

Escape From Plan A
Escape From Plan A
Escape From Plan A is an ongoing discussion of life and politics in America from the perspective of Asian people living here.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 23, 2023 • 1h 22min
Ep. 427: Real Culture Can't Be Stolen, Pt. 1
Jess and Teen go deep yet again on "cultural appropriation" and why there can be no meaningful understanding about culture, art and theft so long as this bogus idea frames the discussion. Current events touched upon include the difference in opinion between Asian Americans and native Asians over Gwen Stefani-san's Japanese DNA, and Rick Rubin's laissez faire attitude towards musical influence and borrowing.
Part 2 is available on Patreon for subscribers.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
Check out the new Plan A merchandise shop: planamag.com/shop/
REFERENCED RESOURCES:
Japan Shrugs as Americans Fume: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/1/15/japan-shrugs-as-us-fumes-over-gwen-stefani-appropriation-furore
Broken Record Podcast ft. Rick Rubin: https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/broken-record/rick-rubin-2
EFPA Theme:
"Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Jan 17, 2023 • 1h 1min
Ep. 425: No More Velmas, Pt. 1 (ft. Dan Chen)
Liza and Chris and are joined by returning guest and filmmaker Dan Chen to talk about Velma, Everything Everywhere All At Once, the dead-end of diversity self-insert culture, divorcing one's self-esteem from media rep, and striving to create instead of just criticize.
Part 2 is available on Patreon for subscribers.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
Check out the new Plan A merchandise shop: planamag.com/shop/
TWITTER:
Liza (@aesthdistance1)
Chris(@JesuInToast)
EFPA Theme:
"Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Jan 9, 2023 • 1h 3min
Ep. 423: De-Digitizing Life, Pt. 1
Liza, Jess, Chris and Teen discuss the widespread phenomenon of embracing older creative technologies such as film cameras and typewriters, and lessening the amount of time we spend on digital technologies esp. the modern smartphone. What is the appeal of pre-digital technology, and what do we stand to gain from it? Also, what does OpenAI's content-generating colossi ChatGPT and Dall-E mean for the career prospects of 'content creators'?
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
Check out the new Plan A merchandise shop: planamag.com/shop/
REFERENCED RESOURCES:
The Day The Music Burned: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/11/magazine/universal-fire-master-recordings.html
EFPA Theme:
"Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Jan 3, 2023 • 1h 16min
Ep. 421: The Plan A Film Project (ft. Millie, Philips and Dan)
Happy New Year! One of the highlights of the year for us at Plan A was kicking off a short film project helmed by the director Dan Chen, cinematographer Philips Shum, and producer Millicent Cho. Shan and Teen reminisce about the trio's five eventful days of shooting in New York City, the sights they saw, the people they met, the stories they heard.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
Check out the new Plan A merchandise shop: planamag.com/shop/
Millie's IG story about the shoot: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl8w5-lIJQX/?hl=en
Dan Chen's website: https://danchen.co/
Philips Shum's website: https://www.philipsshum.com/
EFPA Theme:
"Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Dec 28, 2022 • 1h 4min
Ep. 419: Plan A's Writing Comeback 2023, Pt. 1
Teen and Chris talk about wanting to regularly publish pieces as they once used to, but now with a newfound focus on creation rather than criticism, and their hope that that can help foster a new Asian American artistic subculture that is just more interesting and honest, even offensively so, than what passes for Asian American culture these days.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
Check out the new Plan A merchandise shop: planamag.com/shop/
Dan Chen's website: https://danchen.co/
TWITTER:
Teen (@mont_jiang)
Chris (@JesuInToast)
REFERENCED RESOURCES:
Asian American Psycho by Chris Jesu Lee | Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/2022/06/asian-american-psycho
Transgression, An Elegy by Laura Kipnis: http://laurakipnis.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Transgression-an-Elegy.pdf
Enough With The Sad Put-Upon Woman Essay by Rachel Connolly | Slate: https://slate.com/human-interest/2022/12/guardian-writer-essay-response-patriarchy.html
r/deuxmoi: Mindy Kaling, It's Getting Weird | Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Deuxmoi/comments/zpt2jo/mindy_kaling_its_getting_weird/
EFPA Theme:
"Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Dec 20, 2022 • 1h 8min
Ep. 418: How to Writemax with ChadGPT
Chris, Teen, and Filip talk about how the new AI writing program ChatGPT could either spell doom for human writers or usher in a renaissance where mediocre shitlib writing is rendered obsolete and only those with interesting things to say can flourish.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
Check out the new Plan A merchandise shop: planamag.com/shop/
TWITTER:
Chris (@JesuInToast)
Teen (@mont_jiang)
Filip (@filipgwriting)
EFPA Theme:
"Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Dec 12, 2022 • 1h 6min
Ep. 415: COVID Time Bubble and Aging Parents, Pt. 1
Chris just spent 3 weeks in Korea to see his parents for the first time in almost 4 years, and he and Filip talk about aging parents and the impact their increasingly apparent mortality has on how we balance our own interests vs. their desires for our careers, dating and marriage, and other life pursuits.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
Check out the new Plan A merchandise shop: planamag.com/shop/
REFERENCED RESOURCES:
The Tail End by Tim Urban | WaitButWhy: waitbutwhy.com/2015/12/the-tail-end.html
TWITTER:
Chris (@JesuInToast)
Filip (@filipgwriting)
EFPA Theme:
"Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Dec 4, 2022 • 1h 24min
Ep. 414: The Best World Cup Ever (So Far)
Chris and Adam talk about Korea's dramatic progression to the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup, how much we tie up self-worth to international sporting spectacles, and the rise of Cho Gue-sung as the Hot Guy of the World Cup.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
Check out the new Plan A merchandise shop: planamag.com/shop/
TWITTER:
Chris (@JesuInToast)
Adam (@snbatman)
EFPA Theme:
"Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Dec 2, 2022 • 1h 5min
Ep. 412: The Strivers vs. The Obsessives, Pt. 1
Part 1 of 2
Jess and Teen talk about the difference in life approach between those of us who seek achievement within an organization or otherwise within the confines of a competition, versus those of us who seek achievement entirely as self-satisfaction. Are these really two separate groups of people, or archetypes that both exist within each of us? And how does this relate to archetypes of Asian American people?
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
Check out the new Plan A merchandise shop: planamag.com/shop/
REFERENCED RESOURCES:
Deadline interview with Alejandro Inarritu: https://deadline.com/2014/10/birdman-director-alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu-writers-interview-852206/
EFPA Theme:
"Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Nov 22, 2022 • 1h 17min
Ep. 411: Materialism Is Not Consumerism
Jess and Teen talk about spending habits, addictive consumerism, and how materialism -- the love of material possessions -- is not the problem. It might be the solution.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
Check out the new Plan A merchandise shop: planamag.com/shop/
EFPA Theme:
"Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)