ASIAN AMERICA: THE KEN FONG PODCAST
Episodes
EP 499: Louis Wu On How He Started A Ukulele Company 18 Years Ago & Why These 4-Stringed Instruments Have Become So Popular
21 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Louis Wu was an engineer, not an entrepreneur. But when he and his wife agreed that he needed a job that would allow him to spend more time with their...
EP 498: Carolyn Taketa On Learning To Embrace & Navigate Life's Big Changes
15 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
According to experts, the average person goes through at least 30 major changes in his or her life. Some changes are things that we choose, e.g., marr...
EP 497: The Two Kens On Debate #2 - Hook, Line & Stinker
14 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Tuesday night, September 3rd, Trump and Harris locked horns in what now looks to be the first and final debate between the two leading candidates f...
EP 496: Doreen Wong & Ken Fong On The Unexpected Miracle Of Falling In Love Again After Half A Century
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
My very special guest this bonus episode is Doreen Wong. You're going to get to hear from her because she said 'yes' to me twice last week. She accept...
EP 495: Lei Wang On Being The First Asian Woman To Achieve The Explorers' Grand Slam
08 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lei Wang was perfectly happy with her burgeoning career in marketing and finance. But one fateful frigid Boston evening, she went to watch a documenta...
EP 494: Henry Lam On Coaching People With ADHD
01 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up, Henry Lam struggled in school, but it wasn't until he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in 2018 and recei...
EP 493: NPR's Emily Kwong On Her Amazing New "Inheriting" Podcast
25 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
NPR's Emily Kwong launched the Inheriting podcast this past May, where she facilitated an in-depth conversation among members from different generati...
EP 492: The Two Kens On Our Better Angels & 2024 DNC
25 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 2024 DNC ended Thursday night, so the next morning podcasters Fong and Kemp were excited to compare notes about what they heard, saw and felt duri...
EP 491: Eve J. Chung On Her Debut Novel "Daughters Of Shandong"
18 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Asian American author Eve J. Chung spent the first years of her life in Taiwan with her grandmother. In their shared space, Eve remembers a woman who ...
EP 490: Director/Writer Tom Huang & Actor Dana Lee On "Dealing With Dad" Film & AAPI Mental Health
12 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
EP 489: Lisa M. Gomez, Assistant Secretary of EBSA On How American Men Needlessly Struggle With Mental Health Issues
04 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
EP 488: The Two Kens On The Right's Denigration Of VP Kamala Harris
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Even before the majority of delegates to the upcoming DNC had lined up behind Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Trump and the MAGA crowd ...
EP 487: Dr. Mako Yoshikawa On Her Journey To Understand Her Brilliant Father's Mental Illness
28 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
EP 486: Dr. Kelly N. Fong On Confronting Racism & Sexism In Higher Education
21 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
EP 485: Dr. Sophia Yen On A Lifetime Of Hormonal Healthcare For Women
14 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since starting puberty, females must deal with hormonal challenges that males never face, e.g. menstruation (and everything that goes with that m...
EP 484: Derek Ting On His Latest Action Film "Agent Recon"
10 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A covert military task force tracks a mysterious energy disturbance at a secret base in New Mexico that is suspected of experimenting on alien technol...
EP 483: Philip W. Chung On World Premiere of "Unbroken Blossoms"
30 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Playwright Philip W. Chung's Unbroken Blossoms is a historical reimagining of the making of a boundary-breaking 1919 Hollywood classic that shines a ...
EP 482: The Two Kens On Debate Postmortem - Is Biden Too Old?
29 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode podcasters Fong and Kemp gamely try to stay out of panic mode in light of President Biden's abysmal performance at the first president...
EP 481: CEO Libby Liu On Whistleblower Aid, NDAs & Radio Free Asia
16 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
EP 480: The Two Kens On A Convicted Felon Running To Be POTUS
09 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
EP 479: Dr. Kenneth Wang On Learning How To Be Perfectly Imperfect
01 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Clinical psychologist Dr. Kenneth Wang has spent the last 20 years researching the area of perfectionism, especially how it manifests itself in Asian ...
EP 478: Virginia Duan On K-pop And Overcoming Relational Trauma
26 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
EP 477: The Two Kens On United But Hopelessly Divided?
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this latest episode of the collaborative series between longtime friends, former pastors, and fellow podcasters Ken Fong and Ken Kemp, they talk ab...
EP 476: Jamie Jo Hoang On "My Father, The Panda Killer"
12 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In writing My Father, The Panda Killer Vietnamese American Jamie Jo Hoang humanizes the costs and consequences of the Vietnam War through the experie...
EP 475: Thomas Lee On How Bruce Lee Mastered Business, Confidence, and Success
05 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Author and business journalist Thomas Lee has given us a refreshingly new and relevant way to appreciate the life and legacy of the late pop icon Bruc...
EP 474: Alexandra Chan On Loss, Myth & Magic
28 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Alexandra Chan had excelled in life as a left-brain, logical and educated person. But the recent loss of her amazing father Robert Earl Chan showed he...
EP 473: Newton Cheng On Helping Breakdown The Stigma Surrounding Mental Health Struggles
21 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Newton Cheng is the Director of Health + Performance at Google. He's a husband, a dad, and a champion powerlifter. From all appearances, he was doing ...
EP 472: The Two Kens With Betsey Newenhuyse On What America Might Lose If Religious Communities Die
14 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this latest episode of The Two Ken's podcast series, Ken Kemp's regular guest Betsey Newenhuyse from Chicago joins us to talk about the ongoing nee...
EP 471: Wing Ho On Coaching Relationship-Driven Leaders
07 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Wing Ho is the founder of Xcela Coaching, where he offers Leadership Coaching and Team Culture Coaching. His relational-driven approach is something...
EP 470: Lisa Sanaye Dring On Her New Play "Kairos" @ East West Players Theater
31 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Writer and 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...
EP 469: Joseph Tseng On His New EP "Pearls Of Home"
24 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Back when Joseph Tseng graduated from college, he focused on making a living as a singer/songwriter/storyteller. But he soon discovered that that drea...
EP 468: Danna Okuyama On Creating A Safe Online International Penpal Platform For Children
10 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Danna Okuyama left her career in high finance to become the founder and CEO of Urban Sandbox, a new modern-day pen pal app and safe space for students...