We Are All Americans: Recent Episodes
Michele Jaquis
Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport, I am recording conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
In episode seven of season three*, Anuradha Vikram, the first in her family to be born in the US, speaks with her mother Dr. Revathi Vikram, a Naturalized Citizen from India, and her 9 year old daughter Nadja Vikram Bugaj, about how 9/11 shifted the South Asian-American role in racial politics and activism and what Kamala Harris’ nomination for Vice President of the United States means to them.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
*Recorded on Aug. 21, 2020 at the ICA LA as part of Field Workshop: Action Projects, in the midst of the global COVID 19 pandemic and the reinvigorated Black Lives Matter movement after the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd.
In episode six of season three,* Holly M. Crawford and Michele Jaquis share their individual family stories about love, trauma, illness, protest, silence, and believing versus questioning… all while grappling with the question of what do we do with the stories we hold and their effects on our present day relationships.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
*Recorded on Aug. 21, 2020 at the ICA LA as part of Field Workshop: Action Projects, in the midst of the global COVID 19 pandemic and the reinvigorated Black Lives Matter movement after the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd.
In episode 5 of season 3* Yrneh Gabon tells the story of how he followed his grand-uncle from Jamaica to Los Angeles to pursue his American Dream of working in Hollywood. Despite much success, he also laments his experiences being questioned by campus police while pursuing his college and graduate degrees as a Black man who was older than the typical college student.
education and engagement plays in combating fear and collectively telling stories that move society towards a better place, despite our human nature of not always wanting to talk about the bad things.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
*Recorded on Aug. 21, 2020 at the ICA LA as part of Field Workshop: Action Projects, in the midst of the global COVID 19 pandemic and the reinvigorated Black Lives Matter movement after the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd.
In episode four of season three*, Asuka Hisa and Michele Jaquis talk about the important role education and engagement plays in combating fear and collectively telling stories that move society towards a better place, despite our human nature of not always wanting to talk about the bad things.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
*Recorded on Aug. 21, 2020 at the ICA LA as part of Field Workshop: Action Projects, in the midst of the global COVID 19 pandemic and the reinvigorated Black Lives Matter movement after the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd.
In episode three of season three*, Marjan Vayghan talks about the challenges and inadequacies of her American education as a new immigrant from Iran in the mid-nineties, and her uncle’s disappearance after arriving at LAX from Iran during Trump’s travel ban in 2017, while also asking Michele about the optimism of bringing a child into this messed up world.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
*Recorded on July 27, 2020 via Zoom, in the midst of the global COVID 19 pandemic and the reinvigorated Black Lives Matter movement after the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd.
In episode two of season three*, Beverly Naidus talks with Michele about “the pleasure of being able to blend into the world of otherness that I never had growing up in a white town where I was always an outsider.”
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded on July 17, 2020 via Zoom, in the midst of the global COVID 19 pandemic and the reinvigorated Black Lives Matter movement after the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd.
In episode one of season 3* Cole M. James talks with Michele about how zie collects stories of Black migration from the south to Chicago and Los Angeles by sitting with the elders at family reunions. “They sacrificed a lot, and they made it through a lot, for us to be right back in it.”
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded on June 22, 2020 via Zoom, in the midst of the global COVID 19 pandemic and the reinvigorated Black Lives Matter movement after the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd.
This podcast may seem to have taken a hiatus, but seven conversations were recorded in summer 2020, both on Zoom and at the ICA LA as part of their Field Workshop: Action Projects series. It's just the pandemic and working from home without childcare for much of the year prevented me from spending time on postproduction - which should be finished by the end of this month.
Stay tuned for the release of Season 3, with 7 episodes, including conversations with Cole James, Beverly Naidus, Marjan Vayghan, Asuka Hisa, Yrneh Gabon, Holly M. Crawford, and Anuradha Vikram with her daughter, Nadja Vikram Bugaj, and mother, Revathi Vikram.
The podcast is available Apple iTunes, Spotify and Stitcher.
I’m so excited to be participating in Field Workshop: Action Projects at the ICA LA. Join me on Aug. 21 to participate in Season 3 of We Are All Americans - a socially engaged documentary project in the form of an oral history recording workshop series and an audio podcast. Participants will be able to sign up for 1 hour time slots between 1-6pm to have social distanced (with masks) recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American at this moment.
RSVP here.
Conversations are currently being recorded via Zoom. Contact Michele Jaquis to schedule your conversation.
In episode nine* of season two, Claudia J. Hernández Romero tells Michele Jaquis about her childhood experience of her father's death and the subsequent decision of her middle-class family to leave El Salvador and come to the US via plane.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded on October 28, 2019 at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, CA.
In episode eight* of season two, Maria Laura Hendrix shares stories of her childhood growing up first in Mexico and then on a citrus ranch in Ventura County, CA, and the disappointment that she feels that despite her Naturalized US citizenship and American education (she is about to complete her MFA degree) she may always be seen as not American enough.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded on November 26, 2019 at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, CA.
In episode seven* of season two, Maria Elena speaks of her assumed indigenous ancestry and shares stories of her life after immigrating to the US from Guatemala some fifty years ago.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded on October 22, 2019 in West Hollywood, CA.
In episode six* of season two, two participants of the Reciprocity Los Angeles Artists Retreat discuss their family immigration stories, their Polish Bubbies named Netti, and shared disappointment in the fallacy of the American dream and the fear often sewn by each waive of immigration.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded during the Reciprocity Los Angeles Retreat on April 9, 2019 in Simi Valley, CA
In episode five* of season two, Sarah Mostov and Jenny Yurshansky discuss their shared experiences of being children of Jewish refugees and how that shapes their thoughts on Israeli and American treatment of Muslims from the Arab world. Jenny's parents are from what is now called Moldova in the former Soviet Union and Sarah's mother was born to Iraqi parents in a refugee camp in Jerusalem.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded during the Reciprocity Los Angeles Retreat on April 9, 2019 in Simi Valley, CA
In episode four of season two,* Rotem Rozental, who originally came to the US from Israel to work on her PhD and now has two children born here, talks with Michele Jaquis about the Jewish diaspora who migrated from Europe to Israel and from Israel to the United States.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded during the Reciprocity Los Angeles Retreat on April 9, 2019 in Simi Valley, CA
In episode three* of season two, Kayla Tange compares her experiences living in the United States and visiting the country of her birth, as a Korean-born adoptee in a Japanese-American family.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded on January 18, 2019 in Los Angeles, CA
In episode two of season two of We Are All Americans,* Hugo Claudin, an artist, curator and organizer originally from Guadalajara, Mexico who has lived in Grand Rapids, MI for the past 38 years, discusses his father’s idea of American liberty and justice in contrast with the reality of economic and racial disparities in housing issues, the defunding of public education and the arts, and the US’s interventions in Latin America.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded on December 30, 2018. via video chat in Los Angeles, CA & Grand Rapids, MI
We Are all Americans is back with Season two. In episode one* Jada Amina, a self proclaimed “Black-South-Side-Chicagoan,” talks about the messiness of being a child of diaspora with African, Creole, German and Native American heritage, and their reasons for not participating in US governmental systems like voting and tribal registration.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded on November 7, 2018. via video chat in Los Angeles, CA and Chicago, IL.
Season one of We Are All Americans is complete. Season two starts late spring, 2019 with all new episodes featuring Jada Amina, Hugo Claudin, Claudia Hernandez Romero, Kayla Tange and more. Contact Michele if you want to participate.
In episode twelve of We Are All Americans*, Chloe Brun, who was born in Paris to French and Iranian parents and raised in the United States, talks about the challenges of being multi-cultural and finding one’s place in the world.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded on October 16, 2018. at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, CA.
In episode eleven of We Are All Americans, Monique Mansour* shares stories with Michele Jaquis about her experiences living in California and traveling abroad as an American of Iraqi-Chaldean heritage.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
*Recorded August 28, 2018 at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA.
In episode ten of We Are All Americans* Michael Rippens, who is half Dutch and half Filipino, discusses with Michele Jaquis the complexities of being multi-racial and therefore simultaneously fitting in nowhere and everywhere.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
*Recorded August 19, 2018 in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.
In episode nine of We Are All Americans* Badly Licked Bear talks about their life in America as a gender-non-conforming, Indigenous, Jew whose friends think of them as a professional code switcher.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
*Recorded on August 15, 2018 in the Historic South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.
In episode eight of We Are All Americans* Christy Roberts Berkowitz and Michele Jaquis discuss the parallels between the US Government’s current anti-immigrant sentiment and the anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia at the turn of the 19th century and the differences between diversity and inclusion.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded on August 2, 2018 in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.
In episode five of We Are All Americans* Michele Jaquis’ friend speaks anonymously about her disappointment after the 2016 US Presidential election in realizing that she and her sister have differing opinions about who is really American. They also discuss how travel can foster empathy and an understanding of the plurality of human experiences.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded on August 22, 2018 at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, CA.
In episode six of We Are All Americans, Michele Jaquis and Hind Abdulmajeed* discuss the increased xenophobia and nationalism in the US now that Trump has been elected president, as well as Hind’s experience as an Iraqi refugee who came to the US for college and political asylum and stayed when she was granted her green card.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
*Recorded on July 19, 2018 in the Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.
In episode five of We Are All Americans* Michele Jaquis and Joshua Beliso share numerous family stories including Michele’s grandfather’s matzo ball wonton soup, Joshua’s family legend of their brutal Scottish ancestor (who may or may not have been a King), how it is possible to not sacrifice one’s ambitions while raising a family just because one’s parents did, and Joshua’s own love for fusion cuisine inherited from his Portuguese and Spanish grandparents who grew up in Hong Kong and the Philippines.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
- Recorded on July 16, 2018 at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, CA.
In episode four of We Are All Americans* Cinthia Marisol Lozano shares stories of their experience as a first generation American reconnecting to their Pipil and Lenca indigenous ancestry, as well as how the important radical act of simply living as a queer person of color helps them stay grounded and optimistic.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
*Recorded on July 11, 2018 at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, CA.
In episode three* Daniel Corral shares stories with Michele Jaquis about his Lola and Lolo, who was recruited into the US military after his time as a Filipino guerrilla fighter during WWII.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
*Recorded June 15, 2018 in South Pasadena, CA
In episode two* Lauren Vazquez, Michele Jaquis and Estela Sanchez discuss what they know and don’t know about their family histories.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
Recorded on May 19, 2018 as part of the Veterans & Immigrants Oral History Recording Skill Share Workshop at Side Street Projects in Pasadena, CA.
In episode one* Alicia Randall records her mother Ayesha Randall and Michele Jaquis as they discuss those who came to the the US unwillingly and how and when we teach our children the difficult historical moments that impacted our ancestors.
We Are All Americans is a podcast series Inspired by the fact that my Russian great-grandfather gained his US citizenship after serving in the US Army and my Lithuanian (or Austrian, or Russian, or Latvian - depending on who is telling the story) great-grandmother entered the US on fake passport. Each episode is a different recorded conversations about how family stories are passed down from generation to generation and what it means to be American in the contexts of multiculturalism, immigration, military service, black lives matter, white privilege, and indigeneity.
*Recorded on May 19, 2018 as part of the Veterans & Immigrants Oral History Recording Skill Share Workshop at Side Street Projects in Pasadena, CA.