This is a conversation with Matt Dagher-Margosian, a Taiwan-based Lebanese-Armenian American who founded Asia Art Tours, an art and activism-oriented organisation, and is also the host of the highly recommended The Arts of Travel podcast. Matt first had me on his podcast in November of 2019 to talk about the then-ongoing uprising in Lebanon. Since then, we’ve  become good friends and have tried together to find answers to some of  the difficult questions around identity and the left (and its failures).

In this first of a two-parts conversation, we spoke about the  limitations of the ‘whiteness’ category in an American context and in  particular with regards to his own background as a Lebanese-Armenian  American. Given that Matt is based in Taiwan, speaks Mandarin Chinese  and regularly talks to interesting guests from around Asia and beyond on  his podcast, we also spoke about Taiwan, Hong Kong and their struggles  for recognition in the shadow of China’s massive influence on the world  stage. We also spoke about how Taiwan has dealt with the Covid-19  pandemic despite being excluded, at China’s request, from the World  Health Organisation.

Associated Blog Post: https://thefirethisti.me/2020/04/15/09-whiteness-migration-and-identity/

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Featured photo was taken by Mariam Grigoryan on Unsplash, modified by myself. Music by Tarabeat. Logo design by Carl Farra.

This episode is in solidarity with Mangal Media. Check out their work at mangalmedia.net