The podcast industry has grown monumentally over the past couple of years and is keen to people from all groups of society. By offering knowledge, experiences, varying perspectives, and an array of personalities belonging to the hosts and/or guests through an audio format, people have the flexibility to listen wherever they are and no matter what they’re doing. Plug in a pair of earbuds during your daily stroll through the park and that simple 30 minutes can bring you a newfound awareness or awakening.
As I browsed through the world of podcasts two summers ago, I came across AsianBossGirl, “a podcast for the modern day Asian American woman” hosted by the three girlfriends, Melody Cheng, Helen Wu, and Janet Wang. Off the bat, the podcast name expresses empowerment and confidence. I admire that unlike the current societal trends which conform to our repressive beauty standards, the ABG podcast serves as a platform for stories and experiences that uplift its female listeners and normalizes the struggle of living up to high expectations.
During that summer, I managed to listen to only a few episodes and wasn’t actively tuning into other podcasts. However, coincidentally, in January, Northeastern’s Multicultural Greek Council invited ABG to campus where they had a panel as one of the main events for Asian American Heritage Month. Of course, I had to attend. The panel was perfectly structured in a way that it felt like an advice session from my older sisters. When the audience prompted the three of them with questions on college life and the workforce, they returned authentic, raw, and encouraging responses. I felt a sense of assurance that I wasn’t alone in being undecided about my passions and my future. I resonated with them especially on the topic of parental influence and the pressure for a “traditional” lifestyle of a nine to five job right out of college. They made an eye-opening point that your career doesn’t have to be your passion, but your future should be a balance of both. And they were real-life examples testifying to that statement.
After the event, I was inspired to take a shot at their podcast again, and soon enough, I became an avid ABG listener. Each and every episode covered a lot of issues and themes that I could relate to; It left me with the revelation that a shared culture has all the power to connect people on an indescribable level.
In one of their most memorable episodes, Melody, Helen, and Janet discussed the topic of imposter syndrome. Helen went into describing why a lot of women have imposter syndrome in the first place. She pointed out that our peers are constantly putting up a front of the most polished versions of themselves and don’t ever speak about what’s going on in their own heads: the anxieties and difficulties of what we feel obligated to accomplish. In witnessing our peers doing everything perfectly, we can’t help but compare and feel smaller. They also spoke on imposter syndrome in the workforce. Helen voiced that when she got promoted when working at one of the Big Four companies, she felt undeserving of the role and incapable of fulfilling those responsibilities. I immediately connected with this, coming to a university like Northeastern, where all students are brilliant, determined, and full of experiences. Listening to this podcast episode, in particular, made me feel not alone in my insecurities.
The ABG podcast discusses other topics and issues relevant to Asian American women such as marriage, mental health, adulting, stereotypes, and so much more. It brings people out of isolation and teaches us how to overcome or face our struggles and flaws. If you want to give AsianBossGirl a listen, you can find them on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Play, and more. Or if you want to learn more about who they are, click here.
