ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – Through a vulnerable child’s eyes, parents represent stability, protection, and even eternity. What happens when eternity grows small and seemingly insignificant? Adolescents, ostensibly indestructible and infinitely hot-headed, get their first taste of personal freedom and start to detach from their nurturers. As one generation grows stronger and…
KEZIA LAKSMONO WRITES – Tesla cars roaming the streets are a common sight for the average Angeleno. Public parking lots with charging stations for electric cars are now the norm here. But for a typical Indonesian like me? I am fascinated by this. While renewable energy has become the second-most…
GABY RUSLI WRITES (in a series of reviews on Indonesian classics) — Corruption. Collusion. Nepotism. The hypocrisy of the wealthy. All odds are stacked against the poor. These are some of the authentic and intriguing themes in Mochtar Lubis’ third novel, Twilight in Djakarta (1963). Lubis’ story challenges an autocratic leader and…
ARYANA KHALILZADEH WRITES-Social media has become a source of information, misinformation, and conspiracy theories on topics such as the pandemic, U.S. elections, and global insurrections. As Russia launched its full-scale military invasion in Ukraine, social media became flooded with various posts in the form of memes, photos, news, and heated…
CRISTINA PEDLER WRITES – At the annual gala dinner of the Pacific Century Institute (PCI) at the Beverly Hills Hotel, on Thursday night February 24, Loyola Marymount University was honored with PCI’s 2022 Institutional Building Bridges Award. The prestigious honor – previous recipients include the Council on Foreign Relations, the…
GABY RUSLI WRITES – Nowadays, widespread education is viewed as a method to acquire more wealth rather than a new-age privilege. In Andrea Hirata’s classic work, The Rainbow Troops (2005), he recounts his childhood on the island of Belitung, Indonesia, through the story of ten incredibly unique and eager students whose families depend…
BRIANNA HIRAMI WRITES – Falling in love is already hard enough as it is without the constant fear of being outcasted for who you love. When your and your loved ones’ identity is not socially acceptable in society, it makes the thought of falling in love absolutely terrifying. One becomes incessantly…
CADY ABE WRITES – Picture books are often synonymous with bright colors, simple plots, and child-like innocence. However, readers find completely opposite undertones in Mr. Goodchild (2022). The artwork curiously draws readers in and creates an unsettling atmosphere. There is a great deal of dark shading, leaving a mysterious aura across the page…
ANGELINE KEK WRITES — Hauntings, secrets, graveyards — Violet Kupersmith’s debut novel, Build Your House Around My Body (2021) — is an ash-charred sky splattered with these ghastly hues. Winnie is a twenty-two-year-old Vietnamese American (or Việt Kiều in Vietnamese) woman who sets out for Saigon with nothing but “a passport,…
CRISTINA PEDLER AND AIDAN SMITH-FAGAN WRITE – On a sunny Tuesday morning, Kelly Lu sets out red paper gift bags and envelopes on a table along the Palm Walk at LMU. “We prepared hongbao because it’s the year of the tiger,” she says, pointing out a small cartoon tiger printed…
CRISTINA PEDLER WRITES — Malala Yousafzai, human rights activist and champion of women’s education, announced her marriage to the world via social media on November 9, 2021. The happy couple tied the knot during a Nikah ceremony – a legal agreement between bride and groom in her home of Birmingham,…
CRISTINA PEDLER WRITES — As the delta variant ravages the world we thought could have been recovering from COVID-19 by now, some countries are feeling neglected. Vaccine development by countries in the West, China, and Russia have brought to light major disparities in access to healthcare. While citizens in the…
Asia Media International podcast on Chinese Feminism Podcast Transcript: Cristina Pedler: Hello, and welcome to Asia Media International podcast. I’m your host, Cristina Pedler. Thank you for joining us. In today’s episode, we are going to dive into the world of #MeToo in China. I’ll discuss how internet censorship hasn’t…
CRISTINA PEDLER WRITES – Sri Lanka is leading the way in banning palm oil imports and phasing out cultivation. In an unexpected turn of events, Sri Lanka has banned imports of palm oil and new palm plantations, and told producers to uproot existing plantations in a phased manner. An announcement…
CRISTINA PEDLER WRITES — The pandemic has forced South Koreans to look within the country for their golf fix. South Koreans are avid sports and outdoors enthusiasts. Their golfing population has continually been on the rise, despite declines in other golfing countries like the United States. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has strained the…
CRISTINA PEDLER WRITES — Culinary culture is never written in stone… it has to be taken with a grain of salt. Or Ssamjang. The term Asian fusion takes on different meanings in the culinary community. To the OGs, it is a blasphemous meddling with traditional ingredients, methods and flavors. To…
