Author: Time To Say Goodbye

Hello from Mexico City! 

This week, we talk about the Iranian uprising with Kiana Karimi, a scholar, writer, and friend of the pod who has been active in the fight for women’s rights in Iran and its diaspora. 

But first, in other feminist news, Jay catches Tammy up on the latest high-stakes poker controversy, with its wonderful 🤢🤑 mix of money and misogyny. 

Kiana begins by reading from an essay in progress about the current unrest in Iran. Thousands of people across the country have been protesting since mid-September, after the morality police allegedly killed Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman taken into custody for improperly wearing her hijab. Kiana explains the political history of such rules, the government's idea of a modern Islamic utopia (which has led to fairly frequent periods of rebellion), and the complicated position of Muslim feminists in regards to the wearing of hijab. Also, what else are the protests about? And what does it mean that so many conservative Muslim men have joined fearless young people in the streets? 

Thanks as always for your support! Please subscribe on Patreon or Substack, stay in touch via email (timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com), and follow us on Twitter. 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello from a Korean sublet! 

This week, our friend Jennifer Wilson joins us to discuss the art of cultural criticism and test out some takes on James Harden, Gramsci, and Russia. 

First, we discuss Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka’s suspension and the ongoing fallout. What can fans’ reactions teach us about today’s top sports commentators and the proliferation of meme culture? 

Then, we glide seamlessly into a discussion of Italian communist Antonio Gramsci. Jen talks about furthering his mission to decode capitalist values in mass culture, and argues for the return of the true pan. We also explore the restraints of representation, the joy of grappling with stuff in messy ways, and what it means when POC content is a hit with privileged white audiences (the “Get Out” effect). Jen also discusses her Indian husband’s lack of interest in “Indian Matchmaking” and her interview with ​​”Luster” author Raven Leilani. 

Finally, Jen, a Ph.D.-holding Russianist, briefly discusses what she’s hearing about this stage of the war. 

We have a few fun events coming up for TTSG listeners and subscribers: 

This Saturday, October 1st: TTSG subscriber picnic in Seoul! Subscribe via Patreon or Substack to join our Discord and get the details. 

Thursday, October 13 (see below): A virtual talk on the U.S. military presence in Asia with Tammy in Korea, journalist and unionist Jonathan de Santos in the Philippines, and author Akemi Johnson (on Okinawa) in California. Register here! 

Thursday, December 1: TTSG LIVE with Hua Hsu, in NYC! The free RSVP will drop soon, but in the meantime, save the date.  

Also: Pre-order the paperback of Jay’s book, “The Loneliest Americans.” And as always, feel free to email us (timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com) and follow us on Twitter!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello from a beach in Busan! 

It’s just us this week, talking through the good, bad, and ugly of this week’s news cycle. 

Just before we recorded, the news dropped that Adnan Syed, the subject of the first season of the hit podcast “Serial,” was released from prison with a vacated conviction after 23 years. We grapple with the opportunity and ethical risks of narrative podcasts, especially when it comes to true crime. We also discuss the railway-union strike that was temporarily averted, thanks in part to the Biden administration, and the brutal conditions imposed by a consolidated freight system and billionaire bosses. Union members will vote soon on what to accept. (Looks like train workers in the UK could go on strike very soon, too.)

In our main segment, we discuss Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s latest stunt: coercing asylum-seekers in Texas to board a plane headed to Martha’s Vineyard, a vacation spot for monied liberals that has no infrastructure to help migrants. How does such an obviously cruel maneuver fit into the right’s Twitter-focused political strategy, centered on “owning the Libs” and diverting attention away from substantive issues and toward a “culture war” (as Tammy witnessed in the Ohio Senate race)? How should the left respond to this type of political theater? 

Plus: Jay lends some pointers from his quarter-life crisis (spent surfing unrideable waves in NorCal) to Tammy as she navigates a crisis of her own (sublimated through surfing lessons in Korea); and math professor Michael Thaddeus proves the glories of tenure as he knocks Columbia University down a few pegs. 

Thanks for your support. Please subscribe on Patreon or Substack, stay in touch via email (timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com), and follow us on Twitter!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit goodbye.substack.com

Hello from Tammy’s apartment! (Please forgive the less-than-stellar audio quality on this one.) 

For our latest TTSG book club meeting, Tammy is joined by the wonderful Lisa Hsiao Chen to discuss her debut novel “Activities of Daily Living.” The book follows Alice, a Taiwanese American living in Brooklyn in her late thirties, as she simultaneously obsess…

Hello from Seoul (both real and fictional)!

This week, we welcome our friend and K-drama expert Jenny Wang Medina back to the pod to discuss the new Netflix hit “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.” 

The legal-procedural K-drama follows an autistic attorney, Woo Young-woo, who joins the ranks of a high-powered law firm and quickly proves herself invaluable. It’s wholesome, marginally sea-themed, and set in a fantasy playground of the professional sphere. 

We discuss the hot-button issues in Korea that form the backdrop of the show, like children’s rights, Buddhism versus Christianity, North Korean defectors, and eminent domain, just to name a few. We reflect on the rise of multiculturalism and minority rights in Korean society, TV, and film, which has led to the increased visibility of people with disabilities. Woo has also sparked a specific discourse around the portrayal of its autistic protagonist. Will the show also inspire a generation of women lawyers to move to Korea, expecting a feminist haven, or convince Korean parents to ease up on their kids’ time at hagwons? Only time will tell. 

If you plan to watch the series, we should warn you that Jay drops a couple of pretty extreme spoilers towards the end of the ep!

Later this week, we’ll be releasing a bonus recording of our book club with Lisa Hsiao Chen, author of “Activities of Daily Living,” for paid subscribers. We’ve also been using our TTSG Discord to plan subscriber meet-ups with Tammy in Seoul. If you’d like to join in, subscribe via Patreon or Substack. And you can always email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello from three time zones! 

This week, Tammy is joined by Debt Collective organizers Ann Larson and Eleni Schirmer to reflect on the movement that won historic relief from student debt. 

But first, we remember the great Barbara Ehrenreich, who passed last week. Ehrenreich was an author and activist best known for her bestselling book Nickel and Dimed, a hard-hitting yet beautifully written dive into the low-wage economy. She also made incredible contributions to leftist movements, from DSA to domestic workers, the Economic Hardship Reporting Project and In These Times, as well as her often-misunderstood warning about the “professional–managerial class.” And Ann reminds us that Ehrenreich wrote about more than just labor! 

In our main segment, we celebrate and dissect a rare victory on the left. Ann and Eleni talk about their personal journeys toward calling b******t on all kinds of debt—and trace Biden’s recent debt-cancellation announcement to its Occupy Wall Street origins and a decade of painstaking organizing. We reflect on the path forged by the Corinthian debt strikers, the public sector’s broader reliance on debt, the “proof of concept” in Biden’s nowhere-near-enough cancellation policy, and the way that framing debt as a shared economic condition opens up new organizing opportunities. (A real-life case study in solidarity on the basis of class!) Plus: how all of us can get involved to make the debt announcement a reality.

Thanks for listening. Please subscribe and stay in touch via Patreon and Substack, email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello from Washington state! 

This week, we’re joined by Silky Shah, executive director of Detention Watch Network and repeat pod guest, to chat about immigration (and, briefly, Nathan Fielder’s bizarre new show, “The Rehearsal”). 

We start by diving into Caitlin Dickerson’s exhaustive report, in The Atlantic, on the Trump administration's family-separation policy. We reflect on the unique horrors of that period, while locating them in a longer history of cruelty toward immigrants, up to the present. 

Silky also outlines the current immigration landscape, including Biden’s continuation of Trump’s Title 42 policy (which blocks migration ostensibly on public-health grounds). She explains how the misguided theory of deterrence has governed immigration policy under both Democratic and Republican administrations, aided by skewed media narratives, and suggests what the immigrant-rights movement should do to prepare for the next mass-organizing moment. 

As always, please subscribe via Patreon and Substack to support the show and gain access to our Discord. Our global, 24/7 community of listeners is currently discussing Leo’s 21-year-old girlfriends, basketball, Seoul fashion, “The Rehearsal,” immigration policy, food in the PNW, and so much more. You can also follow us on Twitter and email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com. 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello from Philly! 

We’re lucky to be joined this week by former podsquad member Andy Liu, for an in-depth chat about his three favorite things: sports, history, and Taiwan. 

First, we review the new Netflix documentary about Manti Te'o, the college-football star who fell from grace after being catfished a decade ago. We discuss the many failures that led to Te'o’s ostracization, as well as the role his race may have played in the way the media treated him. 

Next, Andy catches us up on the latest Twitterstorian goss: the fight over a blog post on “presentism” and identity politics by American Historical Association president James H. Sweet. We interrogate Sweet’s arguments and the coded language that got him in trouble. 

Lastly, Andy answers our questions about Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. Did the House Speaker’s trip escalate tensions between Taiwan and China, or was it all bluster? Is the Democrats’ “tough on China” posturing an effort to wear populist politics? Why are people outside Asia so invested in a story about confronting China? 

Stick it out til the end to hear Jay and Andy bicker about Kevin Durant. 

If you’re a paid subscriber, come to our book club this Thursday, 8/26, at 8pm EST, with Lisa Hsiao Chen, author of “Activities of Daily Living” (Zoom info in our Discord). As always, you can subscribe via Patreon or Substack, follow us on Twitter, and email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com. 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello from Mai's high-speed European train! 

This week, Tammy and Jay watch “Free Chol Soo Lee” and speak with Julie Ha, who co-directed the film with Eugene Yi. The new documentary follows Chol Soo Lee, a Korean man in San Francisco who was wrongfully convicted of murder in the 1970s, highlighting the pan-Asian movement for his release and his troubled readjustment to life outside. Julie discusses her admiration for the pathbreaking investigative journalist K.W. Lee, who brought public scrutiny to the case; the importance of non-canonical archives; and how stories like Chol Soo Lee’s complicate prevailing immigrant identities. 

The hosts also dig into the Asian American Disinformation Table’s new report on the proliferation of disinformation(?) in immigrant communities. But what's the difference between unsavory conclusions and lies? Is the report yet another elite dismissal of impolitic concerns? 

As always, please subscribe via Patreon and Substack, follow us on Twitter, and email us at timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com. When you become a paid TTSG subscriber, you get access to our lively Discord, where you'll find information about next week’s book club with Lisa Hsiao Chen, author of “Activities of Daily Living” (Thursday 8/26 at 8pm EST). 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

Hello from the miserable gap between episodes of “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”!

This week, Jay and Tammy are joined by the great Jia Tolentino, a writer at The New Yorker and the author of Trick Mirror.

We start by talking about Jia’s recent piece on housing (= the rent is too damn high) on the worker-owned site “Hellgate”—and her dreams of organizing her building (not Tammy’s “white projects”) in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York. 

Then, we discuss two provocative essays Jia wrote on abortion after the Dobbs decision: first, on surveillance statism; and second, on the moral (especially Judeo-Christian) sacrifices inherent to pregnancy and human existence, not just to abortion. 

Plus: Jay and Tammy review Las Vegas's Sino-Korean noodles. 

As always, thanks to our wonderful producer Mai and all of our subscribers (Jia included!) for keeping the show alive. On Thursday, August 25th, we’ll have our next book club meeting with Lisa Hsiao Chen, the author of the novel Activities of Daily Living. Subscribe via Patreon or Substack to join. 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe