The New Yorker’s Michael Luo on ‘the Epic Story of the Chinese in America’

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 15 May 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In 1889, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the now infamous Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the country. Writing for the majority, Justice Stephen J. Field characterized Chinese migrants as “strangers in the land.” New Yorker editor Michael Luo says that label persists today, even as more than 22 million people of Asian descent now reside in the U.S. In a new book, Luo tells the stories of 19th and 20th century Chinese migrants and analyzes the long tail of contemporary anti-Asian racism and violence while championing those who fought against it. His new history is “Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America.” Guests: Michael Luo, executive editor, The New Yorker; author, “Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	There are some things you should always check, like the hygiene rating on your local takeaway,
0:06.2	the setting on your razor, and whether the party actually is fancy dress.
0:11.1	The other thing you should check is your Experian credit report, especially if you're looking to borrow money.
0:17.2	It lets you understand what lenders see so you can increase your chances of getting the best deals.
0:22.6	It's dead easy to check it and completely free.
0:26.6	See it in seconds.
0:27.6	Download the Experian app today.
0:30.6	Adobe Express is the quick and easy Create Anything app.
0:35.6	It's taken my content to the next level, making it simple to create everything I need to promote my business.
0:41.3	From Instagram and TikTok posts to logos and flyers,
0:44.3	all in just a few clicks.
0:47.3	Build your brand with Adobe Express.
0:49.3	Search for Adobe Express to find out more and get the app for free.
0:53.3	Adobe Express, the quick and easy Create Anything app.
0:59.0	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Mina Kim.
1:21.0	Coming up on forum, Michael Luo's new narrative history of the Chinese in America
1:25.2	was sparked by the experience of having a racial slur hurled at him in his family while standing on a New York City Street in 2016.
1:33.3	His write-up of the incident made the front page of the New York Times and Luo, a go-to expert on the Chinese-American experience,
1:40.3	a story he realized he didn't fully know.
1:43.3	Luo's book, Strangers in the Land, tells the story he realized he didn't fully know. Luo's book Strangers in the Land tells the story he learned on the pledge free stream get a little bonus that I like to call behind the scenes.
2:14.1	Sometimes our forum editorial meetings about upcoming shows triggered discussions of past shows,
2:19.1	and today's topic got us talking about covering the pandemic as it unfolded with its terrible
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.