K-Pop | Gentle Bedtime Reading for Sleep

Tacos started as practical handheld food and somehow became a topic people argue about with surprising intensity. In this episode, we go through the history of tacos, how they spread beyond Mexico, the regional styles that people defend like sports teams, and why a tortilla fille ...  Show more

Neuschwanstein Castle is what happens when a king builds his medieval fantasy in the Bavarian mountains. This episode explores the castle’s history, its connection to King Ludwig II, its theatrical design, and why this unfinished palace became one of the most recognizable castles ...  Show more

Caty Szeto is a woman with a dream: to become a K-Pop superstar. The 23-year-old Asian American is traveling from her home in LA to South Korea’s capital Seoul to attend a K-Pop academy. There she’ll do hardcore training in singing, dancing and styling. All this is to prepare for ...  Show more

This comprehensive episode chronicles the meteoric rise of BLACKPINK, the wildly popular K-pop girl group. It covers their carefully curated formation by YG Entertainment, trailblazing debut that shook the K-pop world, global tours and record-breaking music releases like "DDU-DU ...  Show more

K-pop Dance: Fandoming Yourself on Social Media (Routledge, 2022) is about K-pop dance and the evolution and presence of its dance fandom on social media. Based on five years of ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, choreography, and participation-observation with 40 amateur and pr ...  Show more

Ever since Seo Taiji and Boys broke onto the scene in their baggy overalls back in 1992, Korea has been working to cast as wide a cultural net as possible on the world stage. And, by placing young talent through rigorous game show incubators and pumping out dozens of attractive, ...  Show more