“Ay nako…walang hiya ka!” or “Walang hiya si ________.”  Many of us have heard these phrases before.  It may be the ultimate insult, or the start of a juicy gossip story.  But what is hiya? Hiya closely translates to “shame” in English.  To say “walang hiya” is to accuse someone of having no shame.  It’s a…

Hi TPals!!  There’s a new way for folks to support your favorite Filipino American podcast: Kofi!  If you don’t feel like donating on a monthly basis, feel free to buy us a cup of coffee through ko-fi!  (We’re not really using your donation for coffee.  All proceeds go to the operations of the show!). Find…

On this episode of This Filipino American Life, the crew talks about their experiences with pop culture before hashing things out with pop culture scholar and fellow Pop Rocket podcaster, Karen Tongson. Find out who in the crew loves Steven Universe, music, food, gambling, and sports. (Hint hint: it’s someone in the picture.) Also listen…

For many of us (POCs specifically), 2017 was a challenging year.  Trump’s reign as president and his attacks on the American people has alarmed even moderate conservatives.  In the Philippines, Duterte’s drug war has amassed thousands of casualties among the country’s poor.  And the demise of net neutrality may alter this very podcast. But not…

Kali, Arnis, and Eskrima, or sometimes known as “Filipino Martial Arts (FMA),” has been practiced both in the Philippines and in the United States for generations. A mix of native Southeast Asian and domesticated European fighting styles, Filipino Martial Arts has been known to be one of the most efficient and powerful fighting systems in…

Some call it a rite of passage.  Some consider it a ritual obligation.  Some believe it’s a controversial matter, and some still consider it a health benefit.  In this mega cringeworthy episode, we’re talking about Tuli, or male circumcision.  The cultural practice of tuli is very common in the Philippines for boys around the ages…

As a follow-up to our last episode on Filipino WWII Veterans, we present to you a collage of sounds and interviews from last year’s Justice for Filipino Americans Veterans march in Hollywood, CA.  It features interviews with students, community organizers, and a veteran, as well as the many chants that have come to characterize this…

On this episode of This Filipino American Life we continue our Bay Area invasion and talk story with Filipino Americans in the Cannabis industry, as well as address the tech boom that’s associated with Silicon Valley and the many companies who dominate the area.  Nina Parks of Mirage Medicinal educates the crew about how her work…

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to the 2nd largest Filipino population in the United States.  Soma Pilipinas, the Filipino cultural district recently designated by the City of San Francisco, is the heart of Filipino America in the Bay.  Last month, TFAL paid a visit to Soma Pilipinas to talk to some of the…