We often take for granted that “seeing people who look like us” — especially in mass media — means progress towards racial justice. But what forms of representation do we see making an impact? And who is that impact for?

In this first episode of a three-part series, Senior Producer Julia Shu invites Eliza Romero (co-host of Unverified Accounts and blogger at Aesthetic Distance), Marvin Yueh (co-host of Books & Boba and co-creator of the Potluck Podcast Collective), and Thomas Mangloña II (journalist and co-founder of the Pacific Islander Task Force at AAJA) — to question conventional wisdom and share what kind of representation we want to have more of.

Our team decided to host these conversations because in the U.S. it’s once again Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a time that can often feel routine and repetitive. And during a year when absolutely nothing has been routine, we hope these episodes will join many other podcasts, panels, and events in shaking up the usual talking points of representation, diversity, and inclusion for AAPIHM.