Ten Thousand Things with Shin Yu Pai

Deck of Cards Jun 3, 2026 31:46 As a Filipina American woman, Maritess Zurbano didn’t have it easy making her way through the Las Vegas magic circuit. For decades, as she honed her skills, she endured the racism and sexism that were often treated as normal facets of the magic scene. At first, she stomached it. But now, she’s breaking free. She may be a master at sleight of hand, but mastering assimilation? That’s a magic trick s

A Translation May 27, 2026 32:59 Poet and translator Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma first picked up Juan Rulfo’s book, Pedro Páramo, while learning Spanish in Oaxaca, Mexico. The novel–which tells the story of the living and the dead speaking across time–became something he turned to again and again. But when he searched for an English translation, he discovered that while the plot remained, the spirit of the language felt lost. Through

Meal Card May 20, 2026 23:25 Putsata Reang was 11 months old when her family escaped Cambodia on a boat in 1975. When they arrived in San Diego after 23 days at sea, each member of her family was given a meal card at Camp Pendleton. More than a ticket to three free meals a day, it was a ticket to prosperity in America. But the American dream has a downside, where accepting help can be seen as an accrual of debt. Now as an adu

Magic Mushroom May 13, 2026 30:35 As a child growing up on Cape Cod, Amy Wong Hope learned to assimilate, stay useful, and avoid being seen. Years later after grief, burnout, and a major career shift, a single chocolate mushroom becomes the catalyst for an unexpected journey into ancestry, identity, and psychedelic education. But in a moment where Asian culture has become trendy and consumable online, Amy confronts what assim

A Gourd May 6, 2026 26:07 After years of experimenting with all kinds of mediums and materials, Korean-American artist Rob Rhee found his calling in bricolage—a practice of artmaking that uses whatever's at hand. And what proved to be at hand… were gourds. In working with gourds, Rob trains his living plants with new routines, giving birth to fantastic new forms never before imagined—just as so many children of immigrants,

Coming Soon: Season 5 of Ten Thousand Things Apr 22, 2026 2:46 Ten Thousand Things is back for its fifth and final season. Shin Yu talks to artists, authors, a magician, and a psychedelic educator about the objects that help them reclaim and redefine identity, in all its complexities. New episodes start May 6.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bonus: The Musical Castle Jan 7, 2026 40:19 The season one finale of Field Notes explores the life and legacy of Seattle music producer Gary Mula and the musical castle he built at The Dutchman Studios. The podcast features archival interview recordings with Mula where he recalls how The Dutchman became a diverse, welcoming mecca for various genres, from grunge to early hip-hop. Ultimately, this episode celebrates Mula's unwavering, communi

Bonus: They Call Us Gold Star Trophy Jul 23, 2025 1:10:13 Hosts of They Call Us Bruce, Jeff and Phil, welcome back Shin Yu Pai to talk about the latest season of Ten Thousand Things, along with fellow podcaster Yowei Shaw (Proxy, NPR's Invisibilia). They talk about the objects that help us move forward -- like a gold star trophy; how layoffs can be like breakups that unravel your sense of identity, purpose, and self-worth; finding healing and reinvention

Archives Jun 17, 2025 21:15 Earlier this year, author Amy Tan sold her personal archives — 62 boxes worth — to the University of California, Berkeley. When Shin Yu heard the news, she knew she wanted to hear Amy’s thoughts on literary legacy and the stuff she was stashing in her garage. What were the most important things to her to preserve? How did she deal with the discomfort of excavating decades of emotional memory to fi

A Diagnosis Jun 10, 2025 32:11 When award-winning journalist Stephanie Foo was diagnosed with Complex PTSD, the information she found felt cold and clinical. What she needed was something warmer–more human. So she took her diagnosis into her own hands…literally. In this episode, Stephanie and Shin Yu trace a path to healing; from childhood trauma to the power of first-person storytelling. Along the way, they explore what it tru

Ganges Water Jun 3, 2025 25:17 The Ganges is a sacred river in India that supports one of the most fertile and densely populated regions on the planet and serves as a site of daily ablutions and funerary rites. When Serena Chopra travelled to India on a Fulbright fellowship, she collected a jar of water from the Ganges to help her stay connected to her ancestral homeland — while learning about her family history, intergeneratio

The Perfect Dress May 27, 2025 25:39 We all have that one item of clothing hanging in our closet, the one that we keep around for the moment when we’ve shed that extra 15 pounds. For Susan Lieu’s mom, that garment was a traditional Vietnamese dress called an ao dai. And when it became too snug, she set out on a path that rewrote her family’s story, all in search of the perfect body. Now, decades later, Susan takes host Shin Yu Pai al

Gold Star Trophy May 20, 2025 32:21 When Yowei Shaw was laid off from her job, it felt less like a career shift and more like a breakup — one that unraveled her sense of identity and purpose. In this episode, Yowei and host Shin Yu Pai explore the emotional toll of job loss and the rituals we invent to heal – from fried chicken to gold trophies. Along the way, they chart a path through grief toward reinvention, while exploring the p

Coming Soon: Season 4 of Ten Thousand Things May 6, 2025 2:03 Ten Thousand Things is back for another season, now with Wonder Media Network. This season is about the objects that help us move forward — like a traditional Vietnamese dress, a jar of water from the Ganges River, and a gold trophy. New episodes start May 20th.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Note from Shin Yu Mar 6, 2025 1:06 A lot is changing for Ten Thousand Things. After three years with KUOW Public Radio, the podcast is now being produced by Wonder Media Network. New episodes begin in May. In the meantime, you can visit the museum exhibit based on the podcast at The Wing Luke Museum in Seattle. The show opens March 7th and is on display until 2027. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inheriting (Special Episode) Jul 2, 2024 46:32 This is an episode from a podcast called Inheriting from our friends at LAist Studios and the NPR Network. Hosted by NPR's Emily Kwong. Inheriting is a show about Asian American and Pacific Islander families, exploring how a single event can ripple through generations. Bảo Trương’s parents both fled Vietnam in 1975 following the war. His father Thuận was a pilot for the South Vietnamese Air Force

East Kong Yick Building Jun 18, 2024 24:01 The E. Kong Yick building houses the only pan-Asian Pacific American community-based museum in the country, The Wing Luke Museum. And it’s an anchor in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. The Wing began in an old mechanic’s garage, exhibiting old folk-art relics from Asia. This episode tells the story of how The Wing transformed from a traditional museum into a BIPOC-owned building, commun

Loquat Tree Jun 11, 2024 15:48 Some trees are just special. One tree in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District has reached legendary status. The loquat tree is an artifact of the Engs, a pioneer Chinese-American family who planted the fruit seed in their front yard. The tree has thrived for over 60 years, nourishing the family and the community. Now, it stands as a legacy tree in the C-ID, accessible to a new generation and

Ube Cheesecake Jun 4, 2024 16:01 This is the sweet story of a viral and photogenic ube cheesecake. To many Filipino-Americans, ube is not a trend. It’s a staple. Yet here in the United States, it was known for decades as an ethnic specialty ingredient. That is, until Chera Amlag got her hands on it and made it the star of her Hood Famous cheesecake. When Chera’s homemade ube cheesecake became a culinary phenomenon, ube was transf

Tatung Cooker May 28, 2024 22:07 When Tiffany Ran left for college, her mom gifted her a Tatung cooker. The Tatung is a unique kitchen appliance that would be familiar to anyone with ties to Taiwan. Everyone uses it slightly differently, as its versatility is passed down by word of mouth. Tiffany’s Tatung has accompanied her throughout the chapters of her unfolding adulthood. It has offered nourishment and comfort to her through

Settlement May 21, 2024 26:33 Janet Lee, a freshman at Bryn Mawr, was heading home for Christmas break when she was detained by the police for alleged drug smuggling. Janet wasn’t carrying any drugs. But the treatment she received from the Philadelphia police department and from her own community would change her life forever. In this episode, we’ll explore the pain of being accused of being someone you are not and fighting to

Cage May 14, 2024 22:04 Jenny Liou is good at many things. She is a poet, an English professor, and former MMA Cage Fighter. It would be easy to see the cage as a place of limitation. But for Jenny, the cage was a place of freedom, where she could showcase her athletic skills. It was a place where her jiu-jitsu training allowed her to stay grounded and see her opponent’s weaknesses. Jenny rose in the sport’s ranks while

Mask May 7, 2024 26:52 We might wear a mask to fit in, to fulfill someone else’s expectations, or to navigate a white-centric world. For Shin Yu, the mask was real. It was a white plaster mold of her face that hung on her in-laws’ wall, a reminder of all the “saving face” she has done trying to fit in. Last year, she decided to ask for the mask back. This is a personal interview with Shin Yu about learning how to let do

Teardrop Lip Apr 30, 2024 25:05 Leanna Keith knew the flute was her instrument. But she was discouraged from trying it in middle school by a white teacher who said her anatomy (a teardrop lip) would not allow her to master the instrument. Today, she is a professional musician, breaking the mold with her contemporary flute performances. This story looks at the uniqueness of our individual anatomies and what it’s like to be made t

Season 3 Trailer Apr 16, 2024 2:17 This season on Ten Thousand Things: We're back with season three! This season features the stories of trailblazing Asian American women and the resilience of Asian American communities, even in the face of endangerment. Three of this season’s stories take place in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District Neighborhood, with help from the Wing Luke Museum. Featured guests include poet and former M

Live Show Apr 9, 2024 1:08:55 Before we return for our THIRD season of Ten Thousand Things on April 30th, we wanted to share a special recording. In September of 2022, we celebrated the first season of our podcast with a live event at McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center. Back then, our podcast was called The Blue Suit (as you’ll hear). We evolved to become Ten Thousand Things. But we had the same goal of telling compelling storie

TTT Recommends: Books and Boba Jul 10, 2023 56:25 Fans of Ten Thousand Things might enjoy Books and Boba from the Potluck Podcast Collective. Books and Boba is a book club podcast all about books written by Asian and Asian diaspora authors.Today we are sharing one of Books and Boba’s interview episodes, featuring writer and translator Anton Hur who was recently revealed to be the lead translator for K-Pop megastars BTS’ upcoming memoir. In the ep

TTT Recommends: Shoes Off Jun 26, 2023 43:17 We want to introduce you to a new podcast you may like, "Shoes Off". Join hosts Susie An and Esther Yoon-Ji Kang as they hang out with badass Asians and ask them to redefine “sexy” on their own terms."Shoes Off" is a podcast celebrating badass Asians who are making a mark on pop culture and entertainment.In this episode stand-up comic, Atsuko Okatsuka, is taking the world by storm with her first H

Voice Jun 19, 2023 17:11 This is a story about the way we make a statement. Alice Wong, a Chinese-American disability activist, came into her own as a public personality through creating and hosting a podcast on disabled voices. Her status as a person with a disability in an ableist world gave her access to a world of perspectives and voices that we don’t usually hear on public radio. And she prioritized putting disa

Bike Jun 12, 2023 22:41 Anti-Asian hate crimes spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic. And then the Atlanta spa shooting scarred a community already suffering.But Kae-Lin Wang turned the Atlanta shooting’s aftermath into an opportunity for healing. And she used bikes to do it.Today, Ampersand Bikes Club is still going strong. It’s co-organized and co-run by some of its 100+ community members.In this episode, we hear from Ka

Book Jun 5, 2023 23:24 Shawn Wong discovered the first Japanese American novel, No-No Boy, at a used bookstore for 50 cents, after being told by his English professors that Asian American literature didn’t exist. He sought out the author, John Okada, and he fought to have the book republished and distributed far and wide, to unearth the legacy of Asian American writers. But all the mainstream publishers rejected it

Jizo Bodhisattva May 29, 2023 14:53 During the mizu kuyo ritual for pregnancy loss, a small Jizo Bodhisattva statue enshrines ceremonial remains of a lost child.Following Shin Yu’s miscarriage in 2012, she had a mizu kuyo ceremony to process her grief. Miscarriage is a socially taboo topic that many people have difficulty talking about. It’s often laden with grief, shame, and self-blame and is a loss that has not been very norm

Steelhead May 22, 2023 16:46 Dylan Tomine has a passion for steelhead trout. Or an obsession. Or an addiction. His steelhead passion has brought him close to beautiful places, driven him far from stability, and lost him some loving relationships.This is a story about how an obsession can take priority over everything. How it might provide both purpose and isolation. And how it isn’t guaranteed to last forever.Related LinksDyl

Time Capsule May 15, 2023 20:29 On the eve of selling her family’s house, Donna Miscolta’s daughter had a special request: Go to the stairwell and pull back the loose board on the bottom step. There, Donna found a box of treasures that 9-year-old Ana Miscolta Cameron had hidden for future children living in the house. Rediscovering this time capsule allowed Donna and Ana to revisit memories from the past, hopes for the

Resume May 8, 2023 21:51 Eason Yang was on an ambitious career trajectory, helping tech companies like Uber change the world. Until he got cancer. Eason spent two years actively fighting for his life. This meant two years spent outside of the job market, creating a gap in his resume. Potential employers often look down on such large resume gaps. But stepping away from work helped Eason see his resume in a new way. No

Name May 1, 2023 22:54 When we come into this world we are given a name. It is etched in ink on our birth certificate, pasted onto our cubbies in pre-school and signed onto paper to acknowledge our union with a beloved. A name has power. A name is an object that defines who we are. But what if our name is wrong? Poet, educator, and cultural worker Ebo Barton tells us a story about the power of names and their journ

Trailer: Ten Thousand Things Apr 17, 2023 2:50 In many Chinese sayings, “ten thousand” is used in a poetic sense to convey something infinite, vast, and unfathomable. For Shin Yu Pai – award-winning poet and museologist – the story of Asians in America is just that. Introducing Ten Thousand Things, a special series about modern-day artifacts of Asian American life, created and hosted by Shin Yu Pai and produced by KUOW.The initial name of the

The Blue Suit Aug 29, 2022 18:10 Congressman Andy Kim was photographed on Jan. 6 2021 picking up trash in the Capitol rotunda, in the aftermath of that day’s chaos. The indelible image of a congressperson in a blue suit, kneeling on the ground and tidying the detritus of an insurrection went viral.The blue suit was donated to the Smithsonian, forever a physical marker of the values and actions on display that day. It also inspire

Califone Aug 22, 2022 22:02 The vintage Califone record player allows sound artist Paul Kikuchi to access and share songs that he inherited from his great-grandfather and other 78rpm records that were left behind by Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II.Paul Kikuchi got to know his great grandfather, Zenkichi Kikuchi, through the records he'd left behind: 78s of Japanese music from the 30s and 40s. Zenkichi imm

Chinese-English Dictionary Aug 15, 2022 16:04  After his father’s death, Byron Au Yong turned to paper folding. Chinese paper folding revolves around making objects for the dead. Byron folded some of his father’s personal belongings like vintage textbook pages, magazines, and even retired receipts. The process was meditative and comforting and helped Byron mourn his father. It also helped him connect to his own Chinese American heri

Dakin Drooper Dog Aug 8, 2022 16:10 In this episode, our host, Shin Yu Pai, revisits an object from her own life. Shin Yu gave her toddler son a stuffed toy from her own childhood. He played too roughly with Poo-Poo, and Shin Yu had to take the toy away to be repaired and rescued. It sent Shin Yu down a rabbit hole that took her into the world of online Ebay and Etsy vintage toy vendors and a Facebook group for reuniting people

Vitrified Glass Aug 1, 2022 17:53 In a small clear box, Etsuko Ichikawa keeps a small piece of vitrified glass that was given to her on a tour of the Hanford nuclear site. This vitrified glass encases radioactive material before it is disposed of through burial. As an artist trained in making glass, this object becomes something of a totem for Ichikawa, who turns her eye towards nuclear legacies,environmental degradation, and huma

Miso Jul 25, 2022 20:05 Tomo Nakayama usually puts his creative energy into his harmonious music. But when the pandemic hit, he found a new outlet: cooking.Cooking his way through various Japanese comfort dishes was a way to be creative in an upended routine. And it helped him address the homesickness and longing for family that he was feeling. Miso, a foundational element of Japanese flavor, taught him a lesson about ha

Night-Blooming Cereus Jul 18, 2022 17:56 In this episode, we learn about how Jessica’s passion for plant collecting developed. Currently, there are more than 365 specimens in her collection; her plant babies even have their own Instagram account. The night-blooming cereus, aka tan hua, which is also known by its more poetic moniker - the queen of the night - entered Jessica’s life as a gift. The nocturnal cactus smells like gardenia

Red Chador Jul 11, 2022 23:05  A chador garment worn by some Muslim women is usually black. Not Anida Yoeu Ali's. Her chador is red and sparkly. As a performance artist, Anida created the glittery chador to embody her Muslim identity and confront Islamophobia. The red chador invited reactions of curiosity, spectacle, fear, respect, anger and gratitude from strangers on the streets of Paris, Seattle, DC, and Palestine. In

Trailer: The Blue Suit Jun 30, 2022 2:53 In a world full of stuff, what is worth keeping? What do we treasure? Explore modern-day heirlooms with The Blue Suit, a new KUOW podcast hosted and created by PNW poet Shin Yu Pai.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

Recommended

—