Welcome to the first episode of "Shoes Off Please", a podcast from the Progressive Asian American Christians (PAAC) network! This is the podcast for the people who are looking for a safe and an unapologetically authentic space to talk about what it's like to be progressive, Asian American, and Christian (or Christian adjacent) in today's day and age. In each episode, you'll be welcomed by the "Shoe's Off Please" co-hosts, Lydia Shiu (she/they) and Jonathan Lee (he/him), as they talk about life, ask questions, and share stories with their guests.
In this episode, you'll meet and get to know the show's co-hosts as they talk about how they met, why they decided to record a podcast together, what their hopes are for the podcast, and what's been on their mind lately. You'll also hear their answers to the main question that Lydia brought for this episode: "What is the story you have been telling yourself lately?"
We hope that if you enjoyed this episode then you'll tune in for the others that are to come. Like, subscribe, and spread the word that we exist, that this space is open and available. Stick around, take your shoes off, and make yourself comfortable as we start this journey of asking questions and sharing our stories together.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:43 - Lydia kicks off the introductions!
1:40 - Jonathan starts reminiscing about how he and Lydia met.
3:30 - How did Lydia and Jonathan first decide to start a podcast?
6:45 - Lydia remembers that she has some disclaimers to make about the podcast.
7:35 - Jonathan and Lydia talk about their hopes for "Shoes Off Please".
9:30 - Lydia's inspiration for why to (re)start a PAAC podcast.
13:40 - How did we choose our podcast name and what does it mean?
18:33 - Lydia and Jonathan catch up: what have we been up to? What's been on our mind? What have we been listening to, watching, reading? What's new?
25:35 - The central question of this episode: (s.o Whitney) What is the story you are telling yourself lately? (Jonathan goes first)
33:23 - Lydia reveals her secret agenda for wanting to start this podcast.
36:21 - What stories are you telling yourself, Lydia?
41:30 - Closing and parting thoughts. We'll see you next time!
Bios:
Lydia Shiu: 1.5 generation Korean American, raised as a PK (Pastor's Kid), moving around from Korea, Georgia, Kansas, and then to California has done a number on her sense of identity. She studied Political Science at UCLA and even did a stint in political campaigns for a year but then soon went to San Francisco Theological Seminary to get her M.Div. She's now a ordained minister in the PCUSA (the liberal presbyterians) and works at a nondenominational church in the Boston area called Reservoir Church. She has a husband and two children. They're her everything.
Jonathan Lee: A second generation Korean American born and raised in North Carolina where his family has lived since immigrating to the United States in the 1970s. Jonathan got connected to PAAC while working on a degree in environmental studies at Davidson College. He then made his way to Yale Divinity School to study the intersections of theology and environmentalism, but somehow became a university chaplain as well as an ordained minister in the PCUSA. Jonathan likes to run along the Charles River, taking care of his houseplants, and practicing how to make southern butter biscuits.
