Heads up, podcast listeners and pop culture fanatics! They Call Us Bruce, the podcast I co-host with Jeff Yang, is doing an entire day of live recordings highlighting Asian American creators and content in pop culture, for an event we're calling Asian American Culture Con (AACC), happening as part of PMX: Pacific Media Expo, America's first major trade show dedicated to Asian-Pacific popular culture and entertainment media.
AACC sessions will include panels focusing on Asian American talent from television, film, animation, comedy, science fiction and more, moderated by me and Jeff, to be recorded and released for the podcast.
It's happening Sunday, October 28 at the Glendale Hilton. [UPDATE] Here's the final schedule/lineup:
SESSION ONE, 10:15-11:30 am — THEY CALL US PRIMETIME ASIANS: A talk with Asian American stars of the new fall TV season—featuring Jake Choi of ABC's Single Parents, Keiko Agena of The First on Hulu & Ryan Potter of DC Universe's Titans!
SESSION TWO, 11:30 am-12:45 pm — THEY CALL US CARTOON CREATORS: A talk with standout creators from the world of animation, with Daniel Chong of We Bare Bears, Victor Cook of Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, Dan Santat of The Replacements and Fawn Veerasunthorn of Ralph Breaks the Internet!
LUNCH BREAK
SESSION THREE, 2-3:15 pm — THEY CALL US NEXT-GEN TALENT: Looking for the next-generation of Asian American stars, with Will Choi of Asian AF, Snehal Desai of East West Players, Linda Lamontagne of BoJack Horseman, and Kaitlyn Yang of Alpha Studios!
SESSION FOUR, 3:15-4:30 pm — THEY CALL US THE ASIAN AMERICAN CANON: Looking back at three of the movies that have defined our Asian American pop culture experience—talking to Tamlyn Tomita of The Joy Luck Club, PARRY SHEN of Better Luck Tomorrow and Lynn Chen of Saving Face!
SESSION FIVE, 4:30-5:45 pm — THEY CALL US THE ASIAN FUTURE: Taking a leap into the (Asian) Future with science fiction standouts Wesley Chu, author of The Lives of Tao, S Qiouyi Lu (Uncanny Magazine & Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine) and Peter Tieryas, author of United States of Japan!
and finally....
SESSION SIX, 5:45-7 pm — THEY CALL US STEVEN UNIVERSE: We close out the #AsianAmericanCultureCon by talking with Shelby Rabara, Michaela Dietz, Jennifer Paz and Grace Rolek, the stars of the epic animated series Steven Universe - the most Asian American show on TV!
All panels are free with with a PMX registration (full weekend or Sunday only). The event is still coming together, with more special guests being added as we speak. For further updates, follow the AACC Facebook event or They Call Us Bruce on Facebook and Twitter.