Time To Say Goodbye

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit goodbye.substack.comHello from Jay’s final week in paradise! In this bonus episode, we answer questions from subscribers. 

Hello from the diasporic battleground! This week, we’re joined by investigative journalist and filmmaker Anjali Kamat to discuss Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s red-carpet state dinner and the spread of his Islamophobic, anti-democratic Hindutva ideology. (1:45) We start with a short history since Modi was elected in 2014, (12:20) dig into the conspiratorial lynchings that mirror right-wing campaigns in other countries, and (26:15) consider how Indian diasporic communities help maintain (and challenge) Modi’s power. We also track the responses of U.S. politicians, from Trump’s “Howdy Modi” rally in Texas, celebrating the Prime Minister’s reelection in 2019, to progressive Representative Ro Khanna’s unwillingness to critique and Obama’s surprising willingness to do so. In this episode, we ask: What differentiates the last nine years under Modi from previous periods of large-scale sectarian violence in India? Why do the myths around Modi persist, despite cracks in the facade of him as an efficient and non-corrupt leader? What was the dream of Indian multiculturalism?How do Indian diasporic communities influence Modi’s ability to consolidate power? For more, check out: * Aparna Gopalan in Jewish Currents, on how Hindu nationalists are using the pro-Israel playbook* An opinion piece by Maya Jasanoff: Narendra Modi Is Not Who America Thinks He Is* Background on the rise of Hindu nationalism in the U.S. * The first installment in our White House State Dinner critique series, from May: Karaoke soft power + left media cowardice 🎧 Heads-up: Next week’s episode will be a subscriber-only listener Q&A! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack to ask a question and hear the episode. Thanks for listening. As always, you can follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and 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 Honolulu! It’s just us this week, trading places: Tammy is home in humid Brooklyn, and Jay is on the road, visiting family in Hawaii! (6:00) First, we discuss the planned release of 500 swimming pools’ worth of radioactive(?) wastewater from Fukushima, which has spurred lousy takes from Beltway types and a run on salt in South Korea. (19:10) Next, we look at Vivek Ramaswamy’s long-shot candidacy for President and try to discern what the entrepreneur brings to a flailing Republican Party. In this episode, we ask: Was “Mad Men” a good show? How does the Fukushima conversation serve as a barometer for China–Japan–South Korea relations? Is Trumpism analogous to Modi-ism? Are we doomed to have an amoral, debate-brained candidate in every Republican primary? For more, dig into: * Regional reactions to the wastewater plan at Fukushima * Images of Vermont’s floods and the proximate climate apocalypse * Sheelah Kolhatkar’s jealousy-inducing profile of Vivek Ramaswamy for The New Yorker* DeSantis’s jump-the-shark hate ad* Our May ep about the American Prospect’s Tucker Carlson piece (and its backlash): Karaoke soft power + left media cowardice Thanks for listening! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. 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 the South Korean Ministry of Culture’s Brooklyn satellite office! This week, Tammy welcomes back Jenny Wang Medina, our resident scholar of Korean cultural exports and semiotics, for a record-tying fourth appearance on TTSG / third-anniversary spectacular! We talk about a few recent Korean/Korean American/Asian American productions: (8:30) the Netflix hit “Beef,” with Ali Wong and Steven Yeun; (31:40) the new transnational A24 flick “Past Lives,” starring Greta Lee; and (1:03:00) Hansol Jung’s adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, featuring an all-Asian American cast (which recently had a run in NYC). We tried to avoid spoilers, but couldn’t avoid some “Past Lives” reveals! In this episode, we ask: What makes “Beef” feel so authentically West Coast Asian American? How do you know when Shakespeare is Asian American?Who’s behind today’s transnational TV and film productions? What will the next “untranslatable” Korean concept be?!For more, see: * Jenny’s previous TTSG appearances: Korean wig stores (October 2020), A feminist(?) K-drama about abortion (June 2022), and ​​​​Fantasies of progress on K-TV (September 2022)* The sexual assault allegations against “Beef” actor David Choe and a look at his cult-like online community * Jenny’s latest K-drama rec: Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938Also, Tammy highly recommends “Behind Every Star,” the Netflix K-drama remake of the excellent French comedy “Call My Agent.”Thanks for listening! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. 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 the East Bay! It’s just Jay this week, chatting with friend of the pod Darrell Owens, a Berkeley-based housing expert. We discuss a new study from the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at UCSF on the causes and consequences of homelessness in California. In this episode, we ask:  Can the revelations in this study—or any new evidence, for that matter—finally move the needle on reducing homelessness? How do “Housing First” advocates address the desire for immediate solutions to a crisis that has been decades in the making? Why are people who are older, disabled, and from certain racial and ethnic groups so vastly overrepresented among the homeless population? For more, see: * The full UCSF study, Toward a New Understanding: The California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness * Our previous episode with Darrell, from July 2021: The Fight to End Single Family Zoning and the YIMBY/NIMBY/PHIMBY War* The book Homelessness Is a Housing Problem, by Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern * California YIMBY’s December 2022 report on Housing First policies Thanks for listening! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. 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 the Hill! This week, we’re joined by Ligia Guallpa, executive director of Workers Justice Project (WJP), a group that organizes low-wage, immigrant workers in New York City, including the app-based delivery workers who call themselves Los Deliveristas Unidos. WJP and the Deliveristas just won the passage of a mandatory minimum wage, a huge improvement for e-bike and car delivery workers on GrubHub, Uber Eats, and other platforms. (13:30) Ligia details the unique dangers that spurred the emergence of the Deliveristas as COVID hit New York and (31:00) offers some lessons learned from going against these big-tech titans and their algorithms. In this episode, we ask: How substantial was the shift towards app-based gig work during COVID, and what did that mean for  workers?  Is it necessary to focus on fighting worker misclassification?How did delivery workers overcome the immense challenge of organizing in a disparate, deliberately siloed workforce? For more, read: * A 2021 piece in The Verge about the early days of organizing among Los Deliveristas Unidos * Another horrific fire this week that may have been caused by improperly maintained e-bike batteries* A report on the backlash that threatened to derail WJP’s minimum-wage fight * News that the NLRB recently reverted to an Obama-era test that could make it easier for gig workers to organize Thanks for listening! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. 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

The podcast discusses complex cultural shifts in Asian American food and education, including the dominance of Thai food in the US, the concept of 'authentic' Asian food being cheap, and the likely end of affirmative action. They also touch on topics such as panic caused by smoke from wildfires, generational voting patterns, and the fusion of different cuisines in Portland's food scene.

Hello from Montréal! 🥳 Reminder: Join us THIS SATURDAY, June 10th, in Brooklyn, for our subscriber picnic! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack for more details. This week, we welcome back our friend Max Read—dad, Twitter lurker, hat seller, and creator of the incredible Read Max newsletter—for an anniversary chat. (12:30) We speculate about the next phase of A.I. ascendancy and (28:25) large language model pioneers, and (44:00) unpack the labor dimensions of these technological shifts. Speaking of labor, (45:30) we get Max’s inside perspective on the WGA strike (in which, again, A.I. …) and express solidarity with the Insider journalists who just went on strike for a fair contract! In this episode, we ask: Will the next generation be expected to know how to write? Who will ChatGPT threaten to (awkwardly, inadequately, terrifyingly) replace? Is A.I. doing to writing what earlier technologies did to the music industry? Are we getting schooled in notions of collective authorship? For more, see: * Max’s newsletters on the WGA strike and A.I.: * Why I'm on strike* I cannot believe the s**t that morons are getting up to with ChatGPT* Yet more of what I'm reading about A.I., a great mixed-reality TV show, and a great new music newsletter* His previous TTSG appearances! * Crypto fraudsters with Max Read* TTSG disinformation campaign with Max Read * John Herrman’s New York piece about Google’s in-search generative A.I. experiment* Our last episode about A.I., in which Ben Recht gets skeptical: What can’t A.I. replaceThanks for listening! Keep in touch via Instagram, TikTok, and 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 Jay’s dried-out basement (finally)! This week, writer Hua Hsu joins us for a record fourth appearance on the pod as part of our neverending anniversary celebration. In a wide-ranging chat, we touch on (7:08) how podcasting has influenced our interview styles, (16:55) the "Succession" series finale [SPOILER ALERT], and (27:30) Tammy’s accidental encounter with edibles. (38:22) We also look back at a previous conversation with Hua, from January 19, 2021, and reflect on major changes in Asian American media representation.In this episode, we ask: Which “Succession” character deserved to win?!Whom has the Internet erased from Asian American art?  Who is Jay's (extremely specific) target audience?For more, see: * The full episode we excerpted, from January 2021: "That identity s**t, that’s old news, man": belated Capitol takes + "Chan is Missing" with Hua Hsu* Our longer convo (and Jay’s full rant) about drugs, from July 2022: More Dem failings + a shifting drug culture  * Hua’s piece on Frank Chin and “Aiiieeeee!”, plus his profile of Maxine Hong Kingston* Jay’s profile of Zappos executive Tony Hsieh* A 1993 performance by Lynbrook’s local ska band, Janitors Against Apartheid * The 1990s Godzilla collective Join us on June 10th, in Brooklyn, for our subscriber picnic! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack for more details. Keep in touch via Instagram, TikTok, and 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 COVID den! It’s just Jay and Tammy this week. (3:25) First, we chat about a mini-generation of Asian women named after Connie Chung and the news anchor’s professional legacy. (22:18) Then, we discuss the public killings of Banko Brown in SF and Jordan Neely in NYC—and the disturbing turn against poor (particularly Black) people in our cities. We ask: Has America so devalued the lives of homeless people that any offense now seems to warrant vigilante murder?How do these conversations play out on the West versus the East Coast? Does urban topography affect these dynamics? For more, read: * Reporting from the S.F. Chronicle: Banko Brown: Video shows what led to S.F. Walgreens shooting; D.A. won’t file charges * Jay’s recent New Yorker piece on Jordan Neely’s death and an older article that discusses California’s housing-first approach to homelessness * Friend-of-pod Darrell Owens’s take on homelessness and vigilante violence on public transitSome TTSG housekeeping: First, we’re having a subscriber picnic on June 10th in NYC! Subscribe on Patreon or Substack for more details. Second, get a TTSG tote for yourself and all your pals! You can either get it shipped to you directly or select "Ship to TTSG" and pick it up at the June 10th picnic. If you’re shipping internationally, use this link instead. Order by this Friday and rep the pod wherever you go!Thanks as always for listening! Keep in touch via Instagram, TikTok, and 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