Time To Say Goodbye

Hello from a Cessna! This week, it’s just us, on a grab-bag anthropological journey. [2:55] First, Jay unpacks his recent trip to Martha’s Vineyard and what he learned about the academic elite on a panel about affirmative action. [23:35] Next, we discuss Season 4 of “Love After Divorce”, in which Korean-American divorcees shack up and speak subpar Korean. [42:30] Then we catch up on the sad saga of former NFL player Michael Oher, who has claimed that the film purportedly based on his life, “The Blind Side,” misrepresented his story and unethically enriched his white "adoptive" family. [55:10] Last, we talk about the U.S. soldier who crossed into North Korea, allegedly because he was “disillusioned at the unequal American society,” and the trilateral summit at Camp David.  On this episode, we ask: Is it wrong to eliminate legacy admissions just as Black students and other students of color stand to benefit? Are people becoming more tolerant of gyopos and their (our) broken Korean?! Will the Michael Oher claims force writers to be more critical of savior stories? What do we make of the U.S. perspective on Asia as a theater of war and deterrence? For more, see: * The panel Jay participated in last Thursday: ‘The Rise and Fall of Affirmative Action’ - The 2023 Hutchins Forum * Michael Oher’s claims against the Touhy family, and Blind Side author Michael Lewis’s subsequent comments defending the family* Coverage of Travis King, the U.S. soldier who crossed over into North Korea, and the recent U.S.-Japan-Korea summit at Camp David * The latest TTSG appearance by K-drama expert Jenny Wang Medina, from July: K-content spectacular Subscribe on Patreon or Substack to support the show and join our Discord community. You can also follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter (RIP), and email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello again from the ongoing climate crisis! Kaniela Ing is a Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) organizer and former state legislator who now works as the national director of the Green New Deal Network. Kaniela joins us just days after a fire ripped through the island of Maui, decimating the town of Lāhainā and killing a yet unknown number of people. (10:40) Kaniela tells us about his relationship to the affected area and community; (13:55) the systemic causes of this tragedy, including aging infrastructure, theft of land and water, and climate change; and (24:25) what needs to happen to both support people in acute crisis and put those same people at the center of our fight for a better world. In this episode, we ask: Is this a climate turning point in Hawaiʻi? Why is a narrative of resistance, not resilience, more appropriate to this moment? What is the role of Native people in this resistance? For more: * Donate to the Maui Fire Relief + Recovery Fundraiser * Watch Kaniela’s interview with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!* Listen to a parallel TTSG discussion about Guam with writer Julian Aguon, from March 2021: Loving Guam, fighting empireSubscribe on Patreon or Substack to support the show and join our Discord community. You can also follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, and email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello from an East Bay movie theatre! This week, it’s just us, trying to dodge yet another COVID surge. (A note from our producer, Mai: Lots of people are getting sick, and testing is hard to come by and not always accurate. It’s never too late to mask up again—if not for yourself, then for your more vulnerable neighbors!) (3:25) Jay went to see “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” with his daughter, Frankie. We talk about the film’s pleasing animation style and nostalgia-packed soundtrack. (24:45) Next, we address a recent New York Times investigation into lefty tech millionaire Neville Roy Singham’s ties to China and consider, yet again, how a good leftist should avoid both McCarthyism and Tankieism.In this episode, we ask: Has Madeline (of the Madeline children’s books) been canceled yet?!Should Jay spend hours systematically indoctrinating his kids into musical connoisseurship? Is it possible to critique U.S. hegemony without being called a brainwashed propagandist? For more, see: * CoComelon, or the stuff of every parent’s nightmares * Why Neil Diamond is cool Dad Rock, by Tammy* Previous episodes on the tankie problem, from June 2020 (Tankies! with Brian Hioe, New Bloom Magazine) and November 2020 (Vaccine apartheid, tankies redux, and the TTSG manifesto) Thanks to everyone who’s come out to recent meet-ups in NYC and Chengdu! Check out the Discord for upcoming events in Texas and other IRL hotspots. Subscribe on Patreon or Substack to join our Discord community, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. You can email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello from a freezer full of “non-human biologics”! This week, we speak with Arielle Angel, editor-in-chief of Jewish Currents and known alien stan. (3:30) We get her thoughts on last week’s Congressional hearings (nothing a true believer like Arielle didn’t already know) and what aliens are up to when they visit Earth. (26:15) In our main segment, we discuss the democratic crisis in Israel spurred by Netanyahu’s far-right coalition and (34:00) what this moment could mean for the Palestinian national movement, both in Israel/Palestine and the U.S. diaspora. (43:00) We also hear how Arielle arrived at her current politics. In this episode, we ask: If aliens are real, why didn’t Trump tell us?!Have the centrist protests against the Israeli government made BDS seem less extreme? What can the Jewish left teach us about doing identity-based organizing while simultaneously denouncing the validity of identitarian nationalism? For more, see: * The 2017 Times story that convinced Jay that aliens are real* Some background on the Roswell incident from the History Channel * Ezra Klein’s interview with U.F.O. reporter Leslie Kean* Explainers from Jewish Currents on the ongoing judicial crisis in Israel (by Elisheva Goldberg) and the Israel-Palestine rift within DSA (by Alex Kane)* A forced apology from Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal after she called Israel “a racist state”* Arielle’s article on grievance politics from last fall, and our episode discussing the piece: Grievance politics, why we love “Mo,” and the YYYs’ return * Our previous conversations with the lovely folks at Jewish Currents, from May 2021: * Sheikh Jarrah and What Feels Different This Time about Israel/Palestine with Josh Leifer of Jewish Currents * Jewish Currents in Conversation with Time To Say Goodbye! If you’re feeling extra inspired, you can read Arielle’s fiction, Jay’s novel, and Tammy’s poetry. Thanks for listening! Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, and email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit goodbye.substack.comHello from Jay’s final week in paradise! In this bonus episode, we answer questions from subscribers. 

Hello from the diasporic battleground! This week, we’re joined by investigative journalist and filmmaker Anjali Kamat to discuss Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s red-carpet state dinner and the spread of his Islamophobic, anti-democratic Hindutva ideology. (1:45) We start with a short history since Modi was elected in 2014, (12:20) dig into the conspiratorial lynchings that mirror right-wing campaigns in other countries, and (26:15) consider how Indian diasporic communities help maintain (and challenge) Modi’s power. We also track the responses of U.S. politicians, from Trump’s “Howdy Modi” rally in Texas, celebrating the Prime Minister’s reelection in 2019, to progressive Representative Ro Khanna’s unwillingness to critique and Obama’s surprising willingness to do so. In this episode, we ask: What differentiates the last nine years under Modi from previous periods of large-scale sectarian violence in India? Why do the myths around Modi persist, despite cracks in the facade of him as an efficient and non-corrupt leader? What was the dream of Indian multiculturalism?How do Indian diasporic communities influence Modi’s ability to consolidate power? For more, check out: * Aparna Gopalan in Jewish Currents, on how Hindu nationalists are using the pro-Israel playbook* An opinion piece by Maya Jasanoff: Narendra Modi Is Not Who America Thinks He Is* Background on the rise of Hindu nationalism in the U.S. * The first installment in our White House State Dinner critique series, from May: Karaoke soft power + left media cowardice 🎧 Heads-up: Next week’s episode will be a subscriber-only listener Q&A! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack to ask a question and hear the episode. Thanks for listening. As always, you can follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, and email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello from Honolulu! It’s just us this week, trading places: Tammy is home in humid Brooklyn, and Jay is on the road, visiting family in Hawaii! (6:00) First, we discuss the planned release of 500 swimming pools’ worth of radioactive(?) wastewater from Fukushima, which has spurred lousy takes from Beltway types and a run on salt in South Korea. (19:10) Next, we look at Vivek Ramaswamy’s long-shot candidacy for President and try to discern what the entrepreneur brings to a flailing Republican Party. In this episode, we ask: Was “Mad Men” a good show? How does the Fukushima conversation serve as a barometer for China–Japan–South Korea relations? Is Trumpism analogous to Modi-ism? Are we doomed to have an amoral, debate-brained candidate in every Republican primary? For more, dig into: * Regional reactions to the wastewater plan at Fukushima * Images of Vermont’s floods and the proximate climate apocalypse * Sheelah Kolhatkar’s jealousy-inducing profile of Vivek Ramaswamy for The New Yorker* DeSantis’s jump-the-shark hate ad* Our May ep about the American Prospect’s Tucker Carlson piece (and its backlash): Karaoke soft power + left media cowardice Thanks for listening! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello from the South Korean Ministry of Culture’s Brooklyn satellite office! This week, Tammy welcomes back Jenny Wang Medina, our resident scholar of Korean cultural exports and semiotics, for a record-tying fourth appearance on TTSG / third-anniversary spectacular! We talk about a few recent Korean/Korean American/Asian American productions: (8:30) the Netflix hit “Beef,” with Ali Wong and Steven Yeun; (31:40) the new transnational A24 flick “Past Lives,” starring Greta Lee; and (1:03:00) Hansol Jung’s adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, featuring an all-Asian American cast (which recently had a run in NYC). We tried to avoid spoilers, but couldn’t avoid some “Past Lives” reveals! In this episode, we ask: What makes “Beef” feel so authentically West Coast Asian American? How do you know when Shakespeare is Asian American?Who’s behind today’s transnational TV and film productions? What will the next “untranslatable” Korean concept be?!For more, see: * Jenny’s previous TTSG appearances: Korean wig stores (October 2020), A feminist(?) K-drama about abortion (June 2022), and ​​​​Fantasies of progress on K-TV (September 2022)* The sexual assault allegations against “Beef” actor David Choe and a look at his cult-like online community * Jenny’s latest K-drama rec: Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938Also, Tammy highly recommends “Behind Every Star,” the Netflix K-drama remake of the excellent French comedy “Call My Agent.”Thanks for listening! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello from the East Bay! It’s just Jay this week, chatting with friend of the pod Darrell Owens, a Berkeley-based housing expert. We discuss a new study from the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at UCSF on the causes and consequences of homelessness in California. In this episode, we ask:  Can the revelations in this study—or any new evidence, for that matter—finally move the needle on reducing homelessness? How do “Housing First” advocates address the desire for immediate solutions to a crisis that has been decades in the making? Why are people who are older, disabled, and from certain racial and ethnic groups so vastly overrepresented among the homeless population? For more, see: * The full UCSF study, Toward a New Understanding: The California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness * Our previous episode with Darrell, from July 2021: The Fight to End Single Family Zoning and the YIMBY/NIMBY/PHIMBY War* The book Homelessness Is a Housing Problem, by Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern * California YIMBY’s December 2022 report on Housing First policies Thanks for listening! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello from the Hill! This week, we’re joined by Ligia Guallpa, executive director of Workers Justice Project (WJP), a group that organizes low-wage, immigrant workers in New York City, including the app-based delivery workers who call themselves Los Deliveristas Unidos. WJP and the Deliveristas just won the passage of a mandatory minimum wage, a huge improvement for e-bike and car delivery workers on GrubHub, Uber Eats, and other platforms. (13:30) Ligia details the unique dangers that spurred the emergence of the Deliveristas as COVID hit New York and (31:00) offers some lessons learned from going against these big-tech titans and their algorithms. In this episode, we ask: How substantial was the shift towards app-based gig work during COVID, and what did that mean for  workers?  Is it necessary to focus on fighting worker misclassification?How did delivery workers overcome the immense challenge of organizing in a disparate, deliberately siloed workforce? For more, read: * A 2021 piece in The Verge about the early days of organizing among Los Deliveristas Unidos * Another horrific fire this week that may have been caused by improperly maintained e-bike batteries* A report on the backlash that threatened to derail WJP’s minimum-wage fight * News that the NLRB recently reverted to an Obama-era test that could make it easier for gig workers to organize Thanks for listening! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe