True Fiction Project

In this episode, I’m speaking with Steve Vines, who was a journalist based in Hong Kong for 35 years until he recently left for political reasons in 2021. Steve shares the rapid series of events that ultimately led to his departure from the country he called “home.” Steve sheds light on the current situation in Hong Kong by looking back at its history and the resilient spirit of Hong Kong, which he has studied in depth for his new book, Defying the Dragon: Hong Kong and the World's Largest Dictatorship. He discusses how there was once a high degree of liberty and low democracy in Hong Kong, but now both are non-existent. Later in the episode, we hear a fictional story about the oppression and propaganda that is prevalent in Hong Kong.

White Terror - A Fictional Story in Print

IN THIS EPISODE:

[01:11] Steve’s departure from Hong Kong

[07:39] White Terror explained

[10:20] Democracy, Liberty and the Special Administrative Region

[18:30] The incredible spirit of Hong Kong

[23:00] What other societies can learn from the situation in Hong Kong

[30:29] FICTION: White Terror

[33:33] Bob defies the warnings to stay in at night

[37:00] Bob leaves Hong Kong after witnessing something terrible

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

White Terror refers to the suppression of the democracy movement by the Taiwanwese government after they left the main Chinese mainland and installed a regime on the island of Taiwan. It’s what is similarly happening in Hong Kong now.

The Special Administrative Region claimed that Hong Kong would be a fully-fledged capitalist society until 2047. If we look back more carefully, the mainland never really saw one country or two systems applying to the political orient.

The narrative that is spun in Hong Kong by the Chinese communist party is that the terrible people of Hong Kong brought all these troubles on themselves by provoking the mainland.

Hong Kong survived the 1960s and came back stronger. Hong Kong has survived enormous economic recessions, and many, many things but come back stronger. So the question is, will the spirit of Hong Kong survive this?

 

BIO:

Stephen Vines was a Hong Kong based journalist, writer and businessman until 2021 when he was forced to leave for political reasons. He is the author of Defying the Dragon – Hong Kong and the World’s Largest Dictatorship.

In Hong Kong, he was the founding Chief Editor of ‘Eastern Express,’ a groundbreaking daily newspaper published in Hong Kong. He was also a founder and publisher of Spike magazine.

He presented a weekly current affairs television programme – The Pulse – produced by RTHK and is a frequent broadcaster and commentator on business and political affairs for newspapers and a number of international radio and TV stations.

Vines combined writing with founding and running a number of companies, mainly in the food sector and this has enabled him to learn a lot more about how business really works.

He is the author of a number of books including ‘Hong Kong: China’s New Colony’ and a study of the Asian financial crisis called ‘The Years of Living Dangerously’. He is also author of the multi-edition ‘Market Panic’ and ‘Food Gurus.’

Stephen Vines was the Deputy Business Editor of The Observer and has worked for The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times, and the BBC. 

 

LINKS:

https://stephenvines-author.com/

White Terror - A Fictional Story in Print

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In this Ukraine special emergency episode, I’m speaking with Yuriy, a journalist on the ground in Kyiv who has taken up arms to fight for the freedom of his country. Yuriy recalls waking up to the early morning attacks in Kyiv and shares how this unwarranted conflict has affected his family and the civilians of Ukraine. He speaks to the heroic and sacrificial patriotism of his fellow Ukrainians. Yuriy’s main concern is to appeal to Western allies to take to the streets in an effort to help convince NATO to help Ukraine by establishing a no fly zone. Later in the episode, we hear two fictional stories that give us a glimpse into the sobering realities that the people of Ukraine are facing today.

A Plea from Yuriy - A Fictional Story in Print

Mornings in the Kyiv Metro - A Fictional Story in Print

Dearest Papa - A Fictional Story in Print

IN THIS EPISODE:

[01:59] Yuriy recalls the morning when the Russians first attacked Kyiv  

[05:36] Ukrainian neighbors become family as they fight for their freedom

[08:40] Yuriy shares about the location and safety of his family and pleads for Western allies to help stop the destruction of Ukraine

[14:00] Yuriy talks about his wartime duties, helping foreign journalists

[15:57] An appeal for a no fly zone to be issued for Ukraine and Yuriy’s concern for Ukrainians and all of the people of the free world 

[19:28] Fiction Story #1: Mornings in the Kyiv Metro was written and voiced by Parker James

[24:02] Fiction Story #2: Dearest Papa story was written by Anjalika Sharma and voiced by her daughter, Anika

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Yuriy makes a strong plea for Ukrainian allies to do everything in their power to demand that NATO help establish a no fly zone and protect Ukrainian civilians. 

From Yuriy’s perspective, Russia’s attack is not a war against only Ukraine. If Russia’s agenda is not halted it may impact free people all over the world.

Free speech may be another casualty of the Russia Ukraine situation as President Vladimir Putin is taking extreme steps to control what the Russian public knows about the invasion of Ukraine. He has signed a law that imposes stiff sentences on journalists who air what he deems to be false information.

In “Mornings in the Kyiv Metro,” we see the loss, confusion, and hardship of Russia’s attacks through a child’s eyes. In “Dearest Papa,” a father and daughter are separated by the Ukrainian war with only memories and letters to comfort them.

LINKS:

Listen to Yuriy’s Fighting For Ukraine: On The Ground for daily updates

Apple Podcast

Spotify

Visit Change.org to petition demanding NATO to install a no fly zone of Ukraine: https://www.change.org/p/no fly-zone-for-ukraine-now

A Plea from Yuriy - A Fictional Story in Print

Mornings in the Kyiv Metro - A Fictional Story in Print

Dearest Papa - A Fictional Story in Print

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In this episode, I’m speaking with Marah Arcilla, a yoga practitioner who has been teaching in Hong Kong for over 12 years, about her deep respect for yoga. Although the physical aspect drew her in, she quickly realized yoga had so much more to offer. Marah shares about the emotional and spiritual strength that is birthed through yoga and the community she helps to initiate between her students. We talk about yoga’s evolution over the years and discuss the harmful trend of elevating “performative” yoga using it as a way to prey on vulnerable people. The latter part of the episode features an original fiction narrative written and read by Anjalika Sharma and inspired by Marah’s resilience while facing challenges with her now ex-husband. 

Sprit Bird - A Fictional Story in Print

 

IN THIS EPISODE:

[01:03] Marah introduction and early career

[09:18] Authenticity of yoga

[18:02] Relationships and resilience

[20:00] Evolution of yoga

[28:21] Yoga therapy instructor training information

[33:26] Spirit Bird - audio fiction story by Anjalika Sharma

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Marah first started taking yoga classes when she was an aerialist for Disneyland in Hong Kong.

She was in a harness every day and wanted to be proactive and prevent any serious injuries from doing the same repetitive movements every day.

Marah’s yoga practice focuses on the history, the philosophy, learning the roots, and seeing herself as a practitioner, and a gatekeeper of this tradition.

There is a social media trend for yoga to be more about performance and preying on vulnerable people. Marah focuses on presenting yoga in its purest essence without selling it as a quick fix to people’s problems.

Some view yoga as a way to escape the stresses of life. For Marah, yoga is not an escape. It’s something that arises in you that you have to deal with. It teaches resilience on the mat that then translates to resilience and strength off the mat.

 

BIO:

Marah is a yoga practitioner and a hatha yoga teacher of 12 years. She moved to Hong Kong from Manila 16 years ago to work for Disney. The intensity of the city and physical demands of being a professional dancer led her to her yoga practice to seek balance and grounding.

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In this episode, I’m speaking with Dr. Kanniks Kannikeswaran, an internationally renowned music composer, educator and scholar known for his sustained contribution to music and community for the past 25 years. We talk about his incredible work on the soundtrack of Shadow Realm, a podcast project based on a young adult fantasy fiction book that I wrote. Dr. Kanniks shares how his imagination was instantly captivated by the vivid literary descriptions and how he utilized Sanskrit chants, an ancient language of India, to musically portray different characters. We also talk about the inspiration he found from his travels to the ancient village of Hampi, India. The latter part of the episode showcases Dr. Kanniks’ work as we listen to Episode 8 of Shadow Realm and hear a portion of Arya’s story.

  IN THIS EPISODE:

[00:01] Kanniks Kannikeswaran introduced 

[02:02] Purpose of The True Fiction Project

[03:12] His process of writing music 

[10:50] Explaining lyrics and Sanskrit

[13:40] The Medicine Woman

[16:55] Rishiji’s Theme

[25:57] Where to find the music

[28:30] Episode 8 of Shadow Realm

[29:03] The Vanar’s theme

[39:06] Rishiji’s theme 

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Shadow Realm is a young adult fantasy fiction story about Arya, a 15 year old boy who fell through a fault and finds himself in the land of the Ramayana. He has to fight demons in this mythical world in order to get back home to save his mom and tackle demons in his ordinary world

Dr. Kanniks’ main inspiration came from his travels to the ancient village of Hampi in India

The vanar represent the prehistoric people descended from old world tribes, best translated as monkeys or monkey people

For the “Vanar March,” Dr. Kanniks used Sanskrit chants to create a joyful chant to go along with the vanar as they joyfully frolic and jump around

For “Rishiji’s Theme,” Dr. Kanniks used the pentatonic scale, most commonly known for meditation, to create a serene humming that captures the magic and mysteriousness of the mystical mentor

The Medicine Woman is a representation of a source of wisdom for us all

Dr. Kanniks created a total of 14 tracks to complement the podcast project which is now available on Apple Music, Spotify, and other streaming platforms. 

 

BIO:

Dr. Kanniks Kannikeswaran, an internationally renowned music composer, educator and scholar is known for his sustained contribution to music and community for the past 25 years. His recent viral video ‘Rivers of India’ featuring Bombay Jayashri and Kaushiki Chakravarti has received critical acclaim. Kanniks, is regarded as a pioneer of Indian American Choral music and for bringing together ancient chants in Indian ragas with choral and orchestral polyphony; his far reaching work in this area has personally touched the lives of over 3500 performers, has inspired the flowering of community choirs in over 12 cities in the United States, has built new audiences and collaborations. His composition ‘Mahavakya’ was performed at the historic reception accorded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Madison Square Gardens in 2014. Kanniks has been described as a renaissance personality who effortlessly traverses diverse disciplines such as music, spirituality and innovation. He is a recipient of several awards including the Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Madras, the McKnight Residency, the Ohio Heritage Fellowship and more. He can be reached at [email protected].

Connect on Social Media: 

https://www.facebook.com/kanniks/

https://twitter.com/kanniks

https://www.instagram.com/kanniks_kannikeswaran/

 

LINKS:

https://www.thearyachronicles.com/

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In this episode, I’m speaking with accomplished standup comedian and actor, Ethan Herschenfeld. We talk about his most recent project, Thug Thug Jew, and his experience with often being typecast as the villain. We discuss diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation within the entertainment industry. As a Jewish comedian, Ethan talks about the fine line between producing comedy that is inoffensive while still being relevant – which can change quickly based on the political and cultural temperatures. The latter part of the episode features a fictional story written and read by Parker James. Parker’s story is inspired by Ethan’s comical experience of playing Prince Charming in a children’s theater and being called out by a little girl for not meeting her “princely” expectations. 

 

Wise Guy Charming - A Fictional Story in Print 

 

  IN THIS EPISODE: 

[00:01] Ethan Herschenfeld introduced  

[00:59] From Opera Singer to Comedian/Actor 

[02:38] Thug Thug Jew 

[04:10] Typecasting 

[08:09] Diversity in the entertainment industry 

[12:16] Cultural appropriations in entertainment 

[16:40] Addressing cultural issues in comedy 

[20:30] Upcoming projects 

[22:59] Ethan’s writing prompt 

[26:39] Wiseguy Charming 

[30:09] A disinterest in the family business and dream of acting 

[31:06] Acting classes while working for the family business  

[32:23] Dream role as Prince Charming  

[33:37] A surprise confrontation  

 

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

Ethan spent the better part of two decades as an opera singer, before transitioning to stand up, where he enjoys the spontaneous laughter and the release of energy from the audience. 

Although there has been a push for diversity in theater and TV, racism is still woven in storylines in how villains are written as certain ethnicities. There is still an infinite appetite from audiences for cliche and offensive storylines related to certain ethnicities and religions.  

Comedy is a different world where you're getting laughs and allowing people to unload baggage around topics that are very charged.  

The beauty of theater and performing arts in general, is it opens up a world of empathy for the audience and for the performer to explore things that they don't get to explore in their real lives. There has to be, however, a push to diversify roles and casting and be cognisant of cultural appropriation. 

 

BIO: 

Ethan Herschenfeld: Actor and comedian 

His album Thug Thug Jew was #1 on iTunes and Amazon and the special is on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AUA8wel23qI   [Text Wrapping Break]High Maintenance (hbo):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpJ--b-Sd4A[Text Wrapping Break]Boardwalk Empire (hbo): https://youtu.be/vqUuys6pJCE 

Red Notice on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/watch/81161626?trackId=259607612&tctx=6%2C1%2C5a5fe77d-2b17-41ef-94a4-13a67831e188-448571224%2C6c29447b-cdcd-48f3-afeb-832d0026d654_63186441X101XX1637761873650%2C%2C   

2020 reel https://youtu.be/a6TXfWrxckk  [Text Wrapping Break]WEBSITE:       ethanherschenfeld.com[Text Wrapping Break]TWITTER: 

 

@ethanherschenfeld[Text Wrapping Break]INSTAGRAM: @eherschenfeld 

 

 

LINKS: 

His album Thug Thug Jew was #1 on iTunes and Amazon and the special is on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AUA8wel23qI    

David Feldman Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/david-feldman-show/id321997239 

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The True Fiction Project was born from Reenita Hora’s love of fiction and how she finds it in everyday non-fiction. In the pilot episode, Reenita talks about the purpose behind the True Fiction Project which will invite amazing guests to share their unique impact on the world while also giving different fiction writers the opportunity to create new fiction narratives based on the interview. Colleague and friend, Traci DeForge, joins the conversation as Reenita shares about her many career reincarnations and her traditional Indian upbringing in Bombay. Reenita opens up about her late father and her recent decision to quit her job to pursue creative endeavors like this podcast project. The second half of the podcast features a compelling fictional story inspired by key moments in Reenita’s life and her experience of being a woman and building a career in a male-dominated culture. 

 

3 Innings - A Fictional Story in Print

 

  IN THIS EPISODE: 

[01:16] True Fiction explained 

[02:33] Podcast producer introduced  

[03:28] Reenita shares about her life and career history 

[09:40] Guests to look forward to 

[12:24] Reenita about her family 

[18:04] Women in business in traditional Indian family 

[22:55] Building the narrative  

[28:14] That’s my version of the truth 

[30:53] First inning - Gaia and Reenita as children 

[35:12] Second inning - Gaia and Reenita’s early careers  

[40:53] Third inning - Gaia and Reenita’s losses and gains  

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

Reenita’s career has included several reincarnations of herself: Ayurveda clinician, freelance writing, broadcast journalism in Hong Kong, recruited as a writer by Bloomberg, and now author, podcast host, and creative content creator. 

She recently quit her job to pursue her creative projects, like this podcast, that marries the two things she loves: fiction and how she finds it in everyday non-fiction.  

Reenita shares about her father’s recent passing and the values he held as a serial entrepreneur.  

Reenita grew up in a traditional Indian home where women were not included in the inner workings of the family business. Only recently, after her father’s passing, has she been invited to sit on the board of the family business.  

Her role, if not to join the family business, was to document the stories of her father and family life and plans to turn them into a book or TV show. 

Looking back on her upbringing, she has learned now that it’s not about what you are or are not supposed to think about certain things, but rather what you have experienced. 

The purpose of this podcast is to share interviews with guests as a way to give other storytellers an opportunity to create fiction. 

BIO: 

Traci DeForge, founder of Produce Your Podcast, is recognized as an international podcast expert, sought after speaker and media contributor. She is the creator of PODHIVE.com, an online community providing education, encouragement and support for podcasters and her newest venture, My Podcast Biz .Traci is the host of the podcasts, Journey to There and Talking Finance and co-host of Ask Brien on KHTS AM 1220, Los Angeles, CA. She is the Executive Producer of The Personal Finance Podcast Network.She's been featured on all three major networks along with CNN, CTV, Fortune.com and American Express Open. Traci is a member of the Rolling Stone Culture Council, a regular contributor to RadioINK and is on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Podcast Business Journal. 

LINKS:  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracilongdeforge/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracideforge/

https://www.instagram.com/produceyourpodcast 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tracideforge 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tracideforge 

 

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