Firelight Chats

In this episode of Firelight Chats, J Triangular rode the high speed rail directly to the Spacelab to chat art, music, film, love, family, education, activism, life, and death with Kane & Mocha by the fireside. Among many other things, Kane and J quickly connect on their mutual overlapping experiences in places (Colombia, Chile, Peru, Spain, Los Angeles, New York City, Taiwan, Korea, and more) and transcendent spaces (coffee and medicinal plants in Peru and Colombia).

J also shares stories about her educational journey around the world, finding her identity, her work with HIV/AIDS activism, organizing musical concerts around Latin America, doing an art residency & finding love in NYC, being a boundary pushing chameleon, making her home in Taiwan, her upcoming show on Oct 23rd with the Women Make Waves International Film Festival, and her upcoming feature film.

J Triangular is a Latinx artist, spiritual activist, independent curator, queer poet, photographer, DIY video artist, and experimental filmmaker. Originally from Colombia, J is a 2-time Taiwan Gold Card Holder and currently lives in Taoyuan with her partner An-An.

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Yi-Ping Lu danced her way to the Spacelab to chat cubanos and more with Kane & Mocha by the fireside. Yi-ping shares her stories about studying abroad in Missouri, Sweden, Washington state, and Virginia; her love of family, dancing, country music, and Latin culture; her Optional Practical Training (OPT) and food research time in Florida; her journey of running a F&B business in Taiwan; and her hopes and dreams for the future.

A few days after recording the podcast, Kane, Mocha, and Firelight Chats regular, Alex Olin, stopped by Yi-Ping’s shop to indulge in cubanos, tomato soup, and happy vigorous debate about fate and fortune telling. A small snippet is revealed at the very end of the podcast.

Yi-Ping is the founder of Chinita’s Cubano, a small Cuban sandwich shop in Taipei. Born and raised in a farm area of Taoyuan, Taiwan, Yi-Ping has studied abroad since the age of 15 and is a graduate of James Madison University.

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Michael McCreesh swung by the Spacelab to chat about travel, tourism, nature, and adventure with Kane & Mocha by the fireside. In this wide-ranging chat, Michael shares his stories about working for an eco-lodge in remote northwestern Australia, his favorite Parkbus destinations, the challenges and opportunities of living and working in Taiwan, his love of cycling and mountain biking, environmental policy, climate change, sustainable economic development, working on an AI startup project for the tourism industry, and the difficulty of juggling family life and completing a PhD at National Taiwan University.

At the end of episode, Kane challenges Michael to a fire-lightning round of questions, which leads to some pensive pauses, transformative insights, sweet reflections, and a few slightly uncontrollable laughs.

Michael McCreesh is an instructor at Ming Chuan University and the co-founder of Parkbus Taiwan, a transportation-only solution that connects city dwellers with some of the best natural areas in Taiwan. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Michael is now living in a suburb of Taipei with his Taiwanese wife, two kids, and a shiba inu.

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Alan Fai surfed into the Spacelab with mutual friend Alex Olin to chat with Kane & Mocha by the fireside. Besides delving deep and wide into the crypto, blockchain, NFT, DeFi, and Web3 ocean, they also paddle through a range of topics including their favorite projects, "x to earn" games, scarcity and utility, Pokemon regrets, Ponzi schemes, biggest losses, highest highs, mitigating risk, the beauty of youth, blockchain startups, venture capital, and the upcoming Ethereum Merge.

On the personal side, Alan also shares stories about working for Apple in China, coming from a political family in Taiwan, the family's wartime escape from the mainland via boat, his burgeoning interest in ESG, and his plans otherwise for the future. To bookend the episode, Kane suggests a name for Alan's first child and also reveals the ultimate truth about Satoshi Nakamoto.

Alan Fai is a crypto king of Taiwan, a graduate of Rutgers University, and a soon-to-be father. Alan currently works in a new role at Red Building Capital, a blockchain venture capital fund based in Taiwan. Alex Olin is originally from Colorado, lived and worked in China for 5 years as a professional basketball agent, and currently works out of Taiwan for the East Asia Super League (EASL).

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Curtis Bergh stopped by the Spacelab to chat about startups and much more with Kane and Mocha by the fireside. In addition to their deep grind into the startup ecosystems of Singapore and Taiwan, Curtis also shares his thoughts on everything from financing & fundraising, interesting founders and companies, the role of government, standouts in the ASEAN region, crypto and blockchain, key emerging industries, leadership, the importance of mindset, and getting back to the fundamentals.

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Marcin Jerzewski swung by the Spacelab to visit Kane & Mocha on the day after Nancy Pelosi’s departure from Taiwan. With time ticking before Marcin’s next appointment, they dive deep into the contours of the most recent cross-straight tensions vis-à-vis the larger geopolitical landscape.

In this wide-ranging chat, Marcin also shares his thoughts about Taiwan’s democratic and military resilience, the current LGBTQIA+ situation, the importance of education, the need for diversification, and the folly of succumbing to overly alarmist and sensationalist narratives. Kane and Marcin wrap up the episode with a toast of ice cold boba and a promise to chat again.

Marcin Jerzewski is originally from Łódź, Poland. Among other important roles, Marcin heads the Taipei branch of the European Values Center for Security Policy, the first European think tank with legal and permanent presence in Taiwan.

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Liam Fanning swings by the Spacelab to chat poetic about theater and improv with Kane & Mocha by the sizzling summer fireside. Among other things, they talk about his life through the performing arts, his journey to Taiwan, his reflections on America, his thoughts on education, and his hopes for keeping English theater alive and thriving in Taiwan. Towards the end of the episode, Liam shares a tantalizing list of upcoming shows with the Formosa Improv Group, Stage Fight, and Taipei Shorts.

Liam Fanning is the Creative Director of Taipei Shorts, a collaborative platform for new and experienced artists to showcase their creative work. Hailing from the state of Virginia, Liam has been living with his partner in Taiwan for almost 5 years.

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Jerry Ku stops by the Spacelab to chat with Kane & Mocha about growing up as a Taiwanese Third Culture Kid. Jerry shares stories about being tricked into moving to another world, assimilating & adjusting, language learning, Singaporean accents & education, representing Singapore in the World Inline Cup Hockey Championships, ambitious hoop dreams & facing the realities of adulting, eventually living his childhood dream & working for NBA China, Covid and cat smuggling, adjusting to life back in Taiwan, and the prospects of growing a business, golfing, and becoming an international boss.

Jerry Ku was born in Taiwan, but spent a significant amount of his formative years growing up in Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles, California; Singapore; and Shanghai, China. He is now back in Taiwan, managing a family business called Rayxin Products, located in the Neihu district of Taipei.

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Caren Chen stops by the Spacelab to chat with Kane & Mocha by the fireside. As two passionate founders in the field of education, Caren and Kane dive head and heart first into the complex yet potentially transformational intersection of education, business, and technology. Caren also shares some personal stories about her early experiences with education; grappling with the notions of privilege, inequality, and responsibility; her father's cowboy immigrant experience; working for a pool start-up; her years of service in the corporate game; and her inspirations, hopes, and plans for making a lasting difference both in Taiwan and beyond.

Caren Chen is the founder and CEO of Sensay, an EdTech company based in Taiwan that aims to help English language learners around the world speak more confidently, as well as to help educators achieve progress faster and more effectively. Caren is a Taiwanese-American, California native who has earned both an undergraduate degree and MBA from the University of Southern California.

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Chris Armsden stops by the Spacelab on a rainy day to chat about animation and movie making with Kane & Mocha by the fireside. They discuss the business of animation, the impacts of technological advancements, the importance of education and having the right mindset, creative freedom, searching for passion, traveling the world, and his dreams of creating something magical in Taiwan.

Chris Armsden is an award-winning animation and visual effects professional who has worked on some of the most famous animated films in the world while working for companies like DNEG, MPC Film, DreamWorks, and Weta Digital. Chris is a Taiwan Gold Card holder and is the founder of Rising Star Creative, an animation and creative arts studio based in Taipei.