SEASON 2 EPISODE 1 KICKS OF MEOW!

It is Saturday, February 14th, 2026, Valentine’s Day, the weekend before Chinese New Year AND the premiere of Season 2 of What Should We Talk About? With Jenny Yang!

We are recording in my backyard with drinks and snackies - in front of a LIVE patio audience. You got sponsored food and snackies. This is podcast premium over here. (except Atsuko’s microphone had problems so apologies for her audio being low!)

What Should We Talk About? with Jenny Yang is your weekly catchup time with smart and funny people to find joy in an unjust world. We discuss topics submitted by our guests and you, the listener. Any topic! Current, old! Big, small! Nerdy, petty! From pop culture to the personal and political. Catch shorter preview episodes wherever you pod. But if you want FULL episodes UNCUT and bonus episodes, become a Paid Subscriber at jennyyang.substack.com. So if this episode cuts out mid convo – don’t get mad - get subscribing.

My first guest today is your favorite bowl-cut stand up comedian who is going on an international tour from February to June. Get tickets now. Watch her comedy special Father, streaming on Hulu and Disney+, let’s welcome my dear friend and yes I was the Maid of Honor at her wedding the people need to know, Atsuko Okatsuka!

My second guest is a national treasure. He is an accomplished stand-up comedian, actor and writer that you can watch be hilarious on LOOT, starring Maya Rudolph on Apple TV+. He most recently competed in Season 4 of the hit Peacock series TRAITORS. MURRRDERRR. Let’s welcome, Ron Funches!

And as always on the final mic, heard but not seen, co-founder of the marketing and branding company “Let’s Brand!”, my sweetie and co-producer of life, Corey Higgs (http://okletsbrand.com/).

On today’s agenda:

* Podcast Updates

* Los Angeles Tickets for Jenny’s March Shows: http://outsideintheatre.vbotickets.com/event/happy_hour_saturdays_w_jenny/187143

* Still Hype from the Bad Bunny Halftime Show

* Justice for Ron on the Show Traitors

* The Tofu Theory and why you must ask straight men you date their opinion of tofu

* Epstein Files Grossness (until 32:25)

THE FREE PREVIEW ENDS HERE - My ONLYPAIDS get the rest of the episode for real talk.

* Mewgenics: a tactical role-playing roguelike life simulation mystery video game involving CATS.

* Emerald Fennell’s new movie adaptation of Wuthering Heights

* Dead Internet Theory

* Action Items (place for you to make note of some things you want to try or do from today’s chat)

Because you don’t want to feel like you are losing your mind and because we long for a better world filled with fun, love, joy, and cool shit. This is What Should We Talk About? With Jenny Yang at jennyyang.substack.com

If you are as obsessed with the intersection of pop culture, politics, and personal growth as I am, please consider becoming a paid member of my Substack for $8 a month or $80 a year ($6.67 a month). You will get:

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Jenny Yang is a standup comedian, actor, and tv writer who was named one of Variety’s Top Ten Comics to Watch and has been featured at Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, the San Francisco Sketch Festival, and Netflix is a Joke Festival.

Jenny is a former labor organizer who was born in Taiwan and raised in Los Angeles, and stars opposite Michelle Yeoh as an assassin in the Netflix action comedy-drama series, The Brothers Sun.

Follow her weekly podcast “What Should We Talk About?” on Substack: jennyyang.substack.com

What is the food from your childhood that you are ALWAYS chasing? The one that you ate that always gave you joy and comfort? That is connected to a core memory you fear you will never get to experience again? Consider this my way of nudging you to plan your travel through memory, story and feelings. This is an Emotional Eating Travel Plan for your next trip to Taiwan.

The term Emotional Eating feels redundant. Eating is inherently Emotional for me. It’s like saying ATM Machine or Chai Tea. The meaning is IN the word. How can anyone NOT eat with emotions?! And I know that the idea of “Emotional Eating” has gotten a bad rap. People use it to imply an unhealthy relationship with food. But not me! We lifelong emotional eaters (which Asian isn’t tbh) must reclaim the term! Eating WITH emotion is the basis of our culture, my family, and how we express ANY sense of emotion with one other!

COMMENT BELOW: HOW DO YOU EMOTIONALLY EAT? WHAT’S THE FOOD THAT ALWAYS HITS YOUR NOSTALGIC HEART?

Why Taiwan? Imagine China and Japan had a baby on a tropical island. (Okay it’s not as simple as that. There’s lot of wildly painful history but you get what I mean). I am seriously biased because Taiwan is where I was born but, objectively, if you want to experience East Asia without the hyper-tourism but is still tourist-friendly? You MUST go to Taiwan. Taiwan is English and queer-friendly (huge pride month in October!), relatively affordable for Westerners, warm and casual, easy to get around and the food…well, it’s got everything. ALSO not to be like that but tons of Tokyo brands and food chains have outposts in Taiwan AND we make really good fresh seafood here — and that includes great Japanese food so like…just go to Taiwan (Don’t you fret. My next post will be about JAPAN! And paid Subscribers will see PART 2s of both with actual map links etc).

As long as I can remember, eating a meal with my family was not a time to share anything real about our personal lives. It was about watching the loud Taiwan news on TV, analyzing the food, and describing in detail what’s good or bad about it. On the rare occasion that the Yang family was eating out, and one of us really liked something we ate, the family (my mom, in particular) would run a reverse engineering focus group so that mom she could make it at home (this was the stone age when we couldn’t just Google that shit). This was one of the ways my mom showed her love for us. Oh, it also helped that the Yang family loved to save money.

Case in point: The Sizzler unlimited soup and salad bar CHEESE TOAST was very popular with the Yang kids. We’d use the coupons from the junk mailer for the all-you-can-eat soup and salad bar and we were FORBIDDEN from ordering a protein OR a drink.

We were fresh off the boat from Taiwan and BARELY had exposure to the concept of cheese. So discovering that level of flavor and CRUST on a piece of white toast was next fucking level.

Here are some of my favorite movies with Emotional Eating at its core. Y’all got any other suggestions?

Jenny’s Note: Hi! It’s been forever. Thank you for rolling with me while I’ve been on my Podcast hiatus! Been in Asia this whole time — doing fertility and health stuff so I’ve been mellow. I’ve banked a lot of videos and stories — ways for us to think deeper, feel more and live better. So stay tuned. And thank you for your continued support — especially to my monthly subscribers!

SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: You can access a PART TWO to this post with links to actual spots where I dined — Google Maps etc. This way you don’t need to do all the search terms and hunting yourself. So if you want that and to generally be awesome, become a paid subscriber today!

EMOTIONAL EATING IN TAIWAN

For me the holy trinity of the Taiwanese palette is: TEXTURE: Q - or elasticity. We love a springy dough or noodle. The way mochi bounced back. SUBTLE: NOT TOO SWEET - the ultimate dessert compliment. TASTE: ORIGINAL FLAVOR (YUAN WEI) We love to taste the fresh ingredients we eat.

HERE ARE 7 KEY ITEMS TO TRY IN TAIWAN. Save this post for your next trip to Taiwan. I didn’t get into Oyster Vermicelli (taiwanese: Oh Ah Mee Sua) and Oyster Pancake (taiwanese: Oh Ah Jen) but seek those out too! PAID SUBSCRIBERS: I’ll include a photo and links for these in my part 2 for you.

Get Some Childhood Snacks — and even cooler, updated spins on them. Head to your local Family Mart, Hi-Life or 7-Eleven. Get some of these iconic snacks that got me through sweltering Taipei summers:

* Taiwanese Milk Candy - Sweet and lightly caramel. Melts in your mouth. I liked how each little candy wrapped in wax paper felt like it was sized just for my little hand.

* Taiwanese Dried Fish Snack - Not too chewy with a sweet and salty fishy taste. Super addicting. I associate this snack with my fave young Aunt who passed away when I was little. She gave me the best snacks and always made me feel so loved.

Find some modern and cool spots with a creative spin on nostalgia:

* Weekend Chicken Club’s Peanut Dessert Soup Cocktail - They hard rep Taiwan food culture and identity with delicious fried chicken and creative drinks.

* Convenience Store Taiwanese Milk Candy Ice Cream Waffle - This was fucking delicious.

Get some very local Taiwan classics:

* Braised Pork Belly Rice (Lu Rou Fan, taiwanese: Lo Ba Bung) - Pure fatty, collagen-y, salty sweet bliss. My new fave spot features an egg on top and it’s only 2 bucks USD. And this spot uses local black-haired high quality pigs.

* Beef Noodle Soup (Niu Rou Mian) - Like most of the foods on this list, little noodle shops are everywhere but there are only some that are worth the sodium. You want that tender beef and complex broth, ideally with the added fermented black bean chili sauce. ALSO elite is ordering it with lots of beef tendon. I am forever chasing the euphoria of eating the beef noodle soup from my old Taipei neighborhood. I’d get some coins from mom and walk down to the corner myself. It was an old white haired man, stiring a huge metal pot over an open burner. The chef had probably been feeding that master broth for a few decades. I felt so independent and alive when I got to go and get food by myself. Taiwanese kids are just trusted to do shit like that — even if it means your uncle telling you to go grab a pack of smokes and some beer at the corner store for him. Americans would be like, “But that little girl is just 7 years old!” Not to us. We are child laborers. You better make yourself useful, kid.

* Stewed Peanuts and Sweet Red Beans with Soft Tofu Dessert (Dou Hua) - There is nothing like a soft stewed peanut for a dessert in Taiwan. Americans just don’t get it! And Taiwanese LOVE our soybeans and our tofu products - including tender soft douhua.

Consider this your agenda for how to nostalgia eat your way through Taiwan. Don’t go for the trendy TikTok spots. Those get so busy. Because a comparably tasty dish is available by a local mom and pop just around the corner. If you want my direct Google Maps links to the spots where I got everything AND if you want to support my independent voice — become a PAID SUBSCRIBER! I’m going to post more about my Taiwan AND my JAPAN travels — stuff where viral TikToks leave off. Travel through my perspective as someone who cares about community, culture and heading off the beaten path — coming sooooon.

COMMENT BELOW: HOW DO YOU EMOTIONALLY EAT? WHAT’S THE FOOD THAT ALWAYS HITS YOUR NOSTALGIC HEART?

Getting fired for speaking out against Cheeto-in-Chief, Gen Z hates cringe - Amber Ruffin (S1 E21)

Amber is learning to relax, and Jenny cries YET AGAIN but this time for Stevie Wonder.

SEASON 1 and EPISODE 21! (a very special episode recorded back in August that is our final episode of Season 1! Bonus episodes will pop up between now and when Season 2 starts in January though!)

It is Wednesday, August 6th, 2025, and this is What Should We Talk About? With Jenny Yang! On-location in the great state of New York. We left the city for that upstate country air. Mmmm. Smells like Republicans. This is your weekly catchup time with smart and funny people to find joy in an unjust world. We discuss topics submitted by our guests and you, the listener. Any topic! From pop culture to the personal and political. Current, old! Big, small! Nerdy, petty!

Catch shorter preview episodes wherever you pod. But if you want FULL episodes UNCUT, become a Paid Subscriber at jennyyang.substack.com. You get access to Substack-only bonus episodes (like our special one about Zohran Mamdani), and community chats. So if this episode cuts out mid convo – don’t get mad - get subscribing. jennyyang.substack.com.

My guest today is a Tony and Emmy award nominated, American comedian, writer and actress who voices the Purple M&M and is a New York Times bestselling author. She became the FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO WRITE FOR A NETWORK LATE NIGHT SHOW IN THE US EVER? WTF THIS WAS ONLY 2014 on Late Night with Seth Myers. And then she hosted her OWN late night talk show on Peacock. You can watch her be funny, commenting on the news of the day on CNN’s “Have I Got News for You.” Let’s welcome to the pod, AMBER RUFFIN!!

And as always on the final mic, heard but not seen, my sweetie and co-producer of life, Corey Higgs (http://okletsbrand.com/).

On today’s agenda we have:

1. PODCAST UPDATES

2. When people say "what do you do to relax?" and having no clue what they even mean

3. Ocean Vuong: It’s unsettling how “cringe culture” holds back Gen Z

4. Every new Stevie Wonder song is the best little gift

THE FREE PREVIEW ENDS HERE - My ONLYPAIDS get the rest of the episode for real talk.

5. Getting un-hired to host the White House Correspondents dinner

6. No one warns us about perimenopause

7. ACTION ITEMS

Because you don’t want to feel like you are losing your mind and because we long for a better world filled with fun, love, joy, and cool shit. This is What Should We Talk About? With Jenny Yang.

PAID SUBSCRIBERS SEE HEAR THE ENTIRE EPISODE PAST THE PAYWALL! Everyone gets to join the SUBSCRIBER CHAT!

Follow Jenny Yang on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube!

IG: @jennyyangtv

TT: @jennyyangtv

YT: JennyYangTV

Email: [email protected]

Terrible service means great food, how we resist 🧊, that wild Netflix catfishing doc - Memo Torres, Cindy Trinh (S1E20)

Memo judges ketchup on egg eaters, Cindy thinks we all need side hustles, and Jenny is obsessed with Japanese Italian food.

It is Friday, September 5th, 2025, and this is What Should We Talk About? With Jenny Yang! (jennyyang.substack.com) This is your weekly catchup time with smart and funny people to find joy in an unjust world. We discuss topics submitted by our guests and you, the listener. Any topic! Current, old! Big, small! Nerdy, petty! From pop culture to the personal and political.

Catch shorter preview episodes wherever you pod. But if you want FULL episodes UNCUT, become a Paid Subscriber at jennyyang.substack.com. (This week, paid subscribers hear about that wild catfishing documentary and our fantasy of the Western American states breaking off to form our own country.) You get access to Substack-only bonus episodes (like our recent one about Zohran Mamdani), and community chats. So if this episode cuts out mid convo – don’t get mad - get subscribing. jennyyang.substack.com.

My first guest today is the Director of Engagement and multimedia journalist for the James Beard award-winning L.A. Taco (I need to renew my membership!). He is the host of the Daily Memo, a roundup of the day's news on ICE kidnappings, and writes for Apple Maps’ ‘Where Memo Torres Eats in L.A.’ You can see him on Netflix’s Taco Chronicles and Pressure Cooker and occasionally hear him on KCRW’s iconic food show,  ‘Good Food.” He was a finalist for the Ruben Salazar Award for Latino journalists and is a former third-generation landscaper, let’s welcome MEMO TORRES! (https://www.instagram.com/el_tragon_de_los_angeles/)

And finally, they are a photographer, visual artist, community organizer and activist based in Brooklyn, New York, but born and raised in Orange County, California to Vietnamese refugee parents. Their work has been published and featured in all of the top art and popular media you can think of. They are also the creator of “Activist NYC,” a documentary photo project about activism and social justice movements in the streets of New York City. Please welcome my friend, CINDY TRINH! (https://instagram.com/cindytrinh.photo) Chôm’s Nước Chấm (https://www.instagram.com/vietfishsaucenyc/)

And as always on the final mic, heard but not seen, my sweetie and co-producer of life, Corey Higgs (http://okletsbrand.com/).

On today’s agenda:

1. PODCAST UPDATES

2. What’s the best way to document ICE raids?

3, Fusion cuisines like Korean Uzbek and Japanese Italian

4. Western States are forming an anti-Dump Alliance babyyyyyyy

THE FREE PREVIEW ENDS HERE - My ONLYPAIDS get the rest of the episode for real talk.

5. Unknown Number: The High School Catfish documentary on Netflix

6. Should more restaurants and businesses speak up about what’s happening in the world?

7. ACTION ITEMS

Follow Jenny Yang on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube!

IG: @jennyyangtv

TT: @jennyyangtv

YT: JennyYangTV

Email: [email protected]

Rewatching KPop Demon Hunters, Turning 40, más Bi guys? - Jonnie Park, Nik Dodani (S1E19)

Jonnie and Corey bro out over being Aquarius, Nik loves driverless cars for bad drivers, and Jenny finally decided that Huda is too tóxica.

SEASON 1, EPISODE 19! (only three? more episodes to go this season!)

It is Friday, August 29th, 2025, and this is What Should We Talk About? With Jenny Yang! (jennyyang.substack.com) This is your weekly catchup time with smart and funny people to find joy in an unjust world. We discuss topics submitted by our guests and you, the listener. Any topic! Current, old! Big, small! Nerdy, petty! From pop culture to the personal and political. Catch shorter preview episodes wherever you pod. But if you want FULL episodes UNCUT and bonus episodes, become a Paid Subscriber at jennyyang.substack.com. So if this episode cuts out mid convo – don’t get mad - get subscribing.

Catch shorter preview episodes wherever you pod. But if you want FULL episodes UNCUT, become a Paid Subscriber at jennyyang.substack.com. (This week, paid subscribers hear about the first time Jenny had a dream about her late dad, and how we need to complicate the definition of non-violent vs violent resistance.) You get access to Substack-only bonus episodes (like our recent one about Zohran Mamdani), and community chats. So if this episode cuts out mid convo – don’t get mad - get subscribing. jennyyang.substack.com.

My first guest today is an actor and producer of the upcoming film ‘K-Pops!’ which is the directorial debut of eight-time Grammy winner Anderson Paak, plays the villain in the movie Quiz Lady, and a season 2 writer of the Netflix series ‘Beef’, let’s welcome musician and infamous battle rapper, Los Angeles Ktown’s own JONNIE PARK! https://www.instagram.com/dumbfoundead/

And finally, you might know this actor and filmmaker as Zahid on Netflix’s Atypical, and Praveen the movie Twisters who once directed me in a Moveon.org video a very long time ago, please welcome my friend, please welcome NIK DODANI! https://www.instagram.com/nikdodani/

And as always on the final mic, heard but not seen, my sweetie and co-producer of life, Corey Higgs (http://okletsbrand.com/).

On today’s agenda:

1. Turning 40 and settling down

2. More men identify as Bisexual, what’s happening?

3. Asians, ICE is kidnapping us too!

THE FREE PREVIEW ENDS HERE - My ONLYPAIDS get the rest of the episode for real talk.

4. K-Pop Demon Hunters Sing-Along

5. North Carolina election official arrested for spiking his granddaughters’ ice cream with cocaine and MDMA pills

6. What should we do during an Alien invasion?

Follow Jenny Yang on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube!

IG: @jennyyangtv

TT: @jennyyangtv

YT: JennyYangTV

Email: [email protected]

Gen Z audacity, Matcha shortage, Mixed Asian pride, Bad Bunny’s new album, James Dobson - Tatyana Guchi, Elise Joshi (S1E18)

Guchi is sick of hot honey, Elise talks too much sh*t about LA for Jenny’s taste, and Jenny misses her high school Japanese exchange program.

SEASON 1, EPISODE 18!

It is Friday, August 22nd, 2025, and this is What Should We Talk About? With Jenny Yang! (jennyyang.substack.com) This is your weekly catchup time with smart and funny people to find joy in an unjust world. We discuss topics submitted by our guests and you, the listener. Any topic! Current, old! Big, small! Nerdy, petty! From pop culture to the personal and political. Catch shorter preview episodes wherever you pod. But if you want FULL episodes UNCUT and bonus episodes, become a Paid Subscriber at jennyyang.substack.com. So if this episode cuts out mid convo – don’t get mad - get subscribing.

Catch shorter preview episodes wherever you pod. But if you want FULL episodes UNCUT, become a Paid Subscriber at jennyyang.substack.com. (This week, paid subscribers hear the group react to Bad Bunny’s sorta new album and chat about why we are so disgusted by America right now…you know why) You get access to Substack-only bonus episodes (like our recent one about Zohran Mamdani), and community chats. So if this episode cuts out mid convo – don’t get mad - get subscribing. jennyyang.substack.com.

My first guest today is a stand up comedian and improvisor and is on the cast of Nick Cannon's The Daily Cannon, please welcome TATYANA GUCHI! (https://tatyanaguchi.com/ https://www.instagram.com/tatyanaguchi https://www.tiktok.com/@trapyanaali)

And finally, she is a climate and labor organizer, producer at More Perfect Union (https://www.instagram.com/perfectunion/), a Grist 50 Climate Leaders to Watch (https://grist.org/fix/grist-50/2024/), lover of buses, trains, and bikes, please welcome ELISE JOSHI! (https://www.instagram.com/elisejoshi/)

And as always on the final mic, heard but not seen, my sweetie and co-producer of life, Corey Higgs (http://okletsbrand.com/).

On today’s agenda:

1. I need everyone to hop off of matcha's dick, it's going extinct

2. Build your own bus benches 

3. James Dobson ruined Millennial and GenX lives: Rest in Piss

THE FREE PREVIEW ENDS HERE - My ONLYPAIDS get the rest of the episode for real talk.

4. Bad Bunny’s new album

5. Being disgusted by America

6. ACTION ITEMS (place for you to make note of some things you want to try or do from today’s chat)

Follow Jenny Yang on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube!

IG: @jennyyangtv

TT: @jennyyangtv

YT: JennyYangTV

Email: [email protected]

Kink & Conservatives: Netflix's The Hunting Wives, Who’s on your apocalypse team? - Sam Sanders, Nathan Ramos Park (S1E17)

Get Sam a lesbian with a clipboard, Nathan needs Kpop to deal with their anti-Blackness, and Jenny’s late dad finally visited her in a dream.

It is Friday, August 15th, 2025, and this is What Should We Talk About? With Jenny Yang! (jennyyang.substack.com) This is your weekly catchup time with smart and funny people to find joy in an unjust world. We discuss topics submitted by our guests and you, the listener. Any topic! Current, old! Big, small! Nerdy, petty! From pop culture to the personal and political. Catch shorter preview episodes wherever you pod. But if you want FULL episodes UNCUT and bonus episodes, become a Paid Subscriber at jennyyang.substack.com. So if this episode cuts out mid convo – don’t get mad - get subscribing.

Catch shorter preview episodes wherever you pod. But if you want FULL episodes UNCUT, become a Paid Subscriber at jennyyang.substack.com. (This week, paid subscribers hear about the first time Jenny had a dream about her late dad, and how we need to complicate the definition of non-violent vs violent resistance.) You get access to Substack-only bonus episodes (like our recent one about Zohran Mamdani), and community chats. So if this episode cuts out mid convo – don’t get mad - get subscribing. jennyyang.substack.com.

My first guest today is an award-winning reporter, radio host and podcaster. Created and hosted NPR's It’s Been a Minute and NPR Politics. Now co-hosting Vibe Check on SiriusXM (https://www.vibecheckpod.com/), and host of The Sam Sanders Show on KCRW Los Angeles (https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/the-sam-sanders-show). Hailing from San Antonio, he currently lives in Los Angeles with his two pitbulls named Zora and Wesley. SAM SANDERS!

And finally, he is a half-Filipino, half-Korean gaysian writer, performer, and former competitive jump roper from Ohio. As a TV/feature writer He has developed and staffed at a bunch of networks, and is a former actress and award-winning NYC bartender. He’s also gained 130k followers in the last 4 months on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@nathanramospark) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/nathanramospark/) for his sociopolitical and cultural content @nathanramospark! NATHAN RAMOS-PARK!

And as always on the final mic, heard but not seen, my sweetie and co-producer of life, Corey Higgs (http://okletsbrand.com/).

On today’s agenda:

1. PODCAST UPDATES

2. Feds tried to takeover LA, now DC, and YOUR CITY next

3. Conservative-friendly TV is on the rise

4. K-Pop needs to pack it up and stop culture vulturing

5. That Hateful Ho Kim Davis trying to take down Gay Marriage but also what if you just need 5-7 ride-or-dies?

THE FREE PREVIEW ENDS HERE - My ONLYPAIDS get the rest of the episode for real talk.

6. Resisting this fascist takeover: the role of “violence”?

7. The existential pain of not knowing our ancestors

8. ACTION ITEMS

Follow Jenny Yang on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube!

IG: @jennyyangtv

TT: @jennyyangtv

YT: JennyYangTV

Email: [email protected]

Being socialist while playing a ruthless capitalist w The Gilded Age star, no spoilers allowed - Morgan Spector (S1E16)

Morgan watches Love Island gasp and Jenny makes George Russell say modern pickup lines to her.

It is Thursday, August 7th, 2025, and this is What Should We Talk About? With Jenny Yang! On-location in the great state of New York. We left the city for that upstate country air. Mmmm. Smells like God’s Country. This is your weekly catchup time with smart and funny people to find joy in an unjust world. We discuss topics submitted by our guests and you, the listener. Any topic! From pop culture to the personal and political. Current, old! Big, small! Nerdy, petty!

Catch shorter preview episodes wherever you pod. But if you want FULL episodes UNCUT, become a Paid Subscriber at jennyyang.substack.com. (This week, paid subscribers hear about Jenny’s “socialist past,” how Morgan became so politically aware, why it’s so hard for people to support the humanity of Palestinians, and who we think SHOULD be running for elected office. And if Jenny gets it together the part of this convo when Morgan and Jenny talk Love Island USA lol.) You get access to Substack-only bonus episodes (like our recent one about Zohran Mamdani), and community chats. So if this episode cuts out mid convo – don’t get mad - get subscribing. jennyyang.substack.com.

My guest today is an actor and producer, graduate of Reed College and the prestigious American Conservatory Theater who is based in New York with his wife and daughter. He produced the 2020 documentary “The Big Scary S-Word”(https://www.socialismmovie.com/) about how socialism is actually deeply American. Upcoming on television, he will be seen in BLACK RABBIT for Netflix. He received critical acclaim, including a Critics Choice Nomination, for his work in David Simon’s "The Plot Against America.” (https://www.hbomax.com/shows/plot-against-america/7bc1933f-edc9-4c6c-b669-3c8894804536) He is best known as George Russell, the turn of the century Railroad Capitalist slash Robber Baron on the HBO award winning series “The Gilded Age” (https://www.hbomax.com/shows/gilded-age/2537da31-ff99-4195-a53e-e0e1ddb1d67e) from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. Let’s welcome to the pod, the internet’s Railroad Daddy, MORGAN SPECTOR!

And as always on the final mic, heard but not seen, my sweetie and co-producer of life, Corey Higgs (http://okletsbrand.com/).

On today’s agenda:

1. PODCAST UPDATES

2. What does it mean to be a Railroad Daddy?

3. A scene from the movie “Marriage Story” is being used by the government to scare away wolves.

4. How can we live beautiful lives while human rights atrocities are happening?

THE FREE PREVIEW ENDS HERE - My ONLYPAIDS get the rest of the episode for real talk.

5. What happened to make us so “political”?

6. Superman saved Palestine?

7. Should we even care about American electoral politics anymore?

8. ACTION ITEMS (place for you to make note of some things you want to try or do from today’s chat)

Because you don’t want to feel like you are losing your mind and because we long for a better world filled with fun, love, joy, and cool shit. This is What Should We Talk About? With Jenny Yang.

PAID SUBSCRIBERS SEE HEAR THE ENTIRE EPISODE PAST THE PAYWALL! Everyone gets to join the SUBSCRIBER CHAT!

Follow Jenny Yang on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube!

IG: @jennyyangtv

TT: @jennyyangtv

YT: JennyYangTV

Email: [email protected]

Moving out of America: are we gentrifying even if we’re not white?, Netflix’s Too Much, Dump wants to lock up Beyonce?! - Maori Karmael Holmes, Nicole Phoenix (S1E15)

Nicole could be the next Mayor of Philly, Maori wants to pay Jenny for making the pod her therapy, and Jenny needs to figure out her vacation name…Janessa?

It is Thursday, July 31st, 2025, and this is What Should We Talk About? With Jenny Yang! This is your weekly catchup time with smart and funny people to find joy in an unjust world. We discuss topics submitted by our guests and you, the listener. Any topic! From pop culture to the personal and political. Current, old! Big, small! Nerdy, petty!

Catch shorter preview episodes wherever you pod. But if you want FULL episodes UNCUT, become a Paid Subscriber at jennyyang.substack.com. (This week, paid subscribers hear about that whole weird Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad campaign, how Trump wants to lock up Obama and Beyonce, and more on Gaza.) You get access to Substack-only bonus episodes (like our recent one about Zohran Mamdani), and community chats. So if this episode cuts out mid convo – don’t get mad - get subscribing. jennyyang.substack.com.

This week, I am on-location in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the 14th Annual BlackStar Film Festival - a one-of-a-kind celebration of Black, Brown, and Indigenous filmmaking, “cinema for liberation,” in Philly and online worldwide, July 31st to August 3rd. Head to blackstarfest.org to fest with us online!

My first guest today is a curator, filmmaker, and cultural worker, founder of BlackStar Projects (http://blackstarfest.org). She is originally from Los Angeles but has been trapped in Philly on and off for the past two decades. Her words not mine. She is a Taurus, Libra rising, Pisces moon and not-so-secret hipster, let’s welcome my friend MAORI KARMAEL HOLMES!

And finally, she is a stand up comedian, a Philadelphia fave, and coming to a town near you. Check out her live show Two Locals Comedy in Philly (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/two-locals-comedy-open-mic-tickets-1200270504389), please welcome, NICOLE PHOENIX (https://www.instagram.com/sooo_xtra/)!

And as always on the final mic, heard but not seen, my sweetie and co-producer of life, Corey Higgs (http://okletsbrand.com/).

On today’s agenda:

1. PODCAST UPDATES

2. Moving out of the United States

3. Trying to get into the Netflix series “Too Much,” but it might be too much for me? Can I say this out loud? 

4. Philly needs a figure like Zohran Mamdani

THE FREE PREVIEW ENDS HERE - Paid Subscribers get the rest of the episode

5. Dump wants to lock up Barack Obama and Beyonce

6. Reading books in public as a radical act

7. I'm pissed about Gaza

8. Sydney Sweeney’s new American Eagle ad campaign

9. ACTION ITEMS

Follow Jenny Yang on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube!

IG: @jennyyangtv

TT: @jennyyangtv

YT: JennyYangTV

Email: [email protected]

A pod guest bailed last-minute because the pod is "too political," In-N-Out sucks, Creating The Daily Show, Jubilee debate video - Chani Nicholas, Lizz Winstead (S1E14)

Chani needs all dating reality shows to be queer, Lizz is leading the c*nty sisterhood, and Jenny doesn't like poutine either.

SEASON 1, EPISODE 14! LIVE AT UNION HALL, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK!

“I have nothing to lose because they've given me nothing. And that actually makes me more powerful.” Lizz Winstead, Co-Creator of The Daily Show atWhat Should We Talk About? with Jenny Yang, Live in New York

It is Saturday, July 26th, 2025, and this is What Should We Talk About? With Jenny Yang! LIVE FROM BROOKLYN! This is your weekly catchup time with smart and funny people to find joy in an unjust world. We discuss topics submitted by our guests and you, the listener. Any topic! From the personal and pop culture to the political. Current, old! Big, small! Nerdy, petty! What should we talk about?: Leave a voicemail or text at 323-250-3589. Become a subscriber at our podcast home: jennyyang.substack.com.

Catch shorter preview episodes wherever you pod. But if you want FULL episodes UNCUT, become a Paid Subscriber at jennyyang.substack.com. (This week, paid subscribers hear a frank discussion about Gaza and our inability to see our own American villainy, and that Medhi Hassan J*bilee Media “debate” video with a fascist that went viral, and Jenny’s phone call with Jubilee’s Founder and CEO) Substack is the thinking human’s social media y’all. Free and Paid Stackers are the FIRST to know when a new weekly episode is out, get access to Substack-only bonus episodes (like our recent one about Zohran Mamdani), and community chats. So if this episode cuts out mid convo – don’t get mad - get subscribing.

My first guest today is the co-creator of The Daily Show and Founder of Abortion Access Front (https://www.aafront.org/). AAF is a reproductive rights non-profit that travels the country doing comedy and providing aid and comfort to independent clinics in hostile states. I’ve been to South Dakota with them. Trust me, these local warriors need to laugh. Please welcome my friend and inspiration, LIZZ WINSTEAD (https://www.instagram.com/lizzwinstead/)!

And finally, she is a New York Times best-selling author (https://chanishop.com/products/you-were-born-for-this-astrology-for-radical-self-acceptance), creator of the viral CHANI app (https://www.chani.com/app), and host of the #1 astrology podcast in the U.S. and Canada, The Astrology of the Week Ahead (https://www.chani.com/podcasts/the-week-ahead), my dear friend CHANI NICHOLAS (https://www.chani.com/)!

And as always on the final mic, heard but not seen, my guy and co-producer of life, Corey Higgs. On today’s agenda we have:

1. PODCAST UPDATES aka why are we missing a guest who was on the flyer?

2. Jenny’s 2022 “Going Through It” podcast interview with Zohran Mamdani (https://mailchimp.com/presents/podcast/going-through-it/an-intervention-in-the-middle-of-kenya-with-zohran-mamdani/)

3. Colbert got fired and silencing political comics is not new: Lizz’s Rolling Stone opinion piece: “I Worked With Stephen Colbert. Here’s Why His Cancellation Should Scare You” https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-commentary/stephen-colbert-canceled-lizz-winstead-1235393208/

4 .Leftists get depressed when they don’t engage in political actions or organizing of any kind. VIDEO by @sarahsteinlubrano

5. A woman was denied prenatal care because she is NOT MARRIED.

PAID SUBSCRIBERS GET THE REST OF THE AGENDA BELOW

6. (AUDIENCE PICK) Why is there not more outrage about Dump's personal lawyer talking to Ghislaine Maxwell and why are we NOT talking to THE CHILDREN WHO WERE GRAPED, who have said they want to tell their stories?

7. That Jubilee Media video platforming the fascist and Jenny’s phone call with the Founder and CEO to give him feedback.

8. The world is currently ruled by conspiracy theories because most of us can’t sit with the crushing reality that racial capitalism is a death machine.

9. ACTION ITEMS

Because you don’t want to feel like you are losing your mind and because we long for a better world filled with fun, love, joy, and cool shit. This is What Should We Talk About? With Jenny Yang.

PAID SUBSCRIBERS SEE HEAR THE ENTIRE EPISODE PAST THE PAYWALL! Everyone gets to join the SUBSCRIBER CHAT!

Follow Jenny Yang on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube!

IG: @jennyyangtv

TT: @jennyyangtv

YT: JennyYangTV

Email: [email protected]