Escape From Plan A

All of human history has been leading up to Avengers: Endgame, a civilizational pinnacle that we are so fortunate to witness. Oxford, Mark, returning guest Millie (a friend and filmmaker who's appeared in episodes 41, 49, and 52) and first-time guest Mtume (also a friend and filmmaker) get together to talk about the last Avengers movie and the stan culture that not only follows Marvel, but also Game of Thrones and Star Wars. *WARNING: THIS EPISODE HAS SPOILERS (AVENGERS, GAME OF THRONES) Intro Music: "The Real Hero" by Alan Silvestri (Avengers: Endgame Soundtrack) Outro Music: "Avengers Main theme" by Alan Silvestri (played by Patrik Pietschmann: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAm0aWvzFI8) Intro Voice Track: Audience reactions to Avengers: Endgame TWITTER: Mtume (@sircoregant) Millie (@onemillicentcho) Oxford (@oxford_kondo) Mark (@snbatman) REFERENCED RESOURCES: Let 'Game of Thrones' Be White: https://planamag.com/let-game-of-thrones-be-white-3b44ca16fc0 Grand Hotel Abyss by Stuart Jeffries: https://www.amazon.com/Grand-Hotel-Abyss-Frankfurt-School/dp/1784785687 SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com

The rights of trans people (and the LGBTQ community in general) often gets talked about, but it's rarer to hear directly from the people themselves. It's even rarer to hear from Asian Americans in these communities, especially the trans community. In this episode, Oxford is joined by Nia and Sen—both of whom identify as trans women—and Sammi, who identifies as queer. Together, they talk about their personal stories, straight male incel issues, and dating issues among trans people. Intro/Outro Music: "Love Makes The World" by Sateen Intro Voice Track: Being an Asian transgender (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR6C7kiU8Sg) TWITTER: Nia (@nxn_nrc) Sen (@maikooochi) Sammi (@sammi_lee_1997) Oxford (@oxford_kondo) SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com

On episode 73, the Escape From Plan A crew of Teen, Diana, Oxford, and Mark talked about their high school memories and how formative those experiences were in shaping racial identities. Now, the same gang is back to talk about college. Discussions are had about being confronted with class consciousness, racial incidents, and general disillusionment with the college experience. This Side of Paradise? More like This Side of Parasites. Intro/Outro Music: "I Love College" by Asher Roth Intro Voice Track: Scene from "The Gang Reignites The Rivalry" from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3XC6ftpaXo) TWITTER: Teen (@mont_jiang) Diana (@discoveryduck) Oxford (@oxford_kondo) Mark (@snbatman) REFERENCED RESOURCES: The Premium Mediocre Life of Maya Millennial by Venkatesh Rao: https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2017/08/17/the-premium-mediocre-life-of-maya-millennial/ Mast Bros. chocolate fraud: http://dallasfood.org/2015/12/mast-brothers-what-lies-behind-the-beards-part-1-tastetexture/ Liberal Arts movie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Arts_(film) SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com

Crossover episode! Jay (from ep. 67 on Asian American leftist politics) and Teen join our friends (and token white dudes) Kristofer Nivens and Ryan Salisbury of the anti-imperialist, anti-fuckery, anti-capitalist podcast Neighbor Science (http://www.neighborsciencepodcast.com/) to discuss memelord and presidential candidate for real Andrew Yang. We talk about universal basic income, automation-driven job loss, and whether Yang is addressing a real world problem, or trying to find a 'third way' in an era of extreme political polarization. Intro Music: "Baraka" by Philip Glass Intro Voice Track: Andrew Yang on the Ben Shapiro Show Outro Voice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qf2EX0d9AY TWITTER: Teen (@mont_jiang) Jay (@lithiummano) REFERENCED RESOURCES: Finding of increased anti-Asian hate crimes in response to Trump's Sinophobic rhetoric: https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/news/anti-asian-hate-crimes-los-angeles-surge-after-trump-deems-china-enemy SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS: editor.planamag@gmail.com

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