The Aconic Podcast welcomes Lanhee Chen, a Hoover Institution fellow at Stanford, CNN’s first AAPI political commentator, and host of “Crossing the Lines,” discussing how “losing well” shaped his values, resilience, and commitment to balanced, empathetic political discourse.

Chen shares his immigrant family background from Taiwan, growing up from a small Midwestern town to Southern California’s evolving Asian American communities, and the formative impact of watching the 1988 Bush–Dukakis debate that sparked his interest in democracy and debate.

He recounts early setbacks like losing a freshman class president race, building programs like mock trial and Junior State, and spending a decade at Harvard before moving to Washington with no job and taking risks to build a policy career, including advising George W. Bush’s reelection effort and serving as Mitt Romney’s chief policy advisor.

The conversation covers his bipartisan public service appointments, his 2022 run for California State Controller focused on accountability and ROI for taxpayers, lessons from losing as a candidate, and his advice for AAPI leadership: take risks, expect a non-linear path, and sustain civil, substantive dialogue.

In this powerful episode of the Aconic Podcast, Gary Locke shares his extraordinary journey with host, Soon Yu, from growing up in Seattle public housing to becoming the first Chinese American governor in U.S. history and later U.S. Ambassador to China.

Locke opens up about:

• - his immigrant family’s sacrifices
• - anti-Asian racism growing up
• - the assassination plot against him as governor
• - affirmative action and diversity
• - public service and leadership
• - the viral backpack moment that sparked controversy in China
• - and what the American Dream really means

This is a honest conversation about identity, resilience, immigration, family, and leaving a better future for the next generation. This may be one of the most important conversations we’ve had yet.

Victor Koo built one of the largest video platforms in the world as co-founder and former CEO of Youku - often called the “YouTube and Netflix of China” - creating billions in value and reaching millions of people. But at the height of that success, something didn’t add up. In this episode of the Aconic Podcast, Victor shares his journey chasing achievement across tech, media, and finance… to realizing that all of it had become noise.

What happens when everything you’ve worked for no longer feels meaningful?

Victor opens up about the moment the external wins stopped answering the deeper questions—and how that led him inward, toward clarity, purpose, and a different kind of success. If you’ve ever felt stuck chasing more, this conversation will challenge how you think about wealth, ambition, and what actually matters.