Escape From Plan A

*TECHNICAL NOTE* if you've had problem accessing episodes in the past couple of weeks, it's because we messed up a setting on our end and the URL's stopped working. We have it fixed now -- if you're still having trouble in your podcast app, (1) refresh the feed, and (2) clear out any 'downloading' Plan A episodes that are still trying to download, and try again. Friend of the pod Kang joins Teen all the way from Sydney to dissect the way right wing people talk "frankly" or "realistically" about race and gender. From the way "obvious" differences in race are supposedly ignored, to the way gender "clearly" is a binary matter, the right wing accuses 'social justice warriors' of adopting 'cultural marxism' to erode foundational pillars of the 'Western society.' It's all too common, but what to make of race realism, and how to see through it? Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/planamag SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com EFPA Opening Theme: "Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

Author JS Lee joins Diana and Adam to premiere her soon-to-be-released novel, Everyone Was Falling. The book is a suspenseful thriller and jumping-off point for discussions of transracial adoption, trauma and recovery, and staying true to your artistic vision by any means necessary. TWITTER: JS Lee (@jessicasunlee) Diana (@discoveryduck) Adam (@snbatman) SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com EFPA Opening Theme: "Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

Sen, Filip, Diana, and Jess discuss "Dealing in Desire: Asian Ascendancy, Western Decline, and the Hidden Currencies of Global Sex Work" by Kimberly Kay Hoang. Asians in the diaspora are often highly critical of the exploitation of white "sexpats" in Asia. While the criticism is completely justified, it is also an incomplete and western-centric perspective. Dr. Hoang's exploration illuminates Vietnam's sex work industry as dynamic, multifaceted, and directly tied to capital flow and nation-building. What can diaspora men and women learn from this research to better support ourselves, each other, and the workers in our homelands? TWITTER: Sen (@sen_goji) Filip (@filipgwriting) Diana (@discoveryduck) Jess (@cogitatotomato) REFERENCED RESOURCES: -"Dealing in Desire: Asian Ascendancy, Western Decline, and the Hidden Currencies of Global Sex Work" https://b-ok.cc/book/2489099/848263 SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com EFPA Opening Theme: "Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

(Almost) the whole team piles into this podcast to look back on 200 episodes of Escape From Plan A, dating back to September 2017. Jess, Chris, Diana, Filip, Teen, Adam, Q (and our friend Nia who just dropped by) talk about sticking it out for 3 years, what we think we accomplished, and what we see for the future. Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/planamag TWITTER: Filip (@filipgwriting) Chris (@JesuInToast) Diana (@discoveryduck) Adam (@snbatman) Teen (@mont_jiang) Jess (@cogitatotomato) Q (@allyouneedis_q) SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com EFPA Opening Theme: "Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

NOTE: We have unlocked this bonus episode to inaugurate EPFA's Book Club Bonuses. BCB episodes will critically analyze the existing scholarship on the topics that Plan A keeps coming back to over and over, and contextualize key points to our present circumstances. This session, Mike Nguyen joins Q to discuss "A Critique of Ultra-Leftism, Dogmatism and Sectarianism" by Movement for a Revolutionary Left, edited by Paul Saba. What are the perennial problems of the left? What is holding back revolution today? How do we negotiate our present circumstances and what is the work we can do today that will help rather than hurt future revolutionary change? Next session will discuss "Dealing in Desire: Asian Ascendancy, Western Decline, and the Hidden Currencies of Global Sex Work" by Kimberly Kay Hoang TWITTER: Mike (@kevineuthanizer) Q (@allyouneedis_q) REFERENCED RESOURCES: - A Critique of Ultra-Leftism, Dogmatism and Sectarianism: https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-4/mrl/index.htm SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com EFPA Opening Theme: "Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

Diana and Teen join friend (and patron) David Nole, founder of AN Publishing, for a wide-ranging discussion about the urgency around creating independent non-white media. In particular, how ditching the profit-motive can open a huge array of possibilities. NOTE: We have unlocked this bonus episode to celebrate 200 episodes of EFPA. Many thanks to all our guests, listeners, and patrons. TWITTER: Diana (@discoveryduck) Teen (@mont_jiang) SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com EFPA Opening Theme: "Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

The second generation Asian American is often burdened with the guilt from the 'sacrifices' of the first generation. We mythologize the great difficult in 'crossing an entire ocean' to come to a new land where they 'had nothing.' Some of this is true, but much of it myth-making. Jess and Teen try and poke a hole through these stories and see if there's a different reality to consider. Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/planamag TWITTER: Teen (@mont_jiang) Jess (@cogitatotomato) SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com EFPA Opening Theme: "Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

Pix joins Diana and Jess to contextualize the LA Riots and their relationship to today's protests against police brutality. In 1992, the media co-opted images of one immigrant community enacting destruction on another immigrant community to foment a Black-Asian conflict narrative. Today, liberals and conservatives both are using the image of K-town storeowners, "Rooftop Koreans," as symbols to push false, divisive narratives, and deflect from the real issues. We take a deep dive into why the mainstream memory bears so little resemblance to what really happened. Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/planamag TWITTER: Pix (Pixelxilla) Diana (@discoveryduck) Jess (@cogitatotomato) REFERENCED RESOURCES: - Sa I Gu (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_UyYj-pR8U) - LA 92 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaotkHlHJwo&t=2s) - LA Burning (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCYT9Hew9ZU&feature=youtu.be) - Sam Hunter Twitter thread (https://twitter.com/pronounced_sahm/status/1295120854712451072) SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com EFPA Opening Theme: "Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

Jessica Sun Lee joins Jess and Diana to talk about racism and sexism during the pandemic. Reports are in that Asian women suffer the majority of racist harassment and violence, and the rise in domestic violence and abusive relationships mean that many of us have no safe harbor at all in lockdown. How do we protect ourselves and how do we support each other? What should we expect after reopening? TWITTER: Jessica (@jessicasunlee) Diana (@discoveryduck) Jess (@cogitatotomato) REFERENCED RESOURCES: Center for Creative Growth (https://creativegrowth.com) Victims and Survivors Guide to Domestic Violence During the Pandemic (https://www.mymove.com/moving/guides/domestic-violence-resources/) SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com EFPA Opening Theme: "Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)

Emily Dong joins Diana and Teen for an expansive chat about what the role of an Asian American actually is in America during these stressful times. What connects COVID, the protests against police murder, and the rampant Sinophobia of the New Cold War? Emily brings a perspective informed by Black Radicalism, which can bring a lot of clarity to an era of spiraling confusion. Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/planamag TWITTER: Diana (@discoveryduck) Teen (@mont_jiang) REFERENCED RESOURCES: - I Want To Be Chinese (by Emily Dong) (https://planamag.com/i-want-to-be-chinese/) - Organization for Positive Peace (https://forpositivepeace.org/) - The Saturday Free School (http://www.saturdayfreeschool.org/) SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com EFPA Opening Theme: "Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay (open.spotify.com/artist/16zQKaDN5XgHAhfOJHTigJ)