We Can Do Hard Things

Mothers & Sons with Ocean Vuong (and Chase Melton) (Best Of)

May 11, 2025

Ocean Vuong, acclaimed author and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, engages in a heartfelt conversation with Glennon and her son, Chase. They explore the profound impact of Ocean's work on Chase and the unique challenges Asian boys face in America. Ocean shares his experiences with grief and empathy drawn from his mother's death, and discusses his views on masculinity and the importance of complicating traditional narratives. Their dialogue beautifully weaves together themes of identity, loss, and the artistry of storytelling.

01:03:12

Episode guests

Ocean Vuong

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Ocean Vuong emphasizes the importance of redefining masculinity to embrace a more nuanced understanding of male identity.

Chase reveals how Ocean's work has deeply influenced his perspective, highlighting the power of storytelling in connecting generations.

Deep dives

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Intro

3min

Redefining Masculinity and Identity

12min

Exploring Complexity in Gender Conversation

3min

Exploring Motherhood, Identity, and the Universality of Loss

5min

Artistic Journeys and Cultural Expectations

8min

Navigating Mixed-Race Identity and Creative Expression

16min

Motherhood, Trauma, and Artistic Expression

12min

Reflections on Identity and Literature's Embrace

3min

Glennon’s son, Chase, joins Glennon for a special conversation with his hero, author Ocean Vuong, to discuss:

1. Chase shares with Ocean the impact his work has had in his life–and Glennon thanks Ocean for helping mother her son.

2. What Ocean learned from his mother about how to navigate being an Asian boy in America–and Glennon’s recognition that she did not prepare Chase for the same realities.

3. Ocean’s new book, Time is a Mother, and why watching his own mother die gave Ocean a deep empathy and connection to every person.

4. His relationship to maleness–and why Ocean is interested in “staying and complicating” masculinity.

About Ocean:

Ocean Vuong, author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds, and the New York Times bestselling novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a recipient of the 2019 MacArthur "Genius Grant" and the winner of the Whiting Award and the T. S. Eliot Prize. In Time Is a Mother, Ocean's newest poetry collection available now, he reckons with his mother’s death, embodying the paradox of sitting within grief while being determined to survive beyond it. His writings have been featured in The Atlantic, Harper's Magazine, The Nation, The New Republic, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. Born in Saigon, Vietnam, he currently lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.

IG: ⁠ocean_vuong

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