They Call Us Bruce 226: They Call Us Justin Chien & Sam Song Li

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 Justin Chien and Sam Song Li, the stars of the Netflix family crime drama The Brothers Sun. They talk about getting their big shot to play Charles and Bruce -- the titular Brothers Sun; acting opposite the queen herself, Michelle Yeoh; and all the hard work that went into kicking ass (and not getting your ass kicked) in the show's epic fight scenes. Also: The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of making The Brothers Sun. (By the way, this episode happens to be sponsored by Netflix and The Brothers Sun.)

Dev Patel is Out for Revenge in 'Monkey Man'

'Slumdog Millionaire' star makes his directorial debut with a gritty action thriller produced by Jordan Peele.

Holy crap. Dev Patel makes his feature directing debut in the revenge action thriller Monkey Man. Produced by Jordan Peele, the movie follows one man's quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless.
'Slumdog Millionaire' star makes his directing debut with a gritty action thriller from producer Jordan Peele.

Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, Monkey Man stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash.

After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city's sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.

Watch the trailer:

They Call Us Bruce 225: They Call Us The Brothers Sun

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 our favorite usual suspects, Rebecca Sun of The Hollywood Reporter and Dino-Ray Ramos of DIASPORA, to do a deep dive into the Netflix family crime drama The Brothers Sun, starring Michelle Yeoh (but not before a brief recap of recent award show happenings, including the Emmys and Golden Globes). We discuss "rice rocket energy," the #1 Seafood Restaurant, why the San Gabriel Valley is the perfect setting for this Asian American gangster show, and our hopes for a second season of The Brothers Sun. (By the way, this episode happens to be sponsored by Netflix and The Brothers Sun.)

This Spring, Baseball Returns to Manzanar

The Manzanar Baseball Project will stage two games at the Manzanar National Historic Site.

Here's an incredible project that could use your eyes and dollars -- a unique community event that combines sports, history, memory and social justice. This spring, The Manzanar Baseball Project will stage two baseball games on a newly restored field at the Manzanar National Historic Site in the Mojave Desert.

Manzanar was the first of ten detention camps where Americans of Japanese ancestry were unjustly imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II. Overall, it was the largest mass incarceration in American history with 120,000 people being imprisoned between 1942 and 1945.

For many incarcerated Japanese Americans during this time, resilience meant creating a sense of "home" in any way possible, including playing sports. And in the 1940s, baseball was the most popular sport in the country -- including and especially in the camps, where dozens of leagues were formed with hundreds of players.

'Beef' Wins Big at the Emmy Awards

Netflix series wins eight awards, including Outstanding Limited Series, Best Actor and Best Actress.

The Netflix limited series Beef was a big winner at the 75th Emmy Awards on Sunday night, taking home eight trophies including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Lead Actor for Steven Yeun and Lead Actress for Ali Wong. Series creator Lee Sung Jin also took home awards from writing and directing.

Beef is the first show created by and starring Asian Americans to win an Emmy for Outstanding Series. Ali Wong's win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology makes her the first Asian American woman to win an Emmy for a lead role. Steven Yeun's win is only the third Emmy for a Lead Actor of Asian descent.

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How Asian is your Costco? Help us find SoCal’s most 'Asian Costco' for Lunar New Year
As the Lunar New Year approaches, the Los Angeles Times is asking some important questions: Which are the most "Asian Costcos" in SoCal? And how did Costco become such a hit in Asian American communities?

* * *
Asian American eligible voters grew more than any other racial group since last presidential election
"The fact that Asian American eligible voter growth is five times that of the population overall is still striking and would seem to demand the attention of any campaign looking to expand its reach."

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How I honored the 300 who reached a refugee center in Asia only to die before trip to U.S.
Joseph Ruanto-Ramirez shares about working with the Khmer American community of San Diego to hold a ceremony for the nearly 300 refugees who were processed from 1980 to 1995 at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center in Morong, Bataan, Philippines, but died before they were able to cross the Pacific to come to the United States.

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Could 'Parasite' Star Lee Sun-kyun's Death Lead to a Social Reckoning in Korea?
The death of actor Lee Sun-Kyun, considered a suicide, has put a spotlight on Korea's current political and social climate, with potential ramifications for the country's status as a global soft superpower.

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An Open Letter to Independent Lens about "Beyond Utopia"
Concerned film producers say the documentary Beyond Utopia, which recently aired on PBS' Independent Lens, presents an unbalanced and inaccurate narrative about Korean history and North Korean society.

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Family drama and brutal fight scenes get equal footing in 'The Brothers Sun': 'It's a balancing act'
In Netflix's The Brothers Sun, which collides the Asian American family ethnoburb with gritty gangster action, the tone veers sharply from action to family drama to comedy and back again -- by design.

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Michelle Yeoh Still Kicks Ass (Not That We Ever Doubted It)
The Oscar winner on her new Netflix series, The Brothers Sun, and mothering onscreen and off.

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"Damn, lady!": "Brothers Sun" team on that ending, Michelle Yeoh's "torture" input and what's next
The Brothers Sun co-creator Byron Wu and director Viet Nguyen talk about Michelle Yeoh's power moves at the end of season one, and what could be next for the Sun clan in a possible second season.

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How Jenny Yang Scored Her First Action Role — Fighting Michelle Yeoh
Comedian Jenny Yang tells all about her path to Netflix's The Brothers Sun.

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Avatar: The Last Airbender showrunner opens up about making series without original creators
When Albert Kim first got the call from Netflix to work on the live-action series adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, his reaction was basically "Hell yeah!" But then it was "Holy shit! Do I really want to do this?"

Stephanie Hsu Gets 'Laid' in New Comedy Series

Peacock orders 'f-ked up rom-com' from writers Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna.

Peacock has given a straight-to-series order for the comedy Laid, starring Stephanie Hsu and from writers Nahnatchka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna. Let me stop you right there -- I will absolutely watch this.

More here: Stephanie Hsu to Star in 'Laid' Comedy From Nahnatchka Khan for Peacock

But here's some more information. Laid revolves around a woman who finds out that her former lovers are dying in unusual ways and must go back through her "sex timeline" to confront her past in order to move forward.

A Front-Row Seat to a Geo-Political Dance

S. Leo Chiang reflects on U.S., China and Taiwan relations in his short documentary 'Island in Between'

Filmmaker S. Leo Chiang was born in Taiwan, grew up in the United States, worked extensively in China and now lives in Taipei. This mix of experiences has given him a front-row seat to the complex, decades-long dance between these nations. In his short documentary Island in Between, Chiang reflects on his relationship with Taiwan, the U.S. and China from the islands of Kinmen, just a few miles from mainland China.

Kinmen, also known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed by Taiwan that were the front lines of the first and second Taiwan Straits Crises decades ago. They lie just a few miles from mainland China, and these days, locals are unsure what escalating tensions mean for the future.

Island in Between, part of the New York Times' Op-Docs series was recently announced on the short list for the 2024 Academy Awards, in the category of Documentary Short Film.

Watch it here:

'Soldiers of Christ' Cult Killing Shakes Korean Community

33-year-old Sehee Cho was tortured and killed during the group's "initiation" process."

In Georgia, members of a Korean religious cult were charged in the murder of a 33-year-old woman who was killed during the initiation process into a group that called itself Soldiers of Christ. Police say Sehee Cho was held captive for weeks, tortured and starved her until she died.

Officers discovered Cho's decaying body in the trunk of a car, left in the parking lot in metro Atlanta's busy Korean business district. Video evidence shows the group beating Cho with a belt and putting her in ice baths. Seven individuals, including the group's leader Joonho Lee, face charges of felony murder, false imprisonment, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of another.

They Call Us Bruce 224: They Call Us New Year 2024

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 our pals Rebecca Sun of The Hollywood Reporter and Dino-Ray Ramos of DIASPORA to take one last look back at the year that was, plus a look forward, with a special super-sized edition of The Good, The Bad, and The WTF (What's The Future). We discuss, among other things, the post-Everything Everywhere All at Once Multiverse, messy Asians, controversies, Beef, Past Lives, Joy Ride, Shortcomings, Elemental, hopes, dreams, fears, and much more. This episode is sponsored by the Netflix series The Brothers Sun.

House Bill Aims to Restart "China Initiative"

Controversial Trump administration program targeted Chinese academics for possible espionage.

The Department of Justice ended a controversial program nearly two years ago called the China Initiative, which targeted mostly ethnic Chinese academics and their links to China. The program was stopped in 2022 after criticism of racial profiling. Now, a proposed House spending bill wants to bring the initiative back.

More here: House bill aims to restart controversial DOJ program that targeted Chinese academics

So yeah, we're still doing this. The China Initiative, created during the Trump administration, was an effort to investigate and prosecute Chinese espionage in the United States, and targeted academics and scientists of Chinese descent who found themselves under scrutiny for past affiliations with Chinese institutions.

About 90% of the more than 70 cases prosecuted under the initiative involved people who were ethnically Chinese. Just about a quarter were convicted and usually for much lesser charges. In February 2022, the Department of Justice ended the China Initiative, citing in part racial and ethnic bias, though the FBI says it still has more than 2,000 cases related to China. The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment. And now a proposed House spending bill wants to restart the initiative.

In some cases where the Justice Department was unable to find evidence of espionage, officials brought lesser charges, only to drop them -- but not before damage was done to the scientists' reputations and careers. The suspicion extends to national security employees with ties to Asia, who are regarded as potential intelligence threats because they have family members in, say, China or Taiwan.

More here: Asian American Officials Cite Unfair Scrutiny and Lost Jobs in China Spy Tensions

'Beef' Wins Big at the Golden Globes

Netflix series wins Best Limited Series and lead acting categories for Steven Yeun and Ali Wong.

The Netflix road rage drama Beef cleaned up with historic big wins at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night, taking home trophies for Best Limited Series, and Best Actor and Actress for Steven Yeun and Ali Wong.

Ali Wong is the first actress of Asian descent ever to win in Best Actress in a Mini-series or Motion Picture for TV. Steven Yeun is only the third actor to win in the category. And Wong and Yeun are only the third duo in Golden Globes history to win both lead limited series acting categories.

Beef won the award for Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Motion Picture -- the first-ever honor for a show created by and starring Asian Americans. Accepting the award, series creator Lee Sung Jin thanked the nameless driver involved in the road rage incident that inspired the show.

They Call Us Bruce 223: They Call Us K-Culture

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 close out 2023 and welcome critic and commentator Jae-Ha Kim to talk all things "K" -- from K-dramas to K-pop, and all the other ways Korean pop culture has spread its infectious K-embrace across the globe. We discuss the best K-dramas of the year (according to Jae-Ha), what happens when BTS takes a break for military service, and the recent tragic death of Lee Sun-kyun. I also admit -- nay, declare -- my love of NewJeans.