miseducAsian Podcast

In this episode, we chat with Esther Lee, founder of Asian Founded, a social media agency that works exclusively with Asian-owned businesses and brands. Esther shares her story, of immigrating to the United States at an early age, transitioning from homeschool to UCLA, and her career as a journalist and producer. She also shares how she got started and what ultimately inspired her to start Asian Founded. We talk about her approach to partnering with and elevating Asian-founded brands and why she works exclusively with Asian-founded businesses.

To learn more about Esther Lee and Asian Founded, they can be found on Instagram and TikTok, and on their newly launched website, AsianFounded.com. 

Special shout out to Nectar Hard Seltzer.

In this episode, we connect with Cynthia Lim, author of Wherever You Are: A Memoir of Love, Marriage, and Brain Injury, a memoir about her journey as a caregiver for her disabled husband. We talk about her journey as a writer and the catharsis and pain involved in telling a deeply personal story. We then discuss the disconnectedness she felt from her Chinese heritage and how that influenced her to find her roots, literally, and what she learned about her father, her family, and herself along the way.

To learn more about Cynthia, check out her website: www.cynthialimwriting.com.
To learn more about the organization that helped her find her family's village in China, check out Friends of Roots.

In this episode, we chat with Grace Pai, Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago, about how her unique childhood influenced her sense of identity and career. We also talk about Advancing Justice | Chicago's role in passing the historic Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (TEAACH) Act in 2021, ensuring that every public elementary and high school student in Illinois learns about the contributions of Asian Americans to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States. We conclude with powerful words of advice about where Asian Americans who are interested in community organizing and social justice work can start. 

In this episode, we chat with Dr. Cristina de Jesus, President and CEO of Green Dot Public Schools California. We discuss her family's influence on her, navigating multiracial and intersectional identities, how those identities show up in her leadership and the difference between centering the experience of others vs erasing yourself. We also talk about her love for Karaoke, our go-to jams, and more.    

In this episode, we sit down with Tanya Ho Raukko and Michael Vitug from Intertrend, a multicultural advertising and communications agency founded and led by Asian-Americans. We discuss tiger parenting, the evolution of AAPI representation, and what it's like to work and lead at an AAPI agency. We also discuss their Make Noise Today campaign, a platform that creates empathy and equity through Asian storytelling and, the "Letters To..." writing contest turned art exhibit.    

In this episode, we chat with Priya Tahiliani, the Superintendent of Everett Public Schools (MA), about growing up as an English language learner, how she found her voice, and what motivates her to be an unrelenting advocate for young people in her community. We also talk about college rivalries and early memories of "American" food. 

In this episode, we chat with Connie Chung Joe, CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles, the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI). We learn about Connie's upbringing, her badass mom, and how she navigated different cultural dynamics as a student, professional, and parent.

We then discuss the 30th anniversary of 1992's LA Uprisings/SAIGU, how she'd like to reframe conversations and perspectives, and where we are now. We conclude with a conversation about Vincent Chin and how his death led to the creation of her organization and its evolving legacy of activism in the AAPI community.

For people in the greater Los Angeles area, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - LA is co-hosting an event, the LA Uprising / SAIGU Peace Gathering, on Friday, April 29th, from 4-7pm.   

In this episode, we chat with our friend and curator of culinary experiences, Hanifa Farooq. We talk about where her love of food comes from, how she's built her encyclopedic knowledge of food and restaurants from around the world, and why she started curating culinary experiences for others. We also discuss Trader Joe's,  authenticity in food, and culinary appropriation.   

In this episode, we chat with Rhea Wong and Stephanie Lai, the founders of Asian Boss Ladies.  We learn about why and how ABL was created, what this amazing collective of women are hoping to accomplish together, and why spaces and communities like this are needed now more than ever. We also discuss the recent attacks against Asian women in NYC and the erasure of Asian women's experience in general. We close out with some Asian food hot takes.        
 

In this episode, we chat with Chong-Hao Fu, CEO of Leading Educators, about the many themes and topics touched on in the movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings. These topics include representation, the emasculation and desexualization of Asian men, the messages we've internalized, the power and beauty of Asian names, and how we struggle to stay connected to our roots.