Projects
Podcasts
Role of Media in the Portrayal and Response to COVID-19
Producers: Ayaka Chou, Xiaojing Gao (Jessie), Yiyao Wang.
Description: The subject of the podcast is the role of the media in the portrayal and response to COVID-19 internationally, specifically between China and America. We will investigate how the media has changed the way people perceive different groups of people during COVID-19. We want to showcase the difference between how news reports stories in the US and China, how the news, whether true or fake, have stirred up hatred and conflicts between different groups in both countries.
The Effects of Discrimination, Culture, and Isolation on Mental Health During the Pandemic
Producers: Kirnvir Kaur, Zhiyan Zhao (Jen), Victoria Ng
Description: This podcast discusses how discrimination experienced by Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic affects their mental health. Asians are reluctant to ask for mental health support since there is already stigma surrounding mental health to begin with. During the pandemic, the stigma did not disappear and the rates of mental illnesses increased. These increases were due to isolation and the inability to socialize with the community outside of social media. Hatred towards the Asian community could be seen on all social media platforms. Exposure to these sites only increased the likelihood of mental illnesses increasing amongst the Asian community. Our podcast covers these topics and contrasts the international experience to the experience of Asians living in America during the pandemic.
Changing with the times: Oakland Chinatown
Producers: Juliette Torres, Johnny Nguyen, Justin Yoon, Best Liudi
Description: In this podcast, we discuss Oakland Chinatown; its history, its relationship with the pandemic, and its future. Oakland’s Chinatown is one of the oldest Chinatowns in the United States, historically served as a sanctuary for Chinese American immigrants. It still serves a large Chinese American community to this day and further serves as a district of cultural and historical significance for Asian Americans. Furthermore, we also notice that the face of Oakland Chinatown has been rapidly changing. Gentrification, COVID-19, and an aging local population are just a few of the phenomena that Oakland Chinatown has been experiencing in the 21st century.
Immigration Nation: The Plight of the H-1B Holder
Producers: Emily Ho, Sianne Susbilla, Yujun Xie, Chris Spencer
Description: Our project discusses how H-1B visa holders, specifically Asian visa holders, are treated and perceived in the United States. Such immigrants are allowed entry in the US on the grounds of doing specialty work, making them a part of the so-called “Model Minority.” Yet, why are these “Model Minority” workers treated so poorly in their workplaces? We examine this question, as well as how H-1B visa holders are contrasted with undocumented immigrants, in our podcast. This includes an interview with Amy, a South Asian daughter of an H-1B visa holder.
The Mental Health of Asian American Young Adults During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Producers: Ayenna Cagaanan, Sam Halbert, Bryan Choo, Yimin Li
Description: While the world shut down for the Covid-19 pandemic, a new pandemic was surging across the world, one of anti-Asian hate. Surprisingly, even with the proliferation of anti-Asian hate crimes, only about 50% of the general public is aware of the substantial increase of violence, according to recent Pew Research polls. From social isolation to violently racist crimes, we re-cap the mental health burdens that the AAPI community has faced in the last year. We take a deeper dive into the lives of young adults, Ayenna Cagaanan and Sam Halbert, as they navigate through the pandemic with their Asian American identities.
Way Back Home: Learning What Home Really Means During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Producers: Arthi Inagandla, Angelina Karnsouvong, Jia Wen Wang, Runsu Gong
Description: This project is titled “Way Back Home,” indicating the connection back to our Asian American communities during the struggles of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our podcast seeks to tell the stories of different Asian Americans, the ways that they connected to their communities, reflections they made during this time about cultural differences, as well as the ways that they helped and served their communities. Our interviewees are Monica Wang, Jia Wen’s sister who is in high school, Joyce Chen, Arthi’s friend who was in Taiwan for the duration of the pandemic, and Sun Karnasouvong, a community leader for the Lao/Khmu community in Richmond. They will all be talking and reflecting on their experiences as Asian Americans during the pandemic, the things they and their community dealt with, as well as observations they had made about what it really means to be a part of the Asian American community.
History of the Asian American Movement with Steve Wong
Producers: Carrie Ho, Chloe Punsalan, Izzy Tokarz, Vivien Zhang
Description: This podcast explores the development of the Asian American movement from campus to community through an interview with veteran activist Steve Wong (1948-2021). Tracing his experiences in Asian American communities from the home to schools and finally San Francisco Chinatown, the podcast draws upon academic sources to supplement the interview and examine what lessons are applicable to today’s climate. Steve Wong reflects upon his own career in the 1960s/1970s Third World Liberation Front strikes and within the Asian American Political Alliance. He then discusses the importance of ethnic studies and transferring college movements into the community with the UC Berkeley Ethnic Studies program and Asian community center. The podcast then reflects upon the crucial stages of Steve’s retelling to mirror the events of the 1960s and 1970s with the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement of today. Original interview by Harvey Dong.
Refugees, Oppression, and Resistance in Oakland Chinatown
Producers: Keefe Tankeh, Zac Weiner, Jessica Cheng, Milton Zhang
Description: Last year in 2020, Southeast Asian Americans honored the 45th anniversary of the resettlement of refugees to the United States. SEARAC, in their commemoration statement, wrote a call to action for government officials to address the health, economic, and educational barriers facing our communities, through pursuing equitable local and state policies, and establishing a moratorium on deportation orders. In this podcast, we will be discussing the relationship between Southeast Asian refugee communities and Oakland, CA. Rather than being an overview of the specifics of these communities, which include ethnic Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong, Mien, Khmu, Lao, Chinese, and more from Southeast Asia—not to mention diversity in class and gendered experiences—we talk about some of the oppressions created by structural barriers and the racialization of Asian Americans which affect these communities. Additionally, we talk about organizational efforts, whether of pan-Asian or ethnic-specific organizations, around community issues and needs, as one form of resistance from these refugee communities. This resistance connects the personal experiences of individual people, to broader structures of oppression which mirror that which engendered the displacement of these communities in the first place.