They Call Us Bruce Jeff Yang & Phil Yu
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- Society & Culture
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Hosts Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present They Call Us Bruce, an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.
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236: They Call Us Monkey Man
Jeff and Phil welcome their old friends Sujata Day (Definition Please, Heroes' Feast) and Dino-Ray Ramos (DIASPORA) to talk about the action revenge thriller Monkey Man, written/directed by and starring Dev Patel. They discuss this new take on storytelling from the South Asian diaspora, this blessed era of the Dev Patel Glow-Up, some of the political, religious and cultural controversy surrounding the movie, and of course, the badass action sequences (both borrowed and new) -- including the moment that had everybody in the movie screaming. Also: The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of Monkey Man.
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235: They Call Us Asian American Studies
Jeff and Phil welcome Pawan Dhingra, associate provost and associate dean of the faculty at Amherst College and current president of the Association for Asian American Studies. He talks about the newly minted AAPI Studies program at Amherst -- the first of its kind for liberal arts colleges -- what's behind the seemingly sudden surge of interest in Asian American Studies, and how the field still needs to grow and expand. Pawan also talks a bit about Kumon, the South Asian stranglehold on the spelling bee, and his incredibly titled book Hyper Education: Why Good Schools, Good Grades, and Good Behavior Are Not Enough.
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234: They Call Us Avatar: The Last Airbender
Jeff and Phil welcome Albert Kim, showrunner of Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender. He talks about the epic challenge of adapting the beloved animated series, "remixing" the original show's story elements for the streaming format, the cultural considerations that go into building an Asian-inspired fantasy world (does Iroh have an accent?) and casting Asian and Indigenous actors for these iconic roles. Plus: Jeff divulges Albert's personal email address. Also: The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of making the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender.
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233: They Call Us Asians in Baseball
Jeff and Phil welcome Kim Cooper and Scott Okamoto, co-hosts of the podcast Asians in Baseball, just in time for spring training. They discuss the current renaissance of Asian and Asian American players in Major League Baseball; becoming a baseball fan in this extraordinary moment; Shohei Otani's ass; the Lenn Sakata Fan Club; and the unifying love of Kim Ha-Seong. Also: The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of Asians in baseball.
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232: They Call Us Olivia Cheng and Dianne Doan
Jeff and Phil welcome Olivia Cheng and Dianne Doan, stars of the badass action series Warrior (now on Netflix!). They talk about how the show has embodied the fighting spirit of Bruce Lee; some of the initial trepidation and concerns they had about their roles at the beginning of the production; and why Olivia is the Ginger Rogers of Warrior. Also: a guest appearance from Dianne's dog and why Olivia's early role as "Dim Sum Girl #1" actually completes an interesting full-circle moment.
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231: They Call Us Past Lives
In this special conversation recorded live at Asia Society in New York City, Jeff welcomes newly minted Academy Award nominee Celine Song, writer/director of Past Lives. (Spoiler warning!) They discuss the real-life autobiographical moment that inspired her film's bilingual, bi-cultural center; telling a story about the people who hold and know the different parts of ourselves; and how things might have ended up differently for Nora and Hae Sung if they just had better tech and a stronger internet connection.
Customer Reviews
Goes deep
Just started reading Gene Luen-Yang, so went looking for some interviews. They guys did and awesome job. Not afraid of a long interview, with wanderings, but all enjoyable. Laughed a lot.
Love this show!
Always enjoy the insight, humor and friendship. Really cozy vibe, great guests and important info about Asian and Asian Americans in pop culture. Super relevant.
Does an (Asian) Body Good
I love this podcast—it make me feel like I’m hanging out with smart, funny buds. The eps are informative, empowering, and a lot of fun to listen to. The aural equivalent of going to dim sum with good friends.