Asian America: The Ken Fong Podcast

08/12/2024

I promised last week's guest Lisa M. Gomez (EBSA Assistant Secretary of Dept of Labor) that I would drop this episode the week after hers dropped in hopes of getting more AAPI persons and families to pay closer attention to mental health issues in our communities. I hope you'll watch "Dealing with Dad" after listening to my conversation with Director/Writer Tom Huang and veteran actor Dana Lee.

In Director/Writer Tom Huang's 2022 film Dealing with Dad, Margaret Chang reluctantly returns to her hometown along with her hapless brothers to deal with the sudden depression of their complete-jerk father, whom everyone happens to hate. In fact, he's actually more pleasant being depressed, so the....

08/05/2024

I just signed this petition. If you’re so inclined, I hope you’ll sign it too.

Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Christians for Harris

08/04/2024

I'm still quite honored and humbled that the U.S. Dept of Labor's EBSA is partnering with me to educate more Americans about their benefits regarding retirement and health insurance.

Lisa M. Gomez is the Assistant Secretary of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in the U.S. Department of Labor (www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa). She brought with her a particular concern about the mental health of American men, especially minority men. Although I wasn't taken aback to h...

07/28/2024

I can't recommend "Secrets of the Sun" highly enough.

In this compelling collection of fifteen personal essays, Dr. Mako Yoshikawa takes us along on her journey to gain a clearer understanding of who her late father was. Secrets of the Sun "...is particularly brilliant at capturing the grief, guilt and fear that adults who experienced childhood abuse f...

07/22/2024

Check out this eye-opening conversation between UCLA's Dr. Kelly N. Fong and me.

In her no-holds-barred essay “Conditional, But Essential, Contingency,” Dr. Kelly N. Fong confronts the racism she’s faced as an Asian American woman with a PhD in historical archaeology and examines the ways she’s rejected what she terms “muted invisibility” in favor of demanding change...

07/10/2024

https://asianamericapodcast.com/2024/07/ep-484-derek-ting-on-his-latest-action-film-agent-recon/ Writer, producer, director and actor Derek Ting literally does it ALL! His latest action film "Agent Recon" (released on 6/21 on multiple streaming and on-demand platforms) co-stars legendary action icons Chuck Norris and Marc (Beastmaster) Singer. You'll love learning how Derek came to make and star in his own films and what it took to convince Chuck Norris to leave his ranch to be in his film.

A covert military task force tracks a mysterious energy disturbance at a secret base in New Mexico that is suspected of experimenting on alien technology. Once there, the team encounters an unknown being of extraordinary strength and speed, and the ability to control an army of mindless warriors. Th...

06/26/2024

I'm thrilled that the US Dept of Labor mentioned my podcast episode in a social media post! https://www.facebook.com/departmentoflabor/posts/pfbid0YXLh4BvYZFw3oj3ZJNQFStyNA1jNYNG65MBns7bABTk7z1ux6SDGpgCZuhUFiVrPl

Listen to Ali Khawar, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Employee Benefits Security Administration on Asian America: The Ken Fong Podcast! He explains current discrepancies in retirement savings and shares what the federal government is doing to help more Americans save for their retirement.​
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Listen to the full podcast here: https://asianamericapodcast.com/2024/02/ep-463-ali-khawar-on-how-ebsa-is-working-to-help-more-americans-to-save-for-retirement/

06/16/2024

Libby Liu is truly a force to be reckoned with if you're a corporation that doesn't want to be held accountable.

Whistleblower Aid CEO Libby Liu has long been a tireless champion for giving as many people as possible access to what's really going on, pushing back against Goliaths like totalitarian governments or powerful corporations. We talk about how the non-profit she leads equips whistleblowers to step for...

06/09/2024

If you're a regular listener to this collaborative series, then you just had to know that Kemp and I would discuss Trump's now being a convicted felon.

With the conviction of former POTUS Trump on all 34 counts last week, you might think that that would catalyze many of even his most ardent supporters to call for him to drop out of the current race for the White House. Think again. Fong and Kemp try to discern why the majority of GOP "the party of....

06/04/2024

And here's our Motown Medley, arranged by music director Wayne Wakai!

Billy Stewart medley

06/04/2024

Here's us doing "What's Going On" during Sansei Rockers show.

Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”

06/04/2024

Here's the video that Doreen shot of my playing the flute solo during the Sansei Rockers show on May 11th,

I resurrected my flute solo on Color My World.

06/02/2024

Do many Asians and Asian Americans display the trait of perfectionism??? Is this a factor in their families?

Clinical psychologist Dr. Kenneth Wang has spent the last 20 years researching the area of perfectionism, especially how it manifests itself in Asian Americans. This should come as no surprise, but most corporate executives are perfectionists. This trait is often one of the main reasons that they've...

05/26/2024

She first appeared in EP 177 way back in February 2019. I know that you'll love hearing from her again.

In her debut novel Illusive, writer, blogger, and author Virginia Duan takes readers behind the scenes in the world of K-pop to explore the paralyzing aftereffects of relational trauma and what can be done to overcome them.

05/20/2024

To some historians, as the United Methodist Church goes, so goes America. But is that still a valid lens?

In this latest episode of the collaborative series between longtime friends, former pastors, and fellow podcasters Ken Fong and Ken Kemp, they talk about whether the recent decision by the United Methodist denomination to remove all barriers that had prevented LGBTQ+ persons from experiencing full i...

05/12/2024

One great way to celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month is to learn more of the stories of fellow members of this diverse group. Learn more about how the war in Vietnam impacted civilian families.

In writing My Father, The Panda Killer Vietnamese American Jamie Jo Hoang humanizes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War through the experiences of three generations of a traumatized fictional family from South Vietnam.

05/05/2024

To mark the start of my 10th year of doing this weekly show, I'm featuring Thomas Lee who's latest book reintroduces the legendary Bruce Lee to us as a stellar business person and entrepreneur.

Author and journalist Thomas Lee's new book "The Bruce Lee Code" humanizes the late legendary Bruce Lee, showing him to be a stellar example of an innovative entrepreneur and businessman.

05/02/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=higyYvz7ess
In case you're interested in learning about my late father's story, especially his time flying 38 missions as the lead B-17 bombardier, here's a link to the talk that I gave last night to the Chinese Historical Society of So Cal.

My Dad: One of the Many Invisible Chinese American Heroes of World War IIKen Fong’s late father, James King Fong, was a true war hero, having flown 38 missio...

04/29/2024

If some of you would like to Zoom in this Wednesday, May 1 @ 7PM PST, I'll be telling Dad's story as one of the many invisible Chinese American heroes of WWII. This is the monthly program that the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California puts on, and I'm so honored to be next month's speaker.

You'll need to RSVP via Eventbrite on the CHSSC website in order to get the Zoom link: https://chssc.org

04/28/2024

I think this is a truly fascinating conversation that you'll definitely want to hear!

Alexandra Chan had excelled in life as a left-brain educated person. But the recent loss of her amazing father Robert Earl Chan showed her the inherent limitations of just using reason to deal with life's greatest challenges. In her new book "In the Garden Behind the Moon," she takes us all on this....

04/23/2024

Newton reached out to share his story about struggling with his mental health in order to remove the stigma surrounding mental health struggles.

As Google's Director of Health + Fitness, and a champion powerlifter, Newton Cheng was not just the picture of health, but responsible for the wellbeing of thousands of Googlers. By divulging his struggles with depression and burnout, Cheng is helping break down the stigma surround mental health str...

03/31/2024

Writer/director Lisa Sanaye Dring's play "Kairos" will open the 2024 mainstage season for East West Players on April 4th!

Writer/director LIsa Sanaye Dring's new play "Kairos" opens East West Players new season on April 4th. Because her play explores what can happen to a couple when there's a possibility of them living forever, we delve headlong into a captivating discussion of the significance of time, special moments...

03/24/2024

I've included two of his tracks in this episode!

After taking a 19-year hiatus, musical poet Joseph Tseng has returned to his passion and recently released his EP "Pearls of Home" about his quest to define his Asian American identity, redefine his Christian faith, and look for beauty amidst indescribable losses.