John Liang
Ian Contival on How To Adjust To The Culture Shock of Moving Back ‘Home’ (Part 2 of 2)
In Part 2 of this series on Missionary Kid Ian Contival, he talks about the culture shock of moving back “home” to the United States after having lived in Taiwan since the age of 2. While living in Taiwan, Ian […]
Ian Contival On the Challenge of Transitioning From Chinese to English While Living In Taiwan (Part 1 of 2)
In the first of this two-part series, we meet Ian Contival, a Missionary Kid who grew up in Taipei, Taiwan. For Ian Contival, growing up as a Missionary Kid in Taipei, Taiwan from ages 2 to 17 meant that he […]
Destinations With Doni: Wringing Out the Powerful, Cross-Cultural Perspectives Of ‘Wakanda Forever’ — Part 3 (AUDIO)
In the last of our three-part series on “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” we talk about the two feather serpent gods of Mexico — Quetzalcoatl and Kukulkan — and close out by having our panelists provide their cross-cultural perspectives on the […]
Explosión Negra: Advancing the Sound of Afro-Colombian Music
The three members of Explosión Negra combine native Colombian sounds like cumbia and buyerengue with modern elements like hip hop, dancehall, reggae, raggamurfy, etc. Nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Tropical Fusion Album category in 2016, band members […]
Learning How To Be A Blended U.S.-Chinese Family: Mia and LaRon Kampka
For Mia and LaRon Kampka, blending their Chinese and U.S. cultures has been a labor of love. The couple met three years ago in Rome, Italy. “She was actually a friend of my mom’s,” LaRon, a videographer, says. “They had […]
Kim Hairston On the Afrobeat Inspiration to Her Music
For songwriter and lyricist Kim Hairston, working in the music industry isn’t something that’s been a lifelong career. In fact, the 61-year-old only began writing lyrics professionally about eight years ago. Before that, she had (and still owns) her own […]