Ep. 31: Weird Flex But Ok Karaoke

Explicit content warning

09/23/19 • 26 min

Kate’s in LA, Yoko’s in New York. We learn that Kate knows all the words to Amagigoe by enka singer Sayuri Ishikawa, and have our minds blown discussing “99 Ranch” vs. “Ranch 99” and “lie-chee” vs. “lee-chee.”

So Where Are They Now?

When we chatted with Ken Quemuel in Ep. 4, he was running a monthly dance party in LA called 143. This fall, he’s moved on to start Cupid, a return to the slow jams that got him excited about DJ-ing in the first place. Kate is going to check it out, since it’s happening while she’s in town (post script: it was awesome). If you’re in LA, the next one is on October 9!

Model Minorities

Yoko’s model minority is Linh-Yen Hoang, the designer behind the “Wrong Asian, but ok” sticker. Extreme relatable feels. Check out her Etsy shop, which also has prints and zines!

Kate’s model minority is Maya Erskine, who writes, produces, and stars in Pen15, a TV show about a “middle school as it really happened.” Also ... extremely relatable. Shoutout if you were in middle school in the year 2000.

So Where Are They Now?

Model Minorities

Yoko’s model minority is Linh-Yen Hoang, the designer behind the “Wrong Asian, but ok” sticker. Extreme relatable feels. Check out her Etsy shop, which also has prints and zines!

Previous Episode

Ep. 30: There is No More East Coast or West Coast

We're joined by Paul Jochico and Robespierre Dornagon, two of the three founders of the NYC-based dance studio House of Movement. We talk about how they founded their own studio, how the definition of hip hop has evolved, and which Marvel characters they'd make Asian.

Follow Robes on Instagram and Twitter @robesee and Paul on Instagram @pjinmotion. Learn more about House of Movement at houseofmovementny.com and follow them on Instagram @homnyc.

Model Minorities
Kate’s model minority is actor Karen Fukuhara. We know her from her Disney correspondent days, that one time she was Katana in Suicide Squad, and now we’re watching her in the new Amazon Prime original series The Boys.

Yoko’s model minorities are Cassandra Lam and Karen Mok, founders of The Cosmos, a community for Asian women and non-binary creators. We love that they’re constantly evaluating and reassessing what these labels mean. Check them out @jointhecosmos!

Next Episode

Ep. 32: Flying Cars

We chat with Pavan Yedavalli, a Ph.D. candidate at Berkeley researching the implications to urban planning if cars could fly (seriously). We talk about why public transportation is bad, NIMBYism, and ridiculous superstitions that we definitely still follow.

If you want to learn more about Pavan’s field of study, check out Berkeley’s Urban Air Mobility program at uam.berkeley.edu.

Model minorities

Kate’s model minority is Rui Hachimura, small forward for the Washington Wizards. He’s the second Japanese national to be drafted in the NBA after Yasutaka Okayama was drafted in 1981.

Yoko’s model minority is Roselyn Keo, an exotic dancer whose story of drugging and swingling wall street bros was made into the movie Hustlers.