2025 was...a year. For some it was the most fulfilling and expansive year of their lives. For others, it was a time of reckoning and what can only be described as unhinged agony leaving us shivering in fetal position on the bathroom floor. Or a lovely mix of both. Whatever was in the stars or cards or maybe the compromised pH of our local tap water, 2025 appears to have produced some significant change. In this solo episode, Minji dives into some of her own epiphanies, triumphs, losses, and over...
Jan 09, 2026•45 min•Ep. 202
In this episode, Minji sits down with a woman who impacted her life from a very early age, model and singer turned author Kaila Yu. A cultural icon during the Azn Pride days of import cars, Nautica jackets, and tricked out html web pages, Kaila made an undeniable mark on the blossoming Asian American identity as one of the hottest Asian "it" girls. Throughout her young career and private life, she'd endure some of the most heart-breaking and challenging experiences while pursuing a career in ent...
Aug 15, 2025•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 201
What does it take to make a dream, reality? Any goal, any vision can be daunting when you're at the very beginning. Uneducated, inexperienced, overwhelmed...it's hard to identify or even decide what's the best place to start. And even when you do decide, getting the ball rolling and finally taking the proverbial leap is its own major feat. In one of the final conversations here on First Of All, Minji sits down with her friend, journalist Ada Tseng, to discuss the rigors of making it in in the en...
Jun 27, 2025•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 200
We show up to work, to relationships, to passion projects and hobbies in various phases of our lives and do the best we can, never knowing if and how we may be changing the world around us. For director Andrew Ahn, he's never endeavored to change minds or hearts doing what he loves most (and is also really good at), which is telling funny, vulnerable, heartwarming stories through film. He simply identifies his creative north star(s), focuses on who he's doing it all for, and does his best to sha...
May 30, 2025•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 199
Love is a many splendored thing. Also...is love in the room with us right now when it comes to modern dating? When it comes to finding a special someone who can respond to texts in a timely manner, follow through or even initiate plans ahead of time, have basic manners, practice decent hygiene, maintain healthy boundaries with exes, ask a thoughtful question or two, be nice to your friends, & remember your birthday, amongst many other seemingly basic things... it can all feel, well, friggin ...
Feb 14, 2025•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 198
What a year January 2025 has been. WHAT. A. YEAR. If you're one of the many humans trying calmly (or desperately) to navigate the new normal in (yet again) unprecedented times... you are so not alone. Not by any means. In this episode, Minji unloads her heart and mind on the state of the world, and the good ol' U S of A more specifically. She acknowledges that these challenging times are not for the faint of heart, and that one way or another we all must decide to step up the plate with courage,...
Feb 04, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 197
We're nearing the finish line for one of the most highly anticipated, highly stressful, highly impactful elections of our lifetimes. While we'd all felt we'd been through the worst of it in 2016 and then again in 2020, the unprecedented times have continued on...and on...and on. In the midst of all the division and angst, extremely important conversations have emerged - many that fortunately and unfortunately won't go away after this coming Tuesday passes. We have tough questions to answer, like...
Nov 03, 2024•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 196
Climate change is a topic that brings up existential dread in so many of us, it can overwhelm us, fill us with dread, and/or incite anger and feelings of hopelessness. It feels like an impossible problem to solve. In this episode, Minji sits down with filmmakers Danny O'Malley and Alex Rivest, co-directors of the film Canary , a look into the life of a real life superhero - glacier and climate scientist Lonnie Thompson. Lonnie has spent the past several decades of his life venturing into some of...
Oct 23, 2024•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 195
Female relationships can be insanely fulfilling...and also complicated... and sometimes downright traumatic. At some point or another, many of us humans have encountered one (or many) a mean girl. In this episode, Minji sits down with returning guest Priska - singer/songwriter and one half of the Two Horny Goats Podcast - to unpack the trials, tribulations, and lessons from dealing with layered female relationships, including friends, frenemies, bullies, family members, and more. The conversatio...
Aug 28, 2024•2 hr•Ep. 194
We’re back baby! In this solo episode, our tired but determined host Minji returns to breathe some life back into First Of All and back into herself. Celebrating another trip around the sun for both podcast and host, this milestone brings in new reflections on aging, filmmaking, friendship, authenticity & (of course) the chaotic state of the world. This one goes out to everyone holding onto hope with everything we’ve got. Follow Minji on: Twitter (@minjeeeezy) Instagram (@minjeezy) Our theme...
Jul 18, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 193
Hey FOA fam! It's been a hot minute but Minji comes back to close out an insane year of ups and downs, and some big wins and losses. Did anyone else live their best and worst year ever at the same exact time??? In a moment of exhausted reflection and hopeful encouragement, Minji sends you all a ginormous hug in her "wearing a giant hoodie (with the hoodie yanked 90% closed of course) on a comfy couch with a giant mug of tea" energy. Thank you and adios 2023. Mentioned in this episode: Don’t miss...
Dec 31, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 192
Hi First of All listeners! While we wait for the next season of the podcast, we wanted to share something cool with you all. Please enjoy the first episode of the new hit podcast, Dear Alana, from our partners at Tenderfoot TV. Dear Alana, is a show exploring the life of Alana Chen, a 24-year-old woman who disappeared from Boulder, Colorado in 2019. Alana left behind two dozen journals chronicling a deep faith, love of fashion, and dream of becoming a nun. She also harbored a secret. At 14, she ...
Sep 01, 2023•36 min
Asking for a friend - does anyone else feeling like just giving up and becoming a potato lately? Because same. In this episode, Minji closes out SEASON 4 and celebrates a beautiful milestone for 6 YEARS OF First Of All Podcast by processing her most recent super fun existential crisis with her dear friend am, the amazing dancer, entrepreneur, and soulful spirit Ben Chung. With the Hollywood strikes, rapid AI development, climate change doom, plus oodles of personal ups & downs, Minji finds h...
Jul 18, 2023•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 191
There are few things more satisfying than taking an idea and turning it into a reality. Some call that manifesting (ahem, like Minji) and some call it just taking simple actions to achieve a goal. Potato, po-tah-to. Whatever you call it, there's SO much that gets in the way, all the imposter syndrome (bleh), the self-sabotage (ugh), the literal years of procrastinating (yeesh), legit life/time/money challenges, and so on and so forth. In this episode, Minji celebrates the creation of her first C...
Jul 07, 2023•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 190
In the very wise words of our goddess Aaliyah (RIP) - If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again. In theory (and in lyrics/beats that slap thanks to the GOAT Timbaland), it's amazing. In practice, it's pretty freakin' hard. To chase dreams, to pursue life goals, to endeavor the seemingly impossible...in this day and age...in this economy ...let's be real, it's easier to just stay in bed and not even try at all. But for better or worse, we push on. In this episode, Minji sits ...
Jun 28, 2023•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 189
In this solo episode, Minji shares a personal story about unintentionally being a total a-hole, letting down one of her best friends, spiraling, prolonging the awkwardness (as one does), making it worse, freaking out a bit more, and then finally taking steps to make it right again. As universal and commonplace as these mistakes and rifts can be, there's a lot going on underneath it all - self-sabotaging, people-pleasing, being a teeny bit narcissistic/lazy/careless, and/or going into overwhelm t...
Jun 21, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 188
Let's talk about sex! Because despite our global society's obsession with it, we're still frighteningly undereducated about it. While more conversations and information on sexuality are shared much more openly due to social media content and online resources, longstanding attitudes and deeply rooted cultural beliefs can take a lot longer for a person to become open to learn. Some of us have been trained to fear sex, some have been shamed to explore their curiosity, some have been traumatized, an...
Jun 16, 2023•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 187
As Minji has created this space and inadvertently shared a lot about herself over the course of First Of All's 180+ episodes, she's changed quite a bit. Grown on a good day, unraveled on a bad one. And one thing that she has intentionally confronted in 2023 is to not only make space for others but how take it up herself. In this episode we get a little one-on-one friendship time with Two Horny Goats co-host and beloved soul sister Priska Liang-Kim to find out more about our FOA host as she's in ...
Jun 09, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 186
A lot of good can come out of striving for excellence - a high standard of quality, valuable skillsets and smarts, plus amazingly positive contributions to self and society. It can also have a dark side in the form of all-consuming and suffocating perfectionism - an existence where there's no room for error or subpar...well, anything. Every flaw, every "mistake" is irreparable or at the very least, a lasting source of guilt and shame. So many people are familiar with this kind of pressure, and s...
May 30, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 185
For APAHM, we're highlighting some of our fellow Asian American podcasts from the Potluck Podcast Collective, so we're dropping in an episode from our sister show, Modern Minorities, a podcast featuring minority voices for ALL of our majority ears - Modern Minorities is trying to solve racism...one conversation at a time. Their co-hosts Sharon and Raman might be Asian American pals, but their guests go much wider to the entire American experience. You can learn more at modmypod.com , and subscri...
May 26, 2023•1 hr 3 min
You know how they say live your life to the fullest and every day as if it's your last? And you know how most of us think "Oh that's nice, I should do that. I will do that."...and then, even with the BEST of intentions, we just don't? (No judgment here, it's a super normal part of life.) Let's face it, it's so easy to stay in autopilot - chasing goals, maybe taking some important relationships for granted, & doing the most even if it's not particularly (or at all) fulfilling. In this episode...
May 23, 2023•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 184
Far too many times in life, our narratives get told by others. Sometimes, being a passive passenger in the journey can feel the safest and most comfortable...until you realize the consequences of not speaking up on your or your community's behalf. Like misinformation, isolation, erasure, and even the exploitation of narratives to serve another's agenda. We're all becoming much more keenly aware of how this has been playing out for real all around us, and many of us are wondering how to approach ...
May 16, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 183
We’re back FOA fam!! So glad to be back on the airwaves, kicking off season 4 with a vulnerable and honest conversation with the beautiful and badass queen of the Internet herself- Gina Darling. In this episode, Minji gets to fangirl a bit and also get some insight into how Gina has navigated one helluva life path with her family, unorthodox education, and unconventional career pursuits on her own terms. Brought up in an intensely strict and conservative Vietnamese home, Gina grew up trying to f...
May 09, 2023•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 182
Ahhh the holidays.. a time to reflect and prepare the next vision board, and maybe a family tiff or deep introspective existential moment to round it out. Whatever your plans are for the holidays, whether you’re seeing all your loved ones or asserting your boundaries and sitting on top of a mountain solo, Minji stops by to say hi and wish you well as we close out another crazy year. She also shares some fun FOA updates and reflections on 2022 to end the year with some gratitude, acceptance &...
Dec 23, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 181
The healing process, the inner work, the letting go, the consciousness, the forgiveness, it's all undeniably helpful...aaand let's be real, it also takes a lot outta you too. To close out FOA Season 3, we thought - who better to talk through all the ups and downs of battling ego, addressing inner child wounds and trauma, and conquering crippling emotional faceplants with deep insight and flair than our guest, actor and writer Anna Akana. Minji and Anna run the gamut of some of the ways their ong...
Sep 27, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 180
Dating can be super fun, exploratory, and adventure-filled with charming people you can connect with...when it's not a dumpster fire of poor communication, confusing mixed signals, bad manners, and weird vibes from strangers we'd rather forget. All in a day in the life of the modern single human being, right? Well a silver lining to our over-connected world of the Interwebs, we have all these platforms to vent, commiserate & educate each other on how to identify and deal with some of the mor...
Sep 09, 2022•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 179
Racism is a very complicated topic to broach. It can intimidate, trigger, and overwhelm so many so easily because of how pervasive and personal it gets, on top of how exhausted so many feel. Sometimes it feels like we've made some tiny headway towards a baseline respect, maybe even a bit of progress towards equity. Sometimes it feels like we've regressed or have come to a complete standstill. Meanwhile, the nuance of who gets put under the social microscope has evolved and includes more communit...
Aug 31, 2022•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 178
Minji returns to the FOA airwaves after an extended mental health and recharge break after one exhausting summer. A big update with reflections on making her first short film, learning to be proud of herself, unraveling with the overturning of Roe v Wade, and other impactful moments. She gets into the power of sharing stories, facing our unique fears, and taking time to get centered when everything, everywhere, all at once is just... a bit too much. Follow Minji On: Instagram (@minjeezy) Faceboo...
Aug 26, 2022•46 min•Ep. 177
No one likes a lawsuit. Lawyers are commonly vilified for exorbitant billable hours and sharklike tendencies. For many people, any situation involving legal counsel is one to run away from and avoid at all costs. And yet at some point, many folks do require legal help to navigate a complicated system of rules and power plays. In this episode, Minji sits down with her friend and actual legal counselor, Chuong Bui, who is a seasoned entertainment attorney and the co-founder of Counsel 4 Creators -...
Jun 22, 2022•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 176
From the days of Marilyn to The Beatles to Michael Jackson, Kim K & Logan Paul, it's safe to say that celebrity culture has evolved and transformed in its way into becoming an everyday part of our modern life. Now celebrity status includes "everyday" content creators or influencers who make funny skits from their respective glass rectangles, or even say.. podcast hosts. (Btw, we're self-aware here at FOA to know we are not celebrity status but do influence in our own way to our beloved brill...
Jun 15, 2022•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 175
