The Halo Halo Podcast

Episode 218.5 - Either/Or Warmup

On this special warmup, Sigi and Jezzie are joined by their friend and editorial feedback provider, Marie Beath Badian on this forced-choice quiz.  Listen in on your co-hosts and special guest, as they muse on who they would want to narrate their lives and who would rather live with people in Antarctica versus in isolation on a tropical island.  Share in the laughs and the jabs on this Either/Or warmup.

Episode 218 - Prairie Nurse with Marie Beath Badian

June is Filipino Heritage Month in Canada and what better way for the Halo Halo Podcast to kick it off right, but with their very own special guest, editorial feedback provider to this narrowcast, and playwright extraordinaire--Marie Beath Badian!  Sigi and Jezzie showcase Marie Beath's talents in their recounting of her distinctly Filipino Canadian play, "Prairie Nurse" (available through the CBC PlayME podcast) and listen in on how she birthed this national story to life.  Later, Sigi and Jezzie ask Marie Beath to share her generational wealth where she reminds us of the importance of telling our own stories.
 In the Mix this Week: 
Goodreads entry on "Emergency Contact" by Mary H.K. Choi,
Neftlix's "The Last Dance" Teaser,
Food Network's "Junior Chef Showdown",
Netflix's "Never, Have I Ever" Trailer,

Episode 217.5 - Earn your Allyship

Earning your allyship is a lifelong journey that involves consistency, healthy self-criticism, acting instead of reacting and self-care.  In this last episode of this four-part collection on social justice and the Halo Halo Podcast's response to the call to action on Anti-Black Racism protests around the world, Jezzie helps Sigi makes sense of the coming journey ahead and the need to foster trust with the communities that we want to align ourselves with and support.  Finally, Jezzie reminds us that earning your allyship is not about earning a "badge" of sorts, but rather the point of allyship is that it helps us aspire to, in Louis Armstrong's words, "A Wonderful World".

Episode 217 - Taking Action

Educating yourself is the first step in taking any action against racial discrimination. Sigi shares how he is educating himself on what it means to be antiracist through the work of Ibram X. Kendi's "How to be an Antiracist."  On this third episode of a special four-part collection on social justice, Sigi and Jezzie expand further on Kendi's work and discuss what taking action means, and finding impactful and meaningful ways of doing this.  Later, Jezzie speaks to how systems of oppression, like white fragility perpetuate racism, and how microinterventions (inspired by Dr. E.J.R. David's Addressing Anti-Black Microaggressions in Filipino Families) especially within the Filipina/x/o communities, can be a worthwhile use of our energies.   

Episode 216.5 - Make Room for Anger

Expressing anger is key to taking any action against an injustice.  However, not everyone is comfortable with anger and its various forms of expression.  Some of us, when faced with listening to anger, want to run away from it.  While others want to contain it.  And even others will deny that any anger should be heard.  However, when we don't make space for anger, we don't really hear the injustice that needs to be heard.  In this second episode of a four-part collection on social justice, your co-hosts discuss why it's so hard to listen to anger, how anger is typically expressed and dealt with in the Filipino culture (i.e., tampo), and why it's important to validate and be a witness to one's anger.  Listeners, get ready to make room.

Episode 216 - Solidarity

Anti-Black racism is at the forefront of American and international discourse. It’s difficult for the Halo Halo Podcast to celebrate Filipino Heritage Month in Canada when others are literally dying and suffering around the world.  Before we can celebrate, we need to stand in solidarity and take a stand and make a statement against racial discrimination. 
At the Halo Halo Podcast we stand for community inclusion and a world where we can openly challenge all forms of implicit and explicit bias, discrimination and hatred.  We believe that everyone is entitled to equity and that sharing the wealth can lead to a kinder and safer world for all. We stand with all those that condemn racism in all of its insidious forms.

Episode 215.75 - Meryenda: Pageant Edition!

As Sigi and Jezzie close out their final search in the pop culture vault for the month of May, Jezzie unearths how the Philippines itself rose to become a Pageant Powerhouse in the 2010s.  In this velvety and scrumptious snack about Pageants and the Philippines, Jezzie tracks the origin of pageants to the medieval ages, and it’s evolution to be part of the Filipino fiesta traditions like the Santa Cruzan.  Sigi and Jezzie then explore how those fiesta sensibilities have lent themselves well to modern-day beauty pageants, and the emerging industrial beauty boot camps that have explained the Philippines success at international beauty contests during the 2010s. 
In the Mix this Week:
Vulture's "Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba Performs a Soundtrack for Your Summer of Longing",
Yakface's reports on Amazon Delays for May Fan First Star Wars Figures,
Wikipedia Entry on "Medieval Pageant",
The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros Trailer (2005),
Wikipedia Entry on Big Four International Beauty Pageants,
MISS UNIVERSE WINNERS FROM THE PHILIPPINES COMPILATION: 1969, 1973, 2015, 2018,
CNA Insiders "The Hidden Side Of Philippines Beauty Pageants",
"The Game of Crowns" Playlist Full Episodes on Youtube

Taste Test of Nintendo's "Animal Crossing" (Episode 215.625)

While Sigi continues to be away on assignment, Rannie Turingan, social media guru and early adopter, steps in to co-hosts this taste test with his cousin, Jezzie.  On this episode, Rannie gushes over this update to the 2001 classic, social simulation video game "Animal Crossing: New Horizon" for the Nintendo Switch and reveals how it's multiplayer online mode can serendipitously create meaningful connections.  Later, Rannie speaks to how this game has become an important balm during this time of pandemic living.  And along the way, your co-hosts unpack the game mechanics that make "Animal Crossing: New Horizon" so wonderful to play! Enjoy and don't forget to follow Rannie on twitter and instagram.

Episode 215.5 - TRL Throwback Warmup

Sigi mines the pop culture vault for this latest quiz with Jez, where he borrows the MTV's popular 2000s live show, Total Request Live, otherwise known as TRL.  Jezzie improves upon his last quiz outing by scoring 70% (with bonus points, courtesy of Sigi) this time around.  Listeners, see if you can best Jezzie's performance and find out which of the many faces and stages of Christina Aguilera does Sigi adore. 

Episode 215 - 00s Pop Music and Generosity

For the entire month of May, your Halo Halo podcast hosts continue to mine the pop culture vault.   In their latest foray, they uncover pop music in the 2000s and revisit the maturing of teen pop idols of the 1990s, the triumph and victory of R&B music on the charts, and the acceleration of pop music fame in the latter half of the decade.  Find out which song Jezzie believes is the quintessential 2010s R&B track, and which Rihanna song haunted Sigi throughout a Las Vegas trip he took in the 2000s. Later, Sigi and Jezzie delve deeper into how generosity is an expression of Filipino hospitality and explore ways of sustaining this cherished cultural value.
In the Mix this Week: 
#blackAF,
Abstract of "Marketing androgyny: the Evolution of the Backstreet Boys",
Mandy Moore's Cover Art of "Umbrella",