Asian American History 101

Welcome to Episode 59! The Chinese Exclusion Act is one for the most restrictive laws that limited immigration. Although the majority of Chinese were barred from entering the country or becoming naturalized citizens, there was one loophole that allowed many Chinese Americans to claim citizenship and bring in additional Chinese. These were known as paper sons and daughters. We also talk about one particularly famous paper son, Tyrus...

Welcome to Episode 58! Yes, we’re geeks who like fantasy, science fiction, superheroes, comic books, music, food and more. You can also add musical theatre to that list of things we love. In this episode, we take time to talk about the history of Asian Americans in musical theatre. Although there aren’t a plethora of Asian American stories being told on Broadway, there have been some notable individual performers in both Asian-spec...

Welcome to Episode 57! Do you know the difference between the Congressional Gold Medal and the Medal of Honor? We take time to explain it in this episode to honor Veterans Day. Our main segment recognizes three groups of Asian Americans to win the Congressional Gold Medal: The Filipino veterans of WWII, the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team who were all Japanese American Soldiers, and the Chinese American Ve...

Welcome to Episode 56! There are Asian Pacific Islander Americans everywhere in the United States of America. But did you know there was a thriving Chinese community in the Mississippi Delta? In this episode we take time to talk about the history of the Chinese Americans in that area of the South. We also introduce a new recurring segment called Accidentally Asian Pacific Positive where we discuss TV and feature films that may not ...

Welcome to Episode 55! Ready for another episode on one of our favorite subjects? That’s right, it’s food time again! Today we talk about the history of Filipino food, one of the most unique foods around for its embrace of a variety of cultural cuisines that have influenced the ingredients and flavors over the centuries in the Philippines. From traders to colonialism, there are many influences to what’s considered traditional Filip...

Welcome to Episode 54! This is another episode in our ongoing series we call MFM, Most Forgotten Massacres. Today we’re going to talk about the Rock Springs Massacre and the Attack on Squak Valley. These were horrible moments in the history of the United States of America where large groups of Chinese laborers were targeted with violence and discrimination. A lot of things happened that led to these events, and we provide some of t...

Welcome to Episode 53! There’s a lot going on in October. It’s Filipino American History Month, so we begin by talking about this important honor as that was started by the Filipino American National History Society. October 11th, is also Indigenous People’s Day here in the U.S., so we focus our main story on the Indigenous Pacific Islanders in U.S. Territories: the CHamoru, Carolinians, and Samoans. We also mention two great organ...

Welcome to Episode 52 of the Asian American History 101 podcast! There is a long history of Ethnic Enclaves across America. However, even though European immigrants formed their own Ethnic Enclaves, they often moved out faster or were accepted more quickly into the mainstream U.S. society. But Asian Ethnic Enclaves are notable because they stand out as more “exotic” or different, and because they have been centers of support to mor...

Welcome to Episode 51 of the Asian American History 101 podcast! Concerned about Afghanistan? We had a chance to talk to Jeff Le again in this special mid-week interview. He talks about his work in Afghanistan, the repercussions for the U.S. international policy, and how U.S. citizens can help. There are lots of places that you can go to learn more and help out.

Welcome to Episode 50 of the Asian American History 101 podcast! It’s time for Part 3 in a series on the History of Hawai’i. Today we’re talking about the road to statehood for Hawai’i… a path that many native Hawai’ians probably did not approve of. How do territories become states? What was it like for Hawai’i. We also talk about the rise in Anti-Asian hate incidents here in Orange County as well as the confirmation of Florence P...

Welcome to Episode 49 of the Asian American History 101 podcast! Did you celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day? We recognize it so that we can talk about the most famous Asian Pirate ever, Shih Yang. Her incredible life made her one of the most influential pirates in history. We also take time to celebrate Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez, the amazing women of Asian descent at the U.S. Open who competed in the singles fi...

Welcome to Episode 48 of the Asian American History 101 podcast! As part of our series on Asian American food, we want to take a moment to talk about the history of Asian American Celebrity Chefs. We also take time to talk about some superheroes again… We begin the episode by remembering 9/11 and talking about Betty Ann Ong, the flight attendant and real life superhero who first alerted authorities about the hijacking. We close the...

Welcome to Episode 47 of the Asian American History 101 podcast! For U.S. and Canadian listeners, Happy Labor or Labour Day! To honor Labor Day, we’re going to talk about Larry Itliong, a prominent Filipino American who was a leader in the farm workers movement. His influence and vision helped lead to the Delano Grape Strike as well as the formation of the United Farmworkers Organizing Committee along with Cesar Chavez and Dolores ...

Welcome to Episode 46 of the Asian American History 101 podcast! Here it is, the special episode we recorded for the Joy Ruckus Club 4 Festival’s podcast stage. We begin with giving a quick history of our podcast including our favorite episode, but we also talk about some well-known popular music bands that had Asian American Leads. Our main segment is a very special interview of Tara Hahn, the lead singer of the ska band, Half Pas...

Welcome to Episode 45 of the Asian American History 101 podcast! It’s finally happening. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings… The first superhero of Asian descent to lead a feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe!  Our main segment is all about the comic book history of Shang-Chi, but we also talk about the very first Asian superhero and Asian American superhero in U.S. comic books. We also talk about being part of the Joy ...

Welcome to Episode 44 of the Asian American History 101 podcast! As part of our ongoing series on Asian Americans Making an Impact, we are joined by special guest Elisha-Rio Apilado to talk about mental health, art therapy, and her experiences with corporate America. Her learning and collaboration with the Asian Mental Health Collective began with a Waves event, and she continues to bring her art therapy and volunteerism to groups ...

Welcome to Episode 43 of the Asian American History 101 podcast! We’ve previously talked about how invisible Asian American and Pacific Islanders are in management and executive level roles, but why does that happen? Today we talk about two possible factors, the Bamboo Ceiling and the Sticky Floor. We also take time to talk about the Olympics a little more and then challenge the phrase “Open the Kimono”. Continue to learn more abou...

Welcome to Episode 42 of the Asian American History 101 podcast! It’s time to re-visit Japanese Internment again to talk a little more about how the “camps” were set-up and what life was like in them. Did you know the camps published newspapers that have been archived by the Library of Congress? We also explore some of the ways that Japanese Americans were de-humanized in the incarceration experience during WWII. We also take time...

Welcome to Episode 41 of the Asian American History 101 podcast! With August 3rd and 5th approaching, it marks forty-two years since the incident in Seadrift, Texas and nine years since the Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin. So we take time to remember the victims of both events. With anti-Asian violence on the rise in the last year and half, it’s important to remember that there have been shocking instances of this throughout the ...