The Racist Sandwich Podcast

Latest Episodes:

E23: Combating Hunger with Hawaiian Musubi (w/ Darrell Yuen) Mar 08, 2017

Show notes

One in five people in Portland are food insecure, according to the Oregon Food Bank. It's a statistic Darrell Yuen knows well. He spent years fighting hunger, including a stint at the Oregon Food Bank. But in 2016, he called it quits and decided he would fight hunger by starting a restaurant instead.

The result is Musubi, a small restaurant in Southeast Portland that serves Hawaii snack food. Darrell contributes a portion of every purchase to combat hunger and he sees his role not as a restaurateur but as a social entrepreneur. In this episode, we talk about how restaurants owners can give back to communities and how Darrell sees his restaurant as a way for him to embrace his Hawaiian identity.

Produced by Juan Ramirez. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions.

Bonus Episode: (Not) Feeding the Trolls (w/ Celeste Noche) Mar 07, 2017

Show notes

Do you remember our smash hit episode on racial signifiers in food photography featuring photog Celeste Noche? Since episode 14 came out last November, CBC has rerun the episode and Celeste has been interviewed about the subject by Quartz, the BBC, and Mic. And with greater exposure, the trolls have come out from under their bridge, showering Celeste and us with a lot of indignation over us claiming that eating tacos or using chopsticks is racist. (Hint: we never did.) We caught up with Celeste for a quick follow-up interview to talk about what the backlash is getting wrong and why she will, nevertheless, persist.

(We definitely suggest re-listening to episode 14 or reading some of the linked articles to refresh your memory of what initially discussed.)

E22: Traveling Better With Bani Amor Feb 23, 2017

Show notes

In part one, we talk about Soleil's new restaurant Bonito Kitchen in Puerto Vallarta and Zahir's hard hitting investigative journalism about Portland's best shawarma. In part two, Soleil interviews Bani Amor, a queer travel writer, photographer and activist from Brooklyn by way of Ecuador. Amor explores diasporic identities, the decolonization of travel culture, and the intersections of race, place, and power.

E21: New Look, Same Great Taste (w/ Alan Montecillo & Juan Ramirez) Feb 09, 2017

Show notes

It was bound to happen someday. Our killer founding producer and editor, Alan Montecillo, is leaving us (and Portland) to work as a producer on the 21st, a news and culture talk show from Illinois Public Media. We always knew his talents and Hufflepuffiness would take him somewhere great, and we're so excited to watch his career progress from afar.

In this episode, we say goodbye to Alan and introduce our new producer and editor, Juan Ramirez. Like Alan, Juan is an Oregon Public Broadcasting alum, and we first encountered his work through a piece he did for Think Out Loud. Called, "DACA Now: Returning To Mexico For The First Time In 17 Years," the gorgeous segment features Juan recalling a visit to his birthplace in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, to visit his relatives and ailing father. All of this is colored by the fact that Juan is a DACA grantee: an undocumented immigrant granted administrative relief from deportation because he was brought to the US as a child. Think Out Loud was generous enough to allow us to replay that segment on our show, and we think you'll love it just like we did.

One more thing: this didn't make it into the episode, but we're excited to announce that we've been nominated for a Digital Media: Culinary Audio Series award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP)! Woohoo!

E20: Talking in New Orleans in the Age of Trump (w/ Maurice Ruffin) Jan 25, 2017

Show notes

On our twentieth(!) episode, we continue our two-episode-long trend of having individual people share their stories. Maurice Ruffin is a writer and restauranteur in New Orleans. Here, he shares his essay "Talking in New Orleans in the Age of Trump," originally published in Lithub.

E19: Soleil's First Restaurant Job Jan 12, 2017

Show notes

A new episode is here! We did something a little different. Soleil shares a story of the first time she ever waited tables, and how it changed her life (but also, how it didn't).

She told this story at the Holocene in Portland, Oregon back in November. This recording was done by Pamela Santos at KBOO Community Radio. Enjoy!

P.S. We're still working out the kinks of recording a remote show, but rest assured we will be back to Peak Audio Quality soon.

E18: Fries Before Guys (w/ Randa Jarrar) Dec 29, 2016

Show notes

It's our last show of 2016! Soleil and Zahir (recording remotely for the first time) begin by distracting you from the news with their top five favorite things they ate this year.

Then, Zahir interviews Arab-American writer Randa Jarrar, author of the new collection of short stories Him, Me, Muhammad Ali. Randa has a lot of insightful things to say about Palestinian food, growing up in Kuwait during the First Gulf War, body image and what it means to be a fat femme, and much more.

E17: Hari Kondabolu Eats Beef Dec 15, 2016

Show notes

We're really excited about this one. Zahir and Alan (don't worry, Soleil will be back on the show soon!) interviewed Hari Kondabolu when he was in Portland. If you're not familiar with Hari and his work, fix your damn life and get on it!

We cover a lot of ground in this episode, including: the food at Bowdoin College, calling out racism in the age of Trump, and why Hari doesn't like being described as an "activist comedian." Plus, Hari unpacks an old joke he once told about vegan soul food, and talks about what he'd change.

E16: And You Tried to Change, Didn't You? (w/ Salimatu Amabebe) Dec 01, 2016

Show notes

How does it feel when your body doesn't fit the definition of "desirable," when no one around you looks the way you look, when taking up space seems like an insult toward the people around you? For this episode, we wanted to consider these questions in the context of eating disorders and how living in a racialized body complicates the mainstream narrative of who gets them. Our guest, Portland-based pop-up chef and caterer Salimatu Amabebe, was kind enough to speak with us about her experience with eating problems and how it informs her own body consciousness, her feelings about desirability, and her career as an independent chef. (Thank you for the title, Warsan Shire.)

Produced by Alan Montecillo. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions.

Want to help us continue to make more episodes like this? Support us on Patreon!

Links du jour

Eating Disorders Do Not Discriminate via Slate
N ot All Black Girls Know How to Eat
Mixed Fat Chick
Diagnosing the Asian American Eating Disorder via Mochi Mag
Nalgona Positivity Pride
Trans Folx Fighting Eating Disorders

Why This Show Matters Nov 24, 2016

Show notes

We've launched another crowdfunder! Instead of talking about why you should open your wallet for us, Alan collected three of his favorite clips from our podcast.

P.S. On this holiday, please also consider giving to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

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