We have a quick little episode for you today! Actor/Producer Steven Allerick messaged me about a passion project he wrote/directed/produced. It’s a short film called The New Knight. It’s a not-for-profit film that Steve hopes will resonate with you and people you know, especially people of mixed heritage. You can watch The New Knight on YouTube at The New Knight (2023) A Batman Short Film Learn more about Steve @stevenallerick As I always mention, you can write to us at: infatuasianpodcast@gmail...
Jun 16, 2023•18 min•Ep. 122
In honor of Father's Day.. we figured we'd look into our DNA! I’ve been wanting to take a DNA test since they came out, so I figured it’d be fun to do it on the air while we record. These DNA kits can help fill in the picture of where your ancestors came from. Two friends and I ordered a kit from Ancestry.com We got our results and *tried* to wait until this recording before taking a look. It was definitely fun, and in some cases VERY interesting! I’m not sponsored by them, but Ancestry.com is h...
Jun 14, 2023•47 min•Ep. 121
For me, Twice was one of the first K-Pop bands I ever intentionally listened to! Their sunny, fun, poppy style helped me and my daughters enter the world of K-Pop! In the second week of June, my family is going to our first K-Pop concert, so I figured it would be fun to do a Twice Concert Hype Show with some people who live and breathe K-Pop! Pip, Chesca, and Kevin are the owners of the Bay Area’s first and best K-Pop store SarangHello! It’s located on Taraval St at 31st Ave. They graciously off...
Jun 07, 2023•49 min•Ep. 120
I just finished watching the amazing television adaptation of American Born Chinese. It is a MUST-WATCH! I really enjoyed how, like the novel, it merged the fantastical and real worlds. It stars a plethora of some of the best Chinese American actors, and I loved seeing all the beautiful Asian names in the end credits both in front and behind the cameras! Madi and I recorded this episode with Gene about a year ago, and it is definitely still one of my favorites. I think you'll enjoy hearing Gene'...
May 30, 2023•53 min•Ep. 119
We were over the moon happy to talk with actress Ami Park! Ami stars in ABC/Hulu’s Alaska Daily opposite Hillary Swank. Ami plays Yuna Park who is a rookie reporter that is thrown into life at Alaska’s main newspaper. It’s a really great show that you can stream on Hulu. We recorded this show in mid-April and just recently ABC announced that they are not going to bring the show back for a 2nd season, which is really too bad, but if you know anything about our guest Ami, you know that this is jus...
May 24, 2023•48 min•Ep. 118
A little late, but in honor of Mother’s Day, we have a special episode talking about Asian post-partum traditions delivered to your door, from Chiyo! We are speaking with founders Jennifer Jolorte and Irene Liu. They take the best of Eastern medicine and integrate it with Western nutritional standards. Find them at Wearechiyo.com and follow them @wearechiyo on Instagram. If you are interested in trying Chiyo or gifting it to someone you love, you can use the code: asianpod30 and save $30 off you...
May 17, 2023•46 min•Ep. 117
When "The Donut King" documentary came out in 2020 it really blew my mind and made me want to know more about the Cambodian families that ran these friendly and delicious donut shops. Featured in the film is Mayly Tao, who was actually the first person filmmaker Alice Gu spoke with when researching Ted Ngoy, the Donut King. I came across Mayly on Instagram and couldn’t be happier that she made some time to talk with me. Mayly is part of California donut royalty and has so many other passions, I ...
May 10, 2023•48 min•Ep. 116
Hey hey, a bonus episode to listen to on your Friday commute or while you do your weekend chores! Margo, from K-Dramas with Margo out of France, and I recorded this episode for her podcast way back in March! I had a lot of fun guesting on her show, and she was kind enough to share this file with me. You should remember Margo, she did an episode with me about the movie Decision to Leave! I figured it’s been a while since we’ve done a K-drama episode, so here you go! The Glory may be my frontrunne...
May 05, 2023•58 min•Ep. 115
We're kicking off AAPI heritage month by talking with Jeff Yamazaki! Jeff is a LA-based Model/Actor who is also a men’s fashion content creator on Instagram. Jeff walks guys through simple ways to put together outfits and update their style. He also vlogs his life in LA and abroad as well as shouts out AAPI Owned fashion labels. I really enjoy his content and hope I can add use his tips to update my woefully bland style! Follow Jeff on Instagram and TikTok @JeffYamazaki Some of the AAPI owned br...
May 03, 2023•47 min•Ep. 114
*YOU CAN WATCH our interview and see them perform just for us on YouTube! https://youtu.be/dRqfxAkl7B8 Rolling Quartz is a 5-member female Korean Rock Band that is coming to the US for a 7 city tour in May! These young women are super talented and fun! They write their own songs, perform every note, and have amazing stage presence. If you don’t know them, get to know them! I know using interpretation isn’t the best format for a podcast, but I hope you can hang with it as I think their fun person...
Apr 26, 2023•43 min•Ep. 113
I heard about Kelvin from my mom growing up. Kelvin was the first and for a long time, the only Asian American that I knew who chose acting as a career. He's been in over 100 productions on stage and screen. Titles like: Nash Bridges, Law and Order, Grey's Anatomy, Entourage, West World, and more recently Partner Track and Beef! I had such a great time talking about his career and getting his insights on how the industry has changed since the 90's. He's a professional actor through and through a...
Apr 19, 2023•55 min•Ep. 112
If you have ever looked up a Chinese food recipe online there is a strong possibility that you have stumbled upon The Woks of Life website run by the Leung Family! We were totally excited to talk to the two younger members of the clan, Sarah and Kaitlin! I had so much fun chatting about their journey in creating their amazing culinary blog that gets over 7 million visitors a month! And now you can bring the blog home with you, in the form of a New York Times best-selling cookbook! Listen to us o...
Apr 12, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 109
Surprise Bonus Episode! We had some time during Spring Break and decided to spend some of it chatting with author Gina Chung, whose debut novel is fresh off the press and available everywhere! It is a lovely tale of a woman named Aurora, Ro to her friends, as she deals with a bit of a quarter-life crisis. Everyone around Ro is going through some sort of big life change, which throws her into a vortex of emotions and indecision. Sea Change has been picked by Barnes and Noble as one of the most an...
Apr 07, 2023•50 min•Ep. 110
Kyle Shin a.k.a. Son of Paper is a San Francisco kid. He writes music that reflects his mixed heritage as a 5 generation Chinese American and the son of a Korean immigrant. His newest album, From a Rooftop In Chinatown, addresses a variety of topics affecting Asian Americans as well as anyone who’s been othered or overlooked. Son of Paper’s music is available on Spotify, Sound Cloud, Apple Music, or wherever you download music. Follow Son of Paper @sonofpaper on social media or at Sonofpaper.co...
Apr 04, 2023•48 min•Ep. 111
We’re wrapping up Women’s History Month 2023 with a special Teen Takeover episode! Producer Madison takes control of the podcast this week and interviews fellow teen creative Keertana Sreekumar. Keertana is the youngest person to win the top screenwriting prize at the Toronto Independent Film Festival for her film “The California Child,” which is currently in production. Keertana is also producing a sitcom coming to Netflix in the near future. She is an accomplished artist, TEDx speaker, English...
Mar 29, 2023•43 min•Ep. 108
Michelle Lam is a story artist who has worked in Hollywood on various animation projects seen on Netflix and elsewhere. In her "spare time," she creates comics and videos on Instagram and YouTube. Her popular videos have been viewed millions of times and answer questions about her art school/career arc and gives glimpses of life as a working artist. And as of today, March 21st, she is a published graphic novelist! Her book Meesh the Bad Demon, is out and available everywhere. Meesh The Bad Demon...
Mar 21, 2023•59 min•Ep. 107
Today we have the immense pleasure of hearing from singer/actor Stephanie Jae Park who is currently playing the part of Eliza Schuyler/Hamilton on Broadway, New York, New York! She is an amazing singer and actor, who really gave us some insights into life on stage in a Broadway musical. Growing up loving musical theatre, I had mixed feelings about musicals like the King and I and Miss Saigon. On the one hand, it was great to see Asians on stage, but on the other hand, these plays aren’t always u...
Mar 15, 2023•53 min•Ep. 106
Here's a bonus episode for your weekend! Jenny and Brandon from Pocha Playlist help me break down the entertaining Netflix reality show Physical 100. We had fun chatting about this show that was atop Netflix's most-watched list for a few weeks. Did you watch Physical 100? Let us know what you think of the show! You can listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please consider giving us a rating on your app as well! If you'd like to hear more of Brandon ...
Mar 09, 2023•58 min•Ep. 105
We’re back with another ranking show! This time Curtis, Jen, Justin, and Ray will place some of the best Asian/Pacific Islander Athletes on tiers. This was hard because there are so many great Asian athletes from the olden days to today. We had a lot of fun discussing and sometimes disagreeing on where to place all these great athletes! Listen to us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc… Please consider giving us a rating and/or review over at Apple Podcasts and Spotify! Special thanks to my guests fo...
Mar 08, 2023•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 104
I have been watching cooking shows on Saturday mornings on our local PBS station KQED since I was a kid in the 70's and 80's. A little over 20 years ago a new show came on called America's Test Kitchen. Their scientific and methodical way of perfecting recipes really appealed to my nerdy side. Lan Lam joined the magazine about 12 years ago as a recipe developer and has since become a regular recipe presenter on the television show. She just launched a YouTube series from the company called Techn...
Feb 28, 2023•57 min•Ep. 103
*Listener Discretion Advised!* This episode isn’t completely “on-brand” with our usual content but I thought it would be fun to produce a Valentine’s Special by asking my guests (over these past few months) about some of their dating preferences and opinions. It was a lot of work to put all this together, but I thought it was fun and really interesting! There are a ton of unbleeped swear words and content that is probably not appropriate for your workplace or children, so please use your discret...
Feb 14, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 102
I'm sure most of us could have used someone to go over sound personal finance advice with us when we graduated from college or grad school. Wilson saw the need for this when he saw his physician assistant and nursing colleagues struggling with debt and money management, so he started mentoring them. Stephanie saw real estate investing as a way to help make their income work for them, so together they have built up a portfolio of properties. Recently engaged, Wilson and Stephanie accumulated over...
Feb 01, 2023•57 min•Ep. 101
America's true national treasures are our National Parks! Stewards of our parks are the thousands of men and women working for the National Park Services as rangers. Today we will be speaking with Ranger Connie Lau who is currently working at the Grand Canyon but works at Yosemite in Summer. She will tell us about her journey, some of her experiences as a park ranger, as well as some of the amazing contributions that Asian Americans had on Yosemite. ***minor CORRECTION, Connie mentioned that it ...
Jan 25, 2023•48 min•Ep. 100
If you've been on YouTube or TikTok, I'm willing to bet you've seen one of Lisa Nguyen's videos. She started going viral during the pandemic for challenging herself to eat instant ramen for 30 days straight. Her improvised and quirky recipes have been downloaded billions of times... BILLIONS with a B! She has grown to over 4 million subscribers building up her spice tolerance, visiting family-owned restaurants, and inventing unconventional recipes. Follow Lisa on YouTube and Tik Tok @lisanguyen,...
Jan 18, 2023•52 min•Ep. 99
Here's a Bonus Side Dish! This movie had us in the palm of its hand. It is a dark and moody... romance! If you liked In The Mood for Love or the classic Vertigo you will adore Park Chan Wook's latest, Decision to Leave. Visually stunning, and superbly acted, this movie moved us. Go see it in a theater if you can, or you can stream it on Mubi (I took advantage of a free trial). Coming on the show with me are Zabrina and Margo. Zabrina is an award-winning photographer and Sony Artisan, and Margo h...
Jan 12, 2023•56 min•Ep. 98
Cantonese is a variant of Chinese that come from the Guang Dong region of China. It is spoken by over 80 million people worldwide. About 2 years ago Stanford University and City College of San Francisco wanted to cut their Cantonese Language programs to save money. Listen in to hear how Jamie Tam and Julia Quan helped organize and mobilize a community of supporters to get the programs reinstated and much much more! Listen to the half-way mark to hear our favorite Cantonese slang terms and cuss w...
Jan 11, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 97
This is a fun conversation I had with XinYi. She is a Digital Nomad, Creative Chimera, and the host of the Don't Be Strangers Podcast and community. She is working to fight adult loneliness and the myth that making friends as an adult is difficult. We recorded in October for her podcast, and she sent me a copy of the edited file, so I figured now would be a great time to post it since I'm way behind on recording! Learn more about her events and podcast at Dontbestrangers.club or find her on soci...
Jan 04, 2023•53 min•Ep. 96
We hope you had a great Christmas or Hanukah (if that's what you celebrate)! We're taking the next two weeks off, but here's another Holiday Replay from the archives! This is a flashback to a fun chat we had with Tristan A. Chen, who voiced the bully Tyler in the amazing Disney movie Turning Red! Sit back and enjoy as you (hopefully) rest before the new year. We'll post new episodes in January! #representationmatters #asian #asianamerican #asianamericanpodcast #infatuasian #infatuasianpodcast...
Dec 28, 2022•47 min•Ep. 95
Happy Holidays Everyone! Last episode of the year! This is a short episode, where we catch up with our pal Adam from YouTube's Die Hard Fishing channel. I couldn't resist calling him up to talk about his epic battle with this open-water beast. Around San Francisco, we're known for crab, salmon, and other colder-water sealife. A few years ago, warm water species like tuna started showing up. Adam gave it a try in earnest a few years ago, but this was the year he got the right gear and the right t...
Dec 21, 2022•35 min•Ep. 94
STOP USING TEA BAGS! After writing a paper in college about the commodity tea trade, Cindy Li realized that the industry was inefficient and inequitable, with centuries-old structures rooted in colonialism. After working at a tea farm in Maui, she realized there had to be a better way to get people this fantastic product. She started Uproot Teas about a year and half ago and has set out to run a 100% sustainable company that is as good for you as it is for the farmers. She only works with 3 smal...
Dec 14, 2022•46 min•Ep. 93
