Edward Lee | K-Pod | Ep. 22

03/23/21 • 40 min

Edward Lee is the acclaimed chef of several restaurants in Kentucky and the DC area, most notably Louisville’s 610 Magnolia, where he first made his mark on Southern cuisine almost 20 years ago using ingredients such as gochujang and soy sauce aged in whiskey barrels. He won a James Beard award for his 2018 book Buttermilk Graffiti and he was nominated for an Emmy for his work hosting the PBS series Mind of a Chef. Lee is also the co-founder of a remarkable nonprofit called The Lee Initiative, which during the pandemic has been supporting restaurant workers, struggling farms and other communities in need. Catherine and Juliana talk to Edward about how growing up in Carnarsie, Brooklyn—where there were very few Korean Americans—shaped his palate and his identity. He also shares stories about Clay, the hip Korean restaurant he opened in New York in the late ‘90s, his recent guest appearance on Top Chef: Portland, and his newfound mission in life to help others. Follow Edward Lee on Instagram @chefedwardlee For more information on Lee Initiative or to donate, go to Leeinitiative.org Follow K-Pod on Instagram @kpodpod Co-host, Producer, Photographer: Juliana Sohn @juliana_sohn Co-host, Producer, Editor: Catherine Hong @catherinehong100 Production Manager: Jessica Park Audio Engineer: AJ Valente Executive Producer: HJ Lee

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Chang-rae Lee | K-Pod | Ep. 21

Chang-rae Lee is the author of Native Speaker, On Such a Full Sea, A Gesture Life, Aloft, and The Surrendered, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His latest novel, My Year Abroad, is a dazzling tale about an American college student whose life is upended when he travels to Asia under the wing of a mysterious Chinese American entrepreneur. From his home in San Francisco, where he’s on sabbatical from his position as a professor at Stanford, Chang-rae talks with Catherine and Juliana about overcoming the pressures of being “the first” well-known Korean American novelist, developing his early love of writing as a student at Exeter, and the way his mother’s early death from cancer at age 52 may have influenced his decision to pursue writing as a career. He also shares stories about his parents (we learn his mother was featured in Time magazine in 1956!) and his fond memories of the Korean church summer camp he attended as a kid. Follow K-Pod on Instagram @kpodpod Co-host, Producer, Photographer: Juliana Sohn @juliana_sohn Co-host, Producer, Editor: Catherine Hong @catherinehong100 Production Manager: Jessica Park Audio Engineer: AJ Valente Executive Producer: HJ Lee AAPI anti-violence resources: https://stopaapihate.org/ https://www.aafederation.org/ https://www.hatecrimebook.com/

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Michelle Zauner | K-Pod | Ep. 23

Michelle Zauner is a singer, songwriter and guitarist who records dreamy, melancholic indie pop under the name Japanese Breakfast. She’s also a talented writer whose debut book, a memoir titled Crying in H Mart, is being published by Knopf today! In it, she recounts her experiences growing up half-Korean in her mostly white town of Eugene, OR, her path to becoming a musician and her struggle to reclaim her Korean heritage after her mother’s early death from cancer. From her home in Brooklyn, Michelle talks to Catherine and Juliana about her idyllic childhood summers in Seoul, her tumultuous relationship with her mom, her channeling of grief into creativity and the importance of Korean role models in her life, from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen Oh to YouTuber Maangchi. Stay tuned to the very end, when she shares her favorite snacks and staples from H Mart! Photo credit: Peter Ash Lee Follow Michelle Zauner on Instagram @jbrekkie Follow K-Pod on Instagram @kpodpod Co-host, Producer, Photographer: Juliana Sohn @juliana_sohn Co-host, Producer, Editor: Catherine Hong @catherinehong100 Production Manager: Jessica Park Audio Engineer: AJ Valente Executive Producer: HJ Lee