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Culture, Critique, and Care with Randy Kim #38
40 Plays1 month ago
Co-hosts Daniel W.K. Lee and Kenyon Farrow talk with podcaster Randy Kim about what it took to feel whole inside his intersecting identities as Vietnamese, Khmer, queer, and American—especially after growing up without language fluency and with pressure to assimilate. Randy shares how finding queer Asian community helped unlock a deeper sense of belonging across Vietnamese and Khmer spaces. He reflects on learning Vietnamese later in life, letting go of perfectionism, and treating language as a path to connection. The conversation keeps returning to what it means to show up bravely, without apologizing for complexity.
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Transcript
Asian Representation in Storytelling
00:00:00
Speaker
I remember going into the storytelling spaces like maybe being the only Asian person. I have started feeling quite resentful because there's so many stories that these producers have not even attempted to tap into or were not able to because of the fact that they lack the understanding and the knowledge.
00:00:21
Speaker
of the communities itself. And so when I had worked with my former mentor, she was already producing her own storytelling shows, which featured Asian-American, Asian diaspora storytellers. And so when I had started working with her, i could see myself in these stories with these folks. And this is kind of where I started feeling this community.
00:00:43
Speaker
Daniel W.K. Lee, poet, author, dusty-ass cultural critic.
00:00:53
Speaker
to transform
00:00:57
Speaker
w k lee poet author and dustyass cultural critic And I'm Kenyon Farrell, and I am also a writer, essayist, and overall communication strategist.
00:01:11
Speaker
And we are your co-hosts on today's Queercast journey. So on
Cultural Identity Journey
00:01:15
Speaker
today's episode, we're talking with a guest who doesn't just host conversations, creates space. He's a the Vietnamese Cambodian creator and voice behind the Banh Li Chronicles, a podcast where Asian-American and BIPOC creatives and community leaders are seen, heard and honored.
00:01:32
Speaker
He's a queer activist, a community builder and someone who understands that someone's story can change the world. So help us welcome Randy Kim. Hey, Randy. Hello. Hello. Thank you so much for having me on Daniel and Kenyan.
00:01:46
Speaker
Thank you so much for joining us on Power Beyond Pride. Before we get to the questions about your work, ah we you and I have actually a similar backstory. So I'd love for you to tell our audience a bit about your background and specifically how you've navigated that sense of being Vietnamese, Khmer, and American enough in our suburban Chicagoland.
00:02:16
Speaker
And relatedly, How goes that journey learning Vietnamese as a geriatric millennial? Yeah, yeah. I am a i am at the top of the millennial food chain. I'm a geriatric millennial.
00:02:29
Speaker
Going to be 43 in June. So i would say when I look back on these and intersecting identities as being Vietnamese, Khmer, and being queer, and being and born in America,
00:02:46
Speaker
I think that it has taken me probably like into my thirties to get to a place where I am comfortable being all these identities and not feeling the tension between these identities that I used to have. I say this because growing up both Vietnamese and he's in Cambodian, I know that both countries have always been more adversaries. And so that was never an easy place for me to walk into both of these community spaces growing up because I...
00:03:24
Speaker
But always hear things about maybe you're like, I'm not quite enough or that there's this passive aggressive attitude about like hearing things that are anti-Cambodian or anti-Vietnamese from both sides.
00:03:39
Speaker
And it tells me and my brothers that I don't think we really belong. I don't think that there is a sense of of belongingness. And also it didn't help that I wasn't able to speak my parents' languages very well because I was born in America and my father really wanted me to assimilate as the only way or the best opportunity for me to become successful in America academically and eventually professionally.
00:04:10
Speaker
Yeah, I think it has taken me a really long time. i think to get to that place, it starts with having to be to be connected with trusted friends in the community that I inadvertently ran into. and
Finding Belonging Abroad
00:04:28
Speaker
You know, me being queer, I think, was the one that kind of unlocked that after I left Korea, after like living there for three years in my mid-20s as an English teacher. And I knew that when I came back that i wanted to have a sense of this this belonging, because when I was living in Korea...
00:04:48
Speaker
It was actually the first time that was hanging around Asian folks. And there were Asian expats from other parts of the United States. There were Vietnamese, there's Korean, there were Hmong, Chinese. There were folks that were living, Asian folks that were living in England, Australia.
00:05:06
Speaker
in Canada. And so i started to, you know, gravitate towards being around those folks because prior to all of that, I had grown up in a predominantly white community and I wasn't really around a lot of Asian communities. I think coming back at It made me realize, like well, where's my belonging? like I knew that I was in a very different place. like When you live abroad for three years, your perspective of what home looked like then for you is very different. And so I wanted to find spaces that...
00:05:43
Speaker
that I identify with, but also with my queer identity as well. And so they think connecting with the queer Asian community helped to unlock people from the Vietnamese. And there was this Khmer friend that basically introduced me to the community. And, you know, I think it made me slowly realize that that and not everyone in our community sees me as like some foreigner and that there is a place for me. So I think that's kind of where my relationship ah began with for both communities or any of the communities that I've currently been in because it really started with just allowing myself to
00:06:33
Speaker
bravely walk into these spaces and slowly start asserting my own identities without feeling like I have to reluctantly say that, yeah, I am Vietnamese with a level of guilt or I am Cambodian with a level of guilt. Like, I...
00:06:50
Speaker
feel like I can now see myself in my phone-ness. And I think someone had asked me, well, do you see yourself more Vietnamese or more Cambodian? I said, well, I think Grace Jones once said it best that I think someone was asking her, do you like men or do you like women? And she was like, well, if I didn't like either of them, then I wouldn't be loving myself.
00:07:11
Speaker
and And I think that's something I take to heart because i don't like i don't tell people, well, I feel 50% Cambodian. I feel 25% Vietnamese.
00:07:24
Speaker
I'm 100% of both. So why not? And I think that there's no one right way to be one or the other. And I think that is what people will have to start realizing is that there's not a linear way to be a Vietnamese person or a Cambodian person or a queer person because there's so many different layers to the experience and who are we to gatekeep that experience and and identities. And with the Vietnamese learning, i think,
00:07:53
Speaker
you know So far, it's been going well. i have to say that I am like texting a lot in Vietnamese more than I ever realized. My speaking is it's a little choppy. It's a very difficult tonal language. like You've really got the pronunciations right because one little inflection means a different word. And so that kind of messes up the dynamics. And some of my relatives, some of Vietnamese-speaking friends, they're like...
00:08:22
Speaker
Okay, you're getting better. You're getting around that. I understand maybe 50% to 80%. And I'm like, okay, all right, got to nail And plus, not only that, but you also have to contend with the different dialects too. For me, what I was more familiar with was the Southern dialect, which is most of the Vietnamese diaspora folks. The Northern has its own dialect. The Central has its own dialect. So there's also that to contend with. So I also have to constantly be mindful of it. And And even in the reading, it's like I'm still kind of working on it. I mean, after seven months, I i don't have the expectations of being fluent. And I think that's the part of why I feel more confident learning at this stage of my life, because I don't have to worry about the expectation of being fluent or being told that I don't speak well enough. I just feel like...
00:09:10
Speaker
For me, learning, reclaiming this language is my way of making deeper connections with other Vietnamese folks. Yeah.
The Banh Mi Chronicles Podcast Creation
00:09:19
Speaker
Yeah. So I'm curious about the Banh Mi Chronicles, it centers Asian American BIPOC creative. So if you could just tell us a little bit more about the project and also why was it important for you to meet that specific space?
00:09:34
Speaker
Yeah, I think over around 2019, I was doing a lot of storytelling shows. I was performing at different venues, I had a mentor who was also an older Asian-American woman, was a professor, and had been doing theater work. Was this in Chicago? Yes, this was in Chicago. Yep.
00:09:57
Speaker
And so I was doing these storytelling shows and what was very surprising was that for as diverse as Chicago is, the storytelling scene in Chicago is very white.
00:10:13
Speaker
And it's also very suburban, lot of transplants. So I remember going into the storytelling spaces, like maybe being the only Asian person or maybe being one of two ah people of color, you know, on that lineup.
00:10:30
Speaker
And sometimes I will share stories about trauma, about something that's very intensely personal, that's very connected to my own family experiences. And but then a lot the white people storytellers would just tell stories that are very, I'll be very honest with you, very surface level. And they would start talking about stories about bad relationship breakups and make jokes about it. And then here I am doing a story about my dad's survival from the Khmer Rouge. So I was like, something that doesn't fit right. And so, and I'm like thinking to myself, like, okay, why am I being brought on? am Is this like, a am i am I fulfilling a quota for the producer?
00:11:16
Speaker
Am I this shiny new toy to them? And so I had started feeling quite resentful. And I was like, there's got to be more stories because like, there's so many stories that these producers have not even attempted to tap into or were not able to because of their audience and also because of the fact that they lack the understanding and the knowledge of of the communities itself. And so when I had worked with my former mentor, she was already producing her own storytelling shows, which featured Asian-American, Asian diaspora storytellers, Muslim first timers, and also with other Black and Latino and other folks of color.
00:12:05
Speaker
into them because she felt that it was very important to bring these stories out and that you do not have to be a trained seasoned storyteller or performer to tell stories because there's so many first timers that have stories that we really do need to be hearing. And so when I had started of working with her,
00:12:25
Speaker
That was kind of when I realized that this is something that I feel safe in and that I feel like I could see myself in these stories with these folks. And this is kind of where I started feeling this community. And then my mentor decided to challenge me.
00:12:40
Speaker
She was like, Randy, I just need you to make your own project, an independent project. I'm going to challenge you. But that's also code word for, okay, I really need you to do things on your own now. So, you know, which was a good challenge, which I also felt like I needed because I was working under her vision and now I needed to start working on my vision. And what I wanted to do at that time was like, look at podcasting because was like,
00:13:07
Speaker
a guest on maybe two other podcasts, the Vietnamese Spoke People podcast and the Queer Asian Social Club, which was then called the Gage and Podcast. And I thought about how unique that experience was being on
Impact of 2020 Events on Podcast
00:13:20
Speaker
a podcast. And Around 2019, I was like, maybe this should be my project. I want to start featuring stories of Asian American folks in Chicago doing organizing work, activism work specifically. People that I've known in the community for a number of years to by working nonprofit and do being in the LGBTQIA space. So I thought about maybe going in that direction. And so it started off going in that direction.
00:13:47
Speaker
i thought well okay let me just kind of start off small and see where it goes and then of course COVID hit several months later and all of a sudden people wanted to be podcasters and and the next thing you know like what happened with George Floyd and Breonna Taylor started happening, the anti-Asian hate crimes started happening. And then there was this urgency to continue, but to not only talk to Asian American folks in Chicago, but to also talk to other folks nationally.
00:14:21
Speaker
These included authors, these included community leaders, educators, artists, folks that could really speak to the experiences of organizing, but also understand the intersectionality and intersecting work and doing the anti-racism work. And I felt like that was very needed, especially what was happening back in 2020. And then, you know, what happened with the Atlanta spa shootings a year later. And so that became very critical. And so I felt compelled to continue this work. And the idea of Banh Mi Chronicles was really started an idea of breaking bread. Banh Mi means bread in Vietnamese. And so I liked the idea of breaking bread, but also...
00:15:02
Speaker
It kind of goes to show you that the banh mi sandwich was like both Vietnamese food, but also that there's Westernism influences from the French. And so there's a colonialism aspect of it too. And me being born in America with both of these identities, I felt like I was kind of banh mi sandwich, kind of trying to be seen as palatable to my white classmates. And so I kind of saw that as like a metaphor in some way.
00:15:30
Speaker
but yeah I think that I didn't realize that it was going to take me on a journey like the next four years until sunsetted back in 2023 which now I brought back like a couple months ago we're going to have to take quick break stay tuned for this episode of Power Beyond Pride and we'll be right back with Randy we'll talk a little bit about return of the One Me Chronicles and keep on keep on with this interview we'll be right back
00:16:04
Speaker
Welcome back. This is Power Beyond Pride, a queer change-shaking podcast, and I am Daniel W.K. Lee, and I'm here with my co-host Kenyon Farrow, and we're getting into a great conversation with Randy Kim.
00:16:17
Speaker
ah You recently
Complicity in Whiteness in Media
00:16:18
Speaker
dropped a highly critical video about Bowen Yang in light of Matt Rogers' controversial directive, you can call it, on their Last Cultures podcast, and instructing ah listeners not to support or donate to ah Representative Jasmine Crockett's campaign, which you attributeed or attribute to anti-Blackness.
00:16:45
Speaker
And your indictment of Yang is that of what I would describe as his passive complicity and perhaps what you might charitably call his deference to whiteness for his failure to challenge Rogers.
00:17:01
Speaker
So let's dig into what this occurrence means to you and what you think it is indicative of regarding regarding cis Asian American gay men.
00:17:15
Speaker
Yeah, I'm glad that you brought this up because this has been something that's been stewing in my mind this whole week. And Bowie Yang is someone that I have respected for a while. Like I have respected his work with SNL and I have liked a few of his other works. Like I did like The Wedding Banquet. Yeah.
00:17:37
Speaker
And I've always kind of saw him as a person that, okay, he doesn't seem very problematic. Okay, maybe he might be safe enough where I'm like, okay, I may be able to look past the potential white-centric side of him. And, okay, let me kind of test it out. And so I was kind cautiously rooting for him, you know. I mean, I want to root for him because, like... as a gay Asian like, I do see the impact that he would have onto our community. So, yes, I want to support that. But I also felt like part of me was like, I don't want to be seen as a Debbie Downer if I'm too critical of him, because I tend to be very much a negative Nancy to a lot of things in Hollywood. And think so, and I think the last couple of months,
00:18:25
Speaker
I had to reach this point of what the celebrity fandom mean to me and my relationship with it. And I think it started with the concerts that I've been going to because God knows I spent a lot of money in concerts.
00:18:38
Speaker
Beyonce was one of them. And I definitely spent rent money ah on her concert and the merch. Yeah. And she decides to hang out, her and Jay-Z decided to hang out with the Kushners. And I just felt incredibly disheartened by it And gosh, this is terrible. And I'm like, I think that starts starts settling in that that celebrities, especially in this time, they're extremely wealthy, are using our capital to sleep in bed with the oppressors. And
00:19:14
Speaker
It's very hard to watch this unfold, especially when you have consumed their work for a number of years and definitely but put in a lot of money where I feel like maybe I should have actually invested on people who actually are better, but also could provide more value and the community can provide more, get more value out of the money that I spend. And so that started happening Coldplay. I went to a Coldplay concert, like right after that whole scandal that happened. and chris martin he's always about this whole love is love and i think it's kind of cute but a little corny and he kind of went on this whole like this soft of the softening of charlie kirk like to the audience and i was like you know what this is not time for it i am like this is disgusting we really cannot be like normalizing charlie kirk and i don't care what anybody says but
00:20:11
Speaker
I'm going to put mouth off. but The man deserved what he got. So let's be very clear there. And and i think that was another turning point for me. And then System of a Down, one of the more radically progressive bands, at least that's what I felt,
00:20:28
Speaker
One of their drum, vote their drummer is a mega and not search, but I can't remember his name, but he is, he is like the second man on the band and Darren, and he got into a fight with his fans on Instagram and he was like chastising his fans because they were like and questioning his political motives. And he basically called himself the far middle.
00:20:55
Speaker
And I was like, okay, that's it. What the fuck does that mean? does that even mean? I don't know what that means. I mean, it it's it's so contradictory. It's such an oxymoron. And it's like, yeah, please explain that. Please fucking explain that. And so it's, geez, like pretty much every band that I've been, every artist that I've been seeing...
00:21:16
Speaker
is have the degrees of being very problematic. And it's, yeah, this kind of when I started having this conversation with my friend. I'm like, I don't know if I should be doing this going into next year. Yeah, I love going to concerts. I love be consuming pop culture for the fun of it.
00:21:34
Speaker
But at what cost? At what detriment? And I think that's a moral question that I had. And so I think what Bowen did in being complicit in enabling Matt Rogers to continue this uninformed directive about not donating to Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett. Now,
00:21:57
Speaker
I think it's one thing if you start to have a dialogue about her policies, her political stances, especially on Israel and taking AIPAC money. I think that does that's fair game. We should all question our politicians. and not put them on a celebrity pedestal. Like, let's have serious conversations about our candidates that we're putting into office because, you know, we've seen Senator John Fetterman turn his back on the American people.
00:22:31
Speaker
We've seen former Senator Kyrsten Sinema who basically like blockaded votes and she considered herself to be a progressive, but then turned completely middle, which is a very white woman thing to do.
00:22:44
Speaker
Yeah. yeah um And so, so I think with this, with that said, it's, I think we should be able to question, but what I think,
00:22:56
Speaker
What Matt, where he really stepped on a landmine is that he didn't give any context. He didn't do any research. he doesn't know the cat He doesn't know Jim Tallarico, who's the other candidate. Like, you don't live in Texas.
00:23:13
Speaker
And so you're just basically spouting off this nonsense and just saying, just don't donate to her. In what context? Is it because you're afraid that you don't think a Black woman's capable of winning an election?
00:23:25
Speaker
Now, it's I think it tells you that there is this idea that we should not be supporting Black women because they're not electable, which I do think is a very reductive, dangerous take to be taking, and a misogynoir take.
00:23:43
Speaker
So I think that the fact that he went without that context... and just kind of went in and into a huge platform that he has that he and Bowen shared, I think this is very dangerous. And it also speaks to the bad reputation that podcasters have, that you know but that we're not like journalists, that we're basically safe spaces for problematic people or that or safe spaces to have problematic viewpoints. And so i think that puts more pressure on people like us who are actually doing the due diligence work.
00:24:17
Speaker
to hold people accountable. And i think what Bowen did was also like a symptom of of how gay Asian men are seen as being submissive to white gay men. And also how white gay men see Asian men as being dominant, gay,
00:24:37
Speaker
feter sizing And for Bowen, don't want to say that he's doing that, but it's the behavior that leads to this fetishism of like white men, this worshiping of some sort that feels very ick to me. And so, yeah, I think that what Bowen did... or didn't do, really. didn't do. What he didn't do... His guilt is silence. Right, he's guilty of silence. He's guilty of silence, and also...
00:25:06
Speaker
You're not, this is not a live show. You have editors, you have the executive, like you have the executive decision-making to stop and start saying, you know what, maybe this is not a good idea to have this on, but yet the ignorance really showed itself in true colors and the privilege itself was what left unchecked it sure did. And Matt Rogers made an apology that was about himself, that was centering himself. as Well, I've always respected Jasmine Crockett. Then why the hell did you say that? If you really...
00:25:43
Speaker
And Bowen basically said, well, what he said, that's basically his response. That's not an apology. and Like Bowen, you have a mind of your own. You are way more famous than Matt Rogers will ever be.
00:25:56
Speaker
Let's be very clear here. And yet Bowen, you're willing to bow down. Yeah. to your co-host. who Now you're being nice because you have definitely said bootlicking. could say that too. ah Yeah. yeah ah that That is very true. You said it. I mean, but so yeah, I think, I think Bowen lost a major opportunity and yeah, could he be redeemable?
00:26:21
Speaker
He can only be redeemable if he really holds the accountability, if he starts having serious dialogues, like I think accountability and I, i I don't feel like I should be speaking on that as a non-Black person, but I feel like, look, if you really want to you start repairing work, just bring Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett onto your show and start having a dialogue. Let's talk about why you have reservations about it.
00:26:45
Speaker
And maybe let's talk about this insecurity that you have about a Black woman. ah being able to win a stateside election. I think that's something, if you really want to hold yourself to the fire, then you do that. But here we are, we're still waiting a couple of days and i don't know where it's going to go, but I think for Bowen, I think he's finally learning some humble pie.
00:27:08
Speaker
ah Another, why are we here in the controversial? so
Conforming to Whiteness in Entertainment
00:27:14
Speaker
We also know there's been kind of another lightning rod figure, and that's Amanda Gwynn, right? Who you've also have had some critique of.
00:27:26
Speaker
And so i want you to also talk about potentially that situation with her, but but but also get to this, the issue of what do you think this kind of, as the kids say, pick me, the sort of pick me-ism in relationship to whiteness and how it contributes to Asian Pacific Islander folks and byproducts more broadly, just in terms of those relationships and those dynamics. like what do you How do you see these sort of trends in relationship to this, as you've been talking about, the sort of desire to sort of be in relationship to whiteness and this sort of pygmyism in a way? So you can talk about that.
00:28:06
Speaker
Yeah, I think that what, as we see more Asian ah diaspora, Asian American folks, like make their headway into film and music into different forms of entertainment,
00:28:21
Speaker
a lot of the people that they have to associate with are predominantly white. And so, and there are people in Hollywood in the in and places with big budgets that have that power. And I think for a lot of Asian actors, Asian artists, there is this like level of pressure to conform, but also to get access to that power and to have that access means having to try to behave and similar ways that white men, white people in general do. And so I think that...
00:29:04
Speaker
When you accumulate a level of privilege, it becomes more, i guess, I mean, I can't speak on that because that's not my experience, but it just seems like when you start to get to these places and get more access to it and you get the adulation, not just from your colleagues, your white colleagues, but also with the audience,
00:29:26
Speaker
It feels like you're very much invincible and that you can start to be more provocative and you can start getting away with more things. And I think what Bowen or other people have fallen into is that...
00:29:43
Speaker
that you can't really that you can't always get away with it. And and I think to be to be a culture vulture in this case, especially with last Culture Recess podcast, I've actually never listened to an episode of it because I think the title itself was already a red flag when you're when they're both not Latino. And that was already like, okay, that really calls into question about their intention of making a title about it.
00:30:13
Speaker
I really think that i really think that it really that that they do fall, like, that it's easy to fall short when you realize that you actually aren't, that you don't have the same privilege, that you are actually not the same. And in that you create this division, this separation from other Asian American folks and other Asian and BIPOC folks that you're not one of us anymore. You're not one of them.
00:30:46
Speaker
Like, I think that there's this tug of war and this identity crisis that I guess, I guess privileged Asian folks ah struggle with. And I think that sometimes they will have to fall into the humble pie and realize that you fuck around and find out.
00:31:03
Speaker
Just quickly, like going back to Amanda, though, like and she's kind of doing, I think the but the big thing about her was obviously like the Blue Origin, right? Like this performing progress, but yeahda like going into space and, oh, we're doing this for all of women or something. Right.
00:31:21
Speaker
I mean, i mean she's she said shit she got a lot of flack from it or whatever. She was like, this this is so much more than any one human brain can bear, which was seemed a little bit melodramatic.
00:31:32
Speaker
But is there sign from this kind of what I find to be like a performance of progress? Is there a different axe that you have to grind for her? yeah So I'll give you a little quick story about my amanda when story here so a couple years ago like i've been aware who of who she is this is a person who has been a trailblazer on the issue of on sexual survivors and advocacy for sexual survivors and so sexual so all assault survivors i should say and
00:32:08
Speaker
And I think that there's something to really respect and admire about that. And as a Vietnamese person myself, like, it's really awesome that she was trying to become an astronaut and do this groundbreaking work that none of our community members were able to have access to or can even think of. And so so there's respect for that. And I absolutely respected her for those things and what she was able to champion. like several years ago and she got i believe she was a finalist for the noble peace prize at one point so a few years ago three years ago i think there was the shooting in monterey park that killed like 10 other asian folks and she posted on twitter about the devastation the sadness that she felt the hopelessness she felt and i decided to chime in and i was like you know i
00:32:59
Speaker
I can't remember but like exactly what I said, but I said something that was very encouraging to her, that we were all in this together and in this kind of manner. I don't know what the exact words. And she actually retweeted it, and we started following each other. And so was like, okay, that's pretty cool. I think we're kind of like on the same page. It felt kind of empowering to see that kind of solidarity in that moment. But I think...
00:33:26
Speaker
My suspicions started probably after October 7th, 2023, which was what happened in Gaza and also the political hellscape of the election of the 2024 election. And she remained completely silent on everything that was going on. Nothing that was said about what was happening to abortion rights. Nothing that was said about what was happening with trans women. getting murdered. Nothing about being in solidarity for immigrants, especially her coming from a family of refugees and what what has what was happening with ICE. I mean, it didn't just happen this past year. It was happening for a really long time. It has only just escalated. And so she has stayed silent.
00:34:16
Speaker
And in this whole time, she would start, if you look at her Instagram, which is, to be honest with you, which is quite insufferable.
Questioning Activism Authenticity
00:34:24
Speaker
It's like, I'm looking at, am I looking at an activist or am I looking at like a Vogue model?
00:34:30
Speaker
So which one is it? I don't know. Our lifestyle influencer. Exactly. So like, how many times do I have to see her in a fucking space uniform? Like every fucking day, like with the slow motion marketing where she has her helmet and marches slowly. It's like, Jesus Christ, say something. Like the world is on fire and she has done nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing on these issues.
00:34:56
Speaker
And so yes I'm not asking you to be Greta Thunberg. I'm not asking you to be Miss Rachel. Just acknowledge that there's a problem because i don't know what's at stake for you, but I feel like if you had actually use your voice to acknowledge, there will be people that will support you, including myself, because the work that you do for sexual assault survivors is connected to all of these issues. ICE agents have been known to SA immigrant women and children. What's been going in Palestine has been like
00:35:33
Speaker
You see IDF or IOF, like sexually assaulting women and children too. So there's connections. It's all interconnected. And yet she fails to bring light to that. And that's a big failure and a missed opportunity to at least acknowledge that. And so when she decided to go to space, if you call it, or take a little taxi ride around the earth or on orbit but um like she did it under jeff bezos's dime like to be with katie perry laura sanchez which is bezos's wife and gail king and it's like they did this whole publicity sent while ice race were happening la like this gives nothing but marie antoine let them eat cake
00:36:26
Speaker
And I just feel that Amanda just, again, doesn't see outside of her own bubble. And it's like, hello, like the world is on fire. What's more offensive about her post recently, like her being very depressed about...
00:36:45
Speaker
being hated whatever, boo-hoo-hoo. My thing is that see she didn't understand where that disdain is coming from. I think she feels that's because she's a woman, a woman of color.
00:37:01
Speaker
No, it's not. Because you decided to co-sign with Bezos, who is against women's rights, who supports Trump. So it's what the fuck is wrong with you? and And it's, yeah, so I know it just, it burns my toes. And the thing is that I know as a guy, that's not good optics for me to attack a Vietnamese woman. But I feel like that needs to be caught into question. And so when I was on Threads, I basically said that if there's a performative activist, Amanda Nguyen was one of them. Man, those Amanda Nguyen fans just came after me.
00:37:35
Speaker
And I literally got into arguments with them. And I was ready to die on the hill for my coins because I was so charged up. And I literally told those wine moms to put down the Bordeaux and look.
00:37:47
Speaker
Like, do you tell me. Tell me that going... to this is empowering for woman okay as a guy i shouldn't be having to mansplain this to you it just feels wrong for me to have to do this but it's come on like you are co-signing with billionaires and you're working with Zionists you're working with people who don't have your best interests at heart and we're going to try to applaud and do you think that this is okay and like People think that, like, I'm being too hard on her, that we're expecting her to speak on every issue. No.
00:38:17
Speaker
I want you to acknowledge that the world is on fire, and yet you're not doing that. You're going on these red carpets still, and you're crying about people not, like, liking you or supporting your stupid trip to space. Get the hell out of heres Just...
00:38:35
Speaker
like It's very tone deaf. it is. Tone deaf and then all she too becomes like guilty of silence. We're rather take a quick break here. Stay with us because we're going to be back with the speed round of questions to get to know Randy just a little bit better.
00:38:57
Speaker
Welcome back to Power Beyond Pride. I'm Kenyon here with my co-host Daniel, and we're having a very interesting conversation with Randy Kim, the brains behind the Bondi Chronicles podcast.
00:39:10
Speaker
Okay, it's time for our speed round where we get to know Randy a little bit better. so we're going to ask you some questions and we don't want you to overthink your responses. Just give us your reptilian brain answers. Ready?
00:39:26
Speaker
all right. Awesome. All right. So first question, comfort food that feels like home.
Personal Insights and Favorites
00:39:31
Speaker
What is it? a ah There's a food called banh bò that I absolutely love. It's a Vietnamese, like a pork soup dish. It's thats it's a spicy broth.
00:39:44
Speaker
It hits the spot, especially if you live in the Midwest like I do in the winter. it hits the spot. More than pho does for me. the What's one indulgence you're reclaiming for yourself in 2026? Oh, geez. Indulgence.
00:40:03
Speaker
i would love to so have more vacation time. would love to do more traveling. And when I travel, i love to eat and have good massages, cheap massages in warm weather. Yes.
00:40:21
Speaker
yeah sounds like you're gonna be traveling far all right finish this sentence if my community knows one thing about me i hope it is that am willing to be brazen and go with the punches who is your dream podcast guest I have either said it's either Ocean Vuong or Yo-Yo Ma.
00:40:56
Speaker
one Very different. This is very interesting. I love it. Okay. So group chat title that describes your friend group. i Inside Randy's Chaos.
00:41:10
Speaker
Yeah. they Okay, so so you're the main character in your family friend group. Yes, I am. Yes, I am. What's a song that feels like your personality right now?
00:41:22
Speaker
Oh, geez. I think the sound that really has stood out for me the most that I would play when I need a pick me up is losing you by Solange. That song always gives me this kick. ye no yeah It's so sad though. It is a sad song, but damn i need but believe it. the need yeah and but yeah It also has this, this F you energy too, that I kind of like as well. Yeah. Yeah.
00:41:49
Speaker
brook said Yeah, if your life and work had a slogan, what would it be? Take a nap.
00:41:59
Speaker
All right. That's really funny. Your rogue ingredient in your banh mi that you're afraid to ask for. Ooh. There are people that hate cilantro. I'm kind of like neutral on that.
00:42:12
Speaker
I like having my jalapenos in there and my pate. It's kind of weird for me to say include the pate, but I do like pate. I know that it's a very divisive opinion there. So yeah, I'll go with that.
00:42:26
Speaker
All right. Oh, it's not place to eat. I'm sorry. i don't I know. I'm pretty plain that way too. I'm not that adventurous with my money, I guess. Okay. ah Favorite place to eat of all time in Chicago.
00:42:40
Speaker
Jesus boy, a place that I probably wouldn't get tired of, I guess that I could still go back to time and time again. I have to say, oh my gosh.
00:42:57
Speaker
There is a place called china in Chinatown. There's a place called Chi Cafe. I do dig them because they open really late too. They open to like maybe 2 or 3 a.m. in the morning, i believe.
00:43:09
Speaker
lot of good comfort Chinese food. Yeah, I think I would go with that. o Okay, and finally, what does power beyond pride mean to you?
Exploring 'Power Beyond Pride'
00:43:23
Speaker
Power Beyond Pride means that we are not always rainbows, that we are also punches. We also have fuck you energy. It's about having unapologetic energy and that we don't always have to be nice.
00:43:40
Speaker
and We don't always have to ask for permission and that sometimes we just have to do things to honest. to be brave and sometimes that means taking these risks calculated risk absolutely and where can people find or follow you and your work yeah so you could follow me on instagram at banhmi b-a-n-h-m-i underscore chronicles And you can also subscribe to my sub stack, which you can also get my podcasts and my writings, my musings. And that's through randykim.substack.com. Or you can just simply go to the Bundy Chronicles and subscribe on either YouTube. on Apple Podcasts. I'm not going to say Spotify. am I'm not going to say that either. but YouTube and any other platforms. So yeah, you can absolutely follow the podcast. I'll be ah excited to be producing more episodes very soon. So yeah.
00:44:39
Speaker
Stay That's really ah awesome. Thank you so much for joining us on Power Beyond Pride. ah Unfortunately, we're out of time, but we'd love to have you on again.
00:44:50
Speaker
Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me on, both of you. Thank you so much for being here. And again, everyone, make sure and you follow Randy Kim at all of socials at Bumby Chronicles.
00:45:05
Speaker
I'm your host, Kenyon Farrell, and you can follow me just at my name on all the things at Kenyon Farrell. And I'm your co-host, Daniel W.K. Lee. And you can follow me at strongplum on Instagram and upscrolled and Daniel W.K. Lee b guy that social on on bluesky.
00:45:24
Speaker
Remember subscribe and get your friends to subscribe at our 2 Power Beyond Pride on wherever you get your podcasts. And check out our site at powerbeyondpride.com.
00:45:35
Speaker
Power Beyond Pride is a project from A Great Idea, queer-owned design and content agency. Learn more about them at agreatidea.com. This episode is produced by Shane Lucas.
00:45:48
Speaker
Maddie Bynum is the project developer. Our editor is Jarrett Redding with support from Ian Wilson. We are both a part of this podcast awesome host team, and we invite you to send in your questions and comments at powerbeyondpride.com.
00:46:04
Speaker
Check out our new episodes each week and we look forward to queer change making with you next time. Thank you from all of us at Power Beyond