Escape From Plan A

Plan A has followed the tumultuous path of the latest NPR Invisibilia episode that explores the science of racial biases and prejudices in attraction, especially from an Asian woman's point of view. From the onset, certain Asian Americans tried to suppress the episode. Thankfully, the episode has come out and is one of the most honest and thought-provoking discussions of a topic that's become increasingly difficult to ignore (and not just for Asian Americans). Jess, Diana, Teen, Oxford, and Ray (returning guest from the Brooklyn Hammer Homicides episode) discuss the episode in depth. Note: Jess and Oxford were among the many consulted to help out with the Invisibilia episode and they are proud of have been a part of it. Intro/Outro Music: "The Encounter ft. Kems" by Rancido Intro Voice Track: NPR Invisibilia's "A Very Offensive Rom-Com" TWITTER: Jess (@cogitatotomato) Diana (@discoveryduck) Teen (@mont_jiang) Oxford (@oxford_kondo) Ray (@raydeng) REFERENCED RESOURCES: NPR Invisibilia's episode on racial attraction: https://www.npr.org//2019/04/04/709948132/a-very-offensive-rom-com Mark Tseng-Putterman's tweet trying to stop NPR Invisibilia from making this episode: i.imgur.com/lhOkrMP.jpg "I Broke Up With Her Because She's White" by Christopher Rivas: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/style/modern-love-race-i-broke-up-with-her-because-shes-white.html "I’m An Asian Woman Engaged To A White Man And, Honestly, I’m Struggling With That" by Tria Chang: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/unlearning-asian-fetish_n_5c547bb1e4b09293b203b7ed SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com

Jess and Diana discuss how the media often covers stories of violence against Asian women in lurid and exoticizing fashion, as if to titillate old Western curiosities about Asian female submissiveness and sexuality. Intro/Outro Music: "Clouds" by Claude Debussy Intro Voice Track: ABC News covering the murder of Ying Ying Zhang (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Bif_mse0_0&t=36s) TWITTER Jess: @cogitatotomato Diana: @discoveryduck REFERENCED RESOURCES: Exploitative reporting on Yang Song's suicide: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/11/nyregion/sex-workers-massage-parlor.html https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2018/an-interview-with-dan-barry-the-writer-of-the-nyts-the-case-of-jane-doe-ponytail/ Respectful reporting on Yang Song by The Appeal: https://theappeal.org/new-evidence-in-the-death-of-a-queens-massage-worker/ Exploitative reporting on Asian sex workers in Flushing: https://nypost.com/2019/02/02/inside-queens-hidden-sex-district/ Exploitative reporting on Robert Kraft scandal: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/23/us/robert-kraft-trafficking-florida.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/02/us/massage-parlors-human-trafficking.html Erasure of Asian women in reporting of Berkeley rapist: https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/roy-charles-waller-norcal-rapist-charges-trial-13671891.php https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-norcal-rapist-case-20180921-story.html Asian news outlets did not erase Asian women in Berkeley rapist reporting: NorCal Man Accused of R‌a‌pi‌n‌g 10 Asian Women Over 20 Years ...https://nextshark.com/roy-charles-waller-uc-berkeley/ Erasure of Asian identity in reporting of Flushing kidnapping: https://flushingpost.com/couple-sentenced-to-up-to-25-years-in-prison-for-running-flushing-based-sex-trafficking-operation Downplaying of white sexual imperialism in reporting of George Tyndall USC Scandal: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-george-tyndall-profile-usc-sexual-assault-allegations-20181219-story.html Exploitative photos, dehumanizing descriptions, and centering the perpetrator's experience in reporting of a man who murdered his Asian wife: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3873742/German-man-admits-killing-Filipino-wife-slicing-body-eight-pieces-sex-holiday-Thailand.html Comparison of photos between .com and .eu version of the same story about sexual exploitation of Asian women. The US version has a lurid body shot, seemingly of a sex worker. The EU version has multiple, non-exploitative photos: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/11/sex-industry-military-bases-213311 https://www.politico.eu/article/my-body-was-not-mine-but-the-u-s-militarys/ One of the many abduction/missing person cases involving Asian women that never get widely publicized: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_ewyyYpeN8&feature=youtu.be One of the many cases of white men murdering their Asian wives. The victim's ethnicity gets downplayed or the case doesn’t get US media attention: https://japantoday.com/category/crime/American-man-arrested-over-murder-of-wife-at-Tokyo-Family-Court Sexpat journalists in Asia news coverage: https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/05/18/sexpat-journalists-are-ruining-asia-coverage/ Okinawa military base rape/murder (many similar cases happened in the 1980s and 90s): https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42192571 Scholarly article on White Sexual Imperialism: https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1243&context=crsj Journey To The West Podcast's episode on Sexual Exploitation of Asian Women: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xexHIxtEhy4 SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS editor.planamag@gmail.com

For better or for worse (probably for worse), many people are shaped by their high school experiences. With the recent college admissions scandal shedding light on how insane high school life has become for today's teenage students, the EFPA gang (Diana, Teen, Oxford, and Mark) talk about their high school experiences and how much their identities were formed by that time in their lives. Intro/Outro Music: "Who I Thought You Were" by Santigold Intro Voice Track: Tammy's candidate speech from "Election" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh3TXsx8B40) TWITTER Diana (@discoveryduck) Oxford (@oxford_kondo) Mark (@snbatman) Teen (@mont_jiang) SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS editor.planamag@gmail.com

Mark, Teen and Jess have a long talk about depression and the Asian American. What it is, what it isn't, and why so much of what is said about race and depression feels so inadequate. Is sensitivity overrated? Is depression misdiagnosed? How do you understand depression if you've never had it? And why would it matter? Intro/Outro Music: Philip Glass - Metamorphosis Intro Voice: Sherwin Nuland on Depression (https://www.ted.com/talks/sherwin_nuland_on_electroshock_therapy?language=en) TWITTER Teen (@mont_jiang) Jess (@cogitatotomato) Mark (@snbatman) SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS editor.planamag@gmail.com

Plan A talks tech! Given the influence of tech in modern life and social discourse, and the fact that we have a handful of techies on the team, it’s bizarre that we haven’t directly addressed this topic. Filip, Mark, Jess and Jong share their rather varied experiences getting into their careers in tech, including both the ups and downs of being part of the (possibly-definitely elitist) techie in-crowd. Intro Voice Track: Excerpt from Sheryl Sandberg's speech at MIT's 2018 Commencement (https://youtu.be/8w1d1TWxwec?t=320) Outro Voice Track: Steve Ballmer's "Developers, Developers, Developers" rant at Microsoft's 25th Anniversary event in 2000 (https://youtu.be/Vhh_GeBPOhs) TWITTER: Filip (@filipgwriting) Mark (@snbatman) Jess (@cogitatotomato) Jong (@calicoarse) REFERENCED RESOURCES: “The iPhone X: Apple’s Ideology of American Techno-Exceptionalism” by Teen Sheng: https://planamag.com/the-iphone-x-apples-ideology-of-american-techno-exceptionalism-5a6643985c93 “White Techies are not our friends” by Filip Guo: https://planamag.com/white-techies-are-not-our-friends-e8cf1d51b3a3 "The Ethical Dilemma Facing Silicon Valley’s Next Generation" by Victor Luckerson: https://www.theringer.com/tech/2019/2/6/18212421/stanford-students-tech-backlash-silicon-valley-next-generation SUBMISSIONS AND COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com

Somehow, Ken Jeong is arguably the biggest Asian American male star in Hollywood. Diana (fyi, a stand-up comedian), Teen, and Oxford get together to delve into Ken Jeong's recent Netflix special to talk about-among other things-his reliance on cheap Asian jokes, his failure to move past his Hangover "glory days," and the state of Asian American comedy in general. Intro Voice Track: "You Complete Me, Ho" Trailer (https://youtu.be/P2sYRVhO9VA) Outro Music: "Ho Ho Ho" by Alvin and The Chipmunks TWITTER: Diana (@discoveryduck) Teen (@mont_jiang) Oxford (@oxford_kondo) REFERENCED RESOURCES: "Who Is Ken Jeong’s Netflix Comedy Special For?" by Donnie Kwak: https://www.theringer.com/tv/2019/2/14/18225104/ken-jeong-netflix-you-complete-me-ho-review-hangover-community-crazy-rich-asians Margaret Cho on Asian chicken salad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnnvRjwSCPo Margaret Cho on her mother's attitude towards gays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpqjErGfJ9c Diana's satirical article on lobsters: https://planamag.com/my-life-is-hard-because-i-am-deathly-allergic-to-lobster-and-my-diet-consists-exclusively-of-32e7401b368 SUBMISSIONS AND COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com

With many Asian Americans only being a generation or two, if at all, removed from Asia, it's important to be informed about political and social movements there. Journalist E. Tammy Kim, who recently wrote the article #KoreaToo for the New York Review of Books, joins Oxford Kondo in talking about the many layers and issues of the burgeoning movement for women's progress in Korea, from workplace equality to domestic violence to spycam pornography to online culture wars. Intro/Outro Music: "Arirang" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j3IQRGgk2Y) Intro Voice Track: International Women's Day protest in Seoul, South Korea - Guardian News (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE0ntMvksc8) TWITTER: E. Tammy Kim (@etammykim) Oxford (@oxford_kondo) REFERENCED RESOURCES: #KoreaToo (by E. Tammy Kim): https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2019/03/07/koreatoo/ South Koreans Are Still Hopeful After the Trump-Kim Summit (by E. Tammy Kim): https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/south-koreans-are-still-hopeful-after-the-trump-kim-summit How South Koreans Are Reckoning With a Changing American Military Presence (by E. Tammy Kim): https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/magazine/south-korea-america-military.html Moon Over Korea (by E. Tammy Kim): https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/08/16/moon-jae-in-korea/ RECOMMENDED READING: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/536652/human-acts-by-han-kang/9781101906743/ https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/haunting-the-korean-diaspora http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100829670 https://www.sevenstories.com/books/3658-the-guest https://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?id=7860 https://www.tiltedaxispress.com/one-hundred-shadows SUBMISSIONS AND COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com

Everyone knows about the Trump supporter and the neo-Nazis, the taxonomy of reactionary racism. But what about the racism that exists outside of that wing of America? The racism of the world most of us Asian Americans live in? From condescension to stealth discrimination, Mark, Jess and Teen talk about the kind of racism that cannot be so easily called out. Intro: Almost Always True (Elvis Presley) Outro: Ito Eats (Elvis Presley) Resources: Teen's article on Asian American influence in American midcentury design: https://planamag.com/erasing-asian-american-midcentury-design-330d33aa828 Twitter: Jess (@cogitatotomato) Mark (@snbatman) Teen (@mont_jiang) SUBMISSIONS AND COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com

The Plan A crew has never really discussed their politics out in the open, mostly focusing instead on race and ethnicity's role in American life. In this episode, Jay, Q, and Teen talk about their core political beliefs, why political identity matters, and how, if at all, our Asian American/Canadian ethnicity informs our politics. Intro Music: "Jerusalem" by Alpha Blondy Intro Voice: Chris Hedges Outro Music: "Socialism is Good" (simplified Chinese: 社会主义好) composed by Li Huanzhi, with lyrics by Xi Yang. REFERENCED RESOURCES: Jay's recommendation: Space Babies gives a leftist critique of 'Crazy Rich Asians' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOHU4gpaoBs SUBMISSIONS AND COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com

This week, Amelie Wen Zhao had to self-cancel (or self-delay) her upcoming novel Blood Heir due to backlash on YA Twitter about all sorts of things, ranging from allegations of racist scenes to her own vindictiveness towards anyone who left her bad reviews. This isn't the first time such things have happened in the YA world. Now, both the social justice and anti-SJW forces are using Zhao to advance their agendas. Jess, Diana, Oxford, and Mark discuss why the moral stakes seem so high in the YA sphere and how an Asian woman is forced to navigate it. Intro/Outro Music: Panem Anthem from "The Hunger Games" Intro Voice Track: "Blood Heir Controversy" by Francina Simone (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4S1p3KtZSw&t=83s) TWITTER: Jess (@cogitatotomato) Diana (@discoveryduck) Oxford (@oxford_kondo) Mark (@snbatman) REFERENCED RESOURCES: The Toxic Drama of YA Twitter: https://www.vulture.com/2017/08/the-toxic-drama-of-ya-twitter.html YA Twitter Forces Rising Star to Self-Cancel: https://www.vulture.com/2019/01/ya-twitter-forces-rising-star-author-to-self-cancel.html How A Twitter Mob Destroyed A Young Immigrant Author's Budding Career (by Jesse Singal): https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/279806/how-a-twitter-mob-destroyed-a-young-immigrant-female-authors-budding-career Quillette Podcast 14 – Kat Rosenfield on the mobbing of Amélie Wen Zhao: https://quillette.com/2019/02/01/quillette-podcast-14-kat-rosenfield-on-the-mobbing-of-amelie-wen-zhao/ Children's Bookshelf's tweet on the Zhao controversy: https://twitter.com/pwkidsbookshelf/status/1091013855218667520?s=21 Will Menaker's tweet on the Zhao controversy: https://twitter.com/willmenaker/status/1091064621883113472?s=21 Jesse Singal's tweet on the Zhao controversy: https://twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1090474475676753921 Celeste Ng Is More Than A Novelist: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/books/celeste-ng-everything-i-never-told-you-little-fires-everwhere.html SUBMISSIONS AND COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com