By Megan Tan on 19 May, 2021
In honor of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we’ve rounded up podcasts from incredible AAPI creators for you. From personal stories to social issues and discussions about literature and mental health, here are recommendations for your podcast playlist.
Asian Enough
From the LA Times, Asian Enough features a selection of notable guests such as Vice President Kamala Harris, director of Crazy Rich Asians Jonathan M. Chu, and actress Sandra Oh. The episodes explore the joys and the struggles of being Asian American while delving into personal stories about cultural experiences and backgrounds.
Self Evident: Asian America's Stories
Self Evident tackles tough topics and questions around representation, racism, and identity through a multitude of narratives and community storytelling. This podcast is a space for people of all backgrounds to find out more about Asian American stories. Listeners can also find lists of materials within certain podcast episodes to further your own knowledge and create small changes within your own communities.
Asian American History 101
If you’re interested in diving deeper into Asian American History, this is the perfect podcast for you! Hosted by a daughter and father team, Gen and Ted Lai, discover more about major historical events relating to immigration, the model minority myth, massacres, and lynchings. They also cover the contributions of prominent Asian American figures in the past, from martial artist Bruce Lee to Hollywood movie star Anna May Wong.
AAWW Radio: New Asian American Writers & Literature
This podcast is geared towards those with a love for words, both fictional and nonfictional in the form of poems, short stories, and novels. Produced by the Asian American Writers' Workshop, a national non-profit and literary arts space, AAWW Radio’s episodes consist of intellectual discussions with award winning writers and activists on numerous subjects — overarching theme is social justice.
Your Mind; Your Narrative
As AAPI Month coincides with Mental Health Awareness Month, our next recommendation, Your Mind; Your Narrative, lies at the intersection of these two subjects. The host of the podcast, Jason Jamera, is a UPENN Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner-candidate who talks about various psychological topics such as imposter syndrome, navigating trauma and anxiety, as well as disparities faced by BIPOC communities.
Modern Minorities
Modern Minorities shares how people of different cultural backgrounds experience the world through conversations about work, life, family, race, and gender. With people from all types of professions and life choices, this podcast is a great way to expand our own perception and view of the world — and who knows, there might be things you hear that are relevant to your own experiences.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Megan is Dia’s intern and a Fashion Marketing & Management student in Malaysia. She has worked on projects with brands such as Fugeelah, and is interning for fashion influencers based in the UK. Apart from fashion, Megan is interested in business and psychology, and enjoys creating art and reading novels. She will be furthering her education at London College of Fashion in September 2021.
