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Description

Men of the pen Jeff Yang and Phil Yu join Ku and Su to talk about how to live their best, most comfortable lives in their 40s. Soft pants, full nights of sleep, and fancy watches for all. Who knows what kind of magic can happen when these 4 put their minds to it? Maybe a re-boot of a little known cartoon, Chan and the Chan Clan? The possibilities are endless.  Plus, Ku and Su add to cart a very eco-friendly paper goods alternative.

Please note, Add To Cart contains mature themes and may not be appropriate for all listeners.

To see all products mentioned in this episode, head to @addtocartpod on Instagram. To purchase any of the products, see below.

• Phil and Jeff are 2 of the three authors behind Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now
• Jeff’s Soft ass sweatpants from Quince
• Phil’s Seiko watch because he absolutely deserves it
• Jeff’s vintage lunchbox of Chan and the Chan Clan
• Buy Cloud Paper for tree-saving paper goods!

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Transcript

SPEAKERS

Phil Yu, Kulap Vilaysack, SuChin Pak, Jeff Yang

SuChin Pak  00:10

Hello welcome to another episode of ADD TO CART. This is a show about the things we buy and buy into and what they say about who we are. I am SuChin Pak.

Kulap Vilaysack  00:20

I’m Kulap Vilaysack, guys we’ve got some great guests We’ll Let’s not mess around any further and let’s bring him on. Add to Carter’s we have to pop culture gurus with us today. These are men of the pen, masters of multimedia pastures, the first is a journalist and author of many books including I am Jackie Chan My life in Action and writes on the rug for CNN, quartz slate and others. The second is the founder editor and Peabody Award winner of Angry Asian Man and the host of the podcast all the Asians on Star Trek when major publications needs an Asian American comment, he’s on speed dial. His headshot and image are often used to catfish people on dating and social media sites. Together our guest hosts the podcast they call us Bruce. They are two of the three authors behind the New York Times best seller excuse me, rise a pop history of Asian America from the 90s to now please welcome and add to cart Jeff Yang and Phil Yu, welcome, gents.

SuChin Pak  00:35

Hi, this is the fourth I, you know what this screen? Can I just do you know what you want to do? Look at this. Look at this screen. I’m going to do a screenshot.

Kulap Vilaysack  01:59

You want to take it in. We want to be in this moment in.

SuChin Pak  02:02

because listen, the youngsters don’t know. The youngsters don’t know between the four of us. We’ve got 8000 years of Asian American media experience. It’s 8000 years here.

Jeff Yang  02:14

Just like Asian years though.

SuChin Pak  02:17

Yeah. And as you point 6 million White years.

Jeff Yang  02:22

Not like we age or anything.

Kulap Vilaysack  02:25

As they say, Asian don’t raisin

SuChin Pak  02:36

I was thinking of what was that old, old commercial? Ancient Chinese secret Pearl cream.

Phil Yu  02:46

The ancient Chinese secret is Calgon. They have infomercials for hot buy none of the Nancy Quan, I do remember. You’re like damn, that stuff works

SuChin Pak  03:02

That phrase, I put it together some place in my memory as a child, and has been buried so deep and it was only after now the four of us have come together like a Voltron transformer that I had to speak it into existence. It’s been floating around in my brain. Ancient Chinese secret. That’s what I know. You know? Anyway. Oh, so good to see you guys.

Phil Yu  03:36

Thank you for having us. I’m looking forward to this all week.

Kulap Vilaysack  03:40

Well, we like to start by asking our guests what type of shoppers? You guys are like, how do you consume stuff? Are you somebody that’s like I see it. I get it. I’m done. Do you deliberate? Do you, you know?

SuChin Pak  03:54

Do you go cheap, do you go lock, you know, do you go bulk? Do you go custom?

Jeff Yang  03:59

So Ariana Grande. I want it, I got it.

SuChin Pak  04:05

I was like, wow, there’s a lot of different ways. Okay, I wanted I got it. Alright, so what does that mean, impulsive?

Jeff Yang  04:13

I think actually, it sort of speaks more to how I interact with you know, the big cloudy thing we call the internet, right? Everything is like another link to something else. And I find myself going down rabbit holes all the time and sometimes the end of those rabbit holes is an object that I have purchased and then like it gets shipped to me I’m like how the hell, why do I have this? I don’t need pantyhose and yet there it is, and I’m wearing it now.

SuChin Pak  04:39

Well the algorithm […] and maybe that’s really what’s missing from your life.

Jeff Yang  04:44

My algorithm is basically chaos.

Phil Yu  04:47

I totally like a, like I can’t waste time doing all the research for this thing. Just tell me which thing I need to get like I’m a total wire cutter. You know like just loyalist and says like what did they say? Okay, I’m gonna get that because I can’t compare all the shit like, you know, just tell me the best thing and I’ll get it. You know?

Kulap Vilaysack  05:06

I can relate to that too. I like the wire cutter. I like the strategist, give me a list, give me a list of somebody that has you know that put the effort in that I am not willing to do.

SuChin Pak  05:17

And are guys quick to the quick to the purchase? Does it take you a minute? Are you decisive?

Phil Yu  05:23

It depends on the thing. Like I’ll impulse buy like weird stuff like weird T shirts and like enamel pins and things like those like, oh look like that’s an enamel pin of […], I’ll get that like, and then. But then other things like I’ve been, you know, there’s things that I just like agonize over like, a lot like, you know, it’ll be in the car for weeks before I pull the trigger.

Kulap Vilaysack  05:49

Let’s get into your carts. And you know, with these cards, I like to think of them. Yeah, we’re talking about the things I want to know what you like. But these are conversation starters. And I want to dig into just the intimate details of your life. So gird yourself. Let’s go first to Jeff. Let’s talk about the soft ass sweatpants.

Kulap Vilaysack  06:13

That’s what he wrote. That’s what he wrote. Or I don’t know if our producer wrote it. But in our Google Doc, it says soft ass sweatpants.

Jeff Yang  06:21

No, that’s my language.

SuChin Pak  06:23

I assumed it was

Jeff Yang  06:24

right. So you know, in general, right. Wearing soft acid sweatpants is actually an upgrade from wearing no pants whatsoever. Which I think was during the pandemic, when people can only see you basically from chest up anyway. It’s like pants are for the weak.

Kulap Vilaysack  06:45

Pants are for those in denial.

Jeff Yang  06:52

But you know, we’re not going outside. There’s no need for formality. And then you know, recently things have started open up a little bit more we had a in person book tour. We’ve been just a little more physically present. And I’m realizing that people aren’t as friendly with guys standing around and boxers in public and yet, I’m not ready to go back to belts, right, pants, I will accept that.

SuChin Pak  07:19

Those are many steps between soft ass and belt. Just so you know, like, I have to. We have to be in year 10 of a plague free nation for me to put a belt on.

Jeff Yang  07:29

You know, look, I seriously considered kilts. Like just maybe a loincloth. Something like that.

Kulap Vilaysack  07:40

Oscar Isaac.

Jeff Yang  07:43

If only but yes, I went with soft sweatpants. And, you know, look..

Kulap Vilaysack  07:49

Tell us about these. These are from Quinn’s, by the way, they’re on sale. So I will be adding to cart as soon as we finish here for $49.90.

Kulap Vilaysack  07:57

They’re the flow knit Ultra Soft performance jogger.

SuChin Pak  08:01

Tell me how you got here?

Phil Yu  08:02

And are they really soft in the ass?

Jeff Yang  08:07

Well, it’s really actually tough hands for people with soft asses.

Kulap Vilaysack  08:14

Mine is rock hard.

Jeff Yang  08:18

Like a pair of clustered marshmallows, no, it’s, you know, same I’ve been looking around at various kinds of soft sweatpants. And I’ve gone through the realms of Uniqlo and, you know, the Gap and Old Navy and all those. And the thing is, like, they’re all very utilitarian, but they’re not like they don’t feel like comfort, right? Which I think in this era, especially comfort is so much for need especially when you have to deal with the social anxiety of being physically present in front of people now having something that just cradles your posterior while you’re being forced to actually make nice of these people. It’s who wouldn’t want that right and yeah.

SuChin Pak  09:09

It’s a reflection if there’s a mirror in front of me and Jeff, you are my in another universe and another time from we are the same person. I hear what you’re saying. And that’s why I wanted to know because I trust that these are going to be my sweatpants, amazing.

Kulap Vilaysack  09:30

And how did you, I’m not familiar with Quins, like how did how did you hear about them?

Jeff Yang  09:35

That’s exactly it like I don’t know I think that I began literally with a search for like sweatpants on probably Google. I’m sure I did on Amazon as well. But eventually if you started looking for things, things come looking for you. Right, and Quins just sort of popped up somehow. I don’t like ads for it started showing up. And I’m always suspicious when things are trying to get my attention in general. But you know the price seemed all right and I was like, I have a tendency to especially places with accommodating return policies like I’ll give it a shot, I’ll buy a thing and see how it is and actually really liked these. So you know, I’m expanding a little bit, I bought the sweatpants and then I bought over the joggers I guess. And then they have some kind of fusion the intersection between pants-pants, like pocket pants with belt loops and all that stuff, but that feel like joggers. So I got those two, you know, it’s sort of like my 12 step program to eventually be wearing full on actual pants with belts.

Kulap Vilaysack  10:39

In your time. No rush. In your time. And you’ll know.

SuChin Pak  10:45

I mean you had me at generous return policy if that isn’t my love language you and I just that, that’s the language that you and I will only speak in at this point is generous return policies but Quins has been around for a while I know of this, I really purchase but they’re super transparent they’re kind of like they came up during this time when they’re only online brands wanted to be very transparent about where they manufacture, what it cost them, what the markup is and then you know it comes to you so I think kids love this brand, you know Jeff you’re right on the cusp of it.

Jeff Yang  11:25

Hello there, fellow kids. Look at my sweatpants.

Kulap Vilaysack  11:38

Phil let’s talk about the Seiko watch which you’ve added to cart but you have not pulled the trigger yet. Is it because you don’t feel like you’ve earned it yet.

Phil Yu  11:51

This part of it on social media like a little while back I was just I was like, You know what? I’ve had some decent wins lately. I feel good I want to reward myself with like a grown up big boy watch, and you know, so like does anybody have suggestions for a watch it’s like modestly price but is like a solid watch. Quality. I know there’s a lot of watch guys out there. Tell me what’s up, you know and important, I don’t want to watch that screams like hey, let’s rob that guy.

Phil Yu  12:23

But I got bombarded With just watched dudes just telling me like get this like you know Omega.

SuChin Pak  12:37

Yeah, it’s like watch dude sneaker dudes right there’s an intersection

Phil Yu  12:40

Exactly. And you know, there’s not a lot of fashion items that men alike are like you know, society openly allows men to be super like fanatical about, like sneakers definitely watches are one of them. You know and I’ve never been either of those but dipping my toe into that realm. Just people just it’s like you asked people what kind of car should I buy? And it’s just like everybody shouting so I settled on Seiko because I was like these watches look awesome. Like I was like a one day maybe I’ll get an Omega that looks really awesome but I’m not willing to pay like a couple mortgage payments worth for a watch. And so I settled on like a like a couple $100 Seiko that looks pretty good. You know the one I’m wearing right now it’s like a $12 Casio honestly. And it works great for me but it does not go with a suit. And you know, I wanted something that was like a little bit like just above dress wise.

Jeff Yang  13:41

You advanced already thinking suits?

Phil Yu  13:49

I mean I’ve gotten like this the Casio outfit, like you know that’s covered. So next level of like you know like business casual or something.

SuChin Pak  14:00

He’s the dreamer of this team. You know what I mean? He’s the he’s the he’s the hopeful but this is a Seiko essentials watch for $330 It’s beautiful. It’s silver. It has a black sunray dial, sapphire crystal, date calendar. It’s titanium. Yes. Shiny Gray. I aka titanium. And you haven’t pulled the trigger. Phil. You have a best-selling book out in the world. He I don’t know how long it took you guys to put that thing together and don’t ruin the mythology for me. I’m thinking years, possibly decades of work certainly you deserve.

Kulap Vilaysack  14:50

Since the day they came from their mothers. They began this book.

Phil Yu  14:54

It took at least 30 years. I mean, that’s what we call it you could say like it was 30 years in the making. Honestly Yeah. You’re making um, yeah, I mean I think I’ll get I think I might pull the trigger today since actually, today is my birthday. I think I will. So after this is done I’ll probably you know, enter my credit card information etc.

Kulap Vilaysack  15:21

Look, I think this is a classic watch for what you know for your business casual to your formal. You need a little bling on your wrist. It’s not too ostentatious. It’s not encrusted in diamonds or anything like that.

SuChin Pak  15:36

No, it is classic. You’ll have this forever. Trust me. We have brought things to the table here and been like this has been in my cart for a minute. Kulap, I don’t want to put you on the spot there. But there was a bucket hat.

Kulap Vilaysack  15:47

There was a Gucci bucket denim hat that I was shut down in such a form.

SuChin Pak  15:55

We have brought things to this. We are aunties, and we will effing tell you if that shit is ugly, too expensive, or not with your time, she brought that out and we all screamed.

Kulap Vilaysack  16:30

Jeff, let’s talk about the Chan and the Chan Clan Lunchbox.

Jeff Yang  16:36

I just received it. So you guys are actually the first Oh, it’s directly Yes, the human eyes that will see it first person in real time anyway, so it is right behind my head. And I’m going to lift it and bring it out. So this is an actual lunchbox, a lunchbox, I might add that is also found in the Smithsonian. And it is a vintage lunchbox that commemorates I guess, a short lived television series called The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, which no one knows about this. So I actually started thinking about this again, I kind of buried it in my memory. Because somebody who put out in one of those sort of internet respond meme prompts, basically asking name a TV show that you think you’re the only person who’s ever watched or remembers, and this show amazing Chan and the Chan Clan is just the most bizarre artifacts of my distant childhood memory. Because it was literally the only TV show, the only animated TV show certainly, but actually the only I think live action show too, that I remember watching in like the early 80s, late 70s that featured an Asian American family and the family was the family of literally the family of Charlie Chan. Oriental detective. Charlie Chan in this version of the multiverse of Charlie Chan is the single dad of a set of 10 children who knows where his wife is, but presumably out of the picture somehow I too would probably have fled under these circumstances. Because what they do is they travel around from place to place they are like much like their white counterparts Scooby Doo and the Scooby gang in the Chan Van, a van called the Chan Van solving crimes and then the kids perform in a band called The Chan Clan Band.

SuChin Pak  18:46

Oh my goodness how this is not being pitched currently in Hollywood at this moment?

Jeff Yang  18:52

It’s so overdue.

SuChin Pak  18:56

This desert I’m looking at the amazing Chan and the Chan Clan Wikipedia here because certainly Asians didn’t write this.

Phil Yu  19:08

You can look at the theme song it’s like on YouTube.

Kulap Vilaysack  19:15

Got it. I’m already seeing the font.

SuChin Pak  19:17

Yes. Directed by Hanna Barbera team themselves Yes. So this was and so you actually watched the series as a kid?

Jeff Yang  19:39

Yes, I did.

SuChin Pak  19:40

Comes with a thermos you guys.

Jeff Yang  19:46

It comes with a thermos but a lot of the lunchboxes you’ll see on eBay do not, somebody has liberated thermos or lost it or whatever. And this is one of the few I’ve seen that actually is complete although it’s a little beaten up. But yeah, Hanna Barbera created this thing it was it was for their time, I think an incredible earmark of diversity. But the reality is it also shows how just even exist in kind of the White denominated world, you had to actually be some kind of familiar, somewhat racist trope, you know, and even if they were gonna actually extend it into a more humanized and familiar place, you’re still starting from Trump. And he still had an accent, he still, you know, spoken fortune cookies, and his kids all had. So here’s the craziest thing. The kids were initially all cast with Asian American actors, right? And they all spoke like standard English something with kind of mod infusion like hey, Daddy, that sort of thing because that’s how they did it back then. You know, but they coded, they sounded to my ears as Asian Americans. And but as English speaking fluent, normal Asian American voices, right? Somewhere when they decided to actually rerun the series, they decided the voices, the kids voices in particular, had accents that made them incomprehensible and like what the fuck you talking about? Just like normal agent. they recast a bunch of them. And in fact, you know, like the most prominent voice that was recast was recast with Jodie Foster.

SuChin Pak  21:25

I knew you were gonna take a turn.

Jeff Yang  21:35

Apparently easier to understand than Asian American no standard voices. So here’s the wild thing. Okay. The character that Jodie Foster ended up being the new whitified voice for was Anne Chan. They all have kind of like, rhyming names. And she is this character over here, the sort of tomboy esque wearing pants and sort of sloppy, you know, oversized shirt and baseball cap with short hair, and is coded as a quote unquote tomboy of that era. But even more so as kind of like, you know, gender, expansive, and probably orientation exploring. And I had a huge crush on her. And of course, that speaks a lot to like, maybe my very, you know, like, difficult path through life.

Kulap Vilaysack  22:39

I mean, Jeff, I asked for intimacy.

Jeff Yang  22:44

put that back in your cart and just drive away with.

SuChin Pak  22:48

Are you kidding me? You started with your ass.

Jeff Yang  22:52

I was lead with my ass.

Phil Yu  22:57

It would have been cool if that show went to Season Two where they introduced the rival gang it would have been foo Manchu and the Chu crew.

SuChin Pak  23:09

I love it. You guys. It was all for old people had any energy drive or enthusiasm. We could create this show the biggest show to ever live and yet it will die here. Boy, that was fun.

Phil Yu  23:23

Would have been our gift to Asian America.

SuChin Pak  23:26

And yet, the four of us just sad and tired right now.

Jeff Yang  23:31

You think it’ll die? We say someday it shall live. I’ll make it happen. It shall live. Yes.

Kulap Vilaysack  23:41

Speaking of tired, Phil, let’s talk about the CPAP machine.

SuChin Pak  23:49

You’re too young for a CPAP.

Phil Yu  23:57

And for those young listeners because, you know, we don’t want to brag, but we got a lot a lot of young folks listening. What is a CPAP machine to those that sounds like you know, some sort of futuristic you know, spaceship?

Phil Yu  23:57

He did walk me through my sleep test. Like the breathing pattern waveform. And honestly, it was like kind of alarming. He was like, I’ve seen bad. This is bad. Like, this is really, like you had like, you know, you had like, forgot what the number was, but like an alarming number of like, breathing events, non-breathing events, actually, throughout the night over like, six, seven hours. And, you know, I knew I’d been kind of struggling with stuff. Like I’ve been a snorer all my life. But you know, my wife for a couple of years now has been like, it sounds really bad. Like it sounds like you are stopped and then you’ll wake up gasping and coughing for air. You know, all unbeknownst to me. And then like, you know, I have been like really exhausted. But I just chalked that up to the last five years because I became a dad and so that’s just normal dad tired stuff. The doctor was like, no, no, no, he was like yeah, it feels weird that you aren’t like this isn’t affecting you in other ways other than just being tired right now because it’s very, the wave he was showing me I was like, just like, see right here with dips down, you stopped breathing for like a couple of seconds we’re here.

Phil Yu  24:38

Yeah, so the CPAP machine is actually a thing, it’s like a device you, starts off as a mask with a tube that’s attached with tube and attached to a machine. And it actually will, you know, pump the air through and that opens up your breathing pathways while you’re so basically why you’re like laying back, which is what causes you to snore, right that the closing of your airways, and then eventually stop your breathing actually, which can lead to deprivation of oxygen to your brain. And which has led to me being tired, really tired, and then also like kind of foggy. I think the fact that I’ve been able to function like all this time with this is miracle. It also gets me a little hype, because I’m like, once I have the CPAP machine, I can sleep with it. Who knows? Like I wrote a fucking book like, hey, you know?

Kulap Vilaysack  26:20

I mean, this CPAP machine could be your limitless pill.

Phil Yu  26:25

So I’m like kinda looking forward.. The CPAP machine is our salvation. So we’ll see, I’m looking forward to level it leveling up with this with this device, like hooked to my oxygen pathways.

Kulap Vilaysack  26:39

Don’t worry, your daughter will bring that right back down level that you are at now. Okay, wait. So how long have you been sleeping with it now?

Phil Yu  26:49

That’s the other thing. The wait time for one of these things is ridiculous right now. So even when I saw even to get the appointment for the pulmonary specialist for this took months. And so, you know, I had the first visit with him, he ordered the sleep test. And then he was like, we can’t even schedule a follow up visit for like another couple months. So as soon as the results come back, like message me, and we’ll put the order in a way in advance. And so now it’s fine, but that was like months ago. And finally, like I got a call from the medical supply company. It took forever.

Jeff Yang  27:29

I’m just gonna, I’m just gonna say straight up. Right. So I had one. And I could not actually maintain it properly. Not so much like keeping it clean. But just keeping on my face. I’d like wake up and like, the mask would be you know, over one foot and the hose wrapped around my neck and he needs oxygen. No, I just couldn’t. I mean, I basically like took sleeping and oxygen out of my cart. And but what I ended up actually doing, which has worked reasonably well, is that I wouldn’t got a fitted mouthpiece that actually forces my jaw into an unnatural position while sleeping. Because the main thing is you just want to keep your airway open, right? And CPAP’s do that by forcing air down your lungs, it’s not actually so much oxygenating you it’s just being like using the air pressure to keep the flaps that need to be open, open. And this jaw things worked pretty well. You know, I mean, that and coffee drinking lots of air in the mornings, is what I mean.

SuChin Pak  28:31

I want to live in a world where both of you are fully oxygenated. You know, I really do feel like the Asian people need you both, you know, lots of air and.

Kulap Vilaysack  28:45

I’d love the three of you to get full night’s sleep to feel replenished every night to wake up. Bright, fresh as a daisy, SuChin also has to go through a lot to sleep.

SuChin Pak  28:58

Sleep is, it’s like the sexiest drug right when you enter your 40s, you’re just like man, wouldn’t it be amazing if you know, did x and then you could just sleep you know, it just gets me so moist.

Kulap Vilaysack  29:14

I did not expect where we landed that was not so close.

SuChin Pak  29:21

I’m just following in his footsteps.

Jeff Yang  29:25

When you say it’s like hey, you want to you want to go to bed? These days 100% it’s like let’s get some early sleep.

SuChin Pak  29:34

comes at me with an 830 dinner invitation. I want to spit in their face like I want to like howl like you know what I mean? Actual phlegm and spit in their face. Kulap and I, have talked about this. I know who is of my kind. I went to her house once and we had dinner out. I had to ask for sunblock. I mean, I was like this is my kind of dinner. I want the sun up and want the birds chirping and then I want to go to bed. You know right after this is what I want to start so.

Phil Yu  30:07

Five o’clock dinner is my speed.

Kulap Vilaysack  30:13

Can we can we be on the same page here? Well I am so excited. Please keep us updated. I’d love videos, of your wife could take videos of you sleeping. I’m sure our listeners want to see that. The last thing we’re going to talk about is Jeff has removed some things from cart. And he is removed from cart donations to federal elected. And added to cart donations to local and state elected and mainly people of color and mostly women of color. Tell us about that, Jeff.

Jeff Yang  31:02

Well, Jeff has been very disappointed with some of the ways the federal government, particularly Congress has enacted on the principles of both democracy and the needs of our republic, while basically failing to protect essential rights for women, and, you know, many other things that have been promised and simply baked into the operating system of our country. So, you know, look, I feel in some ways, I’ve only been really capable of having enough extra money to donate to political campaigns relatively recently in my life, right? I mean, I’ve always given small amounts, but now I feel like I can make a little bit of change, you know, with a little bit of change. And I have historically done my best to support directly candidates who I believe in and want to win across and above, you know, across the political system, but I guess yeah, you know, for me, it feels like it’s, at least in no small part about looking to the future. I think that we have such incredible political, emergent political leaders right at the local and the state and the state level, people who are in state assemblies and legislatures, people who are mayors of certain cities like Boston, for instance, shout out […] Who has not run for anything, but I’d vote for her. Yes, Michelle Wu is fantastic. A real progressive leader who’s using her office in ways which I feel are directly make them change, I can point to dozens of other people who are running for office who I think will do the same, and most of them are Black or Asian, many of whom are women. In a way, it’s like about building a farm team for the next generation of leadership. And this is not to say I’m writing off this generation because I live in it. But I do feel like at this point in time, all the frustrations I have are less likely to be fixed by my giving money at the federal level or you know, to people running for federal government offices and more likely to be much more meaningful in terms of getting people I want elected in smaller races at the beginnings of people’s political careers. So that’s what I’m going to be doing particularly anyway for this election. Maybe the next one as well.

Kulap Vilaysack  33:42

Yeah, I completely agree. I have been, that’s kind of the conclusion I’ve come to after being quite burned out after the last election and then also feeling like the things that I’ve given and aren’t they constantly reach out to me the people that I’ve given to, I haven’t seen the results that I was hoping for, but especially in the city of LA, we have a weak mayor and a very strong LA Council, there’s some council races that I’m looking at that aren’t even in my district. Speaking of the mayor though, I you know, that’s a hot race that’s coming up. So I’m with you. It makes a lot of sense.

Phil Yu  34:28

I would donate more rarely if someone would promise like to never email me ever again, it’s just the bombardment of emails once you donate to a candidate and then for some reason results in like other candidates. Like, you know, for poaching me for their email list like, that’s the part of it that’s really like, I understand like, this is the game but like, it’s relentless.

Kulap Vilaysack  34:52

Like dude, be cool like, you know, don’t give my email to your friends. Asked me first bro.

Jeff Yang  35:02

I’m okay with getting emails that are informative and valuable with like updates of various things. What I really despise honestly is this trend of emails with hyperbolic subject lines which is like you know alert three red sirens you know disaster are about to occur if you don’t give $1 in the next five minutes then everything you know and love will be destroyed but I’m damn I can’t tell the difference anymore between political outreach emails and like you know spam email from people who want to present me with Nigerian oil fortunes, or it’s like all the same damn thing at this point.

Kulap Vilaysack  35:47

You know what isn’t a scam, the both of you. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Please share with our listeners where they can find you on Instagram and Twitter.

Phil Yu  36:00

You can find me at @AngryAsianMan on you know the socials that matter and on @AngryAsianMan.com.

Jeff Yang  36:12

Yeah, okay, I’m @originalspin on Twitter, like 90% of my online time I guess and waking hours I’m sure I’m elsewhere as well but really Twitter’s for most of my social attention is.

Kulap Vilaysack  36:26

Focus up, and then the book rise a pop history of Asian America from the 90s to now available wherever you get your fine books. It This to me is you know it first of all, it’s beautiful. It’s very fun to read. And I think this is a great gift in May or any month. I gifted it to my best White friends. So gifted to your best White friends as well.

Jeff Yang  36:59

You know, in Japan, they have a tradition called White Day, which is actually supposed to be about I believe boys giving girls presents. Girls who they like who have given them chocolate on Valentine’s Day they give them something but I actually think in America, White Day should be about us giving consciousness raising gifts to our White friends.

Kulap Vilaysack  37:24

This isn’t half oxygen. Can you imagine?

Phil Yu  37:28

Just you wait.

Kulap Vilaysack  37:34

All cylinders ago.

SuChin Pak  37:46

Ku, I just added to my cart, very exciting, a product called Cloud Paper. All right. And I didn’t understand this, I kind of suspected this. But I was doing some research on how much paper towels we in this household consume. And did you know the average person uses an amount of paper towels that is comparable to two to three trees in one year alone. And that the average person flushes one tree down the toilet every single year. I mean, and millions and millions of trees just from wiping our sweet little bottoms. And this family is addicted to paper towels. I do have to say that’s one area I’d like to put some, you know, more effort into. So yeah, I added cloud paper.

Kulap Vilaysack  38:39

I’m looking at the website and they’re saying cloud papers products are made from bamboo materials. So and bamboo, as everyone knows, is a fast growing plant one of the fastest in the world. And I guess it grows three feet per day while absorbing massive amounts of carbon during its growth. So I think that’s you know, that’s what I always forget is like bamboo is like a type of grass. So you cut it down and then grows back up kind of like how we mow our lawn. So it doesn’t need to be replanted after harvest and it will continue growing. So the toilet paper you’ve got generates at least 30% less greenhouse gas emissions on the whole. That’s not too shabby, Su.

SuChin Pak  39:20

No, and you know what I see I’ve used other bamboo type of products before and I just feel like this one is a little bit more elevated, and it doesn’t feel like you’re giving up on texture, on actual efficacy. I’m not going to get into the details of how much I truly loved this toilet paper. But let’s just say you know, no complaints from the basement level.

Kulap Vilaysack  39:52

Nobody is asked to speak to the manager on the lower deck. That’s right.

SuChin Pak  39:58

Everybody, very quiet here in the basement, working very hard for me. And the paper towels. You know, one of the things is that like, I have tried to get this family to use cloth towels and paper towels and you know what I mean, to eliminate that it’s just not gonna happen. There’s some category of it. And I have to say sometimes I’m lazy.

Kulap Vilaysack  40:27

Look, let’s be honest here. There we go. I think the website says you can bet you can do deliveries right? Like going into Costco or target and having to lug just a big thing a TP you can have someone else lug it to your house.

SuChin Pak  40:45

That’s right. You can have it delivered, like the shut in that I am trying to live as and sometimes I have used Cloud paper towels as my plate, Ku and I know that that may mortify you, but..

Kulap Vilaysack  40:59

I have not anymore. I’m so used to you know, I know when you’re having your bedtime toast I know it’s not on a plate Su, I’m not a fool to think it’s on some China I’m well aware that it’s on a paper towel good that you will reuse in the morning.

SuChin Pak  41:23

Oh, my god Ku. I just have a you know what I do is, I have my toast on my paper towel. And by the way it absorbs you know, a little bit of oil from my you know, almond butter. And then I just fold it up and I put it underneath my cutting board and in the morning there it is for me to use again for my morning toast. I did it today. It’s a system that works. You’re welcome. Go ahead and adopt it. Everyone from the White House to the green house. I have made it efficient for you to have your toast on paper towels. I’m so glad to talk about this Add to Cart.

Kulap Vilaysack  42:08

All right, that’s all she wrote folks, to find everything Phil and Jeff added to cart on this episode, please check out our Instagram at @AddToCartPod in our show notes.

SuChin Pak  42:16

That’s right. And also call us We love hearing from you. We love to hear your voices. We love the passion that you bring to your add to carts. Our number is 833-453-6662.

Kulap Vilaysack  42:28

See you next week. Bye.

Kulap Vilaysack  42:38

ADD TO CART is a production of Lemonada Media. Our producer is Claire Jones and our mix is by Ivan Kuraev and Veronica Rodriguez. The music is by Wasahhbii and produced by La Made It and Oh So Familiar with additional music by APM music. Executive producers are Kulap Vilaysack, SuChin Pak, Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. Be sure to check out all the items we mentioned today on our Instagram at @AddToCartPod. Also, please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcast.