SURPRISE! Special mini-sode before season 2 launches. SPOILER ALERT. Unpacking Asian fetishization (again) and that CRAZY monologue (that's right, we're getting topical). Getting into truthie Melinda Li's Huffington Post article on what she learned when she stopped dating white men.

#asian #dating #whitelotus

Truthies, it’s time to say goodbye... TO SEASON 1. I’m not going anywhere, except maybe social media purgatory bc in this episode, I get into my very complicated relationship with social media since putting myself out there with this podcast, which I have talked about endlessly with my therapist. it’s been… lowkey hard. And tiring.. one reason why your boy is going on a #break.

Have no fear. Season 2 will be here… soon. and so. much. better <3

follow @ericjcheng and @nosotruepod in the meantime on ig and @nosotrue on tiktok

chapters

(0:00) goodbye forever. capricorns

(3.10) I need validation

(4:40) I DISLIKE SOCIAL MEDIA

(10:20) No one wants authenticity nowadays

(15:00) IG is not what it used to be

(19:40) I went virAL

(24:00) why not just GET OFF

(29:10) economics teacher MOMENT

(32:10) FOMO and comparison

(37:20) I failed

(42:20) This podcast changed my life

Julia Riew (composer-lyricist, writer) doesn’t want to be perceived, and yet, she’s got over 200K followers and has a fantasy romance novel coming out this year. Known as the “Korean Disney Princess Girl” who exploded on tiktok and in the news, Julia is making her passion her career and killing it at that. In this episode, she and Eric talk about getting past self doubt and the need to fit in, meticulously planning her career pop-off despite having few Asian or women role models, and living life after finally reaching her childhood dream (like…… ok now what?)

If you’re on the fence about pursuing your passion, if you want to be creative and need them secrets, if you’re tryna hear what it takes to be successful at 25 (typing this hurts my 27 year old a**)….. no, so true.

tiktok @juliariew

ig: @juliariew

https://juliariew.com/

chapters

(0:00) intro

(3:41) discovering her passion

(10:40) starting our own thing together

(16:20) does art change the world?

(19:00) wanting to fit in

(24:00) advice from a mentor

(29:00) being organized as an artist

(33:00) FINALLY achieving the dream

(40:00) making DIVE- her hit musical

(47:20) her PREMONITION and DOING it

(56:50) her upcoming BOOK: The Last Tiger

WE’RE BACK BABY! HS English teacher, Quilter, Researcher and Adult with ADHD Kelsey Reynolds joins NST to help you organize your life and time whether you need it or not (good for you if you don't! go to h*ll). We talk getting misdiagnosed before getting the ADHD diagnosis, honing in on what works for her, and learning that SELF ACCEPTANCE is GENUINELY that girl, no matter what you’re struggling with atm... (this actually helped me a lot especially with my ~professional issue~)

Listen to PART 1 (last ep) before this for context of everything that came before you (rip).

chapters

(0:00) Intro, Disclaimer

(1:05) KELSEY REYNOLDS IS HERE

(5:20) Getting to her diagnosis

(9:20) ideal vs. actual day with adhd

(10:20) SKIP TO HERE - WHERE WE LEFT OFF

(13:20) Medication? or nah

(17:30) Being bad with the details

(19:40) TAKE OFF THE CLOEST DOORS

(23:00) Learning about yourself

(25:20) Ditching shame

(27:20) How her adhd affects dating

(34:30) Stopping + RESUMING PASSIONS

(41:00) it’s about that first step

(43:00) A message for women and people with periods

(48:24) My problem at work outcome, my ADHD?

(54:00) BIG THERAPY MINDBLOWN MOMENT

(1:01:20) 2025 goals: overrated, WHAT’S NEXT

(1:03:20) truthie shoutout, bye!

Part 1, first SOLO(ish) episode!… I STRUGGLE with time management; I know I’m not the only one. I recently got some ~constructive feedback~ at work and it’s made me have to think about how to ACTUALLY manage my time, get organized, and do something about my ADHD tendencies once and for all. For help, I introduce the perfect person; educator, quilter, and adult with ADHD Kelsey Reynolds to bring u the practicals and tacticals.

new year, new tea.. and the tea is i need to get my sh*t together, compassionately❤️ chances are, you do too.

chapters:

(0:00) 2025! one year older!

(1:09) bad with time? this one’s for u

(3:03) I’m chronically late 😕

(4:40) I got in trouble 😕 why im doing this ep

(7:30) where my sh*tty time management comes from

(10:30) this changed my life..

(16:20) when i realized i HAD to change

(19:00) the psychology of a late person

(24:15) hold yourself accountable

(28:00) i have shame!!

(30:10) nightmare therapist/doctor experiences

(34:00) why im not on adhd meds.. yet

(38:00) what works for YOU

(42:00) actually FINISHING tasks

(44:00) a mindset that has helped me

(47:00) what is Adderall like? and my GUEST

(53:10) getting misdiagnosed, trying again

(56:45) a day with an adhd brain… more next week ;)

PART 2 IS HERE❤️👬 we’re getting deeper on actual conflicts we’ve faced and how we’ve worked through and learned from them. non monogamy, healing from cheating (not by him), comparing yourself to your partner, having less dating experience, interracial dynamics, and messing up.

i dangled the carrot last ep and now it’s time to mf drop it for y’all to wolf it down. munch, truthies, munch munch.

comment what y’all want an episode on in 2025! Ask and ye shall receive

chapters

(0:00) cringe now

(1:15) spotify flopped

(2:40) open? nonmonogamy?

(6:19) main pro of nonmonogamy

(8:59) 8.5 year relationship TAKEAWAYS

(20:50) ESTEBAN IS BACK!

(25:10) importance of vulnerability

(28:40) early on bumps in the relationship

(30:08) what does communication ACTUALLY mean?

(36:00) where I messed up

(39:14) example- they can’t read your mind

(46:55) CONTEST

(51:40) CHEATING and how it sticks with u

(56:20) how bad is cheating?

(1:01:20) I messed up again :/

(1:06:10) boundaries in a relationship

(1:09:50) going back to TAKING

(1:11:20) why it’s hard to find a relationship rn

(1:14:00) too many CHOICES in dating

(1:16:00) comparing your dating past to your partner’s

(1:18:45) perks of dating a poc

(1:22:10) having no dating experience

(1:25:00) what we want in the future

(1:27:20) should u date someone similar or different?

THEE RELATIONSHIP EPISODE (part 1, a la Wicked) 💙

i got to interview my favorite person in the world (ok one of them). visual artist, designer, and my BOYFRIEND esteban arellano joins No, So True for this special two-part episode. we talk about how we finally started dating after years of friendship, being seemingly opposite in ways and how it works— u can tell me otherwise, feeling like underdogs in our lives, and how our cultural differences (abundance vs. scarcity mentality, etc.) and upbringings have challenged us to #grow together. oh, and CONFLICT.

nst moment: you don't need to stand in your own way to feel like an underdog

part 2 next week. no, so true. it’s for u 💁🏻‍♂️

chapters

(0:00 ) i had therapy

(1:25) the underdog myth, self-sabotaging

(7:30) RELATIONSHIPS

(8:25) the DMs are open

( 12:40) RESPECTING ur partner

(15:00) nonmonogamy??

(17:20) loneliness

(19:55) my GUEST (bae)

(22:00) gay representation and lack thereof

(27:20) esteban's big life change

(28:15) Working at an AGENCY (hell), ditching the dream

(32:10) jack of all trades and master of none

(34:10) is being an “artist” worth it? actually doing “good” work

an empathetic boyo

(38:30) would u rather be rich or famous?

(42:15) being opposites: wanting the spotlight vs. not

(45:00) old white people :/ stop appealing to the masses

(49:00) abundance vs. scarcity mindset in relationship

(52:00) Cultural differences!

(56:12) shame for not being white in interracial relationships

(58:00) sexual jokes in nonwhite cultures

(59:30) starting out as friends, our first date

(1:01:30) fixing people

(1:03:00) getting REJECTED and FRIENDZONED

(1:06:20) HOLDING SPACE for each other, why it wouldn’t have worked

(1:07:40) showing your real ass self to someone

we need hope rn (except not >50% of americans i guess).. and this episode will be giving (it).

Teachers. We've all had em AND spent most of our pre-adult life outside of family with them (crazy!). In the wake of the election in which we ROYALLY DROPPED THE BALL + SHATTERED IT YET AGAIN, it’s time for a picking-up-the-pieces kind of episode. where do we go from here? how do we LIVE in the CONTEXT of ALL this utter BS? how do we feel and do “good” when it all feels meaningless?

In one of my first ever interviews, I talk with MKUNDE MTENGA, 15-year teacher, educator of the year, and self-proclaimed cynic. We talk about what it’s like looking back at her 20s now that she’s 40 (+ available, fellas), how she does one of THEE hardest jobs in the world so damn well, and how to actually keep going when the world’s problems feel overwhelming and make you want to freeze yourself into an ice block for the next 4 years.

Feeling lost, pessimistic, numb, hopeless, cynical, and/or MAD? The #conscientious queen herself has a lesson to teach us. And no, it’s not about mitochondria..

CHAPTERS

(0:00) WTF America?

(4:15) Why I chose a teacher for this one

(6:30) Mkunde / Ms. Mtenga

(8:30) Teaching is amazing + also the worst

(12:40) CONSCIENTIOUSNESS IS KEY

(15:35) The importance of not being liked

(17:50) NO SO TRUE MOMENT

(19:49) Being 40

(23:10) Teaching today

(29:20) Lessons on HISTORY

(32:00) Being EFFECTIVE and EXCELLENT

(36:00) Teaching is so hard

(40:15) Optimism and pessimism

(42:08) FINDING her career + embracing accidents

(46:20) Mkunde’s BEST quotes

(49:10) Look good, feel good

(52:50) What she’s proudest of

(54:20) SURPRISE- THE STUDENTS SPEAK

(57:50) I miss it.. feeling purpose

(b)ooo 👻 we are getting personal in this one. how do you deal with feeling undesirable as a poc, queer person, or both, (or i suppose neither)? How do you ACTUALLY deal with rejection besides having your friends tell you how hot you are and f*ck that guy (cause we know that never really works…)? thanks to my good friend, fellow gaysian, and swimmer Daniel Chang (fun fact: one admin in college confused us two), along with many loyal truthies who opted into the discourse on instagram— FOLLOW @NOSOTRUEPOD— we are TALKING about how to deal with that forever-alone feeling that comes with rejection, fetishization, and toxic beauty standards… particularly from wh*te people. Jump scare.

Beware. It’s time to get real.... 😈

happy halloween, truthies

#dating #sex #20s #lgbt #lgbtq #queer #bipoc #beauty

(0:00) intro and why this is important to me

(5:06) sexual racism is REAL

(8:40) words from LISTENERS!

(9:20) a Latina woman's perspective + the algorithm

(13:48) a white gay twink's perspective + body image

(17:20) other listeners

(19:50) Daniel Chang- being judged as a swimmer

(22:15) white people as the "prize" + rice queens 🍚👸

(25:55) educating fetishizers (?) + getting out your box

(30:10) REJECTION as an Asian

(34:30) not subscribing to the standard

(39:50) how to feel more confident

(43:20) hooking up with a non-white person

(45:00) FIGURING OUT WHAT YOU LIKE

(48:02) DEALING with rejection

(50:10) ADVICE

(54:45) Eric's story

(57:40) how to CHANGE your sexual preferences and where they come from

(1:02:00) Ending: a self-loving Black woman's perspective

One of my all-time favorite comedians DYLAN ADLER is a gaysian top, and we're talking about it (amongst other things). He is a rarity in the industry and in life: a genuine ray of sunshine with kindness and heart. He's a diva, but not that kind of diva.

In this very special episode of No, So True, we get into Dylan getting more and more famous + successful, how he fell in love with standup (it's not his first love), going on tour, and using comedy to cope with experiencing rape trauma, connecting him with others with similar experiences. We get personal about sex, gay hookup culture (which isn't always magical and fun), being Asian + dealing with the rice queens, and going from not wanting to be touched to finally feeling liberated and loved in his body and life. wow.

no, so true. every other monday.

(0:00) intro

(2:18) a b*tch can't drive :/

(3:50) how it all started: the dream

(7:52) discovering his passion: caw-ma-dee (comedy)

(12:15) getting success early on + comparing yourself

(17:28) his brat tour life, role models

(21:43) his dream + ms. joel kim booster

(24:15) f*ck end goals!

(26:00) DATING LIFE, first time, being Asian

(25:55) experiencing rape trauma 

(29:00) coping with comedy, Rape Victims Are Horny Too

(32:45) consent + blurred lines in the gay community

(38:10) what helped him (it may surprise u)

(40:00) falling in LOVE 😍 

(45:22) BEING AN ASIAN TOP, rice queens, exploring

(48:30) his bully made him want to be famous

(51:25) does he want fame?

(56:45) the beast of making CONTENT + the haters

(59:30) outro

#gay #asian #life #gaysian #20s #comedy #comedian #entertainment #funny #love #relationships #sex #hookups #dating #fame #top #bottom #vers