Nuances: Our Asian Stories

Season 5 – Queering Premodern Asia – a limited series

This season was structured differently, with a narrative portion and a discussion afterwards. The narrative portion was based on academic research and featured snippets of interviews with some scholars including Prof. CunCun Wu (University of Hong Kong), Prof. Sachi Schmidt-Hori (Dartmouth College), Prof. Anjali Arondekar (UC Santa Cruz) , Niloofar Rasooli (Swiss Institute of Technology).

I was thrilled to be joined by amazing guest co-hosts for each episode.

• Chinese American gay historical violinist Edmond Chan co-hosted In search of Prince Charming…and his king!
• Chinese American lesbian poet Karen Zheng co-hosted But where are the lesbians??
• Vietnamese American nonbinary artist and producer Tonie Nguyen co-hosted Fifty shades of gender.
• Iranian American polyamorous therapist Manijeh Badiee co-hosted Love, marriage and their casual relationship.
• South Asian Canadian bisexual writer and myth enthusiast Shreya Sharma co-hosted Gods, sex, and the patriarchy.
• Korean American bisexual anthropologist Stella co-hosted The West: savior or demonizer? – Part 1.
• Chinese Canadian trans artist, model, advocate Cece Chow co-hosted The West: savior or demonizer? – Part 2.
• Filipino, Chinese, Jewish & European American nonbinary financial educator Stella Gold co-hosted Performing gender (and gender bender icons).
• Palestinian gay sociology professor Izat El Amoor co-hosted For the record…
• Christian & Muslim Mauritian gay activist Ryan (Ridwan) Ah Seek co-hosted In search of the “socially acceptable”.

Season 4 – Interviews

Topics we covered include:

• growing up undocumented (Korean American)
• the case for a single payer U.S. healthcare system and a potential cure for Alzheimer’s, Cancer, Parkinsons (Korean American)
• becoming an Emmy-nominated writer (Korean American)
• Japanese v.s. American parenting (Japanese American)
• moving from Korea, to California, to Arkansas (Korean American)
• art and acting as a means to connect people (Black & Chinese American)
• the lifesaving nature of gender affirming care (Chinese Canadian)
• being the child of a trans parent (Chinese Canadian)
• the politics of food (Chinese American)
• #PeriodsOptional and what to know about menopause! (Taiwanese American)

Season 3 – Interviews

Topics we covered include:

• life as a career radio DJ (Chinese American)
• becoming a thriving music + tech journalist (Chinese American)
• (mis)understanding Iran’s Women Life Freedom movement (Iranian & Jewish American)
• connecting with Filipino & Ojibwe culture as transracial adoptee
• becoming disabled in your 20s (Filipino Canadian)
• working with deaf/deaf-blind communities (Vietnamese American)
• deconstructing Christianity at an evangelical school (Japanese American)
• teaching about turban myths and Sikhism (South Asian American)
• healing intergenerational trauma & reclaiming culture (Lao American)
• taking bold career steps, moving across oceans, and screening to a sold out show in Kathmandu (Chinese Malaysian Canadian now in Berlin)
• deconstructing Mauritian and Canadian identities
• being a bisexual comedian mom who’s afraid of the outdoors (Vietnamese American)
• creating representation in toys (Malaysian Chinese Canadian)
• working on the business side of the music industry (Vietnamese American)
• being a transracial, transnational adoptee, creating a culture of consent & the problem with our sex education programs, (Korean American)

Season 2 – Interviews

Topics we covered include:

• attitudes towards disability in Japan vs U.S. (Japanese American)
• dance, aesthetics, accents and belonging (Filipino American)
• creating a business employing only disabled / autistic people (Korean American adoptee)
• advocating for women and other marginalized groups as a Muslim (Pakistani American)
• how our guests celebrate the holiday season! (special episode)
• working as a voice actor (Filipino American)
• selling your Filipino mom on an art degree in the 70s
• caring for patients with dementia in the UK (Chinese Mauritian)
• becoming a winemaker as a Filipino American woman
• growing up in the American south
• growing up in an Ecuadorian and Indian family
• juggling multiple cultures and faiths as an Indo-Fijian American

Season 1 – Interviews

Interviewees include:

• a rockstar from Louisville KY
• a nonbinary Vietnamese American pop artist and producer
• a mixed Filipino artist, not feeling Asian enough or white enough for the industry
• a Hmong American single mom & music artist
• a gay Filipino American sommelier diversifying the wine world
• a Chinese Canadian trans woman who transitioned later in life
• a gay Chinese American historical violinist
• a Sino-Mauritian Canadian neuroscientist who studies bilingualism & the brain

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