The Vietnamese with Kenneth Nguyen

thevietnamesepodcast
  • 4.9 (63)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Being a part of the Vietnamese culture of over 100 million people comes with plenty of history, privilege, honor, and not to mention painful challenges. Join Kenneth Nguyen as he spotlights Vietnamese experience from around the world! Each podcast episode explores the creative process of individuals shaping the diversity of what it means to be Vietnamese--as a local, born and raised, or as a third culture kid. Gain insight on the divisions that separate us politically and culturally. This podcast can take multiple directions, but what it will aim to do is show Vietnamese from a transpacific lens, in all its facets and complexities. When you strip away the diaspora, we are #VietnameseFirst.

  1. 446 - Who Was Vietnam's First Intellectual Export? Viet History Makers - Trần Đức Thảo

    2D AGO

    446 - Who Was Vietnam's First Intellectual Export? Viet History Makers - Trần Đức Thảo

    In this episode of Viet History Makers, we sit with Professor Kevin Pham to explore the remarkable life and legacy of Trần Đức Thảo, who we can describe as Vietnam’s earliest intellectual export. A philosopher trained in France, Thảo studied alongside some of the 20th century’s most influential European thinkers, including Jean-Paul Sartre and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Yet his journey was not one of mere academic exchange—he carried philosophy across continents, weaving together European phenomenology with Marxist theory, and later returning to Vietnam to shape debates on culture, ideology, and national identity. We discuss his rise from colonial Vietnam to the Parisian intellectual scene, his groundbreaking work in philosophy of consciousness and language, and the difficult political turns his career took as he navigated the complexities of intellectual life under colonial rule, revolution, and socialism. Along the way, we ask: what does it mean for Vietnam to have produced a global thinker in the midst of colonial struggle? And how should we understand the contributions and contradictions of a man who bridged East and West, philosophy and politics? This episode sheds light on a figure too often overlooked, placing Trần Đức Thảo back into the story of global intellectual history. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kevin D. Pham is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam. His research introduces Vietnamese political thought to the academic field of political theory, showing how Vietnamese thinkers challenge and enhance conventional Western understandings of important political concepts. He co-hosts Nam Phong Dialogues, a podcast in which he and Yen Vu have casual chats about Vietnamese history and being Vietnamese American. He is the author of The Architects of Dignity: Vietnamese Visions of Decolonization (Oxford University Press, 2024). Kevindoanpham.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth Nguyen Visit vietnamstorybank.com today for more information. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    1h 10m
  2. 445- Han & Holden Nguyen - The Amazing Race Contestants Season #37

    3D AGO

    445- Han & Holden Nguyen - The Amazing Race Contestants Season #37

    We sit down with siblings Han and Holden Nguyen, finalists from The Amazing Race Season 37. They open up about their journey to the show, including the audition process that first brought them into the spotlight. We dive into their unique sibling dynamic—how competing side by side strengthened their relationship, but also tested it under the pressures of racing around the world. Han and Holden also reflect on just how close they came to winning it all, sharing the emotional highs and near-misses along the way. Finally, they reveal the deeper reasons behind why they decided to join The Amazing Race, offering insights into what motivated them and what the experience ultimately meant for their family and their future. Instagram:  @teamasianswag @hanbnguyen @hole.den - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve just begun to sit with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth Nguyen Visit vietnamstorybank.com today for more information. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    53 min
  3. 444 - Can Vietnam Ever Beat the Korean Culture Machine? Hanh Nguyen Editor at Salon.com

    5D AGO

    444 - Can Vietnam Ever Beat the Korean Culture Machine? Hanh Nguyen Editor at Salon.com

    Kenneth Nguyen sits down with Hanh Nguyen, Executive Editor of Salon.com, to talk about Vietnam’s cultural rivalry with Korea, the power of K-pop and Korean dramas, and what defines meaningful culture. They also get into F1 the Movie, Brad Pitt as the ultimate leading man, and why Vietnam still lacks a star of that stature. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth Nguyen Visit vietnamstorybank.com today for more information. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    48 min
  4. 443- Did Chinese Writing "Civilize" Vietnam? The Origins of Vietnam with Professor John Phan

    AUG 22

    443- Did Chinese Writing "Civilize" Vietnam? The Origins of Vietnam with Professor John Phan

    In this episode of The Origins of Vietnam, Kenneth sits down with Professor John Phan of Columbia University to explore the complex story of how the Vietnamese language took shape. While Vietnamese did not emerge genealogically from Chinese, its history is deeply entangled with centuries of Chinese influence. So where did it truly come from? Together, we trace the twists, turns, and unexpected developments in the evolution of the Vietnamese writing system—and consider what this history reveals about Vietnam’s cultural identity and place in the world. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John D. Phan is an Associate Professor of Vietnamese Humanities at Columbia University, based in the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures and the Weatherhead East Asian Institute. He focuses on the linguistic history of Vietnam and its cultural context. .His first book, The Lost Tongues of the Red River: Annamese Middle Chinese & the Origins of the Vietnamese Language, published in April 2025 by Harvard University Press, posits the existence of a regional dialect of Middle Chinese once spoken in northern Vietnam (the Red River Delta) and explores how this dialect influenced the emergence of Vietnamese Phan completed his M.A. at Columbia University (on Ming‑Qing vernacular fiction, 2005) and earned his Ph.D. from Cornell (on Sino‑Vietnamese language contact, 2012). His scholarship examines the evolution of writing systems, vernacular literary forms (like chữ Nôm), and the social-political implications of multilingualism in East Asia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth Nguyen Visit vietnamstorybank.com today for more information. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    1h 6m

  5. AUG 19

    442 - Are YOU Man Enough? Unpacking Toxic Masculinity with Chris Tran from Little Saigon Official

    In this episode, Kenneth Nguyen sits down with Chris Tran from Little Saigon Official to unpack a challenging but necessary topic: toxic masculinity in the Vietnamese community and culture. Together, they explore how toxic masculinity shows up, how it shows up in our family lives, and the ways it impacts not only men but also families and the broader community. This is a conversation meant to spark reflection and invite dialogue—how do we recognize it, and what can we do about it? This episode is just the beginning. In future conversations, we’ll bring in mental health professionals, women with personal insights, and strong young voices navigating these dynamics at home. Our goal is to open space for honest discussion, healing, and collective growth. Join us, share your thoughts, and let’s continue this conversation as a community. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    35 min

  6. AUG 15

    441 - Fetish or Preference? What's the Difference and Why Does it Matter? Kaila Yu

    Kaila Yu is an author based in Los Angeles. Her debut memoir, ‘Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty,’ will be published on August 19th, 2025, with Penguin Random House’s Crown Publishing. She is also a luxury travel, food, and culture writer and on-camera correspondent based in Los Angeles, who has written for The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic, and more. She’s a certified PADI scuba diver, freediver, and mermaid. Her former band, Nylon Pink, has toured in Australia: Melbourne and Sydney, played in Shanghai at the launch party for Havaianas in China, Costa Rica, played at the Hard Rock in Tokyo, Japan, Macau, China, and Penang, Malaysia. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    53 min

  7. AUG 5

    440 - Is Vietnamese Just the New Chinese Language? AMA Double Down with Prof. John Phan

    In this second episode of Ancient Vietnam, we return to the world of early Vietnamese history—this time loosely based on an AMA (Ask Me Anything) version shaped by the voices and comments of our audience. Building on the foundational themes of the first episode of the series Ancient Vietnam, co-host John Phan joins us to dive deeper into the linguistic and cultural mysteries that sparked so much joy, conversation and curiosity. Early in this episode, John introduces the concept of language shift through a comparison to Norman England, showing how language imposition can reshape native speech without erasing cultural identity. This idea threads through the episode as we explore how Vietnamese developed under centuries of outside influence and internal change. John and Kenneth also respond to listener questions about tonality: when tonal features emerged in Vietnamese, how they function, and why similar developments appeared in Chinese. Along the way, they dismantle common assumptions about ethnicity and language, emphasizing that racial or genetic identity doesn’t necessarily equate to linguistic heritage. Finally, the episode turns to the historical formation of the name Vietnam itself—tracing its evolution through dynasties, borders, and political imagination. What did "Viet" and "Nam" originally mean? And how did their pairing come to represent an enduring national identity? This follow-up episode is both a reflection and a deepening of the conversation—expanding on the hidden dynamics of language, power, and identity in Vietnam’s distant past. Join us as we continue to unearth the stories embedded in scripts, sounds, and names. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John D. Phan is an Associate Professor of Vietnamese Humanities at Columbia University, based in the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures and the Weatherhead East Asian Institute. He focuses on the linguistic history of Vietnam and its cultural context. .His first book, The Lost Tongues of the Red River: Annamese Middle Chinese & the Origins of the Vietnamese Language, published in April 2025 by Harvard University Press, posits the existence of a regional dialect of Middle Chinese once spoken in northern Vietnam (the Red River Delta) and explores how this dialect influenced the emergence of Vietnamese Phan completed his M.A. at Columbia University (on Ming‑Qing vernacular fiction, 2005) and earned his Ph.D. from Cornell (on Sino‑Vietnamese language contact, 2012). His scholarship examines the evolution of writing systems, vernacular literary forms (like chữ Nôm), and the social-political implications of multilingualism in East Asia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth Nguyen Visit vietnamstorybank.com today for more information. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    1h 18m

  8. AUG 2

    439 - Who Were the Trưng Sisters? Viet History Makers - Kevin Pham

    In this episode of Viet History Makers, Kenneth Nguyen and co-host Kevin Pham discuss the powerful and enduring legacy of the Hai Bà Trưng sisters—Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị—two warrior queens who led a monumental uprising against Chinese Han rule in 40 CE. Revered as national heroines, their story has long stood at the crossroads of legend, resistance, and identity. Together, we unpack the complex cultural and political landscape in which the sisters rose to power, exploring the matriarchal traditions of early Việt societies and how they clashed with—and were later overwritten by—Confucian patriarchy. We also investigate how their legacy has been remembered, reshaped, and at times mythologized across dynasties and regimes. Was their rebellion a singular moment of feminist defiance—or part of a broader, now-obscured tradition of female leadership? What can the historical record, fragmentary as it is, tell us about the real lives behind the legend? This episode challenges us to rethink how history is recorded, who gets to lead, and how the stories of women—especially those who wage war—are remembered or erased. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kevin D. Pham is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam. His research introduces Vietnamese political thought to the academic field of political theory, showing how Vietnamese thinkers challenge and enhance conventional Western understandings of important political concepts. He co-hosts Nam Phong Dialogues, a podcast in which he and Yen Vu have casual chats about Vietnamese history and being Vietnamese American. He is the author of The Architects of Dignity: Vietnamese Visions of Decolonization (Oxford University Press, 2024). Kevindoanpham.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth Nguyen Visit vietnamstorybank.com today for more information. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vietnamese-with-kenneth-nguyen/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    1h 3m
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4.9
out of 5
63 Ratings

About

Being a part of the Vietnamese culture of over 100 million people comes with plenty of history, privilege, honor, and not to mention painful challenges. Join Kenneth Nguyen as he spotlights Vietnamese experience from around the world! Each podcast episode explores the creative process of individuals shaping the diversity of what it means to be Vietnamese--as a local, born and raised, or as a third culture kid. Gain insight on the divisions that separate us politically and culturally. This podcast can take multiple directions, but what it will aim to do is show Vietnamese from a transpacific lens, in all its facets and complexities. When you strip away the diaspora, we are #VietnameseFirst.

Information

  • Creator
    thevietnamesepodcast
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    454
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2021 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Vietnamese with Kenneth Nguyen

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