11. What’s Up, Season 2!

Hey there! Welcome to season two of Chatting with Asians. I know it’s been such a long while and I’m so excited to relaunch the podcast because I think I’ve got some really great ideas for it this year.

Firstly, I want to thank you for supporting the podcast. I mean, it’s changed my life for the better in so many ways that I could not have imagined. Not only has it been instrumental in helping me to embrace my Asian American identity, it’s also sparked really substantial conversations off the air with my family, my closest friends and the people that I meet.

I’ve connected with my guests sometimes in real life who have been so generous to give their time and entrusted me to share sometimes their most personal stories. I’ve gotten emails and comments about how much these episodes have meant to some listeners, especially when they’ve felt lonely in their experiences. And all of this is to say that this has been such a meaningful passion project for me. So, thank you again for all of your support and for listening to me ramble. My life would be completely different without this podcast.

So with that, welcome to season two except this time I’m going to do things a little differently. The episodes that you’ll be listening to are episodes that I recorded pretty much right after the first season ended.

At that point in my life, I started becoming more interested in pursuing my current job on a full-time basis. So I felt conflicted. Like how could I juggle a job that feels meaningful to me while producing a podcast? Well, in order to make this work, seasons are going to be shorter, like this one will have five episodes in total. Plus I’ll be releasing seasons on a quarterly basis. That way, it gives me the quality of time I need to produce the quality podcast you deserve to listen to.

Another big change coming this year will be the content, which is something I’ve given a lot of thought to. Like don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved the stories that I’ve shared with you about rule-bending, convention-breaking Asian Americans who don’t fit the stereotype, but there are so many other amazing podcasts out there now that also focus on the Asian-American trailblazer type stories.

So I took a step back and started thinking about my own experience as an Asian-American and if there’s one thing I’ve realized that I want to improve on, it’s to be more engaged in social activism.

I recognize that I live a very privileged life, but I don’t think I truly understand how privileged it is especially within the Asian-American diaspora. And I think there’s this trifecta of factors that have made me blind to the struggles of other Asian communities for admittedly a very long time.

First, there’s the model minority myth, you know, the idea that all Asian-Americans are smart, successful and financially well-off. Second is the stigma around talking about mental health or asking for help, which I’ve heard the term “surviving but not thriving”. And lastly, the stigma around talking about intergenerational trauma. And I think because of those factors, I’ve never really had the kind of conversations to understand community issues like colorism, poverty, the threat of ICE deportations, low voter turnout, and how Asian activism was inspired by activist movements of other minorities.

I want to be a better educated ally and so starting with season three, I’ll be using this podcast as the space to explore these topics with guests and I really hope that you enjoy the seasons as much as I enjoy creating them.

So on that note, for more updates you can follow me on Instagram @chattingwithasians, or you can check out the website at cwapodcast.com.

Thanks so much for listening and enjoy the second season.

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