Asian American Lives

To celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage, in May of 2022, RISK! began releasing these episodes compiling some of our favorite stories on racism, resilience, and Asian American excellence as shared by storytellers on the podcast over the years. There’s plenty of other wonderful stories that have been shared by Asian American folks on RISK! that focus on different aspects of their lives, but these particular stories honor the life experiences where being AAPI was central. 

Also included are interviews with Kalaya’an Mendoza of Nonviolent Peaceforce. We’re so grateful to these storytellers for the inspiration and enlightenment we’ve found in these stories.

For more information about how to help #StopAsianHate #StopAAPIHate, visit NonviolentPeaceforce.org and Kalaya’an Mendoza on Twitter and Instagram to learn how #WeKeepUsSafe.

If you have a story to tell, reach out to us!

Asian American Lives #1
“La Cage aux Denny’s” by Bowen Yang
“Two Bowls” by Christine Lee
“An American Family” by Nimisha Ladva
“What Would You Do?” by Lauren Tom
“Reunion” by Britt Adams

Asian American Lives #2
“The Marriage of Iman and Johnny Vagina” by Kumail Nanjiani
“Allegiance” by Annie Tan
“The DeVirginator” by Peter Kim
“Silent Father” by David Hu
“Home Away From Home” by Shamyla

Asian American Lives #3
“Her Touch” by Samira Sahebi
“Yes, I’m a Grain of Rice” by Justin J Wee
“140 LBS” by Susan Lieu
“How I Met My Mother” by Ellen Acuario
“But Now I See” by Shen Wei

Asian American Lives #4
“Marathon Man” by Mike Cho
“Toronto the Good” by M.J. Kang
“A Place at the Table” by Hank Chen
“If Justice Was Blind” by Kiran Deol
“Asian Like Me” by Karen Maruyama

Also see our episode series called Trans Lives and Black Lives.