Top Five Chris Paek and Liz Lin

Chris and Liz are still buzzing from their recent trips -- Chris's to Mexico City and Oaxaca, Liz's to DC for her first sightseeing trip with kids. Then we get into a much more serious topic that's been on our minds lately: aging parents. We talk about why end-of-life plans are especially hard to discuss with our immigrant parents, the conversations we have and haven't had with them (and our siblings, and our in-laws), and the looming pressures of caring for kids and parents at the same time. To take the edge off, we wrap with a comfort-food top five: Trader Joe's items. Whether you're a TJ tourist like Chris or a TJ cult member like Liz, we've got recs! (This podcast is not sponsored by Trader Joe's; we are just this enthusiastic)



And that's a wrap on Season 3! We've loved spending this time with you and we look forward to getting back in the saddle after a break. Thank you for listening and for being part of these conversations!



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Art by Colin Turnbull (colinpturnbull.com)

Music by Origami Pigeon


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Chris is ambivalent about celebrity conductor Gustavo Dudamel's surprise move from LA to New York, and Liz is still awed by the amazing food she ate during a trip to LA.  Then, we talk about work: Once upon a time, it felt like our generation was all about finding a job we love so we'd never have to work a day in our lives, but judging from the conversations we've been having lately, it sounds like that's changed.  Why was "do what you love" such a thing for millennials?  Was it a generational thing or a developmental thing?  How do we think about work now?  What do you do if you don't want to sell your soul to work, but not advancing means the risk of getting fired?  This is real adult shit.  Finally, inspired by the Off Menu podcast (Liz's current favorite), we share our top five starters/appetizers.  Turns out we both agree that appetizers are low-key better than entrees, so this was a mouth-watering joy to put together!



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Art by Colin Turnbull (colinpturnbull.com)

Music by Origami Pigeon


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/topfivepod/support

Chris is existential about giving up his California residency, and Liz is as surprised as anyone that she’s become a member of the BTS ARMY.  Then, inspired by our last top five, we have a candid conversation about whether or not we still identify as Christian - how our relationship with Christianity has evolved over time, why we grapple with this question, and what spirituality looks like for us now.  Plus, our top five favorite things about where we live.  We may not know much about spirituality these days, but we do know that Ann Arbor and New York are amazing places to live!

A few things we mentioned in this episode:


The Code Switch/Throughline episode about how Korean culture went global
Fowler’s stages of spiritual identity development



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Art by Colin Turnbull (colinpturnbull.com)

Music by Origami Pigeon


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/topfivepod/support

Liz is obsessed with the podcast Normal Gossip, while Chris is considering a new angle on voting in his last California election.  Then we get into a topic we haven't heard nearly enough about: couple friends.  Why is it so much more complicated to make couple friends than individual ones?  What are the signs of a good couple friend for us and our partners?  And crucially for Chris: Who pays the bill when you go out to dinner with another pair? Plus, our top five dinner guests.  We did not expect that making this list would change our lives, but for one of us... it kind of did.

Note:  This episode was recorded before the election and also before Twitter became even more of a raging dumpster fire than it already was!



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Art by Colin Turnbull (colinpturnbull.com)

Music by Origami Pigeon


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After an unexpected two-month hiatus, we're back and we can't wait to chat!  Chris declares his undying love for the Container Store, while Liz is blasting through the podcast 60 Songs That Explain the '90s.  Then, we finally get to talk about Netflix's excellent new(ish) documentary on the Manti Te'o story, which happens to be Liz's favorite story of all time -- how it hit us almost ten years ago, how the documentary hit us now, and who the real villain is.  (Spoiler alert: If you somehow haven't heard this story in the last ten years and you don't want us to spoil the documentary for you, we love that you want to watch it and please skip from 14:15 to 39:45.)  Finally, we wrap with our top five acquired tastes.  Foods, activities, people -- maybe we're just getting older, but we're pretty sure our tastes are getting better.



The trailer for Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist (which you should definitely watch if you haven't yet)



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Art by Colin Turnbull (colinpturnbull.com)

Music by Origami Pigeon


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Chris is distressed about the Great Salt Lake drying up, while Liz is basking in the afterglow of a trip to New York City. Then, inspired by Liz’s recent entry into the world of travel credit cards, we get into the weeds of it all - the stresses of maximizing points and if the benefits are worth it; the inherently unethical credit card system and if it’s possible to live ethically within it. Finally, in celebration of all the Asian Americana we’ve been consuming and discussing over the last few months, our top five pieces of Asian American pop culture.  Baby Chris and Baby Liz wouldn’t believe how good we have it now!



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Art by Colin Turnbull (colinpturnbull.com)

Music by Origami Pigeon


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/topfivepod/support