Podcast Series:
Dear Houston — Love, Asian America
Storytelling is a powerful and beautiful art form that transcends language, space, and time; through this medium of archival practice, we are connected and inspired by stories passed on through generations. In this podcast, we will be sharing stories from the Asian American community in Houston, where stories collected by oral history interviews at the Houston Asian American Archive (HAAA), are weaved, told, and retold, via a myriad of topics that relate to their intersections with the Asian American identity.
Episode 1:
When Haru Met Saavi... Love Stories from the Houston Asian American Archive
In the spirit of the season for love, the Houston Asian American Archive has selected three love stories from our archive to premiere on Valentine's Day. These stories from past to present consist of ones crossing the ocean, crossing generations, and crossing gender norms. We hope this episode will bring you some laughter, some nostalgia, and... some love from Asian America.
Featuring:
- Beck Hong Gee (1922–2020)
- Atul & Poonam Salhotra; and their son, Raj Salhotra
- Jimmy & Deborah Lin
A copy of the transcript can be downloaded here.
This podcast is produced by Ann Shi, written by Tyler Stoddard Smith, and sound-edited by Matthew Lai (Senior, NYU). Assisted by Gordan Liu (Junior, Rice). Music contributed by:
- Misha, "We're Gonna Have it Out (Modern Love)" (follow their music on SoundCloud here)
- Kevin Trinidad, "The Ghost in the Window" (follow their music on Spotify here)
- Jimmy Lin, "Nai-Chung Kuan & Joel Hoffman: Chinese Orchestral Works" (follow their music on Spotify here)
More stories:
For a full collection of the footage of the love stories in the Archive (and in the air), please visit our Love Stories special collection here.
Full interviews of the three stories in this podcast can be found at:
Beck Hong Gee (conducted by Taylor Ginter, Sara Davis), top left
Poonam & Atul Salhotra, Raj Salhotra (conducted by Ann Shi), right
Jimmy Lin, Deborah Lin (conducted by Chelsea Ward, Winifred Tung), bottom left
Episode 2:
Great Eats: Stories from Houston’s Food Scene
The Houston Asian American Archive takes you to explore the diversity of Houston's renowned food scene. The documentary features five restaurants that reflect the geographical and generational bonds of Houston’s Asian community. Drawing upon archival stories, intertwined family histories and cultural ties are explored. An integral part of Houston’s food scene, Asian restaurants have paved the way for neighborhoods like Little India and Chinatown, popularized Asian flavors, and celebrated Asian culture.
Featuring:
- Raja Sweets
- Mala Sichuan Bistro
- Sushiya
- Xin Chao
- Blood Bros. BBQ
This documentary is produced and written by Sarah Kong, with help from Dolly Li, and assisted by Helen Pu. Filming and video editing was completed by Elhadji Diop and Zainob+Mathew Create. Sound editing was also done by Zainob+Mathew Create. Much thanks to all restaurant owners, Dolly Li, Zainob+Mathew Create, and Dr. Anne Chao.
Episode 3:
What is a Chinese Church?
In this podcast, Helen invites pastors from the Chinese Baptist Church (CBC), the Houston Chinese Church (HCC), the West Houston Chinese Church (WHCC), and the Access Church to reflect on what it means to be a Chinese church.
View / download the transcript
They discuss current issues facing the churches and look ahead to their future. Even though the congregations of the Chinese churches have a generally consistent ethnic composition, there are cultural, political, and generational chasms that are demanding changes beyond the religious offerings of the churches. By exploring the heterogeneity that lies within a homogeneous community, the speakers explore the intersection between religion, ethnicity, and cultural identity against the themes of heritage, history, and future. Their conversations show that now is a pivotal time for the Chinese churches to critically examine their founding principles in order to pave a promising path for the future.
(Top: Justin Wong, Jason Tarn; Bottom: David Hsu, Ted Law)
Full-length interviews are available for each of the pastors that were invited on this podcast. The interviews discuss each pastor’s childhood, religious journey, and provide more context to the conversations included in this podcast. View the full interviews of this podcast’s guests below.
Featured in this podcast:
Justin Wong, Youth Pastor at CBC
Jason Tarn, Lead English Pastor at HCC
David Hsu, Senior Pastor at WHCC
Ted Law, Lead Pastor at Access Church
For more information on the Houston Chinese Church and transnational immigrant networks, a helpful reference is Fenggang Yang's "Chinese Christian Transnationalism: Diverse Networks of a Houston Church".
This podcast is produced by Helen Pu.
Episode 4:
Melodies of the Asian American Experience
The following is a collection of clips of interviews and performances of talented Asian American musicians — all of whom have a connection to Houston. These musicians cover a wide range of fields ranging from extreme metal and hardcore to jazz and classical and exemplify the heterogeneity in the Asian American experience. By doing so, we seek to dispel the Asian model-minority stereotype — indeed, not all Asian Americans are diligent, academically-focused students who work hard to pursue a professional career in fields such as medicine or law. Not all Asian American musicians are confined to studying and performing classical music. In this video, while we portray very gifted Asian American musicians in jazz and classical music, we also illuminate those musicians on the opposite side of the spectrum, those musicians entrenched in more rebellious, rowdy, and heavier genres of music. In the recent climate of anti-Asian sentiment, it is ever more important to show and celebrate the diverse Asian American representation in American culture.
Featuring:
Kittie Farmer — Extreme Metal Vocalist based in Austin, TX
Edwin Carson — Bassist for Houston-based hardcore band Liberty and Justice
Helen Sung — Renowned Jazz Pianist, 2021 Guggenheim Fellow
Jimmy Lin — World-renowned Violinist
Nikki Bigalbal — Lead Singer and Guitarist of Houston-based Punk band Gone Rogue
Click on the names above to view each interviewee's full oral history interview.
Visit us at haaa.rice.edu.
Episode 5:
Arts & Culture | Highlights from the Houston Asian American Archive
The following video clips represent some of the exciting artistic performances involving Houston's Asian Americans. Examples from the Houston Ballet, the South Asian Anjali Dance Center, the Dance of Asian America, independent Filipino contemporary artist and modern dancer, as well as the Miss Chinatown pageant, illustrate the richness of the performing arts in the AAPI community.
The Houston Asian American Archive gratefully acknowledges the following artists:
Charles Yoshiyama and the Houston Ballet
Rathna Kumar and the Anjali Center for Performing Arts
Janie Yao and the Dance for Asian America
Rea Sampilo and Rachel Gonzales
Click on the names above to view available full-length oral history interviews.
This recording and transcript form part of a collection of oral history interviews conducted by the Chao Center for Asian Studies at Rice University.
Visit us at haaa.rice.edu.
Upcoming episodes include:
- Asian Art in Houston (directed by Ann Shi)
The series is produced by Ann Shi, Associate Curator under the guidance of Dr. Anne Chao, Program Manager and Co-Founder of Houston Asian American Archive, adjunct faculty of School of Humanities, Rice University. Special thanks to Lisa Balabanlilar, Director of Chao Center for Asian Studies, without whose support this series would not have been possible; and a big thanks to Haejin E. Koh and Hae Hun Matos for their meticulous organization.
Funding is provided by the Houston Asian American Archive, of Chao Center for Asian Studies, Rice University; with additional support from Dr. Anne Chao, who generously provided her research funding.