Hybridia

Hybridia

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Hybridia episodes

  • Episode 19: "Riding in the Tour Van" w/ Jack Abok

    Our guest today is Jack Abok, a self-taught “musician” and writer of “bad” reviews in his annual Bad Vibes zine. Jack grew up in Kenya and moved to DC for university to get a degree in business. Instead, he ended up joining a band and has embedded himself in the DC music scene ever since. We talk about the differences between pursuing a career in the arts in the US vs. in Kenya, and how so many problems seem trivial to him compared to the precarity he has felt as an immigrant. We also talk about the pleasures and pains of band life, from telepathy in the song-writing process to missing your cat on tour, while covering the origin stories of his many bands, including Vampyres from Africa, Sex Faces and Des Demonas.


    Support Hybridia

    We self-produce these episodes out of love. Send us a tip to help with our costs!


    Guest Bio

    Jack Abok (b. 1979, Mombasa) is a Kenyan, Washington DC-based writer and composer. He plays drums in Sex Faces, handles vocals and percussion in Des Demonas and minimalist electro punk compositions in Vampyres from Africa. He also does a yearly fanzine called Bad Vibes now in its sixth year and seventh issue in which everyone covered gets a bad review, because f*ck you! A self-taught “musician” Jack Abok came to America to study at Howard University, hated it, dropped out and joined a Rock ‘n Roll band and has never looked back! The Vampyres from Africa’s next release is a free covers album out on November 5th (Guy Fawkes Day) and they are going to the studio to record their sophomore album next month. They play at Washington DC Black Cat on November 10th.


    Show Notes

    Follow Evil Jack Agwelt on Instagram, where you can find the Bad Vibes Zine.


    Jack’s Bands:

    • Vampyres from Africa | instagram | bandcamp
    • Sex Faces | instagram | bandcamp
    • Des Demonas | instagram | bandcamp
    • Foul Swoops | instagram | bandcamp
    • Thee Lolitas | bandcamp
    • Gino and the Goons | bandcamp


    Other bands mentioned:

    • Gladys | instagram | bandcamp
    • Pearie Sol | instagram | bandcamp
    • The Selkies | instagram | bandcamp
    • Hard Nips | instagram | bandcamp


    References:

    • Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (novel, 1955)
    • Lolita by Stanley Kubrick (film, 1962)
    • “Whitey On the Moon” by Gil Scott-Heron (song)
    • “This is Love” by P.J. Harvey (song)
    • We’re Loud Festival (Kenya, 2025)


    Credits

    • Theme music by The Necklace, a project by Taylor Shields and Morgan Võ.
    1 hr 15 min
  • Episode 18: “Jumping Off the Waterfall” w/ Sachiko Ragosta

    Our guest today is Sachiko Ragosta, a writer, musician and judoka. We discuss their background in writing and martial arts, and they present us with core Judo principles that they also apply to their writing practice, such as “maximum efficiency minimal effort,” i.e. not trying to force a plot, or the idea of practicing for “mutual welfare and benefit,” and how that can apply to ethics in writing. We also discuss collaboration and surrendering oneself to the outcome, whether in music or writing, and how writing a story about Judo finally got Sachi back onto the mats after a long hiatus.


    Support Hybridia

    We self-produce these episodes out of love. Send us a tip to help with our costs!


    Guest Bio

    Sachiko Ragosta (they/them) is a Bay Area-based sexual and reproductive health researcher, fiction writer, musician, and judoka. They hold an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop where they were a Truman Capote Fellow. Their essays and fiction can be found in Ms., It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror, and Apex Magazine. Find them online at sachikor.com or @v3rsachiko.


    Show Notes

    Judo background and principles:

    • Judo (柔道) “the gentle way,” founded by Jigoro Kano
    • Seiryoku-zenyo (精力善用) maximum efficiency/minimum effort
    • Jita kyoei (自他共栄) practicing for mutual welfare and benefit


    References:

    • A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, a book of essays by George Saunders, from where Sachi references a quote about anticipating the reaction of the reader in fiction
    • Interview with Sachi in Apex Magazine
    • Evil Does Not Exist, a film by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
    • Saki references an old clip of Kyuzo Mifune doing judo
    • Chain-Gang All-Stars, a novel by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
    • Tannery Bay, a collaborative novel by Steven Dunn and Katie Jean Shinkle
    • The Art of Learning, a book by Josh Waitzkin


    Credits

    • Theme music by The Necklace, a project by Taylor Shields and Morgan Võ.
    1 hr 5 min
  • Episode 17: “The Factory” w/ Jon McCurley

    Our guest today is Jon McCurley, who works in performance, film, sculpture, and comedy. We discuss his art projects “Monsters of the World” and “Taste Test,” which explore the connections between the Cadbury chocolate company and European imperialism, as well as its link to his personal history since his parents met while working for the company. We also talk about the psychological toll of incorporating personal trauma into an art practice and how to find joy and meaning in our creative acts in order to avoid burn out.


    Support Hybridia

    We self-produce these episodes out of love. Send us a tip to help with our costs!


    Guest Bio

    Jon McCurley (b.1982, Toronto / Tkaronto) works in performance, film, sculpture, and comedy. Jon is of Vietnamese and Irish descent. He was half of the art group Life of a Craphead (2006 – 2020), and was co-founder of the performance and music venue Double Double Land (2008-2017). Life of a Craphead performance projects include King Edward VII Equestrian Statue Floating Down the Don River (2017), where a life-size replica of a well-known colonial statue was dumped into a Toronto river on a weekly basis for a month and Doored (2012 – 2017), a monthly live broadcast performance art show that featured over 150 performers over the span of 5 years. In 2018 Life of a Craphead was nominated for the Sobey Art Award. Jon’s forthcoming solo show, Skull Island, will be at Teck Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, in Fall 2021. His work is also part of the 2021 Seoul Mediacity Biennale, South Korea.


    Show Notes

    Jon’s Projects & Collaborations:

    • Life of a Craphead
    • Monsters of the World
    • Monsters of the World Tour
    • Taste Test
    • Owls Club Music Hour


    Galleries & Art Venues Mentioned:

    • Eastside Projects
    • Seoul Media City Bienniale 


    Credits

    • Theme music by The Necklace, a project by Taylor Shields and Morgan Võ.
    1 hr
  • Episode 16: “Punk Mermaids in the Grotto” w/ Monika Uchiyama

    We’re back for our 3rd season (!) and we’re kicking it off with Monika Uchiyama, an artist, interpreter, and translator based in Tokyo and NYC. Monika is a fascinating person and we’re so grateful we got to speak with her when she was in New York to work as an interpreter for Japan Cuts 2026. We discuss the craft of interpreting and how it differs from text translation, the necessity of presence and assertiveness required for live interpretation, and the feeling of flow state that comes with that. We get into her history as well, discussing her move back to Japan from California as a high-schooler; the hyper-visibility she felt being mixed race in Japan; and how she coped with everything by getting into music and the punk scene– doing some of her first translations for music-related projects. We also discuss one of her films, a new use, in which she documents the production process of her Japanese family’s multigenerational business.

    If you happen to be in the LA area and want to catch Monika as an interpreter, she will be there this November for a Sho Miyake retrospective at the Japan Foundation.


    Support Hybridia

    We self-produce these episodes out of love. Send us a tip to help with our costs!


    Guest Bio

    Monika Uchiyama (b. Tokyo, Japan) is an artist, interpreter, and translator based in Tokyo and NYC.


    Show Notes

    Monika’s film work:

    • a new use (2018), single-channel video, 24min.
    • Interview on Vdrome about the film


    More about Monika:

    • Interpreting Japanese Cinema: Monika Uchiyama by Blake Simons for Desperately Seeking Subtitles
    • Translating ‘Farewell to the Highland Station’: An interview with Monika Uchiyama by Mako Fukata for Ultra Dogme


    Documentation of Monika interpreting:

    • KAJI MEIKO Q&A Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (2026)
    • Sho Miyake on Two Seasons, Two Strangers | New Directors/New Films 2026


    Other references:

    • Film about survivors of sexual and physical abuse: In Their Traces 『魂のきせき』(2025) Directed by Shigeru Kobayashi, with Morinaga Miyako, Saori Ninomiya, Kazue Takahashi.
    • The Shrouds (2024) Directed by David Cronenberg
    • Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto


    Credits

    • Theme music by The Necklace, a project by Taylor Shields and Morgan Võ.


    1 hr 11 min
  • Recap: Season 2 w/ Kirby & Saki (& Kiwi)

    Saki and Kirby reflect on how it was to record and release the second season of Hybridia. They discuss becoming more comfortable in their roles as hosts and also how they're continuing to engage with their cultural heritages. Kirby's new dog, Kiwi, makes a special guest appearance. They also mull on ideas for next season, like exploring Hybridia through food culture, or even experimental sound.


    Credits:

    Theme music by The Necklace, a project by Taylor Shields and Morgan Võ.

    30 min
  • Episode 15: “The Place of Permission” w/ traci kato-kiriyama

    Our guest today is traci kato-kiriyama, and we were fortunate enough to speak with such a self-professed hybrid as we close out our second season. tkk is a transdisciplinary artist, recognized for their work as a writer/performer, theatre deviser, cultural producer, and community organizer based in the Los Angeles Area. We came across them when listening to a panel linking Japanese Incarceration to ICE raids today, but their work spans playwriting, performing, and writing. We specifically discuss their show “TALES OF CLAMOR,” which interweaves personal autobiographical moments with the testimonies of Japanese Americans about their incarceration, and their book “Navigating With(out) Instruments,” a true hybrid work comprised of poetry, micro-essays and notes to self.


    Guest Bio

    traci kato-kiriyama (they+she), author of Navigating With(out) Instruments--based on unceded Tongva land in the south bay of Los Angeles-- is an award-winning multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary artist, recognized for their work as a writer/performer, theatre deviser, cultural producer, and community organizer. As a storyteller and Artivist, tkk is grounded in collaborative process, collective self-determination, and art+community as intrinsically tied and a critical means toward connection and healing. She is a performer & principal writer for PULLproject Ensemble, two-time NET recipient; NEFA 2021-22 finalist for their show TALES OF CLAMOR. Full bio here.


    Show Notes

    tkk’s work:

    • Tales of Clamor – a theater work developed by PULLproject, traci’s collaboration with PULLproject aerial artist/actor Kennedy Kabasares

    • Navigating With(out) Instruments – traci’s second book.

    • traci’s reading at Beyond Baroque

    tkk’s activism and other projects:

    • Nikkei Progressives

    • Tuesday Night Project

    Japanese American Incarceration references & resources:

    • Densho – an organization that documents the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II

    • “The Alien Enemies Act of 1798: Understanding 1941 and 2025” – panel at the USC Ito Center that traci appeared on.

    • Loyalty Questionnaire

    • Tule Lake

    • National Council for Japanese American Redress

      • Full transcripts of testimonies are available at the National Archives

      • This article contains links to various sources where video footage exists

    • Japanese American National Museum

    • The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration, Edited by Frank Abe and Floyd Cheung

    • ZAJA, a New York City-based informal group of Japanese, Japanese Americans and anyone interested in Japanese/JA culture.

    • “One Fighting Irishman” by Sharon Yamato, a 30-minute documentary narrated by actor George Takei focusing on the little-known story of civil rights attorney Wayne M. Collins who filed lawsuits on behalf of more than 5,500 detainees who renounced their U.S. citizenship while incarcerated at the embattled Tule Lake Segregation Center, considered the worst of the ten WWII detention centers.

    Other references:

    • Beverly Hills 902010 (90’s TV show)

    • “Why We Can’t Wait” campaign for African-American reparations

    • “Model minority” was coined by sociologist William Petersen in his article, “Success Story, Japanese American Style,” in New York Times Magazine (1966). Summary here.

    • Asian American Arts Alliance, a New York City-based organization supporting Asian American artists and cultural organizations


    Credits

    • Edited by Amanda Dee and mastered by Cedric Wilson.
    • Theme music by The Necklace, a project by Taylor Shields and Morgan Võ.


    Sound Credits

    • Bells Windchime.wav by Benboncan -- https://freesound.org/s/56929/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
    • New York Jazz Loop by FoolBoyMedia -- https://freesound.org/s/347848/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0
    • Rhodes 4.wav by HenKonen -- https://freesound.org/s/682259/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
    • Harp Arpeggio - fairy tunes.wav by gertraut_hecher -- https://freesound.org/s/559838/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0
    1 hr 5 min
  • Episode 14: “The Flying Boat” w/ Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai

    Our guest today is Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai. They were born in Thailand and are now based in St Paul, MN, but they’re a true citizen of the world, having lived and studied in many places in between. We discuss their path to performance art, from their upbringing in England to their study at the Sorbonne in Paris, and their eventual move to the U.S., landing first in Chicago, but really coming into their own in Tucson, AZ, after a year of living expansively in the desert.

    After a career in more traditional forms of art like sculpture, Prima now works in multimedia and performance, and we discuss some of their more recent works, especially their performative lecture Chloropsis Aurifrons Pridii and their sound piece 174 / Neung Jed Si – A Short History of Thailand. Both works mix the historical with the personal and we discuss documentary, embodied history, and what really is the definition of a place one calls “home.”


    Guest Bio:

    Born in 1989, Bangkok, Thailand. Currently lives and works in St Paul, MN.
    Prima earned a Visual Arts Degree (Diplome National des Arts Plastiques) from the Ecole des Beaux Arts de Nantes Metropole, a License in Film Studies (Licence en Cinema et Audiovisuelle) at the Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris 3. They completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in 2013 and obtained a Master of Fine Arts at the California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA in 2017.


    Show Notes

    Note: The audio excerpt included in this episode included part of the composition Seine / San Saep / Voice of Water (2025) by Louis Fontenot. Vocalists: Ilse Griffin, Michael Llyod and Molly O’Connor


    Prima’s work mentioned in the show:

    • The Invisible Archive: Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai by Lara Salmon
    • Chloropsis Aurifrons Pridi
    • 174 / Neung Jed Si – A Short History of Thailand


    People:

    • Pridi Banomyong – Thai revolutionary and former Prime Minister, Prima’s great-grand uncle
    • Chris Marker – filmmaker
    • François Niney – philosopher, film critic, documentarian 


    Media:

    • Sibylline Screen – Kirby’s curatorial cave project
    • Route One/USA – a film Prima mentions as inspiration to move to the US
    • Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald 
    • Khruangbin – band from Texas Saki mentions
    • Lucky Luke & Woody – two cartoon cowboys Prima mentions
    • Brokeback Mountain
    • Pridi by Pridi – A collection of Pridi’s writing
    • The Sea of Fertility tetralogy by Yukio Mishima
    • Rocky & Hudson: The Gay Cowboys


    Credits:

    • Edited by Amanda Dee and mastered by Cedric Wilson.
    • Theme music by The Necklace, a project by Taylor Shields and Morgan Võ.


    Sound Credits:

    • River boat with outboard engine (at changing speeds) by nomadas – https://freesound.org/people/nomadas/sounds/690160/ – License: Creative Commons 0
    • Flock of seagulls.wav by juskiddink – https://freesound.org/people/juskiddink/sounds/98479/ – License: Attribution 4.0
    • S29-19 Bell buoy.wav by craigsmith – https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/675693/ – License: Creative Commons 0
    • Amb/Sfx_Ext_Day_People Argue & Talking_Boat Engine_Sea_Portuguese_Kapossoca Pier_Luanda to Mussulo Island_Angola (11.08.2024) by SolySombraRecordings – https://freesound.org/people/SolySombraRecordings/sounds/756767/ – License: Creative Commons 0
    • JRPG Guitar Desert loop by Destructo20 – https://freesound.org/people/Destructo20/sounds/659223/ – License: Creative Commons 0
    • sound-alien7.wav by zippi1 – https://freesound.org/people/zippi1/sounds/18870/ – License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0
    • D302 Boat Engine Cuts.wav by billcutbill – https://freesound.org/people/billcutbill/sounds/669393/ – License: Attribution 4.0
    • Desert Night Air With Bird Call by kangaroovindaloo – https://freesound.org/people/kangaroovindaloo/sounds/147264/ – License: Attribution 4.0
    1 hr 9 min
  • Episode 13: “Where the Mountain Flows into the Sea” w/ paparouna

    Our guest today is paparouna. They are a queer non-binary disabled storyweaver, worldbuilder, writer, translator, and educator, born and raised in Athens, Greece and currently living in Colorado, USA. They are a soon-to-be graduate of Antioch University’s MFA in Creative Writing, with a dual concentration in translation and fiction. They’re the current lead editor of translation for antioch’s journal, lunch ticket, and their own writing and translations have been published in a variety of journals, including Asymptote, Denver Quarterly, and World Literature Today.

    In this episode we discuss paparouna’s later-in-life foray into literary translation, their concentration on queer Greek literature and what it means to translate queerly, the fluidity of language, the origin of their chosen name, and the ecotone as a metaphor for how hybrids exist as not one or the other, but as endemic entities.


    Guest Bio:

    Born and raised in Athens, Greece, ⁠paparouna⁠ [pavlos stavropoulos] currently resides in occupied Arapahoe and Cheyenne territory in so-called Colorado, USA. They are a social and environmental justice educator, work in website management, write queer speculative prose, translate mostly queer Greek literature into English, and daydream about life as a marine mammal. An MFA Candidate in Translation and Fiction at Antioch—Los Angeles, paparouna was accepted into the 2018 Princeton Hellenic Translation Workshop, the 2018-2020 Lighthouse Book Project, the 2025 Bread Loaf Translators Conference, and the 2025 British Center for Literary Translation Summer School. They have been a guest fiction editor for beestung, were the web editor for The Thought Erotic, and are the Lead Translation Editor for Lunch Ticket. Their writing has been published in Progenitor, Asymptote, Exchanges, New Poetry in Translation (now World Poetry Review), Denver Quarterly, Timber, The Thought Erotic, Lunch Ticket, World Literature Today, and Κουίρ 2024: Βίωμα, τέχνη, θεωρία [Queer 2024: Lived experience, art, theory].


    Show notes:

    Work by paparouna:

    • We reference their essay ⁠“The Queer Beauty of Unfaithful Translations”⁠

    • Their work is also included in ⁠Κουίρ 2024: Βίωμα, τέχνη, θεωρία⁠ (Queer 2024: Lived experience, art, theory)


    Translation work by paparouna:

    • paparouna is the Translation Editor at ⁠Lunch Ticket⁠, Antioch University’s literary magazine

    • The Whale, by ⁠Ursula Foskolou⁠, whose website includes some excerpts

    • paparouna has also translated ⁠Giota Tempridou⁠’s work


    Other references:

    • ⁠Lawrence Venuti⁠

    • ⁠Judith Butler⁠

    • ⁠Antonio de Nebrija ⁠

    • ⁠Pippi Longstocking⁠

    • ⁠Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldúa⁠


    Credits:

    • Edited by⁠ Amanda Dee⁠ and mastered by ⁠Cedric Wilson⁠.

    • Theme music by The Necklace, a project by Taylor Shields and Morgan Võ.


    Sound Credits:

    • Hiking03_Mt Lemmon AZ_Day_Slight Wind_Trekking Poles_Birds_051020 by Triad330670 – ⁠https://freesound.org/people/Triad330670/sounds/736942/⁠ – License: Attribution 4.0

    • Nature sounds, bells, goats, cow, birds - Kardzhali, Bulgaria by vonfleisch – ⁠https://freesound.org/people/vonfleisch/sounds/272458/⁠ – License: Creative Commons 0

    • coldwater_stream_01.wav by tim.kahn – ⁠https://freesound.org/people/tim.kahn/sounds/92818/⁠ – License: Attribution 4.0

    • Ocean Crete .wav by norwayjohn – ⁠https://freesound.org/people/norwayjohn/sounds/404684/⁠ – License: Creative Commons 0

    • Leaves Rustling by JandreLombaard – ⁠https://freesound.org/people/JandreLombaard/sounds/707877/⁠ – License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

    • Eating a cracker (Mouth closed) by Rudmer_Rotteveel – ⁠https://freesound.org/people/Rudmer_Rotteveel/sounds/364924/⁠ – License: Creative Commons 0

    • WATRSplsh_Water Splash, Big, Dive Into Water, Person or Animal_Nicholas Judy_TDC by designerschoice – ⁠https://freesound.org/people/designerschoice/sounds/811439/⁠ – License: Creative Commons 0

    • humpback whale song by MBARI_MARS – ⁠https://freesound.org/people/MBARI_MARS/sounds/448984/⁠ – License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

    1 hr 9 min
  • Episode 12: “The Floating Island” w/ Tiffany Smith

    Our guest today is Tiffany Smith. Tiffany is an interdisciplinary artist from the Caribbean diaspora working in photography, video, installation, and assemblage. In this episode we talk about Tiffany’s upbringing in the Bahamas and Miami, her long and winding journey to photography, how to advocate for yourself, how to escape the hustle and find a place that is right for you, and the complex dynamics of Black Caribbean identity in the U.S.


    Guest Bio:

    Tiffany Smith (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist from the Caribbean diaspora working in photography, video, installation, assemblage, and design to define spaces and experiences that examine the roles of visitor and native and parse the definition of home. Using plant matter, design elements, pattern, and costume as cultural signifiers, Smith creates environments that are informed by the histories of representation, diasporic identity, and liminality. 

    Smith’s work examines individual narratives pulled from an array of multi-cultural influences and derived from her upbringing in Miami, Nassau, and Jamaica. Searching for new perspectives on dominant historical narratives, she studies how communities of people of color are formed and defined; in particular, how they are identified and represented, and how they persist. 

    Smith earned her B.F.A. in Photography from Savannah College of Art and Design and her M.FA. in Photo/Video from School of Visual Arts. Her work lives in various private and public collections, and has been exhibited internationally, including solo exhibitions at The Bronx Museum of Arts, NY; The Wassaic Project, NY; Recess Assembly, Brooklyn, NY; and Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA. She has also exhibited at the New Orleans Museum of Art, the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, MassArt, and the National Gallery of Jamaica. Smith is a former NYSCA/NYFA Interdisciplinary Artist Fellow, a Bronx A.I.M. Fellow, an EnFoco Photography Fellowship Awardee, a Cameron Visiting Artist at Middlebury College, and a resident artist at TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image in Philadelphia. She currently resides in New Orleans, LA.


    Show Notes:

    Tiffany’s Work:

    • Earthseed solo exhibition at The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY
    • For Tropical Girls… exhibition at The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY
    • Album photos for collaboration with Lollise
    • A Woman, Phenomenally


    Other References:

    • Paradice Palase artist network
    • Julia Tuttle, the “Mother of Miami”
    • Moonlight film (2016)
    • Tiffany’s professor Keren Moscovich
    • Underground System band
    • Lollise’s “Iron Woman” music video
    • Mickalene Thomas’ photos of Cardi B


    Credits:

    • Cover photo of Tiffany by Fela Raymond.
    • Edited by Amanda Dee and mastered by Cedric Wilson.
    • Theme music by The Necklace, a project by Taylor Shields and Morgan Võ.


    Sound Credits:

    • Medium-heavy spaceship fly-by by Anoesj – https://freesound.org/people/Anoesj/sounds/345794/ – License: Attribution 4.0
    • Jorge R Alien Hover by jorgereq – https://freesound.org/people/jorgereq/sounds/592722/ – License: Creative Commons 0
    • Dreamy Ambient Atmosphere for Relaxation by Matio888 – https://freesound.org/people/Matio888/sounds/797771/ – License: Attribution 4.0
    • peep2.WAV by phantastonia – https://freesound.org/people/phantastonia/sounds/337439/ – License: Creative Commons 0
    • Dreamy bells.wav by danyourmaster – https://freesound.org/people/danyourmaster/sounds/433654/ – License: Creative Commons 0


    1 hr 21 min
  • Episode 11: “The Holodeck” w/ Shyaporn Theerakulstit

    Our guest today is Shyaporn Theerakulstit, a Thai-American born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and based in New York City. He is a man of many labels: actor, writer, director, new media creator, martial artist, cosplayer and fake science lecturer. We tried to tell him we think he is cool, but he prefers to call himself “relentlessly interesting.”

    We talk about his various acting roles, especially his work in Star Trek productions, and how casting in Hollywood has changed (or hasn’t) over the years. We also discuss his early success on YouTube with his character videos, such as his “fake scientist” persona. And we discover that we all share a love of martial arts and think everyone should get out and “touch grass” or rather, “touch gloves.”


    Guest Bio:

    Shyaporn Theerakulstit is a Thai-American actor, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, based in New York City. He is also a writer, director, new media creator, martial artist, cosplayer and fake science lecturer. He has given talks on Godzilla biology and the technology of Star Trek vs Star Wars at TEDx, Nerd Nite, C2E2 and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. He is the host of Atlas Obscura’s “REAL/fake Science” lecture series. His Youtube channel has over 5 million video views and has been featured on Huffington Post and Comedy Central. He is a graduate of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and a degree holder in traditional Shaolin kung fu with Alan Lee’s Chinese Kung Fu Wu Su Association, one of the oldest martial arts schools in New York City.


    Show Notes:

    Shyaporn’s Acting Work:

    • Star Trek New Voyages fan series (appearing as Sulu):
    • Appeared as Kirk in Khan!! The Musical
    • Upcoming role in the film Song Sung Blue


    Comedy Performances/Events:

    • Peer Review (PowerPoint karaoke show) – next show Oct. 16, 2025
    • Storyoke (storytelling & karaoke)
    • Godzilla: History, Biology and Behavior of Hyper-Evolved Theropod Kaiju (PowerPoint comedy lecture)


    Shyaporn’s YouTube channel:

    • Toy Phaser
    • 500 Impressions in 2 minutes
    • Halloween Characters


    Other references:

    • Nerd Nite
    • Shyaporn appears on the Star Trek Trek Time podcast
    • Prelude to Axanar Star Trek fan film
    • Allen Lee’s Wu Su Kung Fu School
    • Dancing as an Intervention Tool for People with Dementia


    Credits:

    • Edited by Tucker Bennett and mastered by Cedric Wilson.
    • Theme music by The Necklace, a project by Taylor Shields and Morgan Võ.


    Sound Credits:

    • hologram.wav by Sergenious — https://freesound.org/s/55833/ — License: Attribution 4.0
    • intro_spring.wav by levelclearer — https://freesound.org/s/233351/ — License: Attribution 4.0
    • up5.wav by bumpelsnake — https://freesound.org/s/456576/ — License: Attribution 4.0
    • Kung Fu Scream by vero.marengere — https://freesound.org/s/482227/ — License: Creative Commons 0
    • Katana sword.wav by [email protected] — https://freesound.org/s/403235/ — License: Creative Commons 0
    • Tap Dancer FF002.aif by martinimeniscus — https://freesound.org/s/199481/ — License: Creative Commons 0
    • female-voice-xiao-guqin-concert.wav by xserra — https://freesound.org/s/162024/ — License: Attribution 4.0


    55 min

About Hybridia

From the publisher's feed

At a time of widespread binary and polarized thinking, Hybridia is a podcast for more nuanced conversations between those who find themselves at the intersections of multiple cultures and identities.