Remembering the PI in AAPI
What A Day
What A Day
4.6 • 12.6K Ratings
🗓️ 26 May 2023
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Every May marks Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in the United States. The occasion was created to celebrate both Asian and Pacific diasporas — but the “PI” in “AAPI” is often erased despite the term’s intention to include them. As the month comes to an end, Kristian Fanene Schmidt, the executive director and co-founder of the Pasifika Entertainment Advancement Komiti (PEAK), joins us to talk about how Pacific Islander communities are represented in entertainment — and how their diverse cultures and identities expand far beyond Western labels.
In headlines: The founder of the far-right militia group Oath Keepers was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in the January 6th riots, the Supreme Court ruled to limit the EPA’s application of the Clean Water Act, and the official Barbie Movie Soundtrack dropped just in time for summer.
Plus, V Spehar, host of Under The Desk News on TikTok and the podcast V Interesting, joins us to share a headline they’ve been following this week.
Show Notes:
- Pasifika Entertainment Advancement Komiti – https://peakpasifika.org/
- What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's Friday, May 26th on Trayvow, Anderson. |
| 0:09.0 | And I'm Erin Ryan and this is What A Day, where with Barry and succession ending this |
| 0:14.2 | Sunday, Max is starting to sound a little more like Minimum. |
| 0:18.7 | Let's face it, that network is nothing without its prestige. |
| 0:21.8 | Drama's about white boys with drama. |
| 0:24.2 | Enjoy your finalies, everyone, because I heard the Idol sucked. |
| 0:28.5 | On today's show, Stuart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, has been sentenced to |
| 0:35.1 | 18 years in prison. |
| 0:37.4 | Plus, the official summer soundtrack has arrived. |
| 0:40.8 | But first, as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month comes to a close, we want |
| 0:46.1 | to zero in on the PI in AAPI. |
| 0:49.5 | Who color me intrigued? |
| 0:51.2 | Let's do it as many of you know. |
| 0:53.0 | I'm a journalist that's been covering the issue of diversity in Hollywood for about a |
| 0:56.6 | decade now, and the importance of representation is a cornerstone of my work. |
| 1:02.0 | In that spirit, when I was speaking recently with producer Raven about a conversation we |
| 1:06.4 | could bring to the Wadsquad, they mentioned how Pacific Islander stories, especially, |
| 1:11.8 | often get the short end of the stick during this month. |
| 1:15.2 | Folks center on the AA and ignore, and effectively erase, the PI in AAPI. |
| 1:21.8 | And so we wanted to do something different. |
| 1:24.2 | And I called up one of my good friends, Christian Fonenes Schmidt. |
| 1:27.6 | Christian is the executive director and co-founder of the Pacifica Entertainment Advancement Committee |
... |
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