Plum Radio
By Plum Media
Join Emmy-winning correspondent Dolly Li and recovering tech worker Joey Yang for therapy on Instagram Live Monday nights at 9pm ET at @listentoplumradio. Full podcast episodes out on Wednesdays wherever you find your podcasts.
Plum RadioNov 11, 2020
Ep. 29: Asian America Post-2020 (Final episode of season 2)
Ep. 28: Election Eve Hell
Dolly and Joey spend the last day before the November 2020 election discussing our anxieties and reading a selection of responses from our beloved listeners. On your minds this week: Poll intimidation, civil war, and...Vin Diesel's new music career. Salud, mi familia.
Ep. 27: Colonizing Animal Crossing for Comedy, ft. Jenny Yang
Comedian, actor, and writer Jenny Yang joins us this week to talk Comedy Crossing, her new standup show inside the game Animal Crossing. Jenny started Comedy Crossing after the pandemic as a way to build community in our quarantined world, but in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Comedy Crossing became a fundraising platform that has raised over $30,000 for Black Lives Matter related causes. But as journalists, we’re obligated to ask the hard questions: is playing Animal Crossing an act of colonization?? Do we accept tiny, cute capitalism? And do Animal Crossing players (like the Biden / Harris campaign) owe reparations?
We also get into Jenny’s past life as a labor organizer, how labor organizing and comedy can both deliver a political education, and why it’s so important for Asian Americans to embrace our messy, traumatic histories so we can take care of our mental health and reject the model minority myth at the same time.
Dolly and Joey also lament the “meritocracy” of mediocre rich white people, reacting in real-time to Amy Coney Barrett’s Monday night confirmation to the Supreme Court and unpacking the Atlantic’s recent article “The Mad, Mad World of Niche Sports Among Ivy League–Obsessed Parents.”
Read “The Mad, Mad World of Niche Sports Among Ivy League–Obsessed Parents”: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/squash-lacrosse-niche-sports-ivy-league-admissions/616474/
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and believe in independent media.
Ep. 26: Can you bring abolition to local politics? ft. Whitney Hu
Whitney Hu is an activist, abolitionist, mutual aid organizer, and candidate for NYC city council District 38. Whitney is one of the organizers of South Brooklyn Mutual Aid and an activist who has fought rezonings that would have continued to gentrify her neighborhood. Now, she’s merging her desire to burn the system down with her demand for stronger representation from her elected officials. What does abolition mean in practice, especially in electoral politics? How can we “dreamscape” to create alternatives to police and jails? Can the revolutionary desires of abolition really work within the system? And are abolitionists’ demands actually unreasonable?
Plum Radio listener LG also writes in about Peter Hessler’s New Yorker article “9 Days In Wuhan” to ask what about China allowed them to get on with their lives so quickly. Dolly and Joey have a nuanced discussion on socialism in other nations, how working people are disposable under capitalism, the real truth exposed by Ai Weiwei’s COVID documentary, Coronation, and how censorship may actually make Chinese citizens…*less* susceptible to disinformation (...and more likely...TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES??).
As always, write in to us at hi@plumradio.com with what’s on your mind or leave us a voicemail on IG through our DMs @listentoplumradio.
Read Peter Hessler’s “Nine Days in Wuhan, the Ground Zero of the Coronavirus Pandemic”: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/10/12/nine-days-in-wuhan-the-ground-zero-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic
Watch Ai Weiwei’s Coronation: https://www.aiweiwei.com/coronation
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and believe in independent media.
Ep. 25: Banning WeChat and Closing the Window into China, ft. Isabelle Niu
Video journalist Isabelle Niu joins us to talk about the pending WeChat ban and her Quartz video “Is WeChat a Problem for Democracies?” With so much talk around banning Chinese apps like WeChat and TikTok and China’s recent expulsion of American journalists, our tiny window into China is quickly closing. Isabelle tells us how WeChat provides insight into what the Chinese government is signaling and into the lives of WeChat’s 1 billion users. What are the consequences of not understanding Chinese society and politics? How will alienating China affect diaspora communities? We also talk to Isabelle about Loud Murmurs, our favorite left-leaning Mandarin language podcast that unpacks foreign culture and media to better understand what it means to be Chinese.
Dolly and Joey also atone for Indigenous People’s day sins by proposing to rename Columbus, OH to Flavortown, OH, give a 🚨 MILES GUO ALERT 🚨 about the fight he’s picking with Texas pastor Bob Fu and Big Jesus, and bless the show with an NBA title for Flavortown’s very own LeBron James.
Watch “Is WeChat a Problem for Democracies?”: youtube.com/watch?v=Lrn5in0iBd8
Listen to Loud Murmurs: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/loud-murmurs-%E5%B0%8F%E5%A3%B0%E5%96%A7%E5%93%97/id1355583279
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and believe in independent media.
Ep. 24: The Splinternet & the New Tech Cold War, ft. JS Tan
The new cold war is here, and the U.S. and China are fighting it online. Writer and former tech worker JS Tan joins us to discuss the growingly more divided “splinternet,” Silicon Valley’s facade of freedom for the sake of global dominance, and how the U.S. is recreating China’s protectionist internet policies. We also talk about how this new cold war will endanger Asian diaspora, and how movements like China’s anti-996 movement and rideshare driver revolts show that maybe the two sides of the splinternet aren’t so different after all.
Dolly and Joey also read this week’s listener mailbag about the new trailer for the film Minari and discuss what it means to have good and bad Asian American representation.
Read JS’s argument, “Big Tech Embraces New Cold War Nationalism” in Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/27/china-tech-facebook-google/
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and believe in independent media.
Ep. 23: What is Trump’s appeal to Chinese immigrant voters? ft. Yi Chen
Yi Chen, the director of the new documentary film First Vote, joins us to discuss making a film about first-time Asian American voters on both sides of the political spectrum and digs into why recent Chinese immigrants fear socialism so much that they end up becoming Trump supporters.
Dolly and Joey also did their first *mailbag* episode where we responded to questions from YOU, our beloved audience and listeners. Dolly shares her tips on how to pull back from the news cycle, Joey talks about how he turns on Do Not Disturb mode at 5pm. We also discuss Donald Trump’s tax evasion and ponder how many cod had to die for Mr. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to cast a vote for Joe Biden. Write to us! We respond to listener questions every Monday night on IG Live: hi@plumradio.com
We watched First Vote with our Patreon subscribers and had Yi drop in for an intimate discussion after the viewing party. We host exclusive screening events and monthly Q&As for just our Plum Posse on Patreon so make sure you subscribe today for less than the price of a movie ticket over at patreon.com/plumradio.
And for pure giggles and context for the show, we insist you read, “My Real-Time Response To Learning What The Rock Eats Every Day” by Daniel Mallory Ortberg: https://the-toast.net/2015/04/03/my-real-time-response-to-learning-what-the-rock-eats-every-day/
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision
Ep. 22: Back to School With No Nurses, Ventilation, or Wi-Fi, ft. Annie Tan
“Remote learning is very hard. Nobody wants to do it. Every single kid in the world is losing out on an education.”
Annie Tan, a New York City public school teacher, joins us again on Plum Radio to talk about how teachers and communities are organizing and fighting back against the city’s unsafe plans to reopen schools.
New York City, home to the country’s largest public school system with more than ONE MILLION students, has already delayed schools reopening twice, leaving families, educators, and students stuck in limbo. Many NYC schools have neither proper ventilation nor bathrooms for COVID-19 safety precautions, let alone the technology needed to teach remote classrooms. As Annie tells us, at her school in the immigrant neighborhood of Sunset Park, they don’t even have a dedicated nurse, a role that they’ve been requesting long before COVID-19.
Will it be safe to re-open schools in the U.S. epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis? Who is pushing the narrative that low income students of color need to attend school in-person the most? And where will schools find the funding to fix school infrastructure, provide remote learning devices, offer child care services to educators who have to return to work, and find enough employees to staff both remote and in-person classes?
For more Annie, tune in to Plum Radio Ep. 3, where she shares the memory of her late cousin, Vincent Chin.
Dolly and Joey also discuss why blindly celebrating the ban on WeChat is actually racist and the new expose about forced hysterectomies in ICE detention centers.
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and believe in independent media.
Ep. 21: Mulan: The Good, the Bad, and the Propaganda ft. Tony Lin
We watched Mulan this week...and we are spilling some hot hot tea over it 🤠 🍵
Tony Lin, a Chinese American journalist who has written pop culture analyses for publications on both sides of the firewall, joins us to drag Disney’s 2020 remake across the Silk Road.
What is the Han ethnic identity, and what does Disney’s “Han-washing” of Mulan’s character have to do with this movie’s filming in Xinjiang? Is Mulan a feminist movie? Is Hollywood’s strategy of pandering to China working? And how many white people does it take to serve this fresh new dish of orientalism? (Spoiler alerts, obviously.)
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
Ep. 20: Is the American Dream More Attainable in China? ft. Ashley Almanzar
What’s it like to live in China as a Latinx American woman? We sat down this week with Ashley Almanzar, who spent the last five years living in Ningbo, China, working in education and launching her own business, The Ning Box (IG: @theningbox_), which curates events for expats and locals in the Ningbo area.
We talked to Ashley about how you can live a version of the American dream with affordable healthcare and rent under $500, policing in China vs the U.S. (have YOU ever seen a cop get punched?), how people living in China get news about Xinjiang, and white male expat privilege (hole emoji).
Dolly and Joey also try to restoke the flames of the short-lived NBA players strike and put LeBron and Obama into the same hole and bless the California man who helped put out the wildfires...with Bud Light.
Listen to episode 20 now wherever you like to podcast! And for another episode where we talk about the difference in policing in China and the U.S., check out episode 11 with Bohan Phoenix, “Cultural Appropriation or Not?”
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
Ep. 19: From Running the Asian Market to Running for Office, ft. Fanny Fang
This week, we’re joined by 25-year old Manhattan, Kansas resident Fanny Fang, who is running for office in her local county commission.
Fanny decided to throw her hat in the ring when incumbent commissioner Marvin Rodriguez said that the county wasn’t at risk for COVID-19... because there weren’t many Chinese people living there. Fanny will be the only Democrat and female candidate on the ballot, running against 3 Republicans, including Rodriguez, to represent District 2.
Fanny grew up in her parents' store in Kansas, The Asian Supermarket, and returned to her hometown after college to help run the operation. We hear from Fanny about her campaign platforms, running for office in our new virtual normal, and the pride she has for multiculturalism in Kansas politics.
Dolly and Joey also discuss how the Post Office arrested Steve Bannon on the boat of exiled Chinese billionaire Miles Guo, the Wuhan pool rave, and how the state of California being on fire sits at the intersection of COVID, climate change, and California’s prison system.
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
Ep. 18: Smokin’ Meats & Surviving in Chinatown ft. Terry Wong
Terry Wong, one of the partners of Blood Bros BBQ, home to the first Vietnamese pitmaster in Texas, joins us to talk about how his restaurant and the food and beverage industry have been struggling through the pandemic. Terry shared that they’re lucky to have 50% of their regular revenue, but now have higher costs and spend an additional 3-4 hours a day packaging to-go condiments for the new dining normal.
Dolly and Joey also discuss this week’s big news: Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s VP pick, and read audience responses from our poll on @listentoplumradio IG.
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
Ep. 17: A Political Education In 60 Seconds On TikTok, ft. Young Kim
Korean American viral TikTok creator, Young Kim (@youngqim), joins us this week to talk about the TikTok ban, using viral short videos to stir conversations around race and social justice, conservative TikTok holes, and how learning our history helps us unlearn internalized racism and the model minority myth.
Dolly and Joey also defend bottom feeders 🦐🦐, discuss WeChat, and drag private utility FirstEnergy, whose customers are without power in New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias and also bribed corrupt politicians like Larry Householder of Ohio to bail out their coal power plants.
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
Ep. 16: Do The Mariana Islands Need The U.S. Military? ft. Rachel Ramirez
Season 2 of Plum Radio is here! Rachel Ramirez (@rachelreports), an environmental justice reporter and Saipan native, joins us to talk about her home, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), its history of colonization, and how the U.S. military is making COVID-19 worse on the islands while opening new live-fire training bases on indigenous burial grounds.
The U.S. Department of Defense is the biggest greenhouse gas emitter of any government agency on the planet, and Guam and CNMI, as faux colonies that are largely used as U.S. military bases, suffer from both health and climate issues as a result of their presence. As we more openly question the militarization of U.S. police, we must ask ourselves: how has the U.S. military impacted our Asian communities, especially the Pacific Islands?
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on Instagram (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
[UNLOCKED] Bonus #2: Interview with Dolly Li on Now in Color Podcast
We’ll be back on Sunday, August 2 with a brand new season 2! Stay tuned and see you all soon.
--We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
[UNLOCKED] Bonus #1: Spilling Tea on Boba Liberalism ft. Jenny G. Zhang
Dolly and Joey are on vacation for 2 weeks, so here's a special unlocked episode we released to just our Patreon subscribers last month. This is the *first* episode of Plum Radio ever made.
We recorded this way back in February before we launched as an IG live show. Do you remember February? We don’t either.
But we *do* remember the presidential bid of Andrew Yang, who was promising everyone free money with slogans like “Make America Think Harder,” and for some reason, “MATH.” Back in 2019, the Boba Guys endorsed Yang with a picture of a red, white, and blue boba drink with the caption “Not left, not right...but boba.”
To us, this was the perfect representation of a term we’d heard, “boba liberalism”: packaging yourself for easy consumption, with sugary politics to mask structural problems.
Which led us to our first guest: Jenny G. Zhang, staff writer at Eater and author of the essay, "The Rise (And Stall) Of The Boba Generation."
This pilot episode set the foundation for Plum Radio and what we are trying to do: reject politics as usual, relearn our history, reclaim our narrative, and build political consciousness in our community.
We hope this is only the beginning of more conversation and interesting times ahead. Let’s spill some tea!
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
Ep. 15: Why Does the Brooklyn Bail Fund Want To Be Out Of Business? ft. Kevin Cheng
Kevin Cheng, the development manager of Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, joins us to talk about the $1M+ donations they received during the protests after George Floyd’s death, why they stopped taking donations, and how, in a just world, bail funds would cease to exist. Also this week: the rise of fascism around the world, from the Philippines to Hong Kong to Brazil to right here in the U.S.
Plum Radio season 1 is in the books! We’ll be taking a two week break, back again with Plum Radio season 2 in August. While Dolly and Joey go full Asians on vacation, we’ll be releasing bonus episodes of Plum Radio each week so you won’t have to go a week without us 🤠
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
Ep. 14: The Politics of K-pop and BLM in Korea, ft. Keda of the Soju Black
Calling Korea on this week of Plum Radio! We discussed the politics of K-pop, BLM protests in Korea, and COVID-19 responses in the U.S vs Asia with Keda of the Soju Black (@thesojublack), a podcast and show created by two Black ex-pats living and working in Korea. Dolly and Joey also discuss the new Hong Kong National Security Law, Hamilton, and the Floor is Lava.
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
Ep. 13: Performance Politics vs. Performance Art ft. Kristina Wong
Kristina Wong joins us to talk about her career as a performance artist, elected official, and overlord of Auntie Sewing Squad, a mutual aid project sending volunteer-sewn masks and other essential supplies to communities in need, from Los Angeles to the Navajo Nation.
We talked about how the spectacle of reality TV can be a substitute for therapy, how politics is a natural extension of performance art, and how Kristina brings these worlds together to help vulnerable communities.
Dolly and Joey also discuss: a blessing and a hole from our adopted homeland of Texas, how Gen Z freethinkers played the tech industry with a scam to funnel money to Black-led organizations, and the campaign to #FreeUrooj and #FreeColin (who we mistakenly call Chris in the episode, sorry!!).
We’re almost at our June goal of 100 Patreon subscribers, so THANK YOU to our 31 (!!) new subscribers this week! If you haven’t yet, follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and subscribe to us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you want to support independent media and are here for the culture.
Ep. 12: Where Does Hong Kong Go From Here? ft. Laurel Chor
Happy Juneteenth! This week we’re joined by Laurel Chor, a journalist and photographer from Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s most recent movement began over a year ago in March 2019 with the introduction of a controversial extradition bill that deepened Beijing’s reach into Hong Kong’s legal and judicial affairs.
We caught up with Laurel about how the protests have evolved, the fears around the draft of Beijing’s National Security Law for Hong Kong, the rise of both nationalism and calls for independence, and shared tactics between Hong Kong protests and the recent #BLM protests here in the States.
We also sent blessings to the ILWU Juneteenth port shutdowns, the Supreme Court blocking Trump from ending DACA, and, for the third week in a row: K-pop fans.
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
Ep. 11: Cultural Appropriation or Not? ft. Bohan Phoenix & Jachary
Congrats on surviving another week! We’re joined by rapper Bohan Phoenix and his friend and collaborator, Jachary, a Black American singer who has toured China with Bohan. We talk about what Asian rappers owe Black Americans, compare anti-blackness and police in China vs. the U.S. and play a game of “Cultural Appropriation or Not?” with Dolly. Top of the show: Dolly and Joey discuss rewatching Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing”, the role of the Korean grocery store owner in the movie, and NYC’s Asians for Black Lives protest.
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We pride ourselves on being independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
Ep. 10: How U.S. Media Covers Protests & the Power of American Pop Culture, ft. Sana Saeed
We’re 10 episodes old, send Pokémon cards! Dolly and Joey discuss #BlackOutTuesday, the power of K-Pop fans, and our experiences of attending protests from East to West Coast. Later, journalist Sana Saeed joins us to talk about her AJ+ show, Pop Americana, and why American media covers movements like the Arab Spring and Hong Kong’s protests so differently from movements like #BlackLivesMatter at home. Also: more on talking to our families, defunding the police, Aladdin, bots, Dolly Parton, and which governments get called “regimes.”
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We pride ourselves on being an independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
Ep. 9: What Would Make You Smash a Window? & I Will Make You Mine Film, ft. Dr. Kim Tran and Lynn Chen
This week, we demand an end to police violence towards all Black Americans. We were blessed to have two incredible guests on this episode: first, Dr. Kim Tran, who spoke to us about confronting anti-Blackness in our families and effective ways to speak to our immigrant communities about #BlackLivesMatter, protests, and looting. Later, actor and director Lynn Chen joins us to talk about her journey from starring in the 2004 film Saving Face to her directorial debut film, I Will Make You Mine.
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We pride ourselves on being an independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
Ep. 8: Growing & Hoeing Asian Heritage Greens, ft. Scott Chang-Fleeman
Lucky episode #8! Come hoedown at the farm with us and Scott Chang-Fleeman, farmer and owner of Shao Shan Farm in Bolinas, CA. Scott talks about how Asian farmers were stripped of their land after they dug the fields that became Northern California’s agricultural engine, the pros and cons of growing organic Asian produce, and how COVID-19 is affecting his farm and upending our food systems. And then we got face-deep in some dank greens. (To see the greens for yourself, head to our IG at https://www.instagram.com/tv/CAlbYyXndfX/ 🌿😉)
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We pride ourselves on being an independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (@listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
Ep. 7: How to Abolish Silicon Valley, ft. Wendy Liu
From the star of Silicon Valley to abolishing Silicon Valley--this week, Dolly and Joey welcome Wendy Liu, the author of the new memoir “Abolish Silicon Valley.” Wendy, a software engineer, ex-Googler, and startup founder, takes us through her journey of discovering the dark side of Silicon Valley and where all its tech money comes from. Dolly and Wendy discussed building a startup that sells personal data to marketers, making Amazon a public utility, and the tech workers who are organizing to fight for better pay and rights.
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We pride ourselves on being an independent media at Plum Radio. Follow us on IG (instagram.com/listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) if you’re here for the culture and want to be part of the vision.
Ep. 6: Speaking Cantonese & "Good Deal" Comedy Special ft. Jimmy O. Yang
Happy mother’s day! This episode, we send blessings to all the mothers out there, including Ahmaud Arbery’s, who is spending this mother’s day grieving the loss of her son.
Our special guest this week is the star of HBO’s Silicon Valley, Jimmy O. Yang. We talked about “Good Deal,” his new comedy special on Amazon, his upcoming Netflix show with Steve Carrell, “Space Force”, and what it means to play Jian Yang take and ownership of a character that has an immigrant accent.
Follow us on IG (instagram.com/listentoplumradio), and support us on Patreon (patreon.com/plumradio) to get exclusive bonus episodes and support independent media!
Ep. 5: Making “The Half Of It” on Netflix & Queer Asian Films, ft. Alice Wu
Happy May Day and AAPI month! Dolly and Joey kick off Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with Alice Wu, the writer and director the new Netflix film “The Half Of It,” and also the 2004 Asian and queer cult classic, “Saving Face”. Alice and Dolly discuss how immigrant parents express their love, the power of non-romantic love, and how we’re all trapped in hell, including her characters in “The Half Of It.”
We’ve officially launched our Patreon! If you love Plum Radio and want to support Asian-made media (it IS *Asian month* y’all), you can become a monthly supporter for just $5/month and receive all types of goodies like bonus episodes and invites to virtual screening parties, like the one we just hosted for “The Half Of It”. Our supporters also get a shoutout on the show so make sure to tune in live this weekend 🤠
We’ve been building Plum Radio for the culture and want to be listener-funded to remain independent and cover topics you won’t see anywhere else. To everyone who’s already supported us: we see you, we love you, and we hope you’ll hold us accountable and share your thoughts and feedback 💜
Join our Plum Posse on Patreon today: patreon.com/plumradio
Ep. 4: Love Letters to Chinatown, ft. Mei Lum
Ramadan mubarak! Mei Lum, owner of Wing On Wo, the oldest shop in Chinatown in New York City (around since 1890!), joins us to talk about the future of Chinatowns in NYC and across North America.
Dolly and Mei chat about the shop’s COVID-19 art project “Love Letters to Chinatown”, creating a third space for women and non-binary voices, and honoring Chinatown’s legacy by opening her storefront as a gathering space to have tough conversations on cultural preservation, gentrification, and growing Chinatown for future generations.
Ep. 3: Different Skin, Same Blood, ft. Annie Tan
Dolly and Joey curse the “Hole of the Week” and celebrate the blessings of new music from Yaeji and Rina Sawayama.
Our special guest this week, Annie Tan, is a NYC public school teacher and Chinatown native who was inspired to become an activist after learning about her kinship to Vincent Chin. Vincent was a Chinese-American man who was brutally murdered by two white auto-workers in 1982 Detroit when he was mistaken for being Japanese. His murder inspired a wave of Asian-American activism and united communities to identify with the term “Asian-American.”
Join us every Sunday on Instagram Live at 4pm ET for new episodes and follow @listentoplumradio on Instagram for more updates.
Ep. 2: Filipino Nurses and U.S. Colonization ft. Adrian De Leon
On episode 2 of Plum Radio, we discussed the new Netflix movie, Tigertail, with Ty Tran, the creator of the meme page @AsiansNeverDie, how we’re virtually celebrating holidays like Easter, Passover, and Qing Ming, and the history of why the U.S. has so many nurses from the Philippines.
Our special guest this episode is Adrian De Leon, a Filipino-Canadian Assistant Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at USC. Adrian drops some knowledge on Plum Radio, teaching us about the U.S. colonization of the Philippines in 1898, how the English language and Americanized education systems were imposed on the Pacific Islands, and how these forces created today’s pipeline of labor to America for Filipino nurses and migrant workers.
Join us every Sunday on Instagram Live at 4pm ET for new episodes and follow @listentoplumradio on Instagram for more updates.
Ep. 1: Masks & NYC's ERs in COVID-19, ft. Dr. Calvin Sun
Today's discussion is: Mask On / Mask Off? The CDC just announced on Friday, April 3 that we should all be covering our faces in public to help contain the spread of Covid-19, a big shift from their previous stance on masks.
We called up NYC ER doctor Dr. Calvin Sun to get his take on wearing masks and to hear the latest on what's happening in New York, the current epicenter of the global pandemic. Warning: this conversation gets passionate, so beware of profanity.
Follow @listentoplumradio on Instagram for more updates.