miseducAsian Podcast

Back by popular demand, we chat all things food with Hanifa Farooq.

• The boom of Asian food at non-Asian grocery stores (1:38)
• Hanifa shares some of the best things she's eaten on her recent travels, eating Asian food in non-Asian countries, and her general approach to maximizing every meal on the road (10:07)
• 13 places in 48 hours in LA,  the highs and lows of fusion (27:34)
• Comfort foods from our youth and our Harold and Kumar destinations (40:06)
• Our shared joy of food, not understanding those who don't, and bringing your own salt on a date  (53:30)

We chat with Mike Su, CEO and Founder of Cooler, a startup looking to redefine the podcast and online community experience. He was recently Director of Yellow, Snap's accelerator program, is currently a board member of Defy Ventures, and most importantly, went to college with our very own Tommy Chang. In this episode, we discuss:  

• His experience moving from the US to Taiwan and back (3:45)
• Going to college with Tommy  (11:08)
• Why so many online spaces are toxic and how he's trying to meet the challenge of creating the types of online communities we want to be a part of  (20:04)
• Why certain "models" of leadership are harmful and how we've navigated the challenges of being in or pursuing the leadership seat (29:15)
• Unpacking what we believe about ourselves, what we've been told, and figuring out the difference (39:11)

In Part 2 of our conversation with Frank Chi, filmmaker, artist, storyteller, and director of 38 at the Garden, we discuss:

• Finding stories and experiences that resonate across identities and Bend it Like Beckham (0:38)
• Giving "advice" to the next generation, balancing our dreams and our parents' expectations (9:20) 
• How Obama's 2004 speech changed Frank's life, his career in politics (20:03)
• How Frank realized and embraced being an artist and creative (36:38)
• What's next, the stories he'd like to tell, and elevating more Asian stories  (49:15)

In this episode, we connect with Frank Chi, filmmaker, artist, storyteller, and director of 38 at the Garden, the award-winning documentary about Jeremy Lin and Linsanity. In part 1 of this 2-part conversation, we discuss:

• The two "impossible moments" that inspired and transformed his life and career (2:00)
• The process for making 38 at the Garden, getting Jeremy Lin on board, and the challenges of telling an Asian story in Hollywood (16:28) 
• What he remembers from the night Jeremy dropped 38 at MSG (25:21)
• Using stereotypes and finding loopholes so our stories can take root, why the doc is only 38-minutes long (39:00)

In this episode, we meet with Yi-Ann Li, a rising senior at the University of Southern California, founding Chapter Co-President of Dear Asian Youth, and newsletter editor for Dear Asian Americans. 

• About Dear Asian Youth, why she started a chapter at USC, and what she's learned about leadership (2:41)
• How her love of stories led to majoring in literature and how she broke the news to her parents that she was changing her major (11:02)
• The lasting impact of how she was raised and how her communication with her parents evolved over time (32:39)
• Talking mental health across generations (43:22)

The miseducAsian crew is recording from Las Vegas. In this episode we:

• unpack Asian hustle (1:43)
• discuss our evolving relationship with the immigrant journey, how it is experienced across generations, and if or when we get to decide that we've arrived (11:57)
• discuss the new Pixar movie, Elemental, and celebrate the explosion of Asian content  (28:43)
• share our thoughts on the Supreme Court's decision on Affirmative Action  (33:13)

In the episode, we mention a letter written and co-signed by members of the APIA Education Leaders network.  Read that letter HERE. 

In part 2, we trade hot takes with Dinesh Shamdasani, CEO and Chief Creative Officer at Bad Idea.  

• reactions to the latest comic book movies and Albert shares his trash take on Michael B Jordan  (0:45) 
• why Top Gun: Maverick is an all-timer, we share some of our favorite film franchises (5:55)
• we revisit a cartoon classic, The Land Before Time, and learn why tragic things happen at the beginning of most of our childhood favorites (17:38)

In this two-part series, we speak with Dinesh Shamdasani, CEO and Chief Creative Officer at Bad Idea, an experimental new comic book publisher. Dinesh co-founded Hivemind, an LA-based production company that produced the acclaimed sci-fi series The Expanse for Amazon Studios and The Witcher for Netflix. He also spent 10 years leading the rebirth of Valiant Entertainment, the best-selling comic book publishing house behind the largest, independently owned superhero universe – as the company's CEO and Chief Creative Officer. Under his watch, Valiant released its first-ever feature film: Bloodshot, starring international superstar Vin Diesel. 

In Part 1, we chat with Dinesh about:

• his background and family, being Asian in Hong Kong, London, and America, and we compare his experience at USC with Brian's  (2:40) 
• his love of movies, how he broke into the movie business, and his journey with Valiant Entertainment (21:48)
• Toyo Harada, a villain from The Harbinger series, whose look is based on our very own Brian Lin (40:25)
• why he founded Bad Idea, what he hopes to achieve, and how to preserve and grow the comic book art form (48:20)

In this episode, we connect with food historian and blogger, David R. Chan. He shares the origins of his incredible food journey, where he has documented over 8000 Chinese restaurants he's eaten at, and what he's learned along the way. 

• Why he doesn't consider himself a foodie (1:40)
• His life in LA and why he didn't like Chinese food growing up (6:45) 
• Origin story of "The List" and how he went about putting it together  (15:33)
• The merit of the 3.5 stars Yelp theory (35:29)
• The history of beef and broccoli and other " Chinese" dishes (39:03)
• We end the LA vs NYC Chinese food "debate"  (49:27)

In this episode, we chat with Chun-Yen Chen, Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Community Fund. We discuss:

• playing instruments as a core part of Asian culture and how she might have been the inspiration for Drumline (1:55)
• the mission and work of APCF, how little mainstream philanthropies are supporting AAPI communities, and how she hopes to support AAPI serving organizations and leaders (12:39)    
• navigating the aftermath of the Monterey Park shooting, how this hit close to home for her, and how people can support the survivors and broader community moving forward (29:48)
• our love and admiration for the San Gabriel Valley, its food and culture, and argue about Panda Express (44:21)