Bonus: How Do Stories Change Lives? Feat. Randy Kim and Tracey Nguyen Mang (AAPIHM 2/3)

05/19/21 • 33 min

The impact of storytelling is often portrayed as a story changing the life of the person consuming it — and changing the world by reaching as many people as possible. But what about the person who offers their story to be consumed? How else can we define the value of our life’s stories, and the importance of how they’re shared?

In this second episode of a three-part series, Managing Producer James Boo invites Randy Kim (Host of the Banh Mi Chronicles) and Tracey Nguyen Mang (Host of The Vietnamese Boat People) to dig deep and get personal about how they’ve seen participation in storytelling change the life of one person at a time.

Our team decided to host these conversations because in the U.S. it’s once again Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a time that can often feel routine and repetitive. And during a year when absolutely nothing has been routine, we hope these episodes will join many other podcasts, panels, and events in diving beneath the surface of representation, diversity, and inclusion.

Previous Episode

Bonus: How Do We Go Beyond Representation? Feat. Eliza Romero, Marvin Yueh, and Thomas Mangloña II (AAPIHM 1/3)

We often take for granted that “seeing people who look like us” — especially in mass media — means progress towards racial justice. But what forms of representation do we see making an impact? And who is that impact for?

In this first episode of a three-part series, Senior Producer Julia Shu invites Eliza Romero (co-host of Unverified Accounts and blogger at Aesthetic Distance), Marvin Yueh (co-host of Books & Boba and co-creator of the Potluck Podcast Collective), and Thomas Mangloña II (journalist and co-founder of the Pacific Islander Task Force at AAJA) — to question conventional wisdom and share what kind of representation we want to have more of.

Our team decided to host these conversations because in the U.S. it’s once again Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a time that can often feel routine and repetitive. And during a year when absolutely nothing has been routine, we hope these episodes will join many other podcasts, panels, and events in shaking up the usual talking points of representation, diversity, and inclusion for AAPIHM.

Next Episode

Bonus: How Do We Build the Places We Want to Work For? Feat. Gautam Srikishan and Snigdha Sur (AAPIHM 3/3)

The phrase “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” is buzz-word-ier than ever, but what does it really take to empower workers and reduce racialized harm in the places where we spend so many of our waking hours? And when is it OK to simply stop trying?

In this second episode of a three-part series, guest host Alex Sujong Laughlin (Senior Producer at Transmitter Media) invites Gautam Srikishan (Producer at the On Being Project) and Snigdha Sur (Founder and CEO of The Juggernaut) to discuss their own experiences with creating more inclusive and equitable workplaces — whether that involves organizing your fellow workers into a union or breaking away from big media companies entirely to start your own workplace.

Along the way, Snigdha, Gautam, and Alex also open up about how difficult it is to take on this responsibility... especially when it’s hard to see the results of your efforts.

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