Ten Thousand Things with Shin Yu Pai
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A podcast about modern-day artifacts of Asian American life, hosted by award-winning poet and museologist Shin Yu Pai.
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Jizo Bodhisattva
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 normalized in public discourse. Through Shin Yu’s personal story this episode shines a light on the silent subject of miscarriage and how the Jizo Bodhisattva can provide comfort to grieving parents.
Related links:
Adopting a Buddhist Ritual to Mourn Miscarraige, Abortion via NPR
Water Returning to Water: A Buddhist Ritual Brings Release by Shin Yu Pai
Splitting the Milk, a poem by Shin Yu Pai
We can only make Ten Thousand Things because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW.
And we want to hear from you! Leave us feedback online.
Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by inola and The Field Tapes.
Search for Ten Thousand Things in your podcast app!
Partial funding of Ten Thousand Things was made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Hope Corps Grant, a recovery funded program of the National Endowment for the Arts, plus support from The Windrose Fund.
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May 22, 2023
Steelhead
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 Links
Dylan Tomine
Wild Fish Conservancy
Wild Steelhead Coalition
We can only make Ten Thousand Things because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW.
And we want to hear from you! Leave us feedback here.
Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by Tim Halperin, 12 Palms, and cloudcrush.
Search for Ten Thousand Things in your podcast app!
Partial funding of Ten Thousand Things was made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Hope Corps Grant, a recovery funded program of the National Endowment for the Arts, plus support from The Windrose Fund.
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May 15, 2023
Time Capsule
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 future, and where mother and daughter diverge and meet in the middle.
Related Links:
Donna’s Blog Post about the time capsule
Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by coldbrew, Jaylon Ashaun, and Gracie and Rachel.
Search for Ten Thousand Things in your podcast app!
Partial funding of Ten Thousand Things was made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Hope Corps Grant, a recovery funded program of the National Endowment for the Arts, plus support from The Windrose Fund.
And of course, we don't exist without listeners like you. Support Ten Thousand Things by donating to KUOW.
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May 8, 2023
Resume
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. Now he’s working to end the stigma cancer survivors face in the workplace.
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May 1, 2023
Name
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 journey to change their name and reclaim their true identity.
Related Links:
Ebo Barton
Ebo Barton performs Freedom, Cut Me Loose
Are you looking for another podcast that explores deeply personal and totally factual conversations about race, identity, and culture? Then check out Dear White Women. Its mission is to help more white women use their privilege to uproot systemic racism.
We can only make Ten Thousand Things because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW.
And we want to hear from you! Leave us feedback online.
Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by coldbrew, Jaylon Ashaun, and Gracie and Rachel.
Search for Ten Thousand Things in your podcast app!
Partial funding of The Blue Suit was made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Hope Corps Grant, a recovery funded program of the National Endowment for the Arts, plus support from The Windrose Fund.
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Apr 17, 2023
Trailer: Ten Thousand Things
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 series, The Blue Suit, drew inspiration from the suit worn by congressman Andy Kim on January 6 as he was photographed collecting trash following the U.S. Capitol insurrection. Today, the garment lives in the Smithsonian’s collection – and within the fabric of Asian America.
In the podcast series’ newest season, host Shin Yu builds on her focus of commonplace objects that tell the complex story of Asians in America with an expanded name and collection of objects. Ten Thousand Things is a vibrant, diverse, and bittersweet celebration of Asian America ... and a challenge for us all to reimagine stories of the past and future. Featured guests this season include Disability Visibility Project podcast host Alice Wong; transgender and non-binary, poet and educator Ebo Barton; and NED founder Eason Yang; among others.
The new season of Ten Thousand Things debuts on May 1, 2023, and new episodes release weekly on Mondays on KUOW.org, Apple Podcasts, NPR One, and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Aug 29, 2022
The Blue Suit
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 inspired Shin Yu Pai to make this podcast.
Join us for our free live event for The Blue Suit on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022 at McCaw Hall's Nesholm Family Lecture Hall. You can find more information at kuow.org/events.
Related Links
* Congressman Andy Kim’s twitter thread about the blue suit
* Congressman Andy Kim’s twitter thread about a national AAPI museum
* AP article from Jan. 7, 2021: ‘What else could I do?’ NJ Rep. Kim helps clean up Capitol
* NPR: A Blue Suit, Dusted By Insurrection, Goes To The Smithsonian
* Washington Post: Andy Kim and the politics of ‘humility’ in the midst of anti-Asian hate
We want to hear from you!
We’re wrapping up our first season of The Blue Suit and we’d like to hear your thoughts about the show. If you have a few minutes please consider answering our brief survey here. Your feedback will really help us as we plan for future episodes. Thanks for taking the time to fill it out.
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Aug 22, 2022
Califone
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 immigrated here in 1900, around the time 78rpm records were invented.
When Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II under Executive Order 9066, they could take only what they could carry. Many of their music collections were lost, but Paul is helping to preserve some of the musical artifacts that survived.
In addition to helping build the archive at the Northwest Nikkei Museum (at the Japanese Community Cultural Center of Washington), Paul brought these sounds into the city, installing a Califone record player in the Panama Hotel café. It is an invitation into a soundscape of this place before Executive Order 9066 changed it forever-- and to consider the history and archives of American music in a new way.
Related Links
Paul Kikuchi
The Panama Hotel and Tea House
Japanese Cultural and Community Center of WA
Nikkei Music Archives at the JCCCW
More about the writing Bat of No Bird Island
Join us for our free live event for The Blue Suit in Seattle on Wednesday, September 7, 2022. Do find our more information to kuow.org/events.
We want to hear from you!
We’re wrapping up our first season of The Blue Suit and we’d like to hear your thoughts about the show. If you have a few minutes please consider answering our brief survey here. Your feedback will really help us as we plan for future episodes. Thanks for taking the time to fill it out.
Do you have a special object that you hold close? Share it with us on Instagram. Tag @KUOW and use the hashtag: #bluesuitpod.
Your feedback matters to us. Submit your comments and questions to www.kuow.org/feedback
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Aug 15, 2022
Chinese-English Dictionary
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 heritage.
Related Links:
Byron Au Yong
Chinese paper folding
Do you have a special object that you hold close? Share it with us on Instagram. Tag @KUOW and use the hashtag: #bluesuitpod.
Your feedback matters to us. Submit your comments and questions to www.kuow.org/feedback.
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Aug 8, 2022
Dakin Drooper Dog
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 with lost stuffed animals.
Related Links:
Plush Memories Lost Toy Search Service
Do you have a special object that you hold close? Share it with us on Instagram. Tag @KUOW and use the hashtag: #bluesuitpod.
Your feedback matters to us. Submit your comments and questions to www.kuow.org/feedback
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Aug 1, 2022
Vitrified Glass
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 human impacts on the environment.
Related Links:
Etsuko Ichikawa’s website
Broken Poems of Fireflies exhibit
Etsuko introduces the exhibit
Do you have a special object that you hold close? Share it with us on Instagram. Tag @KUOW and use the hashtag: #bluesuitpod.
Your feedback matters to us. Submit your comments and questions to www.kuow.org/feedback
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Jul 25, 2022
Miso
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 harmony he now applies outside the kitchen.
Listen to the episode to discover the connection between a tub of miso and songwriting.
Do you have a special object that you hold close? Share it with us on Instagram. Tag @KUOW and use the hashtag: #bluesuitpod.
Your feedback matters to us. Submit your comments and questions to www.kuow.org/feedback
Related links:
Tomo Nakayama
A place to start with Japanese recipes
Midnight Diner
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Jul 18, 2022
Night-Blooming Cereus
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 and only blooms for a single night before fading.
A tale of rooting and uprooting, Jessica also speaks about her Filipina immigrant grandmother and visiting the motherland to seek out the family's ancestral roots.
Do you have a special object that you hold close? Share it with us on Instagram. Tag @KUOW and use the hashtag: #bluesuitpod.
Your feedback matters to us. Submit your comments and questions to www.kuow.org/feedback
Related links:
Jessica’s plants on Instagram
Video of the Night-blooming Cereus
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Jul 11, 2022
Red Chador
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 this episode we explore Anida’s identity inside and outside the red chador, the public’s response, and what she did after this garment mysteriously disappeared during her travels in Tel Aviv.
Do you have a special object that you hold close? Share it with us on Instagram. Tag @KUOW and use the hashtag: #bluesuitpod.
Your feedback matters to us. Submit your comments and questions to www.kuow.org/feedback
Related links:
Anida’s website
Video of the red chador in Seattle after the 2016 presidential election
A eulogy for the red chador
A performance of the rainbow of chadors
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Jun 30, 2022
Trailer: The Blue Suit
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.
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