Ten Thousand Things with Shin Yu Pai KUOW News and Information

When Tiffany Ran left for college, her mom gifted her a Tatung cooker. The Tatung is a unique kitchen appliance that would be familiar to anyone with ties to Taiwan. Everyone uses it slightly differently, as its versatility is passed down by word of mouth. Tiffany’s Tatung has accompanied her throughout the chapters of her unfolding adulthood. It has offered nourishment and comfort to her through the years, from broths to rice to Eggo waffles (not recommended). And it is the foundation of her burgeoning culinary career. 

 

Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Young Collective, Jonny Southard, N. Kerbin.

And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.
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Janet Lee, a freshman at Bryn Mawr, was heading home for Christmas break when she was detained by the police for alleged drug smuggling. Janet wasn’t carrying any drugs. But the treatment she received from the Philadelphia police department and from her own community would change her life forever. In this episode, we’ll explore the pain of being accused of being someone you are not and fighting to reclaim the story that sets the record straight.

 

Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Abigail Osborn, PRAANA, Wild Pony, Brique a Braq, Jordan Critz.

And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jenny Liou is good at many things. She is a poet, an English professor, and former MMA Cage Fighter. It would be easy to see the cage as a place of limitation. But for Jenny, the cage was a place of freedom, where she could showcase her athletic skills. It was a place where her jiu-jitsu training allowed her to stay grounded and see her opponent’s weaknesses. Jenny rose in the sport’s ranks while teaching college English, a symbiotic balance of mental and physical strength. But the pressures of the sport ultimately confined her, until she gained the strength to give up the fight and step out of the cage. 

 

 

Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Deraj, Wild Pony, WOLVES.

And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We might wear a mask to fit in, to fulfill someone else’s expectations, or to navigate a white-centric world. For Shin Yu, the mask was real. It was a white plaster mold of her face that hung on her in-laws’ wall, a reminder of all the “saving face” she has done trying to fit in. Last year, she decided to ask for the mask back. This is a personal interview with Shin Yu about learning how to let down the mask, while embracing vulnerability and our true selves. 

 

Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Wild Pony.

And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leanna Keith knew the flute was her instrument. But she was discouraged from trying it in middle school by a white teacher who said her anatomy (a teardrop lip) would not allow her to master the instrument. Today, she is a professional musician, breaking the mold with her contemporary flute performances. This story looks at the uniqueness of our individual anatomies and what it’s like to be made to feel imperfect.

 

Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Dexter Britain. Sunborn, Red licorice, Vanra, Ezzy, AND Leanna Keith.

And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.

 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This season on Ten Thousand Things: We're back with season three! This season features the stories of trailblazing Asian American women and the resilience of Asian American communities, even in the face of endangerment. Three of this season’s stories take place in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District Neighborhood, with help from the Wing Luke Museum. Featured guests include poet and former MMA cage fighter Jenny Liou; Seattle chef Tiffany Ran; and flutist Leanna Keith; among others. New episodes drop on Tuesdays.

Ten Thousand Things:

In many Chinese sayings, “ten thousand” is used in a poetic sense to convey something infinite, vast, and unfathomable. For Shin Yu Pai – award-winning poet and museologist – the story of Asians in America is just that. Ten Thousand Things is a podcast about modern-day artifacts of Asian American life and the stories they reveal, created and hosted by Shin Yu Pai and produced by KUOW (Seattle’s NPR station). Ten Thousand Things is a vibrant, diverse, and bittersweet celebration of Asian America ... and a challenge for us all to reimagine stories of the past and future.

 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.