The As I Am podcast
Episode 46: Adult Friendships
What’s been your experience of making friends as an adult? In this episode, Jeff and Isabella discuss the state of their adult social lives, the importance of being selective with your free time, and the ease of befriending friends with similar cultural backgrounds. As always, you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Episode 45: Speaking Out
This episode features Katherine Maria sharing her own survivor story. We discuss some of the reasons behind why many Asian women refuse to report their sexual assault, the pressure to stay silent, as well as some suggestions to help victim survivors come forward. This is a really special episode and we're so grateful to Katherine for letting us share her story. As always, you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Episode 44: Motherland
For our first episode of 2023, we sit down to chat about our relationship to our motherlands. After Isabella’s recent trip to Vietnam, we felt it would be a great time to debate our allegiance to our motherland, our travel experiences and the sensation of being a foreigner in a place where everyone looks like you. Monthly episodes for the rest of this year and as always, you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts!
Episode 43: New Beginnings
Our last episode of the year features a two part conversation about the topic of new beginnings. In the first half, we sit down with our extremely talented friend and collaborator for our recent Small Fires short story, Sam Kenneally. We chat through the creative process that Sam utilised to create the beautiful artwork that brought our story to life. In the second half, Isabella and Jeff reflect on the year that was 2022 and discuss their hopes and ambitions for the new beginnings that 2023 will bring. Thank you to all our dear listeners for their continued support and love. We'll be taking a short break to rest and recharge, and we can't wait to show you what we have planned for 2023!
Episode 42: Maggie Zhou
In one of our last eps of the year, we had the privilege to sit down with lifestyle and fashion writer, podcaster, journalist, and all around multi-hyphenate Maggie Zhou! We discuss the magic and difficulties of podcasting, fast fashion, and the trends surrounding ethical consumption. Episode out now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts!
Episode 41: Race, Class and Nail Polish
This time, it’s Isabella’s solo episode! Join her on her stream of consciousness as she discusses the nail salon and its connections to the Vietnamese community, its history and the space it occupies at the intersection of racial, classist and power dynamics. Let us know what you think of this format! If it’s something you all enjoy, maybe we’ll continue releasing more solo episodes. Listen to our episode below or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Episode 40: Parenting & Childhood
We often talk about our childhood experiences on this podcast but we felt it was time to explore the world of tomorrow where we ourselves were parents. In this episode, we discuss our hypothetical parenting styles, fears of becoming parents, and the lives we would want our children to live. Episode out now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts!
Episode 39: Muay Thai
We’re finally trialling solo episodes! Our inaugural episode features Jeff speaking about his experience training Muay Thai aka Thai kickboxing. Jeff shares the story of how he fell into the sport, the things he loves about it, the drawbacks, and also shares the relationship he has had with his body image and weight over the course of his lifetime. Let us know what you think of this format! If it’s something you all enjoy, maybe we’ll continue releasing more solo episodes. Listen to our episode below or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Episode 37: Kishwar Chowdhury
In our newest episode, we talk to the fantastic Kishwar Chowdhury (@kishwar_chowdhury). Kishwar placed Top 3 in MasterChef Australia (@masterchefau) in 2021. Since her time on MasterChef, Kishwar has staged at Ishizuka (@ishizuka_australia) and also collaborated with chef Adam D’Sylva (@adamdsylvachef) to create a modern Australian-Bengali inspired menu for TONKA (@tonkarestaurant). Beyond food, Kishwar is also heavily involved in community engagement through her involvement with the UN World Food Programme, the ASRC and Feast for Freedom (@asrc1). Listen now on Spotify, Apple podcasts and Google podcasts.
Episode 36: Diana Nguyen
In episode 36, we sit down with Diana Nguyen (@realdiananguyen ) As a writer, producer, director, performer and the 2021 winner of the 40 under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians, Diana Nguyen is a force to be reckoned with. Between laughs and tears, we take a deep dive into her most recent theatre adaption of Alice Pung’s novel, Laurinda, breaking the mould of ‘traditional’ careers, representation and the importance of taking up space in art. Listen to our episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Episode 35: Van Anh
In this latest episode, Van Anh (@_kindofheart) is a life coach for second-generation women with life's pressures, and combat from overworking. Through the accumulative experiences as children of immigrants in a Western society, Van shares her perspectives of what life can be by unlocking the fear of ourselves towards a certain narrative. In a therapeutic-esque discussion, we submerse in the idea of “working hard” yet building an enriching life for ourselves from a foundation of survival roots. Listen to our episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Episode 34: Andy Trieu
In this latest episode, we sit down with Andy Trieu (@andytrieu), an Asian-Australian host, actor, x3 Australian champion martial artist. A familiar face on national television with a repertoire of roles throughout his career. A career sought as a: ninja on Kitchen Whiz, host of SBS PopAsia, and stuntman work in prominent films such as, Hawksaw Ridge and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Andy now embarks on bringing the Andy Trieu Show as Australia’s prime destination for all things Asian pop-culture. Listen to our episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Episode 33: Tu Le
Our latest episode features Tu Le, a community worker, advocate and organiser. Tu shares her journey in community advocacy and the pivotal moments in her much spotlighted political career. We also discuss the changing landscape for representation in Australian politics, and how the 2022 Australian election brings with it a sense of relief and hope for Australians around the country. Listen to our episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Episode 32: Colournary
Tune in this episode with Rushani Epa (@epa___), Editor-in-chief and Founder of Colournary Magazine (@colournarymag) and food editor at Hardie Grant Books (@hardiegrantbooks). We hear about the journey of Colournary blooming during the pandemic lockdown and giving a space for Asian cuisine to be written by POC’s. Ruhani enlightens the conversation around food in sharing: people’s connection with food, curating articles on authenticity and letting people write their own stories. Episode out now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Episode 31: Names & Accents
Tune in our recent episode, with Jeff and Isabella share their experiences behind having dual names one of their ethnicity and one of the West. We hear the implications in on bias norms where names hold an intrinsic value in society. Whilst, touching on the normalisation how accents are conveyed from the everyday to media. Listen to our episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Episode 30: Money with Mariam
In this episode with Mariam Mohammed, she shares her career journey and how it culminated in her co-founding MoneyGirl @moneygirlau, an organisation on a mission to give women and non-binary folks the financial literacy and confidence they need to live a life of freedom and independence.
Episode 29: GRID Series
In this episode, we sit down with Ayesha, Managing Director of GRID @grid_series_presents & Shantanu, band member from Manorism @manorismband. We chat about what it takes to be in the Melbourne creative scene as an Asian Australian.
Episode 28: David Chau
In this episode we sit down with David Chau (@chaudave1), an Asian Australian lawyer turned business reporter for the ABC. We chat about his career journey into journalism, representation in Australian media, and whether or not his news voice is put on or not. Listen to our episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Episode 27: Shapes and Sounds
In this episode we sit down with Vi-An Nguyen from Shapes and Sounds (@justshapesandsounds) an Asian Australian mental health and wellbeing service to Australians with multicultural backgrounds. We discuss all things therapy, the importance of factoring in cultural nuances to the therapy experience, and the need to normalise conversations around mental health both within the Asian community and across society more broadly. Listen to our episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Episode 26: Food and Authenticity
This episode features a chat about the obsession with authenticity that many Asian people hold as it pertains to food, particularly Asian food. We discuss the relevance of authenticity, the reasons why we've tried to gatekeep "traditional" food in the past, as well as the importance of not allowing authenticity to be a barrier to innovation and creativity. This is an episode where we tried very hard to take the logical path, however the discussion highlights that we still have much to learn in terms of navigating this complex issue.