InfatuAsian Podcast

Chatting with Connie Chung was a dream come true. For several generations, Connie was the only Asian face you saw consistently on television. Starting in 1971, Connie has brought us news and interviews with class and integrity. I still can't get over how humble and warm she was. I think she is still genuinely surprised by how much she means to us as Asian Americans. She is really the GOAT and an icon.

Her new book, Connie: A Memoir, is available everywhere.  I am so glad she wrote it. I learned so much more about her as a person as well as the era in which she was a trailblazer. You can follow Connie's brand new Instagram account @conniechungpovich 

I truly hope you enjoy this interview as much as I enjoyed recording it.  Somebody pinch me, I'm still over the moon that I got to have this fun chat!

Connie's pick for her InfatuAsian is the amazing Lisa Ling! @lisalingstagram Lisa, you're welcome on our show anytime as well!!!

Listen to our interview with Connie on Spotify, Apple Podcast, etc... or at our website  https://infatuasian.podbean.com/

Follow us @infatuasianpodcast or email us at [email protected]

Our Theme: “Super Happy J-Pop Fun-Time” by Prismic Studios was arranged and performed by All Arms Around 

Cover Art and Logo designed by Justin Chuan @w.a.h.w (We Are Half the World)

#conniechung #asianpodcast #asian #asianamerican #asianvoices #asiancommunity #asiandiaspora #infatuasian #infatuasianpodcast #aapi #veryasian  #asianamericanpodcaster #representationmatters

Life got a little busy, so no new episode this week.  BUT, here's an episode from our first year that I really enjoyed recording.  When Pachinko Season 1 came out, I jumped on a call with our pal Julia from the Asian Soup Podcast to talk about it.  Jules was the perfect co-host because her family has roots in Korea and her grandparents lived for several years in Osaka roughly around the same time period that this drama takes place!

Season 2 of Pachinko is currently airing on Apple TV+.  It is a gorgeously shot and well-acted drama based on Min Jin Lee's award-winning novel that spans 7 decades of one family's life in 20th Century Korea and Japan.  If you can, you should definitely watch it!

Special thanks to Jules for coming on the show with me!  It's hard to believe we recorded this over 2 years ago, time sure flies! Please go check out her and Roxanne's podcast @asiansouppodcast wherever you get podcasts or on YouTube!

#pachinko #minjinlee #kdrama #asian #asianamerican #asianpodcast #asianamericanpodcast #representationmatters #veryasian

Etrike Karaoke is some of the most fun content on the internet. In it, Alanna Malicdem pedals up to people on the streets of West Hollywood and asks them if they'd like to sing karaoke on the back of her electric tricycle... sometimes it goes great, and sometimes it doesn't, but it's always a good time.  Lately, she's been toting around some celebrities, including KPOP groups like Riize, BoyNextDoor, and P1 Harmony!

I wanted to hear more of Alanna's story and how she came up with this fun channel.  She was a complete joy to speak with and I hope you enjoy hearing from her as well!  You can follow her @etrikekaraoke on Instagram and YouTube, and @sixthreezerobicycles on Tik Tok.

**Apologies for a little bit of distortion on my audio, I'm using a new laptop!**

As I always mention, please listen to us wherever you get your podcasts (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at our website  https://infatuasian.podbean.com/  You can write to us at: ⁠[email protected]⁠, and please follow us on Instagram and Facebook @infatuasianpodcast 

Our Theme: “Super Happy J-Pop Fun-Time” by Prismic Studios was arranged and performed by All Arms Around 

Cover Art and Logo designed by Justin Chuan @w.a.h.w (We Are Half the World)

#etrikekaraoke #KPOP #karaoke #asianpodcast #asian #asianamerican #infatuasian #infatuasianpodcast #aapi #veryasian  #asianamericanpodcaster #representationmatters

We took our show on the road this summer.  This time we ended up in Flushing, Queens in New York City, and there's no better way to experience a town than to have a local show you around!  So we called up our podcast pal Lingjie who dropped everything to guide us to cheap and good places to eat!  We disappointed Lingjie by only being able to eat at 7 different spots, but we had a good time!  I hope you enjoy our silly Flushing banter mixed in with yummy food and lots of street noises!

Foods we at:

1) Steamed rice rolls (Cherng Fun) at Joe's Rice Rolls

2) Sheng jian bao at Pan Bao 66 inside New World Mal

3) Boba drinks at Xing Fu Tang 

4) A stop at Teso-X Claw Machine Arcade

5) You Tiao at a Zhu Ji Dumpling House

6) Tofu Fa at Soy Bean Chan Flower Shop

7) Jian Bing at Eight Jane

8) Tang Hulu at Cravepop inside Tangram

Special thanks to our tour guide Lingjie co-host of the Worst Asian Podcast follow them @worstasianpod on social media and listen wherever you get your podcast. Shout out to Ben, who we met the next day!

As I always mention, you can write to us at: ⁠[email protected]⁠, and please follow us on Instagram and Facebook @infatuasianpodcast 

Our Theme: “Super Happy J-Pop Fun-Time” by Prismic Studios was arranged and performed by All Arms Around 

Cover Art and Logo designed by Justin Chuan @w.a.h.w (We Are Half the World)

#theinfatuation #asianfood #flushingfood #chineseamerican #asianpodcast #asian #asianamerican #infatuasian #infatuasianpodcast #aapi #veryasian  #asianamericanpodcaster #representationmatters

Go see DiDi!  It will make you laugh, cry, and squirm in your seat a little as you get transported back to your own summer before going to high school. It captures the angst, insecurity, and awkwardness of being a 13-year-old Taiwanese American kid in Fremont California. Katie, Zoe, and I couldn't wait to get together to talk about this film.  DiDi should be available at a theatre near you, but don't wait too long, you never know how long these films will stay in theaters.  Go see it with your older sister, your first high school crush, or even your Asian mom (if you don't have one, go borrow one for the day)!

Thanks to my guest co-hosts Katie (@katieyowyow) and Zoe (@juniperseabooks) for always being wiling to come and chat with me!

We played a clip of Paramore's "That's What You Get" off of their album Riot

You can find Director Sean Wang's DiDi playlist here:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3XXfwQcMKNlsShnjWjIK5s?si=f986055825b54b8e

As I always mention, you can write to us at: ⁠[email protected]⁠, and please follow us on Instagram and Facebook @infatuasianpodcast 

It's Back-to-School time for Curtis so there's no new episode this week. But in celebration of Love in Taipei's launch on Netflix I thought it'd be a fun time to revisit this episode we recorded with Abigail Wen, the Author of the Loveboat, Taipei book series.  My friends Cliff and Emily had fun swapping stories about their time on the "Loveboat" trips to Taipei in the 1990's.  We also got to hear some behind the scenes stories about the making of the film adaptation, Love in Taipei.  I thought the movie was a lot of fun, and it brought a smile to my face to see an almost entirely Asian cast.

I hope you check out the book series at your local library or wherever you get books, and go grab some dumplings and stream the movie on Netflix!  It'll give you one last summer vibe before school starts!

Emily Kwong is the host of a fantastic new podcast from LAist/NPR.  Inheriting is a show about Asian American and Pacific Islander families, which explores how one event in history can ripple through generations. 

Sarah-Soonling and I had such a fantastic chat with Emily about her roots, how she got into radio, and how she decided to make Inheriting the show it is!

Please listen to Inheriting, wherever you get your podcasts, and read more over at https://laist.com/podcasts/inheriting You can also follow Emily @kwongsong on Instagram and listen to her other NPR science podcast Short Wave!

Thanks to my co-host Dr. Sarah-Soonling Blackburn, who came back for her 3rd episode with us!  If you haven't already check out her book, Race to the Truth: Exclusion and the Chinese American Story, and follow her @sarahsoonling on Instagram

As I always mention, you can write to us at: ⁠[email protected]⁠, and please follow us on Instagram and Facebook @infatuasianpodcast 

For those of us born in the 70's Star Wars was undoubtedly a huge part of our childhood.  However, as Asian Americans, it was nearly impossible to see ourselves in the galaxy George Lucas created. This finally started to change in the late 2010s with some great characters in the films Rogue One and The Last Jedi. This summer, Disney+ came out with the Acolyte starring not one but TWO Asian actors as leads! We finally get to see an Asian Jedi as a main character! I couldn't resist doing an episode about season one of the series. 

Joining me in the conversation are two bonafide Star Wars experts.  They are both Asian American authors who have written parts of the Star Wars canon of books.  We have returning guest Mike Chen who wrote Brotherhood in 2022, and Dr. Lydia Kang who wrote The High Republic: Cataclysm in 2023 (both Mike and Lydia have written other Star Wars short stories and numerous other books)!

It was so fun nerding out with these two super knowledgeable and down-to-earth people! You can follow Lydia  @lydiakang and https://lydiakang.com/ and Mike @mikechenwriter and https://www.mikechenbooks.com/ 

As I always mention, you can write to us at: ⁠[email protected]⁠, and please follow us on Instagram and Facebook @infatuasianpodcast 

Sound used:

"The Acolyte | Official Trailer | Disney+"  from Star Wars @YouTube

Our Theme: “Super Happy J-Pop Fun-Time” by Prismic Studios was arranged and performed by All Arms Around 

Cover Art and Logo designed by Justin Chuan @w.a.h.w (We Are Half the World)

#acolyte #starwars #asianpodcast #asian #asianamerican #infatuasian #infatuasianpodcast #aapi #veryasian  #asianamericanpodcaster #representationmatters

Seeing Rolling Quartz grow and create over the last 15 months has been so much fun.  Since our last interview, the band has been to over 10 different countries and has played a bunch of live concerts in front of thousands of fans.  Rolling Quartz has also put out lots of new music and videos. Jumi and I were able to catch up with them in between concerts and it was such a good time catching up!

Rolling Quartz is a 5 member all-female rock band out of Seoul, South Korea.  They debuted in December 2020 and have just released a new EP called Victory!  They will be touring Australia in September and Europe early in 2025. 

Follow them @rolling_quartz on social media or search for their videos at RollingQuartzOfficial on YouTube.

Music played in this episode:

"One" (Victory) - by Rolling Quartz

Band Intros by Ja Young (1st Solo Concert 2022.06.04) via Rolling Quartz Official YouTube

"Sing Your Heart Out" by Rolling Quartz in San Francisco, CA -- May 2023 via Billbob182 on YouTube

"Red Wine (Victory) - by Rolling Quartz "Fearless 피어리스"  by Rolling Quartz 롤링쿼츠 (3rd Single)

"Stand Up 스탠드업" by Rolling Quartz 롤링쿼츠 

"Reminiscence 회상" by Rolling Quartz 롤링쿼츠

"Victory 빅토리" by Rolling Quartz 롤링쿼츠

Outro "Fearless 피어리스"  by Rolling Quartz 롤링쿼츠 (3rd Single)

Special thanks to Jumi for doing the interpretation again.  Also thanks to Rolling Star Entertainment @rolling_quartz_staff for arranging a time to speak with Arem, Hyun Jung, Iree, Ja Young, and Yeong Eun... aka Rolling Quartz!

As I always mention, you can write to us at: ⁠[email protected]⁠, and please follow us on Instagram and Facebook @infatuasianpodcast  Cover Photo by Dragon Fury

Logo designed by Justin Chuan @w.a.h.w (We Are Half the World)

#krock #kpop #koreanrock #girlswhorock  #asianpodcast #asian #asianamerican #infatuasian #infatuasianpodcast #aapi #veryasian  #asianamericanpodcaster #representationmatters

Curtis, Nadira, and Jen get back together to talk about 2024 K-Dramas, coincidentally 3 years since we launched this podcast in June 2021!  If we're being honest, 2024 hasn't been a great year of K-Dramas for us so far, but there have been some dramas that have made us laugh and cry... or both.  We'll be talking specifically about An Atypical Family and Queen of Tears, and we'll comment on a few others that we liked or dropped.

As usual, thanks to my guests Nadira and Jennifer for chatting with me on the solstice!

You can listen to us on most podcast platforms.  As I always mention, you can write to us at: ⁠[email protected]⁠, and please follow us on Instagram and Facebook @infatuasianpodcast 

Soundtracks:

Lee Sora – I See You (바라 봄) [The Atypical Family OST Part 2]

Crush – Love You With All My Heart (미안해 미워해 사랑해) [Queen of Tears OST Part 4]

Outro: Son of Paper - Soju Over Ice (소주 위에 아이스) @sonofpaper

Our Intro: “Super Happy J-Pop Fun-Time” by Prismic Studios was arranged and performed by All Arms Around

Cover Art: Kim Ji Won and Kim Soo Hyun from Queen of Tears

Logo designed by Justin Chuan @w.a.h.w (We Are Half the World)

#kdrama #Netflix #queenoftears #atypicalfamily #infatuasian #infatuasianpodcast #asianpodcast #asianamericanpodcast #asianpopculture #asianamerican #representationmatters #veryasian