Category: Religion
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Episode 6: The West – Savior or Demonizer?
If queerness was so prevalent in premodern Asia, when and why did it all change? It starts with the 3Cs… Colonialism, Capitalism and Christianity. In part 1: the imposition of Christian morality through colonization in the Philippines, India and Vietnam
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Episode 5: Gods, Sex and the Patriarchy
A god of same-sex love. A bearded goddess of war and fertility. Gods in the form of genitalia. What can mythology and folk religion teach us about queerness in premodern Asia?
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S3 E09: Rita Phetmixay: No such thing as boundaries in Asian culture – the Lao diaspora, owning the narrative, and healing intergenerational trauma with compassion.
Rita Phetmixay on the secret war in Laos, healing in community, and the power of naming our struggles in order to heal from them. We talk about intergenerational trauma, growing up in the South, moving to L.A., and healing with self compassion.
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S3 E08: Kiran Kaur Gill on fighting Turban Myths with occupationally relevant training programs at the TSA, FBI, and other law enforcement agencies.
Kiran Kaur Gill shares how overnight, Sikh Americans became feared and presumed terrorists because they happen to wear turbans that reminded Americans of Bin Laden. Ever since, the Sikh American Legal Defense & Education Fund (SALDEF) has been countering hate and ignorance with education programs nationwide, training over 135,000 officers nationwide, from local & federal…
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S3 E07: Scott Okamoto on losing faith and becoming an English professor at an evangelical school.
Author Scott Okamoto talks about deconstructing his faith as he taught in an evangelical school. We touch on his family’s history in the Japanese Incarceration camps, patriotism, and winning people over through genuine care and relationship, not facts and arguments. Scott also shares his thoughts on Oppenheimer (2023)
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S3 E05: Dani Saldo is a hot, talented, disabled bisexual pop-star on the rise, who had to break up with her old (able-bodied) self.
Dani Saldo is a Filipino Canadian queer, disabled, super hot and talented songwriter and artist. She is committed to bringing sexy back with her walker, all while writing hits and being a loud and proud disability and queer advocate. We talk about the grief that comes with knowing you’ll never be your old self again,…
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S3 E03: Dr. Manijeh Moradian on why Iran isn’t always considered part of Asia, and how the West may be misinterpreting what Iranians truly want out of the current feminist revolution.
If you’ve ever wondered why Iran sometimes is, sometimes isn’t considered part of Asia, this episode has the answer. Because of the revolution in Iran, I really wanted to talk to a woman from the Iranian American diaspora and had the privilege of talking to Women’s, Gender & Sexuality studies professor, Dr. Manijeh Moradian. Manijeh…
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S2 E10: Jess Pillay on juggling multiple cultural identities as an Indo-Fijian-American, finding applicable career advice as a woman of color, and reconnecting with her faith through therapy.
Summary GUEST BIO Jess Pillay is an Indo-Fijian-American independent singer/songwriter and podcaster from the Pacific Northwest. Growing up in Seattle with Indo-Fijian roots, she spent most of her life feeling like a cultural orphan, but music gave her a sense of identity and purpose. Now in her 30s, she’s deeply passionate about racial and gender…
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S2 E4: Qasim Rashid on how Islam inspires him to advocate for women, for the poor, and even for his haters, and how he remains focused in a world full of injustice.
Summary GUESTQasim Rashid is a Pakistani-born human rights lawyer, author, and Executive Director of Common Purpose, an organization dedicated to electing more women and underrepresented Americans to public office. Through his work, he supports survivors of domestic and sexual violence, represents asylum seekers, uplifts the incarcerated through prison chaplaincy, and advocates for universal religious freedom.…