But Where Are You Really From?: An Asian-American Struggle

Have you ever stopped to think about if you live your life out on the edge? It sounds cliche, but how close to "average" is your life? If you've wondered these things, this week's episode aims to dive into this exact topic.

From a young age, your podcast hosts have been pushed to excel in all areas of life. From academic studies to extra-curricular pursuits - all the way to careers in adulthood. And looking bac...

With all of the technological innovations that we live with everyday, are we already living in the future?

From home help robots to invisibility cloaks, so many things we imagined to be impossible are coming to life today. And although not all the promises of technology are here just yet, many advancements promise to revolutionize humanity tomorrow.

One area of advancement live today is artificial intelligence. Not yet the ...

White Lotus Season 3 has come to an end and we have...thoughts. We're discussing the whole season in review of our most WTF moments - the ones that lived rent free in our heads for days after watching it.

From the infamous brotherly love incident to the completely unhinged cocktail lounge monologue from Frank, we relive it all. And yes, we do talk about the most ridiculous and unbelievable moments to us from the season fina...

If you're an OG listener, you know we started the pod as a hobby during the pandemic. But we weren't the only people following creative pursuits - so many people experimented with baking, cooking, drawing, and many other interesting activities.

This week, we're taking a moment to explore why creative passions matter. For Angela, being a creator is what she has pursued since leaving corporate America. The podcast and Real You Ma...

Do you believe in telepathy or ESP-like phenomena? This week we discuss "The Telepathy Tapes," a podcast that explores if non-verbal autistic individuals have the ability to read minds.

The ability to look into another's mind is considered a fantastical power, but what would it take to convince you that it is real in certain individuals? In-house "woo woo" Angela and "skeptic" Jesse debate the ...

Did you hear about the SUV-sized drones, plasmoids, orbs, and other strange objects in the sky over New Jersey/the East Coast the past few months, or is this the first time you're hearing about it?

We discuss this strange phenomena that started around the holidays in 2024 and continued for several months, where folks were claiming these large drones and other unidentified aerial objects were following them or seemingly "mapping" the...

We're back with a life update where we chat about the most fun recent things we've been up to during our off-season break, Angela being re-energized and doubling down on Real You Mandarin efforts, Jesse enjoying the semi-single (read: open relationship) life, and coming to terms with getting older and potentially wanting plastic surgery?!

Let us know what you've been up to during our break in the comments below or on social media!

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"The Happiness Curve" is a concept that postulates that on average, a person's happiness acts as a U-shaped curve where you are happiest in your youth, happiness starts to decline in your 30s/40s, and picks back up as you get into your 50s and beyond.

In this episode, we discuss what we think about this phenomenon. Full disclosure, we did get the decades slightly wrong lol, but we generally discuss why we think it could be that pe...

Have you ever spent hours in anticipation of your next escape, only to find that you can't quite see yourself in that narrative?

If you're a gamer, you might find that to be common, depending on the category of game you're primarily interested in. This week, we're discussion the issue of representation in big box video games. Video games have to walk a fine line between representing an escape, while allowing the player to immerse...

Have you ever taken a moment to look back on your actions from a different period of your life? Have you ever wondered why you made certain decisions and whether or not they were wholly yours?

This week, we take a walk down memory lane and evaluate the impact some of our decisions in our 20s have on our lives right now. For Angela, the importance of building her own family has been pressing - both physically and emotionally. On t...

We've often grappled with reconciling our identities as Asian-Americans, straddling two or more cultures between our family's motherland and the western environment in which we actually grew up. For many of us who did not grow up in Asia, when the time comes to think about trying to pass on that culture - and especially the language - to our children or future children, that task can seem incredibly daunting.

In this episode, we c...

We've often talked about how food is one of the most easily accessible ways into a culture, and this episode's guest is a perfect living example of that.

Lisa Cheng Smith, founder of Yun Hai Shop in NYC, started Yun Hai as a way to explore her Taiwanese identity. Growing up as a half-Taiwanese/half-American individual, the question of "but where am I really from?" has always been something she was trying to figure out, and Yun Hai...

"More money, more problems" as they say. But is financial inequality in a relationship a unique problem or does it just exacerbate existing ones?

This week, we examine how financial inequality impacts the quality of our relationships. Having both had the New York experience, your hosts understand what it feels like to struggle on a budget. But these days, we're looking at the question of differing finances from different perspect...

The 2024 General Election is coming up in a matter of days... thank god because we are over it, lol.

No matter which side of the political spectrum you fall on, I think many of us can agree that we are tired of the reality TV show style media coverage around the two candidates, the BS of the general political "machine" behind the two parties, and a frequently missing focus on the needs of the actual people of this nation.

Despit...

It's that spooktacular time of year - Halloween! In keeping with the pod tradition, we've gone diving in the deepest, darkest recesses of the internet (Reddit) for more scary stories. And also as usual, we're bringing you horror with an Asian flavor - only stories based in Asia accepted. Jesse brings to the table a terrific story involving public transit. And let's face it, what's scarier than riding the bus? Angela follows it ...

Jocelyn Chung is a Taiwanese-American graphic designer and writer whose new children's book "When Love Is More Than Words" was just released this week!

In this episode we of course discuss the book, including its inspiration being a beautiful real life realization she had with her grandfather, all the fun Taiwanese easter eggs, and more, and also discuss her recent journey of claiming her Taiwanese citizenship and starting a life...

Your besties are back with some new topics for fall! Before we get into a slew of new conversations these next few months, we'd like to update you on where we are. Life keeps moving, especially when we are on break from the pod. For Angela, that means a few months closer to starting her family and moving to Japan. For Jesse, that means a few months of continued exploration around life hobbies and going out. And for the both of ...

How do you go about seeking inner peace for yourself?

We've spent many past episodes diving into mental health and self-growth. But as we strive to improve ourselves, how can we also embrace all that we currently are - the good and the bad?

We individually found frameworks that helped us cope with the stresses of everyday life. Jesse found his calming mantra through a session on Calm, while Angela discovered "Th...