The Blue Suit
Hosted and created by award-winning poet Shin Yu Pai, The Blue Suit is about commonplace objects and the people who transform them into something remarkable. From a Chinese-English dictionary passed from father to son to an old califone playing records left behind by Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII, The Blue Suit will reexamine what gets elevated to heirloom status.
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Additional credits: Logo art by Melissa Takai. Music by Tomo Nakayama. Promo audio by Hans Twite.
Episodes
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A blue suit becomes history
The story behind the viral and historic blue suit that inspired this podcast.
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A record player is a time machine
The vintage Califone record player allows sound artist Paul Kikuchi to access and share songs that he inherited from his great-grandfather and other 78rpm records that were left behind by Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II.
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A dictionary transforms a son's grief
After his father's death, Byron Au Yong turned to paper folding.
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A childhood stuffie goes missing
The Blue Suit's host, Shin Yu Pai, revisits an object from her own life.
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A glassy gift shines a new path
In a small clear box, Etsuko Ichikawa keeps a small piece of vitrified glass that was given to her on a tour of the Hanford nuclear site.
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A flavor creates harmony
Tomo Nakayama usually puts his creative energy into his harmonious music. But when the pandemic hit, he found a new outlet: cooking.
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A rare cactus takes root
Jessica Rubenacker collects plants. Lots of plants.
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A garment unveils an identity
A chador garment worn by some Muslim women is usually black. Not Anida Yoeu Ali's. Her chador is red and sparkly.
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Trailer: The Blue Suit
In a world full of stuff, what is worth keeping? What do we treasure? Explore modern-day heirlooms with The Blue Suit, a new KUOW podcast hosted and created by PNW poet Shin Yu Pai.
