They Call Us Bruce: Episode 61 - They Call Us Austin Asians (Live From SXSW)

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.

On this episode, recorded live at SXSW, Jeff and Phil host an Asian American trivia quiz show, with special guests Simu Liu, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Jonny Sun, Nancy Wang Yuen, Chloe Dao and PJ Raval -- all vying for Asian (North) American honor, glory and bragging rights. Special thanks to our friends at the Austin Asian American Film Festival and Indeed.

Contestant's blind guess kicks ass on 'Wheel of Fortune'

Emil pulls the right out answer out of his butt, wins $45,000



Call it luck. Call it skillz. Call it being graced with the blessing of the game show gods. This guy solving a near-impossible final Wheel of Fortune puzzle with a crazy first guess is the stuff dreams are made of.

Wheel of Fortune Contestant Solves Impossible Puzzle With First Guess

Watch Emil's reaction -- hell, everybody's reaction -- as he pulls the correct answer, seemingly, from out of his butt with just two letters, surprising the crap out of everyone. He runs away with a cool $45,000, but not first without a pat-down from host Pat Sajak. Give that man his money:

The Strange Reign of Arthur Chu comes to end. Respect.

Thug. Villain. Smartass. Champion. Hero.



Gotta give some props to Jeopardy! champ Arthur Chu. On Wednesday night, the so-called "villain" of the perennial game show made his exit, ending a controversial, much-publicized 11-game winning streak. When all was said and done, Arthur walked away from the podium with nearly $300,000.

'Jeopardy!' champ Arthur Chu bows out

It was a glorious run, perhaps mostly notably marked by Arthur's aggressive, unorthodox playing strategy, which drew the ire of the quiz show's traditionalists and general everyday haters. The best part? Arthur never took shit from anybody, hopping on Twitter to strike back at critics with his trademark wit and DGAF attitude.

We loved it. During a good part of his badass run, my comedian pal Jenny Yang and I virtually gathered Arthur's devotees ("The Chu Crew") for live-tweet sessions of each game using the hashtag #ChuOnThis. Yeah, we're a bunch of nerds, and we had a blast. Thank you, Arthur, for dropping knowledge and good times.

And yes, Arthur will be back for Jeopardy's Tournament of Champions. The Chu Crew will be ready.

The Return of Arthur Chu, Gangster Gamer of Jeopardy!

In honor of Arthur's return, Jenny Yang and I will be live-tweeting Jeopardy! tonight, 7:00PM PT



The "villain" of Jeopardy! returns! The perennial TV quiz show returns to regular competition tonight, and with it, controversial contestant Arthur Chu, the current champion who's drawn the ire of traditionalists and Twitter haters for his aggressive, unorthodox gaming methods. Also -- let's be real -- because he's Asian.

Asian-American Contestant, 'Villain' of 'Jeopardy,' Set To Return

They're calling him a "despicable human being." They're calling him "the worst Jeopardy! contestant of all time." They're calling him "Asian." Well, he is Asian. In fact, much of the criticism seems to be stemming from the fact that Arthur does sort of fulfill the "Asian nerd" stereotype. The best part? Arthur does not give a f*ck.

Arthur Chu is the gangster gamer of Jeopardy!

Controversial contestant uses game theory and smacks down Twitter haters



Recognize, suckas. There's a new champion on Jeopardy!, and he's not messing around. Arthur Chu is gangster, and he's causing quite a stir amongst fans of the popular game show for his unorthodox methods. But haters can hate. He's winning. Since Tuesday, Chu has won thousands of dollars by using game theory.

Jeopardy's Controversial New Champion Is Using Game Theory To Win Big

Sure, any old fool can win Jeopardy! by just knowing a lot of stuff. But Arthur is taking it to the next level by using some pretty effective game theory strategies -- searching for Daily Doubles, aggressive buzzing and playing for the tie, among other tactics -- much to the frustration of staunch traditionalist at-home viewers.

Mental Floss breaks down the 6 Elements of Arthur Chu's Jeopardy! Strategy.

To casual watchers of the game, his moves might seem gutsy and reckless, but I love it. My favorite part was Arthur's simple, prompt response to a sports trivia Daily Double: "I don't know." Hey, the dude admits he doesn't know much about sports. But he only wagered and lost five bucks and nobody else got to answer that question.

Oh, and this guy's got some swagger.

Arthur's maddening tactics (and awesome DGAF confidence) have attracted the ire of Twitter critics, to which he has opted for a "come at me, bro" attitude, responding and slaying haters with snark. And generally dropping braggadocious gems like this:

Hey, kids! Aren't the Japanese totally weird and wacky?

I liked it better when it was called Double Dare.



I suppose it was only a matter of time before Disney did a take on the Japanese game show.

Disney XD's Japanizi: Going, Going, Gong! is an adaptation of the ABC reality show I Survived A Japanese Game Show, which was mostly built on the premise that Japanese people/television/culture are sooooo weird! And wacky! So now they've got the kids' version, complete with craaazy costumes, messy challenges, ninjas(?!) and a barking Japanese host. So wacky!

Here's a promo for the show, which gives you the general idea:

ISA! Variety Game Show Premieres

Our friends in ISA just launched ISA! (please note the exclamation point) their take on the Asian American Variety Game Show. If you've seen shows like this from Asia, you'll be familiar with the format. Great idea. They've recruited the likes of Freddie Wong, Wong Fu Productions, KevJumba, Brandon Laatsch, Clara C, Ally Maki, Mike Song, Anthony Lee, Jen (FrmHeadToToe), and David Choi, and it's a lot of fun. Here are episodes 1 & 2: