Model Minority Moms

Doctor, Entrepreneur, Dad - Nirav, Kate's husband wears many hats. In our interview we found that he has worn many different hats in his life. He shares about his journey growing up as an only child of Indian immigrants in small town America, dropping out of medical school to try photography, marrying a type A Chinese-American and becoming a girl dad.

Sometimes it’s easier to let friendships fade away when there’s conflict or just put up with dysfunction without saying anything. It’s easier that way to avoid the drama. And tbh, we almost broke up ourselves–but then we fought to keep us together. It was superrr scary, but we did it. Because…we’re supposed to be a role model to our kids right?

Sometimes it’s easier to let friendships fade away when there’s conflict or just put up with dysfunction without saying anything. It’s easier that way to avoid the drama. And tbh, we almost broke up ourselves–but then we fought to keep us together. It was superrr scary, but we did it. Because…we’re supposed to be a role model to our kids right? And also, we wanted to keep doing the podcast together. 

By listener request: we tackle two giant elephants that loooove to populate Asian American lives: shame and guilt. Both are seemingly built into many traditional cultures, and we have all been traumatized by these feelings. As adults responsible for creating a healthy emotional environment for our own kids, we discuss why we experience these emotions, the impact on our kids, whether they are valuable, and how to let them go when they don't serve us.

Based on listener feedback, we did it! We wrangled our husbands to be on the show. In this episode, Susan’s husband Marvin reveals what he thinks of the podcast, supporting Susan’s dream to become an artist, and what it’s like to be married to your complete opposite. Meet Marvin: a Canadian- American-Hong Kong-Korean who doesn’t feel like an outsider and loves to mountaineer.

Navigating the emotional rollercoaster and hairy logistics of COVID has taken over our life at times. In this episode, we talk about the challenges of life as a working mom during COVID, how it's different now vs the beginning of the pandemic and what we hope the future will hold.

Whether or not to have a second kid is a looming decision for many of us. The “2 Under 2” plan seems good in theory but a nightmare in practice. Does 1 plus 1 equal 2? 1.5? 11?

What do you get your kids, nieces and nephews who might already have a ton of stuff? Are you stressed by everyone else’s Instagram-perfect holiday decorations that appear like magic right after Thanksgiving, when you’re still lying around with your pants unbuttoned? On this episode, we discuss our real thoughts about and experience of the winter holidays, and provide our own survival tips. Hint: at least one of us is a grinch and at least one of us loves Christmas.

Having kids brings a whole slew of questions, stresses, and joys around the end of year holidays. What do you actually believe in (Santa, Jesus, Buddha, any others???) and want to tell your kids? What kind of holiday memories do you want to make with them? How do you handle potentially triggering family gatherings? In this episode, we discuss Susan’s urgent parent dilemma: what do you tell your almost-two-year-old about Santa? Do you say he's real? If you say he exists, is that a lie? Do you take him to see an Asian Santa? Is that a healthy alternative to the mainstream white Santas or is that like, as Jeanette puts it, serving up a bulgogi sandwich?

Our families of origin are often the source of the deepest love and the deepest hurt. Even in our mid-thirties, we struggle to break the cycle of hurtful interactions with those closest to us. With kids, figuring out some way to do it better seems even more urgent. We're told to set boundaries by our therapists, but how do you do that with an older generation that doesn't know what boundaries mean? Spoiler: We haven't found any magic bullets but we share some ideas that have helped us better manage our relationships with family.