Episode 168
#168 - The RISE of Asian American Culture with Jeff Yang & Phil Yu aka AngryAsianMan (They Call Us Bruce Podcast)
This one goes out to the Asian diaspora Gen X, millennial & Gen Z-ers who are getting better acquainted with or just further embracing tf out of their Asian identities. For most of us Asian Americans, we grew up assimilating, disconnecting, and/or over-representing this side of ourselves - our languages, customs, features - in a society where we were mostly stereotyped, fetishized, or simply overlooked and ignored. But throughout the many decades since our parents and grandparents immigrated from our motherlands, we've created spaces, trends, and our own subcultures that have blossomed into a unique and increasingly stronger identity. In this episode, Minji sits down with two Asian American trailblazers who have contributed their life's work to carving out a space for our stories - writers & public figures Jeff Yang and Phil Yu (aka AngryAsianMan). Together they discuss their new book RISE, co-authored with Phil Wang of WongFu Productions, which covers some highlights in the evolution of Asian American pop culture. They dive into how times have changed, the significance of challenging the status quo, and the importance of a supportive, unified community to address bigotry, hate, and ignorance.
Links: Spotify - Featured Music Playlist
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/feb/15/wsj-shoes-on-shoeless-house-essay
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Follow our guests Phil Yu (AngryAsianMan) and Jeff Yang on:
- Phil Yu Instagram: @angryasianman
- Jeff Yang Instagram: @originalspin
- RISE book Instagram: @RISEAAbook
▫️ Music featured in this episode include "Uzutrap" by Uzuhan and “This Is A Song About Self Love” by DANakaDAN. Check out his new album "Me. Also Me." here!
▫️ Follow the show on Instagram and Twitter and support our Patreon
▫️ This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective
Produced by @marvinyueh & @AnnaSun
Supported by @JulianaDeer
00:00:00 - Peace for Ukraine
00:03:55 - Intro’ing the topic + guests
00:12:42 - Disappointment and hope from the pandemic
00:15:18 - Phil and Jeff elevator pitch of what they do
00:23:20 - Impact of Angry Asian Man on college Minji
00:25:56 - Impact of Jeff’s writings and publication
00:34:48 - Origin story of Phil + Jeff
00:42:32 - Phil as a judge for Kollaboration
00:48:51 - BREAK - [They call us Bruce Podcast] + FOA Patreon
00:50:20 - RISE - the book is slice of AA history from 90s to now
00:56:55 - If we don’t tell our story, who will?
01:03:36 - The decision making process for the book
01:11:13 - Not a definitive chronicle but a POV from authors + collaborators
01:18:04 - Parts of the book they each championed
01:24:10 - Respect your elders!
01:25:18 - FOA Qs for our guests
01:33:08 - Outro + Drop a 5 star review + Music by DANakaDAN - “This is a Song About Self Love”
01:36:31 - [All the Asians on Star Trek Podcast]
Mentioned in this episode:
Listen to Inheriting from LAist & NPR
"Inheriting" is a show about Asian American and Pacific Islander families, which explores how one event in history can ripple through generations. In doing so, the show seeks to break apart the AAPI monolith and tell a fuller story of these communities. In each episode, NPR’s Emily Kwong sits down with one family and facilitates deeply emotional conversations between their loved ones, exploring how their most personal, private moments are an integral part of history. Through these stories, we show how the past is personal and how to live with the legacies we’re constantly inheriting. New episodes premiere every Thursday. Subscribe to “Inheriting” on your app of choice
