

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

Oct 18, 2021 • 1h 45min
Ep. 303: How White Guys Treat Asian Guys (ft. Kyle)
Asians love to talk about 'WMAF' (guilty) online. But we rarely talk about WMAM -- the complex and often toxic relationship that white men seek to enter with Asian men, often for self-serving reasons.
Kyle joins Jong and Teen to talk about this through his ten-year friendship with Bloomberg opinion writer Noah Smith. Teen compares notes with his brief online acquaintance with Noah.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
TWITTER:
Kyle (@beefhoagie)
Jong (@calicoarse)
Teen (@mont_jiang)
SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:
editor.planamag@gmail.com
EFPA Theme:
"Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Oct 14, 2021 • 1h 10min
Ep. 302: Blue Bayou and Narrative Ownership
(Warning: Spoilers! Time stamps will be provided during podcast)
Chris, Adam, and returning guest John Bai sit down to review and discuss the recent movie 'Blue Bayou' written, direct, and starred in by Justin Chong.
'Blue Bayou' follows the events in the life of Korean-American adoptee Antonio LeBlanc (Justin Chon), his pregnant wife Kathy (Alicia Vikander) and her daughter Jessie (Sydney Kowalske) after they learn that Antonio is not an American citizen as they always believed and is faced with deportation to South Korea.
The three then discuss the controversy surrounding the movie which centers on accusations that Chon did not get the permission of Adam Crapser and other deported and at risk of deportation adoptees to use details of their lives in the making of 'Blue Bayou'. This discussion leads into a conversation of the idea of Narrative Ownership since Justin Chon is not an adoptee himself.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
TWITTER:
Chris (@JesuInToast)
Adam (@snbatman)
John (@BohnJai)
Plan A Podcast series on Adoptees Without Citizenship: https://soundcloud.com/plan-a-magazine/sets/the-manufactured-crisis
SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:
editor.planamag@gmail.com
UA Theme:
"Chairman Mao" by Bambu

Oct 12, 2021 • 1h 19min
Ep. 301: K-Drama Kure-All
Teen, Jong, and Chris discuss THAT Salon article (about the Asian American woman who didn't find Asian men attractive until she started watching Korean dramas), and the increasingly gloves-off Twitter spats between Asian American bluechecks that suggests a convergence of high-class and dirtbag Asian Twitter mentalities.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
TWITTER:
Chris (@JesuInToast)
Teen (@mont_jiang)
Jong (@calicoarse)
REFERENCED RESOURCES:
K-Dramas Cured My Prejudice Against Asian Men | Salon: https://www.salon.com/2021/10/10/k-dramas-asian-men-tv-crash-landing-on-you/
Jay Caspian Kang's reaction to Jenn Fang's subtweet: https://twitter.com/jaycaspiankang/status/1447641759010283523?s=20
SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:
editor.planamag@gmail.com
EFPA Opening Theme:
"Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

Oct 4, 2021 • 59min
Ep. 299: Reddit Walls and 4Chan-ement Halls
Teen, Liza, and Chris talk about Wesley Yang's latest Substack piece reflecting on his "Paper Tigers" essay and Andrew Yang's Politico piece on how mentally warped you can get running for president.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
TWITTER:
Teen (@Mont_Jiang)
Chris (@JesuInToast)
Eliza (@aesthdistance1)
REFERENCED RESOURCES:
Personal Note by Wesley Yang | Year Zero Substack: https://wesleyyang.substack.com/p/personal-note
When I Ran For President, It Messed With My Head by Andrew Yang | Politico: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/10/03/andrew-yang-book-excerpt-campaigning-514967
SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:
editor.planamag@gmail.com
EFPA Opening Theme:
"Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

Sep 27, 2021 • 1h 5min
Ep. 297: We're Back In 2021 Again
Chris and Liza emerge from the weird past couple of weeks of Asian Twitter (where everyone momentarily went back to the gender wars of 2018) to talk about the latest dumb Asian American-related article in The New York Times, upcoming movies they're excited about (like Dune), what people often really mean when they say "social justice," and why straight women hate it when guys take selfies.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
TWITTER:
Chris (@JesuInToast)
Eliza (@aesthdistance1)
REFERENCED RESOURCES:
How It Feels To Be Asian In Today's America | NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/09/25/us/asian-americans.html
Salma Hayek Says Those Intimidated By Her Marriage To A Billionaire Are "Showing Racism" | InStyle: https://www.instyle.com/news/salma-hayek-billionaire-husband-racism
SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:
editor.planamag@gmail.com
EFPA Opening Theme:
"Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

Sep 20, 2021 • 1h 9min
Ep. 295: Simu "Scandal" and Sibling Rivalries Pt. 1 (ft. Trevor Beaulieu)
Teen, Chris, and Trevor (from Champagne Sharks) get together to talk about the wild last couple of days on Twitter regarding Simu Liu's supposedly controversial Reddit posts and the rerun of 2018-style Asian American gender wars, and how and why the dynamics of intense sibling rivalries are operating behind all this.
NOTE: Part 2 of this episode can be accessed by becoming our Patreon subscriber at www.patreon.com/planamag
TWITTER:
Trevor (@champagnesharks)
Teen (@mont_jiang)
Chris (@JesuInToast)
REFERENCED RESOURCES:
@NoTotally's anti-Simu tweet storm from 2019: https://imgur.com/a/QLfv1We
Simu Liu's Reddit posts in context: https://twitter.com/Katie_Bee__/status/1438785677492035584?s=20
SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:
editor.planamag@gmail.com
EFPA Opening Theme:
"Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

Sep 16, 2021 • 1h 49min
Ep. 294: WTF Is An "MRAsian" Anyway?
Jess, Chris and Teen have a throwback discussion about r/aznidentity and MRAsians, and why Aaron Mak's recently-published article trying to revive Asian incel panic is so ... forgettable. All three of us had advised Mak on his article a couple years ago, and he seems to have taken a very deep dive into the 'Asian masculinity ecosystem.' We question his findings.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
LINKS:
“Men’s Rights Asians” Think This Is Their Moment, by Aaron Mak https://slate.com/technology/2021/09/mens-rights-asians-aznidentity-stop-asian-hate-reddit.html
TWITTER:
Jess (@cogitatotomato)
Chris (@JesuInToast)
Teen (@mont_jiang)
SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:
editor.planamag@gmail.com
EFPA Opening Theme:
"Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

Sep 10, 2021 • 1h 21min
Ep. 293: Shang-Chi and the End of Media Rep Discourse
(Warning: Spoilers!) Chris, Teen, and Filip give their thoughts on Shang-Chi and speculate whether the success of Shang-Chi will be the final act of a multi-decade Asian American internal drama on media representation and Asian American male emasculation issues.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
TWITTER:
Chris (@JesuInToast)
Teen (@mont_jiang)
Filip (@filipgwriting)
SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:
editor.planamag@gmail.com
UA Theme:
"Chairman Mao" by Bambu

Sep 6, 2021 • 1h 12min
Ep. 292: The Gen Z College Experience (ft. amandamaryanna)
Ever wonder what college life is like for Gen Z now? Chris talks with popular Youtuber amandamaryanna (who, among other things, makes highly viewed videos about college life at NYU) about how her generation of college students has dealt with COVID, social media, and the whole idea of turning your passion into your job.
Follow amandamaryanna's Youtube and Instagram at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/amandamaryanna
https://www.instagram.com/amandapanda767/
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
TWITTER:
Chris (@JesuInToast)
REFERENCED RESOURCES:
is the college experience a myth?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQkQ9xUURCs
i don't have a dream job: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=276yr_0khKE
why can't black women be the love interest?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzBVpoVa26k
SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:
editor.planamag@gmail.com
EFPA Opening Theme:
"Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

Aug 30, 2021 • 1h 20min
Ep. 290: Asian vs. Asian American Politics (ft. Xiangyu and Rob Kajiwara)
Communist rapper and podcaster Xiangyu, and Luchuan and Hawaiian independence activist Rob Kajiwara, join Teen to talk about the notable differences between the politics of Asian people in Asia, and that of Asian Americans. While it's not surprising there is a difference, Asian American awareness of it is quite low. It's time to change that, esp. as Asian Americans claim a desire to 'reconnect' with Asian culture.
Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/planamag
TWITTER:
Xiangyu (@notXiangyu)
Rob (@robkajiwara)
Teen (@mont_jiang)
SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS:
editor.planamag@gmail.com
EFPA Opening Theme:
"Escape" by Ciel (@aerialist)