When we began our podcast journey several folks reached out to us about covering the multiracial Filipino experience. The question came to mind “What does it mean to be a multiracial Filipino?” This is a question that we knew we’d need an expert to share their experience and perspective.

In this episode we chat with Farzana Nayani, author of the new book ‘Raising Multiracial Children.’ Farzana shares her experience growing up in a Filipino and Pakistani household in Canada. How her upbringing combined with her University of Hawaii, Manoa graduate school focus on multicultural communications lead to her current path as an author, business and life coach, and diversity, equity & inclusion specialist. Farzana also shares how writing the illustrated guide ‘Being All Of Me’ with Multiracial Americans of Southern California transitioned into the book ‘Raising Multiracial Children’ with independent publisher North Atlantic Books and national distributor Penguin Random House.

Many thanks to the Instagram audience who participated in our book giveaway by providing their questions on what they would like to know about the multiracial Filipino experience. Fatima Gloria Shahzad was our lucky winner! We’ve got exclusive news that makes our TFAL audience winners. Use the code “TFAL35” for 35% off the book and free shipping from North Atlantic Books. (Code is valid only on the NAB site: Raising Multiracial Children). After you purchase and read the book, make sure to rate and review ‘Raising Multiracial Children’  on Amazon and Goodreads.

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For Folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

What a tease!

In the midst of this doomsday-esque reality that we are experiencing through the coronavirus pandemic, we thought it would be nice to travel down the world of… you guessed it—Burlesque!

Although the roots of “burlesque“ range from parody stage shows to performances in a variety show format, it gradually transitioned into what it’s most commonly associated with today: a stage dance performance that incorporates an exploration of sex and sexuality through a slow reveal striptease.

In this episode of TFAL, we talk to two Pinay burlesque artists, Di’ Lovely and Mizon Garde. In addition to learning about what burlesque is, we get a glimpse of their background, explore complexities of sexuality, as they slowly reveal their own unique journey from discovery to success in this anything-but-typical provocative art.

For more on the growing art of burlesque in the Filipino American community, check out this LA Times article.

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For Folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

On this episode of our Social Distance Series we were able to live stream via our Youtube Channel and on Instagram. The TFAL crew chats with Therese Golingay Donnelly, a nurse practitioner based in Los Angeles. Therese shares her journey going from Founding Mother of Kappa Psi Epsilon at California State University, Long Beach to transitioning from wanting to be an FBI agent to working in the healthcare field. She shares encouraging words to her fellow nurses who are going back into the field.

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For Folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

Are you working on the front lines of covid-19? Want to send a message to front liners? Leave us a voicemail or text us at (805) 394-TFAL (8325) or emailing us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.

Also a PSA to folks who want to help healthcare frontliners! In addition to PPEs that folks have been gathering and sending to local hospitals, buy them a bottle of laundry detergent. Frontliners must wash their daily scrubs when they get home. That’s a lot of laundry! Help them out by sending them a bottle of laundry detergent.

Continuing the California mandate of social distancing the TFAL crew hosted another virtual live podcast with special guests Eugene Cordero & Mitch Narito. Initially we meant to host our live stream on Facebook, however technical difficulties lead to us hosting on our YouTube channel. In this episode we share one thing that we have learned about ourselves this week. We also get to know first time guest Mitch Narito and learn about his journey as an actor. Rounding out the show we also check in with TFAL alum Eugene Cordero. Mitch and Eugene share about their experiences on The Good Place  which we encourage you to stream while you stay at home during this type of social distancing. If you’ve finished that series you can follow it up with tonight’s season 2 premier of Tacoma FD on TruTV. 

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For Folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here. 

What have you learned about yourself this week? Let us know by calling or texting us at (805) 394-TFAL (8325) or emailing us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.

Coronavirus is here.  We’re all required to practice social distancing.  For many of us, this type of isolation is normal, for others, not so much.  Despite these government mandates, we here at TFAL must continue, if only for our own sanity.  This past week, Elaine, Joe, Ryan, and Producer Mike came together virtually and streamed a Zoom conference call discussing our respective experiences with social distancing.  Listen as we discuss our current situations, dealing with our aging parents, adventures into grocery stores (Filipino and non-Filipino alike), strategies of maintaining mental health, and stories of xenophobic incidents aimed at Asian Americans.

The current crisis is hard on all of us, both physically with the virus and mentally with the social isolation.  It’s on all of us to help each other out.  This is our way of lightening the mood.  Through the duration of this crisis, we hope to host more online sessions, so please join us on FB Live.  Hopefully, this online version of TFAL will give you a bit of laughter and thought through these grim times.

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

How are you dealing with the Coronavirus crisis and social distancing?  Let us know by calling us at (805) 394-TFAL or emailing us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.  We’ll get through this together!

Documentaries are essential for our community.  There are certainly a number of good films that document the Filipino and Filipino American experience – Delano Manongs, The Fall of the I-Hotel, Imelda, The Learning, Bontoc Eulogy, to name a few.  These films are so important in spreading awareness of our people’s history and culture and keeping our stories alive.  Without them, we will be further doomed to ignorance and irrelevance.  But how does one begin to make a documentary?

In this episode of TFAL, the crew interviews award-winning filmmaker, Marissa Aroy.  Listen as we discuss her journey into making film documentaries, her passion for the Filipino American community, the rise of mini-docs, and what it’s like to be a woman of color in the largely white, male film documentary industry.  The crew also talks documentaries, their favorites, and the documentary films they would make if they were actually filmmakers…and had the money!

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

Do you have any great ideas for Filipino/Filipino American documentaries?  Let us know your thoughts, (805) 394-TFAL or thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.

Also, to support Marissa Aroy’s latest film project on the Philippine American War (very very needed!), go her this link here.

In this mini episode the TFAL crew get to know artist and musician Greg Narvas. Greg Narvas is the creator of the zine “I Was a Teenage Filipino Skinhead” and is the drummer and percussionist for the ska band Hepcat. Inspired by AZN FLUSH, a drinking game, Greg realized that there could be a Filipino American equivalent and set out to to create FLAM. Listen as the TFAL crew plays FLAM over whiskey and a few bottles of San Miguel. FYI if you have little ones in the car you may want to wait on listening to this one. The alcohol leads to a few f-bomb slips! 

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

Many thanks for Greg for coming into Berllado studios and letting TFAL break in FLAM. If you are interested in FLAM follow Greg on instagram (@leftylimbo) for more info. 

You can also catch Hepcat at Punk Rock Bowling in Downtown Las Vegas on Friday, May 22 at Bunkhouse Saloon. It’ll be a night of rocksteady ska, reggae, and northern soul.  This show should be rad since it is also the Punk Rock Bowling debut of Bad Manners!

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Shameless plug for my li’l ol’ band here. We’re hitting Downtown Vegas’ Bunkhouse Saloon on Friday, May 22 for a last-minute addition to Punk Rock Bowling! 😸 Featuring an awesome lineup of soul, ska, punk and oi! bands, including none other than the legendary Bad Manners with their first-ever appearance at PRB! It’s gonna be a blast… hope you can make it! 😸

A post shared by GN (@leftylimbo) on Feb 20, 2020 at 7:48pm PST

CORRECTION: Contrary to what was discussed in the episode, there is no “long” or “short” form in the Census. The 2020 Census will only have nine questions. The “long” and “short” form discussed refers to the American Community Survey (ACS), not the 2020 Census. Additionally, the 2020 Census will NOT ask for income. Apologies for the oversight.

Census-maryosep, Census 2020 is coming!

Historically, Filipino Americans (like many other communities of color) tend to be under-counted. In our effort to make sure our community is heard, we dedicated this mini-episode to the importance of the Census to the Filipino American community.  How does it help us?  What can Census data tell us about our lives as Filipino Americans?  How many Filipinos are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area?  Find out all these answers and more on this episode!

Also, here’s a PSA targeting the Filipino American community that you can share with your friends and family:

Please note that this is not a paid-advertisement by the Census.  (We missed that funding train a while back!).  Nonetheless, we still wanted to do our part in spreading the word about this very important event!

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

Birds-eye view a homeless encampment in San Francisco that includes many Filipino Americans. From the documentary “Box City“

Homelessness is an issue that affects us all, but it’s especially felt in TFAL’s home base of Los Angeles.  Last year, thanks to a mix of housing unafforadability, stagnant wages, and the effects of past and present systemic inequities, on any given night, nearly 59,000 people in Los Angeles did not have a permanent place to sleep.

And while some consider Los Angeles to be the “capital of homelessness”, its an issue that is felt even more significantly in the Philippines, where it’s estimated that 4.5 million people are homeless, 3 million of which are in Manila alone.

But how do we as Filipinos connect with this issue?  Is it a topic of discussion in our communities and families?  Are there homeless Filipino Americans?  How do we contend with  poverty, inequity, and economic crisis, both here and in the motherland, and what can we do to solve these issues?

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Earlier this month the Los Angeles Times ran the column Here’s how HiFi, or Historic Filipinotown, got its name by Frank Shyong. In the column Frank quotes TFAL’s Joe Bernardo and mentions Episode 85 – Filipino Ethnic Enclaves: Do They Exist? Do We Need Them?

Head to the LA Times and read the full column and then take a listen to this throwback episode of TFAL!

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here, or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

What are your thoughts about Frank Shyong’s column? What would your ideal Filipinotown look like? Let us know at (805) 394-TFAL (8325) or send us an email at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.