Hello everyone,
Four episodes in and this month is about over. I want to personally thank all my listeners for tuning in and responding so positvely to my guests so far. I can assure you that it is only going to get better, as I'll be releasing upcoming episodes each week until the US Presidential Election. As i was wrapping up the 2nd season at the end of May, I was burned out. Working on the 2nd season which commemorated the 45 year anniversary of the beginning of the Southeast Asian migration after the Vietnam / Laos Civil War and the Khmer Rouge was rewarding but also emotionally exhausting. The pandemic had also completely changed how my day-to-day life would look, I had survived a company wide furlough, and had just started graduate school. As I released my season finale, the murder of George Floyd happened and the nationwide protests began.
I gave myself a hiatus that June but was already preparing for what the 3rd season would look like. Originally, my plan was to call the theme ImmunizAsians as a call to response from APIA community folks in the wake of anti-Asian racism during Covid-19 and preparing for the upcoming election and the critical US census year. However, with the theme name in a time where anti-Black racism continues to harm Black communities, this is an issue that our API community also needs to confront.
The 3rd season aims to address the anti-Asian racism, confront the anti-Blackness & colorism in our API communities and what the Black Lives Matter movement means to them, and preparing for the US Presidential election through my guests who are all APIA folks who have worked either as teachers, artists, community organizers & advocates, and elected officials. They share their personal experiences growing up in America, and the work that they are doing to strengthen their community, while working to build solidarity with other communities.
Hope you enjoy this next month of new episodes, but until then, I hope you catch up on my recent episodes!
