Join us as we celebrate Naoko's birthday and delve into the profound benefits of meditation. In today's episode, we explore how meditation can transform your life, offering insights and techniques to enhance your well-being. Let's dive in and discover the power of mindfulness and inner peace. Happy Birthday Naoko!
We welcome back Monica from Ep. 49 to talk a little about Japanese pop culture in the realm of reality TV. Ultimately, we talk about how cyberbullying knows no international boundaries and how we can build healthy habits around media literacy. We end on a happy note of Japanese Girl's Day celebrated on March 3 every year.
We kick off our conversation by sharing our 'word for the year,' a concept inspired by a career coach. The idea is to think about one word that can keep us grounded, focused, and have a profound impact throughout the coming year, as opposed to setting up often intangible and unachievable hefty resolutions. We then delve into our thoughts on Course 1 of the UC Berkeley-based Othering & Belonging Institute.
Naoness is thrilled to host a special guest, Monica, in our first recording of 2024! We met Monica over 30 years ago, but didn't keep in touch per se until recently. It's extraordinary to revisit some time capsule moments, picking up right where we left off in junior high school. In this episode, we dive into Monica's journey—from her impactful work in social services at a mental health clinic to the unexpected joys of Japanese octopus jerky. Our focus is on the life and mind of Monica, who found herself thrust into a city metropolis for two crucial years during her adolescence. Tune-in for a captivating conversation that explores the myriad experiences that have shaped Monica's unique perspective on life.
This marks our final episode of the year! We want to extend our gratitude to the many listeners who discovered us for the first time, as well as those who continue to join our conversations. In this episode, we cover a wide range of topics, from the debate between gas and electric stoves to various holiday traditions. We also discuss our favorite books and highlight authors who are on our bucket list for early next year—especially AAPI community writers and activists. Offer Up
Thomas Keller's shortbread and chocolate chip cookie recipes
Othering & Belonging Institute (OBI) & OBI University courses (Fundamentals of Bridging and more)
The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs
We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transformative Justice by Mariame Kaba
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön
No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering by Thich Nhat Hanh
Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh
RENAISSANCE, a film by Beyoncé
Japanese Traditions: Joya no kane; Ozoni; Toshi koshi soba; Pajeon / Chijimi; Matsumaezuke; Oshiruko
We remain focused on cultivating life intentions that foster environments of belonging. With a dedication to learning, we're excited to share our thoughts on a free online course provided by the Othering and Belonging Institute (OBI University). As fall comfort food and Thanksgiving approaches, we're thrilled to engage in an exciting discussion about Japanese curry too!
We're thrilled to welcome Tim, an educator in private and public high schools for decades in California and Japan. Naoko x Naoko are interested in the topic of education as parents and in our growth development. We discuss current events like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how Tim teaches students to formulate unbiased opinions of the conflict as much as possible. We touch upon his unique role and involvement in the transformation of a local public high school to create a small learning community, and how it's become a model for creating a special learning environment. Finally, we talk about issues impacting today's HS students outside of academia. Tune-in to learn more!
Naoness celebrates our 2nd Anniversary recording, which started as an idea incepted in 2020 by Naoko. A birthday request reciprocated, launches our first episode in September 2021. This is a love letter to our families as we cherish our 35 years of friendship with love, laughter, and gratitude. In this episode, we discuss a recent book we started together, "Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier" by Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey. Today, we also sprinkle in seasonal dishes inspired by global flavors: enchiladas and Japanese-style pork belly, anyone?
Bean & Bean NYC: Limited Gesha Box - Rachel + Jiyoon Han, the Mother Daughter Q Grader Duo™ (selected for Naoko by Naoko ;)
Driftaway Subscription Customizable Gift - Co-founded by Anu Menon & Suyog Mody (selected for Naoko by Naoko ;)
Additional coffee gift options with BIPOC founders/co-founders:
Coffee Project New York - Co-founded by Chi Sum Ngai and Kaleena Teoh, two AAPI women
Kahawa 1893 (now available @ Trader Joe's)
Mainstream recommended best-lists by Wirecutter & Strategist:
The Best Coffee Subscriptions (Wirecutter) - Atlas Coffee Club (not Atlanta—apologies!), Trade Coffee (learned about Bean & Bean through their site—thank you!)
The Very Best Coffee-Subscription Clubs (Strategist)
CBS Sunday Morning News - Hosted by Jane Pauley
Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier by Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey
From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brooks
America's Test Kitchen Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas (used this recipe for the chicken only for an easier prep; we use mozzarella and cheddar cheese)
Las Palmas Green Chile Enchilada Sauce (available at Target or any supermarket used as the green Chile sauce above)
Restaurant Style Mexican Rice (we like to slight increase the tomato sauce and decrease the chicken broth; regardless, this recipe is a must-try & keeper!)
Fitting for the change of seasons from summer to fall, this episode is a meaty discussion about accepting the "organized chaos" in our lives. How do we discern next steps in our lives when so much is going on, how to find moments of clarity, and how to be present daily. Join us as we share quotes from Pema Chödrön, who inspired the title of our podcast, along with a few shared Buddhist and Christian teachings we use as a daily practice.
Bay Area Farmer's Market: 25th Avenue & College of San Mateo
CBS Sunday Morning & Today with Hoda & Jenna
Thich Nhat Hanh's lecture on suchness—reality as it is—when Hanh answers a practitioner's question about living up to the expectations for your gender
Quotes from "When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times" by Pema Chödrön:
Chapter 6: Not Causing Harm (page 32)
"It's a lifetime's journey to relate honestly to the immediacy of our experience and to respect ourselves enough not to judge it."
Chapter 7: Hopelessness and Death (page 41)
"This is where renunciation enters the picture—renunciation of the hope that our experience could be different, renunciation of the hope that we could be better."
Chapter 11: Nonaggression and the Four Maras (page 71)
"We are killing the moment by controlling our experience."
Welcome to Naoness! This is our new recording after a 4-month hiatus of living. We catch up on the epic trips we made this summer, and briefly touch upon Barbie and Oppenheimer; while talking about death and how thinking about it can help us live better lives!
From improvisation techniques to method acting, Naoko reflects on the past year after celebrating another birthday. How do we intentionally live every day so the past doesn't go by in a blur? We talk about community building, respect for teachers, and nurturers. The final question in this episode is "A year from now, what will you wish you had done today?" Listen to hear what Naoness has to say!
March Madness, weathering through Cali blackouts, cherry blossoms, and toxic work cultures. As always, Naoness spans many topics to maintain a healthy work-life balance. For every Naoness episode, we have consistently talked about belonging and inclusion; this is no exception. We end with Naoko's obsession with vanilla cream & cakes and pan out to fermented foods.
We welcome back special guest, Sahira, from Episode 19 almost exactly a year ago, to share our reviews about her recommended film viewing of Jonah Hill's "Stutz." We love the simple visual model of therapy tools that Jonah extracts from his therapist, leading psychiatrist, Phil Stutz. Part love story of their relationship, part useful and practical tools to bring to your everyday - don't miss!
We open our first New Year episode to share One word we'd like to focus on intentionally this year. Naoness also honors MLK day 2023 with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s open letter, "Letter from Birmingham Jail," written in August 1963, after he was imprisoned as a participant in a nonviolent demonstration. 69 years later, what have we learned from America's landscape, and as women of color, what is our part in living through the continued inequities in our society? We have the moral responsibility to take a "strong, persistent, and determined action" when injustices occur because "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." We always pause to talk about food and connections. Naoko celebrates her daughter's birthday and learn which family has a unique word for leftovers.
Final recording for 2022! We have so much to celebrate with our 38th episode to date. Thank you to our listeners, the "Adventurers" that you are! Spotify shares with us that you like to venture out into the unknown, searching for fresher podcasts and gems yet to be found. Yaas! That's us—the hidden gem of Naoko x Naoko's 35-year friendship. We open up the chat with the Japanese culture of ohaka mairi and how Japan transitions from Christmas festivities to families coming together and eating soba or long buckwheat noodles for longevity on New Year's Eve. We pivot to ask ourselves, inspired by Brené Brown, "What is a piece of advice that’s either so good you need to share it or so shitty you need to warn people?” Truth is also hard to tell and we discuss what it means to bring our authentic selves to work. Happy New Year 2023!
The Morning: A happier new year (NY Times)
Adam Grant's post: "Quitting your job isn't being disloyal to your boss. Sometimes it's the only way to stay loyal to yourself. If work threatens your well-being, leaving is an act of self-preservation. If work violates your values, quitting is an expression of integrity."
C&C Music Factory, Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)
Toshikoshi soba to celebrate New Year's, a Japanese tradition
More on the Japanese word chotto (ちょっと)
Feeling the changing seasons—whether it's through the climate, our relationships, or our values. We share how a painful end to something important in our lives can be used to manifest finer-tuned values, purpose, and meaning, so we can be internally stronger to make the best decisions we can moving forward. What would we tell our younger selves about relationships? What would we say to our daughters as mothers? We always end on a note of comfort food—it's the season of soups that nurture our soul and bodies.
All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks discusses aspects of love in modern society with a critical lens and focus on justice
Chinese Soup Dumplings aka xiaolongbao (小笼包)
Enoki Mushrooms with Seven Japanese Spices by Kuze Fuku & Sons
WARNING: We audio test a keychain with an alarm (130dB decibels) at minute 19 for 3 seconds for those who are sensitive to high decibel noise.
We start this episode with our love of lox and bagels, then pivot to staying alert with safety gadgets on the market. Naoness shares a recent journey of job searching, sharing pivotal moments in our life that led to our careers and dreams we had as children.
Somebody Feed Phil - New York episode - Peter Luger
Miso Cod (Black Cod with Miso) 銀だらの西京焼き by Just One Cookbook
The Best Personal Safety Devices, Apps, and Alarms
Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance by Edgar Villanueva
Stanford’s IDEAL initiative makes substantial progress toward goals
Stanford | Giving | Support inclusion, equity, and access for all
Why You Should Have (at Least) Two Careers by Kabir Sehgal
Mo (Series on Netflix)
Crisp air, apples and pumpkins are more pronounced in WA state vs. Northern California and certainly Naoness is going through seasonal changes as Naoko embarks on a new job, and another kid is dropped off at college. Why is it an embarrassment to show our deep emotions in public and why is crying in public a sign of weakness? Join us as we explore these emotions and end on a note of hummus.
34 episodes, 1,000+ plays later, we are still here, recording organic conversations of COMMUNITY, FAMILY, HEALING, WORK, IDENTITY, CULTURE, and FOOD THOUGHTS. Thank you to our steady listeners who track each episode and Welcome, if this is the first episode that you're tuning and listening to. With gratitude, Naoko x Naoko
A rare morning recording of Naoness begins with gratitude -women empowering women and inspiring each other. We expand on ALOK (from ep. 31 & 32) addressing in an ACLU podcast conversation that "creative self-expression is foundational to being alive and not some luxury." Naoko x Naoko aspire to continue to explore a culture of dissent - which is cultivating an environment where our community has the ability to have a thoughtful disagreement to find out what's true. Don't miss our rant on our complex relationship with our given name, NAOKO too! We finish our conversation with COMFORT FOOD when under the weather and Burmese Tea leaf salad?!