Hybridia

When we spoke to Bela she was on a summer break from teaching at the University of Iowa, and was visiting family in the Chicagoland suburbs. She had just returned from an epic trip to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and the Greek island of Gavdos.

In this episode, we talk about the perks and perils of illegibility within a dominant culture–both as an artist and as a Soviet Jewish immigrant, the diversity Bela witnessed in Kazakhstan, teaching in Iowa, and how the naked body can be its own site of acculturation.

Guest Bio:

Bela Shayevich is a Soviet-American writer, translator, and visual artist. She is best known for her translation of 2015 Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich’s Secondhand Time. Her latest book is a translation of Elena Kostyuchenko’s I Love Russia, with Ilona Chavasse Yabzhin. She lives in Iowa City. 

Show Notes:

• “Bela’s Pilgrim” by Bela Shayevich 
• Failures of the avant-garde INTERVIEW // bela shayevich
•  “Egypt to Japan without flying” series by Omar Nok

• Hard Nips

Fictional Characters:

• Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov
• Balki Bartokomous from Perfect Strangers
• Latka Gravas from Taxi
• Borat Sagdiyev

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:

• Walking in flip flops by nomerodin1 -- https://freesound.org/s/474663/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 3.0
• Soothing Ambient Music for Yoga & Meditation by Matio888 -- https://freesound.org/s/796500/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
• Changing Room.wav by GlenCurtisAdams -- https://freesound.org/s/326920/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 3.0
• Sauna2.mp3 by Ciuas -- https://freesound.org/s/400624/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
• Hissi - Elevator by YleArkisto -- https://freesound.org/s/410079/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
• Bathroom water leak 02.wav by Daphne_in_Wonderland -- https://freesound.org/s/383472/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
• Shower_Studio21Mävers.wav by Soundscape_Leuphana -- https://freesound.org/s/210390/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
• Splashing water in bathtub by thaighaudio -- https://freesound.org/s/351412/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
• [remix] Hot Tub Loop by AnLorenzo -- https://freesound.org/s/339514/ -- License: Attribution 3.0
• Gentle Landscapes by ViraMiller -- https://freesound.org/s/743842/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

In this episode we talk to Bonnie Han Jones, a Korean-American improvising musician, poet, and educator working primarily with electronic sound and text. Her work explores noise, sonic identity, listening, and sound as knowledge.

We talked to Bonnie in spring 2025 when she was finishing up her PhD at Brown University. She has since moved to Chicago where she is now Assistant Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the Art & Technology/Sound Practices Department. 

In our conversation, we discuss Bonnie’s experiences as a Korean adoptee, her formative trip to Korea as a Fulbright Scholar, her relationship to sound and language as mediums of self-abstraction, and the generative (and often collaborative) art practices that can emerge from the space in-between.

Guest Bio:

Bonnie Han Jones is a Korean-American improvising musician, poet, and performer working with electronic sound and text. She performs solo and in numerous collaborative music, film, and visual art projects. Bonnie was a founding member of the Transmodern Festival and CHELA Gallery and is currently a member of the High Zero Festival collective. In 2010, along with Suzanne Thorpe she co-founded TECHNE, an organization that develops anti-racist, feminist workshops that center on technology-focused art making, improvisation, and community collaboration. She has received commissions from the London ICA and Walters Art Museum and has presented her work extensively at institutions in the US, Mexico, Europe and Asia. Bonnie was a 2018 recipient of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award. Born in South Korea she was raised on a dairy farm in New Jersey, and currently resides in Chicago, IL.

Show Notes:

Listen to/buy Bonnie’s music at Catalytic Sound and Bandcamp

Upcoming Shows in Chicago, IL:

• October 18, 2025 @ 8:00PM | Lou Mallozi Record Release Concert with guests Hal Rammel, Bonnie Han Jones, Michael Zerang at Constellation

• October 24, 2025 at 2 PM | lisa cameron / alex cunningham / mark shippy + bonnie han jones at Torn Light Records
• December 5-6, 2025 | Catalytic Sound Festival at Hungry Brain

Works by Bonnie we reference:

• do you wanna know something about something?– conversations on Korean-ness, a book by Bonnie Han Jones and Ryoko Akama

• we’ve all we’ve done: sounding a korean adoptee archive, a multichannel sound installation
• Courtyards: Pansori Loop, a multidisciplinary work by Bonnie Han Jones and Mary Kim Arnold

Other references:

• Welcome House adoption program founded by Pearl S. Buck
• Friendster, an early social networking site
• Books by Cathy Park Hong: Minor Feelings and Dance Dance Revolution
• More info about Korean name chop stamps
• Korean pansori music and West African griot singers
• Homi K. Bhabha and his writing on hybridity

Credits:

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

Sound Credits:

• Birds in hotel courtyard by arnaud coutancier -- https://freesound.org/s/449022/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 3.0
• cooking_02.wav by aesqe -- https://freesound.org/s/140453/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
• Restaurant outside by the river atmosphere with people talking by Garuda1982 -- https://freesound.org/s/735593/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
• Dog claws on wooden flooring .wav by jacko4526 -- https://freesound.org/s/656013/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
• Making Dinner in Thailand by Veridiansunrise -- https://freesound.org/s/350718/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
• 20090425.elderly.wav by dobroide -- https://freesound.org/s/71864/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
• August night on Countryside - Zlatibor, Serbia by Tomlija -- https://freesound.org/s/198404/ -- License: Attribution 3.0

In this episode we spoke with Joseph M. Pierce, a writer and professor at Stony Brook University, where he is the founding director of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative. We talk about his new book, Speculative Relations: Indigenous Worlding and Repair. Joseph is a citizen of the Cherokee nation and he shares his personal journey in relating to his heritage, from discovering his Cherokee roots later in life, to remembering Cherokee myths and teachings as tools to process some of the violence and dispossession his family has experienced.

Guest Bio:

Joseph M. Pierce is Associate Professor in the Department of Hispanic Languages and Literature and the Founding Director of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Stony Brook University. He is the author of two books, Argentine Intimacies: Queer Kinship in an Age of Splendor, 1890-1910 (SUNY Press, 2019) and Speculative Relations: Indigenous Worlding and Repair (Duke University Press, 2025). He co-edited Políticas del amor: Derechos sexuales y escrituras disidentes en el Cono Sur (Cuarto Propio, 2018) as well as the 2021 special issue of Gay and Lesbian Studies Quarterly, “Queer/Cuir Américas: Translation, Decoloniality, and the Incommensurable,” and has published work in Revista Hispánica Moderna, Critical Ethnic Studies, Latin American Research Review, and Art Journal, as well as in popular outlets such as Hyperallergic, TruthOut, and Indian Country Today. Along with S.J. Norman (Wiradjuri) he is co-curator of the performance series Knowledge of Wounds, and in 2024-2025 he was a Ford Foundation Scholar in Residence at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.

Show Notes:

Buy your copy of Speculative Relations from Duke University Press

RSVP to the “Imagining Indigenous Futures” talk at MoMA, taking place on October 7th, 2025. This panel will also feature Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg writer Leanne Simpson and curator Candice Hopkins (Carcross/Tagish First Nation).

Indigenous collaborators Joseph mentions:

• SJ Norman
• Kai Recollet
• Emily Johnson

Critical black studies/critical fabulation connections Joseph mentions:

• Saidiya Hartman
• Christina Sharpe
• Tavia Nyong'o

Pictures we talk about from the book:

• The photo of four women is Figure 2.2 in the book on page 64
• The photo of Julius Popper is Figure 2.3 on page 76

Other references:

• Read more about the Dayunisi creation myth here
• Eve Tuck’s writing about “damage-centered research” vs. “desire-based research” in her open letter "Suspending Damage: A Letter to Communities"
• Joseph mentions Turtle Island, the name for “earth” used by some Indigenous peoples
• Saki mentions P.E. Moskowitz’s article “We Must Refuse a Forced Grieving”
• We talk about a Billy-Ray Belcourt poem, “Regarding Death, I Turn to the Photon” from his book NDN Coping Mechanisms

Credits:

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

Sound Credits:

• synth rotating speaker.flac by Timbre -- https://freesound.org/s/201551/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0
• Wind Chimes.wav by MrCisum -- https://freesound.org/s/336664/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
• Mechanical Sea Monster_1 by MichaelMalong -- https://freesound.org/s/360429/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
• 20131202_plate rotating on the floor_ZoomH4nXY.wav by Soundscape_Leuphana -- https://freesound.org/s/210444/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Saki and Kirby reflect on what it feels like to release the first season of Hybridia. They also discuss future dreams for the show and make a humble plea to Keanu Reeves to become Hybridia's producer.

Credits:

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

In this episode we spoke with writer Ahsan Butt. We discuss his hometown of Brampton, Ontario then versus now, living in the US as a Muslim post 9/11, watching horror movies to process grief, the feeling of being watched, and how being an outsider can be a superpower – especially as an artist. Ahsan is currently working on a collection of short stories (some of which we link to in our show notes below) and we also link to his website, where you could sign up for his private classes and editing services.

Guest Bio:

Ahsan Butt was born in Toronto, is of Pakistani descent, and currently lives in Evanston, IL. His short-fiction and essays have appeared in Pleiades, West Branch, Split Lip Magazine, Barrelhouse, The Massachusetts Review, The Normal School, SmokeLong Quarterly, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. He is currently a Senior Editor at South Asian Avant Garde: A Dissident Literary Anthology (SAAG) and writes a newsletter on horror writing.

Show Notes:

Find Ahsan online here:

• Ahsan is Unsettled on Substack
• Mentorship, Editing and Classes by Ahsan

Links to some of Ahsan’s work:

• “Red Eye” – The James Franco Review
• “Tasneem” – Eclectica
• “Window” – Split Lip Magazine 
• “Hotel” is published in Pleiades [43.2]
• “The Mind is a Theater of War: An Interview with Palestinian-American Playwright, Sadieh Rifai” – South Asian Avant-Garde

Links to some media we mention:

• Caché directed by Michael Haneke
• A Nightmare on Elm Street directed by Wes Craven
• Malcom X directed by Spike Lee
• Twin Peaks created by Mark Frost and David Lynch
• Atlantics directed by Mati Diop
• Poltergeist directed by Tobe Hooper
• Annihilation written by Jeff Vandermeer

Credits:

Sound Credits:

• Launching a toy boat into water by adviseme333 — https://freesound.org/s/679396/ — License: Creative Commons 0
• Paddles rowing on a calm water stream by brunoboselli — https://freesound.org/s/249707/ — License: Creative Commons 0
• 20060307.paddling.wav by dobroide — https://freesound.org/s/16770/ — License: Attribution 4.
• Foghorns, Southampton Water, 3am by richwise — https://freesound.org/s/760454/ — License: Creative Commons 0
• Light Switch by TheWoodlandNomad — https://freesound.org/s/363084/ — License: Creative Commons 0

In this episode we spoke with Nigerian British filmmaker Ayo Akingbade, who was visiting Los Angeles for a screening of her film “Keep Looking.” We discussed several of her films, including her experience shooting on location in Lagos, Nigeria, after which we compared how it feels to visit our relatives in their respective home countries. We also spoke about nepotism in the film industry, how people usually assume a character is autobiographical when there are any similarities to the author, how to be inspired to make new work, and thinking about timelessness in certain works of art.

Guest Bio:

Ayo Akingbade (born 1994) is an artist, writer and film director. She has directed nineteen short films. Her short films explore the mundanity of urban life in full swing in London's inner-city boroughs and industrial life in her family's hometown in Nigeria.

Show notes:

Links to where Ayo has screened:

• Now Instant (Los Angeles, CA)
• This Long Century
• LUX
• whatsherface at The Hand
• Lincoln Center New Directors/New Films
• New York Film Festival

Links to Ayo’s work:

• Show me the World Mister, 2023, Book
• Keep Looking, 2024, Film
• The Fist, 2022, Film
• Jitterbug, 2022, Film
• Dear Babylon, 2019, Film
• Tower XYZ, 2016, Film

Books Ayo mentions from Skylight Books in LA:

• Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell by David Yaffe
• Making Movies by Sydney Lumet
• In the Eye of the Wild by Nastassja Martin

We also mention:

• Family Business by Chantal Ackerman
• La Chimera by Alice Rohrwacher
• A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
• "Keep Looking" by Sade

Credits:

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

Sound effects courtesy of freesound.org:

• japaneseairplanelanding.mp3 by morgantj – https://freesound.org/people/morgantj/sounds/59610/ – License: Attribution 4.0
• Airplane PA Sound 2 by festivus31 – https://freesound.org/people/festivus31/sounds/177560/ – License: Creative Commons 0
• Airplane_ambience.WAV by habbis92 – https://freesound.org/people/habbis92/sounds/204510/ – License: Creative Commons 0
• Airplane Seat belt Chime by sirkoto51 – https://freesound.org/people/Sirkoto51/sounds/331680/ – License: Creative Commons 0
• Airplane_flyover_landing_in_heathrow_1_48_24.wav by suz_soundcreations  – https://freesound.org/people/Suz_Soundcreations/sounds/351588/ – License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0
• digital camera consumer on,off beep take picture single shot, servo zoom in out.flac by kyles – https://freesound.org/people/kyles/sounds/453950/ – License: Creative Commons 0
• Tabletop clock ticking, speed ramp down (followup) by ycbcr – https://freesound.org/people/ycbcr/sounds/556991/ – License: Attribution 4.0
• Hawk/Eagle Cry (Distant) by PRINCEofWORMS – https://freesound.org/people/PRINCEofWORMS/sounds/571273/ – License: Attribution 4.0

In this episode, we spoke with Colombian-American artist, Catalina Alvarez, who visited Saki at her apartment for this interview. Catalina’s first language is Spanish and we talk about her choice to continue speaking her mother tongue with her child. We discuss the advantages of not knowing the prevalent language of a city, how bodies move through space differently depending on the cultural norms of a specific place, and Catalina reads an excerpt from her short story, “The Word.”

Guest Bio:

Catalina makes choreographed films and experimental musicals. Her films have screened at festivals including Slamdance, Fantastic Fest, New Orleans and Palm Springs, and venues such as the ICA Philadelphia, the San Diego Art Institute and the Museum of the Moving Image. She is a recipient of fellowships and residencies from the Flaherty Seminar, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Rooftop Films, Flux Factory and the Wexner Center for the Arts. Catalina grew up in a bilingual (Spanish and English) household. Since 2022, she has taught in the Visual Arts program at Fordham University, where she is head of Art & Engagement.

Show notes:

• “The Word,” a short story, which Catalina read an excerpt from (at around 13 min.), will be published by Ediciones de Ruina in “Vagaries: a Collection of Screenplays,” coming in Summer 2025 
• The music you heard while Catalina read “The Word” was "Combine D" from the Alphabet Combines by Ted Coffey. You can find the whole album on Bandcamp at tedcoffey.bandcamp.com
• Here are some links to Catalina’s film, “Sound Spring”
• Excerpt and description on her website
• Official Soundtrack available on Kuyin
• Cleveland International Film Festival
• And her work Modos de Transporte: Bois de Rose
• We also mentioned:
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (children’s book)
• Renee Gladman (writer)
• Ant Farm exhibition at Pioneer Works
• Voice in Cinema by Michel Chion
• "My Native Language Is Noise" by Kimberly AlidioChicka Chicka Boom Boom (children’s book)
• Renee Gladman (writer)
• Ant Farm exhibition at Pioneer Works
• Voice in Cinema by Michel Chion
• "My Native Language Is Noise" by Kimberly Alidio

Credits:

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

Sound effects courtesy of freesound.org:

• Palm Trees in the Wind.wav by StrangeAcoustics -- https://freesound.org/s/346106/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

• Cumbia by Tomentum+ -- https://freesound.org/s/663170/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

• Small Caribbean Ocean Waves by fran_marenco -- https://freesound.org/s/796618/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

• Sparkly.wav by opticaillusions -- https://freesound.org/s/554312/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

In this episode, we spoke with Colombian-American comedian, performance artist, writer, and filmmaker Kat Toledo. We talk about Kat’s experience in alt-comedy and how many of her characters are hybrid entities, like the girl who’s trapped in a duvet cover or Tia Luz, who’s inspired by her Colombian aunties. We also discuss the mystery of her parentage, how she defines her identity without knowing who her biological father is, and also coming to terms with not knowing.

Guest Bio:

Kat Toledo is a Colombian-American comedian, performance artist, writer, and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She has been featured on Funny or Die, The Best Show, opened for Eric André, and has performed with artists Kembra Pfahler, Laura Lima, and Kevin Mcdonald from Kids in the Hall.

Show notes:

• Kat’s Character Work:
• Girl Trapped Inside a Duvet
• Tia Luz
• Everything Now
• We mentioned various media and personalities, linked below:
• Ancestry.com
• “The Magic School Bus” (book series)
• Minions (film)
• Inventing Anna (TV miniseries)
• Sarah Sherman a.k.a. Sarah Squirm

Credits:

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

Sound effects courtesy of freesound.org:

• Water Tip Grass by Project_Trident -- https://freesound.org/s/140307/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 3.0
• young girls giggling and laughing.wav by tuhinpaul -- https://freesound.org/s/342838/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
• Koshi wind chimes aqua fire by neolein -- https://freesound.org/s/416841/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 3.0
• S09-17 Mountain climbing; much dirt debris & clothing rustle.wav by craigsmith -- https://freesound.org/s/675887/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
• Transformed wind chimes: Nature-Symphony 29 by Philip_Goddard -- https://freesound.org/s/719042/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

In this episode we spoke with Salvadoran-American writer Darrow Farr, also known as Darri, who was visiting New York and stopped by my apartment for the interview. We talk with Darri about reconnecting with her biological father later in life, what it’s like to date white partners, how and where we gain access to our heritage, and how we’d like to raise children with exposure to these cultures.

Guest Bio:

Darrow Farr is a Salvadoran-American writer. She was a Stegner Fellow in Fiction at Stanford University from 2017-2019 and received an MFA in Creative Writing from The Michener Center at the University of Texas. The Bombshell is her debut novel. She was born and raised outside of Philadelphia, where she now lives with her husband and son.

Show notes:

• “Far Away From Me” by Jenny Zhang
• The following podcast/books were mentioned
• “Decolonize Your Gender” episode on Sensual Self with Ev’Yan Whitney
• The Cosmic Race (La Raza Cósmica) by José Vasconcelos
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

Credits:

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

Sound effects courtesy of freesound.org:

• Digging with shovel.m4a by guyburns -- https://freesound.org/s/558413/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

• Footseps on Sand.wav by 21100206TM -- https://freesound.org/s/594484/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 3.0

• Watering with a Watering Can.mp3 by Bricklover -- https://freesound.org/s/532890/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

In this episode we spoke with Vietnamese-American artist and writer Morgan Võ, who generously agreed to be our first guest. We met Morgan while studying art at the Cooper Union and discuss growing up in our respective suburbs, the significance of names, the challenges of seeking information from our immigrant parents, and “the yearning.” We also discuss a short essay by Kimberly Alidio called “My Native Language is Noise,” which we link to below.

Guest Bio:

Morgan Võ (b. 1989) is a poet and librarian concerned with resonance, contingency, difficulty understanding, and the presence of the dead among the living. He is the author of The Selkie (The Song Cave, 2024) and the chapbooks Lights of Earth (2019) and Eat Pamphlet (2014). His poems were anthologized in Pathetic Literature, edited by Eileen Myles, and have most recently appeared in Changes Review and Footnotes. He organized G-L-O-S-S, a mutual aid-based poetry press, from 2020-21, and is a current member of the Poetry Project Newsletter editorial collective. Originally from coastal Virginia, he lives now in Bedstuy, Brooklyn.

Show notes:

• "My Native Language Is Noise" by Kimberly Alidio – We discuss this short essay that was published in 2020 by The Poetry Foundation.
• PEN15 - We briefly discuss this comedy series created by Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, and Sam Zvibleman

Credits:

• Produced in consultation with Ursula Sommer and mastered by Cedric Wilson.
• Theme music by The Necklace, a project by Taylor Shields and Morgan Võ.

Sound effects courtesy of freesound.org:

• 030912 fx002 revelation.aiff by martian -- https://freesound.org/s/178512/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
• Footsteps on Grass by harrietniamh -- https://freesound.org/s/400123/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
• Peaceful seascape by Ladies' Window, near Boscastle by Philip_Goddard -- https://freesound.org/s/705985/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0