They Call Us Bruce 242: They Call Us 1587

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 Adam King and Sam Hyun, co-founders of the Asian American sneaker brand 1587. They talk about their inspiration for starting a company dedicated to "unapologetically Asian American" footwear, and how they're celebrating our community's oft-forgotten or neglected stories through shoes. Also: The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of starting an Asian American sneaker company. (This episode is sponsored by the HBO original limited series The Sympathizer and its official companion podcast.)

Fund This: Notes for Newtown

December 14 marks the one-year anniversary of the Newtown school shootings



Kind of hard to believe, but it's almost been a year since the horrific shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman killed six adults and twenty young children last December 14. I can't imagine what it must be like for the families of the victims, especially right now in the thick of the holiday season. Your heart breaks all over again.

That's why I gotta give it up to one of our good readers, Adam King, who launched the Notes for Newtown campaign last week. With the one-year anniversary of the massacre approaching, Adam wanted to send messages of hope and encouragement to the families of the victims, and let them know they're not alone during this time. Adam doesn't have any connection to Newtown; he's just a regular guy trying to help.

Indiegogo campaign aims to send handwritten notes to families of Newtown victims

The goal is collect thousands of messages on Notes for Change and transform them into handwritten notes that will be sent to the families affected by the Newtown school shootings. Here's a video with more information: