Escape From Plan A

Teen, Jess, Jong, Oxford, and Mark ponder what every Asian American considers at some point: West Coast, or East Coast? They try to get beyond just who has better fast casual burgers, or London plane vs. palm trees, and into the social nuances of each coast. Things aren't always what they seem. Intro music: "California Love" by Tupac ft. Dr. Dre Intro voice track: The Fung Bros. on East Coast vs. West Coast Asians (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3woXoa-KQWA) Outro music: Going Back to Cali (Biggie Smalls) TWITTER: Teen (@mont_jiang) Jess (@cogitatotomato) Jong (@calicoarse) Oxford (@oxford_kondo) Mark (@snbatman)

Though less famous than siblings such as "Spirited Away" and "Princess Mononoke," Studio Ghibli’s "Whisper of the Heart" is nevertheless a masterpiece that explores the intense anxieties young people face when first trying to turn their artistic dreams into actual practice. In this special midweek episode, Oxford and Diana (a comedian/writer) lavish praise on this beautiful film and talk about how much the movie can mean to anybody who has dreams but is afraid to try because of fears of failure. Intro/Outro Music: "Whisper of the Heart Medley" by Yuji Nomi Intro Voice Track: Scene from "Whisper of the Heart" TWITTER: Diana (@discoveryduck) Oxford (@oxford_kondo) REFERENCED RESOURCES: Mike Hale's Studio Ghibli rankings: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/12/movies/ranking-studio-ghibli-movies.html Film School Rejects' Studio Ghibli rankings: https://filmschoolrejects.com/the-movies-of-studio-ghibli-ranked-from-worst-to-best-b480bffd7fb7/

Author Wesley Yang discusses 'Game Theory' and pick-up artistry coercion in the dating scene with Teen, Jong, and Mark. They explore the problematic nature of pursuing women as a game, women making the first move, societal labels for men, and the importance of diverse social circles for Asian men.

The term “emotional labor” may get thrown around too easily these days, but if you conceptualize Asians’ social role as providers of racial guilt-relief in the West, then what are all the things we do (or more importantly, don’t do) in service of playing that role? From having to assume leadership roles in families because of parents’ language barriers to having to shut up about constant racialized experiences, all these things take a toll if not spoken about. Oxford, Jess, Jong, and Diana open up about their experiences in order to remedy that silence. Intro/Outro Song: "Prism" by Seventeen Years Old and Berlin Wall Intro Voice Track: Bobby Lee on Asian Parents (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faIFb_vH9hY) TWITTER: Oxford (@oxford_kondo) Jess (@cogitatotomato) Jong (@calicoarse) Diana (@discoveryduck) REFERENCED RESOURCES: The Concept Creep of 'Emotional Labor': https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/11/arlie-hochschild-housework-isnt-emotional-labor/576637/ Women Aren't Nags — We're Just Fed Up: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a12063822/emotional-labor-gender-equality/

Are there benefits to having grown up in a protective Asian enclave? Or is it better to face racial difficulties from a young age to learn how to fight them? Is it better to be a 2nd-gen or 1.5-gen Asian American? With many of the Plan A team members having travelled recently to Asia or Asian-populated parts of America — Teen to China, Jong to Korea, and Oxford to Los Angeles — these 3, along with Jess, discuss the “battle of the generations” among young Asians. Also, they talk about how Thanksgiving might be improved. Intro/Outro Song: "Whispers Wonder (Ruw's Underground Mashup)" by Shingo Nakamura ft. KaNa vs. A.M.R. ft. Ai Takekawa Intro Voice Track: San Gabriel Valley - Chinese Ethnoburbs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JanYx8JiJvc&t=175s) *Correction: Oxford credited Ben Franklin with a quote he should've attributed to John Adams. TWITTER: Jess (@cogitatotomato) Teen (@mont_jiang) Jong (@calicoarse) Oxford (@oxford_kondo) REFERENCED RESOURCES: Karin Temerius's NYT article about racist uncles at Thanksgiving: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/18/opinion/thanksgiving-family-argue-chat-bot.html Richard Schiffman's NYT article about difficult convos at Thanksgiving: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/20/well/family/thanksgiving-partisan-politics-conversations-families.html Amy McCarthy's Eater article about racist relatives at Thanksgiving: https://www.eater.com/2018/11/20/18099157/thanksgiving-family-politics-argument

A formative article early in Plan A's history, written by contributor George Qiao, sought to topple the colonialist and racist conceptions of Asian American mental health, and get to the true roots of how mental health touches the Asian American community. Mark welcomes two new guests, Jay (a healthcare professional) and Kerrie (a healthcare graduate student ), and returning guest Diana, to explore this topic. Intro/Outro Song: "Come As You Are" by Yuna (Original by Nirvana) TWITTER: Mark(@snbatman) Diana (@discoveryduck) Jay (@LithiumMano) Kerrie (@getkerriedaway) REFERENCED RESOURCES: Why Are Asian American Kids Killing Themselves? George Qiao: https://planamag.com/why-are-asian-american-kids-killing-themselves-477a3f6ea3f2 A very brief history on "cultural bound syndromes": http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/shenjingshuairuo Critical perspectives of “Cultural Competency”: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0030294 Racial Identity Development - Summary on all the different models: https://studentdevelopmenttheory.wordpress.com/racial-identity-development/ Unnatural Causes - A movie regarding health outcomes related to racism: https://www.pbs.org/unnaturalcauses/explore_learn.htm The public reception of putative epigenetic mechanisms in the transgenerational effects of trauma: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6051458/ MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES: 1-877-990-8585, 24hr Asian LifeNet Hotline, Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Fujianese available. https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres http://www.befrienders.org/ (has global resources and hotlines) http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/GetHelp/LifelineChat.aspx http://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you [UK] https://www.lifeline.org.au/Get-Help/ [AU] http://www.crisistextline.org https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Related-Conditions/Risk-of-Suicide https://www.thetrevorproject.org http://youthspace.ca https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/

The term “internalized racism” gets thrown around a lot in Asian American online discussions, but what does it really mean? While the phenomenon of internalized racism is undoubtedly real and has been historically apparent across all racial (usually non-white) groups, would online discussions be more productive if we were more articulate and specific in what we are saying when we use this term? Oxford and Jess welcome two first-time guests, Diana (a stand-up comedian) and Ken (an engineer), in talking through this topic. Intro/Outro Song: "Answer: Love Myself" by BTS Intro Voice Track: Highlights from "Take Me Out" (Australian dating show), "Why is China furious at RiceGum?", "The Hangover," and Esther Ku's standup TWITTER: Oxford (@oxford_kondo) Jess (@cogitatotomato) Diana (@discoveryduck) REFERENCED RESOURCES: "What Is Internalized Racial Oppression and Why Don't We Study It?" by Dr. Karen Pyke: http://www.irows.ucr.edu/cd/courses/232/pyke/intracopp.pdf "Far Away From Me" by Jenny Zhang: http://www.rookiemag.com/2015/04/far-away-from-me/ Tim Chiou on dating as an Asian guy: http://www.thickdumplingskin.com/post/4719422289/tims-response

Show business, and creative industries in general, are difficult to be successful in for all people. But for minorities, there is an added burden of limited opportunities and community pressures to either not do it at all or be perfect at it. Jess hosts this discussion with two Asian women—Millie (a writer/director) and Quyen (an actress)—and an African American man—David (an actor/writer and first-time guest of this podcast)—to get a sense at what some minorities in America have done in the process of working in show business. Intro/Outro Song: "Make'em Laugh" from Singin' In The Rain TWITTER: Jess (@cogitatotomato) Millie (@onemillicentcho) Quyen (@_quyenngo) David (@an_publisher) REFERENCED RESOURCES: Man of the Hour Magazine (David's magazine): http://www.manofthehourmag.com/ Priska (the artist Millie is making a music video for): http://www.priskamusik.com/about/ Loa podcast (Quyen's podcast): https://www.loa.fm/

To celebrate Halloween, we're taking a break from our usual neurotic dissections of Asian America and just telling spooky and/or goofy stories! So get your toasted pumpkin seeds and Tootsie Rolls and join Teen, Mark, and Sammi as they swap tales. Intro/Outro Music: Theme from "The Omen" Intro Voice Track: Creepy Little Girl Talking & Singing / Halloween (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrH4jWchep8) TWITTER: Teen (@mont_jiang) Mark (@snbatman)

Kevin Xu of The Model Majority Podcast (modelmajoritypodcast.com) joins Oxford, Jess, and Teen to discuss his views on identity politic's effect on Asian Americans, as well as the importance of the coming November midterms. We try to avoid the standard civics class lecture, and try a more realistic assessment of liberal identity politics, Asian pet issues, and giving half a shit. The Model Majority Podcast is available on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and basically wherever you get your podcasts your from. Intro/Outro Music: Rage Against the Machine (Bulls On Parade, Testify) Intro Voice Track: The Manchurian Candidate (2004)