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May is Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage (AAPI) month. It is commemorated each year to honor and celebrate the generations of AAPI who have enriched America’s history and are integral to America’s future success. May is significant in that the first Japanese immigrants arrived in May of 1843. This month is also the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad in May of 1869, due in large part to the Chinese immigrants who made up the bulk of the laborers.
An educational and entertaining way to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month is supporting and listening to AAPI podcasts and sharing them with our families and friends. Listen while you commute, carpool, workout, finish chores, or just need a bit of downtime. Especially during this troubling time when violence against the Asian American community is rampant, it’s important to inform others about Asian American history and culture.
AAPI podcast creators
AAPIs in the podcasting industry are still growing, “The number of AAPI people working in podcasts is still relatively small,” audio producer Elizabeth Nakano told Mom.com. “I’ve been in the industry for 5 years and can count on one hand the number I have worked with. But I’ve seen more AAPI talent entering the space, and I’m hopeful the growth will continue, because our stories and voices deserve to be told.”
You can support AAPI creators — while also getting entertained and informed — by subscribing and listening to these podcasts we’ve found for you.
Family podcasts and podcasts for kids
1. Peace Out is an exceptional family podcast that includes short stories that help children calm down and relax by guiding them through visualization and breathing exercises. Peace Out is narrated by Chanel Tsang, who came up with the podcast after years of promoting social-emotional learning amongst children and their families. In March 2021, Tsang also did a special YouTube episode for her young listeners addressing the rise of violence and racism that the AAPI community is experiencing.
2. Story Seeds podcast celebrates imagination and puts kids at the center of the creative process. Every episode pairs kids with published authors who then collaborate within the episode to create an original story that listeners experience. They also have books and activity kits that correspond to each episode. Story Seeds was created by Sandhya Nankani, the founder of Literary Safari. Nankani was inspired by her daughter’s creative spirit and a project she developed early on in her career, The Weekly Writer, another collaboration between famous authors and kids.
The episode with Aram Kim, author and illustrator of Bank Street’s Best Children’s Book of 2018 No Kimchi for Me is a great Story Seed episode to start with. Also, the episode with Rajani La Rocca, author of “Midsummer’s Mayhem,” a Kirkus Best Book of 2019 and long-listed for the 2020 Massachusetts Book Award as a must-read title in MG/YA Literature, deserves a listen this month. Check out the rest of their episodes for more representation and exceptional stories.
Podcasts for teens
3. Dear Asian Girl is produced by Dear Asian Youth, which was founded in May of 2020 by Stephanie Hu, a 16-year-old who wanted a platform for her poetry. It has grown into an organization with more than 100 members focused on intersectional activism, politics, equality and equity. The podcast is hosted by AAPI creators, Alina Rahim, Genesis Magpayo, and Naina Giri. It’s aim is focused on uplifting, highlighting, and supporting Asian girls everywhere with their cultural identity.
For Adults: Political podcasts and cultural podcasts
4. AAWW Radio: New Asian American Literature is where all your favorite Asian American writers read and have conversations dedicated to promoting Asian American stories. AAWW Radio is the podcast of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, a national nonprofit and an alternative literary arts space focused on the intersection of race, migration and social justice.
5. Asian Enough is produced through the LA Times and hosted by Jen Yamato, Johana Bhuiyan, Tracy Brown and Suhauna Hussain. Each episode dives into the expansive diaspora of Asian America; it’s complexities, definitions and the disparate and personal stories of politics, racism, and cultural identity within the community.
6. Modern Minorities brings in guests from entrepreneurs, to athletes, politicians and more to discuss how our cultural backgrounds affect how Asian America navigates life and work through race and gender. Hosted by Sharon Lee Thorny and Raman Sehgal, new episodes drop each week.
7. Nancy is an LGBTQ podcast hosted by Tobin Low and Kathy Tu focused on queer stories and real conversations. They share their intimate journeys of self discovery, and bring a warm, lively, needed voice to the podcasting world.
8. They Call Us Bruce is part of the Potluck Podcast Collective. Hosted by Jeff Yang and Phil Yu, they have entertaining, unfiltered conversations about the events and issues that matter for Asian Americans. The Potluck Podcast Collective includes independent Asian American podcasters who share perspectives from the Asian diaspora. You’ll find even more podcasts to discover on their website.
If you’re a member of the AAPI community and you don’t see a topic you’re interested in, start your own. You can celebrate AAPI Heritage Month by creating your own podcast. “You’ll just need a computer and a mic. Then, start talking,” mom Lindsay Kavet previously told Mom.com. “You can use Garage Band to record your voice, do some editing, upload it to Apple. Make some artwork for it and ta-da! You are producing a Podcast.”
