Asian American History 101 Gen and Ted Lai

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 21! It’s time for the 2024 STAATUS Index published by The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) with partnership from Leading Asian Americans to Unite for Change (LAAUNCH), AAPI Data, and the Asian American Research Initiative.
This annual survey is a social tracking and national assessment of attitudes and stereotypes towards Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. In this episode, we review the report and provide an overview of it. We also dig into each of the sections and reflect on responses. As always, we highly recommend that you download the STAATUS Index and read it yourself. It’s very well written with easily accessible information, so don’t be afraid that it’s data-rich.
In our recurring segment we ask “What’s Going On?” as we reflect on the sheer number of Asian Pacific-led TV shows that have been canceled in the last year or so. It’s hard to wrap our heads around the fact that the last year has seen cancellations of The Afterparty, Kung Fu, Doogie Kamealoha M.D., NCIS: Hawaiʻi, Young Rock, Quantum Leap, American Born Chinese, The Brothers Sun, Warrior, and Our Flag Means Death. We look at ratings, viewership, and ultimately ask, “What’s Going On?”
If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.
Segments
00:25 Current Events 05:24 Talking About the 2024 STAATUS Index 19:51 What’s Going On? API-Led TV Cancellations

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 20! There are plenty of things we love… and for sure one of them is the world of film and entertainment… especially when it’s Asian American cinema. But what happens when what you see represented in Hollywood becomes blurred with the actual experience in an ethnic enclave… or even drives it? Our conversation today dives a bit into that. We’re excited to share this conversation with Professor William Gow.
Dr. Gow is a California-based community historian, educator, and documentary filmmaker who is currently an Assistant Professor at California State University, Sacramento. His forthcoming book, Performing Chinatown: Hollywood, Tourism, and the Making of a Chinese American Community is scheduled for release by Stanford University Press on May 14, 2024… and if you order direct from the publisher and use discount code GOW20, you get 20% off! The book examines Los Angeles Chinatown and its relationship to Hollywood cinema in the 1930s and 1940s. We really enjoyed the book and the depth of the research Dr. Gow presents. In fact, this has been one of the most insightful books we’ve read in the last few years, pushing our thinking of how Chinese Americans survived and represented themselves to often judgmental onlookers.
Professor Gow also has worked on several other projects. Some of the ones that we appreciated are More to the Chinese Side (click to watch an excerpt), The Five Chinatowns: A Community History (along with Dr. Kelly Fong one of our future guests and ), and the great article A Night in Old Chinatown (we talk about this one in the podcast). 
We highly recommend purchasing Performing Chinatown! Don’t forget… if you purchase from Stanford University Press and use the discount code GOW20 (all caps), you get 20% off.
If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 19! Back in S03E03, we talked about one of the first popular Asian American singing groups, the Kim Loo Sisters, but there was also another group a few years later that made a longer lasting impact… the Kim Sisters. Originally from South Korea, the trio of ladies that included Sook-ja, Ai-ja, and Min-ja, were a dynamic vocal group that could also play a multitude of instruments. 
They recorded several songs in the U.S. and made a splash in Las Vegas and on television through several variety shows. Their early life wasn’t smooth, but they overcame those struggles to succeed. We talk about their early life, journey to America, TV appearances, and more! In our recurring segment, we bring back Obscure Asian Comic Book Characters and talk about the DC hero Kai-Ro.
If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.
Segments
00:25 Intro Current Events 04:54 The History of the Kim Sisters 24:02 Obscure Asian Comic Book Characters Featuring Kai-Ro

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 18! Free Comic Book Day is coming soon… not to mention Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, so as a lead-up to this confluence, we had a conversation with the Ringo Award-winning illustrator and comic artist, Christie Shinn of HoraTora Studios. If you’re in Southern California on May 4th and 5th, you can meet Christie, other API creators, and some non-API comic book creators at The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach (May4th) and Culver City (May 5th). 
Christie won the 2018 Ringo Award for Best Anthology for her work on Mine! a comics collection to benefit Planned Parenthood. She is the President of CAPS (Comic Arts Professional Society, founded by esteemed cartoonists Sergio Aragonès and Don Rico, and writer Mark Evanier). She wants to promote, nurture, and network artists and writers in the sequential and non-sequential art aspects of the comic arts. And she does that through a variety of means, including the Asian Invasion, a group she founded and organizes that brings AAPI comic creators together to celebrate their work with fans. They have a SoCal and NorCal edition of their mini con that they organize. Check the link for more details on their late summer/early fall events.

We met Christie at WonderCon and we really admired her willingness to delve into more edgy, darker themes in her work Demon Bitch! In this episode, we talk about her career, what motivates her, Asian Invasion, CAPS, and more! Her work is available on GlobalComix.com and she hosts a weekly Wednesday ‘Lunch Hour’ Drawstream at noon PST on her socials (like her Instagram and YouTube channel) and on the Indie Comics Network. You can also see more of her work through her Linktree at HoraToraStudios.
If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 17! This is the next installment in our series on ethnic enclaves that have disappeared. Today we’re here to talk about The History of the Hawaiian Settlement of Iosepa, Utah. It was predominantly Hawaiian, but there were others from the Pacific Islands as well. Established in 1889 in Skull Valley, Utah, it was a place where Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders were able to gather in a safer, more supportive place that still kept them relatively close to Salt Lake City, Utah and the center of the Church of Latter Day Saints.
It’s hard to imagine going from the weather in Hawaii to the much harsher conditions of Skull Valley (especially in the summers and winters), but they did it… and they even thrived there for a time, growing the community from 46 to quite a few more. In this episode we share the challenges and triumphs of a community, and what eventually happened to them. To learn more about the area, you can check out the Iosepa Historical Association which is made of supporters and descendants of the original community. 
In our recurring segment, we share what we’re reading. For Ted it was the award-winning book Troublemaker by John Cho. For Gen it was the award-winning book Jade City, part of the Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee. Hear our thoughts on these two novels!
If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.
Segments
00:25 Reflecting on WonderCon and Ted in California 04:08 The History of the Hawaiian Settlement of Iosepa Utah 20:20 Reading Troublemaker and Jade City

Editors Note: We had an audio glitch in the original upload and have fixed it. 
Welcome to Season 4, Episode 16! This episode is about The History of the Buddhist Churches of America. Buddhism is one of the religions often associated with Asian countries and the people who come from Asian Pacific nations. And it’s for good reason, because it’s a religion that originates from those countries. When it comes to understanding Buddhism in America, it would be difficult to talk about the history without mentioning the Buddhist Churches of America, an organization that has its roots in Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism that originated in the 13th century with the monk Shinran Shonin.
In this episode, we share a short background on Shin Buddhism, a general overview of Buddhism in America, and the long history of the Buddhist Churches of America and its impact in the Japanese American Community and beyond. Since World War II and the Japanese internment, the BCA has continued to adapt to the changing needs of different generations. To learn more, you can visit the BCA Website or visit one of their locations (they’re easy to find through the Temple Locator).
In our recurring segment, we share what we’ve been watching… The Brothers Sun on Netflix. This amazing show is an action-comedy-drama that is co-created by Byron Wu and Brad Falchuk. It stars Justin Chien, Sam Song Li, Michelle Yeoh, and a cast of so many other amazing Asian Pacific actors and actresses. Although it hasn’t been renewed for a 2nd season, it’s got great reviews and ratings, and it’s worth a watch. 
If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.
Segments
00:25 Catching Up and Remembering Akebono 05:29 The History of The Buddhist Churches of America 25:11 What Are We Watching? The Brothers Sun