Hmonglish

Latest Episodes:

Tou Lo: Marine, Firefighter, Entrepreneur (What Can't He Do?) Mar 08, 2023

Show notes

Hi, folks. Welcome to episode 4 of season 3. Today we have Tou Lo with us, who is an incredible individual. Listen to this: the guy is both a former marine and a former firefighter. You don’t meet many of those!
Today, he is the owner of Yelo Autosports, which is an auto detailing service based in Little Canada, Minnesota.
He is a wonderful human being and he shared a lot with us during this episode, including his recent trip to Laos, in which he reconnected with his Hmong roots in order to really see and feel the place his parents came from.
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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

Sheng Elizabeth Lor: Am I Hmong Enough? Mar 01, 2023

Show notes

Hey folks, welcome back to Hmonglish.
This is episode 3, which means we are halfway through the season because we typically record the show in batches of 6 episodes.
As you know, we release the show on Wednesdays, so that means the next two episodes will be released on March 8th and March 15th.
Today’s episode is with Sheng Elizabeth Lor. It is just about impossible to describe this woman because she is so many wonderful things all at once, so what we'll say is this: she’s a good friend of Yia’s, she is based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and she runs a company called the Social X Change project, which can be described as a digital creation platform that focuses on uplifting marginalized communities in arts and activism.
She is also an editor for the Hmong American Experience, which is the largest Hmong media organization in the world. This woman is so incredible and so inspiring, and we can’t wait for you to hear 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.
-
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
-
All music courtesy of a paid creative license with Artlist

Pahoua & Brian Yang Hoffman: The Expectations Placed on Hmong Dating and Marriage Feb 22, 2023

Show notes

Hey, everyone! We’re hoping that you enjoyed last week’s episode and we’re super excited to bring you another one.
Today, we’re featuring Brian and Pahoua Yang Hoffman. Brian is an entrepreneur who currently owns Yeah Yeah Taco in Minneapolis. Pahoua is the Senior Vice President of Government & Community Relations for HealthPartners, which is a massive nonprofit healthcare provider based in Minnesota
Pahoua was with us last season and we really enjoyed our time with her. But this time, we wanted bring her husband along so that we could talk about relationships from a multicultural perspective.
Because, here’s the thing: Brian is white – he’s Jewish – and Pahoua is Hmong. When she was with us last season, she specifically spoke about how it was expected of her to marry a hmong man and so we wanted both her and her husband to dive into the nuances of this situation and many others.
Brian and Pahoua are brilliant individuals and they bring a lot of wisdom to the relationship conversation – which you’d expect from two people who've been married for almost 20 years.
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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, be sure to follow us on social media on Facebook and Instagram: @hmonglishpod.
-
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
-
All music courtesy of a paid creative license with Artlist

Tsai Thao: The First-Ever Hmong Model Featured in Times Square & NY Fashion Week Feb 15, 2023

Show notes

Thank you for stopping by to listen today! We are thrilled to be doing a third season of this show. We have been fortunate enough to step things up on the production side and we now film and record at an actual studio, called Muze, which is in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The studio is run by two Hmong women, Milly and Elmo, and they have been a major help in making this season look better than ever.
Speaking of looking better, we put a lot of work into the video content for this season, so please, if you are more of a visual person, hop on over to our YouTube channel to check that out.
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As for today’s episode, we have Tsai Thao, who became the first Hmong model to be featured on a billboard in Times Square in New York City. Not only that, but she has walked in New York Fashion Week and many other shows across the country.
She is with Yia today to talk about what it took to become a successful, nationally recognized model, and it might not be what you think.
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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, be sure to follow us on social media on Facebook and Instagram: @hmonglishpod.
We'd also like to offer a word from our sponsor, SolarPod, makers and installers of the revolutionary Z-Rack solar panel, proudly manufactured in Shakopee, Minnesota.
The Z-rack is designed to eliminate the use of fossil fuel compounds that are often used in solar installations and preserve the integrity of your roof in the process.
The SolarPod Z-Rack is solar made 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

Hmonglish Shorts: These Three Hmong Teenagers Answered Challenging Questions about Their Heritage Nov 02, 2022

Show notes

Hey, folks. We're excited to bring you another segment of Hmonglish Shorts as we continue to work on season 3.
For those of you who don’t know, Hmonglish Shorts is a segment we created to give you some extra content in between full episodes. These were all recorded over the summer with our previous co-host, Gia Vang, and they are meant to capture the thoughts and opinions of Hmong people, out and about, as they live their lives.
All these interviews were recorded at Hmongtown Marketplace in St. Paul, MN, which is a hotspot for Hmong culture in the Midwest.
Today’s episode features three Hmong teenagers who have a lot of wonderful things to share about their culture, and we’re excited to give them a chance to speak.
As always, please be aware that this was recorded during a busy time at the market, so there is a bit of background noise.
Also, when speaking to these three teenagers, we gave each of them a mic. We did not have a fourth mic for Gia, so she is the background asking the questions. You can’t really hear her that well, so our producer Matt will be stepping in with voiceovers as her replacement.
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If you enjoy the show, let us know by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Be sure to check out the show on Instagram and Facebook.
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Produced by Gleam Tower Media

All music courtesy of Artlist

Hmonglish Shorts: This Hmong Immigrant from Thailand is Trying to Preserve Her Heritage Oct 26, 2022

Show notes

Hey folks! Welcome back to Hmonglish.
We are currently hard at work on season 3, so in the meantime, we wanted to release another segment of our Hmonglish shorts segment, which is an interview series conducted by our previous co-host, Gia Vang.
We spoke with a Hmong immigrant from Thailand, currently raising her family in Minnesota. She is also joined by her adorable daughter, who you can hear in the background.
As per usual, I want to let you know that these segments are recorded during peak business hours at the Hmongtown Marketplace in St. Paul, Minnesota, so there is a bit of background noise, but we felt it was an appropriate place to meet and connect with different Hmong folks in our local area.

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If you enjoy the show, let us know by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Be sure to check out the show on Instagram and Facebook.
-
Produced by Gleam Tower Media

All music courtesy of Artlist

Season 2 Finale | Speaking with Chef Thony Yang about Family, Food, and Restaurants Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

Hey, folks!
First of all, thank you for your patience in waiting for this one. You’re about to hear the sixth episode of season 2, which marks the end of this season. We’ll be taking a short break after this but, don’t worry, we plan on being back for a third.
The second thing you should know is that today’s episode features one of the finest Hmong chefs in the Twin Cities: Thony Yang. He is the chef de cuisine at Mara, which is a restaurant in the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel in Minneapolis. It was really fun listening to him and Yia connect on food, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as we did.
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If you enjoy the show, let us know by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Be sure to check out the show on Instagram and Facebook.
-
Produced by Gleam Tower Media

All music courtesy of Artlist

Hmonglish Shorts: "Passing Down Hmong Culture to My Children is a Challenge" Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

Hey folks! Welcome back to another Wednesday.
Right off the bat, we have some great news. We finally scheduled a shoot date for season 2 episode 6 of the podcast, and we’re expecting to release it a week from today. This will be the final episode of season 2 and we're very excited to put it out because it’s gonna be a good one.
So in the meantime, we have another segment of Hmonglish shorts.
If you didn’t catch the full explanation last week, we will be periodically releasing short interviews with Hmong people that we recorded earlier this year at HmongTown Marketplace in St. Paul. These interviews were facilitated by our previous cohost, Gia Vang, and represent a snapshot of how Hmong people are thinking about their culture today.
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If you enjoy the show, let us know by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Be sure to check out the show on Instagram and Facebook.
Oh, and our YouTube channel is finally here!
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Produced by Gleam Tower Media

All music courtesy of Artlist

Hmonglish Shorts: Interviewing a 9-Year-Old Hmong Girl About Her Culture Sep 28, 2022

Show notes

Introducing our new series: Hmonglish Shorts!
At this very moment, Yia is overseas working on a few projects, so we aren’t able to release any new episodes right now.
But, lucky for you, we have some stuff in the vault that you haven’t heard yet.
Back when we still had our co-host, Gia Vang, she and the producer would periodically interview Hmong people at HmongTown Marketplace in St. Paul to get their thoughts on what their identity and their heritage mean to them.
We figured it would be cool to release some of these recordings and call them "Hmonglish Shorts." I don’t like to leave you folks hanging when we don’t have an episode, so I figured this would be a fun way to stay in touch with you all.
And so I am thrilled to debut the first one today, which is one of my favorites.
Her name is Kalia Diana Yang, and she is an adorable 9-year-old who was willing to sit down with us and chat.
Please keep in mind that there is a bit of background noise since we were at the market during peak hours.
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If you enjoy the show, let us know by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Be sure to check out the show on Instagram and Facebook.
Oh, and our YouTube channel is finally here!
-
Produced by Gleam Tower Media

All music courtesy of Artlist

Reframing Hmong-ness in Our Professional Careers Sep 21, 2022

Show notes

Hi all! Welcome back to Hmonglish
There are two quick things I want to mention before we start.
The first thing is that we are VERY excited about this guest. Her name is Pahoua Yang Hoffman and she is the Senior Vice President of Government & Community Relations for HealthPartners, which is a massive nonprofit healthcare provider based in Minnesota. She is a good friend of Yia’s and she came to the table today with a lot of fascinating insights into Hmong culture. She’s brilliant and thoughtful – with a fascinating career history, and I can’t wait for you to learn more about her.
Second, I want to apologize for not bringing you an episode last week Wednesday.
For season 2 thus far, we’ve been doing a weekly cadence every Wednesday. A season of Hmonglish is six episodes. I’m sure many of you expected episode 5 to come out last week and not today.
Our production schedule has been a bit behind due to scheduling issues with guests and trying to work around Yia’s super busy itinerary. As many of you know, Yia's career is blowing up right now, and he’s being pulled in a lot of different directions, so we’re doing our best to work with that. He will be heading out of the country this week and we’re expecting him back within the next two weeks. With that being said, I can’t promise that we’ll have episode 6 out next week Wednesday.
Thank you so much for your patience and understanding. We are incredibly thankful to have such a passionate, kind, and engaged fanbase, and we want to make sure we’re being open and honest with our communication on all matters relating to the show.
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If you enjoy the show, let us know by leaving a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Be sure to check out the show on Instagram and Facebook.
Oh, and our YouTube channel is finally here!
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Produced by Gleam Tower Media

All music courtesy of Artlist

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