Grandma Turned Me into a Ghost

Everyone thought ghosts lived in the basement of Stockton, California's old Daguhoy Lodge. So, nobody went down there. But when one man refused to be spooked, he made a discovery that would bring the ghosts back to life. In this episode, we explore how an accidental discovery res ...  Show more

How did a car with chopped suspension and hydraulics become a symbol of pride and self-expression for an entire community? We'll cruise back in time to see how lowriders emerged from the post-WWII car craze and became a powerful symbol of Mexican American pride. It's a long road ...  Show more

The first interview today, Build Your House Around My Body, is by debut novelist Violet Kupersmith and it's about a young Vietnamese woman who disappears; ghosts are involved. She told NPR's Ari Shapiro that she was "attracted to the ghost as a way of getting revenge." The second ...  Show more

"To Asian women, not for—there's no speaking for us, splendidly vast and manifold as our people are." So writes Korean-American novelist R.O. Kwon in an essay in Vanity Fair. The essay explores the reasons that R.O. was unable to talk openly with her own mother about rising anti- ...  Show more

Kim Chakanetsa meets two writers who, in their work, explore the themes of love, identity, belonging and inter-generational trauma. Min Jin Lee is a South Korean American author who wrote two novels, Free food for Millionaires and Pachinko, a multi-generational saga followi ...

Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is an award-winning Vietnamese writer whose debut novel The Mountains Sing, published in English in 2020, won the International Book Awards in 2021 and was runner-up in the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. It portrays the lives of four generations of a Vietnamese ...  Show more