Feeling Asian
Feeling Asian is a weekly podcast hosted by Youngmi Mayer and Brian Park, two Asian Americans with plenty of feelings about sex, dating, survival, self-worth, and everything in between. Meet our fun, interesting friends along the way; past guests include Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, Stephanie Hsu, Bowen Yang, Yaeji, and more! Named a top podcast of 2021 by CNN and featured on Apple and Spotify’s homepages, Feeling Asian offers a healthy and compassionate space for Asians, Asian Americans, and Asians in America to be themselves without feeling as if their time is a fleeting moment. Check out Feeling Asian for a catharsis that is, well, pretty Asian! New episodes out every Wednesday! Follow us on IG @itsbrianpark and @ymmayer and @feelingasianpodcast. For all inquiries please visit feelingasian.com! [EDITOR'S NOTE] “There was this space for a podcast like this and I was like, ‘Let’s just try it out, I think there's going to be other Asian Americans out there that feel like we do,’” says Brian Park, co-host and co-creator of Feeling Asian. “As long as we stay irreverent and stay authentic to ourselves and lead with empathy and vulnerability, I think that this is something that could resonate with other people.” What started as an idea between two fellow stand-up comedians, Park and Youngmi Mayer, Apple Podcasts’ Spotlight show for May 2022, Feeling Asian, has made its mark amplifying Asian American voices and illuminating all facets of the Asian American diasporic experience. After meeting at an open mic in New York City, Park and Mayer decided that podcasting was the ideal way to go in-depth about their shared experiences, and to go beyond their comfort zones as comics to speak freely and vulnerably. It’s with that very vulnerability that they’ve been able to build a devoted community of listeners and continue to grow each week. “I remember last May during AAPI [Asian American & Pacific Islander] Heritage Month, the Stop Asian Hate movement got going and I was just inundated with hundreds of DMs from people about all the racist acts that they were living through,” says Mayer. “That's when I really realized that it’s much bigger than just a podcast. It’s like we’re giving back to this community that maybe all they really need is to hear someone that's like-minded.” With new episodes airing Wednesday, the weekly show focuses on their feelings (as evidenced in its title), but goes beyond the surface with a sense of openness and honesty that makes you feel like you’re in same room laughing (or crying) alongside them with guests, ranging from fellow entertainers to mental health professionals, and even their family members, Youngmi’s mom and Brian’s sister. “We're not claiming ourselves to be experts, we're not claiming ourselves to be journalists,” says Park. “We're comedians by trade. We like to make people laugh and we like to inject levity. And I think it's created this nice flavor to our podcast where we can go really deep with our guests and provide a very comfortable space for them and for ourselves and for everyone listening.” For Mayer, the loyal and diverse following that Feeling Asian has cultivated gives a glimpse of the potential for what a successful podcast can do. “I don't want to sound too grandiose, but a lot of people really use our podcast as something to help themselves process,” she says. “I just want to grow a community and make people feel less alone.”
Episodes
Cannot thank you enough for all of your support! Follow us on our socials @itsbrianpark and @ymmayer! Don't be a stranger and come see us perform at a live show.
It’s the penultimate episode, ahh! There’s no better guest to go through all the feelings that come from it than poet, writer, and author of the widely acclaimed book Minor Feelings, Cathy Park Hong! We talk to her about life after writing the most essential book of our generation on Asian Americans, and how her writing and research have informed her activism in recent years. Cathy also gives advice for practicing artists, writers,...
Take a trip down memory lane with us. We look back on our first episode of this podcast and reflect on how far we've come :') Follow us at @itsbrianpark, @ymmayer and @feelingasianpodcast. Thank you!
Haute Pod Episode! We have fashion influencer and creative director Vanessa Hong on this week to tell it like it is about the world of fashion. We unpack "influencer" and what it really means today; how the fashion industry responds to a new generation of eco-friendly, socially conscious consumers; and whether fashion has truly reached any equity for Asians and Asian Americans. No holds barred, people! If you want more Vanessa afte...
Hi everyone, it's a solo episode because we have an important announcement. Please listen!
We know…it’s about time we did a sports episode!! This week we are honored to have director Frank Chi on the pod to discuss his latest documentary, 38 at the Garden, out now on HBO! We talk about the new film, Linsanity, and the impact of Jeremy Lin’s history-making NBA run on us and New York. We also hear about Frank’s career turn from politics to filmmaking, which is really inspiring because we looove a good career pivot story. E...
You’ll be absolutely gagged to hear that Kim Chi is our special guest this week! You may know her from her incredible run on RuPaul’s Drag Race or her beauty line, but her story behind the performance is so intricate, relatable, and delightful. We talk to Kim Chi about her experience on the show, being able to tour as a part of her career, and the performance and fulfillment of being a Korean American drag queen –– let alone the fi...
Did you know there’s such a thing as the Internet whisperer? We have her on the pod this week! Delia Cai is a senior correspondent at Vanity Fair, covering culture and celebrity with a knack for understanding Gen Z trends. We talk to her about NYFW, corporate try-hards, and her forthcoming novel Central Places. We also predict cultural trends with her, so if you see something popping off in the coming months…you heard it here first...
We hope you’re hungry for this week’s episode! Frankie Gaw is a Taiwanese American cook, writer, and designer whose debut book First Generation comes out in a month! If you don’t know his work yet, please go drool over his food photography at @littlefatboyfrankie before diving into this convo! We talk about his unconventional start in food writing and recipe development, how his Midwest upbringing influences his Taiwanese dishes, a...
Feeling Asian goes back to school this week with Dr. Russell Jeung (Professor at San Francisco State University, Founder of Stop AAPI Hate) and Anuradha Vikram (Curator and Faculty at UCLA, Co-Founder of Stop DiscriminAsian)! We asked each of our guests to come into the episode with an event or timeline in Asian American history that has become misunderstood or revised along the way – something that would surprise many first-year s...
We're back this week Feeling Asian classique style aka just us two! We've had a string of amazing guests and felt it was time to check-in with each other. Give it a listen and leave us a review. And as always, we appreciate your support via Patreon: patreon.com/feelingasian
Andrew Thomas Huang is a visual artist and film director known for his music videos for FKA twigs, Björk, Atoms for Peace, and more. We loooove his video for FKA twigs’ “Cellophane,” which resurfaced last year amid the hype over Lil Nas X’s video for “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name),” much of which was seemingly heavily lifted from Huang’s work. We dive into the comparisons, which leads to a larger discussion on who gets fed vs who ...
A guest so nice, we bring ‘em on twice! Bohan Phoenix is back on the pod with us this week in the afterglow of his debut album release! The last time we spoke was in the thick of COVID-19 (weird vibes!); this time around we talk about feeling more uncertain than ever about your career after dropping a debut album, the expectations versus reality of it all, jewelry mishaps, and more. We also ask Bohan about NFTs because we know they...
This week we have an OG in the podcasting world! Kulay Vilaysack is a comedian, writer, director, show runner, former co-host of the Who Charted? podcast and most recently a co-host of Add To Cart podcast! We talk to her about what our consumption patterns reveal about our psyches, letting things simply happen (AKA don’t cockblock the universe), and her 2019 documentary. We also pitch show ideas…tell us how we did! Enjoy this wonde...
(TW: SA) This week we talk to JY Choi, a sex educator and sex toy shop owner based in Korea (insert audible gasps here). In a country that is still working hard to bring sex positivity and sexual wellness into the mainstream, Choi is a pioneer in her field. We talk to her about working as a freelance educator, creating a more female-focused sex toy industry, and the cultural significance of Jeju Island sea divers. We have a feeling...
This episode belongs on the summer festival main stage: we have electronic music producer and artist Sajeeb Saha aka Jai Wolf with us this week! We talk about EDM (you know, the genre that everyone has an opinion about) and all of the misconceptions and changes that it has endured over the last decade. Sajeeb also breaks down all of its different scenes as well as the many forms that your identity can take in your creative practice...
From sneaking into Parsons’ silk screen lab to making sneaker history: we have hometown legend Jeff Staple in the house today! You may know this creative visionary for his DIY roots and shaking up streetwear with his Nike Dunk Low SB collab “NYC Pigeon.” We talk to Jeff about his come up in streetwear, what draws people to the scene, the current state of sneaker culture, and reimagining work-life balance now that he’s decades into ...
Look out, Feeling Asian has gone international (from our bedrooms)! Our guest this week is cartoonist and cultural worker Kaitlin Chan, whose work has appeared on The New Yorker, Popular, and The Margins! We talk to her about living in Hong Kong, creating cartoons about your feelings, the idea that the U.S. is the literary/film/art capital of the world, and feminism in Asia. Tune in for a very honest and soul-soothing conversation ...
Elizabeth Ito is a director, writer, storyboard artist, and recent Peabody Award recipient for her show City of Ghosts! We discussed what the writers rooms look like for our favorite animated series (like Adventure Time!), having your own award-winning Netflix show (but also not having it renewed :\), and what we could all learn from children. Also, the bane of everyone’s existence – industry parties. Follow Elizabeth Ito at @otter...
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