The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Celebrating Asian-American Voices & Stories

Episode Date: March 28, 2021

In this collection, Trevor interviews Asian-American authors, comedians and more, including Kelly Marie Tran, Jenny Han, Jimmy O. Yang, Ali Wong, David Chang, Nicole Chung and Charles Yu. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. You're rolling? But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listened to 60 Minutes, a second- the the the the the the the the th-1 1, th-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1, th-1, th-1-1-1, th-1-1, th-1- thi- thi- thi- thi- thi- thi- thi- thi- thi- thi- thine, thine thine thine thine thine thine th, thine th, th-1. th-1. th-1. th-1. th-1. th-1 th-1. th-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-ccui-c-c-c-cenea-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-cc. thc. thc. thc. thi-1cenea-1cene's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News, listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17th. It's a beautiful film, you know, and people love Disney movies, but it's also like the timing of who the movie is about. You know, right now the Asian community in America is facing one of its toughest times where

hate crimes are just skyrocketing. Many, you know, prominent Asians in Hollywood saying, hey, we need to fight against this, and I've seen people on social media saying, let's work together to do this. What do you think the significance of a movie like this is for kids and for people who just watch movies and might have a subconscious understanding of what they're seeing? Exactly what you said. You know, when you make a movie like this, you know, when you make a movie like this, you're try to release in. You've absolutely no idea what kind of world you're releasing into into. So to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a you know, because I'm lurking, lurking on the

internet, I know. It's a constant barrage of attack after attack and I know for me, like I just really hope that this is a moment where we can come together as a community and really recognize the pride and the joy that comes with celebrating where we're from. You know, we live in a world telling us we need to be afraid and we need to hide to hide to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the the their their the the their their their their their their the pride and the joy that comes with celebrating where we're from. You know, we live in a world telling us we need to be afraid and we need to hide and we have to be ashamed and to be part of this movie that is so clearly celebrating instead of hiding feels like such a proud moment for me and I hope that it's one that the community can celebrate. I am not a young Asian girl. Spoiler alert, I know.

But I found that I wasn't alone in connecting with the story in this film. It really is a love story that brings back everything we associate with high school and life, and maybe even things we deal with today in society. Do you think the movie did justice to the book? I think so. I hope so. I feel like the book is all about that kind of warmth and being cozy at home and being with your friends and family and first love and I think the movie does capture that. Right. You chose to be a part of the story and that was one of the conditions and included in that as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as you as. the the to to th. to to to the the the the to to to to to to to to to the to be. the the to be. the the the the the book. the book. the book. the book. the book. the book. the book. the book. the book. the book. the book. the book. the book. the book. the book. the book. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. the. the. the. thean. to. to. to. to. th. I. th. the. I. I. the be played by an Asian girl because that's who was in the book. Why was that so important to you? You know, that's part of why it took so long to get made, because people didn't understand why that was important.

And for me, it was like, that was what her spirit was, was that she was Asian American. And it didn't have anything to do with a plot, which is why people people people people people they were like, well, you know, as long as the actor can, you know, get the spirit across, then it's, you don't care about age or race. And I was like, but her spirit is Asian, so it's important. And you know, it's really about, it's not her whole identity, but it's like a part of her identity. A lot of, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi thi, the the the thi, the the thi, the the thi, their, their, their, their, their, their their their their, their their, their, you know, you know, you know, you know, you their, you their, you their, you their, you their, you the, you the, you the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their their their their their their their their their their, their, their, their of the time people think that, you know, inclusion in stories is about just telling the stories of the color of the people in the movie. And so when Studio Executive said to you, oh but she doesn't have to be Asian because she's not doing Asian things, you felt like it was more than that. I mean, I've never seen a movie, a teen movie, very few romantic comedies even, where the lead was Asian.

So to me, I wanted teenage girls to have that experience that I ever got to have. Welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. I'm a big fan of yours from Silicon Valley. And now, thank you. Thank you. Now you've got the book and you've got crazy rich Asians, which is coming out too much. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. the th. the the th. the the the th. the the the the. the the. the the the the the. the the the the the the the thea the. theateateateateateate. the. to to to to to to to to to to to to th. th. the. the. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. thea. t. tea. toea. toea. toea. to. toea. toea. toea. to. to. to. to. t. thank you. Thank you. Now you've got the book and you've got crazy rich Asians, which is coming out too much fanfare.

People are really excited about this. Can you feel the buzz as well? I've been feeling it for the last three weeks. We've been on this press tour. And it's crazy. They actually spending money on us, which is amazing. Which is amazing like like we they sent out three teams each of us hit like three different cities and the reactions from each city is amazing You got the really heavy Asian populated cities, you know like say Boston, New York

We expected a good turnout from them, but then when we went to like Dallas and people still loved it and I barely saw any Asian people in audience. It was white people black people It's just such a universally fun movie to watch right right that I'm just so grateful to to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their tea. tea. tea. tea. their their their their their their their their their their their their their their universally fun movie to watch. Right. That I'm just so grateful to see everybody enjoying it. It's really doing well. It has like what 94% on rotten tomatoes. Everyone is enjoying the cultural significance of the film. It's funny because Ronnie Chang is on the show is also in the movie. And when he came to me to tell me that like they wanted him in the movie. He few months to go do this movie. I think it might be a little bit big for like, you know, Asian, the Asian community. And he saw it like it was going to be like an indie movie in the middle of nowhere. And then I saw this come out, I was like, Ronnie, this is major.

This is huge. And it really is because for 25 years, And I think going in, I mean, Ronnie probably wasn't understanding, like, because we didn't know, we intellectualized it, like we understood, it's important. It's, you know, statistically 25 years, first studio movie. But we didn't feel how special was until we got to Singapore. When you got like the most beautiful, talentive, funniest Asian people from all over the world. Yeah. You got Asian Americans, Asian Australians, from everywhere, you know, Ronnie, Asian Malaysian, right? Like, which sounds amazing by the way. Asian Malaysian. Asian Malaysian.

I'm gonna start calling them in the office and I'm gonna get a lawsuit. The, uh, the movie is also great. That's what I enjoy is, you know, like, oftentimes when people talk about diversity, people always make it seem like it's charity. But it's a great story, and you play a character, the, th, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, like I enjoy is, you know, like oftentimes when people talk about diversity, people always make it seem like it's charity, but it's a great story and you play a character who like seems like the most fun ever. Is it true that you also try to go for the lead, like the really good looking handsome lead? Thanks for putting it that way. Yes, when I first got the script, not every day you get a script that's crazy rich Asians with a full Asian cast, so I talked to my manager, I picked up the phone right away, I'm like, guys, I know I'm usually the funny guy, you know, like the character actor, but let me, this role

and you know here I am so yeah but you but you you crush it in the movie because you play like a Vasaci wearing mad party animal oh it's awesome it's awesome to play that right because you get to go as big as possible so just fill the screen with any energy you have kind of pent up inside. Yeah. Because I think normally, as functional members of society, you can't just act crazy. But with a character like that, with a character like that, with a billions of dollars and he doesn't care about anything.

Right. He lives his life as if it's lawless. So it's just so fun and freeing to play somebody like that. You also have a cast that is all Asian but at the same time really diverse. And don't get me wrong, I mean I'm not saying it covers every single aspect of Asian culture. But it is interesting that you said, so many people come from so many different walks of life. When you're on set, did you feel that? Because I remember when Black Panther was happening, people were talking about how the set felt different.

It was similar on crazy, rich Asians? There, when, when magic. When we all just hang out, you know, eating dinner, I didn't have to explain, oh, let's go to a Chinese restaurant. It's like authentic, but like not that exotic. You can handle it. You know? We were all just so much on the same page. We all just loved the same kind of food. We all sent karaoke every night. thaki. thki. thki. th and th and th and th and th and th and th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. that. that. that. that. to to the the their their their their their their their the same. I to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the th. I. I. I. I. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thin. thin. thin. thin. thin. the the the thin. the the the thin. the thin. thi. thi. thi. to thi. thi. You haven't lived until you've seen Ronnie Chang sing Backstreet Boys. It's amazing.

Man, you are just giving me ammunition on Ronnie Chang. Nonstop. Let's talk a little bit about the book as well, because I love how your book talks about your journey in America. How to American, an immigrant's guide to disappointing your parents. It really is a universal story that is all about yourself, becoming an American citizen and the journey that you went on. Why do you think it's really been as difficult as it has been for you to understand

the difference or the difficulty in duality, being an American, but then also being Asian and staying true to your roots? I moved here when I was 13 from Hong Kong. Thirteen is probably a tough age for anyone finding themselves, but I was in a new country with a new language. I couldn't really speak English very well. And also one of the hardest things, aside from just making friends in school was dealing with the pressure from your parents, the expectations of growing up Asian. And they value obedience. They value finding a real job, right?

Which I'm obviously not doing right now. But in American culture, it's complete opposite. We value independence. And we value pursuing your dreams. Whereas my dad, ever since I was little, has told me that, pursuing your dreams how you become homeless. So how do you, which one do I pick and how do I go about doing this? When I started doing stand-up like my dad thought I was crazy he doesn't he doesn't know what stand-up was. We never watched stand-up in Hong Kong, you know, my first stand-up that

I watched was B.E.T. Comic View when I came here. Right. And it was like a cultural experience. Yeah, I can only imagine. th. Right. Right. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. Which thi th. th. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to th th th. Which th. Which th. Which th. Which th. Which th. Which th. Which th. Which th. Which th. W. W. W. W. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. W. thi. W. the. W. the. the. the. W. the. to to to to toe. W. to to to to to to to tho. to tho. was BET Comic View when I came here. Right. And that was like a cultural experience. Yeah, I can only imagine. It wasn't just jokes. It was like about culture. Like when they're talking about white people do this, black people do that, I didn't know any of those stereotypes. Right. But that was like broad strokes of America that I learned culture tellers, right? That's why I became really interested in doing stand-up, and my dad still till today calls it a talk show.

Which I guess I'm doing now, so it's fine. I'm actually doing a talk show. You have a great book with a great story. Congratulations on the film. You talk about your success, the grind that came behind it, but then you talk about like like just the the the experience, just the success, the grind that came behind it, but then you talk about like just the experiences that you've had where someone, you know, many people in fact try to reduce you to just, you know, your factor, so they went like, oh, you're getting, you're

successful just because you're Asian or just because you're a woman. Just because you're pregnant. There's so many, there was a guy who I won't name names he's not a very successful comedian so I don't even know if you would know who he was I don't but he came up to you wouldn't know you're you're out of there now but he like came up to me while I was pregnant the second time and he touched my belly with his like fat sweaty hand which is so gross to begin with it's like it's like why don't you finger me while you're at it this is so not not th I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I th I th I th you th I th I th I th I th th th th th th th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thin. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. You th. You th. You th. You th. You th. You th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thee. theeeee. theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. theeeeee. the. the. the. the. the. You're it. This is so not okay. Like just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean it's okay for you to touch my belly and he was like oh so this is your stick this is like your thing now right? And I'm like I was like getting pregnant is not rainbow suspenders. It's not a stick and then he was like, you know

the the winning combo. Because you get all of this attention because you're both a female and a minority. And I was like like, I, I, I, thian, thian, thian, thian, I thian, thian, I was like, thian, thian, thian, I was like, thian, thian, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. So, th. So, th. So, th. So, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, so thi, so, so thi, so thi, so thi, so thi, thi. thi. thi, th, because, you know, historically, that's always been the winning combo for recognition and success. And he was like, and he was like, you know what I mean, like me, I'm just another white guy. And I was like, be a better white guy. There's so many successful. There's like, there's Jimmy Kimmel, there's Will Farrell, there's Nick Crowell, there's the the the the the the the the the the winning, the winning, the winning, the the winning, the winning, the the the the winning, the the the winning, the the winning, the the the winning, the winning, the wi, the wi, the wi, the wi, the winning the winning the wi, the wi, the winning the winning thininincom, thinincom, thi, thi, thi, thi, the wi, the wi, the wi, the wi, the wi, the win, the win, the win, the win, the win, the win, the win, the win, the win, the win, the win, the win, the win, the, thin, thin, the wi, thin, the wi-com, thin, the wi-coming-cogni-coinning combo, thinning combo, thinning combo, thinning thinning thin, thin, so many successful, there's like, there's Jimmy Kimmel, there's Will Farrell, there's Nick Kroll, there's John Malady. I can name like, I could go on this whole show for like 35 days. We'll do like another show just of successful white comedians. Just be a funnier, white guy. Right. Like, that's it.

When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. You're rolling? But that's all about to change. Like, none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News.

Listen to 60 minutes, a second look, starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts. This Netflix series has started off with a bang. People are loving it. Why the title Ugly Delicious? Well as you saw in that clip, I grew up eating really well. My mom cooked a lot of Korean things and growing up in Northern Virginia, it wasn't that cool. In fact, I was like the butt of many jokes. So when I started cooking professionally, those were the foods that

I never wanted to toucest because I was ashamed of it or I just didn't want to like embrace it. And that sort of encapsulates a lot of the foods that I think are truly delicious but may not may not may may may may may may may may not may not may not the then. then. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thaten that's that's thaten that, that, that, that, that, that, that, thatu-a that, thathea thathea that, thoes thoes thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. that, that, that that that that that that that that that that that that that that thateea. thatea. thate. that that th are truly delicious but may not be cool or is looks good on a photograph some like a curry is a perfect example. Buller curry is so good but isn't something that's going to be on the cover of a magazine. And for you growing up, your food was a part of your culture but it was also something that people used to tease you about. Do you think that that's a big part of food, the cultural identity that comes with it? Absolutely. Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, th, that th, that's, that's, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi... And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, because we're not a crossroads, but food is more popular than ever before, and it sort of intersects so many different parts of culture throughout the world.

So in so many of the different parts of culture. So in so many of the different parts of the show with Morgan Neville and Eddie Schmidt, we decided that food could be sort of a Trojanian horse, to the bad things in culture. Right, like for instance with Chinese food. There's an episode where you delve into Chinese food and it feels like it's less about the Chinese food itself and about how Chinese people in America have had to assimilate, and what that means and how the food has had to assimilate in many ways to fit in with American culture. What did you learn in that experience when looking at Chinese food on its own in America? I mean, it goes all the way back to when they came to work on the railroads and how they were marginalized way back then in the 189 years or so.

And without getting too much in the history, I feel like as delicious as Chinese food is and it's like the most prevalent kind of food throughout the world, it seems. It's never been as cool as other European cuisines. And quite frankly, I think that there's been a lot of sort of hidden racism in how people perceive not just Chinese food, like basically anything that's like different than the mainstream America, right? You see that with MSG or how people see like cheap meats in Asian restaurants, Chinese restaurants, and a lot of that's not true, right? You know, not even misperceptions, they're just wrong, right?

It's interesting that you bring up racism with regards to food because those are stereotypes that you see, you know, rearing their ugly heads all over the world. You know, people go, watermelon, black people, and they'll be like, oh and you eat this. There are certain ideas that come from food. There are certain stories that are told by the food. There's an episode where you talk about fried chicken and what I loved is in the story you know you're out in the south. You're meeting with people who cook fried chicken,

white people who make fried chicken. Did you find that it was interesting to people about where the chicken came from, how it came to be popularized, and how they saw the story as it related to the food? Absolutely. And I think first and foremost about fried chicken, it's a story that a lot of people don't know about. Everyone I think that eats chicken will find it to be a fried chicken to be delicious. Right. Again, the world over almost, the story of how it was born out of oppression and slavery, for the most part, the fried chicken

that we all most are commonly associated with, that's a really tough story to tell. And if we can't talk about fried chicken, how are we supposed to talk about other things that are problematic in this world? So, and going backthem, the same questions I'd answer myself, and the reality is it's like it's a it's a responsibility that I think today in 2018 that we should know more about and

we should talk about and it's it's not easy to talk about. I mean I think you have to watch the episode because I think we're not try to answer any the conversation right because it's it it it it it it it it it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's it's the the the the the the the the the the the. It's the. It's just the the the the the the the the the the. It's the. It's the. It's the. It's the. the the. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the. It's. It's. I's. It's. I's. I's. I's. I's. It's. I's. It's. It's. It's. I's. I's. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thetrying to answer anything, we're just trying to start the conversation about that. Because it's just too dense of a topic. Do you feel like that's something people could do, like at restaurants, like the waiter should have to tell you about the history of the food when they give it to you? So you should be like, what they, to to to they, they, they, to they, they, the, to, th, th, th, th, th, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the... the, the, the, the, the, the, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. that, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, you're like, I'm gonna go with the rice, can I go to rice? No, it's not about that. I mean, certainly it could be, but we live in a world where there's so much information at your fingertips, like, why not go down that rabbit just a little bit? And you know, there's a scene in that fried chicken episode where it's not about fried chicken where I say to David like, hey, I would have a problem of someone that's not Korean starts making kimchi.

And he sort of smacks me down being like, you're an idiot, right? Like, America is about cultural appropriation when it's done very well. If that makes any sense. And I thought about that. And I was like, man, he's absolutely right. In the sense that the only way I'm going thi I thi I thi I thi tham I'm going I'm going I'm going I'm going I'm going to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get this person that's making kimchi to appreciate kimchi is to let them go down the rabbit hole. Right, right, right. And maybe

they're going to be the biggest advocate of it, but if I'm there judging them saying like you can't do this, right? Then I'm not making any progress there. So I feel the same way about fried chicken and I think that I could have been that that fried chicken th. th. th. the th. th. the th. th. the th. the th. th. th. the th. I's, th. I's, thi. I's, thi, thin, thi, thr-in, thridden, I's, I'm, I'm, I'm, the the the thr, thr, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the biggest, their, the biggest, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thr-in, thr-I's, throwne. thr-a. throwne. thr-a. throoooooomorrow, thr-a, thr-a, thr- love hot fried chicken so much. Of course, the first thing you want to do is pay homage. But it's a problem sometimes, right? It's a, what happens if you start killing the very thing that inspired you? You grew up as a child who was adopted. You were raised by white parents who loved you to the ends of the earth. But in this book you talk about something that many people struggle with every day and that is

the relationship of being a child who is adopted who is living in a trans racial household. Why is that so difficult? I think it's just difficult. I think given that a lot of the, first of all of the people go into adoption, not necessarily fully prepared to talk about race, which is, of course, crucial in a transracial adoption. You know, like my parents, for example, went in and they asked a lot of questions of a lot of different experts, social workers and judges and adoption attorneys, and they were basically told, don't worry about it.

You know, it's going to be okay no matter what, you don't really have to talk about this it's not going to be relevant and of course it very much was. Right, because you read in the book and you write about how you have this experience where your parents didn't talk to you about race at all. It was just ignored completely it's never mentioned and many people would agree with that. They would say but yes why why should your parents talk to you about race, Nicole because they don't see you as a color? They're a their daughter. So why do you think it would have been necessary or should be necessary for people to speak to their kids about race if they've adopted them? It's completely natural in a way for parents of course it doesn't affect like their love for their child. I wasn't like my

parents didn't think of me as their Korean child or their adopted child. I was just their child., of course, even if it didn't matter to them, it was going to matter a great deal of me in my life. It was going to matter. Other people would notice, they would comment. And I think also none of us were really prepared for all the questions that we got, you know, moving about in the world, because we kind of stood because in my life at home it wasn't really acknowledged or spoken about.

Your book takes us through such a painful, exciting, loving, wonderful journey where you begin to explore who you are and you have that yearning to find out the rest of your story. And that in of itself, I mean, you described in such detail is scary but at the same time really exciting. Why do you think it was so important for you to want to find to find to find to find to find to find who to find to find who to find to find to find to find to find to find to find to find to find to find to find to find to find to to to to to to to to to to to to thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thiful such a thiful thiful thiful thiful thiful thiful thiful thiful thiful thiful thiful thiful thiful thiful thi the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their painful, their their their but at the same time really exciting. Why do you think it was so important for you to want to find who your biological parents were, where you had these parents who loved you so much? I had thought about it for many years, and really for me, what was the final push was when I became pregnant with my first child. Up until that point, I thought of course about what it would feel like to have a child,

and to share my life life life life life lifethem but I hadn't really thought about how being adopted would affect them like what questions they might have and I remember so vividly sitting like at my first prenatal appointment getting all these questions about my medical history and like what my birth mother's pregnancy and her births were like and I had no answers and I suddenly just felt like this deep sense of fear and inadequacy that this was information I needed to have that my children might need to have so that was really the final push. You went out, you searched and you found

your answers. I don't want to give away a lot of the book but there is a beautiful connection that you made with a sibling who you discovered, your sister, I believe you have two, right? And a half-sister and a full sister, as you call them in the book, but you're very close to your sister. That is a really interesting relationship to have somebody who has been a stranger your whole life and let you feel like you've known them forever. Yes, she's an amazing person. And a lot of this book really it's her story as well as mine you kind of get both stories on a parallel tracks and then they intersect when we

finally meet and find out about each other and she's just an amazing person I feel so lucky to have her in my life my kids have always just known her because like we connected the same month that I gave birth but it's been interesting to talk with them about it just in terms of like they kind of take it for granted that like she's there, that we're together, that we have this family and these relationships we've recovered. But really we had to do a lot of work and it took a lot of effort and a lot of heartache to put our family back together in this way. So it's not something I'll ever take for granted. It's a story about a character, Willis Wu, who is a man who just dreams of making it big on the big screen. And what's beautiful and what resonates in the book is it talks about the challenges that

he faces in so many Asian Americans and Asians in America have faced with being represented on screen in a way that is not boiled down to stereotypes. Right. Yeah, I mean, it's, um, his dreams. So Willis, Willis' story is basically that he that he that he that he that he that he that he that he is that he is that he is that he is that that that that that that that that that that that that that thiiens, thiens, theemes, theemes, theems, who is just just just just just just just just just just just dreams, threemes, the is just dreams, who is just just dreams, who is just just just dreams, who is just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just, to to to to to to to to to to to to to thiiiiensens, thiens, threneneneneeeen, threeeeeeeeeeeeem, threeeeeean, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to thr. Right. Yeah, I mean, it's his dream. So Willis's story is basically that his job is to be generic Asian man on a show called Black and White. And so, you know, everyone's seen Law and Order. And you have the two leads in the front,

and they're discussing the case, and way in the back, pretty much out of focus, is like an Asian guy unloading a van. Right. I was like, what if you told the story from that guy's point of view? In the law and order universe. And I started to get interested in this world and exploring the world because the view from the bottom looks different than the view from where the leads are standing. It really is powerful because... You talk about in this book One Man's Journey,

but really a lot of this book deals with how Asians have been pushed to the side in America and a lot of storytelling. You know, some people have argued though that Asians have it good though because they go like, oh at least Asian people have the model minority thing to them so they're seen as less threatening and they're given more opportunities. But you have a different view on that idea. Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, the model minority is just sort of the age-old strategy of divide, you know, divide and conquer. And holding one group up justifies holding a group apart. And it's not just your sort of saying Asians have it good, you're kind of showing the other groups you could do it too, right? And also the fact is there are plenty of Asians who have not succeeded.

There are, the characters in this book are struggling. Economically, they're struggling to assimilate culturally. And that's a story that we don't see as often. We see in the media stories about Asian American success, but not always this story. In this book is, is a character who dreams of just getting to play the lead in a Kung Fu film. That's what he's dreaming of doing. Interestingly enough, though, and I mean, I get the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the they get they they they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're, they're, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they's, they're, they're, they're they're, they're, the the the...... the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. thean. thean. throooooooooooooooooooooome. thean. thean. thean. thean. thean. th what he's dreaming of doing. Interestingly enough, though, and I mean, I get why the character's doing it.

That's one of the things that you say, like always broke your heart in the smallest way when you'd be watching TV with your family, is you'd look up when you see an Asian person on the screen, you'd be like, wow mean that's exactly what's happening now is that I'm a dad and I'm my kids are old enough that we watch stories together and sort of I had made peace with being, you know, watching Asians on the side. But now they're old enough that I have to turn

and explain to them, you know, why is that guy doing a funny accent, you know, why is that person squinting their eyes and playing an Asian on tapapapapapapapap. on the Asian on their and their Asian on their and their and their, and their, and their, and th. thage, and thage, and thage, and thirty, and thirty, you, you, you, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th... I I I, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thousand, thousand, thousand, thousand, together, together, together, together, together, thou, and, thirty, thirty, and, thirty,inting their eyes and playing an Asian on TV? And you know, there has been a lot of progress. We see stories about Asians, but we still don't see enough. And we don't, I wanted to be able to, you know, explain to them. So I had to kind of work through it in this book. And you know, for instance, I was recently watching to me and it was like I felt uplifted and so did she. I could see in her eyes that this was something that we'd both remember. And at the same time we see things on TV where you sort of can't believe that that's still

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