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PODCAST

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories

Jess Lin, Oral Histories

Season 4 Trailer dropping 9/8/26. Season 4 Premiere coming 9/15/2026! Cultureful is an independent, award-winning cultural documentary series dedicated to building a global village through unscripted oral histories and the deeply personal, intergenerational stories that shape who we are.How do our backgrounds, family lines, and personal migrations influence us? Hosted by Jess Lin, each episode dives into the raw complexities of global identity—from the careers we build to the people we

society & culture documentary

All Episodes

17:53

BONUS: The Wind Down with Rob – Creativity, Lo-Fi,...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/09/29

* Listen to Jess on Rob's Podcast: Catch Jess Lin's guest interview on Plants and Beats! She shares the backstory of Cultureful, joining the Peace Corps, and Rob picks her spirit plant. In this bonus episode of The Wind Down—a casual post-interview segment by Cultureful—host Jess Lin sits down with guest Rob (host of Plants and Beats) for a debrief. They chat about what it felt like to go deep during his main interview, how Cultureful creates an organic, therapeutic space for reflection, and ...

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64:34

‘90s Hip Hop, Basketball, & Fatherhood: The Long View...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/09/22

Welcome to Part 2 of our Season 4 premiere of Cultureful. Host Jess Lin continues her deep dive with Rob—a Black American writer, DJ, professor, journalist, and host of the Plants and Beats podcast. Note: Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of gun violence, sudden trauma, and physical injury (minutes 13:00 to 33:00). In Part 2, Rob takes us deeper into 1990s Philadelphia hip-hop culture, the craftsmanship of lyricism, and how basketball provided an invisible layer of protection...

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46:53

A 90's Philly Childhood: Nintendo with Grandma &...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/09/15

Welcome to the Season 4 premiere of Cultureful! To kick off our new season exploring family identity, family rituals, and personal history, host Jess Lin sits down for a two-part conversation with Rob—a Black American writer, DJ, professor, journalist, and host of the Plants and Beats podcast. Note: The full video version of this episode is coming later today on YouTube and Apple Podcasts. Check back here for the direct video link once it's live. In Part 1, we step into young Rob’s inner worl...

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1:57

Season 4 Trailer: Intergenerational Stories,...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/09/08

Cultureful—the American Writing Awards Podcast of the Year—returns for Season 4 on September 15th. Hosted by Jess Lin, Cultureful (that’s Culture plus F-U-L, like beautiful) is a unique storytelling space designed to bridge cultures, build empathy, and create a global village. In Season 4, we dive deep into intimate, unhurried human stories of family history, customs and rituals, identity, and how everyday underrepresented neighbors do life. Season 4 Featured Stories Include: An Indo-Guyanese...

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8:31

BONUS: Season 3 Reflection | Community, Generations &...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/08/25

Season 3 Reflection: Community, Generations, & Hope Before looking ahead to Season 4, host Jess takes a look back at the immigrant stories featured in Season 3 of Cultureful. In this recap episode, she highlights three core throughlines that show how ordinary neighbors do extraordinary things: building community, bridging intergenerational gaps, and choosing bravery in the face of the unknown. Episode Breakdown Community is both found and built, in many formsWilly’s Story: Finding identit...

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54:50

Feed Drop for History Lovers: Japanese American...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/07/30

Hey neighbors! Season four of Cultureful is right around the corner, launching at the end of the summer. While we're gearing up behind the scenes, I’m sharing a special feed drop for the history lovers in our community. If you enjoy the context notes on our show that ground a guest's personal story in broader history, you'll love this deep dive. Today’s episode comes from History for the Reckoning, a show focused on unearthing uncomfortable history. Host Spencer Ford speaks with author, lawye...

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47:46

A Return to Mexico: DACA and True Freedom – Maria (Pt 3)

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/07/07

In the Season 3 finale of Cultureful, we conclude our three-part exploration of personal storytelling and cross-border identity with Maria. After years of navigating systemic instability and DACA work permit challenges, Maria shares the profound emotional weight of returning to Mexico for the first time in over two decades. This episode offers an intimate window into what it means to build a life of stability, honor multigenerational heritage, and finally experience the relief of true legal m...

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62:13

Fending for Ourselves: Teen Motherhood and DACA...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/06/23

The Realities of Systemic Hurdles & Teen Motherhood In the second part of our three-part conversation with Maria, we explore the sharp, systemic blockades that drop into her life during high school. From discovering she is pregnant on her 16th birthday to enduring an unexpected preterm labor, Maria shares the visceral reality of balancing teen motherhood, full-time high school, and late-night building cleaning shifts. ***CONTENT WARNING: This contains personal stories about teen pregnancy...

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39:05

Growing up Undocumented: Borrowed Passports and...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/06/09

What is it like to grow up in a country where you didn’t have legal status to be there? In the premiere of this powerful three-part series, we sit down with Maria, a twenty-something healthcare worker in the U.S. who grew up undocumented. We trace her early childhood —from the high-stakes reality of crossing the border as an infant using a borrowed passport, to the vibrant, chaotic warmth of a crowded family home, to the sudden isolation of navigating a brand-new public school system. Before ...

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41:00

Twice Uprooted: Reverse Migration & a Coffee Farm –...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/05/26

“And the air… if you're from LA, you know that faint smell of pee in the morning … and the air was so clean here. It was crisp. It was so unbelievably clean .” What happens when an outspoken, willful teenager is suddenly uprooted from the familiar concrete grit of 1990s Los Angeles and dropped onto a rural coffee farm in the mountains of Guatemala? In the second half of our deep-dive conversation with Yeira, we trace her family’s profound journey of reverse migration. After navigating the shi...

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45:04

90s LA Gentrification: Street Hockey, Live Chickens,...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/05/12

"Use your voice." In part one of this two-part conversation, we meet Yeira, a 39-year-old Guatemalan-American therapist who grew up navigating the sharp contrasts of 1990s Los Angeles. Her story begins as a carefree kid hanging out on the sands of Redondo Beach, a neighborhood in South Bay Los Angeles, before moving to the tight-knit, resilient streets of Inglewood. Yeira reflects on a childhood where her outspokenness, like telling a teacher to be quiet in the third grade, was met with creat...

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51:50

2 Partners, 1 Family Gathering: Polyamory & Respect –...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/04/28

How do you bring your whole self to a family function? In the second half of our conversation, Michelle reveals the radical honesty required to integrate her polyamorous and queer reality with her Colombian family roots. From navigating family gatherings with two partners to a tough conversation with her aunt, Michelle shares the pillars of integrity and respect that guide her life. While many choose the path of least resistance, Michelle’s story is a masterclass in bridging cultural and gene...

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37:48

Flipping the Latino Script: Colombian & Queer –...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/04/14

“I do it for myself. Because I want to feel confident for me. I could care less about the male gaze. That’s a part of Latino culture that I have flipped.” Michelle identifies as Latina first. She is a 32-year-old creative, and in this first half of our conversation, we trace the roots of her identity from the mountains of Pereira, Colombia to her life today in Atlanta. From the "telenovela" of her first love and the end of a marriage to the intimate beauty rituals she shared with her mother, ...

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12:33

BONUS: The Wind Down 3 with Willy – The American...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/04/09

In this "Wind Down" bonus session, we step away from the historical timeline to debrief with Willy on the personal "blueprint" that shaped his childhood. From the tactical way his mother navigated American extracurriculars to his surprisingly strong defense of why Costco beats a theme park, this conversation explores the lighter side of the 1.5 generation experience. In This Episode, We Explore: The Reflection: Willy shares why discussing personal culture and childhood feels "fuzzy" compared ...

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42:53

Willy, Pt. 2: Hagwons, Cultural Brokering, & Science...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/03/31

In the second half of our conversation with Willy, a 28-year-old biomedical researcher, we shift from the historical foundations of his family’s past to the lived reality of the 1.5 generation experience. This episode explores the high-stakes world of the South Korean education system and the invisible labor of children who serve as the primary bridge between two cultures. From the late-night intensity of Hagwons to the competitive stage of the Science Olympiad, Willy’s story reveals how exte...

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46:28

Willy, Part 1: Korean Church, the Japanese...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/03/17

In this episode, we sit down with Willy, a 28-year-old biomedical researcher originally from Sacramento and currently living in Atlanta, to explore a lineage rooted in the resilient history of the Korean Peninsula. From the forced labor of the Japanese occupation to the enduring community structures of the Northern California delta, Willy's story is a map of the 1.5 generation experience. This conversation isn’t just a biography; it’s a deep dive into the historical backdrops of the 20th cent...

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10:54

BONUS: Extra Gems with Jin - Elite Training in China...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/03/10

Taking a little extra time this week to get our next full episode ready, so today I’m sharing our first-ever "Extra Gems" bonus segment! In this episode, we’re diving back into my conversation with Jin to share a few stories that were too good to keep in the vault. Jin takes us back to her childhood training at elite youth ping pong centers in Beijing and reflects on the beautiful consistency of her mentor, Uncle George. We also talk about the "flow state" of returning to the sport postpartum...

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60:44

Jin, Part 3: Family Restaurants, Ping Pong, & Life...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/02/24

In the final chapter of our journey with Jin, we step behind the counter of the family restaurant and into the world of competitive ping pong. This episode explores childhood as a restaurant kid and treasured moments of quality family time in between whirlwind schedules for parents and children alike. From her parents’ challenging backgrounds, we see the family they were able to build and the people their children grow up to be. And how, though remarkably challenging for immigrant families, J...

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40:56

Jin, Part 2: A Blind Date in Chinatown and 150 Pounds...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/02/10

In Part Two of our journey with Jin, we move from the harrowing escape routes of the 1970s to the vibrant, complex grid of 1980s San Francisco Chinatown. This episode explores the different timelines of the Chinese diaspora—where four-generation American families collided with a new wave of Southeast Asian refugees. We trace a crazy meet-cute that involves a blind date gone wrong, the high costs of long-distance longing, and a relentless pursuit involving 150-pound bags of rice. In This Episo...

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38:22

Jin, Part 1: The Serial Entrepreneurship of Survival...

Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories ·

2026/01/29

“In a world that often feels divided, Cultureful is about the intersections—where we put ourselves in each other’s shoes.” In the Season 3 premiere, we sit down with Jin - a 37 year old, Teochew Chinese American tech product manager from Peoria, IL- to trace a family lineage that spans the specialized merchant guilds of Southeastern China to the high-stakes escape from the outskirts of Saigon. This episode isn't just a survival story; it’s a deep dive into the historical backdrops of the 1970...

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