This interview was recorded on June 1, 2022.

Steve is a 36 year-old photographer who lives in New York City.  He was born in China, raised in Italy, and now lives in the United States.  He takes us through his early dating history, reflects on challenges he faced as an Asian male, and shares observations and what he learned along the way.

Check out Steve’s photography at Stevegongphoto.com and follow him on instagram @stevegong.

If you are interested in a follow-up part two episode with Steve, please send us a message on instagram @thecultureful to let us know.  And, feel free to send any questions you would like included in the interview.

This interview was recorded on May 27, 2022.

Sheng is a Taiwanese American from Monterey Park, California who takes on an uncommon career path for Asian Americans and becomes a hockey reporter covering the San Jose Sharks.  He shares about his childhood, how his love of sports started early, and his career path.  He also reflects on what it was like to be in spaces where he often is the only Asian American in the room. 

Sheng Peng is the Editor-in-Chief of San Jose Hockey Now at www.sanjosehockeynow.com and hosts the San Jose Hockey Now podcast.  He has also appeared in VICE Sports, NBC Asian America, The Hockey News, and is a PHWA member.  Follow him on Twitter @Sheng_Peng. 

Segolene is a 35-year-old French American Hollywood executive and entrepreneur  who grew up in California and Texas and now lives in Los Angeles.  She reflects on growing up in a French household in the U.S. and navigating two cultures and languages for school, friendship, dating, work, and more.

You can support Segolene's business at Mygreengifts.com for ecofriendly gifts and party hosting supplies. 

This is the trailer for the podcast.  Here's the transcript!

Cultureful (Trailer)

Jess: [00:00:00] Dear listener, hi, I'm Jess. I'm a Taiwanese American, my husband is Sri Lankan Tamil, I'm multilingual, and I'm very interested in culture. I am particularly interested in how people like you and me from different backgrounds and places live their lives. I love hearing about firsthand experiences. In my 20s and early 30s, I had the privilege to live abroad for over seven years in many places ranging from a rural village in Luapula, Zambia, to busy metropolitan Bangkok, from a small town in Honduras, to a port city in Morocco. One of my favorite things to do is to get to know people, to learn about places and cultures through its people, one on one, up close. It challenges stereotypes and biases I didn't know I had.

And it's just fun. I enjoy meeting people and hearing their stories, and they fascinate me, and I have lots of questions. I [00:01:00] also love up close conversations about people's lives because it gets me outside my own culture, my own assumptions about how a life should be. It reminds me that there are many ways we can go about our human existence and spend our time on this planet.

So I'm starting a podcast. It's called Cultureful. I interview friends and other guests from around the world about personal experiences. Sometimes we talk about major life events and stages like childhood, dating, weddings, parenting, and immigration journeys. But we also talk about the everyday. I'm curious about what people cook, what they do for fun, what friendship is like for them.

These things that make up a life are what I love about culture. If this is the kind of thing you enjoy, check out the podcast. Cultureful. Living, breathing, everyday, you and me culture. It's a kind of traveling. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. It's just getting [00:02:00] started, so subscribe to support and find out when new episodes drop.

It's also on Instagram @thecultureful. Thanks and hope you give it a listen.