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 design/technology writer Gregory Han, who has been participating in a clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine. They discuss what it will take to end the pandemic, what the world might look like on the other side, and if karaoke will survive coronavirus.
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu Announces Run For Mayor
It's official: Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu will run for mayor in 2021. Wu announced her candidacy Tuesday morning with a video in three languages that zeroed in on issues including public health, housing and transportation. "Now is the time for change," Wu said at the end of the video.
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Suspected Arsonist Caught on Video in San Francisco Printing Shop
In San Francisco, a suspected arsonist was caught on video robbing and setting fire to an Asian immigrant-owned printing shop. The suspect reportedly broke in to Dragon Printing in the Sunset District, burglarized the store, and then deliberately started a fire -- burning the majority of the inventory, machines, and everything else in sight. The store, which was started by the Wong family nearly 35 years ago, is now in danger of closing. Friends have started a GoFundMe campaign in support of Dragon Printing.
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House Passes Bill to Name Houston Post Office After Slain Sikh Deputy
On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Res. 5317, which would rename a post office in Houston, Texas the Deputy Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal Post Office, in honor of Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, a Sikh sheriff's deputy who was killed during a traffic stop last year. Dhaliwal was the first Sikh deputy to work for the Harris County Sheriff's Office, and the first deputy to be allowed to wear his turban while on-duty.
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Family Style: Season Two
Season two of Stage13's Family Style is now out and available for viewing. The award-winning food and pop culture streaming series features a group of friends and celebrity guests exploring popular Asian food restaurants and cultural locales. Each episode of season two centers on the stories surrounding the sharing of food both across a table and virtually over a video chat. Partically filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, this season showcases a diverse array of Asian chefs, celebrities, and foodies across multiple generations, sharing favorite recipes, traditions, and locations, representing an array of Asian ethnicities.
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Lovecraft Country: The Craft - Storyboard Artist Eric Yamamoto
Have you been watching the HBO horror drama Lovecraft Country? In this behind-the-scenes clip, Lovecraft Country storyboard artist Eric Yamamoto talks about how he helps bring directors' visions for the show to life.
The Podcast In Which We Interview All The Asians On Star Trek.
All The Asians On Star Trek is the podcast in which we interview all the Asians on Star Trek. In Episode 3, we talk to veteran actor Clyde Kusatsu. He guest starred on Star Trek: The Next Generation as Vice Admiral Nakamura in the episodes "Measure of Man," "Phantasms" and the series finale "All Good Things..." With a career spanning nearly 50 years, his credits include Kung Fu, Midway, Magnum P.I., All in the Family and All American Girl, among many others. He talks about getting aged-up to play Jean-Luc Picard's classmate, the other Sar Trek role he auditioned for, and how his John Wayne impression landed him a job.
And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.
Naomi Osaka Won in Two Amazing Ways: Athleticism and Activism
As you've likely seen by now, Osaka packed seven masks for the US Open fortnight, one for each match she’d play if she made it to the final. She made the final. She won her second Open in three years. Because of that, viewers were reminded anew of the seven Black Americans she remembered, five killed police and the sixth and seventh, Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery, killed allegedly by civilians for being Black in neighborhoods where vigilantes thought they didn't belong.... As Osaka did the customary post-match interview with ESPN, she was asked what message she was trying to send with the masks. "What's the message you got, was more the question," she said. "I feel like the point is to make people start talking."
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Reporter Josie Huang Arrested While Covering Protest
Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies arrested KPCC/LAist Correspondent Josie Huang late Saturday while she was covering the ambush shooting of two deputies in Compton. Even as she was being thrown to the ground, Huang -- who was wearing a lanyard with her press credential hanging from her neck -- was recording the encounter. In video that continued to film after her phone was knocked from her hand, Huang can be heard repeatedly identifying herself as a reporter and shouting "KPCC" several times. You also can hear Huang yelling "you're hurting me" and crying out in pain.
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Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland Takes Top Prize at 2020 Venice Film Festival
Director Chloé Zhao's feature film Nomadland has won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, becoming the first woman to earn the top prize in a decade. Starring Frances McDormand, Nomadland follows a widow in a Nevada mining town decimated after the Great Recession who chooses to embark on a life on the open road.
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Sandra Oh, Michelle Yeoh Join Henry Golding in 'Tiger's Apprentice'
Sandra Oh and Michelle Yeoh have joined Henry Golding in the voice cast of The Tiger's Apprentice, the adaptation of the best-selling children's book by Lawrence Yep. The cast also includes Brandon Soo Hoo, Bowen Yang, Sherry Cola, and Kheng Hua Tan. The book tells the story of a boy in San Francisco who meets a shape-shifting talking tiger named Mr. Hu and under his tutelage and protection is introduced into a magical world that includes an ancient phoenix, a dragon and a clan of evil-doers. Oh will play Mistral, a friend of the tiger, who is an exiled dragon now living in San Francisco. Yeoh's character is unclear.
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Lifetime Sets Cast For Holiday Movie 'Sugar & Spice Holiday'
Jacky Lai and Tony Giroux will star alongside Tzi Ma in A Sugar & Spice Holiday, Lifetime's first holiday movie centered on an Asian American family. "Written by Eirene Donohue and directed by Jennifer Liao, A Sugar & Spice Holiday is centered on the story of a Chinese-American woman who draws on her family’s cultural traditions to spice up an old-fashioned Christmas baking competition. It follows Suzie (Lai), a rising young architect, who returns to her small hometown in Maine for Christmas where her Chinese American family runs the local Lobster Bar. Following the loss of her beloved grandmother who was a legendary baker in their community, Suzie is guilted into following in her grandmother’s footsteps by entering the local gingerbread house competition. Teaming up with an old high school friend Billy (Giroux), who grew up to be a catch, Suzie must find the right recipes and mix of sugar and spice to win the competition and perhaps find some love in the process."
America Is Trapped in a Pandemic Spiral
"Here, then, are nine errors of intuition that still hamstring the U.S. pandemic response, and a glimpse at the future if they continue unchecked. The time to break free is now. Our pandemic summer is nearly over. Now come fall, the season of preparation, and winter, the season of survival. The U.S. must reset its mindset to accomplish both."
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How My Mother and I Became Chinese Propaganda
"Immigrant struggles in America forged a bond that became even tighter after my mother's A.L.S. diagnosis. Then, as COVID-19 threatened, Chinese nationalists began calling us traitors to our country."
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 this episode -- our most super-sized episode yet -- we welcome writers Rebecca Sun and Frankie Huang to talk about Disney's live action adaptation of Mulan. We discuss The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of the film, as well as how we'd adapt the tale differently.
The Podcast In Which We Interview All The Asians On Star Trek.
All The Asians On Star Trek is the podcast in which we interview all the Asians on Star Trek. In Episode 3, we talk to actress Grace Lynn Kung. She guest starred on Star Trek: Discovery as "Psycho" -- that's the actual credit -- in the first season episode "Context Is For Kings." She talks about geeking out on the Discovery set, taking heavy hits for her big fight scene, and how poor Worf never got any respect.
'Mulan' 1998: A Moment of Joy and Anxiety for Asian-American Viewers
Disney's new live-action Mulan is coming at a time when the entertainment world is still feeling tremors from the success of Crazy Rich Asians and Parasite. It was a very different landscape when the animated Mulan debuted in 1998: American audiences were far less used to the presence of Asians onscreen and many Asian American moviegoers felt less comfortable with depictions of themselves.
What Keanu Reeves taught me about white-passing privilege
"In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen racism against Asian people surge worldwide, as well as a collective reassessment of racial identity following the recent surge of Black Lives Matter protests, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be a mixed race woman. And I’ve been thinking even more about Keanu Reeves, the most decent man in Hollywood."
