ASIAN AMERICA: THE KEN FONG PODCAST

Long-time friend and Christian colleague Diane Ujiye, the co-director of nonprofit www.api-rise.org, introduced me to her Program Director Kanaka Mālia Luna Jennings, a proud Native Hawaiian and Filipina who, while a juvenile, had been incarcerated for 23 years. Her father died while she was inside, which served as a desperately needed wake up call to grow up, turn to God, and begin turning her life around. After she was released from prison, however, ICE swooped her up, and those seven months of detention were more dehumanizing and difficult than anything she'd experienced in prison. Hers is a remarkable and inspiring story of how true change that begins within can ripple outward to heal communities and generations.

Third generation Japanese American Philip Kan Gotanda has gained renown as one of the most prolific Asian American playwrights, filmmakers, and musicians, but he came this close to becoming a lawyer. East West Players (www.eastwestplayers.org) is remounting his seminal play Yankee Dawg You Die in July 2025 after first staging it in 2001. Here's your chance to let him educate you about the (sadly) still-relevant message of this play, while he regales you with astonishing and hilarious stories of his journey to embrace his calling as a pioneering artist.

Regina Linke was born and raised in Texas, and she always enjoyed the creative arts, but she didn’t learn traditional Chinese painting until after moving with her young family to Taiwan in her mid-thirties. Holding management degrees from Washington University in St. Louis and Cornell University, she worked in marketing technology and information systems for the travel and tourism industry. Now, however, she creates and illustrates stories that celebrate East Asian folklore and philosophy in an accessible way. Her most notable creations are the characters from The Oxherd Boy, a single-panel, webcomic that started on Instagram. A young boy, his family ox, and a rabbit living in his garden convey the three core schools of Classical Chinese thought: Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. The best-selling collection of these inspirational pieces called THE OXHERD BOY: Parables of Love, Compassion, and Community released in 2024, and was followed in 2025 by its first original story for children called Big Enough. A second picture book, Little Helper expanding on this world is slated for release in Summer 2026. Here's a link for behind the scenes of her painting: https://oxherdboy.org/pages/digital-painting And here's a link if you'd like to purchase "Big Enough": https://oxherdboy.org/pages/big-enough  

After a much-too long break, podcasters Fong and Kemp are finally back, this time tackling the uprising within the DNC by young leaders like vice chair David Hogg, the messy public break up of Trump and Musk, and Trump's sending the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles as part of a false narrative to fuel his fascist desires. To find a "No Kings" peaceful protest rally on June 14, just go to www.nokings.org and type in your Zip Code.

Alaska's Perseverance Theatre's Artistic Director Leslie Ishii has the distinction of recently being awarded to prestigious awards: The 2024 Stage Directors & Choreographers Foundation Zelda Fichandler Award and the 2025 Paul Robeson Award. To win either of these honors is remarkable; but to win them both, back-to-back, is nothing short of extraordinary. Here's your chance to get to know why and how this fourth generation Japanese American grew up doing acts of social justice, and when she realized the power that storytelling has to educate and motivate people to act on things that truly matter.

Maxwell Lee's Malaysian immigrant parents first put a violin in his hands when he was just three years old, but he soon demonstrated that he had precocious and exceptioinal musical abilities that he would later display as a classical pianist. As he focused on his music in college and graduate school, he seemed destined to make music his career path, either as a performer or an instructor. But after getting married, he dropped music altogether, becoming a successful real estate investor instead. A few years ago, however, he learned that the musician inside of him was slowly waking up. He and his family moved to Taipei, Taiwan, and he secured a coveted 3-year visa for foreign professionals.  This is Part 1 of a special series where Maxwell has graciously agreed to let us tag along with him on his dream to become a professional, performing musician. For now, you can follow him on Facebook. In Part 2, I'll share one of his latest original songs!

Pakistani American actor Taha Mandviwala is now starring as "Pi" in the highly acclaimed theatrical adaptation of the bestselling novel and award-winning film of the same name. As part of the cast that is currently touring stages across America and elsewhere, Mandviwala reveals the depths of his character and what he has to do to come across as a believable teenaged boy. He also unpacks the artistry and athleticism that's required by the puppeteers who bring the zoo animals to life for the audience. 

Scholar Dr. Anne Soon Choi has just written L.A. Coroner:Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood, the first-ever biography of Dr. Tsunetomi "Thomas" Noguchi, the Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner of the County of Los Angeles from 1967 to 1982. Throughout his illustrious career, Dr. Noguchi conducted autopsies on some of the most high profile and controversial figures in American history, including Marilyn Monroe, Robert F. Kennedy, Sharon Tate and other victims of the Manson Family, Janis Joplin, John Belushi, and Natalie Wood. His elaborate press conferences, which often generated more controversy than they did answers, catapulted him into the public eye and made him a celebrity in his own right. He was the inspiration for the popular television drama Quincy, M.E. starring Jack Klugman, and penned the bestselling 1983 book Coroner.

Even though New Jersey freshman Senator Andy Kim has already served three terms in the House of Representatives, he still primarily sees himself as a life-long public servant rather than a politician. Prior to becoming a member of Congress, Kim served at USAID, the Pentagon, the State Department, the White House National Security Council, and in Afghanistan as an advisor to Generals Petraeus and Allen. The proud son of South Korean immigrants, Senator Kim also has the distinction of being the first Asian American that New Jersey has elected to the Senate, and the first American of Korean ancestry to be a senator. Many people in the world first came to know about him when a photo of him cleaning up the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, went viral.

With federal agency USAID now struggling to survive after being unfairly demeaned and discounted by Elon Musk and his DOGE crew, it's crucial that you hear the story of how USAID helped a poor Thai student to become a board certified radiation oncologist. Dr. Vitune Vongtama inspired both Roy and his brother Danny to follow in his footsteps. All told, the three of them have saved tens of thousands of people from dying from cancer. Dr. Roy Vongtama is also a veteran actor. You can learn why and how he continues to juggle both of his passions here: https://asianamericapodcast.com/2019/01/ep-175-roy-vongtama/