Growing Up is Tough. ‘Adult ISH’ is Here to Help.
Meet your guides through almost-adulthood: Merk Nguyen & Nyge Turner
Becoming an adult is awkward, intense, fun and sometimes lonely. What if you had a podcast to be there with you along the way?
Adult ISH is a one-of-a-kind culture, advice and storytelling podcast produced by almost-adults. New episodes begin today! Hosts Nyge Turner (@nygelt) and Merk Nguyen (@ultraraduberfad) are in their early twenties, and in each episode they dive into topics like mental health, professional goals, identity, music, money, relationships and more. It’s a show for young listeners, the young-at-heart and all of us who are still growing up.
The first episode brings listeners “Below the Belt ISH,” with candid discussion about sexual health and why it’s important to know your medical rights in the #MeToo era.
Want to learn more? Let’s bring it back to your hosts, Nyge and Merk.
We asked them some important questions about the show, the path to almost-adulthood and their tastes. Literally … we asked about ice cream …
OK, origin stories … for those who might be meeting you here for the first time: Where are you from?
Nyge: When people ask me that, I usually just say … THE BAY. I grew up in Richmond, California, a city in the Bay Area that can sometimes get a bad rap. But, the deep and powerful history of it made me who I am.
Merk: My parents immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam after 1975. The third of three kids in our family, I was born and raised in Lynnwood, Washington, about 20 miles away from the Space Needle.
How did you get to where you are now?
Nyge: Ever since I was young, I’ve always wanted to be like young Eddie Murphy, where he’s standing in front of his parents and all his aunts and uncles in the living room performing jokes. I got my start being ‘onstage’ by creating my own podcast with some of my best friends in a pool shed. Fast-forward to 2018: I was in biology class and my lab partner was telling me about a position he applied for at YR Media as part of a nationwide talent search for hosts to work on a new show about almost-adulthood. He felt like YR Media was looking for someone more like me, so he made sure I applied … I guess he was on to something?
Merk: I joined KUOW’s RadioActive Youth Media program in Seattle after applying three times. I fell in love with audio. The storytelling aspect felt oddly familiar to me — it gave me the same sense of comfort books gave me growing up. I dabbled as a freelancer during my college years. I felt like the creative beast inside of me was dying. Luckily, one of my friends from RadioActive said YR Media was looking for new co-hosts, so she basically saved me from doom.
How did you two become friends?
Nyge: … Friends? I’m kidding.
Merk: After we knew we’d be working together, Nyge called me when I was stuck in L.A. traffic. He asked a bunch of get-to-know-you questions. Turns out we had a lot in common: shows we watch — like Dear White People and Riverdale — and even lines we’ve used to break up with people in the past. I didn’t expect us to vibe as well as we did outside of work, but he’s definitely one of my confidants. He’s given me perspective on my relationships and helped me stay positive in stressful work moments. There’s really no one else in the world who can understand what this job is like except Nyge, since we’re in it together.
Nyge: So, to back up a little: We met right after we were selected from the talent search. Our senior producer Davey Kim connected us. We’ve only known each other for a little over a year, but she’s really like my twin sister.
What’s one word that describes your co-host?
Nyge: Passionate. Whether she’s trying to convince the world that Crocs are cool or having deep intellectual conversations with random people she meets on public transportation, Merk’s energy seems to infect everyone around her.
Merk: Stomach. It’s not like he comes into the studio hungry, but his digestive tract is super loud! (He also knows how to stomach terrible puns.) For real though … the word calm is really fitting for him. One day we scheduled interviews back-to-back, including one with Bambadjan Bamba from Black Panther and The Good Place. I was freaking out because my subway was running late and the ride-share I hailed got stuck in traffic. I called Nyge who kept me level-headed, and we figured it out.
Why is audio the most fitting platform for “Adult ISH” and what you have to say?
Nyge: Every almost-adult knows how important phone conversations with your squad are. That’s how our show feels, like you just got on the phone with your group of friends to talk about this week’s latest drama, pop culture and random thoughts.
Merk: Learning how to be an adult is different for everyone but deeply personal to all of us.
Audio is an intimate medium. It allows us to be conversational and candid in our journeys figuring out who we are as young people entering adulthood.
Nyge: Also, I think late millennials, and especially Gen Z-ers, are all about screen time. That’s partly why there aren’t many podcasts out there by and for young folks that look like me and Merk. We want to let people know that people like us do have a space here.
Just a teaser: What’s your favorite episode or moment of the upcoming season and why?
Nyge: Growing up in the Bay — sorry, THE BAY — my favorite rappers are all part of this collective called HBK Gang. I’m a little embarrassed to say it, but I’ve chased some of them down just to get a picture in my younger middle school days. On our upcoming “Squad ISH” episode, I talk to them, my childhood heroes, about #squadgoals and what touring plus a life of fame is actually like.
Merk: Nyge and I ‘argue’ about whether or not we lend money to friends in our “Agree To Disagree” segment in our “Broke ISH” episode. He does, but I don’t. I realize mid-convo that my reasons tie back to my immigrant parents who worked their butts off for me to have the financial privilege I do. It’s something I never had to think about until I was put on the spot, and it was deeply humbling. I also love the interview I had with a 17-year-old YR Media reporter about pap smears. I learned way more from her than I did in sex ed!
Nyge, because you talked about music … what are you both listening to these days?
Nyge: I’m a huge rap and R&B fan! Right now I have an album called Everything’s for Sale by Boogie heavy in my rotation, along with Revenge of the Dreamers III by Dreamville. On the R&B side of things, I have Mahalia’s Seasons EP and Raveena’s Lucid album on repeat daily. Davey, our senior producer, will probably fire me if I don’t mention that he introduced me to Raveena.
Merk: I love Lauv. His songs have just the right amount of sap, which I’m a sucker for. He addresses mental health and heartbreak in ways that make me feel really human. Plus, his voice is like ASMR.
OK, favorite ice cream flavor? This is a very important question. If you don’t like ice cream we’ll accept answers about desserts in general.
Nyge: Growing up it was famously cotton candy, but once people found that out, they’d give it to me all the time. I even got it as the flavor of my high school graduation cake and my middle school one! Eventually, I didn’t even like the smell anymore. Producing this podcast has turned me into an old man at heart, so Imma go with a retirement home classic: rum raisin.
Merk: I’ll happily eat vanilla with any kind of nut topping even though I’m lactose-intolerant. Actually, on second thought … chè thái, a Vietnamese fruit cocktail, is my fav!
When you were young — before you were almost-adults — what did you want to be when you grow up?
Nyge: I wanted to be a firefighter. When I was 3 years old, I had a pair of firefighter boots and a helmet that I would run around in on my front lawn. From that moment on, I thought it was my destiny. I even went to a fire academy for a few years in my teens. But after one intense ride-along, I found out I didn’t have the stomach for it.
Merk: See? Stomach is a fitting word for Nyge! I really wanted to be a second-grade teacher. That’s the year I learned about metamorphosis and memorized my times tables. It’s pretty much when I peaked in elementary school, and I guess I wanted to relive that.
What’s the toughest lesson you’ve learned as almost-adults?
Nyge: I’ve been through a lot of loss and pain as an almost-adult. I talk about some of this on our “Mom ISH” episode. It’s humbled me so much.
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to be present in every moment. It’s important to forgive myself for the past and understand that the present is the only thing I can control now. And don’t take for granted the time you have with the people you love.
Merk: It’s something my mom told me years ago that I didn’t understand until recently: There are aspects of my personality people simply won’t like, and I have to accept that. I know my energy and optimism can be a bit much for some people. I used to think there was something wrong with me because of this. I’ve learned while it’s important to take and apply constructive criticism to your life, you shouldn’t apologize for who you are. My mom, sister and RuPaul taught me what other people think of me is not my business anyway.
What do you hope listeners will take away from Adult ISH?
Nyge: I hope they learn not to hold themselves to unrealistic expectations. Just because a certain chapter is closing or changing, that’s not always a bad thing.
Merk: It’s OK if you make mistakes and don’t have it all figured out. The truth is … that’s where we’re at, too! I think by admitting that truth, you’ve already scored a big win toward figuring out your adult ish. I didn’t know all that much about seriously seeking out a therapist, let alone a therapist of color and why that mattered, but we do that in our upcoming “Me, Myself, and ISH” episode. I hope listeners leave each episode feeling like they’ve got a new tool in their adulting belt, because we’ve got plenty of them to come this season.
Nyge: I hope people learn to forgive themselves, laugh and take the positives from situations that could just as easily make you cry. That felt like I was writing a graduation speech … but, yeah. Have fun in the sun, Adult ISH Class of 2019!
