Hmonglish

Latest Episodes:

This Hmong Man Served 27 Years in the Army (feat. Yee Hang) Jun 12, 2024

Show notes

Welcome back to Hmonglish! This is a bit of a bittersweet episode because this is the last episode of season 4. We are currently working through the next steps for the podcast and we will keep you posted, seeing as though we don’t have additional material after today’s episode. Any updates will be shared here and on our Instagram @hmonglishpod.
As for today’s episode, we have a really good one, featuring an outstanding member of the Hmong community. His name is Yee Hang and he is a retired army colonel. He currently works as a contract manager for 3M, but before that, he served in the army for 27 years. One of his most notable positions was director of Land Supplier Operations at Land and Maritime for the United States Logistics Agency. That’s a mouthful, and if you have no idea what that entails, don’t worry. Not many people do. Mr. Hang will explain! His story is incredible and you’ll want to hear it.
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If you like the show, remember to give us a 5-star review on Apple or Spotify.
Please be sure to tell a friend about the show! Remember, you can also find Hmonglish on YouTube! Be sure to like and subscribe there, and leave a comment if you feel inclined to do so.
For all updates on the show, follow us on Instagram @hmonglishpod.
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Hmonglish is brought to you by Herizon Builders.
Locally owned and operated in the heart of St. Paul, Minnesota, Herizon have been the go-to experts in storm damage for roofing, siding, and gutters for 8 years.
Their services range from damage assessment, insurance claims, material consultations, repair, and restoration.
Herizon Builders, is passionate about ensuring every homeowner feels valued, providing unparalleled service at every stage of the home improvement journey.
The cornerstone of Herizon’s business philosophy is giving back to the community. Over the past 7 years, they have donated over $27,000 to local initiatives, underscoring their dedication to making a positive impact.
Get started with Herizon Builders today and request a quote online at herizonbuilders.com or call 651-447-0212

She's Creating the World's First Hmong Museum (feat. Mai Vang) Jun 05, 2024

Show notes

Today we have Mai Vang with us. She’s Founder and Executive Director of the Hmong Museum based in St. Paul, MN. She has over a decade of experience in the museum field as a registrar, curator, and collections manager. Her full-time job is as a Volunteer and Intern Program Manager at the Minnesota Historical Society and she has her master's in anthropology.
The Hmong Museum is the first and currently only museum dedicated to the preservation and education of Hmong culture, history, stories, and arts. They do this through the creation of programs that document Hmong history, exhibit Hmong culture, and share Hmong stories.
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Please be sure to tell a friend about the show! Remember, you can also find Hmonglish on YouTube! Be sure to like and subscribe there, and leave a comment if you feel inclined to do so.
For all updates on the show, follow us on Instagram @hmonglishpod.
-
Hmonglish is brought to you by Herizon Builders.
Locally owned and operated in the heart of St. Paul, Minnesota, Herizon have been the go-to experts in storm damage for roofing, siding, and gutters for 8 years.
Their services range from damage assessment, insurance claims, material consultations, repair, and restoration.
Herizon Builders, is passionate about ensuring every homeowner feels valued, providing unparalleled service at every stage of the home improvement journey.
The cornerstone of Herizon’s business philosophy is giving back to the community. Over the past 7 years, they have donated over $27,000 to local initiatives, underscoring their dedication to making a positive impact.
Get started with Herizon Builders today and request a quote online at herizonbuilders.com or call 651-447-0212

He Abandoned His Career to Become a Farmer (feat. Pheng Her) May 29, 2024

Show notes

Hey everyone!
On today’s episode, we have Pheng Her. Pheng is an interesting guy because he has lived a very long life and he’s only in his early 30s.
He was pursuing bodybuilding at one point and then he spent most of his 20s chasing the most prestigious position at his office job. He became so burnt out that he just decided to, well, become a farmer.
He lives on a homestead with his wife and two kids. They raise poultry, goats, and they even keep honey bees. His business is called Guerrilla Pastures. His goal is to return to the Twin Cities – he was raised in North Minneapolis – and bring his gardening philosophy to an urban environment. His love for gardening comes from his mother, and even though they grew up poor, it was through this meditative practice that he began to glimpse his life’s purpose at a young age.
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Please be sure to tell a friend about the show! Remember, you can also find Hmonglish on YouTube! Be sure to like and subscribe there, and leave a comment if you feel inclined to do so.
For all updates on the show, follow us on Instagram @hmonglishpod.
-
Hmonglish is brought to you by Herizon Builders.
Locally owned and operated in the heart of St. Paul, Minnesota, Herizon have been the go-to experts in storm damage for roofing, siding, and gutters for 8 years.
Their services range from damage assessment, insurance claims, material consultations, repair, and restoration.
Herizon Builders, is passionate about ensuring every homeowner feels valued, providing unparalleled service at every stage of the home improvement journey.
The cornerstone of Herizon’s business philosophy is giving back to the community. Over the past 7 years, they have donated over $27,000 to local initiatives, underscoring their dedication to making a positive impact.
Get started with Herizon Builders today and request a quote online at herizonbuilders.com or call 651-447-0212

How Do We Keep Hmong Culture Alive? (feat. Grace & Molly Vang) May 22, 2024

Show notes

Today, we have a pair of sisters on the show, Molly and Grace Vang!
Molly is the older of the two and a stay-at-home mom who runs a ridiculously beautiful clothing and lifestyle brand on Etsy.
Her sister, Grace, is a content creator who focuses on her successful Instagram page. She also does some freelance modeling on the side.
This was the first podcast they’ve ever done, and so they were a little nervous, but we thought they did a great job. We'll mention that we forgot to turn off the A/C in the restaurant so there was quite a bit of noise in the background. We did our best to quiet that down a bit. Thanks for understanding!
Please be sure to tell a friend about the show! Remember, you can also find Hmonglish on YouTube! Be sure to like and subscribe there, and leave a comment if you feel inclined to do so.
For all updates on the show, follow us on Instagram @hmonglishpod.
-
Hmonglish is brought to you by Herizon Builders.
Locally owned and operated in the heart of St. Paul, Minnesota, Herizon have been the go-to experts in storm damage for roofing, siding, and gutters for 8 years.
Their services range from damage assessment, insurance claims, material consultations, repair, and restoration.
Herizon Builders, is passionate about ensuring every homeowner feels valued, providing unparalleled service at every stage of the home improvement journey.
The cornerstone of Herizon’s business philosophy is giving back to the community. Over the past 7 years, they have donated over $27,000 to local initiatives, underscoring their dedication to making a positive impact.
Get started with Herizon Builders today and request a quote online at herizonbuilders.com or call 651-447-0212

Storytelling Is the CORE of Hmong Culture (feat. Jeremy Thao) May 15, 2024

Show notes

Today, we have the pleasure of bringing the Atlanta-based filmmaker Jeremy Thao on the show. He is the director of an excellent short film called Wokman, which is about a single day in a Chinese restaurant. Now, Jeremy is Hmong. Why did he choose a Chinese family? Well, you’ll have to wait and see. What you need to know about Wokman is that it’s totally blowing up right now. It was in the Atlanta Film Festival, which is a big deal because it’s one of only film festivals in the world that qualifies for Academy Awards in all three short film categories.
So yeah, we’ve got a great episode for you today. One of the best parts is when Jeremy talks about storytelling. He actually feels the most Hmong when he’s telling stories. Why? Because telling stories is encoded within the DNA of the Hmong people. Whether it be through oral traditions or story cloths, the Hmong have always used narrative to illustrate their history.
But as Jeremy shares in this episode, preserving Hmong history has been a challenge, because the Hmong had no written language until the early 1950s when Christian missionaries and Hmong advisers created the Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA) in Laos. The RPA is notable for how it communicates pronunciation and focuses less on the words themselves.
You’re gonna a learn a lot in this episode. You’re gonna be inspired. You’re gonna be moved. And we’re so excited to share it with you. Remember to tell a friend about the show. Remember, you can also find Hmonglish on YouTube! Be sure to like and subscribe on there, and leave a comment if you feel inclined to do so.
For all updates on the show, follow us on Instagram @hmonglishpod.
-
Hmonglish is brought to you by Herizon Builders.
Locally owned and operated in the heart of St. Paul, Minnesota, Herizon have been the go-to experts in storm damage for roofing, siding, and gutters for 8 years.
Their services range from damage assessment, insurance claims, material consultations, repair, and restoration.
Herizon Builders, is passionate about ensuring every homeowner feels valued, providing unparalleled service at every stage of the home improvement journey.
The cornerstone of Herizon’s business philosophy is giving back to the community. Over the past 7 years, they have donated over $27,000 to local initiatives, underscoring their dedication to making a positive impact.
Get started with Herizon Builders today and request a quote online at herizonbuilders.com or call 651-447-0212

The Value of Suffering and Surrender (feat. Ming-Jinn Tong) May 08, 2024

Show notes

Hey, folks! We are thrilled to be back for season 4 of Hmonglish, and we’ve got a lot of great conversations coming your way. You’ll hear from Hmong entrepreneurs, Hmong influencers, Hmong veterans, and Hmong scholars.
But today, for this first episode, Yia isn’t speaking to a Hmong person at all. He’s speaking to a Chinese American man named Ming-Jinn Tong. If you’re a regular listener of the podcast, you’ll know that Ming-Jinn has been on the podcast twice already: once for a prerecorded episode and once for a live episode.
Ming-Jinn is one of Yia’s best friends. They go way back. He’s also an incredibly gifted speaker and thinker. So we brought him back to the show for a third time to interview Yia about all the stuff going on in his life, and there has been a lot going on in Yia’s life.
First off, Yia is still recovering from a nasty health scare: he had an infected hematoma in his leg, which got so out of control that he had to get multiple surgeries to save his leg and, really, his life.
On top of all this, Yia has been hard at work getting his new restaurant, Vinai, prepped and ready for the public to enjoy.
Even more, he continues to have his frequent TV and media engagements, so there has been a lot going on.
Today’s episode is all about taking a pause to check in, and what better way to do that than between two very close friends.
Remember, you can also find Hmonglish on YouTube! Be sure to like and subscribe on there, and leave a comment if you feel inclined to do so.
For all updates on the show, follow us on Instagram, @hmonglishpod.
-
Hmonglish is brought to you by Herizon Builders.
Locally owned and operated in the heart of St. Paul, Minnesota, Herizon have been the go-to experts in storm damage for roofing, siding, and gutters for 8 years.
Their services range from damage assessment, insurance claims, material consultations, repair, and restoration.
Herizon Builders, is passionate about ensuring every homeowner feels valued, providing unparalleled service at every stage of the home improvement journey.
The cornerstone of Herizon’s business philosophy is giving back to the community. Over the past 7 years, they have donated over $27,000 to local initiatives, underscoring their dedication to making a positive impact.
Get started with Herizon Builders today and request a quote online at herizonbuilders.com or call 651-447-0212

Growing Up Queer in a Hmong Household: The Story of Phillipe Thao Oct 06, 2023

Show notes

This episode is a recording of our September 19th live show, which was filmed at the Union Hmong Kitchen on Lake Street in partnership with SPAM.
We are so grateful to everyone at SPAM and Hormel who supported this event. Everyone in attendance was treated to goodie bags and delicious appetizers, which came in the form of SPAM fried rice and SPAM musubi. both of which were made with their new maple flavor.
Our host, Chef Yia Vang, spoke with Los Angeles-based writer Phillipe Thao about his experiences growing up as a Hmong kid and how queerness plays a role in Hmong culture. Phillipe works at Netflix and is very much immersed in the world of media. But how does he retain his Hmongness? How does he value his heritage? Trust me, you’ll want to hear the whole thing. It’s a fascinating conversation.
Thanks as always for listening. Be sure to follow the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or whenever you get your shows. If you like what you hear, give us a five-star review! Also, be sure to find us on YouTube, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook @hmonglishpod

Hmonglish LIVE (Full Recording) May 31, 2023

Show notes

Hey, folks! We're back to bring you a very special episode.
On May 23rd, we held our first live show at Yia Vang’s Hilltribe popup space in uptown Minneapolis. It was a resounding success and we are so excited to share it with you here.
Before we get into that, please know that we are working hard on creating future seasons and events for Hmonglish. Please sit tight, but in the meantime, keep up with us on Instagram and Facebook @hmonglishpod. There is also a video version of today’s show going on YouTube. Please consider subscribing to that channel!
Ok, here it is, Hmonglish LIVE!
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All music courtesy of a paid creative license with Artlist

Xee Reiter: Abandoning Traditional Roles as a Hmong Woman (For Art) Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

Hey, folks!
You’re about to listen to the last episode of season 3. Don’t worry, we are already working on the foundation of season 4 and we’re even planning a live show in late spring. We’re going to be taking a break from regular episodes for a while, but we will drop bonus content in the meantime. And be sure to follow us on social media for updates.
Today’s episode is one of our personal favorites. We’ve got Xee Reiter with us. She’s an artist based in Minnesota whose life trajectory started on a very traditional route. A traditional marriage. A traditional Hmong wife. But she refused to accept this as her destiny. She took her life into her own hands and threw herself into the art world.
Since then, she has produced an incredibly prolific body of work across art murals and exhibits – she’s even done some work with Yia. We think you’ll find her story inspiring and, hopefully, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to laugh because these two are hilarious when they get together.

Sophia Vuelo: The First Hmong American Judge in Minnesota Mar 15, 2023

Show notes

Hey, folks!
Today we have Judge Sophia Vuelo as our guest. This incredible woman was the first Hmong American judge in Minnesota and the second to be appointed in the country.
She arrived here over 40 years ago when her family fled Laos due to the Vietnam War. Her father died before she was born and her mother, with 7 children in tow, came to Eau Claire, Wisconsin to start a new life.
Her story is beautiful and awe-inspiring, but I’ll let you hear it from her.
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If you like the show, leave us a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and be sure to subscribe. The same goes for our YouTube channel: if you like what you’re seeing, give us a like, a comment, and subscribe to the channel.
If you haven’t done so already, follow us on social media on Facebook and Instagram: @hmonglishpod.
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Support for Hmonglish comes from SolarPod, an Immigrant-founded and owned company that makes and installs the Z-Rack, no-roof-hole racking system.
Proudly manufactured in Shakopee, Minnesota, this product is designed to eliminate the use of fossil fuel compounds that are often used in solar installations. Not only that, but the z-rack preserves the integrity of your roof in the process.
The SolarPod Z-Rack: revolutionary solar innovation made radically simple.
Get a quote for your home or business at mysolarpod.com
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All music courtesy of a paid creative license with Artlist

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