Surprise! We have a special bonus episode for you after several requests to unpack the “Yellow Fever” debacle on Twitter. Writer and restaurateur Dakota Kim joins Soleil for this discussion about the Asian fusion restaurant in Long Beach, Calif. whose name has sparked a lot of controversy. It’s gotten us all wondering, “What the f*** were they thinking?” Soleil and Dakota try to answer that question and talk about respect for cultural identity, the sexualization and fetishization of Asian women, and whether the restaurant owner being a Korean-American woman changes anything. 

Produced by Stephanie Kuo. Music by Blue Dot Sessions.

LINKS DU JOUR

• Whole Foods Loves “Yellow Fever”. We Don’t, So Let’s Change It. Petition by 18MillionRising.org
• Meet The Asian Woman Behind the Successful Restaurant ‘Yellow Fever’ by Heather Johnson Yu (NextShark)
• Yellow Fever Restaurant at California Whole Foods Sets Off a Debate by Matt Stevens (The New York Times)