New Narratives

March 16th marked the one-year anniversary of the Acworth-Atlanta shooting where eight people died, six of them being Asian American women. In this episode, we hear from Anthea Yur about the solidarity march she organized last year and Professor Jigna Desai on media portrayals of Asian American women and historical events that have led us here.

Guests include: Anthea Yur (Kokoro Project), Professor Jigna Desai (University of Minnesota-Twin Cities), Kay Moua, Phoua Chang, Jun Lin, and Siena Milbauer

Join New Narratives' creator & host Anya Steinberg as she says goodbye to AAOP! She'll take you on a tour of some of her favorite interviews -- including moments you've never heard before.

Music by Takénobu. Guests include: Jane Jeong Trenka (she/her), Professor Bee Vang-Moua (she/her), and Julian Saporiti (he/him). 

Once upon a time, abolition in its modern sense was an obscure concept that only a handful of organizers and agitators knew about and dreamed of. But in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis, abolition has stepped into the mainstream.

You’ve probably heard plenty of explanations about what abolition is and why people do or don’t support it. So rather than repeat definitions or commonly held arguments, we decided to go straight to Abinaya Ilavarasan (she/her), Tori Hong (she/they), and Tri Vo (he/they/she), three organizers who are working in ways big and small to abolish police, ICE, prisons, and more structural harms. We ask them why they do the work they do, what abolition means to them, and what the future of abolition work could look like for our communities.

This series is made in collaboration with Buddhist Justice Reporter, with support from the Minneapolis Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship at Macalester College. Music by Lesfm via Pixabay and Small Million.

"The River of Time”, used by Tori Hong in this podcast, is a concept coined and shared by Cori Nakamura Lin.

On April 11, 2021, 20 year-old Daunte Wright was murdered by police in Brooklyn Center, just miles away from where Derek Chauvin was on trial for the murder of George Floyd. Brooklyn Center erupted into protests which the Brooklyn Center police department met with what many saw as unreasonable force, escalating the unrest.

As Minnesota responded in horror to yet another police murder of a Black community member, there was also admiration for the spontaneous yet swift Brooklyn Center community organized response to Daunte Wright’s murder, both in the form of protests and mutual aid. We speak with Jackie Hayden (she/her), Longkee Vang (he/him), and Ngan Nguyen (she/her), three educators from Brooklyn Center Community Schools who were part of those mutual aid efforts. They share the response to Daunte Wright’s murder from their school youth, the generosity and ingenuity of Brooklyn Center residents in the face of crisis, and what the path forward looks like for their community.

This series is made in collaboration with Buddhist Justice Reporter, with support from the Minneapolis Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship at Macalester College. Music by Small Million.

They say youth are the future, but youth are also the present, often leading the way on issues of racial justice and structural change. We speak with 17 year-old Pa Yao (she/her) about being a young Minnesotan activist in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Daunte Wright, and Winston Smith, and amidst an alarming rise in violence against Asian Americans. Pa Yao shares why she’s been motivated to fight anti-Blackness within her Asian community, and advocates for the importance of youth voices in all contexts.

This series is made in collaboration with Buddhist Justice Reporter, with support from the Minneapolis Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship at Macalester College. Music by Small Million.

What does it mean that a Hmong police officer stood by as an accomplice to the murder of George Floyd? We talk to Vayong Moua (he/him), the Director of Racial and Health Equity at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. Vayong tells us about the Hmong community's unique position in Minneapolis, illuminates their experiences with police brutality, and discusses what solidarity could look like between the Hmong and Black communities in Minneapolis. 

This series is made in collaboration with Buddhist Justice Reporter and the Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship at Macalester College. Music by Small Million.

Two plaques hang in the rotunda of the Minnesota State Capitol, one that memorializes Minnesota's participation in a forgotten war and another that claims the first plaque told is full of lies. Today on New Narratives, we start to tell the story of the second plaque and the Filipinx Minnesotans who were behind it. We'll tell the story of their relentless activism to tell the story of the Philippine American War the way their ancestors saw and experienced it. This episode is part 2 of a 2-part series on the Philippine-American War.

Guests include: Meg Layese (she/her, Philippine Study Group of Minnesota), Paul Bloom (he/him, PSGM), Art Adiarte (he/him, PSGM), and Professor Karin Aguilar San Juan (she/they/siya, Macalester College).

Music by Takénobu.

A plaque hangs in the rotunda of the Minnesota State Capitol, memorializing Minnesota's participation in a forgotten war. Today on New Narratives, we start to tell the story of that plaque--all the way from the beginning, hundreds of years ago. We'll tell the story of the Philippine-American War, talk about why it's a war nobody remembers, and explore what effects the war has today on the Philippines. This episode is part 1 of a 2-part series on the Philippine-American War.

Guests include: Professor Lisandro Claudio (he/him, University of California Berkeley), Dr. Theodore Gonzalves (he/him, Smithsonian National Museum of American History) and Professor Karin Aguilar San Juan (she/they/siya, Macalester College).

Music by Takénobu.

We're starting a special series here at New Narratives! In May 2020, the presence of Tou Thao, a Hmong police officer, at George Floyd's murder raised important questions for the AAPI community. Now, almost a year later, as the trial of Derek Chauvin unfolds, your hosts Anya Steinberg and Siena Iwasaki Milbauer will be unpacking it from an Asian American lens. Today, we kick off the series by talking about what's going on and hearing from some community members about what they expect as the trial enters its first week.

This series is made in collaboration with Buddhist Justice Reporter and the Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship at Macalester College. Music by Small Million.

A message from New Narratives on the situation in Myanmar and how to get involved.

More resources and updates (in English) on the situation can be found at: 

democracyformyanmar.org

@whats.happening.in.myanmar & @listenupmyanmar on Instagram

@myanmar_now_eng and at #whatshappeninginmyanmar on Twitter

Part 2 of our series on heritage languages. We’re going to discuss why people lose their heritage languages, how that feels, and why language revitalization is so important. 

Guests include: Professor Bee Vang-Moua (she/her, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities), Professor Satoko Suzuki (she/her, Macalester College), Chanida Phaengdara Potter (she/her, The SEAD Project), Oanh Vu (she/her), and Ngan Nguyen (she/her).

This time, we're talking about heritage languages. We’re going to learn a little bit about the Asian languages people speak, what it means to them to speak their heritage language, and their journey to multi-lingualism. This episode is part 1 of a 2-part series on heritage languages.

Guests include: Sierra Takushi (she/her, Colorado College '21), Professor Bee Vang-Moua (she/her, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities), Professor Satoko Suzuki (she/her, Macalester College), Chanida Phaengdara Potter (she/her, The SEAD Project), Oanh Vu (she/her), and Ngan Nguyen (she/her).

Host: Anya Steinberg

In this episode of New Narratives, we're talking about the 2020 election and Asian American/Pacific Islander voters. We'll discuss who the AAPI electorate is, why they have such low voter turnout, and if representation of AAPIs in politics really matters. 

Guests include: Nimisha Nagalia (she/they, Hennepin County elections), Cindy Yang (she/her, Forward Together), Chip Chang (she/her, PhD student at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities), and Amy Zhou (she/her, legislative assistant in the Minnesota Senate).

Host: Anya Steinberg

This episode of New Narratives explores anti-Blackness in Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander communities both in the U.S. and abroad. We discuss people's personal experiences with anti-Blackness in the community, as well as the complex historical, socioeconomic, and political factors that create anti-Blackness. We also talk about what different AAPI activists are doing to combat anti-blackness. Guests include: Nhan Le (she/her, Carleton College '21), Thet Htar Thet (she/her, activist), Nam Nguyen (she/her, Vietnamese Solidarity and Action Network), Jieyi Cai (they/them, PhD student at the U of MN Twin Cities).

Host: Anya Steinberg

For more information, visit: www.aaopmn.org

Follow us on Instagram: @aaopmn

Welcome to New Narratives, a podcast by Asian American Organizing Project that highlights the voices of Minnesotan Asian American/Pacific Islanders. This episode focuses on Asian American/Pacific Islander identity development, where the term "Asian American" came from, and what it means to be AAPI. We also discuss the Model Minority myth, where it came from, and what implications the myth has for the community. Guests include: Professor Rich Lee (he/him) and Professor Vichet Chhuon (he/him) from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Joan Dao (she/her) with the Vietnamese Solidarity and Action Network, and Sierra Takushi (she/her), Colorado College '21.

Host: Anya Steinberg, Storyteller Intern

For more information, visit: www.aaopmn.org

Follow us on Instagram: @aaopmn