Asian Americana

Asian Americana episodes:

• 05.31.2023

  023 - Changing Places, New Spaces (from Mid Pacific)

  Featured story from “Mid Pacific” podcast: For Chinatowns, Japantowns, K-Towns, and other Asian-American communities in the United States, the only constant these days is change. But our need for cultural connection remains the same. Take a tour with Mid Pacific host...

  
• 05.19.2023

  Books & Boba - from the Potluck Podcast Collective

  For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we’re bringing you an episode from Books & Boba, one of our fellow podcasts from the Potluck Podcast Collective. Books & Boba is a book club podcast featuring books by Asian and Asian American...

  
• 05.12.2023

  Asians in Baseball - from the Potluck Podcast Collective

  For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we’re bringing you an episode from Asians in Baseball, one of our fellow podcasts from the Potluck Podcast Collective. Each week, hosts Naomi Ko, Scott Okamoto, and Kim Cooper break down what’s notable with...

  
• 05.25.2022

  022 - Whose Chinatown? (from A Better Life?)

  In Los Angeles Chinatown, local shops and restaurants eagerly welcome back customers as they return to business after the height of the pandemic shutdown. But the neighborhood’s rebound from Covid has been uneven. The pandemic has shone a light on...

  
• 04.18.2022

  021 - I Want To Stay Here, Just Not Forever (from A Better Life?)

  Mohammed Ahsanul is an international student at the University of Wyoming. Once he finishes his Ph.D., he expects to return home to Dhaka, Bangladesh—but not before his family reunites with him for the first time since the pandemic began. Producer Naina...

  
• 03.30.2022

  020 - Searching For Solace (from A Better Life?)

  Featured story from “A Better Life?” podcast: Jasmine Jiwani is part of Atlanta’s large Ismaili Muslim community. Covid restrictions prevented the community from gathering for the funeral of her husband, who died of Covid-19. Producer Zulekha Nathoo reports on how the...

  
• 11.16.2021

  019 - Country Music for a Baan Nok Boy

  Timothy Singratsomboune had a complicated relationship to country music. How did his own experiences bring him away from and eventually back to the genre? And how does country music connect Tim to both Lao culture and the Lao communities he...

  
• 06.24.2021

  018 - Fifth Anniversary

  Five years ago in Spring of 2016, we launched Asian Americana. For our fifth anniversary, we take a moment to revisit all of the stories we’ve done from our first episode through the end of 2020. What happened after we...

  
• 03.25.2021

  017 - Until it Happened To Us

  The Covid-19 pandemic has been in the United States for over a year, but the way we each think about it is shaped heavily by how it does or doesn’t directly affect us individually. For some people, they’ve become all...

  
• 02.15.2021

  016 - Comfort Food, part 2

  This is the second part of our comfort food episode. In the previous episode, we focused on the ways food traditions get passed down through families, communities, and cookbooks, and the way they adapt over time. Today, we look at...

  
• 02.08.2021

  015 - Comfort Food, part 1

  The first of two episodes about Asian American comfort foods. We explore the traditions we’ve passed down in our families, as well as the adaptations and substitutions different communities have picked up along the way.

  
• 10.19.2020

  014 - Kala Bagai

  What was it like for a South Asian woman immigrating to the US in the early 20th century, and how did she build a community over her lifetime? And why name a street in Berkeley after Kala Bagai — especially...

  
• 08.11.2020

  013 - That's Just The Way The Ball Bounces

  The language and phrases passed down in our families can reflect our specific cultures, heritage, and journey. But sometimes, they’re a way to cope with something darker and can belie hidden histories. Contributor Julianne Parker explores the depth and meaning...

  
• 07.17.2020

  012 - Letters for Black Lives

  How do we act as allies to the Black community when we see injustice? How do we start those actions and intentions from our homes and communities? We explore the story of how hundreds of people came together from all...

  
• 05.07.2020

  011 - Helpers in the Time of Coronavirus

  We explore the stories of Asian Americans working to defend our communities from attacks, the volunteers organizing direct aid to vulnerable populations, the people translating information into terms and languages so more can understand, and the local businesses helping each...

  
• 03.26.2020

  010 - What We Inherit: Marie Kondo and the Security of Stuff

  Marie Kondo’s book, show, and Konmari decluttering method got popular in the past couple years, but her methods may not apply the same way to immigrant families. Contributor Christina Ong explores family and belonging in her piece, What We Inherit:...

  
• 02.03.2020

  009 - Facial Hair

  Producers Ada Tseng and Caroline Chang don't have a lot of personal experience with facial hair, but they hear Asian American men — in media and in their lives — talk about it all the time. So they decided to...

  
• 11.15.2019

  008 - Dawn Mabalon Is In The Heart

  Dr. Dawn Bohulano Mabalon is a groundbreaking scholar, historian, and community organizer who made sure the world would know the stories of Filipino Americans and Stockton’s Little Manila. An interview I recorded with her sends me on a journey to...

  
• 03.11.2019

  007 - Claudia Kishi

  Claudia Kishi is an Asian American literary icon that went beyond being a fun, artistic, and stylish character. She became an inspiration and point of connection for a ton of young Asian Americans. We explore her influence on a generation...

  
• 11.15.2018

  006 - Filipino American Podcasts

  Following Filipino American History Month in October, we explore three Filipino American podcasts: This Filipino American Life, Balikbayan, and Long Distance — each sharing their own slice of Filipino American discussions, experiences, and stories.

  
• 03.22.2018

  005 - Cambodian Rock Band

  We explore the play Cambodian Rock Band, and how this piece of Asian American theatre weaves together a story of Khmer American music, history, and family on stage.

  
• 08.31.2017

  Support Asian Americana on Patreon

  When Asian Americana launched in 2016, I had one driving vision: I want to tell audio stories that center the diverse experiences, histories, and cultures of Asian Americans. Now I need your support to make more.

  
• 08.22.2017

  004 - Boba/Bubble Tea

  We explore the unique pearl of Asian American culture that is boba/bubble tea. We’ll take a look at its origins, hear folks from all over the country sharing their experiences with it, learn about some cool boba businesses and projects,...

  
• 05.09.2017

  Seattle with NextGenRadio

  We bring you three stories from Next Generation Radio's week at KUOW in Seattle. We talk law and poetry, development in Seattle's Little Saigon, and smoked herring.

  
• 11.12.2016

  003 - Sacramento Delta

  Chinese Americans shaped the physical landscape of California during its early history in a way that still impacts us today. We explore how Chinese Americans developed the Sacramento delta, their role in California's growth, and visit Locke, a town founded...

  
• 07.30.2016

  002 - Roots CSA

  Roots CSA is a program that connects Hmong farmers in California’s central valley with Asian American communities in Southern California. How does this program empower communities in determining their own path to health and economic sustainability? We’ll find out by...

  
• 05.16.2016

  001 - Giant Robot

  Giant Robot started as this small punk-rock zine featuring Asian and Asian American alternative and pop culture, but grew to become a celebrated art and cultural institution. How did Giant Robot survive? How have its founders maintained their passion and...