We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ken Fong a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ken, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Back in early 2015, my friend Christopher came to me with a surprising proposal: why don’t we launch a podcast that focused on Asian Americans? We’d worked for several years on a documentary film project that was taking longer than expected. Rather than twiddle our thumbs, he suggested that we produce a weekly show that would zero in on Asian American culture-makers and -shakers. While this sounded intriguing, I was a bit cowed because, even though I’d heard of podcasts, I’d yet to listen to any. He assured me that this was an unfilled niche in the podcast universe, and that I already had enough national recognition among AAPIs to attract a good number of listeners. Since May 2015 we have consistently dropped an episode/week, garnering listening throughout the US and around the world. Several years ago, my partner bowed out, leaving me to learn the whole technical side of this weekly endeavor. I’d also been afraid of that aspect, but since becoming a one-person-operation, I’ve come to love editing each episode, creating the artwork, and publishing them. And to top it all off, UCLA’s Asian American Studies program chose to partner with me in 2022, digitally archiving my episodes so that future generations can listen and learn, too!
Ken, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
As I explained before, I got into podcast when a friend suggested that we could fill an existing niche in 2015. Given my innate ability to network and the fact that I was already a bit of a known entity, I began identifying and inviting potential people for me to interview. While there are untold numbers of AAPI-tied podcasts today, back when we decided to launch, the pickings were quite slim. We decided to bring what I like to call “Asian American culture-makers and -shapers” in front of our mics, because whether they’re well-known or relatively unknown, many AAPIs are making significant contributions to various cultures. When we first started, I had to do approach every potential guest. But for the past few years, publicists, agents, and PR firms now reach out to me in hopes that I’ll interview their AAPI talent. My style is less like a formal interview and more like a compelling conversation, one that draws the listeners in and makes them want to stay to the end. These days, the majority of guests are people I’ve never met or talked with before. But due to the decades I served as a pastor, I developed a knack for quickly putting people at ease.
When folks ask me how it is, after 9 years of pumping out weekly shows, and now doing 100% of the work, that I’m still so enthusiastic about it, I say, “This is how I sound when no one can threaten to fire me.” It’s such a gift finally to be able to say what I’m really thinking or to limit my guests to people I actually enjoy talking to.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
If you’re at all like me, once you figure out what True North is or what The Prize is, you’re then laser-focused on getting there one day. How you get there is not as important as getting there. So I’m always open to learning possible better routes to take or to detour around immovable obstacles. But some folks see my changing my methods as constantly changing my definition of True North or The Prize. I’ve learned that I don’t work well with those folks because we simply are ‘built’ differently.
And I’d say that, to be honest, having a weekly podcast that consistently ranks in the Top 1-1.5% in popularity by www.listennotes.com is NOT my True North or Prize. Rather, doing this show is just the latest MEANS to get to where I’ve always been headed, i.e., to enable AAPIs to tell their stories and share their journeys as a source of inspiration for untold others. My being able to facilitate that conversation began decades ago, long before the Internet was born. I found ways to do that while serving as a pastor, leader, and conference speaker. And I’m now using my podcast to that same end.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Long before I became a podcaster, I was a young seminary student with a dream to be part of a church that focused on English-speaking, americanized Asian Americans. This was in the early Eighties, and as far as Chinese Americans churches went, this was a pipedream. When I went to talk to one of the leading Chinese American pastors and thinkers about my dream, he said, “Ken, you’re 30 years too soon. Chinese churches in America are either bilingual or trilingual. They’ll never let you pursue that model. So dress conservatively, marry a bilingual woman from Hong Kong, and do their bidding. Then, maybe, in 30 years, you’ll finally get to do some of what you’re dreaming about.”
Twenty-something me who had yet to finish his seminary degree retorted, “Thirty years too soon? I’m right on time. There are growing numbers of americanized Asian Americans just like me that will never want to join the existing churches. I’m going to start a new game right now, where people like me get to play immediately instead of waiting on the sidelines for decades.”
He thought I was rash, brash, and impudent. But I went ahead and did it anyway, helping to establish one of the first churches like that. Twenty-nine years later I saw that elder in a dim sum restaurant. When I went over to say hello he said, “So you didn’t listen to me. Well, I gotta hand it to you. You’ve pursued your vision and you’ve had great success.”
I’m now older than he was when I first met with him. So I’m determined not to pour cold water on those rising up behind me who want to do things that I’ve never even imagined was possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.aapodcast.com
- Instagram: @asianamericapodcast
- Linkedin: Ken Fong