Podcasts

Episode 161 – The Complicated History of SPAM with Gabrielle Berbey

Oh SPAM…the delectable, delicious soft pink slab of pork meat so ubiquitous to Filipino and Filipino American weekend breakfast meals. You love it fried, crispy, maybe with a sprinkle of sugar, served with a warm heap of garlic rice and egg. It tickles our taste buds and tummies with such delight, but also clogs our…

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Episode 160: TFAL talks The Girl Who Sees with Pattie Umali

  It’s no secret that TFAL Producer Mike and Elaine love a good video game from Animal Crossing to Uncharted to Final Fantasy.  Role Playing Games (RPG) are a favorite pastime. If only there was a Filipino inspired one we could explore? Well turns out there is!  In this episode the crew shares their experiences…

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Episode 159 – The Secret’s Out: Secretly Filipino

Ever wonder why that peculiar Chinese restaurants have no chopsticks on their table settings?  Have you noticed that your finance branch at your work has a lot of Filipinos? Did you ever think, what’s up with basketball leagues that are 6 feet and Under? These questions are some of the same things we’ve asked. We…

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Episode 158 – Baybayin atbp. with Kristian Kabuay

Baybayin, the pre-colonial written script of the Philippines, is a major foundation of our cultural heritage.  The alphasyllabary script consisting of 17 characters was understood and used by communities throughout much of the archipelago prior to colonization.  Spanish missionary Pedro Chirino, who lived and studied Philippine society in the early years of Spanish colonization, documented…

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Episode 157 – A Few of TFAL’s Favorite Things – Small Businesses to Support this Holiday Season

In this episode, we shout out some of the many Filipino Small Businesses that we are personal fans of, ones that you should definitely support this Holiday season!  Here is the list of who we mentioned on the show, along with some other ones that are also near and dear to our hearts: Jewelry  …

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Episode 156 – Freethought, Faith, and Politics with Filipino Freethinkers

Gotta have faith! Freedom Like many Filipinos and Filipino Americans, the TFAL crew grew up around Christianity, specifically Catholicism. We speak of our upbringing in our podcast, mainly about how it’s shaped not just our adult selves, but the continued practices and traditions of many family, friends and listeners alike. Although we all look at…

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Episode 155 – Filipi-mnemonics: Remembering the Tagalog with Geoffrey Ocampo

Oh, the dad joke. We all know it. We all love it. And for Filipinos it gives us life. While Dad jokes can be a myriad of things, dad jokes to Filipinos are especially punny (get it?). For one Filipino American, dad jokes have become a way to learn Tagalog words. In this mini-episode, the…

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Episode 154 – Manifest Technique: Talking Filipino Americans and Hip Hop with Mark Villegas (Social Distance Series)

In this episode the TFAL crew is short one Ryan Carpio but is happily joined by Kat Carrido Bonds on this episode about Filipino Americans in Hip Hop. Mark Villegas shares his wealth of knowledge as an academic scholar in this field bridging his previous collaborative work with DJ Kuttin Kandi and Dr. Roderick N….

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Episode 153 – Kulintang Kultura: A Conversation with Theo Gonzalves and Mary Talusan Lacanlale

Kulintang (literally meaning “golden sound moving” in English), is the gong and drum ensemble indigenous to the Sulu and Mindanao islands in the southern Philippines  This classical music genre has resonated across the Philippines and throughout the Filipino diaspora. As a way to honor and archive the rich sounds of kulintang, the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings…

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Episode 152 – A Life Well Designed: The Legacy of Pinky Santos and the Influence of Filipino Art on the Lived Environment

“If there was one thing to take away from this story, I would hope that it’s motivation for you to go create something.” -Antonio “Miko” Javiniar This is a story about chairs. Whether you knew it or not, the rattan and bamboo hourglass-style peacock chair that has been seen in photos and homes for over…

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