In this special July 4th episode, I sit in conversation with Chris Tran from Little Saigon Official to discuss a topic close to our hearts: the importance of solidarity between the Vietnamese American community and other immigrant groups in the U.S. today. In light of the ongoing ICE raids around us, we explore why the Vietnamese American diaspora must stand in support of immigrants, even as the struggles of today’s newcomers echo the hardships once faced by our parents' generation. Chris and I ...
Jul 04, 2025•51 min
Tuyet Van Huynh specializes in Film, Immersive Film, Theatre and Multi Disciplinary work. She is an advocate in amplifying and championing underrepresented voices in the arts and as a British Vietnamese-Chinese Creative, she is always looking at different ways in how to raise the profile of East & Southeast Asian arts and artists within the UK cultural industry and increase this voice and representation within the UK’s cultural discourse. Tuyet founded Star Nhà Ease: Vietnamese Cinema that p...
Jul 03, 2025•51 min
Historian and professor Sean Fear joins Kenneth to discuss the complexities of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and how it shaped the war’s outcome. Together, they revisit moments and ask a provocative question: What if South Vietnam had been better funded, structured, and supported? Could history have unfolded differently? This conversation offers a nuanced take on counterfactual history, American foreign policy, and the often-overlooked perspectives of Vietnamese actors in a war too often t...
Jul 01, 2025•54 min
Welcome to the first episode of our sub-series, Ancient Vietnam , where we explore the depths of Vietnam's early history through language, culture, and forgotten stories. In this inaugural conversation, co-host John Phan—linguistic historian at Columbia University and author of Lost Tongues of the Red River —guides us through the intricate relationship between ancient Vietnam's spoken languages, literary traditions, and writing systems. Together, we'll unpack how linguistic clues offer profound ...
Jun 27, 2025•1 hr 2 min
In this episode of Viet History Makers, co-hosts Kenneth Nguyen and Kevin Pham explore the history of The Tale of Kieu (Truyện Kiều), the seminal poetic masterpiece by Nguyễn Du, expanding the historical context surrounding its creation and the impact it had on Vietnamese culture and identity. Written in the early 19th century during a period of intense turmoil and dynastic upheaval, Nguyễn Du crafted this epic poem as both a subtle critique and poignant reflection of the social, political, and ...
Jun 18, 2025•56 min
We sit down with Dr. Andrew Wells-Dang, a senior expert at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), for a conversation about Vietnam, geopolitics, and lessons from war. We start by exploring how Dr. Wells-Dang found his way to working in Vietnam, and the unexpected connection between his last name and Vietnamese culture. This episode discussed the critical work of USIP and reflect on the impact of its recent defunding during the Trump administration. Dr. Wells-Dang shares insights into the s...
Jun 11, 2025•58 min
John D. Phan is an Associate Professor of Vietnamese Humanities at Columbia University, based in the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures and the Weatherhead East Asian Institute. He focuses on the linguistic history of Vietnam and its cultural context. .His first book, The Lost Tongues of the Red River: Annamese Middle Chinese & the Origins of the Vietnamese Language, published in April 2025 by Harvard University Press, posits the existence of a regional dialect of Middle Chine...
Jun 09, 2025•1 hr 2 min
In this episode of Viet History Makers, co-hosts Kevin Pham and Kenneth Nguyen look into the life of Nguyễn Khắc Viện — a revolutionary intellectual, physician and cultural critic who helped shape modern Vietnamese identity. Born in 1913 in Ha Tinh, Nguyễn Khắc Viện studied medicine in France, where he became deeply involved in anti-colonial activism and the international communist movement. He spent years in exile, publishing prolifically in both French and Vietnamese, and became a key figure i...
Jun 03, 2025•1 hr 11 min
In this roundtable discussion Kenneth Nguyen , we bring together four artists in Vietnamese literature, art, and academia to reflect on creativity, memory, and healing, 50 years after the end of the Vietnam War. Christina Vo is the author of My Vietnam, Your Vietnam , a memoir that weaves together the stories of two generations navigating identity and belonging. With a background in international development and storytelling, Christina explores how personal and national histories intersect. Dr. ...
May 29, 2025•1 hr 23 min
Mia Nguyen is a Vietnamese community builder and the founder of Viet Boss Babes - a Vietlish podcast and media platform sharing Vietnamese culture, identity and ambition with the world. Born and raised in Hanoi and currently living in Toronto, Mia’s work bridges the diaspora experience with global conversations. By day, she leads marketing strategies in the tech industry. By night, she’s building a platform that redefines what it means to be modern, Vietnamese, and proudly in-between - through s...
May 22, 2025•59 min
In this episode of The Vietnamese podcast, host Anderson Le sits down with Tony Bui, a pioneer in the Vietnamese American independent cinema space. Tony is a Sundance award-winning writer, director, and producer. He is currently Artist-in-Residence at Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute and teaches in Columbia’s School of the Arts graduate film program. His films include Yellow Lotus , Three Seasons , Green Dragon , and The Throwaways . His short film, Yellow Lotus , was the f...
May 20, 2025•1 hr 16 min
Can The Japanese Internment Camps Happen Again? In this episode, we sit with Kevin Nguyen, author of the new novel Mỹ Documents, a chilling and satirical reimagining of American history. Kevin is the features editor at The Verge, formerly a senior editor at GQ, and the author of New Waves. We talk about his latest book, which imagines a near-future America where Vietnamese Americans are rounded up and detained in internment camps following a wave of national panic. Set through the perspectives o...
May 13, 2025•56 min
On the 50th anniversary of April 30, 1975 — the official end of the Vietnam War — I sat in silence at home and thought about what a few of us have been thinking for a long time: it’s time to think about the next 50 years of what the Vietnamese all over the world can do together. Not to forget, not to erase, but to release. We’ve all carried the weight of this war for five decades — across time, oceans, generations, and identities. In this moment, I'm asking for a new space. A new way of seeing c...
May 10, 2025•4 min
In this episode of Viet History Makers, host Kenneth Nguyen and co-host Kevin Pham explore the life and legacy of Đào Duy Anh (1904–1988), a pioneering figure in Vietnam's intellectual history. As a historian, lexicographer, and cultural scholar, Đào Duy Anh laid the groundwork for modern Vietnamese social sciences. His seminal works, including the Hán-Việt Từ Điển and Việt Nam Văn Hóa Sử Cương, have become cornerstones in the study of Vietnamese language and culture. The discussion explores Đào...
May 09, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Andrew Lam is a Vietnamese American author and journalist known for his insightful and humorous explorations of the Vietnamese diaspora and immigrant identity. Born Lâm Quang Dũng in 1964 in South Vietnam, he is the son of General Lâm Quang Thi of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. At the age of 11, during the fall of Saigon in April 1975, Lam and his family fled Vietnam, eventually settling in California. His writing explores themes of identity, belonging, and the complexities of the immigran...
Apr 30, 2025•55 min
In this episode of The Vietnamese , we sit down with veteran director/producer Timothy Linh Bui to explore his journey in the film business from Hollywood to Vietnam. Starting from his formative years at Columbia College in Los Angeles, Timothy shares insights into his early works, including Three Seasons and Green Dragon , and his collaborations with actors like Patrick Swayze and Forest Whitaker. Timothy has gone on to work with actors such as Jessica Biel, Ray Liotta, Lisa Kudrow, Eddie Redma...
Apr 25, 2025•51 min
In this episode of The Vietnamese Podcast , we’re joined by Đoan Hoàng Curtis, a director and producer, to discuss her journey in the world of documentary filmmaking. Doan shares her behind-the-scenes experience working on the new Netflix series Turning Point: The Vietnam War , where she played a pivotal role in shedding light on the complexities of the Vietnam War. Doan also talks about her own documentary Oh Saigon , a deeply personal exploration, capturing the resilience and transformation of...
Apr 23, 2025•1 hr 7 min
Join host Kenneth Nguyen and series co-host Kevin Pham, author of The Architects of Dignity: Vietnamese Visions of Decolonization (Oxford University Press, 2024), in this sub-series of the podcast, where they explore the key figures and pivotal moments in Vietnamese history. In this episode of Viet History Makers, Kenneth and Kevin dive into one of the most somber chapters of the Vietnam War: the final days of the conflict, marked by the suicides of five high-ranking South Vietnamese generals on...
Apr 21, 2025•1 hr 6 min
In this episode of The Vietnamese podcast, host Anderson Le sits down with Duong Dieu Linh, a distinctive voice in Vietnam’s new wave of independent cinema. Known for her quirky, layered storytelling and bold visual style, Duong shares her perspective on filmmaking in Vietnam and the unique path she’s carved out as a director. The conversation opens with Linh’s artistic beginnings, tracing how her studies abroad and early creative experiments led her to pursue storytelling through film. She disc...
Apr 18, 2025•1 hr 14 min
Alex-Thai Dinh Vo is Research Assistant Professor at the Vietnam Center & Archive (VNCA), Texas Tech University. He is a historian of modern Vietnam and East and Southeast Asia, specializing in Cold War politics and the Vietnam Wars. He oversees the VNCA Vietnam War MIAs and Legacies Research Project and the VNCA Vietnamese Oral History Project. He formerly served as a historian with the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Agency and a research scholar with the U.S.-Vietnam Center at the University of Oreg...
Apr 11, 2025•1 hr 15 min
We sit in conversation with historian Dr. Jay Veith to uncover the forgotten and often overlooked story of how the United States worked to recover POWs and MIAs from Vietnam—efforts that began long before the lifting of the U.S. embargo. Dr. Veith shares powerful insights into the challenges, politics, and perseverance behind these missions. We then turn to a discussion about President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu—his leadership, legacy, and role in shaping the fate of South Vietnam. Finally, we reflect on ...
Apr 10, 2025•58 min
In this episode, Kenneth sits down with Chris Tran from Chris Tran Travels to explore the complexities of identity and culture as third-culture kids. We both share the challenges of spreading Vietnamese culture, despite our deep love for our work and mission. We dive into the work he’s doing by teaching the Vietnamese language to overseas Vietnamese American and other students, and the importance of cultural preservation in today’s world. Additionally, Chris shares exciting details about his new...
Apr 08, 2025•49 min
In this episode of The Vietnamese Podcast , host Anderson Le is joined by acclaimed film director Ham Tran. Together, they discuss the current state of the film industry in Vietnam, reflecting on its evolution and the growing opportunities for filmmakers in the region. Ham shares insights into his own journey, from his early start in filmmaking to the directors and inspirations that helped shape his unique cinematic voice. The conversation begins with Ham Tran’s early days, with the director rec...
Apr 04, 2025•1 hr 9 min
We sit down with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen for a raw conversation that bridges literature, politics, and global affairs. Viet brings clarity and depth to some of the most urgent issues facing the world today such as his searing critiques of war, displacement, and identity. We begin by discussing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza — a conflict that continues to raise difficult questions about power, accountability, and the role of the United States in international spac...
Mar 31, 2025•35 min
Hung La is a Vietnamese-American fashion designer based in London, known for his innovative menswear and exploration of Asian identity in fashion. Growing up in a Vietnamese community outside Washington, D.C., he was influenced by both American pop culture and traditional Vietnamese values, which shaped his design ethos. After studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Hung worked at fashion houses like Balenciaga and Céline, gaining invaluable experience. In 2017, alongside his part...
Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 3 min
In this first episode of The Viet Cinema Canon, host Anderson Le is joined by Vietnamese director Nguyen Vo Nghiem Minh. Together, they discuss Minh’s journey into film directing, touching on his early influences and his critically acclaimed works. They also explore his latest production, Picturehouse, a take on Vietnamese storytelling in the cinematic world. Throughout their conversation, Anderson and Minh explore the evolution of Vietnamese cinema, specifically how to challenge and reframe tra...
Mar 24, 2025•1 hr 3 min
Born to Vietnamese refugee parents and raised in Melbourne, Diana Nguyen’s work blends her Vietnamese heritage with her personal experiences, offering audiences a universally relatable perspective. From her critically acclaimed stand-up comedy to her role as a trailblazer in the Australian entertainment scene, Diana’s journey is one of resilience, humor, and passion. In this episode, Diana takes us behind the scenes of her career, sharing stories of growing up as a first-generation Vietnamese-Au...
Mar 21, 2025•53 min
Join host Kenneth Nguyen and series co-host Kevin Pham, author of The Architects of Dignity: Vietnamese Visions of Decolonization (Oxford University Press, 2024), in this sub-series of the podcast, exploring the key figures and moments in Vietnamese history. In this episode of Viet History Makers , host Kenneth Nguyen and co-host Kevin Pham take a deep dive into the life and legacy of Nguyễn Thị Bình (1927–2023), a revolutionary, diplomat, and one of the most prominent female figures in Vietnam’...
Mar 18, 2025•51 min
Join host Kenneth Nguyen and series co-host Kevin Pham, author of The Architects of Dignity: Vietnamese Visions of Decolonization (Oxford University Press, 2024), in this sub-series of the podcast, exploring the key figures and moments in Vietnamese history. In this episode of Viet History Makers, host Kenneth Nguyen and co-host Kevin Pham take a deep dive into the life and legacy of Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (1923–2001), the second and final president of the Republic of Vietnam. A soldier-turned-politic...
Mar 15, 2025•56 min
Dustin Nguyen has left a mark on global audiences since the 1980s, first appearing alongside Tom Selleck in Magnum P.I. and later making waves in Hollywood with Johnny Depp in 21 Jump Street . But his journey didn’t stop there. Fueled by a deep passion for filmmaking, Dustin has pushed his limits, taking on roles as an actor, director, and producer in the critical early years of Vietnam's film industry rebirth. During the height of his success in Vietnam, Dusting was called back to the U.S. to p...
Mar 11, 2025•57 min
