Get RAW Podcast

Love. Freedom. Strength. Vulnerability. These are the tenets of Leslie Lew, Martial Arts / Female Empowerment / Modern Self Defense Coach & Badass Kung Fu Witch . If you have EVER felt hesitant standing up for yourself at work, at home, or in life, Leslie is the guide and verbal hug we all didn't know we desperately needed. 

From overcoming generational to personal trauma, to being bullied at work, to potentially losing faith in romantic love, Leslie teaches us in this inspirational episode how to distill your deepest pain into the purest form of inner power. "Sick and tired of being sick and tired?" This episode is for you.

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault, Suicide

Links

• www.reclaimingyourcourage.com
• https://www.instagram.com/reclaimingyourcourage/

Highlight videos to look for

• https://www.instagram.com/p/CNa34hwjgRs/
• https://www.instagram.com/p/COGJjgjD0HN/

Skills to build from Leslie

1. Mindset questions to ask yourself 
   1. What do I believe is a worse case scenario here? 
   2. What is my strategy to navigate through this?
2. Vocalization
   1. What is a boundary I have no problem protecting? 
   2. What can I say to someone who crosses that boundary?
3. Movement
   1. When presented with a technique or self-defense advice, ask yourself: "How can this work for me?"

Our producer Kristal hosts this episode, telling the very dark, twisting, fascinating and TRUE story of Sister Ping, Queen of the Snakeheads, arguably the most successful documented human smuggler in history and based right in the heart of New York’s Chinatown.

From warring Fujianese street gangs, to international money laundering, to sneaky-sneak side deals with the FBI, fans of the HBO Show Warrior (and women led organized crime syndications) will NOT want to miss this. 

Also, there is a movie soon to be released based on this sensational story! Links on our website and in bio.

Warning: Descriptions of Graphic Violence

Based on the book “The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream” by Patrick Radden Keefe

Sister Ping photo credit: NY Daily News Archive/Getty

This episode is dedicated to our friend Jenny.

www.GetRawPodcast.org

Jordana is full of wishes. She wishes to be more connected to her Chinese culture. She wishes she knew more before engaging in hookup culture. She wishes she knew her birth parents. She wishes her two Jewish dads were ok with her wearing spaghetti straps. She wishes people were more ok with her emotions, her thoughts, her opinions - and if they're not, actually, come to think of it.... she doesn't care. 

The thing about Jordana is, she's not just a dreamer, she's a doer. She KNOWS she will learn from her past, she INTENDS to cultivate a better relationship with her parents, and she PLANS to go back to China one day to live, work, and search for her birth parents. 

From learning how to set boundaries to dismantling her drive to be hyper productive, this episode has a little something for everyone. 

www.GetRawPodcast.org

On the inaugural episode of Real Asian Voices, Sho Morikawa opens up about his experience as an Asian American trans man. From telling his Asian parents (while navigating language barriers) to telling his girlfriend he's trans, Sho shares and bares all, with humor, vulnerability, and awe-worthy honesty. 

"People who identify as queer ... their identity tends to be more fluid, and that may or may not have to do with the fact that once they identify with the queer community, you're exposed to more diverse types of people, and you become more educated in the different nuances of gender identity — It's not just about identifying as a man or a woman." - Sho Morikawa

Instagram: @greatestshoman
Photo Cred: @graceful_captures

www.GetRawPodcast.org

Resources from Sho for trans people and/or for trans allies:

@translifeline (https://translifeline.org)
@translawcenter (https://transgenderlawcenter.org)
@getplume (https://getplume.co)
@pinkmantaray (https://pinkmantaray.com) https://getrawpodcast.org/he-him-his/

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the course of the parent/child relationship never did run smooth. 

Why didn’t our Asian immigrant parents talk to us about their/our feelings? Was that because they didn’t love us, or were they just dealing with their own trauma?

How many of you now, as parents, are grappling with how to raise kids – trying to uphold the values of your honored ancestors while teaching them empathy so they don’t grow up to be racist a-holes?

Also – what do you do when your Asian kid comes home from school, asking you if they’re White? 

From acknowledging the strength of her parents who came to the US (literally by boat), to recognizing her own privilege, to raising a bevy of 3 children (all under the age of 7), superwoman Kristine very candidly shares her journey of parenting during a pandemic.

Mentioned Links:
www.instagram.com/asianlitforkids/
www.instagram.com/asiansformentalhealth/

www.GetRawPodcast.org

Ever been called a Coconut 🥥 or a Banana 🍌?  No, not the yummy tropical fruit, but the racial slur. 

Reclaiming the pejorative word in her upcoming book "Coconut" is Nisha Patel - a self proclaimed queer, fat, femme, disabled poet laureate and artist of color. A poetry slam champion, poetry publishing house founder, writer in residence at a library, and prolific public performer, what really makes Nisha a badass is not her awe-inspiring array of accomplishments, but her clear sense of self, her strength in the face of asshat haters, and her indomitable spirit. 

From wrangling with racism, sexism, and ableism to just living as an artist with Asian immigrant parents, Nisha tackles it all - with uncompromising candor and inimitable style.

Learn more at nishapatel.ca

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We work out, we eat healthy, we go to the doctor when we don't feel well. Why don't we treat our minds and hearts with the same level of care? Why is mental health still not prioritized, especially amongst Asians, and why is there ANY negative stigma at all towards one of the BEST THINGS YOU CAN EVER DO FOR YOURSELF? 

Therapy: No Shame, All Gain. 

If listening to amazing mental help therapist Diana in this episode doesn't make you realize how AMAZING therapists can be, this podcast host will shave her head.

Additional Resources from Diana at www.GetRawPodcast.org

PSA to all Asians: Did you know that dating outside your ethnicity can make you LESS Asian? We didn't either. Meet Alicia, a first-gen Vietnamese American, Master of Public Health student who struggles daily not to become "Less Vietnamese" as she dates someone Black.  SARCASM. You are not less of ANYTHING by dating outside your race. In this episode, Alicia shares the eternal joy of tolerating the opinions of relatives regarding one's dating life.

Visit www.getRAWpodcast.org for more info!

News Flash! Your life is NOT over after a divorce (or two!) Also, not staying with the same human partner until you die does NOT make you a failure - no matter what your Asian family says. 

Thank goodness for Grace, a defiant, daring, and dating divorcée - listen and learn, and then love - however you damn well please.

Visit www.getRAWpodcast.org for recommended content by Grace!