“Oh, that’s so political.” 

“We don’t talk about politics here.” 

“Stop being so political.” 

Have you heard that before, when someone brings up a topic that may have been mentioned in the news (or on social media)? Maybe you’ve even been the one that said it. But - have you ever heard it explained what exactly “political” means in this context? Or why shouldn't we talk about it? 

We’d argue that there is no such thing as “political”. Or, conversely, perhaps EVERYTHING is political depending on who you are and how things affect you. 

But regardless of why people feel things are too “political,” this is EXACTLY the year where we need to be doubling down on talking about all of those things, especially if you care about freedom - your own, in particular. 

Even if you disagree with us, please listen in - maybe we’ll provide some food for thought. Or maybe our viewpoints are not so far apart after all.

If you’re listening to this episode around the time when it’s being released, then you’ll be listening to this right on the last day of Black History Month in the United States. It should go without saying that Black History is American History, but we’re going to say it anyway, and we’ll add that it shouldn’t be confined just to the shortest month of the year but instead should be taught to our kids every day of the year, and should be talked about by us as grownups by an equal amount. 

This year, given where we are politically and nationally, we wanted to recognize another key day in February - February 19th. That was the day when President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which forced 120,000 Japanese Americans (American citizens) to leave their homes and be relocated to concentration camps ON AMERICAN SOIL. They lost everything - their homes, their possessions, their businesses - but despite all of that, they fought to hold onto their dignity and as much of “normal life” as possible. Part of that normal life, for so many Japanese Americans, was the ultra-American pastime of baseball.

That’s exactly why we’re bringing you this episode today - an updated episode from last year where we talk about baseball, the Negro Leagues, and the history behind America’s favorite pastime - baseball - that you might not know, and probably weren’t taught in schools.

In honor of Presidents’ Day coming up next week, we thought we’d focus on president…ial immunity. See what we did there? 

With this episode, we’re kicking off a new “why should we care about…” series on DWW where we focus on the WHY behind important issues so that we go into November making the most informed decisions we can about the candidates AND their platforms. We’re keeping these relevant, funny, and light - but also impactful in how to understand why we need to care about these issues.

So whether you (a) think you know everything you need to know about presidential immunity or (b) you don’t care or (c) who cares anyway because this is about Trump and he’s going to be the nominee anyway so what I think doesn’t even matter… or option (d), something else - this episode is a must listen. And then please share it with your friends.

Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu! Happy New Year!

We like to split this episode, one we have done every year at this time of year for the last four years, into two parts – reflections and projections. You’ll want to listen so you don’t miss how to stay involved in what’s next for us, the podcast, and 2024 as a whole.

When you think about the holidays, what image comes to mind? Sitting around a holiday table with friends and family? Spending time with loved ones? Watching some holiday movies, sipping hot cocoa, and all the warm holiday fuzzies? 

Or is your reality more like that of a lot of Americans, especially this 2023 holiday season: uncomfortable or downright hostile conversations with members of your family who feel VERY differently about you on polarizing topics, which could include politics, social justice, the economy, democracy, genocide, and so much more? 

Most importantly, what are we supposed to do about this? Are we supposed to, as the New York Times suggest in their “How to Avoid Awkward Conversations” piece in mid-November, first try and “stifle those conversations”? That doesn’t seem very realistic, because let’s face it, your racist uncle is going to say what he wants to say, regardless of how many times you try to steer him towards “safe” topics.

Here at the podcast, we don’t think people want to avoid having uncomfortable conversations - they just don’t know HOW to have them. More than anything, people want practical tips. 

Because let’s face it - we are in an extremely dark period both as a country and on a global level, we have what may be the most contentious election in our lifetime next year (I know, we said this in 2020 - we stand corrected), and we’re still going to be gathering with people over the next year. We think these conversations will only ramp up in frequency, tone, and seriousness going forward.

So in this episode, we’re going to be sharing tons of tools that you need to have those uncomfortable conversations with family, with friends, and even yourself now through 2024. Please share your best tips with us, as well!

You know the viral videos - the ones showing Black people, usually men, attacking unsuspecting Asian folks, usually elderly Asians. These are atrocious, awful incidents of course.  We don’t want anybody to be harmed.  AND, since we can hold two thoughts in our heads at the same time, we also need to state that these viral videos are giving us an inaccurate impression of anti-Asian hate.

For example, it turns out, according to a University of Maryland, College Park study, that most anti-Asian hate crimes are committed by white people, NOT Black people. Significantly so – more than three-quarters of offenders of anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents, from both before and during the pandemic, have been white.  

We want to have this conversation as part of our mixed-race Asian arc, focusing on what we believe should be a point of solidarity but has instead been misunderstood to be a divisive issue concerning Black and Asian Americans, with actual data as a reminder for all of us – that we need to train ourselves to pause when we see narratives that pit one historically marginalized group against another historically marginalized group, and ask ourselves if they’re true because they’re often serving simply as a distraction to change the conversation, to move it away from the “real” enemy - white supremacy.  Dismantling white supremacy is where all of us - Asians, Black folks, white folks, and more – need to keep our energy focused.

You heard us talking with Alex Chester-Iwata the other week on the show, who is third third-generation Japanese American and was the first family member in decades to visit Japan.  So, maybe like some of you listening, she has no direct experience with immigration – your family feels like it’s “always been here” in America.  

That experience that Alex has of being mixed Asian is really different than what Misasha and Sara grew up with, as daughters of Japanese immigrant parents - we grew up visiting our parents’ extended families in Japan and feeling kind of at home in a different country.  

It got us wondering… what IS the impact of immigration on the Asian American experience?  Can we explore how the psychological impact of immigration may be a missing part of the discussion when it comes to deconstructing common stereotypes that folks have here of Asians?  And how might that impact the mixed Asians in America today?