Stefani Kuo is a playwright/performer and native of Hong Kong and Taiwan. She is currently an MFA Playwriting Candidate at the Yale School of Drama, and has been awarded, among others, a Jerome fellowship. In this episode, Eugene sits down to talk with Stefani about her latest play, "Final Boarding Call," which tells the human stories of the Hong Kong protests through the seven interconnected characters that range from a flight attendant to an American expat CEO. Recorded in the midst of the Black Lives Matter protests in America, the conversation also touches on having the space to talk about multiple issues at the same time and how doing so might yield additional insights.

"Final Boarding Call" will be performed online as part of the Bay Area Playwrights Festival 2020 on Sunday, July 19th and Saturday, July 25th at 5pm PST: http://playwrightsfoundation.org/2020-bay-area-playwrights-festival/

Stefani's Website: http://www.stefanikuo.com/

Stefani's blog on the Hong Kong protests: https://parachutehongkonger.wordpress.com/

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This is just a quick message recorded by Eugene and Paul to talk about the Value Our Families Week of Action, which aims to remind our representatives that immigrants and refugees must be ensured the same resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, push for defunding of CBP and ICE to reallocate funds to longer-term safety strategies, and ensure humane family immigration policies.

For more information: https://www.valueourfamilies.org/week-of-action-2020

For a quick auto-generated email for representatives: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/take-action-dont-let-trump-distract-from-covid-19-failures-by-banning-immigrants/

For updates, follow us on Instagram at @DividedFamiliesPodcast, and contact us at [email protected]

Megan Essaheb is the Director of Immigration Advocacy at Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC, an organization that advocates for an America in which all Americans can benefit equally from, and contribute to, the American dream. AAJC is also part of the Value Our Families campaign, which is a network of organizations that aims to strengthen the family immigration system. In this conversation, Paul speaks to Megan about immigration policy under the current presidency, the Reuniting Families Act H.R.3799, and how we can take action.

AAJC: https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/

Value Our Families Campaign: https://www.valueourfamilies.org/

Reuniting Families Act: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/3799?s=1&r=5

This episode was edited by Maggie Deagon.

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Yeonmi Park and her mother were smuggled from North Korea to China when she was just thirteen. Today, she is a human rights activist that speaks out against the North Korean regime and advocates on behalf of victims of human trafficking. In this episode, Paul speaks with Yeonmi about life in North Korea, her harrowing escape, and why she continues to act and put herself in danger when she is finally free. You can read more of her story in her bestselling memoir, "In Order to Live."

She can be found on Instagram @yeonmi_park and on Twitter at @YeonmiParkNK

For updates, follow us on Instagram at @DividedFamiliesPodcast, and contact us at [email protected]

E.J. Joseph is an actor originally from Brooklyn who has been organizing protests against police brutality with a few friends in Los Angeles. His group recently started an organization called "Amplify the Movement" which aims to create a safe and inclusive space to amplify the voices of Black and marginalized communities. In this episode, Eugene sits down with E.J. to learn more about what got him involved, and what motivates him to keep pushing forward in the face of injustice.

E.J. can be found on Instagram @ejjosephh

Amplify the Movement can also be found on Instagram @ampthemovement and can be contacted for donations and volunteers at [email protected]

For updates, follow us on Instagram at @DividedFamiliesPodcast, and contact us at [email protected]

Intro music by Flannel Albert @flannelalbert

Yi-Ling Liu is a nonfiction writer covering technology, culture & society in China. She has written for various outlets such as The New Yorker, The Economist, and Foreign Policy, and is currently a visiting scholar at the New York University Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. In this episode, Paul talks to his friend Yi-Ling about her recent piece in Harper's Magazine, "Dream State," which centers on the protests in Hong Kong. Yi-Ling gives an overview of the situation, and the two talk about intergenerational divisions, "yellows" and "blues" in Hong Kong, and possible futures.

Read "Dream State" here: https://harpers.org/archive/2020/05/dream-state-hong-kong-protests/

Yi-Ling's website: https://www.yi-lingliu.com/

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On May 28, 2020, Paul was part of a webinar sponsored by the National Committee on North Korea titled " 70 Years of Separation: U.S.-DPRK Divided Families." He was joined by Chahee Lee Stanfield, a Korean-American divided family member and Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Divided Families, and Dr. Katharine H.S. Moon, Edith Stix Wasserman Professor of Asian Studies, Professor of Political Science, Wellesley College.

The webinar covered the current status of Korean-American divided families and the challenges facing them today under U.S.-DPRK relations.

The video shown on the webcast of Hyunjoon Lee can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ973fE1UBs

More information about the National Committee on North Korea can be found here: https://www.ncnk.org/

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Olamide Omidele, now Olamide Omidele MD, recently graduated from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai early and is now working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this more casual episode, Eugene speaks with Olamide to try and see the pandemic from the perspective of those in the medical field. Olamide also explains the difficult scenes one can see in the hospital these days, with families separated from each other by the bright screens of tablets transmitting videos from far away.

For updates, follow us on Instagram at @DividedFamiliesPodcast, and contact us at [email protected]

Mary Murakami was 14 when she was moved with her family to Topaz Japanese Internment Camp in Utah during the 1940s under Executive Order 9066. In this episode, Paul visits Mary in her suburban home in Maryland to speak with her about life in the camps, and why it is so important to remember and be vocal. An unedited version of the conversation can be found in our list of episodes, and you can learn more about Tsuru for Solidarity here: https://tsuruforsolidarity.org/

For updates, follow us on Instagram at @DividedFamiliesPodcast, and contact us at [email protected]

This is the unedited version of this episode to preserve this account in its entirety. The edited, condensed version can be found on our profile.

Mary Murakami was 14 when she was moved with her family to Topaz Japanese Internment Camp in Utah during the 1940s under Executive Order 9066. In this episode, Paul visits Mary in her suburban home in Maryland to speak with her about life in the camps, and why it is so important to remember and be vocal. An unedited version of the conversation can be found in our list of episodes, and you can learn more about Tsuru for Solidarity here: tsuruforsolidarity.org/

For updates, follow us on Instagram at @DividedFamiliesPodcast, and contact us at [email protected]