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Emil Amok's Takeout from Emil Guillermo Media

The podcast companion to Emil Guillermo's Amok commentary on race, politics, and society from an Asian American perspective. If it's in the news, Emil has a take. An award winning journalist, columnist, talk-host and humorist, Emil's compilation of essays and columns,"Amok" won an American Book Award. He is a former host of NPR's "All Things Considered," and has reported and commented for radio and TV and newspapers, in Honolulu, San Francisco, Sacramento, Boston, Dallas, St.Louis, and Washington, D.C. Read his takes on the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund website at http://www.aaldef.org/blog Emil also writes a column for the U.S. bureau of the Manila-based http://www.inquirer.net and on Diversity issues at http://www.diverseeducation.com
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Now displaying: May, 2017

Welcome to "Emil Amok's Takeout," a podcast featuring the takes of award-winning journalist and commentator Emil Guillermo on race, politics, and society from an Asian American perspective.

Beginning with Asian Week, Emil has written a weekly column on Asian America since 1991. It has since migrated to www.aaldef.org/blog and to his own www.amok.com.  His experience includes TV news reporting and anchoring in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C.; Hosting "All Things Considered" on NPR; Nationwide newspaper op-eds and columns at SFGate and USA TODAY; Talk-show hosting in Washington,D.C. San Francisco, and Sacramento; And reporting for NBC News Asian America. A collection of his columns and essays won an American Book Award. 

Emil also worked on Capitol Hill as a speechwriter and press secretary for then-Congressman Norman Mineta.

Emil is also a voice-over artist, with videos for PETA registering more than 6 million views on youtube, with tens of millions more views on all platforms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBHWd_57u4o&t=5s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xLIlituBCs&t=219s

 

Currently, Emil writes for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund at http://www.aaldef.org/blog 

http://www.twitter.com/emilamok

 

 

May 27, 2017

Show log  Emil Amok’s Takeout Ep. 15

:00  Emil’s opening rap

1:46 San Diego Fringe Festival and SF Marsh shows

2:30 Coming up intros of top stories

5:05 What made me go amok this week

6:25 Martial Law in the Philippines? Oh, just “Partial Martial”?

18:12 Intro Celestino Almeda, the 100-year old  Filipino WW2 Vet still

Fighting for his equity pay

24:12 Interview with Almeda

42:28 Intro and interview with Association of Asian American Studies President-elect Theo Gonzalves,

University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

1:30:00 MY NBA FINALS PICK

----

Emil Guillermo: Emil Amok's Takeout Podcast - No rest on Memorial Day for a WWII Filipino Vet; and a conversation with AAAS President-elect Theo Gonzalves on APAHM
May 26, 2017 7:36 PM

Memorial Day always winds up the annual observation of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

And what better way to remember the one story (along with the Japanese American Internment) that lingers as the moral compass of the community.

For that reason, this Memorial Day will be a special one for Filipino WWII Veteran Celestino Almeda.

Despite many vets seeing an equity pay windfall in 2009, a handful like Almeda are still in appeals.

His fight for justice with the U.S. government has been the bureaucratic version of the Bataan Death March.

Almeda-FDR.jpg

hat's no disrespect to the survivors of that historic event 75 years ago.

Almeda certainly will remember deceased friends like retired U.S. Air Force Major Jesse Baltazar, a former POW who survived the Bataan Death March in 1942, and died just last year at age 96.  

Baltazar often accompanied Almeda, fighting side by side in the latter's bureaucratic battle with the VA over equity pay.

Baltazar-Obama.jpg

Almeda was a young soldier in the Philippine Army reserve, when he answered the call of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to protect the Philippines with the U.S. Armed Forces of the Far East. The added lure was full benefits as a soldier, including U.S. citizenship.

Almeda-sepia.jpg

As you'll hear in my interview with him on Emil Amok's Takeout, Almeda, the reservist, was made active for a year. 

He was then made inactive when Gen. MacArthur retreated to Australia as the Japanese took over Manila.

Almeda has official Philippine Army documents signed by U.S. officers to document all that. What he doesn't have is the record that he served in the guerrilla forces, which Almeda says were only verbal orders.

Once the war was over, he was made active again and served side-by-side Americans.

There would be no problem until President Truman signed the Rescission Act of 1946. which stripped the Filipino veterans of any right to the benefits that had been promised for their service.

Ever since then--for more than 70 years--Filipinos like Almeda have been fighting piecemeal for a restoral of all the benefits due them. 
 
Almeda's service has been good enough to help get him U.S. citizenship in 1990. He's even been given a VA card for medical benefits. 

But it wasn't until President Obama in 2009 finally came through with a lump sum payment of $15,000 to Filipino veterans living in the U.S., and $9,000 for those still in the Philippines, that Almeda found himself in the bureaucratic battle of his life.

The VA has approved more than nearly 19,000 cases, according to its website. The payout has been more than $220 million.

But it's also rejected close to 24,000 cases. 

There's about $56 million left in the pot.

But that doesn't mean the VA is willingly giving it out, at least not to Almeda.

The VA wouldn't honor his Philippine Army documents, though he has kept the originals in pristine condition. He's still currently in appeal, but in the meantime, he's taken to public protests like one last year when Robert McDonald, the VA Secretary under Obama appeared in public. In the Q&A part of the program, Almeda tried to appeal to McDonald but had his mic turned off.

MacDonald's reaction got a stern rebuke from retired General Antonio Taguba, the general who led the investigation into Abu Ghraib. 

Taguba additionally pointed out that updates to the law--PL 111-5, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation)--directed the Secretary of VA to consider all forms of evidence of service and not just those originally considered. 

"This amendment has not been fully executed by the VA," Taguba complained to Mc Donald.
Now a year later, McDonald's out, a new VA head is in, and Almeda is still fighting for justice, seemingly locked in the Bataan Death March of appeals, hoping to get approved for his lump sum before he turns 100.

It's Memorial Day, but his taste for justice has not died.

Listen to him tell his story on Emil Amok's Takeout. Days before his 100th birthday, Almeda's still got a lot of fight left.
 
AAAS President-elect Theo Gonzalves on the relevance of Asian American Studies today
On my recent trip to Washington, DC, I was able to talk to an old friend, Theo Gonzalves of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and the president-elect of the Association for Asian American Studies.

What are they doing? How has Asian American Studies stayed relevant? How valuable is the AAS degree?

Use the fast forward and listen to Gonzalves, where he thinks Asian American Studies is going, and the importance of APAHM.

 

And if you want to read my Emil Amok column on Martial Law

https://usa.inquirer.net/4026/martial-law-not-needed-can-stop-dutertes-destiny

 

Contact Emil at http://www.aaldef.org/blog, the site of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

 If you like what you see, consider clicking the "DONATE" button.  AALDEF is a 501 C3 and your contribution is tax-deductible.

 Give us your feedback there, or at www.amok.com

Leave a voice message on Speakpipe.  We might use it in a future show.

Consider subscribing for free on iTunes, where you can rate and review.

You'll also find us on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

 

  

BIO

Emil Guillermo wrote for almost 15 years his "Amok" column for AsianWeek, which was the largest English language Asian American newsweekly in the nation. "Amok" was considered the most widely-read column on Asian American issues in the U.S.


His thoughtful and provocative social commentaries have appeared in print in the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com, San Francisco Examiner, USA Today, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and in syndication throughout the country.  His columns are seen in Asia and around the world, on Inquirer.net. 

His early columns are compiled in a book "Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective," which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2000.

Guillermo's journalistic career began in television and radio broadcasting. At National Public Radio, he was the first Asian American male to anchor a regularly scheduled national news broadcast when he hosted "All Things Considered" from 1989-1991. During his watch, major news broke, including the violence in Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of dictatorships in Romania and Panama. From Washington, Guillermo hosted the shows that broke the news. 

As a television journalist, his award-winning reports and commentaries have appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. He was a reporter in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C.

After NPR, Guillermo became a press secretary and speechwriter for then Congressman Norman Mineta, the former cabinet member in the Bush and Clinton Administrations. 

After his Hill experience, Guillermo returned to the media, hosting his own talk show in Washington, D.C. on WRC Radio. He returned to California where he hosted talk shows in San Francisco at KSFO/KGO, and in Sacramento at KSTE/KFBK.

Guillermo's columns in the ethnic press inspired a roundtable discussion program that he created, hosted, executive produced, resulting in more than 100 original half-hour programs. "NCM-TV: New California Media" was seen on PBS stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and throughout the state on cable.

Guillermo also spent time as a newspaper reporter covering the poor and the minority communities of California's Central Valley. His writing and reporting on California's sterilization program on the poor and minorities won him statewide and national journalism awards.

In 2015, Guillermo received the prestigious Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice from the Asian American Journalists Association. The award, named after the late Korean American physician from Texas, recognizes excellence in the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

Guillermo, a native San Franciscan, went to Lowell High School, and graduated from Harvard College, where he was named Ivy Orator as the class humorist.

Thanks for listening to Emil Amok's Takeout!

http://www.twitter.com/emilamok

http://www.aaldef.org/blog

May 22, 2017

Links to columns touched on by Emil in Podcast No.14:

http://aaldef.org/blog/emil-guillermo-last-fable-day-asian-americans-emmy-snub-fresh-off-the-boat-easter-xua.html

 

http://aaldef.org/blog/emil-guillermo-is-fresh-off-the-boat-historical-or-the-taming-of-eddie-huang.html

http://aaldef.org/blog/emil-guillermo-wong-kim-ark-gop-anchor-baby-suzanne-ahn-award.html

 

http://aaldef.org/blog/emil-guillermo-asian-americans-no-1-by-2065-immigration-pew-report.html

*     *     *

 

 

Emil Guillermo PODCAST: Randall Park at the APAICS gala for AAPI Heritage Month talks about Asian American representation in the media
May 22, 2017 10:19 AM

On Emil Amok's Takeout, I corner Randall Park at the gala dinner of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS). a/k/a Asian Prom.

Listen to my short conversation with the "Fresh Off the Boat" star, as well as an excerpt from his speech accepting the 2017 APAICS Vision Award.

RandallParkEG-W.jpg

Oddly, I forgot to ask him if politics was in the cards for him. Writing and producing was. But politics? He does play a governor in HBO's "Veep." 

As I flew into D.C., I noticed at the airport magazine racks the conservative National Review trying to make the case for a presidential bid by "The Rock"--a Republican.

President Rock?

Dwayne Johnson hosted the season finale of "Saturday Night Live" this past weekend, and was joined by Tom Hanks.

Hanks said if they ran as a ticket, he'd "get them the senior vote because he fought in WWII--in ten different movies.

The Rock added that he'd get the minority vote, "because everyone just assumes, I'm, well, whatever they are."
 
JohnsonHanks5.jpg

It got a big laugh. 
 
It sounds like a joke, but given the rise of a reality show star to the presidency and the immense popularity of Johnson and Hanks, you never know.

And with that, the SNL banners unfurled to reveal the slogan "Johnson Hanks 2020."

JohnsonHanks2020.jpg

Considering that The Rock and Hanks seem like stable personalities with decent vocabularies, anything would be an improvement over the present White House occupant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emil Guillermo is an independent journalist/commentator.
 
Updates at www.amok.com. Follow Emil on Twitter, and like his Facebook page.
The views expressed in his blog do not necessarily represent AALDEF's views or policies.

Contact Emil at http://www.aaldef.org/blog, the site of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

If you like what you see, consider clicking the "DONATE" button.  AALDEF is a 501 C3 and your contribution is tax-deductible.

Give us your feedback there, or at www.amok.com

Leave a voice message. We might use it in a future show.

Consider subscribing for free on iTunes, where you can rate and review.

You'll also find us on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

   

BIO

Emil Guillermo wrote for almost 15 years his "Amok" column for AsianWeek, which was the largest English language Asian American newsweekly in the nation. "Amok" was considered the most widely-read column on Asian American issues in the U.S.


His thoughtful and provocative social commentaries have appeared in print in the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com, San Francisco Examiner, USA Today, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and in syndication throughout the country.  His columns are seen in Asia and around the world, on Inquirer.net. 

His early columns are compiled in a book "Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective," which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2000.

Guillermo's journalistic career began in television and radio broadcasting. At National Public Radio, he was the first Asian American male to anchor a regularly scheduled national news broadcast when he hosted "All Things Considered" from 1989-1991. During his watch, major news broke, including the violence in Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of dictatorships in Romania and Panama. From Washington, Guillermo hosted the shows that broke the news. 

As a television journalist, his award-winning reports and commentaries have appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. He was a reporter in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C.

After NPR, Guillermo became a press secretary and speechwriter for then Congressman Norman Mineta, the former cabinet member in the Bush and Clinton Administrations. 

After his Hill experience, Guillermo returned to the media, hosting his own talk show in Washington, D.C. on WRC Radio. He returned to California where he hosted talk shows in San Francisco at KSFO/KGO, and in Sacramento at KSTE/KFBK.

Guillermo's columns in the ethnic press inspired a roundtable discussion program that he created, hosted, executive produced, resulting in more than 100 original half-hour programs. "NCM-TV: New California Media" was seen on PBS stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and throughout the state on cable.

Guillermo also spent time as a newspaper reporter covering the poor and the minority communities of California's Central Valley. His writing and reporting on California's sterilization program on the poor and minorities won him statewide and national journalism awards.

In 2015, Guillermo received the prestigious Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice from the Asian American Journalists Association. The award, named after the late Korean American physician from Texas, recognizes excellence in the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

Guillermo, a native San Franciscan, went to Lowell High School, and graduated from Harvard College, where he was named Ivy Orator, the class humorist.

Thanks for listening to Emil Amok's Takeout!

http://www.twitter.com/emilamok

http://www.aaldef.org/blog

 

 

May 12, 2017

Ep. 13 

Emil Guillermo: "Mommy, I need you," a Mother's Day podcast memory; plus Trump grows more Nixony by the day

May 12, 2017 3:04 PM  

From the AALDEF blog: 

http://aaldef.org/blog/emil-guillermo-mommy-i-need-you-mothers-day-podcast-trump-nixon.html

I wrote an essay about my mother that was in my collection of Emil Amok columns in my book Amok back in 2000.

 
I read it here, along with a preamble on the podcast, because I've too often given short shrift to my mom's story, in favor of my dad's.
 
But my mother's story was pretty incredible too. She survived the Japanese occupation of Manila during WWII and found her way to the U.S. with the help of an angel, a Spanish aristocrat who was unrelated, and whom I remember as having so much makeup on her face that she she looked like a ghost. I only knew her as Lola Angelita, world traveler.
EGMomW.jpg

My mom is in this picture, on the left. Another one of her comadres, my Lola Rosie, is holding me. I'm just horribly disoriented looking for the right nipple. And probably crying.
 
All that and more on the podcast for Mothers Day in May, which is also AAPI Heritage Month.
 
Here's a shoutout to The New Yorker for its funny, satirical cover, the positive yellowfacing of Dr. David Dao, who is replaced by the ousted FBI chief James Comey.

It's funny, not racist, as some have suggested. It's a recognition of how we felt about Dao, and how we should all feel about what's happened to Comey.
NewYorker.jpg

In Trump-speak, the Comey thing is as important as the Russia thing, and so much more important than any email thing. 
 
In the firing, Trump as Nixon was pretty obvious from Day 1. But Trump doesn't leave well enough alone. He's compounded it with subsequent steps that only create a growing credibility gap between his White House and the American public.
 
Where is the Truth about the firing of Comey? We have several versions, at this point. One too many for a real democracy.
 
And if Trump isn't getting really Nixony, why did he tweet about the possibility that conversations with Comey were taped?

James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!


           King Donald?

           It leaves us with motherhood to hang on to for now, while we can.
 
Show Log:
00:    Opening
:20     About our show
1:15   My theater performance
1:56   This episode
3:17   New Yorker spoof: Comey as David Dao
4:29    More on Trump
10:26  Preamble on my Mom, followed by the "Mom's Sundae" commentary from my Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective

*     *     *
Emil Guillermo is an independent journalist/commentator.
Updates at www.amok.com. Follow Emil on Twitter, and like his Facebook page.
The views expressed in his blog do not necessarily represent AALDEF's views or policies.

 

 

Contact Emil at http://www.aaldef.org/blog, the site of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

If you like what you see, consider clicking the "DONATE" button.  AALDEF is a 501 C3 and your contribution is tax-deductible.

Give us your feedback there, or at www.amok.com

Leave a voice message. We might use it in a future show.

Consider subscribing for free on iTunes, where you can rate and review.

You'll also find us on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

   

BIO

Emil Guillermo wrote for almost 15 years his "Amok" column for AsianWeek, which was the largest English language Asian American newsweekly in the nation. "Amok" was considered the most widely-read column on Asian American issues in the U.S.


His thoughtful and provocative social commentaries have appeared in print in the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com, San Francisco Examiner, USA Today, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and in syndication throughout the country.  His columns are seen in Asia and around the world, on Inquirer.net. 

His early columns are compiled in a book "Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective," which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2000.

Guillermo's journalistic career began in television and radio broadcasting. At National Public Radio, he was the first Asian American male to anchor a regularly scheduled national news broadcast when he hosted "All Things Considered" from 1989-1991. During his watch, major news broke, including the violence in Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of dictatorships in Romania and Panama. From Washington, Guillermo hosted the shows that broke the news. 

As a television journalist, his award-winning reports and commentaries have appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. He was a reporter in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C.

After NPR, Guillermo became a press secretary and speechwriter for then Congressman Norman Mineta, the former cabinet member in the Bush and Clinton Administrations. 

After his Hill experience, Guillermo returned to the media, hosting his own talk show in Washington, D.C. on WRC Radio. He returned to California where he hosted talk shows in San Francisco at KSFO/KGO, and in Sacramento at KSTE/KFBK.

Guillermo's columns in the ethnic press inspired a roundtable discussion program that he created, hosted, executive produced, resulting in more than 100 original half-hour programs. "NCM-TV: New California Media" was seen on PBS stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and throughout the state on cable.

Guillermo also spent time as a newspaper reporter covering the poor and the minority communities of California's Central Valley. His writing and reporting on California's sterilization program on the poor and minorities won him statewide and national journalism awards.

In 2015, Guillermo received the prestigious Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice from the Asian American Journalists Association. The award, named after the late Korean American physician from Texas, recognizes excellence in the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

Guillermo, a native San Franciscan, went to Lowell High School, and graduated from Harvard College, where he was named Ivy Orator, the class humorist.

Thanks for listening to Emil Amok's Takeout!

http://www.twitter.com/emilamok

http://www.aaldef.org/blog

 

May 4, 2017

SHOW LOG:

:00 Opening rap

3:25 Health care vote

8:15 Duterte and Trump

11:42 Corky Lee intro

18:20 Corky Lee interview

 

From the blog at http://www.aaldef.orgblog

By Emil Amok

My late mother, the wise Filipina, would always say, "Your health is your wealth." And when her health failed, she was thankful for her health care through Medicare. And now after today, we're a step closer to the danger zone. I talk about #TrumpNoCare on the podcast.
But we won't let the threat to health care mar Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
And if you're wondering, yes, Donald Trump did tweet about it. His proclamation mentioned Dr. Sammy Lee, the great Olympic diver and the first Asian American man to win an Olympic gold medal in the 1948 Olympics.
He also mentioned Katherine Sui Fun Cheung, who embodied the spirit of this month. In 1932, she was the first Chinese American woman to earn a pilot license at a time when only one percent of all pilots in the U.S. were women.
Trump, of course, likes any One-percenter of any kind.
Trump's proclamation was fairly boilerplate, as you'd expect from a man who thinks diversity is identity politics and not a hallmark of a nation that believes in equality.
Trump even cites Public Law 102-450, which makes May each year "Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month."
He's not going to try to repeal it like, say, Obamacare. (Listen to the podcast for my take on that.)
"I encourage all Americans to learn more about our Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander heritage, and to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities," Trump proclaimed
Let's see if he takes his own advice, and learns how many Asian Americans will be threatened by his #TrumpNoCare.
Or we can just go back in history with that legendary picture of the railroads and the Golden Spike uniting America by rail. You've seen it, right?
RRHistoricPhoto.jpg

Photographer Corky Lee saw it when he was a kid growing up in New York. It was the first mention of any Chinese people that he saw in his history books.
The text said Chinese people helped build the railroad. But Corky didn't see any Chinese in the picture.
On the AALDEF podcast, Emil Amok's Takeout, Corky said he bought the best magnifying glass he could find at Woolworth's. And he still couldn't see any Chinese.
"We were excluded again," he told me.
May is quite a month. May 6 is the 135th Anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act, signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur in 1882. 
 
Important, no doubt.
But May 10 is the 148th anniversary of the photographic exclusion that has been bothering Corky since he first saw that picture of the Golden Spike at Promontory Summit, Utah.
On May 10, Corky will stage a flash mob photo, hoping for people coming in period dress to do what people have done for years.
Only Corky wants to make a picture with actual Chinese people--like the people who built the railroads.
 
CorkyLee-RR photo.jpg

He's been doing it as a matter of tradition for the last few years, his build-up to a grand 150th anniversary shot. 
But every year, there's something special besides "the picture."
One year, it was the Buddhist ceremony at the Chinese Arch, believed to be the first one ever. 
arch-CorkyLee.jpg

Go ahead, make a pilgrimage to Utah for AAPI Heritage Month.
I doubt if The Donald will be there. 
Find out more by going to Corky Lee's Facebook page.
Listen to the podcast on how Corky developed his sense of "photographic justice," and how the activist's heart merged with the photographer's eye to produce some of the most memorable photographs of modern Asian American life ever taken. 
Corky talks about his first camera and his father's style of teaching.
And several times throughout, he talks about the picture that has been his driving force to include Asian Americans in everything he sees through the lens. 

 

Contact Emil at http://www.aaldef.org/blog, the site of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

 If you like what you see, consider clicking the "DONATE" button.  AALDEF is a 501 C3 and your contribution is tax-deductible.

 Give us your feedback there, or at www.amok.com

Leave a voice message. We might use it in a future show.

Consider subscribing for free on iTunes, where you can rate and review.

You'll also find us on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

 

  

BIO

Emil Guillermo wrote for almost 15 years his "Amok" column for AsianWeek, which was the largest English language Asian American newsweekly in the nation. "Amok" was considered the most widely-read column on Asian American issues in the U.S.


His thoughtful and provocative social commentaries have appeared in print in the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com, San Francisco Examiner, USA Today, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and in syndication throughout the country.  His columns are seen in Asia and around the world, on Inquirer.net. 

His early columns are compiled in a book "Amok: Essays from an Asian American Perspective," which won an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2000.

Guillermo's journalistic career began in television and radio broadcasting. At National Public Radio, he was the first Asian American male to anchor a regularly scheduled national news broadcast when he hosted "All Things Considered" from 1989-1991. During his watch, major news broke, including the violence in Tiananmen Square, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of dictatorships in Romania and Panama. From Washington, Guillermo hosted the shows that broke the news. 

As a television journalist, his award-winning reports and commentaries have appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. He was a reporter in San Francisco, Dallas, and Washington, D.C.

After NPR, Guillermo became a press secretary and speechwriter for then Congressman Norman Mineta, the former cabinet member in the Bush and Clinton Administrations. 

After his Hill experience, Guillermo returned to the media, hosting his own talk show in Washington, D.C. on WRC Radio. He returned to California where he hosted talk shows in San Francisco at KSFO/KGO, and in Sacramento at KSTE/KFBK.

Guillermo's columns in the ethnic press inspired a roundtable discussion program that he created, hosted, executive produced, resulting in more than 100 original half-hour programs. "NCM-TV: New California Media" was seen on PBS stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and throughout the state on cable.

Guillermo also spent time as a newspaper reporter covering the poor and the minority communities of California's Central Valley. His writing and reporting on California's sterilization program on the poor and minorities won him statewide and national journalism awards.

In 2015, Guillermo received the prestigious Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice from the Asian American Journalists Association. The award, named after the late Korean American physician from Texas, recognizes excellence in the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

Guillermo, a native San Franciscan, went to Lowell High School, and graduated from Harvard College, where he was named Ivy Orator, the class humorist.

Thanks for listening to Emil Amok's Takeout!

http://www.twitter.com/emilamok

http://www.aaldef.org/blog

 

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