Dr. Pooja Lakshmin MD is a board-certified psychiatrist, author, keynote speaker, and a contributor to The New York Times. Her debut book, REAL SELF-CARE: Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble-Baths Not Included, is an NPR Best Book of 2023 and a national best-seller. Real Self-Care has been featured by Good Morning America, NPR’s Code Switch, The New York Times, The Ezra Klein Show, The Guardian, and translated into 10 languages. She lives in Austin with her partner Justin, their toddler, and their two cats, Kitty and Fifi.

Topics Covered:

• Growing up spending summers in India and navigating life as a "Good Indian Girl"
• Becoming disillusioned with medicine and psychiatry and that journey that led her on
• Her move to Austin since 2020 and how that experience has been
• The growing interest in self-care and what the difference is between self-care and faux self-care
• The nuances of holistic or integrative medicine and the barriers communities of people face in mainstream medicine
• The differences between tools and principles in real self-care and how they can work together to help you make big decisions in life
• How to apply real self-care to Asian American guilt
• Disrupting intergenerational trauma
• How to identify which boundaries are yours vs boundaries that may have been passed down by your culture or family

Materials Referenced:

• REAL SELF-CARE: Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble-Baths Not Included by Dr. Pooja Lakshmin MD
• Dr. Pooja Lakshmin Instagram
• Good Morning America Segment
• NPR's Code Switch: Real self-care takes real systemic change

On the heels of her being announced as part of ACL Fest's 2024 line up, KUTX's artist of the month and more, we're talking to the pop rap artist promqueen to share more about her past year, her musical inspirations, and more!

promqueen (she/they) is a second generation queer Vietnamese American pop rap artist based in Austin, TX. As a daughter to Vietnamese born parents, promqueen draws lyrical inspiration from her family history, own experiences and self reflection as second generation raised in Texas.

Alongside music, promqueen thrives in collaborative environments as a multidisciplinary artist across acting, community organizing and writing. promqueen is active in the AAPI community, performing at Asian Culture Fair, Asia World Night Market, AAAFF Gala, AARC Tonesfest and UT’s Silk Club 10th zine release anniversary. Through her music, she hopes AAPI folks feel encouraged to process, express and share their art to the world.

Topics Covered:

• Learnings and reflections from her szn one EP release in 2023 and what 2024 has brought
• Writing a family memoir and how it inspired the music and development of promqueen
• Music inspirations from both Vietnamese music and rap
• Themes in her music and what's to come for the rest of 2024
• Jewelry and its symbolism

Materials Referenced:

• Instagram: @saypromqueen
• Website: saypromqueen.com
• July 13th second annual prom ticket presale
• szn two vinyl pre order
• June 1st Show - Arlington, TX
• Population Change and Demographic Trends for Austin’s Asian American Population
• KUTX Artist of the Month
• ACL 2024 Lineup
• Paris by Night / Lynda Trang Dai
• Kim Son Jewlery

We've got a special episode recapping the opportunity to host an official AAPI meetup at South by Southwest (SXSW) this year along with teasing our new season this year.

Topics Covered:

• Our experience at SXSW this year and what we hope to see next year
• A brief unofficial primer on SXSW along with a few pro tips on how to navigate the festival
• Our plans for Season 3 and the podcast

Materials Referenced:

• AAPI Meetup at SXSW
• Vietnamese-Hungarian Singer, Hien