This week on The Banh Mi Chronicles, I sit down with Katrina Pham, a Vietnamese American journalist with Borderless Magazine, a Chicago-based, immigrant-centered news publication.

Katrina shares her reflections on the recent ICE raids in Chicago and the weight of reporting on stories that directly impact the safety and livelihoods of our neighbors. We dive deep into how the digital media landscape has shifted and why “extractive” journalism no longer works. Instead, Katrina explains the rigorous work of building long-term, trusting relationships with the communities being covered.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Reporting on the Frontlines: Katrina’s firsthand reflections on documenting the ICE raids in Chicago.

• The Evolution of Digital Media: How the current landscape affects the way immigrant stories are told—and who gets to tell them.

• Community Journalism as Advocacy: What it means to practice “immigrant-centered” reporting in 2026.

• Building Radical Trust: The strategies Borderless Magazine uses to ensure sources feel seen, safe, and respected.

Katrina is a multimedia journalist whose focus is on race and social justice reporting. Most recently, she’s worked for The Yappie as a staff writer and newsletter contributor. There, she reported on solutions for inaccessible mental health care for Southeast Asian American refugees, among other topics relating to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Before Borderless, she interned for ABC 7 Chicago’s Race & Culture News team, connecting with community organizations in Chicago to pitch stories for the newsroom.

Katrina was born in Chicago, where both her parents settled after arriving in the United States as refugees from Vietnam following the end of the war. These experiences inform Katrina’s work, and she cares deeply about social justice issues.

Borderless Magazine is reimagining immigration journalism for a more just and equitable future.

As a nonprofit and nonpartisan news outlet, Borderless:

• Reports and publishes stories in English and Spanish

• Mentors emerging journalists in our Pathways program

• Gives journalists from other news outlets the tools they need to report on immigration issues fairly and accurately through our Immigration Reporting Lab

Borderless was named “The Future of Journalism” in the 2024 national Next Challenge.

Follow Borderless on these platforms:

Instagram: borderless_mag

Facebook

Website

TikTok

YouTube

Bio:About Borderless Magazine:

The countdown reaches its finale!

In this episode, I’m joined once again by my friend and pop culture enthusiast, Anjali Misra, to wrap up our journey through the top 25 songs of the 21st century. While Part 1 set the stage, Part 2 dives into the “Chill-Out Chronicles”—the tracks that provided the vibe, the soul, and the soundtrack to our lives from #18 all the way to #25.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The Final Eight: A track-by-track breakdown of the remaining songs on the list.

• Genre-Bending Favorites: Why these specific artists stood the test of time while others faded into the background.

• Nostalgia vs. Quality: How our perspective on these 2000s hits has shifted over the last two decades.

• Snubs & Honorable Mentions: The songs that almost made the cut (and why it was so hard to choose).

Tracks #18-25 (No Ranking Order)

1. Summer Boy - Lady Gaga (2009)

2. Losing You - Solange (2012)

3. Humble - Kendrick Lamar (2017)

4. Roses - Outkast (2003)

5. Toxicity - System of a Down (2001)

6. Stay - Rihanna (2012)

7. Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand (2004)

8. Hometown Glory - Adele (2008)

   
   

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• Support the Podcast: Share this post with a fellow 2000s music lover!

The world is a lot right now. Between the headlines and the collective burnout, we all need a second to just pause and breathe.

In the first of this two-episode special of the“Chill-Out Chronicles” edition of the pod, I’m joined by my good friend and resident pop culture nerd Anjali Misra. We are temporarily stepping away from the doomscrolling to get into a rabbit hole on another topic: What is Randy’s favorite songs of the 2000s? (I decided not to rank them in order).

From my exploration into Indie Rock like Foster the People, MGMT to pop icons like Janet Jackson and Britney Spears to the emerging days of KPop like Brown Eyed Girls and 2NE1, we do a deep dive into the legacy and impact of these songs, and from the artist(s) who created them.

Spoiler Alert:

Songs discussed on this episode (Pt. 1):

Rock With U —Janet Jackson

Zero–Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Hung Up—Madonna

Cut to the Feeling—Carly Rae Jepsen

Electric Feel—MGMT

Toxic–Britney Spears

Tears Dry on Their Own–Amy Winehouse

Espresso–Sabrina Carpenter

Love At First Sight—Kylie Minogue

Helena Beat—Foster the People

Game of Love–Michelle Branch & Santana

All Night–Beyonce

Treasure–Bruno Mars

Abracadabra—Brown Eyed Girls

Fire–2NE1

Be Sweet—Japanese Breakfast

Lady Marmalade—Christina Aguilera, P!nk, Mya, Lil’ Kim, and Missy Elliott

We know everyone has that one song they’re ready to fight for. After you listen, drop a comment below: What is the one 2000s track we definitely missed?