Myrla Baldonado is just a college student when protests and violent clashes between students and police break out during the First Quarter Storm of 1970 in the Philippines. When she learns about the dark truths of her country and its ties to U.S. imperialism, she risks everything to join the fight against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

Myrla, Part 1: The Underground

A podcast about stories in the Filipino diaspora hosted by Paola Mardo. Each episode moves beyond typical immigrant narratives to share thoughtful tales of love, loss, history, and humor through audio documentaries and creative approaches to storytelling with sound. Visit LongDistanceRadio.com to learn more.

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Black Lives Matter. Remembering my grandfather. An update about the podcast and me.

Some News and Resources

Conversations with healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and a call with The Park's Finest co-owners Christine Araquel and Johneric Concordia about the Feed the Frontliners Project. It’s the final episode of the second season of Long Distance so Paola and Patrick have a chat and we hear from you, our listeners, on how you’re doing at this time.

Calls from the Frontlines

Hey. Paola here. In this episode, I share my experience with COVID-19 racism and conversations with Phil Yu (Angry Asian Man) and Devin Cabanilla (Filipino American National Historical Society, Seattle) about the disturbing rise of anti-Asian racism and xenophobia.

Racism in the Time of Coronavirus

The story continues as Myrla Baldonado works as an underground activist during the Marcos dictatorship. In 1983, while organizing students near the U.S. Naval Base in Subic Bay, she is arrested and taken to an undisclosed location.

Myrla, Part 1: The Underground

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