OutSpoken: A Podcast by Marpheen Chann

Here's part 2 of a fun and amazing conversation with my friend Shay Stewart-Bouley about dating apps and dating as people of color. We talk about our experiences on apps like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge (and Grindr for me), our best and worst experiences, and get into Shay's perspectives on how dating has changed and what it is like dating in a state like Maine. To listen to part 1, visit this link.

SUPPORT SHAY: Patreon to become a subscriber https://www.patreon.com/BGIM; Venmo to make a one time gift: @shay-stewart-bouley 

About Shay Stewart-Bouley: https://blackgirlinmaine.com/about-shay-stewart-bouley/

This was a fun and amazing conversation with my friend Shay Stewart-Bouley about dating apps and dating as people of color. We talk about our experiences on apps like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge (and Grindr for me), our best and worst experiences, and get into Shay's perspectives on how dating has changed and what it is like dating in a state like Maine. Part 2 of this convo is coming out later this month! SUPPORT SHAY: Patreon to become a subscriber https://www.patreon.com/BGIM; Venmo to make a one time gift @shay-stewart-bouley 

About Shay Stewart-Bouley: https://blackgirlinmaine.com/about-shay-stewart-bouley/

It's been awhile since my last episode! Coming out of the holidays there was lots of work to catch up on but I'm glad to be updating the podcast now and to let you in on what I've been thinking about this week. 

The holidays aren't all merry and joyful for everyone, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community. So here's some advice on how to help those who don't have the same holiday season experience. 

This holiday season, let's be intentional about celebrating with friends, neighbors, and family who are from different faith, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. I think it's too easy during the holiday season to only focus on just the holiday traditions and celebrations that we've grown up celebrating in America. When we dig deep into our history, how American values and traditions have changed and expanded over time with successive waves of new Americans, we'll find that our ways of celebrating, finding warmth, and creating opportunities to be together during the winter months are not the same - and that's a good thing!

Let's not overthink how we can find peace, serenity, and calm. It's something we can find if we commune with nature and something that is freely given by Mother Earth. So this episode is about the art of listening to nature, specifically the sound of fire, the wind in the trees and grass, and the sound of rain. We need not travel far (at least in Maine) to a park or trail where you can commune with nature. 

Hope you enjoy! 

Marpheen Chann

In the third episode of SoftSpoken, I expand on a few themes and topics about modernity, work-life balance, and self-care by reading from an excerpt from my book Moon in Full: A Modern-Day Coming-of-Age Story. The excerpt reflects on my experience working as a grocery store cashier and how modern work and management strategies dehumanize workers and make the work environment devoid of human relationships and collaboration beyond what is productive for management and the company. In addition, wages haven't kept up with production so people are forced to get more than one job and thus lose time that they could be spending with family, attending community and public meetings, school and sports events, and things that help strengthen the social and democratic fabric. Hope you enjoy and feel free to leave a voicemail on the Anchor page!

About Moon in Full: 

In his memoir, Moon in Full, Marpheen Chan recounts an emotional and modern day coming-of-age story that has roots in the Cambodian genocide and weaves through troubled familial relationships, housing projects, foster homes, churches, and college life, as well as rural Maine where he struggles to reconcile his fears and beliefs as a young gay man of color adopted into a white Evangelical family. He has continually struggled with his lost identity as a Cambodian and homophobia as a young gay man of color. As PTSD, poverty, abuse, and addiction took their toll on his mother, Chann and his siblings were removed and placed into foster care. And that is where his journey into adulthood truly begins.

With compassion and honesty, Chann recalls what he has learned, what he has found and what he has lost in his evolution from rebel boy to holy-roller youth to advocate for equality and civil rights, all in one of the nation's oldest and least diverse states; but a state that he proudly calls home. Chann's story shines a spotlight on the search for truth, compassion, and the struggles of our complicated era.

About Marpheen Chann:

Marpheen Chann, a second generation Asian American, is a writer, speaker, and gay man. In 2014, Chann was the first of his biological and adoptive families to graduate college. He studied political science, philosophy, and economics at the University of Southern Maine, where he helped start the Queer Straight Alliance. He also graduated from USM School of Law and co-founded the Cambodian Community Association of Maine. Chann lives in Portland. Moon in Full is his first book.

Sorry folks for missing the episode last Sunday. I was just getting over having COVID and have been experiencing some longer lasting symptoms (fatigue and shortness of breath). In this week’s episode I’ll be talking about the need to slow down and to listen to your body and how the way we live in these modern times makes it so hard to do. Hope you enjoy! As always, feel free to leave a voicemail in the Podcast inbox.

About Marpheen Chann

Marpheen Chann is a politician, thinker, author, and speaker on social justice, equity, and inclusion.  As a gay, first-generation Asian American born in California to a Cambodian refugee family and later adopted by an evangelical, white working-class family in Maine, Marpheen uses a mix of humor and storytelling to help people view topics such as racism, xenophobia, and homophobia through an intersectional lens.

About Moon in Full: A Modern-Day Coming-of-Age Story:

Moon in Full, a contemporary coming-of-age story, shines light on one young man’s search for truth and compassion in a complicated era as it unwinds the deep-seated challenges we all face finding our authentic voice and true identities. Author Marpheen Chann’s heart-warming journey weaves through housing projects and foster homes; into houses of worship and across college campuses; and playing out in working-class Maine where he struggles to find his place. Adopted into in a majority white community, Chann must reconcile his fears and secret longings as a young gay man with the devoutly religious beliefs of his new family. Chann, a second-generation Asian American, recounts what he has learned, what he has lost, and what he has found during his evolution from a hungry refugee’s son to religious youth to advocate for acceptance and equality.

I went back and forth trying to figure out what topic to talk about in the first episode of SoftSpoken: A Podcast. But I landed on the topic of "Being You." As an openly gay, Cambodian American who was adopted by a white, evangelical family when I was 14 (you can read more in my memoir Moon in Full: A Modern-Day Coming-of-Age Story), identity and being as been a very important topic to wrestle and grapple with. And so this episode encapsulates a little of what I've learned throughout my life about belonging, being human, being you, identity, and the balancing that we have to do as we live and engage with the world around us. Hope you enjoy!

Intro and Outro Music: Marpheen Chann (me!)

About Moon in Full: A Modern-Day Coming-of-Age Story:

Moon in Full, a contemporary coming-of-age story, shines light on one young man’s search for truth and compassion in a complicated era as it unwinds the deep-seated challenges we all face finding our authentic voice and true identities. Author Marpheen Chann’s heart-warming journey weaves through housing projects and foster homes; into houses of worship and across college campuses; and playing out in working-class Maine where he struggles to find his place. Adopted into in a majority white community, Chann must reconcile his fears and secret longings as a young gay man with the devoutly religious beliefs of his new family. Chann, a second-generation Asian American, recounts what he has learned, what he has lost, and what he has found during his evolution from a hungry refugee’s son to religious youth to advocate for acceptance and equality.