Yellow Glitter

In this episode, we're joined by a returning friend, Kim Thai, a queer Vietnamese writer, Emmy-award winning producer, social justice advocate, and mindfulness teacher based in New York. We chat about community building, cultivating joy, and her latest work with Ganeshspace, a mindfulness organization that creates healing spaces for historically excluded communities and social justice education for all.

In this episode we talk about:

• Community healing and the importance of centering joy and liberation in our equity-centered work
• Reclaiming queerness and honoring indigenous practices
• Surrounding ourselves with people who uplift and nourish us
• Prioritizing happiness leading to ultimate self-care and joy

You can more of Kim at:

• Instagram: @kthai6
• Instagram: @Ganeshspace

You can follow me at:

• Website: yellowglitterpodcast.com
• Instagram: @stevenwakabayashi
• YouTube: @stevenwakabayashi
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: mindfulmoments.substack.com

This episode we're joined by an extra special guest, Haruka Aoki. Haruka (she/they) is a queer Japanese artist, author and illustrator of children's books based in Queens, New York City. Their narrative artwork, which has appeared in New York Times and the Washington Post, aims to inspire individuals with both wit and sincerity as their hand drawn characters engaged with the world around them growing up.

In this episode we talk about:

• Haruka's pivot from corporate life to exploring art
• Mental health in today's workplace
• Their background and family experience growing up
• Haruka dives into their world of illustration and the inspiration behind their characters
• Exploring their latest book, Fitting In (fittinginbook.com)

You can find Haruka at:

• Website: https://harukaaoki.com/
• Instagram: @thecosmicharuka

You can follow me at:

• Website: https://yellowglitterpodcast.com
• Instagram: @stevenwakabayashi
• YouTube: @stevenwakabayashi
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: mindfulmoments.substack.com

In this episode, we are joined by a special returning guest, Johnathan Gibbs, to talk about the latest gay movie Fire Island, and also reflect on the harmful impact of the gay white gaze on our queer Asian communities.

In this episode we talk about:

• Reflect on Fire Island movie's representation of queer Asian perspectives and stories
• The gay white gaze and discussing the harmful impact of these narratives
• How to catch ourselves when we are co-opting into systems of power and oppression
• Forgiving ourselves in the process and healing our inner selves
• Finding refuge and community with more diversity around us

References:

• BaBEC Fire Island
• GaGaOOLaLa

You can find Johnathan Gibbs at:

• Instagram: @jonahsahn
• Twitter: @jonahsahn
• Youtube: @blasianFMA

You can follow me at:

• Instagram: @stevenwakabayashi
• Twitter: @wakuu
• YouTube: @stevenwakabayashi
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: mindfulmoments.substack.com

Linda Jiang (she/they) is a toy designer living in Los Angeles, California; unceded Tongva land. Linda's work centers around designing inclusive toys to create social change through play. They designed the recent Barbie Inspiring Women doll, specifically the doll for Ida B Wells, and led the design for Creatable World, a gender-inclusive fashion doll line. When they're not designing, Linda enjoys building community with her friends, reading mystery novels, and learning fashion history through vintage clothing.

In this episode we talk about:

• Linda's background and story of entering the world of design
• A day in the life of designing in the doll industry
• Queer BIPOC people in creative industries
• Gender-inclusive doll designs

You can find Linda at:

• Website: little-linda.com
• Instagram: @little.linda

You can follow me at:

• Instagram: @stevenwakabayashi
• YouTube: @stevenwakabayashi
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: mindfulmoments.substack.com

We're joined by Dr. JT (Jonathan Tolentino) once again to talk about our society's obsession with the perfect physique. We chat about body and muscle dysmorphia, PEDs, the impact of social media, and how this ultimately impacts both our queer and Asian communities.

Dr. JT is the Program Director of the Combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency program at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at University of Miami.

In this episode we talk about:

• The state of COVID and the recent surge
• Social media effects on our bodies and body image
• Body and muscle dysmorphia within the queer & Asian communities
• The slippery slope of dating apps - the effects that filters can have on our experience
• The dark side of performance-enhancing drugs
• 2022 Resolutions and how are you recharging yourself this new year?

You can find JT at:

• Instagram: @jonjon9980206

You can follow me at:

• Instagram: @stevenwakabayashi
• YouTube: @stevenwakabayashi
• Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: mindfulmoments.substack.com

We have another beautiful episode chatting about COVID, our mental health, and our future. We're joined by an extra special guest Dr. JT, Jonathan Tolentino, who is the Program Director of the Combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency program at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at University of Miami.

In this episode we talk about:

• The state of COVID and vaccinations
• Navigating misinformation through COVID
• How communities have learned through history of AIDS and SARS
• GaysOverCOVID and quarrels within our queer community during COVID
• Sexual and ethnic minority stress theory on how we see and react to the world
• Breaking out of the cycle of comparison, judgement, self-criticism
• How to become allies with one another - especially within our LGBTQ+ community
• Becoming more aware of our privilege
• Jonathan's coming out story
• Navigating queer identities in the Asian community

You can find JT at:

• Instagram: @jonjon980206

You can follow me at:

• Instagram: @stevenwakabayashi
• YouTube: @stevenwakabayashi
• Weekly Newsletter: mindfulmoments.substack.com

This week, we're joined by our favorite Derek Tran once again to chat about the state of COVID, rainbow-washing, performative allyship, and showing up authentically.

In this episode we talk about:

• Derek's Tinder profile. Yes. Really.
• COVID mask mandates going down in many parts of America
• Rainbow-washing and performative allyship from companies
• Goods Unite Us revealing of where corporate sponsorship is going toward
• The capital reason why it's valuable to rainbow-wash and market pride
• Why we all still need to support pride as a protest
• The shift away from hiring police at pride
• Why everyone needs to stop eating at the evil chicken shop
• Showing up authentically yourself this pride season
• Speaking with our action vs. performance

References

• Goods Unite Us
• Queer Liberation March

You can find Derek at:

• Instagram: @findyourfearless

You can follow me at:

• Instagram: @stevenwakabayashi
• YouTube: @stevenwakabayashi
• Weekly Newsletter: mindfulmoments.substack.com

Another wonderful episode with our lovely guest Derek Tran, to talk about issues surrounding activism, current-day events, and the Asian culture.

In this episode we talk about:

• Flashback to Xanga? Livejournal?
• Our COVID check-in and thoughts on the CDC directive to remove masks in the US
• Trump's rhetoric that catalyzed so much of the Asian hate we face
• Shallow activism in celebrities and gay community
• Becoming more conscious of the news we take in
• Why we need to call in vs. calling each other out
• The shift in younger generation and activism

You can find Derek at:

• Instagram: @findyourfearless

You can follow me at:

• Instagram: @stevenwakabayashi
• YouTube: @stevenwakabayashi
• Weekly Newsletter: mindfulmoments.substack.com

Derek Tran and I chat about the rising anti-Asian hate crimes and what we can do to keep ourselves safe and sane during this time.

In this episode we talk about:

• COVID and where we are at with vaccinations
• Issues with performative social media activists
• How allies can show up - with more actionable steps
• The intersection of mindfulness and activism
• Struggling to find our voice as Asian-Americans
• Standing up within our romantic relationships to microaggressions
• Why addressing cultural issues in Asia, by denigrating Asian-Americans don't work
• Our social media feeds full of trauma porn
• Why we both still hate Chick-fil-A
• How can keep ourselves safe from hate crimes and attacks

You can find Derek at:

• Instagram: @findyourfearless

You can follow me at:

• Instagram: @stevenwakabayashi
• YouTube: @stevenwakabayashi

Weekly Newsletter: mindfulmoments.substack.com

This episode, I'm joined by Kim Thai, founder of ganeshspace, an organization dedicated to making mindfulness a more equitable space. We chat about the current politics of America, how we can show up with compassion in activism, understanding ourselves before helping others, and her journey of finding her queer identity after marriage. Enjoy!

Kim Thai is a writer, Emmy-award winning producer, and the founder of ganeshspace, a community organization dedicated to pursuing equity through mindfulness. She is a proud daughter of Vietnamese refugees and is currently living in NYC with her partner and two cats.

In this episode we talk about:

• Advice on managing this pandemic for extroverts
• What politics of today say reflect what is happening deep down inside of America
• How to hold compassion for those we don't agree with
• Why we need to first assess our own bandwidth before we give
• The truth behind humor when it appears during traumatic conversations
• Her journey coming out of a marriage to discover her queer identity
• How to show up for oneself to bring change to others around us
• Ganeshpace and creating equity and collaboration in the mindfulness space

Show notes:

• Roque Rodriguez

You can find Kim Thai at:

• ganeshspace: ganeshspace.com
• ganeshspace Instagram: @ganeshspace
• Instagram: @kthai6

You can follow me at:

• Instagram: @stevenwakabayashi
• YouTube: @stevenwakabayashi
• Weekly Newsletter: mindfulmoments.substack.com