They Call Us Bruce

Jeff and Phil welcome Oscar-winning filmmaker Domee Shi, writer/director of the Pixar animated feature TURNING RED. They discuss making an unapologetically Asian Canadian story, intergenerational drama, releasing the beast within, and accepting your whole self -- even your whole self is a giant red panda.

On the eve of their long-anticipated book release, Jeff and Phil welcome co-author Philip Wang and project manager Jes Vu, their co-conspirators on RISE: A Pop History of Asian America From the Nineties to Now. They discuss behind-the-scenes details on the making of the book, including The Good, The Bad and The WTF.

Jeff and Phil round up The Good, The Bad and The WTF of the week, including Ali Wong's latest standup special, Asian American excellence at the Winter Olympics, anti-Asian violence, Wrong Asians, and taking off your damn shoes inside the house.

Jeff and Phil welcome the one and only Dante Basco. He talks about his directorial debut The Fabulous Filipino Brothers, making a movie with his family -- his entire family -- growing up in Hollywood, and being perpetually linked to iconic characters, including Prince Zuko and, of course, RUFIO.

Jeff and Phil welcome Potluck Podcast pals Ada Tseng (Saturday School) and Raman Sehgal (Modern Minorities, Quarantined Comics) to celebrate the Lunar New Year and discuss superstitions, superheroes, Michelle Yeoh, Lou Diamond Phillips, urine, basement bunkers and utility journalism.

Jeff and Phil welcome award-winning journalist Lisa Ling, host of the new docuseries TAKE OUT WITH LISA LING. She talks about her own family's Chinese restaurant roots, the new ubiquity of Asian cuisines -- and the untold stories behind them, and why she does indeed have the best job in the world.

Jeff and Phil welcome Michelle Wu, Mayor of Boston. She talks about breaking barriers as the first woman and first person of color elected to lead her city, hitting the ground running, "getting city hall out of city hall," and embracing both legacy and innovation.

Jeff and Phil welcome Michelle Li, reporter and anchor for KDSK in St. Louis, and Marian Chia-Ming Liu, Operations Editor for the Washington Post. They discuss racist voicemails, reclaiming our Asian names, and the significance of being Very Asian in 2022.

Jeff and Phil return from the holiday "break" and ring in the New Year with one last look back, talking about The Good, The Bad and The WTF of 2021 -- including Marvel movies, squid games, library rockers, big city mayors, licorice pizzas and the damn omicron.

Jeff and Phil welcome entertainment writer/critic friends Hanh Nguyen and Piya Sinha-Roy to catch up and discuss recent pop culture happenings, including Squid Game, Eternals, and Cowboy Bebop. They also play a Thanksgiving edition of their favorite segment: Thankful, Not Thankful and WTF.

Jeff and Phil welcome actress Ally Maki, who stars in the Marvel  series Hit Monkey. They discuss making movies and television during the pandemic, embracing the wild weirdness of an animated primate assassin, and creating community of shared identity: Asian American Girl Club.

Jeff and Phil welcome writer Pornsak Pichetshote, creator of the noir crime comic book The Good Asian. They discuss the inspiration behind his Chinese American detective Edison Hark, the real-life history at heart of this hard-boiled mystery, and why The Good Asian, set in 1930s Chinatown, feels like a tale for modern times.

Jeff and Phil welcome journalist Elise Hu, author of the forthcoming book Flawless, and David Yi, found and editor of Very Good Light. They discuss "aggressively Asian" faces, multi-step skincare regiments, and the global rise of K-beauty.

Jeff and Phil welcome mathematician and award-winning science fiction author SL Huang, who also happens to be a stuntwoman, firearms expert, and the first woman to be a professional armorer in Hollywood. They discuss her unique career, the recent tragic firearm incident on the set of Rust, the extensive procedures involved with on-set weapons safety -- and how things can go wrong.

Jeff and Phil welcome writer and friend Kat Chow, author of Seeing Ghosts, a memoir about grief, intergenerational loss, reclaiming your family's story... and taxidermy. She talks about The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of seeing figurative and/or literal ghosts.

Jeff and Phil welcome Naomi Gleit, VP of Product at Facebook, who wrote a personal essay about her multiracial identity. She talks about growing up ethnically ambiguous, finding her voice on issues of identity and race, and embracing the notion that she is neither half Asian nor half Jewish, but fully both.

Jeff and Phil welcome actress Peyton Elizabeth Lee, star of the Disney+ series Doogie Kamealoha, M.D., series creator and showrunner Kourtney Kang, and executive producer Melvin Mar. They talk about crafting a unique contemporary Hawaiian take on the beloved 90s teen doctor series.

Jeff and Phil welcome Justin Chon, the writer, director and star of the dramatic feature BLUE BAYOU. He talks about putting the spotlight on the plight of undocumented adoptees, setting an Asian American story in the South, and crafting films that create empathy -- and change.

Jeff and Phil welcome their old pals Rebecca Sun of The Hollywood Reporter and Dino-Ray Ramos of Diaspora for a spoiler-filled debrief and discussion of Marvel's SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS. There are many, many mispronunciations.

Jeff and Phil welcome Dave Callaham, the screenwriter behind Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. He talks about the journey of fully embracing his own Asian American identity, getting the call to work with Marvel, and the challenges of adapting the MCU's first Asian American superhero.