Escape From Plan A

For better or for worse (probably for worse), many people are shaped by their high school experiences. With the recent college admissions scandal shedding light on how insane high school life has become for today's teenage students, the EFPA gang (Diana, Teen, Oxford, and Mark) talk about their high school experiences and how much their identities were formed by that time in their lives.

Intro/Outro Music: "Who I Thought You Were" by Santigold

Intro Voice Track: Tammy's candidate speech from "Election" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh3TXsx8B40)

TWITTER

Diana (@discoveryduck)

Oxford (@oxford_kondo)

Mark (@snbatman)

Teen (@mont_jiang)

SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS

Mark, Teen and Jess have a long talk about depression and the Asian American. What it is, what it isn't, and why so much of what is said about race and depression feels so inadequate. Is sensitivity overrated? Is depression misdiagnosed? How do you understand depression if you've never had it? And why would it matter?

Intro/Outro Music: Philip Glass - Metamorphosis

Intro Voice: Sherwin Nuland on Depression (https://www.ted.com/talks/sherwin_nuland_on_electroshock_therapy?language=en)

TWITTER

Teen (@mont_jiang)

Jess (@cogitatotomato)

Mark (@snbatman)

SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS

Plan A talks tech! Given the influence of tech in modern life and social discourse, and the fact that we have a handful of techies on the team, it’s bizarre that we haven’t directly addressed this topic. Filip, Mark, Jess and Jong share their rather varied experiences getting into their careers in tech, including both the ups and downs of being part of the (possibly-definitely elitist) techie in-crowd.

Intro Voice Track: Excerpt from Sheryl Sandberg's speech at MIT's 2018 Commencement (https://youtu.be/8w1d1TWxwec?t=320)

Outro Voice Track: Steve Ballmer's "Developers, Developers, Developers" rant at Microsoft's 25th Anniversary event in 2000 (https://youtu.be/Vhh_GeBPOhs)

TWITTER:

Filip (@filipgwriting)

Mark (@snbatman)

Jess (@cogitatotomato)

Jong (@calicoarse)

REFERENCED RESOURCES:

“The iPhone X: Apple’s Ideology of American Techno-Exceptionalism” by Teen Sheng: https://planamag.com/the-iphone-x-apples-ideology-of-american-techno-exceptionalism-5a6643985c93

“White Techies are not our friends” by Filip Guo: https://planamag.com/white-techies-are-not-our-friends-e8cf1d51b3a3

"The Ethical Dilemma Facing Silicon Valley’s Next Generation" by Victor Luckerson: https://www.theringer.com/tech/2019/2/6/18212421/stanford-students-tech-backlash-silicon-valley-next-generation

SUBMISSIONS AND COMMENTS:

Somehow, Ken Jeong is arguably the biggest Asian American male star in Hollywood. Diana (fyi, a stand-up comedian), Teen, and Oxford get together to delve into Ken Jeong's recent Netflix special to talk about-among other things-his reliance on cheap Asian jokes, his failure to move past his Hangover "glory days," and the state of Asian American comedy in general.

Intro Voice Track: "You Complete Me, Ho" Trailer (https://youtu.be/P2sYRVhO9VA)

Outro Music: "Ho Ho Ho" by Alvin and The Chipmunks

TWITTER:

Diana (@discoveryduck)

Teen (@mont_jiang)

Oxford (@oxford_kondo)

REFERENCED RESOURCES:

"Who Is Ken Jeong’s Netflix Comedy Special For?" by Donnie Kwak: https://www.theringer.com/tv/2019/2/14/18225104/ken-jeong-netflix-you-complete-me-ho-review-hangover-community-crazy-rich-asians

Margaret Cho on Asian chicken salad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnnvRjwSCPo

Margaret Cho on her mother's attitude towards gays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpqjErGfJ9c

Diana's satirical article on lobsters: https://planamag.com/my-life-is-hard-because-i-am-deathly-allergic-to-lobster-and-my-diet-consists-exclusively-of-32e7401b368

SUBMISSIONS AND COMMENTS:

With many Asian Americans only being a generation or two, if at all, removed from Asia, it's important to be informed about political and social movements there. Journalist E. Tammy Kim, who recently wrote the article #KoreaToo for the New York Review of Books, joins Oxford Kondo in talking about the many layers and issues of the burgeoning movement for women's progress in Korea, from workplace equality to domestic violence to spycam pornography to online culture wars.

Intro/Outro Music: "Arirang" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j3IQRGgk2Y)

Intro Voice Track: International Women's Day protest in Seoul, South Korea - Guardian News (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE0ntMvksc8)

TWITTER:

E. Tammy Kim (@etammykim)

Oxford (@oxford_kondo)

REFERENCED RESOURCES:

#KoreaToo (by E. Tammy Kim): https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2019/03/07/koreatoo/

South Koreans Are Still Hopeful After the Trump-Kim Summit (by E. Tammy Kim): https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/south-koreans-are-still-hopeful-after-the-trump-kim-summit

How South Koreans Are Reckoning With a Changing American Military Presence (by E. Tammy Kim): https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/magazine/south-korea-america-military.html

Moon Over Korea (by E. Tammy Kim): https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/08/16/moon-jae-in-korea/

RECOMMENDED READING:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/536652/human-acts-by-han-kang/9781101906743/

https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/haunting-the-korean-diaspora

http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100829670

https://www.sevenstories.com/books/3658-the-guest

https://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?id=7860

https://www.tiltedaxispress.com/one-hundred-shadows

SUBMISSIONS AND COMMENTS:

Everyone knows about the Trump supporter and the neo-Nazis, the taxonomy of reactionary racism. But what about the racism that exists outside of that wing of America? The racism of the world most of us Asian Americans live in? From condescension to stealth discrimination, Mark, Jess and Teen talk about the kind of racism that cannot be so easily called out.

Intro: Almost Always True (Elvis Presley)

Outro: Ito Eats (Elvis Presley)

Resources:

Teen's article on Asian American influence in American midcentury design: https://planamag.com/erasing-asian-american-midcentury-design-330d33aa828

Twitter:

Jess (@cogitatotomato)

Mark (@snbatman)

Teen (@mont_jiang)

SUBMISSIONS AND COMMENTS:

The Plan A crew has never really discussed their politics out in the open, mostly focusing instead on race and ethnicity's role in American life. In this episode, Jay, Q, and Teen talk about their core political beliefs, why political identity matters, and how, if at all, our Asian American/Canadian ethnicity informs our politics.

Intro Music: "Jerusalem" by Alpha Blondy

Intro Voice: Chris Hedges

Outro Music: "Socialism is Good" (simplified Chinese: 社会主义好) composed by Li Huanzhi, with lyrics by Xi Yang.

REFERENCED RESOURCES:

Jay's recommendation: Space Babies gives a leftist critique of 'Crazy Rich Asians' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOHU4gpaoBs

SUBMISSIONS AND COMMENTS:

This week, Amelie Wen Zhao had to self-cancel (or self-delay) her upcoming novel Blood Heir due to backlash on YA Twitter about all sorts of things, ranging from allegations of racist scenes to her own vindictiveness towards anyone who left her bad reviews. This isn't the first time such things have happened in the YA world. Now, both the social justice and anti-SJW forces are using Zhao to advance their agendas. Jess, Diana, Oxford, and Mark discuss why the moral stakes seem so high in the YA sphere and how an Asian woman is forced to navigate it.

Intro/Outro Music: Panem Anthem from "The Hunger Games"

Intro Voice Track: "Blood Heir Controversy" by Francina Simone (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4S1p3KtZSw&t=83s)

TWITTER:

Jess (@cogitatotomato)

Diana (@discoveryduck)

Oxford (@oxford_kondo)

Mark (@snbatman)

REFERENCED RESOURCES:

The Toxic Drama of YA Twitter: https://www.vulture.com/2017/08/the-toxic-drama-of-ya-twitter.html

YA Twitter Forces Rising Star to Self-Cancel: https://www.vulture.com/2019/01/ya-twitter-forces-rising-star-author-to-self-cancel.html

How A Twitter Mob Destroyed A Young Immigrant Author's Budding Career (by Jesse Singal): https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/279806/how-a-twitter-mob-destroyed-a-young-immigrant-female-authors-budding-career

Quillette Podcast 14 – Kat Rosenfield on the mobbing of Amélie Wen Zhao: https://quillette.com/2019/02/01/quillette-podcast-14-kat-rosenfield-on-the-mobbing-of-amelie-wen-zhao/

Children's Bookshelf's tweet on the Zhao controversy: https://twitter.com/pwkidsbookshelf/status/1091013855218667520?s=21

Will Menaker's tweet on the Zhao controversy: https://twitter.com/willmenaker/status/1091064621883113472?s=21

Jesse Singal's tweet on the Zhao controversy: https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1090474475676753921

Celeste Ng Is More Than A Novelist: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/books/celeste-ng-everything-i-never-told-you-little-fires-everwhere.html

SUBMISSIONS AND COMMENTS:

Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that mixed-race Americans are one of the fastest growing racial category in the United States (and a particularly young demographic as well). A popular idea argues that the “beigeing” of America will naturally lead to decreased racism, but is it more complicated than that? Special guest Sharon H. Chang (author, photographer, and activist) and returning guest C.S. Taniguchi share their experiences with Oxford Kondō on what it’s like to grow up mixed-race Asian and what their thoughts are on the future of mixed-race America.

Intro/Outro Music: "Two Slow Dancers" by Mitski

Intro Voice Track: Barack Obama on his biracial heritage from "Being Multiracial in America | The New York Times" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21H9lA6MLHM)

TWITTER:

Sharon (@sharonhchang)

C.S. (@c_taniguchi)

Oxford (@oxford_kondo)

REFERENCED RESOURCES:

"Raising Mixed Race" by Sharon H. Chang: https://www.amazon.com/Raising-Mixed-Critical-Viewpoints-Society/dp/1138999466

"Hapa Tales and Other Lies" by Sharon H. Chang: https://www.amazon.com/Hapa-Tales-Other-Lies-Memoir/dp/1732484708

Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/us/30mixed.html

The Race and Gender Fails Of “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”: https://sharonhchang.com/2018/11/27/the-race-and-gender-fails-of-to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before/

SUBMISSIONS AND COMMENTS:

Teen, Mark, and Jong are joined by special guest Ray (a data scientist currently in Norcal and friend of Plan A)to discuss the homicides of Fufai Pun and Kheong Ng-Thang. We compare this incident with Vincent Chin’s famous murder and compare their respective responses from the community. We also question whether anger must come with a productive outlet or not.

Intro Voice Track: CBS New York report on the hammer attack in Sheepshead Bay on 1/16/2019 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZDMWkD318Y)

Outro Music: "For The Prey" by Bambu (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRTQPVGZ1Pc)

TWITTER:

Teen(@mont_jiang)

Mark(@snbatman)

Jong (@calicoarse)

Ray (@raydeng)

REFERENCED RESOURCES:

New Article on the Brooklyn Hammer homicides of Ng Tan Kheong and Fufai Pun: https://abc7ny.com/2nd-person-dies-after-nyc-restaurant-hammer-attack-/5095729/

Reappropriate's Twitter thread on the Brooklyn Hammer homicides of Ng Tan Kheong and Fufai Pun: https://twitter.com/reappropriate/status/1086126026130767874

Masculinity vs. “Misogylinity”: what Asian Americans can learn from #UCSB shooting | #YesAllWomen: http://reappropriate.co/2014/05/masculinity-vs-misogylinity-what-asian-americans-can-learn-from-ucsb-shooting-yesallwomen/

SUBMISSIONS AND COMMENTS: