7.11.2025

They Call Us Kpop Demon Hunters

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.


What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

In this episode, we welcome Maggie Kang, creator and co-director of the hit Netflix animated feature Kpop Demon Hunters. She talks about the seven-year journey of bringing the film to life; behind-the-scenes insights on crafting an epic animated action musical that incorporates both supernatural demon lore and kpop idol culture; assembling the voice and music team to tell this uniquely Korean story; and the incredible, unexpected global response to the movie. Also: The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of making Kpop Demon Hunters.

7.10.2025

Squid Game: The Official Podcast - S3E7: Season 3 Finale Explained by Creator and Stars!

Play one last time.


Squid Game is back! The third and final season of the worldwide phenomenon has dropped, and I'm pleased to share that I'm back as host of Squid Game: The Official Podcast, from Netflix and Mash-Up Americans. Join me and co-host Kiera Please as we suit up and break down every shocking twist and betrayal, and the choices that will determine who, if anyone, makes it out alive. Alongside creators, cultural critics, and viral internet voices, we'll provide our own theories for how the season ends, and what Squid Game ultimately reveals about power, sacrifice, and the systems that shape us.

Spoiler alert! Make sure you watch Squid Game Season 3 before listening on.

For our final bonus episode Kiera and I head to New York City for an exclusive sit-down with the minds and hearts behind Squid Game, series creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk, the unforgettable Player 456 himself, Lee Jung-jae, and the enigmatic Front Man, Lee Byung-hun. The masks are off! We do a deep dive with some burning questions about the show's most iconic moments and characters, and get real with the legends behind the global phenomenon.


7.07.2025

Squid Game: The Official Podcast - S3E6: Humans Are...

Play one last time.


Squid Game is back! The third and final season of the worldwide phenomenon has dropped, and I'm pleased to share that I'm back as host of Squid Game: The Official Podcast, from Netflix and Mash-Up Americans. Join me and co-host Kiera Please as we suit up and break down every shocking twist and betrayal, and the choices that will determine who, if anyone, makes it out alive. Alongside creators, cultural critics, and viral internet voices, we'll provide our own theories for how the season ends, and what Squid Game ultimately reveals about power, sacrifice, and the systems that shape us.

Spoiler alert! Make sure you watch Squid Game Season 3 Episode 6 before listening on.

The Game ends here. In the gripping series finale, "Humans Are..." Kiera and I sit with the full emotional weight of the series' conclusion -- unpacking Player 456's remarkable final act of defiance, the Front Man's quiet reckoning, and the question at the heart of the show: what does it mean to be human in an inhumane world? We revisit lingering fan theories, reflect on the characters we’ll never forget, and explore a final twist that raises even more questions than it answers.


7.05.2025

Squid Game: The Official Podcast - S3E5: Circle, Triangle, Square

Play one last time.


Squid Game is back! The third and final season of the worldwide phenomenon has dropped, and I'm pleased to share that I'm back as host of Squid Game: The Official Podcast, from Netflix and Mash-Up Americans. Join me and co-host Kiera Please as we suit up and break down every shocking twist and betrayal, and the choices that will determine who, if anyone, makes it out alive. Alongside creators, cultural critics, and viral internet voices, we'll provide our own theories for how the season ends, and what Squid Game ultimately reveals about power, sacrifice, and the systems that shape us.

Spoiler alert! Make sure you watch Squid Game Season 3 Episode 5 before listening on.

In Season 3, Episode 5, "Circle, Triangle, Square," Kiera Please and I unpack the twisted politics of fairness, the final betrayal of the Os, and Player 456's decision to protect the baby -- even if it means risking everything. And Comedian Steven He ("EMOTIONAL DAMAGE!") joins the pod to break down Guard 011's revenge, Min-su's haunting farewell, and the flashback that finally reveals how the Front Man won his season. Plus, we put Steven in the hot seat for a ruthless game of "Who Wants to Be a Squid-ionaire?"


7.04.2025

They Call Us Dylan Park-Pettiford

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.


What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

In this episode, we welcome Dylan Park-Pettiford -- TV writer, combat veteran and author of the memoir Roadside: My Journey to Iraq and the Long Road Home. He talks about growing up as a Black/Korean American kid in Campbell, California; getting swept up in the post-9/11 patriotism that sent him to Iraq, where his days alternated between boredom and terror; losing his brother to gun violence; uncovering a part of his identity through family history; and the kinds of topics you might want to avoid writing about if your mom might eventually read your book.

7.03.2025

Squid Game: The Official Podcast - 222: S3E4

Play one last time.


Squid Game is back! The third and final season of the worldwide phenomenon has dropped, and I'm pleased to share that I'm back as host of Squid Game: The Official Podcast, from Netflix and Mash-Up Americans. Join me and co-host Kiera Please as we suit up and break down every shocking twist and betrayal, and the choices that will determine who, if anyone, makes it out alive. Alongside creators, cultural critics, and viral internet voices, we'll provide our own theories for how the season ends, and what Squid Game ultimately reveals about power, sacrifice, and the systems that shape us.

Spoiler alert! Make sure you watch Squid Game Season 3 Episode 4 before listening on.

In Season 3, Episode 4, "222" we unpack how innocence gets weaponized when the baby is named the Game's newest player -- and explore what South Korea's plummeting birth rate says about why this baby holds so much weight. Then, activist and content creator Amber Whittington (aka "AmbersCloset") joins to break down the heartbreaking end to the Jump Rope game, the Front Man's shocking reveal, and faces off with Kiera in a game of "Poisoned Bottle" that’s equal parts delicious and disgusting. Also: we call my mom to get her latest Squid Game takes!


7.01.2025

Squid Game: The Official Podcast - It's Not Your Fault: S3E3

Play one last time.


Squid Game is back! The third and final season of the worldwide phenomenon has dropped, and I'm pleased to share that I'm back as host of Squid Game: The Official Podcast, from Netflix and Mash-Up Americans. Join me and co-host Kiera Please as we suit up and break down every shocking twist and betrayal, and the choices that will determine who, if anyone, makes it out alive. Alongside creators, cultural critics, and viral internet voices, we'll provide our own theories for how the season ends, and what Squid Game ultimately reveals about power, sacrifice, and the systems that shape us.

Spoiler alert! Make sure you watch Squid Game Season 3 Episode 3 before listening on.

In Season 3, Episode 3, "It's Not Your Fault," we react to one of the season's most devastating twists, the newborn baby's forced induction into the Game and Player 456's newfound purpose. Plus, we break down the backstory of our favorite creepy dolls: Young-hee and Chul-su and their role in Korean education. Then, special guest Philip Wang of Wong Fu Productions joins to talk about the show's evolving definition of family -- and what it means when even the heroes have blood on their hands. Plus, we face off in a morally impossible round of "The Lesser Evil" -- because sometimes, there are no right answers.


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