In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Akhtar, a partner at Transcend and strategic leader in school redesign. We discuss:

• Sarah's journey with her name (2:42)
• Embracing other parts of her identity and traditions (24:16)
• Experiences in education, as a student, an educator, leader, and school designer (46:40)

In this episode, we have an in-depth conversation with Michael Matsuda, the Superintendent of Anaheim Union High School District.

02:11 Personal History and Challenges
19:08 Journey into Education and Leadership
28:27 Unexpected Connections and Mentorship
29:44 Navigating Leadership and Identity
41:25 Innovating Education and Embracing AI

We chat with Violet Chin, a filmmaker, storyteller, activist, and currently the Youth Governor of California. We discuss:

• Generational perspectives on social media and curating identity (1:57)
• The role of social media on identity and creating community (11:54)
• Exploring mixed heritage and cultural identity and not fitting into boxes (21:15)
• Being a young filmmaker, aspirations for supporting diverse stories and storytellers (28:25)
• Queer identity and creating Letter to Love (35:29)
• Political engagement, youth leadership, and a future in politics (40:50)
• Make Noise Today, youth advocacy through the arts, and celebrating AAPI joy (46:00)

In this episode we chat with special guest Jin-Soo Huh, a partner at The Learning Accelerator, with extensive experience in education and innovation. We discuss: 

• Jin-Soo's Jeopardy experience (3:12)
• Growing up in Rancho Cucamonga, his parents' influence on his cultural identity, and life at Duke (5:10)
• Gay and Asian intersectionality, coming out stories, and the journey telling his parents (21:31)
• Being hyperactive, where it all started, and how it shows up in his life (47:24)

In this episode, we are live and in-person at The Broad Center at Yale School of Management Forum 2025, with special guest, Akemi Kochiyama. Akemi is a scholar-activist, community builder, and Co-Director of the Yuri Kochiyama Solidarity Project, whose mission is to carry on the work and legacy of her grandmother, Yuri Kochiyama.  

• We soak in the moment of doing our first recording in front of a live audience and for a community that is near and dear to us (0:50)
• Akemi shares her thoughts on Yuri's work, approach to solidarity and community building, and this idea about radical hospitality (4:50)
• How we move from relationships to solidarity and the weight and expectations of having a famous last name, and how Bill and Yuri Kochiyama met (19:00)
• We share our thoughts on how to navigate today and launching the Kochiyama Archives at Columbia University (39:30)

Special shoutout to Feedspot and their 70 Best Asian American Podcasts list (we're #17!).

In this episode, we chat with the creators of a new musical, Rise to the Top, Weiko Lin and Christopher Wong. The story follows a young immigrant from Hong Kong who achieves the American dream as a celebrity chef on top of his culinary empire while grappling to fit into Americana at great sacrifice.

• Today's intro music is a clip from a song called "I Stand With You" (0:00)
• We discuss the "American Dream", how we define it, who it represents, and why Chris and Weiko wanted to tell a different version of it (3:27)
• Chris and Weiko share more about Rise to the Top, how it centers an Asian American experience, and the role and importance of food in the musical and Asian culture more broadly (15:00)
• They share more about the creative process, the role of love and loss, and why this story is the one they wanted to tell (30:31)
• We wrap with how much joy Chris and Weiko have experienced through the process and how their relationship as collaborators has evolved over the years (41:10)

Rise to the Top is playing from Dec. 5-7 at The Strub Theatre at Loyola Marymount University. 

In this episode, we connect with Cady Ching, CEO of Summit Public Schools, and discuss:

• Her complex cultural identity, family's history, being raised in Hawaii, and why it's important to be specific about who we are (2:03)
• How teaching at Summit kept her in California, her journey as an educator and leader, and the truly remarkable process of how she became CEO (19:22)
• A shared vision for a new type of leadership and structure that centers collectivity and liberation, the role her identity plays, and how she leads and disrupts at the same time (27:22)
• What it's like to follow a founder/CEO and grow into her own leadership (42:22)
• How we make sense of all the acronyms used to describe our communities, and who they actually serve  (49:28)
• And we end with a reading of one of her father's haikus about Spam musubi (55:14)

In this episode, we chat with singer-songwriter, Joseph Tseng, and why he left his education career behind to pursue music full-time. 

• Why he goes by Joseph Tseng as an artist, his relationship with his names, and we discover Tommy's namesake (2:35)
• Our relationship with racialized identities, what we hope to share and learn in sharing our identities (14:46)
• Joseph and his family's origin story, three generations of grief and resilience, and where he found his love of music (30:17)
• Giving himself permission to pursue music, writing songs that reflect his American experience, and the meaning behind Pearls of Home (49:14) 

Check out Joseph Tseng's music on all streaming platforms.

In this episode, we chat with Marshall Cho, head coach of the World Select team at the 2024 Nike Hoop Summit, and former varsity boys' basketball coach of Lake Oswego High School.  

• Marshall shares his journey from Jeju, South Korea to Springfield, Oregon, NYC, Mozambique, and back again. (1:59)
• We talk about his career path, starting as a TFA teacher in NYC to becoming a basketball coach, how his parents responded to the atypical career choice, and why he considers himself an educator first. (11:51)
• We discuss the importance of representation, mentorship, and community as an Asian-American coach and leader, how his identity influences his approach to coaching, and the legacy he hopes to leave behind. (21:48)
• We talk hoops, where his love of basketball started, his personal Mt Rushmore, and the best players he's coached against. (43:11)

• Being one of the only Asian American athletes in high school and college, Japanese American identity through generations  (0:41)
• How the Tommys started their careers in education, the impact of the lack of representation in education and leadership, and the power of identity-affirming leadership (19:00)
• The true story about how an Asian Tommy met and married a Karla, twice (43:36)