Ten Thousand Things with Shin Yu Pai

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This is an episode from a podcast called Inheriting from our friends at LAist Studios and the NPR Network. Hosted by NPR's Emily Kwong. Inheriting is a show about Asian American and Pacific Islander families, exploring how a single event can ripple through generations.

Bảo Trương’s parents both fled Vietnam in 1975 following the war. His father Thuận was a pilot for the South Vietnamese Air Force and left the day before the Fall of...

The E. Kong Yick building houses the only pan-Asian Pacific American community-based museum in the country, The Wing Luke Museum. And it’s an anchor in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. The Wing began in an old mechanic’s garage, exhibiting old folk-art relics from Asia. This episode tells the story of how The Wing transformed from a traditional museum into a BIPOC-owned building, community, and movement … and how people ...

Some trees are just special. One tree in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District has reached legendary status. The loquat tree is an artifact of the Engs, a pioneer Chinese-American family who planted the fruit seed in their front yard. The tree has thrived for over 60 years, nourishing the family and the community. Now, it stands as a legacy tree in the C-ID, accessible to a new generation and the tree’s arboreal descendants gr...

This is the sweet story of a viral and photogenic ube cheesecake. To many Filipino-Americans, ube is not a trend. It’s a staple. Yet here in the United States, it was known for decades as an ethnic specialty ingredient. That is, until Chera Amlag got her hands on it and made it the star of her Hood Famous cheesecake. When Chera’s homemade ube cheesecake became a culinary phenomenon, ube was transformed. Chera’s cheesecake put Filip...

When Tiffany Ran left for college, her mom gifted her a Tatung cooker. The Tatung is a unique kitchen appliance that would be familiar to anyone with ties to Taiwan. Everyone uses it slightly differently, as its versatility is passed down by word of mouth. Tiffany’s Tatung has accompanied her throughout the chapters of her unfolding adulthood. It has offered nourishment and comfort to her through the years, from broths to rice to E...

Janet Lee, a freshman at Bryn Mawr, was heading home for Christmas break when she was detained by the police for alleged drug smuggling. Janet wasn’t carrying any drugs. But the treatment she received from the Philadelphia police department and from her own community would change her life forever. In this episode, we’ll explore the pain of being accused of being someone you are not and fighting to reclaim the story that sets the re...

Jenny Liou is good at many things. She is a poet, an English professor, and former MMA Cage Fighter. It would be easy to see the cage as a place of limitation. But for Jenny, the cage was a place of freedom, where she could showcase her athletic skills. It was a place where her jiu-jitsu training allowed her to stay grounded and see her opponent’s weaknesses. Jenny rose in the sport’s ranks while teaching college English, a symbiot...

We might wear a mask to fit in, to fulfill someone else’s expectations, or to navigate a white-centric world. For Shin Yu, the mask was real. It was a white plaster mold of her face that hung on her in-laws’ wall, a reminder of all the “saving face” she has done trying to fit in. Last year, she decided to ask for the mask back. This is a personal interview with Shin Yu about learning how to let down the mask, while embracing vulner...

Leanna Keith knew the flute was her instrument. But she was discouraged from trying it in middle school by a white teacher who said her anatomy (a teardrop lip) would not allow her to master the instrument. Today, she is a professional musician, breaking the mold with her contemporary flute performances. This story looks at the uniqueness of our individual anatomies and what it’s like to be made to feel imperfect.

Ten Thousand T...

This season on Ten Thousand Things:
We're back with season three! This season features the stories of trailblazing Asian American women and the resilience of Asian American communities, even in the face of endangerment. Three of this season’s stories take place in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District Neighborhood, with help from the Wing Luke Museum. Featured guests include poet and former MMA cage fighter Jenny Liou; Sea...

Before we return for our THIRD season of Ten Thousand Things on April 30th, we wanted to share a special recording. In September of 2022, we celebrated the first season of our podcast with a live event at McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center. Back then, our podcast was called The Blue Suit (as you’ll hear). We evolved to become Ten Thousand Things. But we had the same goal of telling compelling stories behind modern-day artifacts of As...

Fans of Ten Thousand Things might enjoy Books and Boba from the Potluck Podcast Collective. Books and Boba is a book club podcast all about books written by Asian and Asian diaspora authors.

Today we are sharing one of Books and Boba’s interview episodes, featuring writer and translator Anton Hur who was recently revealed to be the lead translator for K-Pop megastars BTS’ upcoming memoir. In the episode, Anton discusses his work as ...