ASIAN AMERICA: THE KEN FONG PODCAST

David Henry Hwang is a Tony Award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and the most-produced living opera librettist in America. A three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and member of the Theater Hall of Fame, Hwang is best known for his masterpiece M. Butterfly and the critically acclaimed Yellow Face. In 2026, Hwang returns to Rodgers & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song for a landmark production at East West Players, marking the "grand finale" of their 60th Anniversary Diamond Legacy season. #eastwestplayers #flowerdrumsong #asianamerican #chineseamerican #musical #theater @eastwestplayers

We're going behind the curtain at East West Players for a two-episode event! Today, in Part 1, we're sitting down with Lily Tung Crystal. Not only is she the Artistic Director guiding EWP into its 60th anniversary season, she is also personally directing their massive upcoming revival of Flower Drum Song. We're diving into her creative process and why this story matters in 2026—all to get you ready for Part 2 with the iconic David Henry Hwang. www.eastwestplayers.org

In this latest in the collaborative The Two Kens podcast series, Fong and Kemp focus on the now month-old war with Iran, wondering whether President Trump has a deterioriating form of dementia, and how that might have played a part in his leading us into this unwarrented war in the Middle East.

In Carol Lin's memoir, When News Breaks: A Memoir of Love and War, the jade bracelet on the cover is a powerful symbol of her cultural identity, her relationship with her mother, and the "breaking" of her own life. While the book primarily chronicles her career as a CNN anchor (including being the first to break the news of 9/11), the bracelet represents the personal narrative beneath the headlines. @carollinnow

World-renowned social entrepreneur Jane Marie Chen is also an author, speaker, and leadership coach. Her best-selling memoir Like a Wave We Break is a frank and moving account of growing up as a success-driven child of immigrant parents , but how that eventually broke her in every possible way. #domesticviolence #aanhpi #socialentrepreneur #cleansing #healing www.janemariechen.com

Ted Taekeun Kim is a Korean American filmmaker and a director/producer. He is currently a graduate student at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in the Peter Stark Producing Program. He is a rising filmmaker who explores narratives that resonate with the Asian American experience. His short films have screened at the Cannes Film Festival and Vancouver International Film Festival, and have won awards at BIFAN and the Asian American International Film Festival. He is currently nearing completion on a short film titled "I Missed You" that utilizes Virtual Reality as a therapeutic tool. Before attending USC, he worked at Authentic Literary & Talent Management. He also co-founded Souvenir Media, a music video and commercials company based in Brooklyn and Seoul, with work featured on Nowness Asia and Director's Library. Ted is passionate about cultivating new Asian American voices and arthouse cinema. IG: @IMissedYouShortFilm https://seedandspark.com/fund/i-missed-you

Julie Thomas Achettu, already a well-respected Asian American literature educator in Chicago, recently co-founded "House of Jaya," a women's apparel line that blends traditional South Asian fabrics with the fashion sense of today's South Asian American women. www.houseofjaya.com

My guest today describes herself as a 'city girl at heart' who traded her corporate business suits for Steve Madden platforms and a life of authentic passion. Lori 'Sas' Sase is a graduate of Coach U and the voice behind The Imaginal Podcast. From her Japanese-American heritage to her love of live music and her deep reverence for the loyalty of dogs, Sas brings a refreshing, honest, and messy humanity to the world of self-improvement. We're going to talk about reclamation, healing, and living expansively. www.asanctuaryforthesoul.com

Dr. Stan Lai is the author of the influential book CreativitRy: Asia's Iconic Playwright Reveals the Art of Creativity(originally published in Chinese in 2006 as Stan Lai on Creativity). His work is significant because it shifts the conversation from creativity as a "mysterious gift" to a trainable skill. Dr. Lai argues that creativity consists of two parts: Method (the craft or technique of one's field) and Wisdom (the cultivation of life experience and self-awareness). He posits that while schools teach method, they rarely teach the "wisdom" necessary to fuel deep creative work.

He's a violinist, he's a cellist, and together, they are ARKAI—the Grammy-winning duo pushing the absolute limits of their instruments. Fusing classical roots with live electronic processing and pop-star energy, Jonathan Miron and Philip Sheegog create soundscapes that feel more like an IMAX experience than a recital. They're the masterminds behind the hit album Brightside, and they're my guests today.