Hidden Narratives of the Coronavirus

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Pastor Drew Hyun is the leader of Hope Church Midtown in New York City. In this episode, he dives into the controversy around whether churches should gather in the midst of a pandemic and where he finds hope during these unsettling times. Learn more about Hope Midtown NYC at https://www.hopemidtown.org/.

American healthcare workers are at war with the pandemic, yet are experiencing a severe shortage of the proper protective gear to battle COVID-19. In this episode, Dr. Shuhan He, an emergency doctor serving at the Mass General in Boston, MA and the co-founder of GetUsPPE.org, dives into why there is such a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers and how the community can come together to bridge this gap. Learn more about #GetUsPPE at GetUsPPE.org.

In a controversial op-ed published on Washington Post, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang provides his solution to combat the xenophobia and hate Asian Americans have been receiving in the wake of COVID-19. He advises that "Asian Americans need to embrace and show our American-ness in ways we never have before." Furthermore, he cites Japanese-Americans who fought at the highest ranks of WWII as examples of this strategy's efficacy. Taylor Weik, a Japanese-American LA-based writer has a different opinion. In this episode, Taylor shares more context on why Yang's call-to-action was dismissive to the history of Japanese-Americans and details the negative impacts of Yang's article on the Asian American community. Andrew Yang op-ed: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/01/andrew-yang-coronavirus-discrimination/. Taylor Weik op-ed: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/japanese-americans-speak-out-against-andrew-yang-s-call-asian-n1176126.

Benny Luo is the founder and CEO of NextShark, one of the leading sources of global Asian and Asian American news on topics including business, entertainment, culture, politics and more. Since the first coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. in late January, Benny finds his media company receiving an exponential increase in reports of hate crime against Asian Americans. In this episode, he shares stories he has come across, the role of media in shedding light on these issues, and ideas for how we can move forward from here. Tune into the latest Asian American news at nextshark.com.

Jimmy Ly and Yen Vo are the co-owners of two Vietnamese homestyle restaurants called Madame Vo and Madame Vo BBQ. Their restaurants are based in what is considered the new epicenter of the pandemic, New York City, and are now faced with the dilemma of whether to shut down their restaurants or stay open. On this episode, Chef Jimmy shares more about how restaurants in NYC Chinatown have been impacted by the virus and why they have decided to take the risk and keep their restaurant open despite the pandemic. Learn more about Madame Vo and Madame Vo BBQ: https://www.madamevonyc.com/.

Deuki Hong is the Korean-American chef and owner of Sunday Bird, Sunday at the Museum and Sunday Gather in San Francisco, California. On March 21, 2020, all three of his restaurants came to a screeching halt in response to the shelter-in-place mandate by Mayor London Breed of San Francisco. On the night of closing his last restaurant, Deuki recounts his last week of service and what it means to shut down his restaurants indefinitely due to the coronavirus. The Sunday Family Dream Fund is a relief fund Deuki Hong set up for his team during the shutdown. Learn more and contribute to their campaign here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-sunday-family-dream-fund.