11 of the Best AAPI Podcasts that Center Asian American Experiences

AAPI, short for Asian American and Pacific Islander, is a pan-ethnic umbrella term for a diverse segment of the U.S. population. As summed up in a 2021 Pew Research report, “23 million Asian Americans trace their roots to more than 20 countries in East and Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, each with unique histories, cultures, languages and other characteristics.” There is no singular Asian-American experience; fortunately, the wide world of podcasts has room for a boundless array of voices.

Some of the podcasts rounded up here celebrate movies, TV shows, and books that center Asian Americans, often discussing the recent shift toward better representation in mainstream pop culture—change that’s long been called for by advocates such as Korean-American writer Phil Yu, host of the pods They Call Us Bruce and All the Asians on Star Trek. Others, like the LA Times’ Asian Enough, focus on navigating personal identity amid social and familial expectations, while Model Majority tackles politics from the perspective of two Asian-American organizers. None of these picks ignore the ugly marked increase in anti-Asian violence that sparked the #StopAsianHate campaign, but they do place equal emphasis on exploring all that's funny, joyful, and relatable to many Americans of Asian descent. Whether you identify as AAPI or you just want to learn something while you're entertained, check out 11 of the best Asian American and Pacific Islander podcasts available on Spotify, Itunes, or wherever you listen.