This Filipino American Life
215 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 360 ratingsA podcast that explores the nuanced experiences of Filipinos in the United States, atbp.
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Episodes
Episode 111 – The Social Distance Series: Live with Eugene Cordero & Mitch Narito
March 26, 2020 19:18 - 1 hour - 178 MBContinuing 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...
Episode 110 – The Social Distance Edition: TFAL on Facebook Live
March 19, 2020 23:21 - 1 hour - 158 MBCoronavirus 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...
Episode 109 – Documenting Filipino American Stories: A Conversation with Marissa Aroy
March 11, 2020 18:02 - 1 hour - 166 MBDocumentaries 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...
Episode 108 – FLAM: TFAL talks music and drinking games with Greg Narvas
February 27, 2020 16:46 - 1 hour - 173 MBIn 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...
Episode 107 – CENSUS-maryosep 2020
February 12, 2020 18:23 - 27 minutes - 63.6 MBCORRECTION: 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...
Episode 106 – Walang Bahay: Perspectives on Homelessness and Poverty with Andrew Gutierrez III from Safe Place for Youth
January 29, 2020 21:25 - 1 hour - 190 MBHomelessness 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...
Throwback Episode – Filipino Ethnic Enclaves: Do They Exist? Do We Need Them?
January 15, 2020 18:21 - 59 minutes - 136 MBEarlier 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...
Episode 105 – TFAL meets Bruha Baddies
December 18, 2019 18:31 - 1 hour - 237 MBEver leave flyers out and hope that it reaches someone out there? In this episode Producer Mike and Elaine learn how leaving TFAL flyers out in a Zia Records in Las Vegas inspired Jean Munson and Rose Trinidad of Bruha Baddies. Bruha Baddies is a Filipino/a/x podcast meant to create a space of healing, and...
Episode 104 – Hilaw Pa 3.0
December 11, 2019 17:41 - 51 minutes - 119 MBHilaw Pa is back with its third edition! If you’re new to TFAL, Hilaw Pa is a recurring segment in which the TFAL crew proposes random half-baked ideas related to the Filipino Americans that should exist in this world, but someone else should make it happen. In this edition of Hilaw Pa, the crew comes...
Episode 103 & On Filipino American Nationalism(s) with Vicente Rafael PNGpodcast crossover with Scott Lost
December 04, 2019 17:16 - 94.6 MBMany Filipinos and Filipino Americans tend to identify as such without question or sense of history of how these categories emerge historically. In this TFAL episode, Joe speaks to his advisor and mentor in graduate school, Dr. Vicente Rafael, about the various formations and iterations of Filipino and Filipino American nationalism. Dr. Rafael is a...
Episode 103
December 04, 2019 17:16 - 94.6 MBMany Filipinos and Filipino Americans tend to identify as such without question or sense of history of how these categories emerge historically. In this TFAL episode, Joe speaks to his advisor and mentor in graduate school, Dr. Vicente Rafael, about the various formations and iterations of Filipino and Filipino American nationalism. Dr. Rafael is a...
Episode 103 – On Filipino American Nationalism(s) with Vicente Rafael
December 04, 2019 17:16 - 94.6 MBMany Filipinos and Filipino Americans tend to identify as such without question or sense of history of how these categories emerge historically. In this TFAL episode, Joe speaks to his advisor and mentor in graduate school, Dr. Vicente Rafael, about the various formations and iterations of Filipino and Filipino American nationalism. Dr. Rafael is a...
Episode 102: Coffee Talk with Joseph Zoleta of Black 6 Coffee Trading Co
November 20, 2019 18:17 - 1 hour - 150 MBWhat happens when a Marine combines their passion for coffee with their Veterans organized humanitarian mission non profit? In this episode the crew talks with Joseph Zoleta and learns how a humanitarian trip to the Philippines turned this marine/paramedic into an entrepreneur with Black 6 Coffee Trading Co. Joseph Zoleta is the President of Black...
Episode 101: Pag-ibig – TFAL talks Romance Novels with Tif Marcelo, Mia Hopkins, Maida Malby, and Sarah Smith
November 06, 2019 16:24 - 58 minutes - 135 MBDuring Filipino American History Month The Ripped Bodice, the only exclusively romance bookstore in the United States, hosted Pag-Ibig: Celebrating Filipino Diaspora in Romantic Fiction with Tif Marcelo, Mia Hopkins, Maida Malby, Sarah Smith, hosted by Ezrah Lasolah-Tuble. In this episode Elaine is joined by romance novel enthusiast and best friend Ivy Barrera. Elaine and...
Episode 100 – TFAL’s 100th Episode!
October 30, 2019 15:34 - 1 hour - 152 MBWe finally made it!! After 3 1/2 years, we made it to Episode 100. Let’s celebrate!!! In this special episode, we look back at TFAL’s first 99 episodes. Listen as we reminisce about some of TFAL’s greatest moments, and, of course, playback some of our bloopers that never made it on air. What episodes are...
Episode 99 – Weaving Filipino Cultures and Communities: A Conversation with Anthill Fabric Gallery
October 23, 2019 16:43 - 53 minutes - 122 MBIn this special TFAL episode, we get to know two Pinay visionaries of Anthill Fabric Gallery: Co-founder and Managing Director Anya Lim and Team Performance Coach Elisa Estrera. Anthill Fabric Gallery creates beautiful, contemporary, handmade clothing and accessories by putting culture and communities first. Headquartered in Cebu, Anthill partners with various indigenous, rural, and working...
Episode 98 – Filipino Funerals, Spirits, and the Afterlife
October 16, 2019 16:05 - 49 minutes - 113 MBDeath is a natural part of life. All of us have experience with death, whether it’s among our family, our friends, or even folks we barely know. With death comes customs and rituals associated with it that we, the living, perform and practice. For example, many pre-colonial peoples of the Philippines believed that one had...
Episode 97 – TFAL Game Show 2: Live at Beatrock’s 10th Anniversary
October 07, 2019 22:14 - 52 minutes - 121 MBOn Sunday, October 6th, the TFAL crew had the opportunity to be a part of the Beatrock Music 10-Year Anniversary Festival held at the Bootleg Theater in Historic Filipinotown. The crew revisited the fan favorite format of the TFAL Game Show which we introduced in Episode 27.5. On this episode we had Beatrock Music artist...
Episode 96 – Human Trafficking: A Conversation with Damayan and Mairi Nunag
October 02, 2019 10:22 - 1 hour - 191 MBIn early September, Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California (PWC) hosted an anti-human trafficking summit, bringing together survivors, advocates, and leaders from throughout the country. After two days of workshops, panels, and performances, the participants launched the Baklas campaign (Filipino for dismantle / break free), a national effort to end human trafficking. Post-summit, TFAL got a...
Episode 95 – Filipino American Gangs, Part 2: Law Enforcement
September 18, 2019 15:56 - 1 hour - 218 MBHistorically, police departments have had a history of tense and even hostile relations with communities of color, with the Los Angeles Police Department as one of the most notorious. Looking back as far as the 1960’s and 1970’s, the LAPD has had police chiefs at the helm whose approach to law enforcement was not only...
Episode 94 – Filipino Americans in Wrestling and Comics: A TFAL & PNGpodcast crossover with Scott Lost
September 04, 2019 16:06 - 117 MBWhile at San Diego Comic Con this year Elaine and Producer Mike were lucky enough to speak with Scott Lost, former professional wrestler turned comic book artist. Scott is one of the founders of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, an independent wrestling company that has alums such as TJP, the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Ricochet, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and more. After leaving professional wrestling behind Scott founded Accidental Aliens, a San Diego based art studio, creating stories with characters tha...
Episode 94
September 04, 2019 16:06 - 117 MBWhile at San Diego Comic Con this year Elaine and Producer Mike were lucky enough to speak with Scott Lost, former professional wrestler turned comic book artist. Scott is one of the founders of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, an independent wrestling company that has alums such as TJP, the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Ricochet, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and more. After leaving professional wrestling behind Scott founded Accidental Aliens, a San Diego based art studio, creating stories with characters tha...
Episode 93 – The Murder of Joseph Ileto: 20 Years Later
August 22, 2019 15:38 - 1 hour - 145 MBOn August 10, 1999, Buford O. Furrow, Jr., a white supremacist, shot and killed JOSEPH ILETO, a Filipino American postal worker in Chatsworth, CA, after firing 70 shots inside the North Valley Jewish Community Center with a semi-automatic weapon. Ileto had just delivered mail to a home when Furrow approached him and asked if Ileto...
Episode 92 – Fading Cultural Practices
August 14, 2019 16:54 - 44 minutes - 102 MBDo you still mano po? Do you still call your siblings ate/kuya or manang/manong/ading? Do you know the recipes that your grandparents used in their cooking? Do you miss the local Filipino restaurant or store that no longer exists? Do you wear barongs or baro’t saya? What markers of Filipino culture do you still preserve...
Episode 91 – TFAL talks Paleontology: It’s not just Dinosaurs!
August 07, 2019 15:32 - 1 hour - 139 MBDid you know that Paleontology is more than just dinosaurs? If so, YAY for you! When the opportunity to talk to a Filipino American paleontologist came about it got Elaine excited to talk all things dinosaurs, which is exactly what happens in the beginning of this episode. Luckily TFAL talks story with Gabe Santos, Filipino...
Episode 90 – SDCC 2019 Panel: Filipinx in Podcasting
July 31, 2019 17:00 - 1 hour - 147 MBThis year TFAL’s Elaine and Producer Mike got to take in the magic that is San Diego Comic Con (SDCC). The panel was hosted by Diverse Geeks in Focus with Alix Catherine (host – Ready Set Geek!) moderating the panel of Gemma Vidal (host – Diverse Geeks in Focus), Justin Quizon (Screen Rant, That Hashtag Show),...
Episode 89 – “Alam ko na kaya mo”: Experiences of Filipino “Positive” Parenting
July 17, 2019 15:41 - 38 minutes - 87.7 MBThe TFAL crew is reunited in studio after a few months of travels to Canada and the Philippines. This episode is inspired by a The Tagalog Project Instagram post that highlighted positive Pilipino Praises. When TFAL shared this post the feedback was on a certain theme. “Positive” parenting seemed like a foreign concept to several TPALs. While Filipino...
Episode 88 – Colorism in the Filipino Community
July 03, 2019 17:05 - 1 hour - 196 MB“Don’t play out in the sun. You’ll get too dark!” Most Filipinos have heard this phrase from parents or elders numerous times when they were children. For Filipino Americans, this phrase might strike a chord as an example of Filipinos’ preference for lighter skin. For some, it may conjure up memories of being bullied, traumatized,...
Episode 87 – Filipino Americans in the PBA: TFAL Talks to Former PBA Star Tony De La Cruz
June 19, 2019 16:11 - 56 minutes - 129 MBIt’s no secret that Filipinos are obsessed with basketball. Same goes for Filipino Americans. Ask many Filipino Americans and more likely than not, they LOVE basketball. TFAL even did an episode on it. Did you know that several hundred Filipino Americans are in the Philippines playing basketball in the college, minor leagues, and the PBA?...
Episode 86 – Filipino Americans Doing Business in the Philippines: TFAL Talks to Roland Ros of Kumu and Carmel Laurino of Kalsada Coffee
June 12, 2019 16:16 - 1 hour - 179 MBAs a Filipino American, have you ever considered moving to the Philippines? Whether you were born in the diaspora or moved from the Philippines as a small child, does the Philippines ever “call to you?” If you’ve ever contemplated it, you should check out this episode about two Filipino Americans who moved to the motherland...
Episode 85 – Filipino Ethnic Enclaves: Do They Exist? Do We Need Them?
June 05, 2019 17:16 - 59 minutes - 136 MBDespite efforts to create Filipino ethnic enclaves – Historic Filipinotown in LA, SoMa Pilipinas in San Francisco, Filipino Village in National City, Little Manila in Toronto, etc. – a common narrative out there is that Filipinos do not have a discernible ethnic enclave. Even heavy Filipino-populated suburban cities such as Daly City, Carson, Vallejo, Jersey...
Episode 84 – Filipino Canadian Businesses and Cultural Arts in Vancouver: TFAL Talks to WSDMCLUB Barber Shop, DISTRIKT MOVEMENT, and Kathara Pilipino Indigenous Arts Collective Society
May 29, 2019 16:29 - 1 hour - 177 MBWelcome back to Canada! We round out our travel shows with our last two interviews from Vancouver. In this episode we interview entrepreneurs Marvin Soriano of WSDM CLUB Barbershop and Jian Pablico of DISTRIKT MOVEMENT. They discuss opening up their respective businesses, not only to make money, but to serve as community centers for...
Episode 83 – Filipino Canadian Politics and Community Organizing in Vancouver: TFAL Talks to Mable Elmore, MLA, RJ Aquino, KAMP, and Tulayan
May 15, 2019 15:53 - 1 hour - 229 MBWelcome to Canada, eh? In addition to our trip to Seattle last month, the TFAL crew was able to take a trip to our neighbor to the north, Canada…Vancouver to be exact. In our next couple episodes, we talk to some of Van-city’s awesomest Filipino community leaders. This episode focuses on political and community...
Episode 82 – Filipino Food Scene in Seattle: TFAL Talks to Hood Famous Café, Kamayan Farm, and Musang Seattle
May 01, 2019 16:54 - 1 hour - 213 MBWhat is the Filipino Food scene like in Seattle? In this TFAL episode, we’re back in Seattle to talk about Pacific Northwest Filipino food with some members of the Ilaw Collective, a coalition of Filipino food and beverage professionals in the region. First, we talk to Chera Amlag and Geo Quibuyen of Hood Famous Bake...
Episode 81 – Finding Filipino American Community in LA’s Little Tokyo: Conversations with Alison De La Cruz, Kennedy Kabasares, and Francis Cullado
April 24, 2019 20:04 - 2 hours - 293 MBIn Los Angeles, Filipinos have a special relationship with the Little Tokyo neighborhood. In the 1920s and 1930s, Filipino immigrants formed a viable Little Manila district adjacent to the Japanese neighborhood. Little Tokyo was in many ways the heart of the Asian American Movement in Southern California during the 1960s and 1970s, prompting many Filipino...
Episode 80 – Filipino American History, Politics, and Cultural Work in Seattle: TFAL Talks to Dr. Pio De Cano, Devin Cabanilla, and Sendai Era
April 18, 2019 16:49 - 1 hour - 205 MBOver the next few episodes, the TFAL crew brings you some voices from the Pacific Northwest. This past month, TFAL was on location in Seattle (and later Vancouver) to speak with some of the movers and shakers of the Filipino American community. In our first installment, we talk to Devin Cabanilla of the Filipino American...
Episode 79 – Gio-Stories: Three Tales about Filipino America by Giovanni Ortega
April 10, 2019 16:19 - 50 minutes - 115 MBIn this TFAL episode, we switch gears a bit and give you a few literary works in audio form by Giovanni Ortega, multi-disciplinary artist, writer, and teacher. Giovanni joins the TFAL podcast and shares his upbringing as a 1.5 generation Filipino American from Chicago. He then gives us three short stories from different Filipino American...
Episode 78 – Filipino American Karaoke Culture
March 21, 2019 14:04 - 46 minutes - 107 MBFilipinos and karaoke go together like peanut butter and jelly, like peas and carrots, like green mangoes and bagoong. Karaoke is essential to every Filipino party and every late night Filipino beer house. We perform karaoke in the swankiest KTV room to the local roadside hole in the wall. Filipinos even kill each other over...
In the Belly of the Eagle: Man@ng is Deity Reminds Filipino Americans of Their Important Past
March 13, 2019 15:50“Everybody doesn’t have to be a hero; everybody doesn’t have to be famous. Each person who’s Filipino American, to me, is very, very important as a story… Our stories are really in our people. It’s not so much in what the achievements are…as much as what is the story itself.” – the late Fred Cordova,...
Episode 77 (33.5) – Healthy Filipino Cooking: A Conversation with RG Enriquez of Astig Vegan
March 06, 2019 18:21 - 1 hour - 187 MBWe talk a lot about food on the podcast (and in life) partly because it’s fun, but also because it creates discussion about recipes, deliciousness, and creativity. Filipino cuisine continues to evolve. Creative home cooks and chefs alike are more mindful about available ingredients relative to their geography and health benefits of delicious alternatives. If...
Episode 76 (33) – When Filipino Pride Goes Wrong…
February 20, 2019 16:15 - 36 minutes - 84 MBMost of us have some ounce of Filipino pride. “Successes” by other Filipinos such as Bruno Mars, Jordan Clarkson, and Catriona Gray become “successes” for us. Because Filipinos are constantly rendered invisible in the Western world, we tend to internalize these victories as our own. But what happens when fellow Filipinos do something “embarrassing”? Countless...
Episode 75 (32.5) – Pinoy Basements: A Conversation with Filipino American Actor Eugene Cordero
February 06, 2019 17:35 - 1 hour - 165 MBYou might recognize Eugene Cordero from roles in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Wrecked, or the film The Mule. The TFAL crew love him as Pillboi in The Good Place. On this episode the TFAL crew chats it up with Eugene and learn about his path into comedy and improv. We also find out how he convinced his parents...
Episode 74 (32) – TFAL Live at Cinema Sala: Filipino Films with Marie Jamora
January 23, 2019 17:39 - 33 minutes - 77.4 MBDuring the holiday season, TFAL was invited by the good folks at Cinema Sala to record a podcast episode live in front of an audience. As a first attempt at a live show, this mini-episode looks at the handful of Filipino films on Netflix. Filmmaker Marie Jamora joins the crew to discuss films like Heneral...
Episode 73 (31.5) – Reflections on Beauty Pageants and Miss Universe Catriona Gray
January 09, 2019 20:29 - 51 minutes - 118 MBThough beauty pageants in the Philippines can be traced back to the celebration of Santacruzan and other religious festivals, modern beauty pageants, emerged out of the Manila Carnival, an annual event during the early 1900s. According to scholar Genevieve Clutario, the queen contest became a platform where both Filipino nationalists’ and American colonial officials attempted...
Episode 31 – TFAL Goes to SD: Community Organizing w/ DJ Kuttin Kandi, Kirin Macapugay, and Ree Obana; Filipino American Apparel w/ Zar Javier of Kampeon Co.
December 20, 2018 16:51 - 226 MBWe conclude our San Diego interviews with community organizers DJ Kuttin Kandi, Kirin Macapugay, and Ree Obana. In this discussion we highlight the issues that these womxn currently center their work around. Kirin and Ree give their perspectives as born and raised Pinxys, while Kandi discusses her experience as a transplant from Queens, NY by...
Episode 30.5 – TFAL Goes to SD: Filipino American Politics with SD Councilmember Chris Cate; Broadcast Journalism with KGTV Newscaster Melissa Mecija
December 13, 2018 17:03 - 1 hour - 166 MB“Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means a whale’s vagina.” – Ron Burgundy Anchorman jokes aside, San Diego has a long history, and Filipinos have been a significant part of it. Largely attracted to the region because of the large naval presence, hundreds of thousands...
Episode 30 – Creative Writing w/ Jason Magabo Perez
November 28, 2018 16:42 - 196 MBThe pen is mightier than the sword, they say. And in our history, the pen has certainly been very powerful. The Illustrados who started the Propaganda Movement, which included Jose Rizal’s novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, sparked the rise of Philippine nationalism and the Revolution during the late 19th century. Carlos Bulosan with...
Bonus Episode – A Conversation with Geena Rocero
November 13, 2018 18:45 - 167 MBOn this bonus episode the TFAL crew has a conversation with Geena Rocero, the trans activist, model, producer, and founder of GenderProud, her advocacy and production company that is committed to tell trans-focused and trans-specific stories. We learn about Geena’s life as a trans beauty queen in the Philippines, her journey to creating a new...
Episode 29.5 – 18 Questions for Producer Mike
October 31, 2018 16:39 - 73.2 MBPew pew pew! He is the reason why we sound as good as we do – that you don’t hear any of our snorts and sneezes. Due to his technical expertise, we are able to interview our guests from afar and because of his amazing photography, we have amazing memories of our TFAL journey. He’s...
Bonus Episode – Dear America with Jose Antonio Vargas
October 24, 2018 16:19 - 122 MBOn this bonus episode, the TFAL crew talks with the Emmy nominated filmmaker and Pulitzer Prize journalist winner Jose Antonio Vargas. The founder and CEO of Define American has been traveling around the country on his book tour for Dear America, Notes of an Undocumented Citizen. In this episode we go straight into a conversation...