In this episode, Ken is joined by filmmaker Khoa Ha to discuss her powerful debut documentary, YVAN: The Lost Sounds of Saigon.

Khoa, a former graphic designer, spent a decade archiving the work of her grandfather—the legendary composer Y Vân—before ever picking up a film camera. Y Vân was the mastermind behind Vietnam’s most iconic anthems, from the upbeat "Sài Gòn" to the mournful "Lòng Mẹ."

In this episode, we explore:

The "Un-Jaded" Director: How coming from a design background allowed Khoa to break traditional filmmaking rules and tell a more authentic story.

The Quincy Jones of Vietnam: Why Y Vân’s range—from Latin-inspired Cha-Cha-Cha to heavy rock and roll—makes him a unique figure in world music history.

Healing a Nation: The movement to move past the political lines of North vs. South and unite under a shared creative heritage.

The Archiving Movement: How Western labels and young DJs are sparking a resurgence in "The Lost Sounds of Saigon."

Killing Your Babies: The brutal reality of cutting 90 hours of raw footage down to a tight 93-minute feature.

Catch the Movement:

The film is currently on its 2026 festival run, hitting cities like Atlanta, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Houston. Follow @yvan.film on Instagram for the full screening schedule and a special Orange County event at the end of May.

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Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth Nguyen

Visit https://www.vietnamstorybank.com/ today for more information!

In this episode, Ken sits down with the Tree Vo—content creator, theater kid, and the voice of a generation navigating "Vietlish" identity.

Tree breaks down her transition from the high-stakes world of HR in Silicon Valley to the creative chaos of Los Angeles. We explore the "trauma-to-comedy" pipeline, why she thinks American bathroom habits are wrong, and the deep linguistic history behind Vietnamese slurs.

In this episode, we explore:

The "Marble Drip" Morning: How a simple coffee run turned into a graphic lesson on performance anxiety and defensive humor.

Silicon Valley to Showbiz: The moment Tree realized corporate alignment was gone and her theater kid roots needed to take over.

The Flow State: Kenneth analyzes the neuroscientific precision behind Tree’s seamless blending of English and Vietnamese.

Bê Đê & Chinky: A heavy but necessary dive into the etymology of slurs, reclaiming identity, and the "rebel" role of Vietnamese Americans in challenging traditional families.

Vietnam Dialects: Tree’s connection to Huế and why the "yelling" volume of Vietnamese content is actually a product of cultural history.

AI vs. The Soul: Why ChatGPT can’t replicate the "ashy" reality of human experience or the specific comedic timing of a frustrated Vietnamese mom.

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Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth Nguyen

Visit https://www.vietnamstorybank.com/ today for more information!

Mia is the founder and host of Viet Boss Babe — a media and community platform for Vietnamese women, everywhere. From the diaspora to the homeland, Viet Boss Babe exists for the women who are rewriting what it means to be Vietnamese, on their own terms.

Bold, Vietlish, and unapologetic — this is the space for the stories that don't always make it to the main stage. The careers being built, the culture being carried, the conversations happening at the dinner table that never make it online.

Viet Boss Babe is where Vietnamese women come to be seen, heard, and celebrated.

Follow Viet Boss Babe:

https://www.instagram.com/vietbossbabe

https://www.youtube.com/@vietbossbabe

Welcome to a special collaborative series between The Vietnamese Podcast and Viet Boss Babe. In this premiere episode of "Đàn ông phải thế" (Men Must Be This Way), host Mia and Kenneth Nguyen pull back the curtain on the silent struggle of the modern Vietnamese man.

We explore the "Gia trưởng" (patriarchal) script that has governed Vietnamese households for centuries—the idea that a man is a provider, a protector, and above all, someone who never cries. But what happens when that script is torn up? In a world where women are dominating medical schools and out-earning their partners, where do men fit in?

In this episode, we tackle:

"Con trai không được khóc": The long-term psychological damage of suppressing male emotions and the fear that vulnerability will "rock the foundation" of the family.

The Norwegian Warning: A startling look at how men are being left behind in education, with 99% of medical students in some countries now being women.

The "Invisibility" of Women: Kenneth’s honest admission about being raised in a culture where women were socially invisible and the work required to break that conditioning.

The 4 Pillars of Radical Self-Love: Mia and Kenneth discuss why meditation, journaling, the gym, and affirmations are no longer "optional" for the modern man.

Learning from Gen Z: Why Kenneth believes 50-year-old men need to seek guidance from 30-year-olds to navigate modern relationship dynamics.