Join Dr. Thao Ha—a sociology professor with a backstory of survival and resilience. In this episode of The Vietnamese podcast, Kenneth Nguyen hosts Dr. Thao Ha as they discuss the outcomes of the 2024 presidential election, exploring why “the Dems didn't see the other side coming so strong” and how we can bridge divides in the aftermath.

Dr. Ha’s story offers her perspective on social issues and the urgent need for understanding each other. It’s not everyday a sociology teacher can talk about street gangs from first-hand experience. When she talks about the social consequences of gangs, she can point to the scar on her arm. She was shot in a gang-related drive-by shooting as she was coming out of a billiards hall near where she lived in Houston.

Today, she is professor of sociology at MiraCosta College with a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. She’s a writer, filmmaker, media consultant, and philanthropic leader who leads the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA) and the Doan Foundation for the arts.

She is the founder of Collective Freedom, a North San Diego County nonprofit serving the formerly incarcerated population. Her forthcoming book, Love Letters to the Dirty South, will be released in 2026. It’s a memoir following her journey from being in a Houston Vietnamese gang in the 1990s to reconnecting with her incarcerated first love, Vu, in 2020, and explores the broader social structures of the refugee experience, mass incarceration, and prison injustice.

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Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth Nguyen

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