Death in Cambodia, Life in America

In this episode of Death in Cambodia, Life in America, I sit down with Vanna Sann, a Cambodian American entrepreneur and the founder of Dorsu, an ethical garment company based in Cambodia. Vanna was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and grew up working class in Lowell, Massachusetts. Like a lot of us in the diaspora, he grew up knowing pieces of what happened to his family, but without always having the historical context to understand how those stories shaped him. He did well in school, eve...

What does it mean to build a business that refuses to compromise its values? In this episode of Death in Cambodia, Life in America, Dorothy sits down with Camilla Mayer, CEO and co-founder of Nary Resort, an ethical fashion brand rooted in Cambodia that is redefining what sustainable manufacturing can look like. Although Camilla grew up in Chicago, her Cambodian heritage has always shaped the way she sees the world. In this conversation, she reflects on navigating identity as a Cambodian Amer...

In this episode of Death in Cambodia, Life in America, I sit down with Vanndearlyn Bermudez Vong, a Cambodian Chinese-American ceramist based in Long Beach, California, whose work is rooted in cultural revival and resistance. A daughter of genocide survivors, Vanndearlyn shares what it was like growing up in Long Beach—home to one of the largest Cambodian diasporic communities—while still feeling “othered” in predominantly white academic spaces. She reflects on navigating her Khmer identity, ...

In this episode of Death in Cambodia, Life in America, I sit down with Cambodian American culinary creator and MasterChef USA Season 13 contestant, Charles Calvino, to talk about identity, authenticity, and the responsibility of representing Khmer cuisine on a global stage. Born in Long Beach and now based in the Midwest, Charles shares how growing up in a large Khmer family shaped his earliest memories of food, culture, and community. From watching his mother cook in the kitchen as a child t...

In this episode of Death in Cambodia, Life in America, I sit down with Alissa Iris, a Los Angeles–based model, actress, and cultural writer whose work explores beauty, media, and modern womanhood through a Southeast Asian lens. Alissa shares what it was like growing up Khmer American in California’s Central Valley, struggling to see herself reflected in the world around her, and slowly learning to embrace her identity. From directing backyard self-portraits at 12 years old to modeling for bra...