173: They Call Us Tanuj Chopra

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 back friend and filmmaker Tanuj Chopra, who directed season two of the Netflix series Delhi Crime. He talks about making the leap from indie films to international television, bringing an insider/outsider perspective to get the tone right, and the future of global storytelling.

Sacred Book Honors Japanese Americans Incarcerated During World War II

The Ireichō is on display at the Japanese American National Museum.



Over the weekend in Los Angeles, the Japanese American National Museum invited the public to view and sign the Ireichō, a sacred book that records -- for the first time ever -- the names of over 125,000 persons of Japanese ancestry who were unjustly imprisoned in U.S. Army, Department of Justice, and War Relocation Authority camps during World War II.

Visitors were invited to view the names and use a special Japanese hanko to leave a mark for each person in the Ireichō as a way to honor those incarcerated during World War II. Community participation will "activate" it and rectify the historical record by correcting misspelled names or revealing names that may have been omitted from the record.

The Ireichō will be on display at JANM for one year. A companion virtual monument is available online.

More here: 'There’s our family name': Sacred book honors Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII

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At Gracepoint Ministries, 'Whole-Life Discipleship' Took Its Toll
As Gracepoint Ministries, a predominantly Asian American church network, expands to dozens of college towns, former members come forward with claims of spiritual abuse.

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New laws address anti-Asian hate in the long-term, but what about feeling safe right now?
This month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills seeking to address harassment on public transit and in businesses. Meanwhile, the Citizen personal safety app announced it was providing up to 20,000 Asian Americans in the Bay Area with a free one-year subscription. Both try to address anti-Asian hate, but their differences illustrate the complexity of the issue.

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Talking about substance use can be hard for Filipino Americans. Why it's helpful to share stories
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Hua Hsu on His New Memoir, 'Stay True'
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The Stakes of Dictee
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Watching Spirited Away Again, and Again
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"The Field Is Open": Ocean Vuong on Minari's Lasting Cultural Legacy
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They Call Us Bruce 172: They Call Us Yuji Okumoto

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 actor Yuji Okumoto, who stars in season five of Netflix's Cobra Kai as Chozen Toguchi, the role he originated in 1986's The Karate Kid Pt. II. He talks about stepping back into the Karate Kid Cinematic Universe, his (and ours, and everybody's) love for Kumiko, and getting an unexpected redemption arc for his character over thirty years later. This episode is paid for by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Find boosters near you at vaccines.gov.

Kelly Marie Tran to Star in Biopic on Activist Amanda Nguyen

Nguyen founded the non-profit organization Rise, dedicated to furthering the rights of sexual assault survivors.



Kelly Marie Tran is developing a biopic about her friend, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, telling the story of her transformation from a survivor of college sexual assault to an activist for survivors' rights.

Tran will star in and produce the biopic about Nguyen, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee who founded civil rights accelerator Rise and wrote the Survivor's Bill Of Rights, which inspired the federal law passed in 2016.

“Over the years, Amanda's activism has changed the lives of billions, as she continues to make our world safer for sexual assault survivors everywhere,” Tran said in a statement. "Her courage inspires me every day, and I am honored to help tell her story."

Tang Yi is in talks to write and direct the film, which is in the early stages of development.

More here: Kelly Marie Tran to Star in, Produce Biopic on Activist Amanda Nguyen

New Documentary Revisits the Legend of Linsanity

'38 at the Garden' premieres October 11 on HBO.



I'll always remember the night Jeremy Lin dropped a stunning 38 points on the Lakers at Madison Square Garden. A new documentary short, 38 at the Garden, chronicles the extraordinary ascendance of your favorite Asian American point guard during his landmark 2012 season with the New York Knicks -- the period that affectionately became known as "Linsanity." You know the story. But I'll never get tired of it.

A decade later, Lin's stature as a groundbreaking, cultural icon stands in stark relief to the recent hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. 38 at the Garden recognizes a pivotal moment in time for Lin and celebrates a phenomenon that was bigger than basketball for the world. The film features a candid, new interview with Lin, as well as journalists Lisa Ling and Pablo Torre, comedians Ronny Chieng, Hasan Minhaj and Jenny Yang, and Knicks teammates Tyson Chandler and Iman Shumpert.

Here's the trailer:

Wakaji Matsumoto — An Artist in Two Worlds: Los Angeles and Hiroshima, 1917–1944

Online exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum



Wakaji Matsumoto — An Artist in Two Worlds: Los Angeles and Hiroshima, 1917–1944 is an online exhibition and public program about an artist and pioneer in Pictorialism who documented the lives of Japanese immigrant farmers in rural Los Angeles during the early 1900s and created rare images of urban life in Hiroshima prior to the 1945 atomic bombing of the city.

The online exhibition, presented by the Japanese American National Museum, highlights rarely seen early photographs of Los Angeles prior to World War II and of Hiroshima before the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb through the single lens of photographer Wakaji Matsumoto.

"Wakaji Matsumoto's photographs of farms that were operated by Japanese Americans in the Los Angeles area demonstrate the difficult life of Japanese Americans and their resolve and resilience," says Dennis Reed, the curator of the exhibition. "His photographs of Hiroshima are the largest-known photographic archive of the city prior to the atomic bomb. Today, our knowledge of the city's horrific fate lends a pall of melancholy over these tender images. They bear the weight of history."

View the online exhibition here: janm.org/exhibits/wakaji-matsumoto

Eugene Cordero Upped to Series Regular on 'Loki'

He played Time Variance Authority employee Casey in season one.



Eugene Cordero has been reportedly promoted to series regular on season two of Marvel's Loki. Cordero played the Time Variance Authority employee "Casey" in the first season of the Disney+ series. He only made a handful of appearances on the show, so it's pretty cool to see him make the jump to a bigger role.

Eugene is one of my favorite actors working today. If you don't know him from, say, his fan-favorite role as "Pillboi" on The Good Place, you've probably seen him in a dozen other things, including Easter Sunday, The Mandalorian, Kong: Skull Island, Tacoma FD, and The Good Place, to name a few.

More here: 'Loki': Eugene Cordero Upped To Series Regular For Season 2

Judge Overturns Murder Conviction of Adnan Syed of 'Serial'

Syed has been in prison for 23 years for the murder of high school classmate Hae Min Lee.



Adnan Syed, whose case was chronicled by the popular podcast Serial, was released from prison Monday after spending 23 years behind bars on charges that he murdered his former high school girlfriend.

Judge Melissa M. Phinn of Baltimore City Circuit Court overturned Syed's murder conviction in the 1999 killing of Hae Min Lee, finding that prosecutors had failed to turn over evidence that could have helped Syed at trial and discovered new evidence that could have affected the outcome of his case.

The office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore City said in a motion filed last week that there was new information about two potential alternative suspects in the homicide. While prosecutors aren't saying Syed is innocent, they are saying they lack confidence in "the integrity of the conviction."

Prosecutors have 30 days to decide if they will proceed with a new trial or drop the charges against Syed, who was ordered to serve home detention until then.

More here: Judge Vacates Murder Conviction of Adnan Syed of 'Serial'


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As anti-Asian bigotry rises across the U.S., a Temple professor’s civil rights suit becomes more relevant
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Why Yuh-Line Niou Didn't Run Again
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'They Break Up Families' — Crypto Scam Leaves Lasting Scars for Atlanta's Korean Community
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She Fought Racism in Early Hollywood. Now She'll Be the First Asian American on US Currency
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Meet the cookbook author who's bringing Taiwanese-American flavors to cannabis edibles
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Making a Netflix Rom-Com That's a Trojan Horse for Exploring “Structural Racism and Sexism"
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'She-Hulk' Actor Benedict Wong Talks Living in the "Wong Cinematic Universe"
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They Call Us Bruce 171: They Call Us Jamie Ford

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 bestselling author Jamie Ford, whose latest novel The Many Daughters of Afong Moy is described as an "epigenetic love story." He talks about the tragic real life of the first Chinese woman in America, weaving the intricate story of her imagined descendants, and exploring (and perhaps overcoming) inherited intergenerational trauma. This episode is paid for by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Find boosters near you at vaccines.gov.

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Indiana Jones and Short Round reunite after 38 years
Actors Harrison Ford and Ke Huy Quan, who starred together in 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, reunited over the weekend at D23 -- hugging it out for an instantly iconic photo.

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In Orange County, a House Race Is Testing What Asian Americans Want
In politically competitive Orange County, two Asian American candidates are facing off for the support of the growing Asian American electorate.

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A racial reckoning over a festival’s disrespect toward Asians in Monterey Bay
For decades, the city of Pacific Grove, California -- a predominantly white city of about 15,000 -- would celebrate its annual "Feast of Lanterns," a faux-Asian festival that used dated stereotypes and appropriated Chinese culture. The city announced it was ending the event earlier this year.

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Meet the Moms Who Are Fighting Anti-Asian Hate
As anti-Asian hate rages across the nation, moms are taking a stand. But the fight isn't new.

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Comedian Jenny Yang's Food Education Campaign Asks Goop to Rethink MSG Messaging
Comedian Jenny Yang's latest collaborative food education campaign, held in conjunction with MSG-producing company Ajinomoto, redefines "clean eating" and constructively calls Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow's wellness platform, to action.

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Karen O Has Found a More Joyful Kind of Wildness
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How Younghoe Koo overcame a language barrier and being cut to thrive in the NFL
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All The Asians On Star Trek 29: Kathryn Lyn

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 29, we welcome Kathryn Lyn, who has worn several hats in Star Trek writers rooms, including as a writer/producer on Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. She also officially serves as Canon Consultant on Lower Decks, making her the go-to geek when the writers have deep-cut canon questions. She talks about her journey as a writer, her favorite episodes, and the tattoo that got her a job on Star Trek.