In 2022, Nevada Public Radio released a podcast series focusing on the Asian American and Pacific Islander community culture and societal issues in the community. This is one of the first modern-day podcasts with a focus on Asian American and Pacific Islanders living in Nevada. Due to the funding provided by the Panda CommUnity Fund, Nevada Public Radio was able to broadcast to over 2.7 million Nevadans.
The podcast series (Exit Spring Mountain) contains 16 different episodes and you can view the contents below.
Chapter 1 – The Languages We Speak
In Nevada’s most recent legislative session, Assembly Bill 359 was passed with little fanfare: It requires businesses to provide translated documents for certain consumer financial services transactions, including credit card issuance and auto title loans. For some individuals in AAPI communities here in Las Vegas, this bill, which took effect on October 1st, is an important step.
Chapter 2 – Voyagers: Pacific Islanders in Southern Nevada
According to the most recent Census data, the population of Pacific Islanders in the U.S. has risen nearly 30% in the last decade—in Nevada, it’s risen by 60%. Las Vegas, famously, has the largest population of Hawaiians outside of Hawai’i, earning our city the nickname “the Ninth Island.” But some Native Hawaiians take issue with the term, pointing out that Hawai’i is a sovereign nation, and that describing Las Vegas as an extension of an American state is misguided.
Chapter 3 – Home Means Nevada? The First Asians in the Silver State
“Go home.” “Go back to your country.” “You don’t belong here.” These are phrases that many Nevadans of Asian descent have heard—it’s rooted in a view of Asians as perpetual foreigners in this country, no matter how long they’ve lived here. As UNLV Professor Emeritus Sue Fawn Chung tells us, this modern-day sentiment is hardly new. It has roots in the treatment of some of the earliest Asian migrants to the U.S.: Chinese laborers who came to work in mining and railroads, in kitchens and laundry shops. That treatment, at times, boiled over into violence.
Chapter 4 – A Year and Counting of COVID in Las Vegas: The Unemployed
This episode is the first in a three-part series about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Southern Nevada’s AAPI communities. Nevada was hit harder by the pandemic shutdowns than any other state—and the numbers continue to bear that out. As of this fall, Nevada still has the highest unemployment rate in the country. In particular, Asian immigrant women, who are overrepresented in service industry work, have the highest rates of long-term pandemic unemployment. So how is Las Vegas fighting back, for all of its workers?
Chapter 5 – A Year and Counting of COVID in Las Vegas: The Overworked
This episode is the second in a three-part series about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Southern Nevada’s AAPI communities. Earlier this year, a startling statistic came to light: While Filipino nurses make up just 4% of nurses nationwide, they accounted for 33% of nurse deaths during the early months of the pandemic. Why was there such an outsized toll on Filipino nurses in particular? What effects does this have in a city like Las Vegas, where the Filipino population is our largest Asian ethnic group—three times the size of the next largest group, Chinese Americans? How do we start to address the mental health issues arising from this crisis, and where do we go from here?
Chapter 6 – A Year and Counting of COVID in Las Vegas: The Violence
This is the third in a three-part series about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Southern Nevada’s AAPI communities. In this episode, we look at how Asian Americans in Southern Nevada are responding to the surge of anti-Asian violence in the wake of the pandemic.
Chapter 7 – Count Us In: The Promise and Perils of the U.S. Census in Nevada
The U.S. Constitution mandates a Census every 10 years—it’s how we allocate seats in the House of Representatives (Nevada gained a fourth seat in 2010 after the Census showed our relative population increase) and how we determine federal funding for housing, education, and health. For each Nevadan who isn’t counted, whether a citizen or not, our state loses out on $10–12,000 in funding over the course of a decade. So how did local organizations reach out to AAPI communities to ensure an accurate count? How did the Census influence redistricting in 2021, and how did that impact AAPI communities in Southern Nevada?
Chapter 8 – Chinatown, Las Vegas
Las Vegas’s Chinatown is a bustling three-mile stretch along Spring Mountain Road that’s become a destination for foodies and travelers in-the-know. A long-time favorite of hospitality industry workers getting off their shifts, it’s home to bakeries, bars, karaoke, and restaurants from around the world. But how did Chinatowns get their start in America, and what prejudices drove their creation? How is the Las Vegas Chinatown—and other suburban Chinatowns anchored in strip mall architecture—different?
Chapter 9 – Navigating LGBTQ+ and AAPI in Nevada
Navigating the experience of being both AAPI and LGBTQ+ can be a fraught experience—but when you’ve found your community, it can be a joyful one, too. Miss Nevada 2021, Kataluna Enriquez, was the first openly trans winner of the Miss Nevada pageant, tells her story about discovering herself and stepping into her stunning ball gowns—and into her power. UNLV psychology Professor Gloria Wong-Padoongpatt gives us the context for understanding how mental health in AAPI communities is discussed, and how the field of psychology is moving away from talking about cultures as problems.
Chapter 10 – The Potluck: Food and AAPI Identity
We each brought a dish to showcase stories and flavors that are meaningful to us, opening the door for deeper conversations: How do we talk about authenticity in food and cooking, and when is that a useful—and not so useful—concept? And what about the thorny topic of appropriation: When is cooking the food of others problematic? When do we need better language for these exchanges?
Chapter 11 – Tapping Into the AAPI Voting Bloc Power
We’ve all heard the term AAPI Voting Bloc — but how is the Asian American and Pacific Islander community actually tapping into this growing political power?
Chapter 12 – Eastern Medicine Versus Western Medicine
We’re discussing “Traditional Chinese Medicine,” sometimes called “Oriental Medicine” – also known as Eastern Medicine or Alternative Medicine. But what does it really mean – how did these terms come about? What makes Eastern Medicine any different from Western Medicine – if any?
Chapter 13 – AAPI Women: Sex and Power
How do these stereotypes harm Asian American and Asian women? Can they lead to violence? Simultaneously – in what ways are some AAPI women taking control of their own sexual narratives? And how can we support the vulnerable, change the conversation, and move forward?
A content warning for listeners: In this episode, we’re talking about sex trafficking, domestic violence, and sex.
Chapter 14: Chefs Dish Authenticity
We’re talking with chefs – the ones who feed us – fulfilling our basic needs – and ALSO passing down our cultural legacies. From a Las Vegas Filipina start-up to the old school icons – How do these professional chefs and restaurateurs feel about food culture authenticity? Where’s the line between food appreciation and food appropriation? What are the unique challenges AAPI chefs and restaurants face? And why should we embrace our unique identities as we look to the tasty future of our communities?
Chapter 15 – Mixed-race Asians: Surviving and Thriving
We’re talking about the complexities of being mixed, sometimes known as Hapa, Blasian, Wasian, or multiracial. Who decides who’s Asian enough… or not? How does categorizing people by race impact mixed race Asian identity and community?
Chapter 16: – Remittances, A Homeland Connection
We’re talking about the care packages we send and receive to offer help and hope to our families and friends abroad. Balikbayan boxes are also a topic of conversation, as they have helped float the Philippine country for decades. Many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders also send remittances – funds transferred from migrants or recent immigrants to their home countries. What does the money pay for? Why do AAPI communities continue this practice? And how can this be a lifeline for families and governments in other countries?
Become a Community Advocate
The first step towards advocating for the Nevada AAPI community is being an OCA member! Annual membership pricing starts as low as $10/year.
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