A Conversation with Writer, Producer, Director, and Author of Transplants Daniel Tam-Claiborne
Release Date: 08/04/2025
A Conversation with XiXi Tian, Lawyer and Acclaimed Author of All the Way Around the Sun
Asian American History 101
Welcome to Season 6, Episode 5! Our guest today is who is both a lawyer and acclaimed author. Her latest work is the novel , a YA Romance that focuses on themes of belonging, identity, and overcoming trauma. In it, the main character Stella, a Chinese-American protagonist who’s forced into a college roadtrip with her childhood friend turned rival. Their complicated history is made even more difficult as Stella navigates how to overcome the grief of a recent family tragedy. We love how it’s a complex story with some familiar themes, and really showcases the difficulties of...
info_outline
The History of The Patel Motel Phenomenon Part 1
Asian American History 101
Welcome to Season 6, Episode 04! When it comes to immigrant groups in the U.S., especially Asian Pacific immigrant groups, it’s not unusual to see certain industries become almost synonymous with specific communities of people. We saw it with Chinese laundromats, Thai restaurants, Vietnamese nail salons, Cambodian donut shops, and more. For Indian Americans, one of those industries was the motel business. So in this episode, we’re here to share the origin and history of the Patel Motels as well as how families got into the business in the first place. We also share some of the...
info_outline
A Conversation with V.T. Bidania, Author of A Year Without Home
Asian American History 101
Welcome to Season 6, Episode 3! Our guest today is the amazing author . She is of Hmong descent and was born in Laos and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. A prolific author with over 20 titles published already, her latest work is the very personal fictionalized memoir which details her family’s escape from Laos after the end of the Secret War in Laos and the Vietnam War. A Year Without Home was released on January 13, 2026 and published by Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers. It’s her debut middle grade novel and written in a unique style with lyrical verse. Told...
info_outline
The History of Ube
Asian American History 101
Welcome to Season 6, Episode 2 ! Have you been caught up in the ube craze? For many people, especially in Southeast Asia, it’s not a trend, it’s a beloved food staple. This is most true in the Philippines where Ube is ubiquitous with many of their sweets. So in this episode, we talk ube… What is it? How is it used? What contributed to its rise in popularity, and more. We also take time to explain the differences between ube, Okinawan sweet potato, and taro, and we wax poetic about our ube memories. Finally, we take time to talk about some specific restaurants (like in...
info_outline
A Conversation with Peter Jae, Actor, Writer, and the Star of The Workout
Asian American History 101
Welcome to Season 6, Episode 01! Happy New Year! Our guest today is Peter Jae, a multi-hyphenate performer in Hollywood. Peter Jae is an actor, stunt performer, producer, and multidisciplinary creative with over two decades of experience working across film, television, and independent projects. Born in Brooklyn and raised primarily in the Bronx—with time spent in Queens as well—Peter grew up navigating identity as a Korean American in predominantly Black and Latinx neighborhoods. Those early experiences deeply shaped his worldview and continue to inform the stories he chooses to...
info_outline
Season 5 Review
Asian American History 101
Welcome to Season 5, Episode 52! This is it, the final episode of Season 5! As we close out 2025, we take a moment to reflect on the guests we’ve had on the show as well as the different topics we’ve talked about. We’d link them all here, but it would take a LOT of space to honor everyone. So let’s just say that we’ve had a great year, highlighted by some very special guests. Our guests this season included well-known academics like Gordon H. Chang, Ann Ishimaru, and Beth Lew-Williams; entertainers from the stage and screen like Olivia Cheng, Troy Iwata, and Nancy Wang;...
info_outline
A Conversation with Andrea Wang, Award-Winning Author of the Picture Book Worthy The Brave and Capable Life of Joseph Pierce
Asian American History 101
Welcome to Season 5, Episode 51! Our guest today is the award-winning children’s book author, . She’s written several books and been recognized with many awards including The Newbery Honor and Caldecott Medal. Andrea’s latest picture book is , a notable Chinese American who fought during the Civil War and, beyond all odds, earned naturalized citizenship. We love how she’s unafraid of tackling some heavy topics that include racism, discrimination, and belonging. The beautiful picture book is illustrated by Youa Vang, If you’re looking for some of Andrea’s...
info_outline
A Conversation with Professor Ann M Ishimaru, Co-Editor and Author of Doing the Work of Equity Leadership for Justice and Systems Change
Asian American History 101
Welcome to Season 5, Episode 50! Our guest today is doing important work in researching educational change. is an award-winning scholar, writer, educator and the Killinger Endowed Chair and Professor of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Policy at the University of Washington College of Education. Her latest book is , it was published this September by Teachers College Press. This collection of research and writing that she contributed to as both an author and co-editor is created with Dr. Decoteau Irby, and it takes a deep examination of DEI initiatives and the process of change...
info_outline
The History of API in Formula 1 Racing
Asian American History 101
Welcome to Season 5, Episode 49! Vroooommmm!!! We’re exploring the story of Asian Pacific Islanders in Formula 1… and this is something we actually know a bit about. This is a sport long dominated by Europeans and a handful of South Americans, but there has been a small group of drivers of Asian Pacific descent who have made an impact in recent years. We’ll share a little about F1 racing in general as well as when API began making their mark in the sport. In addition to recent drivers like (our favorite), , , and now Arvid Lindblad, we’ll also talk about a few engineers,...
info_outline
A Conversation with Karin K Jensen, Award-Winning Writer and Author of the Memoir The Strength of Water
Asian American History 101
Welcome to Season 5, Episode 48! Our guest is Karin K. Jensen. She’s a local news writer for the Alameda Post and the author of the moving memoir The Strength of Water: An Asian American Coming of Age Memoir. It’s an award-winning memoir that was recently re-released on November 7th by Sibylline Press. The memoir follows her mother, King Ying, and her Asian American journey… from her childhood in 1920s Detroit to moving back to the village Tai Ting Pong in Guangdong, China, and then back to the US again. Along the way, she faced heaps of hardship while strengthening her resolve to...
info_outline
Welcome to Season 5, Episode 31! Our guest today is Daniel Tam-Claiborne, a writer, multimedia producer, and nonprofit director. His latest work is the novel Transplants released by Simon & Schuster. It’s a coming of age story following two young women—Lin, who is Chinese and Liz, who is Chinese American. They’re both navigating the journey to find their truest selves in a world that doesn’t know where either of them belong. The novel is an exploration of race, love, power, and freedom that reveals how—in spite of our divided times—even our fiercest differences may bring us closer than we can imagine.
Tam-Claiborne is also the author of the short story collection What Never Leaves, and his writing has appeared in a variety of publications and outlets including Michigan Quarterly Review, Catapult, Literary Hub, Off Assignment, The Rumpus, HuffPost, and elsewhere.
Outside of writing, Daniel serves on the Board of Directors of Seattle City of Literature and on the Advisory Board of Off Assignment. He’s a frequent speaker, moderator, and host.
In our conversation, we discuss the process of writing a novel, inspiration for Transplants, feelings of belonging, the importance of COVID and lockdown as an element of Transplants, the diversity in the Asian American community, and so much more.
Transplants is a well-written, moving book that we think shares several common themes that resonate with so many audiences. Tam-Claiborne doesn’t shy away from deep issues that Asian Americans, Asians, and expats face as he explores belonging, identity, and more. You can see more of Daniel’s work on his website Travel Breeds Content or his Instagram account @datclaiborne.
If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.
