Homecoming

The Homecoming Podcast

Welcome to Homecoming, a podcast that features the diverse stories, experiences, and insights of Asian, Asian American, and mixed heritage Asian folks. I'm your host, Angelreana, an Asian American college student trying to understand and process this crazy world we live in. Each week, I'll bring on guests to discuss topics like affirmative action, international politics, being Asian and LGBTQ+, interracial solidarity, and everything in between. New episodes out every Saturday!

  1. 04/05/2021

    38. The No-Code Movement, Entrepreneurship, and Music with Arun Saigal, Cofounder and CEO of Thunkable

    In Homecoming’s Season 2 finale, Arun Saigal, the Cofounder and CEO of Thunkable, a Y Combinator-backed startup that allows anyone to build their own mobile apps without any coding experience, joins me on the podcast! Previously, he’s held a variety of leading roles at tech companies including Quizlet (where he built and launched the first version of the Quizlet Android app), Khan Academy, Aspiring Minds, and Google. He was also named to Forbes 30 under 30 in consumer technology. And if that isn’t cool enough, Arun conducts orchestras like the San Francisco Civic Symphony, plays viola and mridangam (a South Indian classical drum), and beatboxes in several San Francisco-based music groups. In this episode, Arun talks about his upbringing in Boston, his time at Phillips Academy and MIT, Thunkable and how it got started, the future of the no-code movement, his music, and important lessons about starting a company and staying optimistic that he’d want to pass on to the listeners. Also listen to the very end of the episode for my brief Season 2 recap! --- Follow Homecoming on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/homecomingpod/) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/homecomingpod) to get to know our guests better, receive quick access to updates, and see behind-the-scenes content! You can also find resources from all of our episodes so far here: https://linktr.ee/homecomingpod. --- Thunkable’s website: https://thunkable.com/ Follow Thunkable on social media: https://twitter.com/thunkable, https://www.instagram.com/thunkable/, https://www.youtube.com/thunkable, https://www.facebook.com/thunkable/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/thunkable/ Connect with Arun: https://twitter.com/aksaigal?lang=en, https://www.linkedin.com/in/aksaigal/, https://www.youtube.com/user/aksaigal San Francisco Civic Symphony website: https://www.sfcivicmusic.org/ --- Asian American Community and Justice Organizations: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CGLrII9ycdPPcavGkatzGpoqGsdwJm46AgDXVWla3H8/edit GoFundMe links for the victims of the Atlanta shooting: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/atlanta-area-spa-shootings-fundraisers --- Thank you to mariokhol and Pixabay for the music!

    1h 19m
  2. 03/08/2021

    35. Race & Public Health, Diversity & Equity in USA Water Polo, and Poetry as Healing with Mariko Rooks

    In this episode, Yale University senior Mariko Rooks joins me on the podcast! Mariko is majoring in the History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health and Ethnicity, Race, and Migration and is a dual Master of Public Health candidate at the Yale School of Public Health in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. She is involved with a number of organizations like USA Water Polo, the Japanese American Citizens League, and Changing Womxn. Today, she talks about her Black, Japanese American, and Asian American identities; her research and thesis work in public health; her work in all of the organizations that I mentioned above; and...BTS??? Mariko also reads one of her amazing poems at the end of the episode! --- Follow Homecoming on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/homecomingpod/) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/homecomingpod) to get to know our guests better, receive quick access to updates, and see behind-the-scenes content! You can also find resources from all of our episodes so far here: https://linktr.ee/homecomingpod. --- Follow Mariko: https://www.instagram.com/marikorooks/ Mariko’s recent article about BTS: https://www.itsyozine.com/posts/bts-story?fbclid=IwAR003OEb-895VYyqMb0cEK_qliI8oChGXtX-vbaBFY2mn972XTLB0l1fu7k Her recent poem for The Young Buddhist Editorial: https://www.youngbuddhisteditorial.com/articles/squirrels-and-foxes?fbclid=IwAR1bsdc3LLzWoB7_axcH3sbGJY7pO1Opoa9lO-jCmisQIVcFJWXSKdU3VIE Mei Chen’s article on Mariko in The Yale Symposia: https://www.yalesymposia.com/history-lp/2020/5/22/black-yonsei-a-superheroine-origin-story USA Water Polo Racial Equity & Reform Task Force: https://usawaterpolo.org/news/2020/7/16/general-usa-water-polo-announces-appointments-to-racial-equity-reform-task-force.aspx Japanese Americans Citizens League: https://jacl.org/ Changing Womxn Collective: https://changingwomxncollective.org/index --- Thank you to mariokhol and Pixabay for the music!

    1h 12m
  3. 02/21/2021

    33. Transracial Adoption, Faith, and Learning About His Korean & Asian American Identities with K.J. Roelke from “The Janchi Show”

    This Saturday, I welcome K.J. Roelke, a fellow member of the Springfield, Missouri community and cohost of the Korean adoptee podcast “The Janchi Show”! K.J. talks about his identity as a Korean adoptee, Asian American, and disabled person; his journey of learning about what being Korean American and Asian American means to him; how his faith and racial identity intersect; and, of course, his podcast! K.J. and I also bond over being Asian Americans in the majority-white Springfield, Missouri. (P.S. One of the funniest moments from the episode is at 32:14...hear K.J. make the most artistic metaphor of all time.) --- Follow Homecoming on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/homecomingpod/) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/homecomingpod) to get to know our guests better, receive quick access to updates, and see behind-the-scenes content! You can also find resources from all of our episodes so far here: https://linktr.ee/homecomingpod. --- KJ’s website (contains links to his social media, SoundCloud, and YouTube): https://kj.roelke.info/about/ Please go support “The Janchi Show”! The hosts K.J., Nathan Nowack, and Patrick Armstrong (3 Korean American adoptees) interview other adult adoptees, eat/drink Korean cuisine, and celebrate everyone's unique identities! Listen to and learn more about “The Janchi Show” here: https://janchishow.com/ --- Thank you to mariokhol and Pixabay for the music!

    1h 17m
  4. 02/14/2021

    32. Gender Equality and Thailand’s Pro-Democracy Movement with Anna Naiyapatana

    Thailand has a long history of political unrest and protest, but a new wave began in February 2020 after a popular opposition political party was ordered to dissolve. The growing pro-democracy movement has been calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a military chief who seized power in a 2014 coup and was later appointed after controversial elections in 2019. Protestors are calling for amendments to the constitution, a new election, curbs on the monarchy and the king’s powers, and an end to the harassment of activists and state/monarchy critics. So throughout 2020, hundreds of thousands of protestors gathered on the streets and college campuses all over Bangkok, hundreds have been arrested, and dozens have been injured from things like water cannons and tear gas that the police have used. In today’s episode, Anna Naiyapatana, a senior at Georgetown University from Bangkok, Thailand, talks about reconciling with her American and Thai identities, the history of the pro-democracy movement and the 2020 protests, her social media/news group เฟมินิสต์หน่อย (@feministnhoi), conversations about feminism and gender equality happening within the movement, and her unique perspectives as a Thai student studying in the U.S.. --- Follow Homecoming on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/homecomingpod/) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/homecomingpod) to get to know our guests better, receive quick access to updates, and see behind-the-scenes content! You can also find resources from all of our episodes so far here: https://linktr.ee/homecomingpod. --- เฟมินิสต์หน่อย (@feministnhoi) Twitter and Facebook: https://twitter.com/feministnhoi?lang=en, https://www.facebook.com/feministnhoi Resources on the history of Thailand’s pro-democracy movement and protests: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uLhWf1TRwXqkW_aqLRXjJlB6VEEk4Hg3-W-r27gthy0/edit?usp=sharing --- Thank you to mariokhol and Pixabay for the music!

    1h 13m
  5. 02/07/2021

    31. The Stories of David Moriya and Emi Lea Kamemoto and How They’re Redefining the Entertainment Industry with Strong Asian Lead

    In this Saturday’s episode, I interview David Moriya and Emi Lea Kamemoto, the co-founders of the organization Strong Asian Lead, a grassroots media and entertainment company that provides educational and career resources to creatives of the Asian diaspora and is redefining how the entertainment industry tells Asian American stories. David is a fifth-generation Japanese American activist, photographer, screenwriter, and historian, and Emi is a mixed race, first-generation Japanese and American activist, community organizer, and DEI strategist. The two of them share their journeys of better understanding their Japanese and Asian American identities, how they got started in media, the kind of community they’re building through Strong Asian Lead, and other issues that have to do with diversity and Asian voices in Hollywood. --- Follow Homecoming on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/homecomingpod/) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/homecomingpod) to get to know our guests better, receive quick access to updates, and see behind-the-scenes content! You can also find resources from all of our episodes so far here: https://linktr.ee/homecomingpod. --- Strong Asian Lead website: https://strongasianlead.com Strong Asian Lead Instagram and Twitter: https://twitter.com/strongasianlead, https://www.instagram.com/strongasianlead_/ --- Thank you to mariokhol and Pixabay for the music!

    1h 27m
5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Welcome to Homecoming, a podcast that features the diverse stories, experiences, and insights of Asian, Asian American, and mixed heritage Asian folks. I'm your host, Angelreana, an Asian American college student trying to understand and process this crazy world we live in. Each week, I'll bring on guests to discuss topics like affirmative action, international politics, being Asian and LGBTQ+, interracial solidarity, and everything in between. New episodes out every Saturday!