Season 7 Episode #10: "I Love India!"
One in a Billion
Sheetal Sheth is an Indian American actress, author and activist based in New York City. You may remember her breakout role as “. Since then, Sheetal’s star keeps rising, appearing in dozens of TV shows and films. In 2013, she got married and soon became a mother to two girls. Then, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. As Sheetal struggled to recover, she was determined to raise her children with a deep sense of pride and love for India. Why? Also, what inspired her to write children’s books for Indian Americans while she was pregnant in New York City? Click for more about...
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Season 7 Episode #9: "Due to You Guys"
One in a Billion
Neil Mody is a media entrepreneur, tech enthusiast and philosopher at heart. In this open-hearted conversation, Neil shares snippets of his phone conversations with his father that would forever be seared into his mind. What did his father say? Why did Neil tell his mother not to wear a “sari” to his eighth grade graduation? Why did he feel embarrassed by his “Indianness” growing up in New Jersey, and how does he feel now? Find Your Roots is a history and culture project centering on Asian American voices, perspectives, and experiences. It is a...
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Season 7 Episode #8: "Let me in. Let me in!"
One in a Billion
Martial Arts, Kung Fu Master (師傅) , Yoga Instructor, Political Activist Mai Du was just eight years old when she aspired to learn Kung Fu. Then she became a refugee after the Vietnam war fleeing with her family through Thailand and the Philippines before arriving in America. Today, Mai du is a martial arts instructor, kung fu master and political activist. What formed her fighting spirit? How did her parents’ survival skills mold her mindset? Check out our conversation! Music used: Vienna Beat by Blue Dot Sessions Adventure by The Ghost in Your Piano Trophy Endorphins by Andy...
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Season 7 Episode #7: "Reflections of a Tiger Mom"
One in a Billion
More than a decade after she was labeled as “Tiger Mom” for her 2011 memoir “” Amy Chua reflects on her strict parenting style as she traces the roots of her culture to Fuzhou, China. Why did Amy feel right about raising her daughters the same way she was raised by her immigrant parents? What lessons has she learned from her critics in the West? What prompted her to pursue a career in corporate law before teaching law at Yale? And now, what motivated her to write her first novel is a Yale law school professor with expertise in international business transactions,...
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Season 7 Episode #6: "For Self-Healing"
One in a Billion
Have you ever felt abandoned by your parents? What would you do to reconcile with them? 24-year-old Angela Li was born in New York City but sent back to Fuzhou, China while an infant to be raised by her grandparents until she turned five. When she entered the U.S, she felt she’d closed the door on her childhood in China. Now, she is just beginning to reconcile with that as an adult. In this podcast conversation, Angela describes her process of self-healing by starting an oral project of interviewing her parents. “For the first time, I see my mom as a human being.” Angela...
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Season 7 Episode #5: "Undying Faith"
One in a Billion
Have you ever lost your sense of purpose after your loved one suddenly died? Whom do you turn to find strength to renew your mind and spirit? Born in Sorsogon, the Philippines, , traces the roots of her undying faith that revives her in her darkest hour after her husband Reginald F. Lewis died of brain cancer. Loida also talks about her new memoir,“Why Should Guys Have All the Fun?” - an Asian American story of love, marriage, faith and running a billion dollar business empire. Loida Lewis is a business executive, immigration lawyer, philanthropist and activist. Music used:...
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Season 7 Episode #4: "Becoming Whole"
One in a Billion
Have you ever felt the need to know your family history as a way to become whole? What can you remember about your parents’ immigrant journey or struggle that would help you weave a cohesive narrative for their past sacrifices and your current success? Born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, Fran Chin, tells a compelling story about his father and mother’s voyage from Guangdong, China to escape penury so he and his eight siblings could enjoy a better life here in America. Music used: History by Twelvety9 Burn Me Alive by MMFFF Even When We Fall by FPhilipp Weigl Lullaby by The Ghost in...
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Season 7 Episode #3: "What Got You Here?"
One in a Billion
Have you stopped and considered what got you here? Who paved the way for you to learn and grow up in America? For first-generation Chinese American Paul Lee who was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, it is time for him and his siblings to remember their cultural roots, and to honor his parents’ incredible immigrant journey to America. It is also time for us to thank his father Sen Lee for his service to America. Sen Lee fought for America in WWII in the United States Armed Forces in Pacific Theatre. Music Used: The Wrong Way by Jahzzar The Family Instrumental by Chad Crouch Prism by...
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Season 7 Episode #2: "Felt So Foreign"
One in a Billion
Do you have a hard time identifying with this kind of Chinese, or that kind of American, and wanting to create a third category of cultural identity? Do you feel so foreign while visiting China as a Chinese American? Irene Li is a James Beard Award Winning Chef, Co-founder/Co-owner at in Boston, Massachusetts. She is also a and WBUR (Boston NPR) CitySpace Moderator/ Host. A Cornell University graduate, Irene Li was part of the college scholar program and majored in cultural studies. Music used: Malachite by Andy G Cohen New Day by Alan...
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Season 7 Episode #1: "Find Your Roots: Don’t Deny It"
One in a Billion
Are you denying your roots if you ignore them? Why should one’s culture be a forethought and not an afterthought? Who defines your cultural identity? Dr. Elaine Shiang is a retired Chinese American medical doctor at MIT with over 35 years of experience. Episode 1 Don't’ Deny It is her account of her family history in China, their journey to America, her parents’ influence on her and her advice for the next generation. Elaine is a mother of three adult children - Andrew, Margaret, Irene. All of them were born in the greater Boston area, including Elaine herself. However,...
info_outlineAs the Black Lives Matter movement spread across America earlier this summer, many Asian Americans began to reflect on their personal history of struggling for racial equality.
In particular, one civil rights group has pushed for attitude change among Asians to reach across the racial divide and join African Americans and other communities of color in the fight for social justice.
In Season 5 True Colors: Episode 6, Jenny Chiang and Dr. Mabel Lam of the Asian American Commission (AAC) in the state of Massachusetts share their personal story of growing up with and without Black friends, and their own reckoning with the urgent need to come together for the greater good.
Listen to our conversation here.
Music used:
One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy
The Way I Feel by Derek Clegg
Break Through by Pictures of the Floating World
Rain by Unheard Music Concepts
Chill Out Theme by Komiku
Above the Clouds by Bio Unit
The Army’s March by MMFFF
Silver on the Outside by Heather Christie and Vir McCoy
That’s Exciting by Pictures of the Floating World
Dr. Mabel Lam is a psychologist in Cambridge, MA and a commissioner of the AAC. Jenny Chiang is the Executive Director of the AAC.
True Colors – a Season 5 Special Series – is about the color of one’s character in a time of crisis.
In this 10-part podcast series, we have expanded our focus beyond Asians to include the African American experiences in Episode #1, Episode #3 and Episode #5.
We want to include you in this conversation.
To send us your comments or stories, email us @ [email protected]
Or go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.”
Share your thoughts? Pitch us a story?
“One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time.
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