This is our third installment of poetry and prose that Soleil recorded when she stopped by the Kundiman writer's retreat at Fordham University this summer. Each year, Kundiman brings upcoming Asian American writers together for a week of mentorship, workshops, and master classes. This episode includes works by George Abraham, Meng Jin, Jason Bayani, and Susanna Kwan.
Produced by Juan Ramirez. Music by Bad Snacks and Kevin MacLeod.
For this episode, we welcome back producer Stephanie Kuo as guest host. She’s setting out on a journey to unpack the culinary legacy of her home state: Texas! And today, she sits down with Dan Dao, a NYC-based food writer who also hails from the Lone Star State. She’s from Dallas; he’s from Houston. And even though they grew up with very different Asian-American experiences, they agree that H-town is America’s next great food frontier. Yeehaw? First, though, they talk about the visibility of marginalized Asian communities, especially in the South, and how the lack thereof deprives them of support they may need. This was especially true for Cambodian spinach farmers outside Houston after Hurricane Harvey devastated their small town and their crop.
Produced by Stephanie Kuo. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions.
On this bonus episode, you’ll hear the next installment of poetry and prose that Soleil recorded when she stopped by the Kundiman writer's retreat at Fordham University this summer. Each year, Kundiman brings upcoming Asian American writers together for a week of mentorship, workshops, and master classes. Today, we bring you the works of Kenji C. Liu, Jess Rizkallah, Paul Asta and Marie Avetria.
Produced by Stephanie Kuo. Music by AF the Naysayer, Blue Dot Sessions, Kaela Drew and Lee Rosevere. Photo by JESS x SNOW.
Guest interviewer Roxanne Scott chats with chef and television fixture Darnell Ferguson about what it means to be the only Black executive chef in Louisville, Kentucky. In this frank interview, Ferguson reveals his approach to mentorship and the work it takes to ensure his message of positivity gets to the people who need it.
This summer, Soleil stopped by the Kundiman writer’s retreat at Fordham University to record snippets of poetry and prose from this year’s writing fellows. Each year, Kundiman brings upcoming Asian American writers together for a week of mentorship, workshops, and master classes. On this bonus episode, you’ll hear the first of the 16 recordings she made, featuring Aurora Masum-Javed, Doreen Wang, Matthew Olzmann, and Janine Joseph.
Produced by Juan Ramirez. Music by Lobo Loco, Les Cartes Postables Sonores and Rushmo.
In today’s episode, Zahir interviews Lillian Li, the author of the critically acclaimed novel “Number One Chinese Restaurant.” Lillian discusses her relationship to the food she grew up eating, what she learned working at a Chinese restaurant and how she's trying to challenge the way we think about and tell immigrant stories in America. Plus: she reveals how her mother – who worked at a Chinese restaurant for many years – reacted to her novel.
Produced by Stephanie Kuo. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions.
In this second episode of a two-part series on mental health, Soleil speaks with Heather Armstrong and Kimberley Wilson on the links between diet and mental health. Armstrong, a blogger and writer also known as “Dooce,” tell us how her last attempt at veganism resulted in the worst depression of her life. Then, psychologist Wilson talks to us about her work busting myths about clean eating and dieting in the UK.
Produced by Juan Ramirez and Stephanie Kuo. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions.
LINKS DU JOUR
- Read more about the state of prison food in this piece via Governing.
- The science of serotonin—the chemical produced in the intestines—is fascinating!
- Yes, the use of the word "superfood" in food marketing was banned in the EU.
To commemorate our producer emeritus’ upcoming podcast for and about Filipino Americans, we’re re-releasing this great interview with Filipino Kitchen on the history of the cuisine. We want to send a big warm congratulations to Alan Montecillo for launching Balikbayan! The first episode drops July 24!
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For years, we've been hearing from the food media that Filipino cuisine is the "next big thing;" that it would only be a matter of time before it "arrived." To hash that all out, we talked to a bunch of Pinoys! First, our producer, Alan Montecillo; then we patched in Sarahlynn Pablo & Natalia Roxas of the website, Filipino Kitchen. They all walked us through the history of Filipino cuisine and the meaning it holds for Filipino Americans today. And of course, we went back and forth on the question of whether or not validation from Western society matters all that much, in the end.
Today's episode is an important one for us at Racist Sandwich. We talk a lot about the intersection of food, race and culture, but we're also a podcast about class – because we know a lot of people aren't afforded the luxury of food as leisure. For a lot of people, food is survival. But prolific writer and self-proclaimed "internet yeller," Ijeoma Oluo says the poor deserve more than that. In this episode, Ijeoma joins producer Stephanie Kuo for a frank and emotional conversation about food and poverty and how society uses food to deny the poor their dignity and humanity. They're made to feel shame about their hunger, their choices and their desire to enjoy life and eat something decadent every once and a while.
Thanks to the pair of awesome people who donated to RAICES as part of our quick Twitter fundraiser last week. RAICES needs all the support it can get to help immigrant families who are being detained at the border. It's not too late to give! Donate here.
Produced by Stephanie Kuo. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions.
This is the first of a two-part series on mental health. Soleil sits down with author Hannah Howard and chef Casey Rebecca Nunes, who both open up about their own mental health struggles in the food industry. In the first part of the episode, Howard describes a scene from her new memoir “Feast: True Love in and Out of the Kitchen,” and talks about grappling with an eating disorder while working at a fine dining restaurant. Nunes then explains how she balances the pressures of being a chef with self-care routines.
Produced by Juan Ramirez. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions.
We're in Detroit for our 50th episode! And we're talking about the city's enduring food legacy. While a lot of food media often likens Detroit's food scene to a "Renaissance" of sorts, led predominantly by white chefs from the suburbs, the truth is it never went anywhere. People of color have been on the ground from day one, continuing to build upon generations of black and brown entrepreneurship, farming and food activism. And those Detroiters have been the ones who've refused to give up on Detroit – even when it seemed the rest of the world had. In this narrated piece, Zahir sits down with three Detroit food icons: Devita Davison, executive director of FoodLab Detroit; Malik Yakini, founder of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network; and Serena Maria Daniels, esteemed food writer who launched Tostada Magazine.
We've only just scratched the surface, but now that Zahir lives in Michigan, you can count on many more episodes out of Detroit. We can't wait!
Produced by Stephanie Kuo. Music by AF the Naysayer, Blue Dot Sessions and Loyalty Freak Music.
In this episode, we hear the morning keynote address at the La Cocina food conference delivered by Reem Assil, the founder of Reem’s Bakery and the newly opened restaurant Dyafa. Reem speaks about the targeting of civilians in Gaza and how she uses food as a way to push back against the Israeli occupation and its attempted erasure of Palestinian lives. We also hear from one of Reem’s employees about how the design and decor of Reem’s bakery reflects their mission and philosophy.
Produced by Juan Ramirez. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions.
We have another special bonus episode to mark the start of Ramadan! Zahir travels to Dearborn, Mich., to sit down with Khaled Beydoun, a law professor and author of the newly released book, “American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear.” Khaled shares his insights about growing up in Dearborn, how being a Muslim in America has changed for him, and why the Lebanese restaurant Al Ameer in Dearborn is so seminal.
Produced by Zahir Janmohamed and Stephanie Kuo. Music by Ehab Tawfik, Youssou N'Dour and Blue Dot Sessions.
We're thrilled to have one of Soleil's food icons on the podcast this week! Francis Lam, host of The Splendid Table and food writer extraordinaire, joins Soleil for a conversation about telling the food stories that aren't "glamorous." They also talk about media gatekeepers, food as an entree into more difficult issues and how to be better allies. But before all that grand philosophizing, Zahir and Soleil celebrate the podcast's second birthday AND important James Beard Award wins for the POC food community.
A couple of announcements:
Applications are now open for the 2019 Vilcek Creative Promise Prizes in Culinary Arts until June 11. Learn more about the prizes and eligibility requirements here.
There's just a little under a week left to raise money for the "Family Style Zine: An AAPI Food Anthology" on Indiegogo. The creators hope to connect their audience to the diverse histories of AAPI food through writing and beautiful artwork. Check it out and consider donating!
Produced by Stephanie Kuo and Juan Ramirez. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions.
Surprise! We have a special bonus episode for you after several requests to unpack the “Yellow Fever” debacle on Twitter. Writer and restaurateur Dakota Kim joins Soleil for this discussion about the Asian fusion restaurant in Long Beach, Calif. whose name has sparked a lot of controversy. It’s gotten us all wondering, “What the f*** were they thinking?” Soleil and Dakota try to answer that question and talk about respect for cultural identity, the sexualization and fetishization of Asian women, and whether the restaurant owner being a Korean-American woman changes anything.
Produced by Stephanie Kuo. Music by Blue Dot Sessions.
In part one, Soleil, Zahir, and Juan meet for the first time at La Cocina Conference in San Francisco and Soleil shares some exciting news.
In part two, we commemorate Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day by interviewing journalist Liana Aghajanian about what it was like to come to the US as a refugee from Iran, how the Armenian genocide impacted Armenian food, and what exactly a dowel is.
Produced by Juan Ramirez. Music by Blue Dot Sessions and AF the Naysayer.
It’s our first reported episode of the season! Emily Hunsberger, who hosts the Spanish-language podcast Tertulia, brings us this great story about Kitchen Spanish, the unique pidgin spoken among Spanish-speaking and English-speaking staff in restaurant kitchens. While interviewing food workers in Grand Rapids, Mich., Emily discovered that the ability and willingness to communicate across language barriers have become especially critical today in the United States where the immigration debate under the Trump Administration is escalating. Also in this episode: we hear from host Soleil about her own experience speaking Kitchen Spanish and about that one time producer Juan Ramirez got in trouble in school for saying a bad word.
Note: Because this episode is about the unique kind of Spanish that’s spoken in restaurants, there are long stretches of Spanish dialogue throughout the piece. Emily paraphrases and interjects wherever she can, but we wanted to preserve those conversations as much as possible.
Produced by Stephanie Kuo and Juan Ramirez. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions.
In this episode, Zahir interviews the award-winning writer Alexander Chee about his new essay collection “How to Write an Autobiographical Novel.” Alexander speaks about his visit to Korea, what it was like to wait tables before writing his novel, and why he felt like an impostor while living in a plush New York apartment. Also on this episode, Soleil talks about her trip to Hawaii and Zahir gushes about his experience at Kundiman.
Produced by Juan Ramirez and Stephanie Kuo. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions.
LINKS DU JOUR
In this episode, new producer Stephanie Kuo joins Zahir to discuss an op-ed she wrote for the Dallas Observer about her complicated relationship with white-owned Asian-fusion restaurants, shame and respect for cultures outside our own. In part two, Soleil interviews the spectacular Samin Nosrat, who is a New York Times Magazine contributor, author of the bestseller Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, and all-around badass cook and teacher. They talk about Samin's new TV series, imposter syndrome and her five favorite condiments. Tune in to hear more!
Produced by Stephanie Kuo and Juan Ramirez. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions.
We are excited to kick off season two of our podcast! In part one, Soleil and Zahir talk about missing Taco Bell and gush about our roller coaster ride of a Kickstarter campaign. In part two, guest interviewer Emilly Prado interviews Carmen Maria Machado, the National Book Award-nominated author of the short story collection, Her Body and Other Parties. Carmen and Emilly discuss body image, policing food, villainesses, and pickles. Tune in to hear more!
Produced by Juan Ramirez and Stephanie Kuo. Music by AF the Naysayer and Blue Dot Sessions.
Zahir interviews poet and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib about his new collection of essays called “They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us.” Hanif speaks about growing up in Ohio, how the city’s Black population has been displaced, and why Black-owned restaurants are critical at a time in which, to quote one of his poems, “the Black boy already begins to disappear from head-to-toe.”
After a long and popping first season, we’re taking a short break to recharge, relax, and raise funds for season two! Thank you for listening to Racist Sandwich, and huge thanks to the collaborators, guests, and friends who all helped us along the way. It has been an incredible run for these first-time
podcasters.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Today’s guest is the one, the only Jen Agg—the Toronto, Canada-based restaurateur who, in a lot of ways, has been imposed with a sort of Cassandra role in the food media. She’s been sounding the alarm on the toxic and often violent masculinity that infests the food industry for years. She even went so far as to organizing a one-night conference on patriarchy in the restaurant world in 2015. She describes herself as “vigilantly pro-conflict”—her memoir, which came out earlier this year, is literally called, I Hear She’s a Real Bitch. And yet… what has changed for women in the food industry since she started ringing that bell? Tune in as we hash out all this and more!
Soleil catches up with Oakland chef and restaurateur Preeti Mistry, and they chat about culinary school, how the food industry falls short of its meritocratic ideals, the culture of abuse in restaurants, and what it means to live your politics. Zahir gets really into the punniness of Mistry’s book, The Juhu Beach Club Cookbook.
Produced by Juan Ramirez. Music by Blue Dot Sessions and AF the Naysayer.
LINKS DU JOUR
Dear White Chefs: Stop Talking, Start Listening
How a Culture of Aggression Blinds the Restaurant Industry to Abuse
In this episode, we address the politics of the word “curry.” In part one, Barnard College student Mitali Desai shares her poem “Chicken Tikka Masala” about being bullied at her predominantly white school. In part two, we interview the Toronto based writer Naben Ruthnum about his new book “Curry” which unpacks the history, and the limitations, of the word “curry.”