Welcome to Season 5, Episode 14! Our guest today is Chef Saeng Douangdara. He’s a food content creator, social media star, and soon-to-be cookbook author. Saeng specializes in Lao cuisine. A first-generation Lao American, he left a job in counseling to pursue his passion for teaching Lao cuisine. 

A trip back to Laos helped him reconnect with his roots and learn more about both the history and culture of Lao food, and that’s when he decided to launch his personal chef business, Saeng’s Kitchen and leverage social media to raise awareness about Lao cuisine. He may have started small, but he’s amassed over 700K followers and millions of views on his different social media channels.

We love how his work is educational, and it’s resonating with others. He’s been featured in numerous publications including Delish, Buzzfeed, the New York Times, and LA Times. He’s even won an episode of the TBS cooking competition show, Rat In The Kitchen. Chef Saeng is outspoken in advocating, uplifting, and raising awareness of the depth and wonder of Lao cuisine. 

In our conversation, we talk about what Lao cuisine is known for, launching Saeng’s Kitchen, being Lao American, his upcoming book, and so much more. And yes, we do ask him to reflect on the Uncle Roger incident. To learn more about Saeng, or to be inspired by his recipe posts, blogs, and videos, we recommend visiting his website Saeng’s Kitchen, his YouTube Channel, or his Instagram page. You can even take a food tour to Laos with Saeng in October! 

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 13! Have you heard of Walter Tin Kit Achiu? He was the first Native Hawaiian and first Asian American to play in the National Football League. Although his career was groundbreaking, he’s largely been forgotten over time. 

In this episode, we talk about his life, his football career, and what he did after he finished playing with the NFL’s Dayton Triangles (yes… that was really the name of the American football team he was part of). Nicknamed “Sneeze”, he was a high level athlete all his life and broke barriers on the football field and in the wrestling ring. 

We begin the episode by talking about some current events (the sad passing of K.W. Lee and the happy green-lighting of the Crazy Rich Asians show on Max). And we end the episode with the recurring segment of What are We Listening To? This time, we talk about the new album Blood on the Silver Screen by singer Sasami as well as the audiobook Homicide and Halo-Halo written by Mia P. Manasala and voice acted by Danice Cabanela. 

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 Intro and Current Events: K.W. Lee Passes Away and Crazy Rich Asians is Back!
• 05:54 The History and Career of Walter Tin Kit Achiu
• 14:32 What Are We Listening To? Sasami as well as Homicide and Halo Halo by Mia P. Manansala

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 12! Today’s conversation is with the amazing storyteller, activist, performer, and co-founder of the multicultural storytelling theater group Eth-Noh-Tec. Along with her real-life partner Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo, Nancy co-founded Eth-Noh-Tec with a commitment to the preservation, revival, and performance of Asian and Asian American stories. 

Nancy’s latest work is the novel Red Altar, a story based on her ancestor’s real-life challenges and triumphs in forming a new life in America. Red Altar began as a multimedia storytelling and stage production, and it’s an emotional re-telling of how her ancestors helped develop the fishing industry along the coast of California near the Monterey Bay despite facing racist people and policies. 

In this conversation, we talk to Nancy about the development of the Red Altar performance, the challenges with adapting it to the book format, the relevance of the story in our challenging times in the U.S., other projects that Eth-No-Tec is working on, and so much more. 

Red Altar is a great book, and it tells a part of Chinese American and Asian American history that isn’t well-known… and we hope you buy it. But DON’T buy it from Amazon. Purchase it from the Eth-Noh-Tec website so that they get the benefits. If you want to support Eth-Noh-Tec’s work, you can follow them on Instagram, make a donation to them, or go to one of their upcoming events. 

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 11! 

We love dumplings, and we’re not alone in that opinion. We’re talking about asian dumplings… boiled, steamed, pan-fried, or deep-fried, there are a variety of dumplings all across Asia, and they are not only delicious but represent culture, family, and history.

In this episode, we discuss the history of dumplings, some different types across Asia, and some notable chefs and groups (like Din Tai Fung) who have done a lot to grow awareness and love for this amazing food. One of the most notable, of course, is Zhang Zhongjing, the believed creator of dumplings. 

In our recurring segment, we introduce a new topic called Weird History where we talk about a weird moment in API history. Today we’re talking about the Boston Marathon’s ban on Korean runners.

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 Intro… Memories of Dumplings
• 07:22 The History of Dumplings
• 21:36 Weird History… Boston Marathon Bans Korean Runners

*Photos courtesy of the amazing Mary's Test Kitchen

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 10! This is Part 2 of Another Conversation with Award-Winning Comic Book Artist and Writer Sarah Myer. Last week (S05E09) we brought you part 1.

In this episode, we continue to focus on Cheer Up, Michael!, and Sarah shares how they researched for the series, gives us a few spoilers for future chapters of the story, talks about the transformation of Don, and so much more. As serious as the story can get, we really loved Cheer Up, Michael!, and we highly recommend you check it out, especially if you’re a Disney fan.

To learn more about Sarah, then go to their website, sarahmyer.net or Instagram @smeyercomics, and you can support Sarah through their online store where you can purchase originals and signed work.

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 9! Our returning guest is Sarah Myer, the amazing, award-winning comic book artist and writer who is probably best known for her critically acclaimed and recognized graphic memoir, Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story, published by First Second Books. 

However, they show their skills on so many other titles as well, including as the main artist on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures, colorist on TMNT vs Street Fighter, as well as a variant cover artist on TMNT Usagi Yojimbo: WhereWhen issues. 

In this episode, we focus on one of Sarah’s passion projects, Cheer Up, Michael! This is their independent webcomic that they write and illustrate. Cheer Up, Michael! is a story that explores the idea of  “What happens AFTER your dreams come true? It follows Michael Theodore Mouse (stage name: "Mickey") who feels lost. A huge star for decades, he's now the burnt out CEO of a massive company, and he longs for the happier days of his youth. 

In Part 1, we discuss the origin of Cheer Up, Michael!, real-life experiences that have impacted the story, the balancing act of writing characters, and strategies for writing characters who have both affection and annoyance for the main character. Check out Cheer Up, Michael!, we highly recommend it (plus, it’s free)! To hear more about Sarah’s career, then please also listen to S04E24. To learn more about Sarah, then go to their website, sarahmyer.net or Instagram @smeyercomics, and you can support Sarah through their online store where you can purchase originals and signed work. 

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 8! Today’s episode impacts AANHPI communities, but it’s not necessarily solely focuses on our history. We’re going to talk about The History of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

This is an extremely scary topic to some people… especially the leaders of the Republican Party in the U.S. If you believe what they rant about, DEI is at the heart of unqualified candidates, accidents, and probably hurricanes. But when you listen closely, you’ll realize that as much as DEI has become a target, some of the people complaining the loudest actually don’t know much about it.

So we take a moment to explain what it is, the history, some myths, and the actual benefits and facts based on research. In our short recurring segment, we have a new one called The Message, where we give a short message… a call to action so to speak. 

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 Intro and Explanation
• 01:29 The History of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• 20:17 The Message: Stay Actively Involved or Knowledgeable

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 7! Today’s guest is Fajer Saeed Ebrahim, a Senior Policy Manager at the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, AKA NAPAWF. If you’re a longtime listener, then you’ll remember we were fortunate enough to bring in Sydelle Barreto, the Policy Manager NAPAWF to talk about Clocking Inequality back on Season 4, Episode 39! NAPAWF has been hard at work with their latest report entitled “Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Community: Understanding Barriers to Access in Georgia”. 

Fajer is a skilled legal advocate with substantial experience in organizing, policy, and legislative advocacy related to reproductive rights and justice, racial equity, survivor justice, and immigrant healthcare. Prior to her work with NAPAWF, she was a senior advisor with the Coalition to Expand Contraceptive Access; a consultant with the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders; a consultant with the Center for Reproductive Rights, as well as other stops. 

NAPAWF is the only organization dedicated to uplifting and building power with AANHPI women and girls in the US. Employing a reproductive justice framework to guide their work, they use organizing, advocacy, and communications strategies to assert full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.

Working with the Emory University Center for Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast (RISE), this latest report by NAPAWF seeks to uncover the systemic barriers Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) women and gender-expansive individuals face in accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH).

We recommend you read the full report, donate to NAPAWF, stay informed, and take action.

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 6! Today we’re talking about food (one of our favorite recurring themes). Specifically we’re going to talk about Egg Foo Young, a popular staple in Chinese American restaurants for generations. Egg Foo Young may not be as popular now as it used to be, but it still has a special place in the history of the Chinese diaspora.

In this episode, we discuss the Cantonese dish’s origin, it’s adaptation in the U.S. and across the globe, and how Colonialism played a part in transforming it… yep, even with food, we need to talk about Colonialism. We begin the episode with some current events, and we end it with our recurring segment on What Are We Watching. Today on WAWW, we talk about Interior Chinatown (playing on Hulu and starring Jimmy O. Yang, Chloe Bennet, and more) and XO, Kitty (playing on Netflix and starring Anna Cathcart, Anthony Keyvan, and more). 

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 Intro and Current Events
• 03:17 The History of Egg Foo Young
• 16:10 What are We Watching: Interior Chinatown and XO, Kitty

Note: Above picture of Egg Foo Young is from Made with Lau

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 5! If you didn’t hear the last episode, then go do it! S05E04 is Part 1 of this conversation with Peter Tao, one of the co-founders of the award-winning architectural design firm in St. Louis, TAO + LEE Associates, Inc. 

In this episode, we continue our conversation with Peter, AKA The Accidental Historian, and we talk more about how his family has supported his journey into researching and telling Chinese American history, his love of hockey (specifically the St. Louis Blues), the documentary Day One, his advice for people with historical artifacts or stories to tell, and so much more.

Peter also briefly mentions how he’s the current Board President of the OCA chapter in St. Louis. We recommend you check them out as well as the OCA National Center. And finally, don’t forget to support The Missouri Historical Society’s St. Louis Chinese American Collecting Initiative. They collect pictures and stories of Chinese Americans in St. Louis. You can donate money or contribute artifacts to help!

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].