On last weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live, comedian Bowen Yang appeared on Weekend Update to address the disturbing rise of violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the United States. Yang, SNL’s first Asian American cast member and cohost of the funny and sharp Las Culturistas podcast, had a message for viewers looking to help the AAPI community: “Do more.” Donating money? Great! Do more. Supporting Asian restaurants? That’s good too, but—do more.
Similarly, listening to podcasts that center the voices and stories of Asian Americans is only a start in understanding and combating the deeply rooted white supremacy, xenophobia, and racism that leads to hate crimes like the shootings at spas in Atlanta. But the work of Asian American podcasters absolutely demands attention, and not only in times of crisis.
The following shows uplift the diverse, complex narratives of Asian Americans, shedding light on lived experiences and histories that are integral to our nation’s culture—although they may not always be acknowledged or celebrated as such. And whether implicitly or explicitly, the shows also draw attention to the fact that the umbrella term “Asian American” is in itself an imperfect way to refer to the experiences of 20 million people.
It’s difficult to know how to move forward in the face of senseless violence—“I don’t have all the answers,” said Yang, a sentiment echoed by many podcast hosts in the wake of the Atlanta-area shootings—but that makes open, honest conversations around the subject all the more brave and necessary.
Self Evident: Asian America’s Stories
Hosted by the James Beard Award–winning journalist Cathy Erway, and created by James Boo, Talisa Chang, and Julia Shu Self Evident is a beautifully produced show that uses reported narratives, personal stories, and community conversations in order to present a complex, empathetic portrait of Asian American life. Since its launch in 2019, Self Evident has been unafraid to tackle thorny questions of identity and to carefully unpack the specific challenges faced by AAPI communities. The first episode, which questions for whom the “American Dream” can truly be realized, deftly weaves together the stories of immigrants who came to the States 100 years apart. Another reclaims an insensitive query faced by many Asian Americans, asking “So Where Are We Really From?” Self Evident has also been consistently reporting on the rise in racism and hate crimes against Asian Americans over the past year, starting with the episode “Unpacking Pandemic Racism,” a conversation from last April with fellow podcasters Paola Mardo and Ahmed Ali Akbar. That coverage continued with investigations of the virality of hate and the rise in neighborhood-watch groups in historic Chinatowns, as well as conversations about how to keep AAPI communities safe in the face of deeply rooted xenophobia. Self Evident and Erway also shine when discussing somewhat lighter topics: The most recent episode, “Saving the Seeds,” is a moving, evocative exploration of the relationship between Asian Americans and fruit. Soft and sharp at the same time, Self Evident is a must listen.
Listen: “Saving the Seeds”
Asian Enough (L.A. Times)
In this podcast from the L.A. Times, hosts Jen Yamato and Frank Shyong chat with celebrities about the joys and complexities of being Asian American, and invite their guests to share personal stories and unpack identity on their own terms. While Yamato and Shyong’s guests are cultural heavyweights—they’ve spoken with Margaret Cho, Padma Lakshmi, Jon M. Chu, Lulu Wang, John Cho, and Kamala Harris, among other artists, writers, and politicians—the conversations feel distinctly human and grounded. It’s clear the interviewees feel comfortable with the hosts, which allows for free-flowing, honest conversations about identity and experience that are, quite simply, a joy to listen to. Another feature of the show is the “Bad Asian Confessions” segment, where guests share times they felt they failed to live up to expectations of how an Asian person “should” act—harking back to the show’s title. Said Shyong in an early episode, “There’s things Asian Americans say to each other that they never say in public, and I thought, what are we scared of?” In making these private conversations public, Asian Enough gives its esteemed guests the unique opportunity to show up as their full selves, which feels frankly revelatory.
Listen: “Margaret Cho”
Long Distance
Hosted by Paola Mardo, Long Distance is the first documentary podcast about the Filipino diaspora. Mardo, who was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and the San Francisco Bay area, was working on an audio project in Los Angeles’s historic Filipinotown when she realized the deep need for well-reported stories about the Filipino community in America—particularly the narratives of young Filipino people navigating their identities and trying to trace their diasporic history. Listeners should start at the very beginning with “Little Manila,” a two-episode story about the first wave of Filipino immigrants (also known as the manong generation) to arrive en masse in America. Later episodes alternate between other history lessons—including the stories of labor organizer Larry Itliong and underground activist Myrla Baldonado—and personal narratives, from trailblazing activists who opened a Filipino restaurant in New York in the ’90s to ex-high school sweethearts and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who reconnected 40 years later. Each episode of Long Distance feels like a small gem; not only has Mardo done the impressive work of excavating these untold or obscured stories, but she’s polished them, through thoughtful storytelling and excellent production, so they can truly shine.
Listen: “Racism in the Time of Coronavirus”
Southern Fried Asian (Hard NOC Media)
With the recent release of Minari, Lee Isaac Chung’s Oscar-nominated film about a Korean family living on a farm in Arkansas, the specific experiences of Asian Americans living in the rural South have become more visible. But when Keith Chow launched his show Southern Fried Asian in 2017, this representation was almost nowhere to be found. As Chow noted, most stories about Asian Americans usually took place on the coasts—New York, Southern California, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Over the past five years, Chow has chatted with a wide range of guests who identify as AAPI and grew up in a southern state, including journalist Jia Tolentino, actress Eva Noblezada (Hadestown, Yellow Rose), author Jenny Han (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before), and Vanity Fair’s own Sonia Saraiya. As host, Chow is both an incisive interviewer and chummy conversationalist, just as eager to unpack the unexpected twists and turns of his guests’ careers as he is to discuss their favorite hometown doughnut spot. And on this podcast, both topics are equally important and valid ways of mapping identity.
Listen: “Perry Yung”
They Call Us Bruce (Potluck Podcast Collective)
Almost 20 years ago, Phil Yu started the groundbreaking blog Angry Asian Man, which was called “a daily must-read for the media-savvy, socially conscious, pop-cultured Asian American” and made a lasting impact on a generation of readers. As a pioneering voice in contemporary Asian American media, Yu—along with his cohost, writer Jeff Yang—is well-positioned to facilitate compelling conversations and provide sharp commentary about pop culture, identity, politics, and technology. Recent guests have included FBI agent Asha Rangappa, TikTok sensation Nick Cho (aka “Your Korean Dad”), and filmmakers like Alice Gu (The Donut King), Diane Paragas (Yellow Rose), Quoc Bao Tran (The Paper Tigers), and Sujata Day (Insecure, Definition Please). There’s also a particularly sweet, nostalgic episode about the “Asian American icon” Claudia Kishi from The Baby-Sitter’s Club book series that’s sure to delight any child of the ’90s. Yu and Yang describe their conversations as “unfiltered,” and episodes are indeed freeform in nature, often running over an hour. In other hands, such long chats could lose steam, but Yu and Yang are able to keep the momentum going and even leave listeners wanting more.
Listen: “They Call Us Angry Asian Man”
Saturday School (Potluck Podcast Collective)
In recent years, much attention has been drawn to the lack of complex, multidimensional Asian American representation in Hollywood, and the AAPI filmmakers and artists working to rectify that. But as the hosts of Saturday School, Ada Tseng and Brian Hu want to reveal the “deep and buried history” of Asian American storytelling in pop culture, and raise awareness about existing films and cultural staples that may have been overlooked or underappreciated at the time they were released. The name Saturday School comes from the classes Tseng and Hu had to take as children, while their friends watched cartoons; now, they cheekily turn the tables, indulging in their own love of pop culture each Saturday while providing their listeners with an education in Asian American cinema. Over the course of seven seasons—each one highlighting a different theme, including comedies, music movies, onscreen romances, “troublemakers”—Tseng and Hu have spotlighted over 70 films, and in doing so, have created an incredibly comprehensive and valuable archive of AAPI film history.
Listen: “Down a Dark Stairwell”
AAWW Radio: New Asian American Literature
Produced by the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, an NYC literary arts space that serves as “a sanctuary for the immigrant imagination,” AAWW Radio is sure to please listeners who miss the heady thrill of witnessing a tête-à-tête between culture’s foremost thinkers and creatives.
AAWW Radio features selected audio from the organization’s current and past events, as well as occasional original episodes, and has featured authors like Min Jin Lee, Cathy Park Hong, Esme Weijun Wang, and R.O. Kwon in sharp, enlightening conversations with their peers. While conversations are usually centered around literature and poetry, AAWW Radio recently paired Min Jin Lee, author of Pachinko, with Minari director Lee Isaac Chung, in which the pair expressed mutual admiration for the others’ work while also unpacking their artistic processes and careers.
Listen: “Minari ft. Lee Isaac Chung and Min Jin Lee”
At the Moment: Asian American News (AZI Media)
Hosted by Sylvia Peng and Janrey Serapio, At the Moment is a podcast about Asian Americans that is rooted in solidarity with other BIPOC and marginalized communities. Launched at the beginning of 2021, At the Moment tackles the “weird, messy, intersectional and complex issues in Asian America” and puts a particular emphasis on topics of social and racial justice. The podcast has featured guests like Kabzuag Vaj, a Hmong American activist and the founder of Freedom, Inc, and Pauline Park, a transgender activist and founder of the Queens Pride House; other episodes shed light on the experiences of marginalized groups within the AAPI community, including Filipino frontline workers and Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese refugee communities in the Bronx, and follow two Asian American teenagers who are balancing schoolwork and family businesses during COVID-19 crisis. Though At the Moment is a new podcast, its existence already feels impactful, as it creates an important space to share and celebrate the stories of AAPI individuals who exist at the intersection of multiple, complex identities.
Listen: “What You Need to Know About Anti-Asian Violence”
Support At the Moment: Asian American News
Asian Americana (Potluck Podcast Collective)
Hosted by Quincy Surasmith, Asian Americana was born out of a desire to show more “slices” of Asian American life, and to emphasize how narratives about AAPI communities are central—and essential—to American culture. “We weren’t just present” for American history, writes Surasmith. “We’ve actively built and shaped this nation with endless stories and contributions.” Since its launch in 2016, Asian Americana has covered an eclectic range of topics, including the evolution of an Asian American punk-rock zine into a cultural institution, the experiences of Hmong farmers in California’s Central Valley, the relationship between Asian American men and facial hair, the “Asian American literary icon” Claudia Kishi, and the ways Asian Americans organized direct aid within their communities during the COVID-19 crisis. Surasmith, who is second-generation Thai Chinese American, is an actor, journalist, and audio producer, and all of these skills contribute to Asian Americana’s excellent production and compelling storytelling style.
Listen: “Helpers in the Time of Coronavirus”
Modern Minorities
Hosted by Sharon Lee Thony and Raman Sehgal, a self-described “Chinese American girl from New York”' and an “Indian American boy who came from Alabama with a banjo on [his] knee,” Modern Minorities is a collection of conversations about work and life, told through the lens of race and gender. Thony and Sehgal, both branding and marketing experts based in New York, invite other successful people of color to chat about their careers and how their unique cultural backgrounds have shaped the way they experience the world. As longtime friends, Thony and Sehgal have a rapport that feels easy and authentic, and they drew on that established trust to have a recent, difficult conversation about violence against AAPI communities. On the episode, Thony, Sehgal, and their friend Ryan Joe processed the Atlanta shootings and its implications in real time, admitting they didn’t fully know how to feel or speak about it, but felt an obligation to try: “We don’t have all the answers, but we need to start asking the questions.” It’s this belief in the power of conversation to bring clarity that makes Modern Minorities such a compelling listen.
Listen: “Let’s Talk (About) Asian Violence”
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