Jess and Teen talk with guest John Pang about the Western tendency to devalue Asian labor -- not just the laborer, but also Asian labor itself and its presumed lack of human qualities -- through the lens of Shein. Shein has pushed selection to a maximum, and price to a new rock bottom, inviting criticisms of labor exploitation in the name of profit. But is that really the whole story?

Please join us on Patreon to access Part 2: www.patreon.com/planamag

REFERENCED RESOURCES

"How the US Lost Out on iPhone Work" https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-and-a-squeezed-middle-class.html

"A bipartisan group of lawmakers urged the SEC to crack down on Chinese e-commerce giant Shein" https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/01/shein-china-congress-forced-labor-inquiry.html

"Being Like Them: Cultural Exchange As Theft and Honor" https://planamag.com/being-like-them-cultural-exchange-as-theft-and-honor/

"The Wonderful World of Chinese Hi Fi" https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/7/20943377/chinese-hi-fi-audio-chifi-fiio-hifiman-tin-audio

"Made In China, So What?" https://youtu.be/b4c9NbwUz5Q?t=104

THEME MUSIC:
EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Ep. 463: The Sheining (ft. John Pang) Pt. 1

Part 1 of 2

John Pang returns to talk with Jess and Teen about the buzzy term "liminal space" and the popular diaspora narrative of being "caught between cultures", "neither Asian enough or American enough", and the deep internal fallacies of this thinking about culture and identity.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

THEME MUSIC:

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Ep. 475: The Diaspora's Myth of Being 'Between Two Worlds' (ft. John Pang) Pt. 1

"I'm just dating casually," "I'm not sure what I want," "I'm looking for my needs to be met." Teen and his wife Shan record a podcast about relationships, marriage, and moving past the perpetual adolescence of 'modernity.' Seeking to give love, not to receive. Fear as a sign of unreadiness. And the joys of recording while in bed.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

THEME MUSIC:

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Ep. 481: Adolescent Dating Culture (ft. Shan)

Pt. 1 of 2

Q. Anthony Ali joins Teen to talk about diaspora media people who habitually engage in gratuitous racism against their own people, the double-consciousness of diaspora and how to avoid it, and what the future of assimilation might be in a post-liberal world.

LINKS:
Q's Twitter: https://twitter.com/NobleQAli
That Viet Thanh Nguyen video: https://x.com/Mont_Jiang/status/1715096061167960537?s=20

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Ep. 483: The Diaspora Has No Future (ft. Q. Anthony Ali) Pt. 1

Part 1 of 2

On the eve of Steve leaving for HK and Mike turning 40, the degenerate threesome pour some drinks and have a good 'ol shit talk about growing up in Can-Merica, how to make work work, and when it's time to fold 'em and leave for good.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Ep. 487: You Got To Know When To Fold 'Em (ft. Mike and Steve) Pt. 1

Shan and Teen talk about one of their favorite topics as a couple: money and finances. The American financial environment is shifting into asset deflation mode, so a lot of 'common sense' about household finances -- buying a house is always good, renting is throwing away money, and 'cash is trash' -- need to be re-examined. And what cultural prohibitions need to be overcome in order to reform our thinking about money.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

This week's bonus pod: audio from a live Twitter Space hosted by John Pang and Teen talking about how the Gaza crisis is tearing American society apart by killing the decades'-long liberal consensus.

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Ep. 489: SaveMoar (ft. Shan)

Part 1 of 2

Friend of the pod Alice joins Teen to talk about the peculiar soullessness of Washington D.C.'s bureaucratic legion, and how modern therapy culture has a rotten core.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Ep. 491: Toxic Therapy Culture (ft. Alice) Pt. 1

Filip joins Teen to talk about the last half year of raising a baby girl, finding closure on one stage of life only to open a bigger door filled with newer, bigger kinds of anxieties. And yet, life has never been better.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Ep. 493: We Are the Moderators Now

After a long interlude, Escape From Plan A is back in production! Teen and Shan recount their first trip abroad (to Spain) in almost 4 years -- since right before COVID was discovered -- and the return of novelty to foreign travel. They talk at length about the Prado and the revelatory experience they had without the pressure of worshiping European art and being able to take it in as it as was intended: pure schlock entertainment, no different than Hollywood.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Ep. 494: Great Art Is Trash

Teen is joined by Chris as they reminiscence about the early motivations they'd had for starting Plan A (e.g. Asian American online gender wars, Asian American political awareness) and what does and doesn't matter to them about those topics anymore.

Subscribe to Chris' Substack, Salieri Redemption, at: https://salieriredemption.substack.com/

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Fuck Out My Face" by Ayekay

Ep. 495: The Return of Oxford Kondo and 78FiveAlive (Pt. 1)

Part 1 of 2

Back home in Bali after an extended trip back to the United States, Carl Zha joins Teen to talk about the view of America from abroad. In part two (available to our Patreon supporters), John Pang jumps on from Hangzhou to offer his take after permanently moving out of the US.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

Ep. 497: America From the Outside (ft. Carl Zha) Pt. 1

Part 1 of 3

John and Mike join Teen for a marathon weekend shitshoot about the likely trajectory of life in America in 2024. Something has clearly gone off the rails, that's without question, but it's hard to tell where this is headed. We try to get off the strictly political/geopolitical frameworks, and talk more subjectively about the mood in the air and what that might mean for drastic, discontinuous change events in the year ahead.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (@aerialist)

Ep. 499 Where Is Life in America Heading From Here? (Part 1)

Part 1 of 2

Steve talks with Mike and Teen about the experience so far of emigrating from the West - in his case, Toronto - and starting an entirely new permanent existence in Hong Kong and China.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 502: Fleeing The West (ft. Steve And Mike) (Pt. 1)

Shan and Teen talk about a very minor episode of losing one's temper at the Costco, why it's important to get mad when you're mad, practice getting mad, and to think obsessively about when you get mad after the fact.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 504: Flipping Out Mildly at the Costco (ft. Shan)

Shan and Teen talk about middle age, how American culture does not prepare people for getting older, and how getting older is severely underrated. It often feels like being a kid again.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 505: Being Old Feels Like Being a Kid Again (ft. Shan)

Peter and Teen talk about Peter's newborn baby, the encroachment of the state into the private domain of the family, how zombie apocalypse films are really a pro-family fantasy genre, and home schooling as an option.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 506: Raising Kids in a Zombie Apocalypse Movie (Pt. 1)

Mike and Teen shoot the bull on generative AI, whether Sora + Vision Pro = Holodeck, and general musings about technology of no particular consequence.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 508: How Long Before the Holodeck Arrives? (ft. Mike)

Part 1 of 2

John Pang joins Teen to talk about the meaning and the reality behind Aaron Bushnell's act of suicide by fire, the cultural context in which that took place, and then a wider discussion about the joys of getting older even surrounded by a culture which fears death and loathes aging.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 512: American Self-Immolation (ft. John Pang) Pt. 1

Part 1 of 2

Mike, Steve and Teen find a timezone compromise between LA, NYC, and HK to talk about managing our money in what seems like mad world of overpriced investment assets and unprecedented risk to the US dollar system.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 514: Mad World Investing (ft. Mike and Steve) Part 1

Jess is back after a long hiatus to catch up with Teen on important life matters: the importance of spring in New York, the exquisite quality of computer manuals in the 1970s, and what the hell 'internal monologue' means.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 516: Springtime, a Wild Jess Appears

Jess and Teen discuss Wim Wenders' 2023 film 'Perfect Days' and what it says about aging and internal monologue.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 517: "Perfect Days" and Artful Aging

Part 1 of 2

Jess and Teen talk about how time and experience allows a more mercenary and disillusioned relationship with work and jobs, and how the cultish mythology around work and passion (esp in tech) was the cause and not the cure to the anxiety and pressure of careerism. 

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 518: Disillusioned Careerism is the Best Careerism (pt. 1)

Jess and Teen record a long pod about nostalgia for retro tech, only to hang up, continue the conversation, and realize the after-talk was actually the better pod. Here is the after-talk , about the virtualization of all technologies into software, the corruption of software as trojan horses into our lives, and the suspect loyalty of the technology we bring into our homes.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 520: Nostalgia for Retro Tech that Soothed the Soul

Part 1 of 2

John Pang joins Jess and Teen to discuss what Teen saw in person at the Columbia campus over the weekend, the seriousness of the conflict, and why we are seeing internecine warfare within elite institutions and society.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 521: Columbia Protests and the Elite Schism (Part 1)

Part 1 of 2

Mike H. joins Teen to talk about Boeing's shocking failures, financialization, and how the economy became fake.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 523: Boeing and the Origins of the Fake Economy (Part 1)

Hen Zee (aka Dr. Z) joins Teen to talk about the recent sentencing and imprisonment of John Ong following a 2020 racist attack at his family's home in Manhattan Chinatown. Why we need to let go of our naive belief in (legal) justice, why and how to get prepared for hostility and danger, and to let go of our childish investments in liberalist ideas.

Full video of attack: http://bit.ly/attackonongs

Dr. Z IG: http://instagram.com/arsenal_nyc
DCC: Instagram.com/dragoncombatclub
DCC Class sign-up: http://bit.ly/dccgantry24

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 526: Forget About Justice: The Ong Brothers Attack (ft. Dr. Z)

John Pang joins Jess and Teen from Hangzhou, China to talk about the need to study America as it really is, what life is really like here, and get beyond the outmoded tropes about this place so that the world can better understand us.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 528: The Department of American Studies

Part 1 of 2

Mike, Steve, and Teen have a discussion about buying real assets in a world dominated by financialized investment products. Primarily fun, but also maybe to hedge against future financial crises.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 530: Real Assets (Pt. 1)

The second installment of a series whereby Teen gets into a public verbal confrontation, Shan records it, and then the couple reviews it like it's Inside the NBA. What was done well, what could be done better, and whether all of this nonsense could have been avoided.

Get access to bonus pods and Discord chat by joining our patreon: patreon.com/planamag

EFPA Theme:  "Escape From Plan A" by Ciel (Twitter: @aerialist)

Ep. 532: How to Be a Proper Asshole (ft. Shan)

Mark, Teen and Jess have a long talk about depression and the Asian American. What it is, what it isn't, and why so much of what is said about race and depression feels so inadequate. Is sensitivity overrated? Is depression misdiagnosed? How do you understand depression if you've never had it? And why would it matter?

Intro/Outro Music: Philip Glass - Metamorphosis

Intro Voice: Sherwin Nuland on Depression (https://www.ted.com/talks/sherwin_nuland_on_electroshock_therapy?language=en)

TWITTER

Teen (@mont_jiang)
Jess (@cogitatotomato)
Mark (@snbatman)

SUBMISSIONS & COMMENTS

editor.planamag@gmail.com

Ep. 72: The Anatomy of Asian American Depression

Escape From Plan A Podcast

We also run an online magazine, Plan A. Visit us at the link below!

Popular tracks by Escape From Plan A