Author: Time To Say Goodbye

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

Hello from Tammy’s undisclosed location! 

The hosts start with a brief discussion of Leanna Louie, a law-and-order Democrat running for District 4 Supervisor in SF. What might she represent for the future of Asian-American politics? 

Then Jay and Tammy are joined by investigative journalist Ali Fowle to discuss Myanmar. The country’s military regime recently killed four prisoners, including well known pro-democracy activists Phyo Zeya Thaw and Ko Jimmy. These judicial executions, the first since the 1980s, shocked even those inside Myanmar, where extrajudicial murders and widespread arrests have been commonplace since the February 2021 military coup. 

Ali describes her experience reporting from Myanmar in the decade leading up to the coup, the culture of fear and violence used to suppress last year’s popular uprising, and what the resistance movement looks like today. We ask why the coup in Myanmar has not broken through internationally in the way Russia’s assault on Ukraine has, and what message the recent executions are meant to send. 

Be sure to watch the short documentary Ali produced last year with Al Jazeera (warning: graphic content), and give a listen to Phyo Zeya Thaw’s music. 

Please subscribe and stay in touch via Patreon and Substack, follow us on Twitter, and feel free to 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 a walk-up apartment! 

This week, Tammy and Jay invite food-and-culture writer Wei Tchou to discuss trends in plant-based meat and beverages. Wei has written beautifully about fermenting tempeh, making her own soy sauce, and learning to love baijiu. 

In our first investigative segment (lol), we send Jay out on the streets of Norcal. The U.S. chain Peet’s Coffee has proclaimed this the “Summer of Jelly,” dropping a new “boba-like” drink addition that’s been deemed cultural appropriation by some, harmless bobafication by others. Jay ventures to the original Peet’s in Berkeley to find out: Is the jelly any good? 

Then, Wei shills for Big Fake Pig! Could Impossible Pork be the answer to her tireless search for a veg alternative in cooking Chinese? How do new vegan meat products fit into food landscapes that have long used plant-based substitutes? Could vegan pork be an ecological and ethical cure in regions where meat consumption is still on the rise? Plus: David Chan’s unique brand of service journalism and Wei’s problematic cookbook fave. 

Check out our subscriber Discord for bonus items from Jay’s Peet’s odyssey and Wei’s kitchen.

And, on August 25, we’ll be having a subscribers-only book club with the great novelist Lisa Hsiao Chen, author of Activities of Daily Living. Come on through! 

Thanks as always for your support! Please subscribe and stay in touch via Patreon and 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 mild SF and summerpocalypse NYC! 

This week, Jay and Tammy discuss what’s been on their minds this week: the state of the Democratic party and the shifting culture around drug use in the United States. Plus: Jill Biden on tacos and bogadas! 

We read New York mag columnist Jonathan Chait’s critique of Biden and ask why the administration has such a failed legislative strategy. What, if anything, is keeping Democrats from taxing the rich? What does a recent poll tell us about the party as the midterms approach? 

Then, inspired by “How to Change Your Mind,” a new show (and book) from Michael Pollan that explores the history of psychedelics, we consider society’s reassessment of so-called “hard” and “soft” drugs. Have we fully disavowed the War on Drugs? What should we make of this increased acceptance of drug use in a time of huge numbers of opioid and fentanyl overdoses?

Thanks as always for your support! Please subscribe and stay in touch via Patreon and 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! 

This week, Tammy and Jay remember John Bennet, a former New Yorker editor and Columbia journalism professor who passed away this week: 

They are then joined by policy analyst Paul Williams to discuss the concept of social housing and its potential in the United States. How did we arrive at a political consensus so averse to public housing of any kind? Can other countries’ programs help us reclaim housing as a social good rather than a market commodity? What can we learn from current social-housing proposals across the U.S.? 

For more, read Paul on “Public Housing for All” and the California bill that made it further than expected, as well as the initiatives being floated in Rhode Island and Seattle and the project underway in Maryland. 

Thanks for your support. Please subscribe and stay in touch via Patreon and Substack, 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

Resending because of a tech glitch. Thanks for your patience.

Hello from Cleveland! 

This week, we speak with friend of the pod Danny Bessner, an historian of U.S. foreign relations and co-host of the podcast American Prestige. 

Danny discusses his new Harper’s essay, which argues for a departure from American exceptionalism, once and for all. He lays out the two main camps in U.S. foreign policy: liberal internationalists, who advocate for the maintenance of U.S. global hegemony, and restrainers, who argue that the country’s influence should be reduced. 

We also explore how war and politics have changed since the 1950s, the decimation of academic history and other disciplines in the humanities, how the U.S. regulatory apparatus insulates elite decision-makers from public opinion, and what’s needed to fight back. 

Thanks for listening, and stay in touch via Substack, timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com, https://twitter.com/ttsgpod, and/or https://www.patreon.com/ttsgpod!

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 Jeju-do!

This (harrowing news) week, the podsquad welcomes repeat guest Jenny Wang Medina—Emory professor, TV addict, literary translator, and hallyu expert—for a discussion of Jay’s favorite recent K-drama, Our Blues.

We talk about abortion, matriarchal haenyeo, regionalism, debt, and goose fathers. What makes Jeju-do such a compelling site for fiction? How are dreams deferred in the East Asian Tigers and other sites of rapid capitalist development? Plus: Jenny’s analysis of the Korean linked-novel form (연작 소설), Chevy product placement, and Tammy’s crush on Kim Woo-bin:

If you’re in NYC, come to OG TTSG Discord member (and ceramicist) Stephanie Shih’s art opening on the LES tomorrow night:

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe and get in touch via Substack, timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com, https://twitter.com/ttsgpod, and/or https://www.patreon.com/ttsgpod!

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

Hi from Chicago!

This week, Jay and Tammy talk about a rising tide of worker organizing, rising gas prices (ugh), and a new, very timely TV show.

Tammy reports back from her trip to Labor Notes (along with pod listener Matt), starring Amazon Labor Union, Starbucks Workers United, and Tío Bernie. What kind of union moment are we in?

Then, what’s the relationship between inflation and the labor market, and what does it mean for electoral politics in the US (and around the world)? How can the left, or even liberals, frame inflation in terms of corporate theft instead of punching down the working class?

And we’re starting to watch David Simon’s new show on HBO, based on Justin Fenton’s book of the same title, “We Own This City.” What are cops for?

Finally, a quick update on the future of the pod. (Sorry about Tammy’s sound this week; she didn’t have her usual equipment with her on the road.)

A couple other things we’re watching:

* The WTO met recently and quashed any hope of getting generic Covid vaccines, tests, and medicine distributed around the world.

* Very cool about the new Colombian president and vice president!

IRL fun: We’re gonna have a send-off for Andy this Sunday in New York. If you’re a subscriber, log into the Discord to get the details and RSVP!

Thanks for listening! Please subscribe and reach out to us via Substack, timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com, https://twitter.com/ttsgpod, and/or https://www.patreon.com/ttsgpod!

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 Andy’s couch!

We take a break from the NBA finals to record Andy’s last ep as co-host : (

Per his request, the podsquad talks Amy Chua’s now decade-old book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother—and argues about everything in it. Is the Chinese Tiger Mother actually a thing? Does it matter that Chua is an upper-class second-generation parent? What kind of Asian America does the book describe? Can the satirical bent of the book erase its meanness and cultural essentialism? (Note: we focus pretty narrowly on the memoir and don’t get into her husband’s suspension from Yale for sexual harassment or her own professorial misconduct… but yeah, a lot there.)

Then, we send Andy off with thanks and <3 notes from our listener community. Thank you, Andy, for an amazing two-plus years!

And thank you for listening. Spread the word, and reach out to us via Substack, timetosaygoodbyepod@gmail.com, https://twitter.com/ttsgpod, and/or https://www.patreon.com/ttsgpod! Jay and Tammy will see you next week.

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