Modern Minorities

Latest Episodes:

Let’s talk (about) Asian violence Mar 19, 2021

Show notes

With the events in Atlanta drawing greater attention to AAPI violence in America, we decided to sit down for a candid conversation Friday afternoon with friend of the pod Ryan Joe (Raman’s co-host on his other secret podcast). Look, we don’t have all the answers, but we need to start asking the questions.

MENTIONS

John Oliver (HBO) on the (coded) racist rhetoric: https://youtu.be/XMGxxRRtmHc

WHAT YOU CAN DO (sourced from Crooked Media)

Learning for Justice has put together a toolkit for how to respond to COVID-19 Anti-Asian racism: https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/how-to-respond-to-coronavirus-racism
Donate to the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund: https://www.aaldef.org/
Donate to the Asian Pacific Environmental Network http://apen4ej.org/
If you need support: Call 1-800-273-TALK, Asian languages: 1-877-990-8585, Text "CONNECT" to 741741
Or visit the Asian, Pacific Islander, and South Asian American (APISAA) Therapist Directory https://www.asianmhc.org/apisaa
Report hate and harassment: https://www.standagainsthatred.org/report

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Grace Foster finds (home in) herself Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

Grace Huber Foster doesn’t know her real birthday - she grew up in an orphanage in Seoul, South Korea. With no possessions to call her own, Grace was adopted at the age of ~5, to a couple in Wisconsin, and later moved in with a foster family with 19 other kids - and one bathroom. Growing up as the “oldest of the youngest third” came with a fair amount of challenges, but ultimately taught her how to survive (and thrive). Today, Grace works in the non-profit sector where she wants to uplift and inspire marginalized and forgotten communities. Grace happens to also be her MBA at NYU, where she’s energized by a bigger world of diverse voices and experiences. In a conversation that explores how identity shapes who are - and want to be- Grace shares her unique story, and how she chooses to navigate the world.

LEARN ABOUT GRACE

linkedin.com/in/gracehuberfoster
runpacers.com/blog/news/pacers-news/faces-of-pacers-grace-foster-dc-chapter-director

MENTIONS

FILM: “Knock Down the House” (2019 documentary featuring AOC) - imdb.com/title/tt9358052

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Pave the Way (for more): International Women’s Day Mar 08, 2021

Show notes

March is Women’s History Month - and for International Women’s Day, we wanted to hear from women paving the way for the next generation of business leaders: Kranthi Meka and Stacy DiStefano. Along with Sharon, both are members of CHIEF - a network connecting and supporting women leaders. Kranthi’s an SVP at Payactiv, modernizing pay between employers and employees, and Stacy’s the COO at Chimes, and a health and human services veteran. We sat down to talk about not just being a leader today (and influencing change for tomorrow), but their inspirations - and challenges - growing up. What expectations were placed on them. What do they wish they’d known sooner, or done differently? While we’ve come a long way towards EQUITY and equality, it’s clear we’ve still got a lot more work to do.

LEARN MORE

Stacy DiStefano: linkedin.com/in/stacy-olsen-distefano-347ba337
Kranthi Meka (TW: @kranthimv): linkedin.com/in/kranthimeka

MENTIONS

Chief.com
BOOK (Kranthi): Power of Intention (Wayne Dwyer): goodreads.com/book/show/19793.The_Power_of_Intention
BOOK (Stacey): Little Fires Everywhere (Celeste Ng): goodreads.com/book/show/51704136-little-fires-everywhere

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Black History, (to be) continued Feb 27, 2021

Show notes

We might be nearing the end of Black History Month, but Black History is never over. We are living it, and many are still making it. So we wanted to hear what Black History (Month) means to some of our (Black) friends. So we brought back past guests TESS THOMAS - traveler, photographer, talent director, and MATT STORY - host of the “What’s Your Story” podcast. You’ll hear about about how Black History was taught growing up - in school and at home. Beyond the history of Rosa Parks and MLK - what else were we hearing? Stories that go beyond the famous figures, but the dreamers, family, and founders - and also the history itself. What has been - and continues to be - the legacy of Black history and its role in OUR American society - the good, the bad, the ugly. It’s ain’t all up and to the right, and we have a lot of work to do. Because after all, Black history is AMERICAN history.

LEARN ABOUT...

MATT STORY: @mattestory, mattestory.com, Podcast: https://apple.co/2De6Tve
TESS THOMAS: @tesstafarian, thelaughingtraveler.com, yearup.org

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Jennifer Ekeleme makes her (own) American dream Feb 22, 2021

Show notes

Jennifer Ekeleme is “brand intuitive” and “high vibe” ...but mostly? She’s making her own path. After years charting a course in the NY ad industry - with experiences good, bad, and ugly - Jennifer took a step back. She even found herself out-of-country for (more than a few) months as the pandemic (and insanity) gripped our fair country. But now she’s back, and ready to go. “Classically trained and intentionally directed,” Jennifer provides an unconventional approach to creating sustainable solutions - working at the intersection of brand, equity, and mindfulness. But more than anything - she’s done navigating and assimilating. Jennifer’s charting her own path. Ain’t nothing going to break her stride. Oh no, she’s got to keep on moving...

LEARN ABOUT JENNIFER

jennzen.com
READ THIS (fire): https://adage.com/article/agency-news/uncomfortable-conversations-i-was-constantly-feeling-unsupported-and-unsafe/2261251
SOCIAL: instagram.com/_jennzen_ // twitter.com/jennzenstrategy

MENTIONS

FILM: Boomerang (1992): imdb.com/title/tt0103859
TV: Lovecraft Country (HBO): imdb.com/title/tt6905686
PERSON: Tope Awotona (Calendly Founder, Nigerian): twitter.com/TopeAwotona

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Chris Finn speaks the (kids’) language Feb 15, 2021

Show notes

Chris Finn is an education expert with 24+ years’ experience — as a Teacher, Principal, Dean, and Headmaster across public and charter schools. Today, Chris helps fight and dismantle systemic racism in the American school system - training teachers and administrators on Implicit Bias, Anti-Racism, Equity in Education, Social Emotional Learning, Culturally Responsive Teaching / Learning — to improve the social and academic outcomes for ALL students. Chris also happens to be a Hip-Hop MC who’s performed on stages around the world. Chris speaks code-switches amongst languages - but he’s an expert at the one that matters most - the one the kids relate to.

LEARN ABOUT CHRIS:

camb-ed.com/americas/article/281/chris-finn
Linkedin.com/in/christopher-finn-ma-ed-63ba57110/

MENTIONS

TV: The Wire (2002-08): imdb.com/title/tt0306414
CHRIS' MUSIC: eodub.com/bigzoo
CHRIS on our MM Educator’s Panel: https://bit.ly/3rxYrKH

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Bringing In the (Chinese) New Years Feb 08, 2021

Show notes

Gong Xi Fa Cai (恭喜發財)! As the Chinese New Year (Year of the Ox, FTW) approaches, Raman has NO idea what to do for his half-Chinese daughter. So with a little help from their friends - Sharon & Raman invite friends-of-the-pod Alice Hsu (from our teachers’ episode) and Ryan Joe (co-host of Raman’s other secret comic book podcast) to share their childhood memories, family traditions, and plans for this year’s celebration. What’s with the Lion (or is it a Dragon?) dance? Who stuffs their dumplings with coins? Who’s getting the red envelopes (and who’s not)? Regardless of the food you eat and games you play, the Chinese New Year (February 12, 2021) is about blessings and good for you and your loved ones...

LEARN ABOUT

Alice Hsu on MM: https://bit.ly/3rxYrKH
Ryan Joe on MM: https://bit.ly/3aDwzhH
Quarantined Comics (Ryan & Raman's other podcast): qtdcomics.com

MENTIONS

LAI SEE: wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_envelope
TV: Journey to the West (1996) - imdb.com/title/tt1459024
PLAY: Monkey: Journey to the West (2008 Rock Opera) - wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey:_Journey_to_the_West

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Tess Thomas gets (outside) her comfort zone Feb 01, 2021

Show notes

Tess Thomas wears many interesting hats - by day she’s the Director of Talent @ Paradigm Strategy, a leading diversity, equity, and inclusion firm. But Tess is also an avid world traveler and foodie photographer. For her all things are fed (literally) by her obsession to see the world and get outside of her comfort zone. After living in Argentina for 3 years and traveling around South America, she developed a wanderlust and perspective that understands what it’s like to be an outsider on the inside, but also an insider on the outside. Whether it’s passing, or managing a dating life that faces many things most of us don’t have to deal with, you’ll want to understand more about Tess’ experiences as a mixed race woman in America - and beyond

LEARN ABOUT TESS:

Instagram: @tesstafarian
thelaughingtraveler.com
yearup.org

MENTIONS

BOOK: How to Kill a City (Peter Moskowitz) - goodreads.com/book/show/30652247-how-to-kill-a-city
FILM: the Intouchables (2011) - imdb.com/title/tt1675434/
PERSON: Dermot Kennedy (Dublin singer/songwriter) - DermotKennedy.com

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Andres Barragan’s (restless) reinvention Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

Andres Barragan was born in Bogota, Colombia, growing up as a drug war raged. He spent his life wandering across Paris, Taipei, the Mayan Riviera, the American Midwest, New England, the Delaware Valley...and Brooklyn. He’s had the on-again, off-again relationship with the big business jobs, but also spent his time in shipping containers on Mexican beaches convincing people to eat (South Asian inspired) poisonous lionfish tacos...to save the planet? For Andres, life is a patchwork of experiences and influences, with bursts of creativity and spells of tedium. Why can’t Andres kick his quest for reinvention? He blames a vanilla, middle-class upbringing. We just think he doesn't wanna stand still...

LEARN ABOUT ANDRES:

linkedin.com/in/anbar
bullish.co

MENTIONS:

FILM: The 400 Blows (1959) - imdb.com/title/tt0053198
BOOK: The Island at the Center of the World (Russell Shorto) - goodreads.com/book/show/45000.The_Island_at_the_Center_of_the_World
PERSON: David Lynch (Director) - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lynch

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Maria Yuan wants (YOU) to be an Issue Voter Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

Maria Yuan is the founder of IssueVoter.org - helping give everyone a voice in our (US) representative democracy. This felt like a good conversation to have with Inauguration around the corner =)

Maria never set out to work in politics, but she found her calling on a work sabbatical (from a big Finance job) managing a State Senate campaign in Iowa. The more she dug in, the more she realized how inaccessible the entire process was and asked herself “How can we extend engagement beyond elections and keep elected officials accountable? How can we help everyone understand laws that will affect their daily lives? And how can people take action in the most effective way?” Several years (and a lot of hard work) later, IssueVoter was born.

IssueVoter makes civic engagement accessible by identifying the bills YOU care most about, summarizing them into plain English, and lets you send opinions directly to your Rep - keeping Congress accountable by providing a personalized scorecard of how your Rep. voted for the issues you care most about. If you care about our democracy, this is one conversation you have to hear (and app you’ve got to try).

LEARN ABOUT MARIA:

WEBSITE: IssueVoter

Instagram: IssueVoter

Twitter: IssueVoter

LinkedIn: Maria Yuan

MENTIONS:

FILM: Contact (1997)

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