Cultural commentator JAY CASPIAN KANG is shaping Americans’ understanding of the most pressing issues facing the U.S. today. Kang’s profound insights, airtight analysis, and brilliant prose activate the minds of millions daily through his essays published in the New Yorker, the New York Times, and more. Fostering robust discussion on the issues on everyone’s mind today, from technology and trending media to gun control and social equality, Kang invites audiences to think critically about the world in which they live today, inspiring responsible discourse.

Inspired by his critically acclaimed book, JAY CASPIAN KANG blends his incisive reportage with the story of his family’s immigration to the U.S. in this profound talk. With humor and insight, Kang explores the existential loneliness in himself and in the broader AAPI community who try to locate themselves in the country’s racial binary. Drawing on examples from history as well as present day, Kang shares a thought-provoking perspective on identity, community, solidarity, and what it means to be American.

Food is a powerful metaphor for identity and a force for community throughout the world, and Korean food has a rich history in America. In this engaging talk, author and cultural critic JAY CASPIAN KANG looks at how restaurants in Koreatown, Los Angeles developed from the late 1970s until today. Kang explores the influences from both Latino neighbors and successive waves of immigrants from Korea and China, giving an entertaining and informative account of what has shaped the modern Korean restaurant and what it says about culture and community – and how they change over time.

In this provocative talk, author and cultural critic JAY CASPIAN KANG argues that the modern boundaries of “Asian-American” as a racial demographic often do not make sense to the vast majority of people who have been classified under that label. In fact, no “Asian-Americans” think of themselves that way – but rather as “Chinese” or “Korean” or “Indian-American.” In an incisive and eye-opening talk, Jay brings forward the multiplicity of identities and experiences hidden by the monolithic category and shares how true solidarity can be fostered by expanding our terminology and our cultural understanding.

A history of how Flushing went from being a middle-class Irish neighborhood to the mecca of Asian-America on the East Coast. Topics discussed: gentrification, Tommy Huang, the “Asian Donald Trump,” and migration patterns within cities.