Welcome to Season 5, Episode 34! Before reading Table for 51, we had no idea what a “Friendship Expert” was. After meeting Shari Leid for this episode’s conversation, we think everyone could use a Friendship Expert!

Her newest book, Table for 51, shares her journey on the 50 States Project, where she committed to having a meal and conversation with one woman in every state. The book is a combination of memoir, self-help manual, and journey of inspiration. She learned about belonging and identity.

Shari was born in Seoul, South Korea and adopted by a Japanese American couple after she was found abandoned in a box. She’s a former litigator who is now a Friendship Expert, public speaker, and writer. After she left her career in litigation, she founded a professional mindset coaching business called An Imperfectly Perfect Life, LLC. Her business serves clients in those tricky middle age years, helping them create the life of their dreams.

In addition to Table for 51, she has written The Friendship Series which includes The 50/50 Friendship Flow, Make Your Mess Your Message, and Ask Yourself This, which included a 60-day journaling challenge. 

In our conversation, we talk about her career, what motivated her to go on the 50 States Project, how she organized Table for 51, her advice for people struggling with feelings of belonging, and so much more. To learn more about what Shari does, you can get Table for 51 or any of her other books, visit her site, follow her on instagram, join her Facebook group Flip the Box, listen to her podcast, or watch her YouTube channel. 

If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [email protected].

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 33! Our guest today is Ada Tseng. She’s a journalist, editor, podcaster, runner, wellness advocate and karaoke enthusiast. She is the co-author of the new book Breaking Into New Hollywood: A Career Guide to a Changing Industry. It just came out on August 12 2025, and it’s co-written with Jon Healey and published by the Los Angeles Times and Simon & Schuster. 

Breaking Into New Hollywood is a practical collection that offers insights on navigating the Hollywood industry today and how it’s changed with CGI, AI, video streaming, social media, and more. Whether you’re an aspiring set designer, agent, director, writer, actor, manager, or anything to do with making films in front or behind the scenes, this is an invaluable resource.

Ada has written for a variety of outlets including the LA Times, National Geographic, Center of Asian American Media, Women’s Wear Daily, HowStuffWorks, The Washington Post, Public Radio International, NBC, LA Weekly, Asia Pacific Arts, and Audrey Magazine (just to name a few). We should also mention that Ada is the co-host of the Saturday School Podcast with Brian Hu which is one of our favorites, especially for Asian American pop culture.

In our conversation, we talk about how she got involved with pop culture and this book, how she organized the book, the importance of adding in diversity to the different featured insiders in the book, what she thinks is the most important element of making it in Hollywood, what her fantasy career in Hollywood could be, and a lot more. As a veteran podcaster, she even turns the tables and asks us a few questions.

For more of Ada’s work, you can check out her website, follow her on Instagram, subscribe to the Saturday School Podcast, and get Breaking Into New Hollywood.

If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [email protected].

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 32! We love having conversations with a lot of amazing authors of a lot of fabulous books. It’s even more fun when we’re able to invite an amazing author who’s also a long-time friend or family member. So this episode is exciting for us because our guest is Kimberly Tso, the author of the new picture book Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken which is published by Third State Books (one of our favorite publishers)! And yes, we’ve known Kim for the better part of three decades.

Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken is a picture book inspired by the true story of Lillie, a real chicken trained to play tic-tac-toe in New York's Chinatown Fair arcade, and her relocation to a farm for rescued animals. Featuring vibrant paintings of Chinatown by Louie Chin, Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken showcases a local cultural touchstone and shows how children can stand up for what they believe in and solve tough problems with clever thinking. You don’t have to wait till Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken’s release date on August 19, 2025, because it’s available for pre-order through Third State Books, Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and more! You can even get a signed copy from Once Upon a Time Bookstore.

Kim is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) SoCal and SCBWI LA. She loves the challenge of writing complex ideas in an accessible way. She also likes to draw, paint, and collage. In addition to writing children’s books, Kim is the owner of Velocity Ink, LLC, a consulting firm that provides grant writing and strategic planning services to progressive nonprofit organizations. A very successful grant writer, she’s also the author of the workbook "Fix It and Get Funded: 10 Do-It-Yourself Repairs for Grant Proposals.”

To see more of Kim’s work, you can visit her website kimberlytso.com, or follow her on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, or subscribe to her Substack newsletter.

If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [email protected].

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 31! Our guest today is Daniel Tam-Claiborne, a writer, multimedia producer, and nonprofit director. His latest work is the novel Transplants released by Simon & Schuster. It’s a coming of age story following two young women—Lin, who is Chinese and Liz, who is Chinese American. They’re both navigating the journey to find their truest selves in a world that doesn’t know where either of them belong. The novel is an exploration of race, love, power, and freedom that reveals how—in spite of our divided times—even our fiercest differences may bring us closer than we can imagine.

Tam-Claiborne is also the author of the short story collection What Never Leaves, and his writing has appeared in a variety of publications and outlets including Michigan Quarterly Review, Catapult, Literary Hub, Off Assignment, The Rumpus, HuffPost, and elsewhere.

Outside of writing, Daniel serves on the Board of Directors of Seattle City of Literature and on the Advisory Board of Off Assignment. He’s a frequent speaker, moderator, and host.

In our conversation, we discuss the process of writing a novel, inspiration for Transplants, feelings of belonging, the importance of COVID and lockdown as an element of Transplants, the diversity in the Asian American community, and so much more.

Transplants is a well-written, moving book that we think shares several common themes that resonate with so many audiences. Tam-Claiborne doesn’t shy away from deep issues that Asian Americans, Asians, and expats face as he explores belonging, identity, and more. You can see more of Daniel’s work on his website Travel Breeds Content or his Instagram account @datclaiborne.

If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [email protected].

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 30! Today’s guest is Camey Yeh, an established artist who has a cute and whimsical artistic style. Her latest work is her first picture book entitled We’re Different and It’s Totally Cool, published by Crown Books for Young readers. It was released on July 22nd, 2025. 

Camey is a Taiwanese American artist and author, and she was inspired to create We’re Different and It’s Totally Cool by her own childhood experiences growing up in a predominantly white town. We love the beautiful artwork that feel both classic in style while still being unique. The colors are bright and the characters choices are inviting, and we can see how this book would be engaging for everyone… including children aged 4-8 as it was intended.

In our conversation, we talk a little about Camey’s journey to being an author and illustrator, how she was inspired to create We’re Different and It’s Totally Cool, the themes of the story, how she developed her artistic style, what makes her different and totally cool, and so much more.

We’re Different and It’s Totally Cool makes a great gift for kids 4-8 and beyond. If you’re interested in more of Camey’s work, then you can follow her on instagram @tropicalspaghetti.

If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [email protected].

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 29! Today we’re joined by a true icon in the world of academia—Professor Gordon H. Chang. A celebrated historian, Professor Chang is both the Olive H. Palmer Professor in Humanities and a Professor of History at Stanford University. He’s also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

We’re honored to speak with him about his latest book War, Race, and Culture, published by Stanford University Press in May 2025. This anthology compiles some of his most powerful essays written over decades of impactful scholarship. The topics range from foreign relations and U.S. imperialism to race, Asian American identity, and the cultural contributions of Asian Americans.

Our conversation covers everything from the role of propaganda in shaping views of Asians, the long history of harmful stereotypes, and the cultural erasure seen during Japanese internment—including how artists like Dr. Seuss and creators of Superman contributed to racist narratives. Professor Chang also reflects on the political engagement of Asian Americans and why “nurture vs. nature” plays a crucial role in debunking the myth of political apathy in the community.

We also touch on a more personal subject: his interest in art history, including how his father’s legacy inspired him to explore and uplift overlooked Asian American artists like Dong Kingman, whose brilliance was too often overshadowed by the racist caricatures found in mainstream media.

This episode offers not only a look into Professor Chang’s new book, but a deeper understanding of how history, race, and culture intersect in America—and why writing history is always personal.

Links and Resources:

• Learn more about War, Race, and Culture from Stanford University Press
• Read more from Gordon H. Chang, including Ghosts of Gold Mountain, Fateful Ties, and Asian American Art: A History, 1850-1970

If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [email protected].

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 28! In this episode, we sit down with Michael Luo, the award-winning journalist, editor, and author of Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America. Currently an executive editor at The New Yorker, Michael writes extensively on politics, religion, and Asian American issues. Before joining The New Yorker, he spent over a decade at The New York Times as a national correspondent and investigative reporter, earning accolades like the George Polk Award and the Livingston Award for Young Journalists.

His latest book, Strangers in the Land, published by Doubleday in April 2024, is a sweeping and deeply researched narrative history of the Chinese American experience—from the Gold Rush era to the 1960s. Drawing from archival sources, court cases, and personal stories, Luo sheds light on how Chinese immigrants helped build America while simultaneously being pushed to its margins. He highlights the people and policies that shaped their journey—from the railroad workers and early activists to the architects of exclusion laws and the courts that upheld them.

Through vivid storytelling and compelling analysis, Luo explores the roots of anti-Asian sentiment in the U.S., the foundations of our modern immigration surveillance state, and the broader struggle for belonging in a multiracial democracy. This is a must-read not only for lovers of history but for anyone seeking to understand how the past shapes our present-day debates on race, immigration, and identity.

In our conversation, Michael shares insights on how he approached this project, why it was important to center underrepresented figures like Hung Wah, Wong Chin Foo, Chin Gee Hee, and Sun Chong, and how understanding this history can guide us through today’s political and cultural tensions. If you want to hear more from Michael you can read his work in the New Yorker or see his posts on Instagram @luomich.

If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [email protected].

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 27! We have been known to be obsessed with true crime stories. So we were really excited to read L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood by Professor Anne Soon Choi and published by Third State Books. And we were even more excited when Anne visited us as a guest. 

Professor Choi is the Interim Associate Director of Online Pedagogy and Learning for the Faculty Development Center, and Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at Cal State Dominguez Hills. She’s a historian and also interested in True Crime as well as Asian American history… so writing a book about Dr. Thomas Noguchi is the perfect intersection of these two interests. 

Noguchi was the highest ranking Japanese American official in Los Angeles County during the 1960s and 70s, and he performed autopsies of some of the most well-known people who passed away during that time including Marilyn Monroe, Robert F. Kennedy, Sharon Tate, and Natalie Wood. In our conversation with Anne, she shares her process of research, some of Dr. Noguchi’s biggest innovations, how the Asian American community rallied around Noguchi when he faced a racist dismissal, some of Anne’s future writing projects, and so much more. 

If you love true crime stories and/or learning about Asian American History, then we highly recommend buying L.A. Coroner. You can also learn more about Anne Soon Choi via her Instagram @latruecrime. 

If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [email protected].

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 26! With the fall of Saigon happening about 50 years ago, it’s important to recognize related additional moments in the history of Asians and Asian Americans. We’re talking about the Secret War in Laos which was closely tied to the Vietnam War. This will be Part 1 of 2 on the topic.

Laos is in Southeast Asia, a key region that the U.S. worried about during the Cold War. The Secret War in Laos was led by the CIA and fought predominantly by the Hmong, an ethnic minority in the country, and it’s a major reason so many Hmong and Laotian people became refugees after the Fall of Saigon and retreat of U.S. forces. So in this episode, we dig into the geopolitical situation that was present in Southeast Asia, the U.S. role in battling the spread of communism there, the key local soldiers recruited by the CIA, and the amount of damage the U.S. did to the area. 

We begin the episode by catching up on current events, including celebrating newly elected mayor of San Antonio Gina Ortiz Jones as well as all the Tony winners of Asian Pacific descent. We also give our thoughts on the push for Asian American History in Arizona. We end the episode with the recurring segment What are We Watching? In this installment, we talk about the streaming show Deli Boys and the feature film Sinners. 

If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [email protected].

Segments

• 00:25 Introduction and Current Events
• 04:59 The History of the Secret War in Laos
• 14:40 What are We Watching? Deli Boys and Sinners

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 25! We’re back with Part 2 of our conversation with the very talented Olivia Cheng. Last week, in Part 1 of the conversation, we mainly focused on Olivia’s acting career. In this episode, we pivot to her work behind the camera as a writer, director, and producer.  

Olivia shares how she was motivated to write and direct her short film Dinner with Dex, which starred her Warrior co-star Dianne Doan. We also talk about her feature directorial debut on the documentary I am Raquel Welch. The iconic actress was the subject of another installment of CW’s “I Am” series and aired in March on the channel. Don’t worry, you can still catch the inspiring documentary through streaming services that focus on network television like CW, Fubo, and Direct TV. 

In the rest of the conversation, Olivia discusses how the Hollywood industry has changed over the years, her thoughts on Asian Pacific activism, her latest movie Lucky Star (that she also helped produce), and more. She even takes part in our rapid fire segment where we find out her thoughts on her command of Cantonese in Warrior, which of Ah Toy’s outfits was her favorite, and which recent role (between Ah Toy, Mei Lin, Master Gao, or Charlotte) was the most similar to her in real life.

If you’re interested in seeing more of Olivia’s work, then you can stream Marco Polo and Warrior on Netflix, See on AppleTV+, and you can rent or buy Lucky Star on Apple TV or Amazon services. You can, of course, follow her on Instagram @thatoliviacheng.

If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [email protected].

*Above photo of Oliva Cheng by Noah Asanias