ASIAN AMERICA: THE KEN FONG PODCAST

California-based Asian American writer Joanne Howard discovered her grandfather's journals which he'd written while the family was serving as Baptist missionaries to India in the 1930s. Fascinated by his firsthand accounts of being an American family as India began to push back against being a colony of Great Britain, Howard was inspired to create a story of a family much like his, told from the perspectives of the youngest of four American boys and the family's Indian man-servant. You can find her on Instagram @joannesbooks and visit her webpage (www.joannehowardwrites.com).

Acclaimed Chinese Canadian author and cartoonist Teresa Wong recently published All Our Ordinary Stories: A Multigenerational Family Odyssey, which is her graphic memoir about the legacies of upheaval, a longing for family, and the barriers one daughter faces in trying to connect with her immigrant parents. www.byteresawong.com and @by_teresawong

Acclaimed painter and now-author Hyeseung Song has written a searing coming-of-age memoir for fans of Crying in H Mart, Minor Feelings, and the film Minari. Entitled Docile: Memoirs of a Not-So-Perfect Asian Girl, it follows the daughter of ambitious Asian American immigrant parents and Hyeseung's own search for self-worth.

After Trump was declared the winner over Harris, long-time friends and podcasters Ken Fong and Ken Kemp felt a need to see how the other was doing. If, like them, you're in shock that more than 70 million fellow Americans chose to give Trump another turn as the most powerful person in the free world, you'll probably find a degree of comfort in knowing that you're not alone.

East West Players' venerable producing artistic director emeritus Tim Dang came back for a third appearance here to let us all know what's in store for audience members who come to his updated version of Stephen Sondheim's and John Weidman's Pacific Overtures. Previews start Nov. 7th and the musical will run through Dec. 1st. Go to www.eastwestplayers.org to purchase tickets.

Set in nineteenth-century Japan, it tells the story of the country's westernization starting in 1853, when American ships forcibly opened it to the rest of the world. The story is told from the point of view of the Japanese, and focuses in particular on the lives of two friends who are caught in the change.

Mako, one of EWP's co-founders, starred in the original 1976 Broadway production, and Dang originally directed it in 1998 to celebrate the opening of the new David Henry Hwang Theater in J-Town. Twenty-six years later, Dang has been tasked with directing a slightly refreshed take of this musical. Interestingly, the questions it originally raised about isolationism versus open borders remains quite relevant today.

Brian Ho started taking piano lessons at a very early age, and even though he clearly was a prodigy, he struggled to connect to classical music. But he eventually learned that he could play all of his favorite songs by ear, which increased his passion for playing music. While still a teenager, he landed a gig at a San Jose Black Baptist church. That introduced him not only to the world of improvising, but even more significantlhy, to the venerable Hammond organ and its Leslie speaker. Today, Brian is seen as one of the rising stars on the contemporary jazz scene. His website (www.brianho.net) will alert you to when he's playing near you, and also tell you about his recent album Bridges featuring Paul Bollenback & Byron "Wookie" Landham.

Award-winning R&B/Rap producer Band!t fell in love with the genres as the young son of Korean American academics. Unsatisfied with the standard STEM direction, he began teaching himself the rudiments of producing original beats interwoven with samples of songs from the 70s while in college. But it would require plenty of blood, sweat, tears, and unshakeable faith in God before he was given chances to prove what he could do. 

VP Harris was inserted into the race just a few months ago, and now we're only 3 weeks away from the day when all the votes will be cast and counted. After that, the whole world will finally know who will be the 47th POTUS. Harris has proven to be a much more formidable adversary to Trump, and yet most polls are still saying that this race is too close to call.

Podcasters Fong and Kemp address why it's so uncomfortable living with uncertainty, and how important it is for us all to learn to embrace it, even as we cling to our hopes and dreams until we need to let them go.

My guests this week are Paul Cheng and David Fu. Paul is finishing his first term on Arcadia's City Council and seeking a second term, while David is running to join his friend Paul on their city's council. I started getting to know a few of the Asian Americans running for local offices when they asked me to take photographs for their campaigns of them with their families. I've really come to appreciate how fortunate we are that people of the caliber and character of David and Paul are willing to serve their cities by trying hard to solve vexxing problems like homelessness. If you'd like to learn more about Paul and why he's running again, go to www.cheng4arcadia.com. Likewise, if you'd like to get to know David better and his reasons for running, go to www.davidfu4arcadia.com.

Because Mika Shino was born in Japan, she possessed an innate connection to Japan's traditions, culture, aesthetics, and cuisines. But having grown up in other countries, especially America, she also was imbued with a creative curiosity that was free to explore beyond the boundaries of her native roots. When she became a mom, she soon learned that most of American snacks originatetd in Europe, and they weren't healthy. So she began to experiment in her kitchen, eventually concocting a healthy snack that her boys and their friends loved that was based in the traditional Japanese mochi cake. But she took a huge leap of faith when she decided to mass produce Issei Mochi Gummies. Her unique Japanese American healthy snack is now found in most grocery stores, on Amazon, and can also be bought directly from www.mochigummies.com. She is adamant about sticking with Issei's goal to create beautiful, healthy, and delicious foods that bring happiness, honor Asian heritage, and garner a community. They aim to enhance diversity and inclusion in the food sector, building bridges across cultures through food.