a Christian conservative, we hope this conversation empowers you to have nuance in your political opinions, like Nathan did. And If you’re more on the left, we hope this conversation gave you hope and helped you see that not all Christian conservatives are willing to blindly follow the GOP.
Instagram | Blog | LinkedIn | Twitter
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S1 E09: Sally on working with young people, Asian representation in media, mental health, gender roles & bisexuality.

This week, Sally shares her experiences growing up as a Taiwanese-Coquitlamite-Torontonian and her thoughts on diversity and inclusivity in higher education.
TERMS
Resident student leader
Orientalism
Colonialism
Microaggression
Spiritual pluralism
Islamophobia
MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
Orientalism - Edward Said
Yuri On Ice
The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
Paradise Lost - John Milton
TAKEAWAYS:
Sally grew up in a diverse city with other Asian-Canadian peers, which helped her feel less alone in her experiences. This is why diversity and representation matter.
Even if you speak the language of your home country, there are still things that can get lost in translation. Language evolves, and members of Asian diaspora communities don’t always know the latest slang.
One of the trickiest things to navigate as an Asian diaspora person is balancing Eastern and Western ideals. For example, choosing an area of study purely based on your own interests and dreams, rather than a career your family wants, is a more Western mindset, and it can be difficult to explain these decisions to family members.
Being vocal about social issues is something that a lot of Asian diaspora members have had to grow into. It wasn’t ingrained in us to be vocal about these things; we were taught not to make waves and not to rock the boat. But now, more than ever, it’s important that we use our voices to talk about things that matter. Last week, Edmond talked about the hashtag #PrideInEveryColor and how he is creating a safe community to share our voices. We encourage you to find them on IG and TikTok and interact with their content.
Racism is not just an individual behavior; it is a complex system that encourages/facilitates racist behaviors or policies.
As Asian diaspora members, while it’s important to help do the work of dismantling colonialist, oppressive systems, it’s also important that we give ourselves permission to rest. We do not need to reduce our identity to only doing this work.
Sometimes it is a tricky balance to navigate being feminist and being Asian, and being LGBTQIA+ and being Asian. There are Orientalism tropes and sexist mindsets to get past. Gender norms are often more binary in Chinese culture, whereas in Western countries, diverse expressions of gender identity are more common and accepted, but Asian representation tends to be lacking.
Not all Asian media representation is good. A lot of it is based in stereotypes, and not well-researched. Their Asian identity is often a punchline or their entire personality. It’s important to push for meaningful representation that portrays Asian characters as complex human beings, rather than tropes.
Mental health is still a taboo subject in many Asian families. If someone is struggling but refuses to get help, setting boundaries on what behaviors would be deemed serious enough to call for professional help can be useful for both parties.
Instagram | Blog | LinkedIn | Twitter
Hosts: Ariadne Mila & Sherry-Lynn Lee
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nuancespod/support