The Vietnamese with Kenneth Nguyen

In this episode, we return with Dr. Nam C. Kim, an anthropologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to reflect on the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Vietnamese refugees to Guam in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.Dr. Kim shares details about a new project launching in 2025, supported by the Henry Luce Foundation, that explores the legacies of Operation New Life—the massive humanitarian effort that temporarily housed tens of thousands of Vietnamese evacuees on Guam in 1975.We discuss the stories, memories, and resilience of those connected to the camps—from former refugees to military personnel, volunteers, and local communities. Dr. Kim’s team aims to uncover and preserve these narratives, and they’re actively inviting contributions from anyone with a personal or family connection to this pivotal moment in history.If you or someone you know has memories, stories, or artifacts related to Operation New Life, please visit www.onlguam.org to learn more or get in touch.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 share a conversation about how it feels to witness our own community turning its back on hardworking immigrants who are simply seeking a better life. It’s a heartbreaking reality that, despite the resilience it took for our parents to build their lives here as refugees, there is now a growing disconnect where our community seems to forget the struggles of new immigrants.The conversation is partly inspired by the work of our dear friend, Julie Mai Tran (@sharemyroots), who created an incredibly insightful Instagram carousel. In it, Julie highlights why it’s not just important, but necessary, for Vietnamese Americans to support those who are most vulnerable today. She reminds us that if we’ve made it this far, it’s because we stood together as a community and extended a hand to others — just as we once needed support when we first arrived.Join us as we discuss how we can break down the barriers of indifference and rekindle the spirit of unity and compassion that has always been the backbone of the immigrant experience.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 presents a captivating collection of Vietnamese cinematic treasures, marking their debut to UK audiences. This season is a celebration and introduction of Vietnamese cinema to UK viewers.Star Nhà Ease is dedicated to unveiling the rich tapestry of Vietnamese cinema to UK audiences for the first time. This initiative will focus on expanding the understanding of Vietnam’s unique cinematic identity and spotlighting the wealth of its cinematic achievements, which remain largely unrecognised in the West.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 told from the outside in.Dr. Sean Fear is a Lecturer in International History at the University of Leeds (UK), where he also directs international activities and teaches on Vietnam and Cold War history. He earned his Ph.D. in History from Cornell University and his undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto. His work focuses on the interplay between South Vietnamese domestic politics and U.S. foreign policy during 1967–1975, drawing extensively on Vietnamese-language archives, memoirs, and media—his forthcoming book (with Harvard University Press) examines South Vietnam’s struggle for legitimacy. Professor Fear has held fellowships at Dartmouth’s John Sloan Dickey Center, New York University’s Centre on the Cold War, McGill University, and the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada. In 2022–23, he served as Visiting Professor at Fulbright University Vietnam and advises Ho Chi Minh City’s Independence Palace Museum. He's also co-editor (with Tuong Vu) of The Republic of Vietnam, 1955–1975: Vietnamese Perspectives on Nation Building (Cornell University Press, 2020).--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth NguyenVisit vietnamstorybank.com today for more information.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 insights into the social dynamics, cultural exchanges, and political landscapes of premodern Vietnam. Join us as we discuss the secrets hidden in scripts and sounds, the lost tongues of ancient communities, and how language can illuminate centuries-old realities.John guides us into the linguistics of ancient Vietnam—where every word is a clue, every script tells a story, and every conversation uncovers a forgotten world.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth NguyenVisit vietnamstorybank.com today for more information.Read lessSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 moral tensions prevalent in Vietnam at the time. Kenneth and Kevin discuss how Nguyễn Du’s nuanced storytelling, filled with complex characters and moral ambiguity, mirrored the struggles faced by Vietnamese society amid shifting political allegiances, corruption, and foreign threats.The hosts also examine the ways in which The Tale of Kieu resonated deeply with Vietnamese audiences, prompting widespread discussions about ethics, personal agency, fate, and social justice. They explore how Nguyễn Du skillfully navigated the fraught politics of the Nguyen dynasty era, embedding messages that continue to resonate today as powerful symbols of resilience, identity, and moral consciousness.Join Kenneth and Kevin as they unpack this literary work, revealing why The Tale of Kieu remains essential reading and a reflection of Vietnam’s historical and cultural landscape.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kevin D. Pham is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam. His research introduces Vietnamese political thought to the academic field of political theory, showing how Vietnamese thinkers challenge and enhance conventional Western understandings of important political concepts.He co-hosts Nam Phong Dialogues, a podcast in which he and Yen Vu have casual chats about Vietnamese history and being Vietnamese American. He is the author of The Architects of Dignity: Vietnamese Visions of Decolonization (Oxford University Press, 2024).Kevindoanpham.com--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth NguyenVisit vietnamstorybank.com today for more information.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 shifting dynamics in the region, particularly the rising tension with China and whether a direct threat to Vietnam could be potentially be on the horizon. We also unpack what the U.S. has (and hasn’t) learned from its wars—Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan—and how those lessons shape policy and peace building today.- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve just begun to sit with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth NguyenVisit vietnamstorybank.com today for more information.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 Chinese once spoken in northern Vietnam (the Red River Delta) and explores how this dialect influenced the emergence of Vietnamese Phan completed his M.A. at Columbia University (on Ming‑Qing vernacular fiction, 2005) and earned his Ph.D. from Cornell (on Sino‑Vietnamese language contact, 2012). His scholarship examines the evolution of writing systems, vernacular literary forms (like chữ Nôm), and the social-political implications of multilingualism in East Asia In this episode, Kenneth sits down with John to talk about his new book The Lost Tongues of the Red River. They get into the role language plays in shaping who we are—not just how we speak, but how we think, remember, and connect to culture.John shares insights into the roots of the Vietnamese language, how it’s evolved, and what might be slipping away. They also dig into the experience of growing up speaking English instead of Vietnamese, and what that means for identity, especially in the diaspora. It’s a thoughtful, wide-ranging conversation about language, memory, and what it really means to be Vietnamese—wherever you are in the world.- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve just begun to sit with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth NguyenVisit vietnamstorybank.com today for more information.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 in explaining and defending the Vietnamese revolution to the outside world. His essays and editorials offered nuanced views on nationalism, socialism, and cultural policy, helping to articulate Vietnam’s ideological stance during a turbulent century.Kevin and Kenneth explore Nguyễn Khắc Viện’s role as editor of Études Vietnamiennes, his sharp critiques of dogmatism within the Party, and his pioneering work in Vietnamese psychoanalysis and cultural theory. They also discuss his later years, in which he called for political openness and reform — cementing his place as both a loyal revolutionary and a principled critic.This episode offers conversation on a man who was not only a key intermediary between Vietnam and the world, but also a model of intellectual integrity and lifelong commitment to national progress.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kevin D. Pham is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam. His research introduces Vietnamese political thought to the academic field of political theory, showing how Vietnamese thinkers challenge and enhance conventional Western understandings of important political concepts.He co-hosts Nam Phong Dialogues, a podcast in which he and Yen Vu have casual chats about Vietnamese history and being Vietnamese American. He is the author of The Architects of Dignity: Vietnamese Visions of Decolonization (Oxford University Press, 2024).Kevindoanpham.com--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth NguyenVisit vietnamstorybank.com today for more information.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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. Kieu-Linh Caroline Valverde is a professor of Asian American Studies in the Bay Area, known for her groundbreaking work on Vietnamese diasporic identity and cultural politics. As both an academic and community advocate, she brings a sharp, critical lens to questions of trauma and resilience.Truong Tran is a poet, visual artist, and author who confronts themes of exclusion, erasure, and the struggle for voice. His work bridges the personal and political, challenging the limits of language and representation.Andrew Lam, award-winning author of Perfume Dreams and the newly released Stories from the Edge of the Sea, is a journalist and former NPR commentator whose essays and fiction illuminate the complexities of exile, memory, and transformation.Together, they sit down with Kenneth in conversation about what it means to create art after displacement and inherited trauma. Can the creative spirit evolve beyond pain or is trauma an inescapable thread in the Vietnamese diasporic narrative?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth NguyenVisit vietnamstorybank.com today for more information.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy