Seeing Rolling Quartz grow and create over the last 15 months has been so much fun. Since our last interview, the band has been to over 10 different countries and has played a bunch of live concerts in front of thousands of fans. Rolling Quartz has also put out lots of new music and videos. Jumi and I were able to catch up with them in between concerts and it was such a good time catching up! Rolling Quartz is a 5 member all-female rock band out of Seoul, South Korea. They debuted in December 20...
Jul 24, 2024•50 min•Ep. 181
Curtis, Nadira, and Jen get back together to talk about 2024 K-Dramas, coincidentally 3 years since we launched this podcast in June 2021! If we're being honest, 2024 hasn't been a great year of K-Dramas for us so far, but there have been some dramas that have made us laugh and cry... or both. We'll be talking specifically about An Atypical Family and Queen of Tears, and we'll comment on a few others that we liked or dropped. As usual, thanks to my guests Nadira and Jennifer for chatting with me...
Jul 17, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 180
If you’re looking for a summer read, look no further! Real Americans by Rachel Khong is like getting 3 books in one, it spans over 50 years and several countries from the perspective of 3 generations of a Chinese family. It asks the question, who and what determines who you are and what life you get to live? Rachel was a complete joy to speak with, she’s currently based in LA but spent many years here in San Francisco editing the iconic food magazine Lucky Peach 2011-2016). She also founded a wo...
Jul 10, 2024•55 min•Ep. 179
There is a type of content on YouTube called "Catch and Cook" videos, where people catch fish and then show you how to prepare them. Most people who make these kinds of videos simply take the guts out of the fish, slap them in a grill or a pan with some butter and salt and pepper and eat them like that. Taku, aka Outdoor Chef Life, has elevated the genre by producing amazing content with restaurant-worthy dishes that look as good as the taste! It was really fun sitting down and chatting with him...
Jul 03, 2024•53 min•Ep. 178
April Kim gets one of the best seats at some of Singapore and Malaysia's biggest KPOP concerts! She's literally on the stage with the artists! April is a stage interpreter, who turns the artists' Korean into English for their fans. I noticed April when some videos of her interactions with artists like Taeyeon, CN Blue, and IU went viral! It really seems like the performers and the fans love April's ability to communicate the artists' intentions and feelings. We had a lot of fun chatting about ho...
Jun 26, 2024•50 min•Ep. 177
Would it surprise you to find out that many of your favorite KPOP songs are written outside of Korea? It might also surprise you to find out that a few of these Billboard-charting songs were actually written by a Canadian teenager! Today we're hearing from Toronto-based singer-songwriter Sofia Kay. Still in her teens, Sofia is an uber-talented artist who has been writing songs for about as long as she could write! Some of her songs have been performed by some of KPOP's biggest stars, like Twice,...
Jun 19, 2024•37 min•Ep. 176
Eddie Ahn has been working in environmental justice as the executive director of Brightline Defense for the past 15+ years, here in San Francisco. And you know me, whenever I get a chance to interview someone from SF I'll jump at the chance! Eddie has published his first graphic novel, Advocate, a memoir about navigating family and working on environmental justice issues here in SF and beyond. He is a self-taught artist who illustrates the ups and downs of being a child of immigrants doing non-p...
Jun 12, 2024•42 min•Ep. 175
I traveled to Macau to teach English for 3 summers in the early 90's. It's a really special place to me, since so much of my Chinese identity was formed during my time there. Since I lived there before the internet age, I needed to dial and receive phone calls from overseas, so I was familiar with telling people they needed to dial the country code for Macau, 853, before the rest of the number. So when I heard about some content creators calling themselves the Outcasts from the 853, I knew I had...
Jun 05, 2024•57 min•Ep. 174
Children of immigrants face unique pressures as adults. They can get stuck in a "repay cycle," (tm) where they constantly feel like they need to always be there for their parents who gave up so much for them, often sacrificing their own desires to do that. Allison Ly is a licensed clinical social worker who offers therapy (in California) and coaching for 1st and 2nd gen adults. She has lots of insights for anyone feeling burnt out and possibly resentful of having to care for their immigrant pare...
May 29, 2024•47 min•Ep. 173
This week we had a wonderful chat with Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn! She is a Bangkok-born Malaysian/Chinese-American author and educator who wrote Exclusion and The Chinese American Story a middle-grade history book supplement that delineates the ups and downs of the Chinese American experience from the 1800s to today. It's a fantastic read that is not just for kids, Zoe and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! You can get Sarah-SoonLing's book at penguinrandomhouse.com or online bookshops for only $8....
May 22, 2024•54 min•Ep. 172
Ally Shen is a rising star in the Mando Pop world! She's part of the 9 member Taiwanese girl group Twinkle Black, but she announced on OUR SHOW that she is officially launching her solo career with 2 new songs in the next few months! It was a complete pleasure to talk with Ally for about an hour, she is so warm, friendly, funny, and smart! I can't wait to follow her career and see how far she goes! You can listen to Ally's and Twinkle Black's music on Spotify or YouTube. Follow her on social med...
May 15, 2024•48 min•Ep. 171
It's always fun to get together with my teacher pals, but it was even more fun to get together at my new favorite Southeast Asian restaurant, Lime Tree! Loan, Vicky, Jackie, and I got together right before our Spring Break to talk about AAPI history, facts, and historical figures. Pictured here is the Tape family, their 8-year-old daughter, Mamie, was part of a Supreme Court case that led to the desegregation of schools in America in 1885. I hope you learn something and have fun at the same time...
May 08, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 170
For someone who plays villains, actor Yvonne Chapman could not have been nicer! Calling in from Vancouver, Canada, Yvonne talked with me about her road to acting as well as her three seasons on CW's Kung Fu, playing villain turned friend Zhilan Zhang. In February of 2024, Yvonne was stunning as the larger-than-life supernatural Kyoshi Avatar in Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. This fall you can see Yvonne in CW's Superman and Lois, playing another "misunderstood" c...
May 01, 2024•44 min•Ep. 169
We headed back to our favorite KPOP store, SarangHello, here in San Francisco to have some fun on a Friday night! We had a Trivia Night with about 30 of our listeners and friends! It was lots of laughs, a few tense moments, but in the end, I think everyone left a winner! Special thanks to Chesca, Pip, (and Kevin in absentia) for hosting us and providing our final prize of a $50 gift card to the shop! Also shouts to the Lawton Alternative School and Galileo High School's KPOP clubs for participat...
Apr 24, 2024•45 min•Ep. 168
This episode was so much fun to record! I was able to get a mini tour of Chinatown with two SF natives who grew up down there, Josh Chuck, co-producer and co-director of the documentary film Chinatown Rising, and my mom Brenda! It was really fun to capture the sounds of Chinatown on this recording, I hope you enjoy! A few FACT CHECK items: I said Pan-Pacific Exposition, but I meant The Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939. And I also said my mom's grandparents immigrated here in the 1870...
Apr 17, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 167
**No Spoilers For the First Half** Jess Hong plays Jin Cheng in Netflix’s sci-fi thriller 3 Body Problem, adapted from Chinese novelist Cixin Liu’s books, and produced by Benioff, Weiss (Game of Thrones) and Woo (True Blood). Jin is a genius scientist trying to save mankind from a consequence that started over five decades earlier. Jess called in from New Zealand, and she couldn’t have been nicer or more generous with her time. Her performance in the show left both me and my co-host Zoe wanting ...
Apr 09, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 166
More great recommendations for Asian food in San Francisco from Julia Chen, Senior Staff Writer at the Infatuation SF! Let us know if you try any of our recommendations! As you can tell we love food and we hope you do too! Follow Julia @infatuation_sf or over at their website https://www.theinfatuation.com/san-francisco Restaurants Mentioned these clips: Viva Goa Hokkaido Sashimi Marketplace Fil-Am Cuisine My Tofu House Breadbelly Happy Donut Uncle Benny’s Abaca Funky Elephant Thanks for listeni...
Apr 04, 2024•11 min•Ep. 165
Julia Chen has my dream job! (though it does seem like a lot more work than I realized) She is a Senior staff writer at the restaurant recommendation site The Infatuation. (no, the similarity of our media names did not escape us)! Julia eats out in SF 6-10 times a week and writes reviews for The Infatuation website. The Infatuation has quickly become my favorite restaurant recommendation site! Coming back to co-host for a third time is my student Sydney! The three of us came up with some San Fra...
Apr 02, 2024•54 min•Ep. 164
What a year 2023 was for Asian American representation in TV and film. Since the Oscars is traditionally the end of awards season, I figured it’d be fun to do a little recap of some of our favorite AAPI projects that aired in 2023! I brought back 2 friends of the pod to help me with this. We’re happy to have Katie Nguyen back! And joining us again is our old pal Kelvin, who is a real Asian American Hollywood mainstay with 90+ acting credits under his name. It’s always fun to hear Kelvin’s take o...
Mar 27, 2024•47 min•Ep. 163
We hit the beach for this "on-location" recording (ignore the wind and wave sounds). I had a super fun time trying to catch crab with Kaitlyn and Adam. In between checking our crab snares, we had time to chat about fishing and whatnot. Did we go home empty-handed? Check out our Instagram for pics of the day. Or you can watch Adam's video of our outing at his channel ( https://youtu.be/CLoDXJi3Ee0?si=tK7PecsyfEyy6wtt ) Please ignore the part where I botched my first cast! Special thanks to my gue...
Mar 20, 2024•47 min•Ep. 162
Science fiction with feelings! Mike Chen is a New York Times bestselling author. He's written parts of both the Star Wars and Star Trek collections. He has penned 6 original novels including, Here and Now and Then, Light Years From Home, and the recently released A Quantum Love Story. Besides both being geeks with the same last name (in Chinese), Mike and I also have UC Davis and growing up in the Bay Area in common. If any of that also describes you, you will certainly want to read some of Mike...
Mar 13, 2024•52 min•Ep. 161
It’s not every day that we have a reverend on the InfatuAsian Podcat! Reverend Eugene Cho has made it his mission to end suffering around the world. He founded One Day's Wages, a grassroots organization that uses small donations from everyday people to help people all over the world. He’s written and co-authored 3 books and speaks all over the world. He is currently the President and CEO of Bread for the World. Eugene and I have known each other for about 40 years, and it is truly an honor to ca...
Mar 06, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 160
Michelle has been traveling the world for the past 10 years. She has been to over 68 countries on all 7 continents… and she’s gotten paid for most it! It started by teaching English in Japan, which turned into teaching English and taking care of kids on cruise ships. This past year (November to November) Michelle was working at the South Pole Station in Antarctica! If you have a desire to see the world, and you’re not independently wealthy or a trust fund baby, this episode is for you! You can r...
Feb 28, 2024•1 hr
Love is still in the air over here at the InfatuAsian Podcast... you get a 2nd Valentine's Day episode! This time Jennifer, Nadira, and I asked some of our podcasting friends to pick their favorite K-Drama romance of ALL TIME!!! I loved hearing all their answers, and I hope you agree or maybe even get a few dramas to add to your watchlist! Special thanks to all my special guests! They all went above and beyond my expectations and came through big time. THANK YOU!!!! Lia from Afternoona Delight P...
Feb 21, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 159
Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! Whether you're married, dating, or single we have a fun episode for you. Jackie, Loan, and I talk about random Asian love facts and stories this week, just in time for V-Day 2024! So cuddle up with someone you love... or enjoy some black bean noodles by yourself and have a listen! Special thanks to fellow teachers Loan and Jackie for joking around with me this week. And a special shout out to Ming the owner of Lime Tree Restaurant in San Francisco, who was our uno...
Feb 13, 2024•49 min•Ep. 158
*Spoiler Free 1st Half* Netflix’s The Brothers Sun started 2024 with a bang! Starring Michelle Yeoh, it is a non-stop adventure from episode one. It is far from simply being a show about fighting a triad war, it has lots of comedic and heartfelt moments. At its core, it is a story about loyalty and family both born into and chosen. My co-host Katie and I got to spend our lunch hour with two of the stars of the show, Jon Xue Zhang who plays Blood Boots, and Alice Hewkin who plays twin sisters May...
Feb 07, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 157
This week we break down Netflix’s hit show Singles Inferno 3. Watching 12 beautiful Korean singles compete for each other’s affection has become a winter tradition for Netflix. Curtis is a little late to the Singles Inferno franchise, watching the show for the first time this year, but it didn’t disappoint. It is very entertaining! Helping out this week are Corinna, Andrew, and Katie. Corinna and Andrew are Curtis’ former students, and Katie is a content creator who posted some TikToks about Sin...
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 156
We recorded this episode in late June of 2023, but we held it up due to the Hollywood writer’s strike, but it’s finally time to bring it out of cold storage! Leo Xia, professionally known as LowHi, is a singer/songwriter, rapper, and music producer. His solo work showcases his sensitive side that’s filled with authenticity and subtlety. When he raps with his group NITEMRKT, however, you get to experience the duality that is Lowhi! Songs On This Episode "Sliced Fruit" - Lowhi (384, album) "Faded ...
Jan 24, 2024•41 min•Ep. 155
The Fetishist is a book written over 10 years ago by Katherine Min. Unfortunately, Katherine passed away in 2019, and it was left unpublished. The book has just now been published posthumously and is available for you to read. One of the people who made sure that this book got out into the world is Katherine’s daughter Kayla Min Andrews. It was a real joy to speak with Kayla, and learn more about her mom and the book! If you’re in Seattle (1/18/24), San Francisco (1/22/24), LA, Asheville, Chapel...
Jan 17, 2024•2 hr 10 min•Ep. 154
Friend of the podcast Chloe Choe came back to talk side hustles, real estate, and more money tips! Chloe is a software engineer by day, but she loves little and big ways to generate extra income. She got her real estate license last year and bought her first home! We had a lot of fun talking about big and small ways to get more money in your pocket. Follow Chloe on social media @offhourhustle for more tips and tricks. The information given about real estate or personal finance is for entertainme...
Jan 10, 2024•59 min•Ep. 153
