Final thoughts on affirmative action

Time To Say Goodbye

Hello from clear-skied Brooklyn!

Thank you to everyone who attended our (first) third-anniversary TTSG summer picnic! And thanks to all who subscribe, listen, spread the word, and otherwise support the show.

It’s just Tammy and Jay this week, unpacking some complex cultural shifts in Asian American food and education. (5:15) First, Tammy guesses which Asian cuisines dominate Asian restaurants in the U.S. (according to a recent Pew Research Center study). We also discuss what it means for food to be “elevated,” Americanized, kept “authentic,” or *gasp* made into some kind of “fusion.” (24:40) Next, we go cynical on the likely end of affirmative action and debate the merits of other methods of increasing diversity at universities and beyond.

In this episode, we ask:

Why has Thai food proliferated in the U.S. while other Asian cuisines trend and fade?

What’s behind the idea that “authentic” Asian food should be cheap?

What does the lack of energy around affirmative action tell us about racial solidarities and class recognition?

For more, see:

* A dispatch from last week’s apocalyptic smoke in NYC

* The full Pew study about Asian restaurants in the U.S.

* Zak Cheney-Rice on affirmative action's past and present, plus Jeannie Suk Gersen on The Secret Joke at the Heart of the Harvard Affirmative-Action Case

* An older piece from Jay about the long, slow death of affirmative action

* Tammy on the recent Supreme Court ruling that could dampen workers' right to strike

And, if you find yourself in Portland, visit some of Tammy’s favorite authentic(?) Thai spots: Eem and Hat Yai!

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