On episode 109 of Hearabouts: Asian American Midwest Radio, IU Bloomington Sociology graduate student Haoxuan Gao joins us to critically explore the current pop cultural trends where Asian cultural practices are being hyper-consumed and exoticized in the very spaces that once mocked them. Putting on our sociological and anthropological hats, we break down structure vs. agency, text vs. subtext, and techno-orientalism. We also explore the paradoxical nature of postmodernism, “weird cuteness” of Labubu dolls, and the mechanics of neocolonialism in late-stage capitalism.

Hearabouts: Asian American Midwest Radio is produced by Indiana University’s Asian Culture Center in collaboration with WFHB Bloomington Community Radio. The show asks critical questions about identity, culture, community, and belonging, centering the experiences of Asian Americans in the Midwest. This episode was produced and hosted by Suyash Kumar Neupane.

Credits:
Hearabouts Production Team: Melanie Castillo-Cullather (ACC Director),
Suyash Kumar Neupane, and Teresa Le

Host/interviewer/Editor for this episode: Suyash Kumar Neupane

Intro/outro music: “Eternal Youth” by Rude