Harvard Associate Professor of the History of Science Dr. Eram Alam has just published "The Care of Foreigners: How Immigrant Physicians Changed U.S. Healthcare." Her extensive research revealed that, over decades, foreign medical graduates (FMGs) have become a sizeable and stable part of the U.S. physician workforce--at least a quarter since 1965. Their presence has shaped aspects of healthcare delivery, especially in underserved areas. But also, their presence raises questions about responsibility: what does it mean for U.S. healthcare to be so dependent on immigrant labor? What are the costs--to the physicians, to their home countries--to the idea of "universal" or equitable care?

In this latest edition of the recurring The Two Kens collaborative series, Fong and Kemp explain both the irony of how he died and the Right's insistence on nationwide posthumous empathy and acclaim for him. Using his own words to substantiate their opinions, they make the case that Kirk's inflammatory rhetoric should not now be santized, nor should he be lionized and honored as an American hero and icon of free speech.

Thai American playwright Prince Gomolvilas first appeared on this show in 2019 to promote The Brothers Paranormal which would soon become his penultimate play in his long career. This week I invited him back because he's written the much-awaited 'spiritual sequel' Paranormal Inside, which will begin its rolling world premiere at East West Players' David Henry Hwang Theater from October 12 through November 2. (www.eastwestsplayers.org)

The story returns to Max and Delia, two characters introduced in The Brothers Paranormal. They're dealing with what's come after the events of that play--trying to build dsome kind of peace in their lives. Over the ensuing years, their relationship has become strained, and they are somewhat estranged.

Gomolvilas' new play digs into what people inherit--not just family or culture, but emotional history, loss, and unresolved pain.

This too being a supernatural thriller with horror elements, a malevolent spirit reappears (or emerges) andf threatens to disrupt the fragile life Max and Delia built after earlier events. Theres's even the possibility of possession!

You don't need to have seen the earlier play to understand Paranormal Inside.

As the last of my short Honeymoon Reprise series I'm sharing what originally aired in June 2018 with medical doctors Allie and Joyce Taur. It's truly one of the most remarkable stories that I've ever shared on my platform in the entire eleven-plus years that I've been recording weekly stories. You'll soon learn that while Allie was identified as a cis-het male at birth and named Steven, after he and Joyce got married and where raising their three boys, the former came out as a trans-female. Their commitment to and love for each other enabled them to remake their marriage and family.

Today, in 2025, there are numerous mental health professionals on television and streaming podcasts who talk openly about the state of President Trump's mental health. They don't pull any punches, given the ample evidence from his public appearances and his frequent online diatribes. They say he has a personality disorder, that he's an antisocial malignant narcissist who's in serious cognitive and physical decline. The irony is that, back when I recorded this interview with forensic psychiatrist Dr. Bandy X. Lee, she and the other 27 contributors to their 2017 book The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump knew that they would be accused of violating the American Psychiatric Association's "Goldwater Rule." This principle states that psychiatrists are prohibited from offering opinions on the mental state of individuals that they have not personally evaluated.

This rule was created after, in 1964, Fact magazine published a survey asking psychiatrist to state whether they thought presidential candidate Barry Goldwater was psychologically fit to be President. The survey's results led to widespread ethical concerns and public outcry, prompting the APA to develop a formal set of ethics rules for its members.

However, in her book and in the part of our conversation that was unfortunately edited out, Dr. Lee asserted that if a mental health professional saw someone publicly and repeatedly displaying behavior that gave her or him cause for concern, they have every right to sound the alarm, even ask the authorities to put the person in a 72-hr involuntary hold for evaluation. But Yale Medical School and the courts did not agree with her, and she was shown the door.

That was just 3 years ago. And yet, as I stated up front, mental health professionals are publicly calling out Trump's mental health problems and not suffering any consequences.

As you listen to Dr. Lee, I think you'll agree that she and the other writers correctly described and predicted the how problematic it would be if Trump were put in power.

First aired in 2018, this episode still ranks in the Top 5 of most popular ones. I'm sharing it here as part of my short Honeymoon Reprise series.

Dr. Joseph Lee shares about effective parenting skills for raising children to be secure, mature, and fulfilled people. Joseph also discusses why authoritarian parenting leads to bad outcomes, how surprises in life reveal our blind spots, and why parents should be gardeners not carpenters.

Fetishized is a memoir-in-essays by Kaila Yu--a former pin-up model and lead singer of the all-Asian American female rock band Nylon Pink. The book delves into her personal journey as she confronts--and unpacks--the complexities of being both the object and agent of fetishization in a media landscape shaped by stereotypes and colonial mindsets.

Her memoir interrogates harmful portrayals--from geishas in Memoirs of a Geisha, to the Austin Powers twins in Goldmember, to the character in Full Metal Jacket, and even pin-up iconography figures like Sung-Hi Lee. These archetypes--and the lack of diverse Asian representation--led Yu to internalize the painful belief that sexualizing herself was her only path to perceived value or desirability.

Ultimately, Fetishized is a path toward self-reclamation. It's an unflinching look at the violence of objectification, balanced with deep empathy for the fractured relationships we might have with beauty, desire, and our own bodies.

Water Mirror Echo is Dr. Jeff Chang's ambitous and deeply empathetic cultural biography of Bruce Lee that goes beyond myth, revealing the man behind the legend while tracing how Lee's life helped shape the emergence of Asian America. Chang's storytelling deftly intertwines Lee's personal narrative with broader social currents--highlighting Asian American student activism, racial solidarity, and cultural resistance. By drawing from in-depth interviews, newly released personal papaers, and rare family photographs, Chang is able to pierce the iconography and reveal Lee's complexity--his vulnerabilities, perseverance, and influence. And by humanizing Lee, Chang reframes him as a creator of cultural identity, not just an action hero.

Chang delivers more than a portrait of Bruce Lee--he offers a meditation on identity, visibility, and the shaping of Asian American culture. Lee's life becomes a lens to explore how individuals and symbols can birth movements, challenge stereotypes, and redefine belonging.

His book will be available for purchase on September 23, 2025.