Self Evident: Asian America's Stories

We tell Asian America's stories to go beyond being seen. As people of all backgrounds reckon with complex legacies of race, power, culture, and identity and ask themselves, “Where do I stand?” Self Evident presents reported stories and radically open conversations from the everyday Asian Americans who have been confronting this question for generations. Our mission is to empower local communities to share stories and build relationships around the value of self-representation. Self Evident is a Studiotobe production, made with support from our listener community.

Self Evident Presents: "Carol & The Los Angeles Uprising, Pt 1" (by Inheriting) 06/07/2024

Self Evident Presents: “Live! Making Before Me With Lisa Phu” (by The Vietnamese Boat People podcast) 06/01/2023

Self Evident Presents: “How to Wash Your Brain” (by Boen Wang and Feet in 2 Worlds) 04/25/2023

Self Evident Presents: "Exploring Ancestral Grief" (by Grief, Collected) 01/18/2023

Self Evident Presents: "Arrival" (by VPM's Resettled) 01/11/2023

Self Evident Presents: "Before They Were Your Parents" (by Immigrantly) 01/05/2023

Help us by taking our listener survey! 01/03/2023

Before Me, Part 5: Birthday Card 12/27/2022

Before Me, Part 4: Head of the House 12/20/2022

Before Me, Part 3: Beautiful Country 12/13/2022

Before Me, Part 2: Photograph 12/06/2022

Before Me, Part 1: Firstborn 11/29/2022

Introducing "Before Me": A new series from Self Evident 11/15/2022

Self Evident Presents: "Get Up Stand Up" (by Re:Work) 06/21/2022

(BONUS) Hunger Strike! How Immigrant Taxi Drivers Took on City Hall 05/18/2022

(BONUS) Hunger Strike! How Immigrant Taxi Drivers Took on City Hall When Augustine Tang’s father passed away, Augustine decided to inherit his taxi medallion – the license that had allowed his father to drive a yellow taxi cab in New York City for decades. But the medallion came with a $530,000 debt trap and years of struggling to escape it. Augustine’s friend Kenny, a fellow taxi cab driver, committed suicide. So did several other drivers who were crushed under the weight of these impossible debts. In hopes of preventing another death, Tang joined a push by the local taxi drivers’ union, to campaign for debt relief. And eventually, city resistance to worker demands culminated in a 15-day hunger strike to convince City Hall that immigrant taxi drivers deserved a fair deal. The drivers’ struggles for livable working conditions showed how political power doesn’t just come down to votes. It’s a reminder how strong collective will can be, especially for those often silenced and ignored by our imperfect democracy. Resources and Reading After listening, — to help us fund more stories like this one! This show mentions instances of suicide. We understand this topic may be difficult for some listeners. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a certified listener, call 1-800-273-8255 WATCH: “” by Maximillian Alvarez of the Real News Network WATCH: “” by More Perfect Union READ: “‘” by Brian Rosenthal for the New York Times READ: “” by Molly Crabapple for the Economic Hardship Reporting Project READ: “” by Aaron Jacobs for Columbia Human Rights Law Review Special Thanks To Augustine Tang, Jaslin Kaur, John Duda, Kader Guerrab, Kuber Sancho-Persad, Maria Santana, Maximillian Alvarez, Michelle Faust Raghavan and Alec Saleens, and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance Media Team Credits: Produced by Self Evident Media Reported by Sahil Nisha, with help from Alina Panek and Janrey Serapio Interview recordings by Sahil Nisha, Stacey Wong, and James Boo Public protest and demonstration recordings by NYTWA, Augustine Tang, CM Zohran Mamdani, and Former CM Brad Lander Edited by James Boo and Julia Shu Fact checked by Harsha Nahata and Tiffany Bui Sound mix by Timothy Lou Ly Music by Epidemic Sound At the Moment theme music by Satoru Ohno Our Executive Producer is Ken Ikeda This episode was made with support from the Solutions Journalism Network’s Advancing Democracy program /episode/index/show/selfevidentshow/id/23153291

Say Goodbye to Yesterday 02/22/2022

Say Goodbye to Yesterday Amidst the ongoing crush of anti-Asian violence in America, Producer James turns to a personal source of restoration: ska music (yes, that ska music). When he was a teenager, the do-it-yourself ska scene — and an indie record label called Asian Man — taught him to take racism seriously, embrace the road less traveled, and never wait for anyone else’s approval to be himself. But as James starts connecting with all of the Asian American ska fans he’s met over the past few years, he also starts to question how much his own memories are wrapped in a black-and-white-checkered blanket of nostalgia. Eventually, these connections all lead to Mike Park, Korean American founder and still-only-employee of Asian Man Records — and Jer Hunter, a younger Black and queer musician who’s carrying the torch for ska music as a home for anti-racist activism. And the more these conversations peel away the layers of nostalgia surrounding ska, the more James believes that this oft-misunderstood subculture has something real to offer in a world that can feel like it’s crumbling beneath our feet. Resources WATCH: “,” an episode of the 1970s docuseries Our People by ThamesTV WATCH: , the documentary about 2-Tone that hooked Mike Park (and countless others) on ska music WATCH: from Mario Kart 64 LISTEN: , the benefit compilation by Bad Time Records, Ska Punk Daily, and Asian Man Records LISTEN: by Jeff Rosenstock LISTEN: “,” the full-length debut album by Chris Erway’s high school ska-punk band, Taxicab Samurais LISTEN: READ: “” by Evan Nicole Brown for Atlas Obscura READ: “” by Tranquilheart for Spinditty READ: “,” a comic by READ: by Aaron Carnes READ: “” by Eve Sicks for Reverb.com READ: “” by Arielle Gordon for Stereogum READ: “” by Andrew Sacher for Brooklyn Vegan Credits Produced, written, and sound designed by James Boo Edited by Julia Shu, with help from Cathy Erway Sound mix by Timothy Lou Ly Fact checked by Tiffany Bui and Harsha Nahata written and performed by James Boo, feat. Dorian Love on bass and Chris Erway on trombone, trumpet, and alto saxophone by Jeff Rosenstock; original compositions for “No Time to Skank” and pickitup” licensed under Music provided courtesy of Asian Man Records: “Still Down for Tomorrow” by the Bruce Lee Band “Signature” and “You Don’t Know” by The Chinkees “Riptide 28” and “Sultan’s Cross” by Let’s Go Bowling “David Duke Is Running For President,” “Pabu Boy,” “Onyonghasayo,” and “Thick Ass Stout” by Skankin’ Pickle “Mutually Parasitic,” “Achilles’ Dub,” and “Stash” by Slow Gherkin Photos of Mike Park courtesy of Mike Park Photo of Jer Hunter courtesy of Photo of band huddle at Ska Dream Nights by listener Self Evident theme music by Dorian Love Our Executive Producer is Ken Ikeda About Self Evident is a Studio To Be production. Our show is made with support from PRX and the Google Podcasts creator program — and our listener community. /episode/index/show/selfevidentshow/id/22205435

Heartbeats 02/07/2022

Heartbeats The Covid-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of caregiving work — and the ways that this work is overlooked, under-resourced, or placed as a burden on families without a sense of fairness or compassion. In this episode we’re sharing two stories that show people taking on the role of caregiver, and asking: Who gets to be healthy in a world that leaves so many people with family as their only lifeline? “My Heartbeats”: When Indian American filmmaker Tanmaya Shekhar moved his life from Kanpur to New York City, he was running away from family and dreaming of standing on his own two feet. But when the first wave of Covid in India put both of his parents in the hospital, he found himself in a race against time to reunite with them — and then a slow process of rethinking his life’s path, as an immigrant and as a son. “Delma and Delvin”: Guest contributor Angela Edward shares a day in the life of her aunt Delma, a middle-aged Micronesian mom whose full time job is taking care of Delvin — her 30-year old son who has always lived with cerebral palsy. After being hospitalized for Covid, Delma invites Angela over to spend time with Delvin and share how it feels to be senselessly locked out of the American healthcare system. Resources, Reading, Viewing, and Listening LISTEN: podcast READ: “” and “,” by Anita Hofschneider for Honolulu Civil Beat READ: “” by Davis Rehuher, Earl S. Hishinuma, Deborah A. Goebert,and Neal A. Palafox for the Hawai’i Journal of Health & Social Welfare READ: , a newsletter covering Micronesian people and happenings WATCH: “,” a documentary short by Tanmaya Shekhar about the costs and regret of living as an immigrant filmmaker in the U.S. SUPPORT: , which has been helping Indians survive, recover from, and weather the impact of Covid-19 Credits Produced by James Boo, Emily Cardinali, and Angela Edward Edited by Julia Shu Fact checked by Tiffany Bui and Harsha Nahata Sound mix by Timothy Lou Ly Self Evident theme music by Dorian Love Our Executive Producer is Ken Ikeda About Self Evident is a Studio to Be production. Our show is made with support from PRX and the Google Podcasts creator program — and our listener community. /episode/index/show/selfevidentshow/id/22045181