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The Mash-Up Americans

The Mash-Up Americans·Hosted by Amy S. Choi and Rebecca Lehrer·154 episodes

KidsFamilySocietyCulturePersonalJournalsCo-hostedIdentity and cultureGuest conversationsSeasonal specialsReflectiveImmigrant stories

The Mash-Up Americans is your guide to the hyphen-America world we all live in. Amy S. Choi and Rebecca Lehrer talk culture, identity, what makes us who we are. Get to know yourself, America.At The Mash-Up Americans we are celebrating and challenging the raucous, colorful, complicated country we live in by asking all the important, awkward questions: What does it mean to be an immigrant in America? What cultural baggage do we bring to sex and relationships? Why is Korean skincare so popular? When does something get upgraded from the ethnic aisle?Get more at mashupamericans.com

Why listen

The Mash-Up Americans is for listeners who live between cultures, languages, families, and expectations, and want smart company while sorting through it all. Amy S. Choi and Rebecca Lehrer mix warm co-host chemistry, interviews, personal reflection, culture criticism, and occasional produced series to explore what American identity feels like from the inside. You will especially love it if conversations about immigrant families, food, grief, pop culture, race, and belonging make you feel more seen than lectured to.

Series(3)

Episodes

0 min
Mar 18, 2026Episode 30
Day 30: Begin At The Beginning

And end when it’s time. Wisdom from Lewis Carroll, from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, published by MacMillan in 1865. Thank you for joining us on this 30-day celebration of Lunar New Year. We hope you have an incredible Year of the Fire Horse! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Mar 17, 2026Episode 29
Day 29: Our Stupid Hearts

Our hearts are broken and we’re so grateful for it. Meditations in an Emergency, by Cameron Awkward-Rich, from Dispatch, published by Persea Books in 2019.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

0 min
Mar 16, 2026Episode 28
Day 28: Kind Hands

What is there but kindness? I Am Not Alone Here, by Jacqueline Suskin from The Verse for Now, published by Flower Press in 2025This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2 min
Mar 15, 2026Episode 27
Day 27: Life Goes On

Despite reality, reality also demands joy. Life goes on. Thank you to Wislawa Szymborka for Reality Demands, translated by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh, published in View With A Grain of Sand by Harcourt Brace in 1995.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Mar 14, 2026Episode 26
Day 26: Maya Angelou and Dolly Parton Are Rooting For You

Be you, and do it on purpose! Thanks to Maya Angelou and Dolly Parton. This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

0 min
Mar 13, 2026Episode 25
Day 25: Courage Is A Muscle

Summoning our strength of heart with Rabbi Susan Goldberg of our beloved Nefesh in Los Angeles. This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

0 min
Mar 12, 2026Episode 24
Day 24: Expanding Our Minds

Let Bong Joon Ho show us the way. This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Mar 11, 2026Episode 23
Day 23: Art

What is art?  Thank you to Shaun Usher of the Letters of Note Newsletter, one of our very favorite joys of the internet.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2 min
Mar 10, 2026Episode 22
Day 22: Supplicants

How do we ask for what we need? Different Ways to Pray by Naomi Shihab Nye, from Words Under the Words: Selected Poems, published by Far Corner Books in 1995. This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Mar 9, 2026Episode 21
Day 21: We Already Have Everything Good

A poem (a prayer?) from Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi. This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Mar 8, 2026Episode 20
Day 20: Our kids

James Baldwin has something to say about it. From Notes on the House of Bondage, published in The Nation in 1980.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

0 min
Mar 7, 2026Episode 19
Day 19: Franz Kafka and Eddie Murphy Walk Into A Room …

More advice from some of the greats. Wisdom from across the 20th century from Franz Kafka and Eddie Murphy. This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

3 min
Mar 6, 2026Episode 18
Day 18: Being a Choi (Proud)

Remembering everything that comes in our name is essential. Be proud! Be Choi. Choi Jeong Min by Franny Choi, published in Poetry Magazine in 2016.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Mar 5, 2026Episode 17
Day 17: Juggling

We can let it fall, sometimes. A Poem for Someone Who Is Juggling Her Life, by Rose Cook, from Notes From a Bright Field, published by Cultured Llama in 2013.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

0 min
Mar 4, 2026Episode 16
Day 16: Mosquitos And Kindness

A few proverbs from across the continents, tied together by the Dalai Lama. This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

0 min
Mar 3, 2026Episode 15
Day 15: Waiting

Sometimes democracy requires patience. Don’t we know it! Democracy Poem #1 by June Jordan, from The Essential June Jordan, published by Copper Canyon Press in 2020.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Mar 2, 2026Episode 14
Day 14: We Have Enough Time, Actually

If we use our time well, we have plenty of it. A reminder from the philosopher Seneca, from On The Shortness of Life. This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Mar 1, 2026Episode 13
Day 13: Peopling The Space

Can you draw your own face? Some notes by Jorge Luis Borges from Horse, Stars, Men, published in Aleph and Other Stories by Penguin Classics in 2004. This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Feb 28, 2026Episode 12
Day 12: Taking It All

Instructions on Not Giving Up by Ada Limón from Poem-a-Day, published by the Academy of American Poets in 2017.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Feb 27, 2026Episode 11
Day 11: Being Rich

William Shakespeare says our riches on the inside is better than anything we could find on the outside, and we agree.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Feb 26, 2026Episode 10
Day 10: We Like Your Hat

No kindness is ever too small. Thank you for Small Kindnesses to Danusha Laméris, from Bonfire Opera, published by University of Pittsburgh Press in 2020.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

0 min
Feb 25, 2026Episode 9
Day 9: Being Somebody

You are always important, and you are always somebody, from Emily Dickinson.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Feb 24, 2026Episode 8
Day 8: Creating Dangerously

A reminder that we always need art by Edwidge Danticatt, from Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist At Work, published by Princeton University Press in 2010. Learn more at edwidgedanticat.com. This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

0 min
Feb 23, 2026Episode 7
Day 7: Fools

Yiddish proverbs always get it in very few words. For more wisdom and delight - This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

0 min
Feb 22, 2026Episode 6
Day 6: Your job

A poem from Victoria Chang, from The Trees Witness Everything, published by Copper Canyon Press in 2022. Learn more @fattery12.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Feb 21, 2026Episode 5
Day 5: The Five Remembrances

Today are the five remembrances from the Upajjhatthana Sutta (“Subjects for Contemplation”). They are meant to be recited each day.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

0 min
Feb 20, 2026Episode 4
Day 4: Lotus

A meditation from Thich Nhat Hanh, from No Mud, No Lotus, published in Parallax Press in 2014. Learn more at plumvillage.org.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Feb 19, 2026Episode 3
Day 3: Sun in the Face

Mary Oliver's Why I Wake Early  Published by Beacon Press in 2010. Learn more at maryoliver.com.This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! Books by authors featured at https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Feb 18, 2026Episode 2
Day 2: Plums

Today, a poem by Gayle Brandeis. Learn more at gaylebrandeis.com. This Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone! Find books by Gayle Brandeis at https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

0 min
Feb 17, 2026Episode 1
Day 1: Looking Up

A few words of wisdom from the great Irish wit Oscar Wilde. More from Oscar Wilde https://bookshop.org/lists/mash-up-lunar-new-year-daily-podcast-book-listThis Lunar New Year we’re trying something different - 30 days of short daily episodes with art, poetry, and words of wisdom and humor. Happy Year of the Fire Horse everyone.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

10 min
Nov 11, 2025Episode 5
Gochujang at the Comfort Inn: The Korean Food Takeover with Matthew Kang

Writer and food expert Matthew Kang (Eater) joins the Big Korean Energy realm to unpack the current Korean food moment, from fine dining in Dallas to gochujang bottles at Ohio motels.We talk about Korea’s soft power, the delicious Mash-Ups shaping Korean American cuisine, and how one dish, Pyongyang naengmyeon, connects Matthew to his family’s roots and the longing behind every bowl.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

38 min
Oct 28, 2025Episode 4
Joanne Lee Molinaro on the Power of Korean Food, Culture, and Self-Love

The Korean Vegan’s Joanne Lee Molinaro joins us to talk about the cultural power and the politics of Korean joy. How can scarcity become abundance? Look to Korea! From budae jjigae to K-Beauty, Joanne traces her path from attorney to author, and why she believes Big Korean Energy isn’t just a trend, it’s a declaration power: If you love our food, love our people.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

35 min
Oct 21, 2025Episode 3
Why Are Korean Sports Fans Are So Intense?? With Tommy Craggs

What makes something feel Korean? Journalist Tommy Craggs joins us to unpack Big Korean Energy, from the ’88 Seoul Olympics to Son Heung-min, Cubs fandom to K-pop Demon Hunters. We dig into how sports and culture shaped his Korean consciousness, how today’s global K-wave ties back to the trauma of war and occupation, and what it means to raise a Korean kid without turning into a samchon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

30 min
Oct 14, 2025Episode 2
Time Travel and The Korean Literati with R.O. Kwon

Bestselling novelist R. O. Kwon joins us to explore Big Korean Energy in literature and how she writes her desire (and freedom) onto the page.  She shares what it was like growing up in a mostly Korean town in L.A., why Squid Game still feels astonishing, and the relationship between Koreanness, Christianity, and sexuality. Also: An extremely high stakes game of F*ck, Marry, K*ll. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

38 min
Oct 7, 2025Episode 1
Everything Is Korean with Phil Yu

From bootleg VHS tapes to a Tony-winning Broadway musical and Netflix megahits, Koreans have gone from “who?” to “whoa!” In this episode of our Big Korean Energy season, we sit down with Phil Yu, creator of Angry Asian Man, and talk about the seismic shift of K-culture going global, what it feels like to win Olympic gold alongside Queen Yuna, and owning our stories is SO important.  What’s at stake when the whole world suddenly has Big Korean Energy??See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2 min
Sep 30, 2025
Coming Soon - Big Korean Energy

We’re living in Big Korean Energy. From Kdramas to ramen hacks, skincare routines to fandom rituals, Korean influence is everywhere, shaping how we connect, celebrate, and imagine the world. This season, we unpack what makes something feel Korean (whether or not it actually is), why that feeling resonates globally, and what it all means for Mash-Up America. Featuring Phil Yu, R.O. Kwon, Joanne Lee Molinaro, and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

43 min
Nov 1, 2024Episode 4
Telling Stories with Anna Holmes

If we're lucky, we're constantly growing, learning and telling new stories about ourselves. Writer Anna Holmes is here talking about starting new things in your 40s and 50s and finding community. What do we say no to? What can we demand now that we are grown? How much magnesium should we take to sleep?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

42 min
Oct 25, 2024Episode 3
Dreaming Big with Cristina Jiménez

How do we learn from the youth? MacArthur Genius and co-founder of United We Dream Cristina Jiménez join us to talk organizing and creating youth-led movements.And about repair through the eyes of young immigrant kids. She talks about the moment her young son got his first passport and the generational transformation that brings for her as a formerly undocumented person. Anyways, the youth are inspiring us all with their willingness to challenge ideas.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

50 min
Oct 18, 2024Episode 2
Taking The Win with George Goehl

Winning gives the push to do more - a light and hope and a sense of power. You have to acknowledge the little and big wins, to give you energy for the bigger and longer fights. We’re joined by longtime activist and community George Goehl. He’s also in a 5 year strong group chat with Amy and Rebecca. With a career spanning over three decades, George has tackled everything from federal financial reform to local battles for better trash cans. He has a proven track record of turning community struggles into victories and we need the formula for that winning energy. You can hear more of George’s work on To See Each Other, a podcast produced by The Mash-Up Americans. Listen here -> https://link.chtbl.com/toseeeachotherYou can find his book, Fundamentals of Community Organizing, through his Substack here -> https://georgegoehl.substack.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

48 min
Oct 14, 2024Episode 1
Repairing the World with Rabbi Susan Goldberg

Today to launch our season on tikkun olam, we sit down with Rabbi Susan Goldberg, the founder of Nefesh in Los Angeles and Rebecca’s very own rabbi-on-speed-dial. We laugh with our bellies and dive into the difference between healing and repair, how to make peace with our ancestors, and the utmost importance of making space for repair in yourself, in your family, and in your community. Amy also gets rewarded her very own badge of K'rov Israel.Check out NefeshLA.org for more on Rabbi Goldberg.And visit mashupamericans.com/newsletter to keep up with The Mash-Up AmericansSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 min
Oct 10, 2024
Coming Soon - Season of Repair

What do you do to repair your corner of the world? This season of The Mash-Up Americans we’re talking to a Rabbi, an Immigrant Justice activist, a Community Organizer and a Writer about how we can help the world and ourselves, especially when the world feels so chaotic. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

47 min
Jan 30, 2024Episode 11
Bonus - The Mash-Up Americans on the Immigrantly Podcast

In January 2023, Saadia Khan sat down with Amy Choi and Rebecca Lehrer for her weekly podcast Immigrantly. The conversation centered on their series on grief. The interview focused on grief, how we can understand it without over-pathologizing the sentiment, and why it’s both universal and personal. What is most remarkable about the conversation is that the trio kept it light and honest.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

35 min
Dec 12, 2023Episode 11
It’s Time for Extreme Hospitality with Pierre Thiam

It’s our last episode of the season(!) and we’re talking hospitality — what it looks like, what it means, what it does for our souls — and we can think of no better expert to turn to than Pierre Thiam, the trailblazing chef, author, and activist. He talks about how sharing food is a literal blessing, how it can transcend borders, and he also reveals his firm stance on who makes the best jollof. And if you’ve ever wondered how much food is enough food when you’re hosting people? Pierre’s got the answer for that, too.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

32 min
Dec 5, 2023Episode 10
Liza Treyger On Always Speaking Your Mind

As people who care deeply about many things in this world (inequity, climate change, diversity, you get the idea), we could definitely learn to give less of a sh*t about other stuff — like whether or not people get offended by what we say and do. Enter: Liza Treyger. The hilarious comedian, unapologetic straight talker, and abider of many a bubbe meise joins Rebecca and Amy to talk about the rewards (and risks) of speaking freely and the double standard for men vs women. Also covered: why you’ll never see her at a baby shower. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

32 min
Nov 28, 2023Episode 9
Min Jin Lee Teaches Us How To Be Pleasant And Difficult

Never meet your heroes? Fie, we say. The magnificent author, editor, and queen of Queens Min Jin Lee joined Rebecca and Amy on stage at The Greene Space to kick off The Mash-Up Americans residency, and lucky for us she’s even more generous and staggeringly brilliant than we imagined. From discussing the power of authorship to sharing how being pleasant and difficult has helped her in life, we cover it all — and Amy secured a dinner invite, too. *fist pump*See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

14 min
Nov 24, 2023
Bonus: The Best Advice Show Featuring Rebecca and Amy

To know us at The Mash-Up Americans is to know we love to be told how to do things well — how to be less racist, how to make a killer apple strudel, and so on. So it’s fitting that this week, our pal Zak Rosen invited both Rebecca and Amy on his show, The Best Advice Show, to share a few words of wisdom about small, delightful, maybe unusual ways to make life better — like starfishing. (Just listen and you’ll see.)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

19 min
Nov 21, 2023Episode 8
Replay: Celebrating San Giving With Francis Lam

If San Giving, aka Thanksgiving, isn’t the mashiest American holiday of all, we’d be pressed to think of anything else that even comes close. It’s when American culinary traditions (turkey, stuffing) combine with those of our families (kimchi, tortillas) to be that rare holiday that seems to belong to everyone. So as a nod to Thanksgiving and all the different ways we celebrate, we’re revisiting a conversation we had in 2017 with our friend Francis Lam - cookbook editor and writer extraordinaire. It’s a good one from the archives that reminds us that while some things may change, Thanksgiving’s always the same. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

56 min
Nov 14, 2023Episode 7
Jeff Chang Can’t Stop and He Won’t Stop

Millennials will never know a world without hip hop, and frankly, we’re all better for it. Author, journalist, scholar, and all-around visionary Jeff Chang joins Amy and Rebecca to share about his first introduction to hip hop, how it serves as a guide to liberation and how it’s just a part of who we all are now. He also weighs in on which album is better: The Low End Theory or Midnight Marauders? Jeff Chang is a writer, thinker, and cultural organizer. His Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation was named one of the best U.S. nonfiction books of the last quarter century. His other books include Who We Be: A Cultural History of Race in Post Civil Rights America and We Gon' Be Alright: Notes On Race and Resegregation. He is a Lucas Artist Fellow and has received the American Book Award, the Asian American Literary Award, and the USA Ford Fellowship in Literature. He is the host of the podcast, Edge of Reason. He is finishing Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

56 min
Nov 7, 2023Episode 6
Love Hard and Set Boundaries with Dr. Pooja Lakshmin

Where there are boundaries, there’s also healing, love, grief, and acceptance, explains Dr. Pooja Lakshmin — but getting there is often a painful, awkward journey. The board-certified psychiatrist and bestselling author joins Amy and Rebecca to talk about boundary-setting as self-liberation, fake vs. real self-care, and the endless mash-up guilt that comes with saying no. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

45 min
Oct 31, 2023Episode 5
Jonathan Menjivar Rewrites His Story On Class

Does having money make you a classhole? And what does that even mean? Producer, reporter, and Classy podcast host Jonathan Menjivar joins Amy and Rebecca as they tackle the awkward topic of class, how it butts into the many facets of our lives and our identities, and how we can come to terms with our status — especially when it changes how we perceive ourselves.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.