“Hard NOC Life” is the flagship podcast of The Nerds of Color and Hard NOC Media. We cover pop culture with a different perspective. Watch it on your screen, hit “play,” and check this.
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Mae and Swara are two writers and geeks of West Asian (IE Middle Eastern) descent who discuss and review all things Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA, ie "MENA") representation each month, along with other entertainment topics. Come join us as we highlight positive depictions of SWANA people in popular media, review the latest popular releases, and just have a fun time nerding out. Follow us @TheMiddleGeeks, @MaeAbdu, @spiderswarz
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Shelf Conscious is a new series by Hard NOC Media focused on toys, action figures, and collectors. Hosted by Keith Chow. Art & music by Jamie Noguchi.
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Southern Fried Asian is a new podcast from The Nerds of Color hosted by Keith Chow. Typically, stories about Asian Americans are centered on the experiences of those who grew up on the coasts -- New York, Southern California, the Bay Area -- where communities of different Asian American subgroups have lived for many years. On this podcast, though, we're gonna look at a region of the country that isn't typically associated with these stories and unpack what it means to be Asian American in th ...
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A science fiction thriller/comedy about Earth’s first contact with two alien entities. The story follows a trio of “average” Earthlings who cross paths with the extraterrestrial visitors and learn of their parallel missions: one seeking discovery, the other scheming towards galactic domination. The cast features Erin Quill, Britney Monae, Marc Abrigo, Andrea Guidry, Jessika Rodrigues, Michael Ouyang, Eric Cheung, and Will Hammond. Original music by Timo Chen. Sound design by Andres Coca. Wri ...
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Is the MCU Doomed to Repeat Itself?
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Hard NOC Life takes a delayed look back at all the announcements from San Diego Comic-Con, including RDJ's return to the MCU. Then, Dominic and Keith share what they liked and didn't like about Deadpool & Wolverine before singing the praises of Prime Video's Batman: Caped Crusader. Help Dominic crowdfund 12 Valentines: https://ko-fi.com/dommah Read…
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Episode 67: Star Wars: The Acolyte Season 1 Review
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Leslye Headland's The Acolyte, streaming on Disney+, is unique in more ways than one. As one of the most diverse Star Wars series, in front of and behind the scenes, with writers like the SWANA and Turkish Kor Adana, it presents a bold story in the era of The High Republic, showcasing the mistakes made by those in power and the reverberations for o…
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'Star Wars: The Acolyte' and the Rise of Darth Bortles
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Hard NOC Life is back... for now. This episode, Dominic and Keith share their thoughts on Star Wars: The Acolyte as a whole and what it was like to see two Asian actors duel with lightsabers, Then they react to a bunch of new Marvel trailers, including Captain America 4 and Deadpool & Wolverine before speculating about DC's Comic-Con plans for Supe…
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Predicting 'AfroFutures' with Troy-Jeffrey Allen
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With Dominic out this week, Keith welcomes Troy-Jeffrey Allen as a special co-host on Hard NOC Life. They discuss Troy's latest project, AfroFutures, a 17+ magazine collecting comics and articles that fall under the wide umbrella of Black speculative fiction -- from sci-fi and fantasy to action, drama, and beyond. Back AfroFutures on Kickstarter: h…
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Maybe it's Time for the Jedi to End After All
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After an extended break, Dominic and Keith are back for a new episode of Hard NOC Life. This week, they're diving into the new Star Wars series, The Acolyte, and why Keith thinks the Jedi kind of suck. They also unpack the Venom: The Last Dance trailer and whether superhero fatigue is real. Help Dominic crowdfund 12 Valentines: https://ko-fi.com/do…
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Episode 66: 'We Are Lady Parts' Season 2 Review
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Our favorite costume designer Isa joins us once again to review one of our all-time favorite series, Nida Manzoor's We Are Lady Parts, starring a British Muslim women punk band comprising of frontwoman Saira (Sarah Kameela Impey), lead guitarist Amina (Anjana Vasan), bassist Bisma (Faith Omole), drummer Ayesha (Juliette Motamed), and band manager M…
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Episode 65: Author Rania Hanna on 'The Jinn Daughter'
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In her debut novel, The Jinn Daughter, Syrian-American author Rania Hanna weaves together a family tale based in stories of oral tradition across the Arab world. In telling stories with the Jinn, she seeks to tell a fundamentally human story. We discuss Rania's foray into the book world, how she aimed to tell stories on her own terms, and what she …
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After Dominic shares his experience at the Pearl Jam concert, Keith looks back at the weekend's NBA Playoff matchups and the superhero battle between Ant-Man and the Joker. Then, they look at the dismal state of the summer box office season. Help Dominic crowdfund 12 Valentines: https://ko-fi.com/dommah This episode is also sponsored by Goli. Use t…
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Before Dominic heads out to a Pearl Jam concert, he and Keith speculate about the latest casting news surrounding The Fantastic Four. They also wonder about the future of Shang-Chi and are psyched for an Asian American Harley Quinn in Amazon's Batman: Caped Crusader. Help Dominic crowdfund 12 Valentines: https://ko-fi.com/dommah This episode is als…
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It's still Star Wars Day on Hard NOC Life! Dominic and Keith celebrate the combination of AAPI Heritage Month and new Star Wars content via the latest Acolyte trailer. Keith also explains why "Revenge of the Fifth" makes zero sense when "Sixth" is the better pun. They also share their initial reactions to the first look at David Corenswet as Superm…
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On Hard NOC Life, Dominic and Keith are a couple of old farts yelling at the clouds of excitement most fans are feeling for X-Men '97 and Deadpool & Wolverine. Help Dominic crowdfund 12 Valentines: https://ko-fi.com/dommah This episode is also sponsored by Goli. Use the code HARDNOC to get 10% off and Free Shipping on your order at https://go.goli.…
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On this condensed episode of Hard NOC Life, we're sharing the audio from Dominic's interviews with Zack Snyder and the cast of Rebel Moon: Part 2 -- The Scargiver. But first, Keith has some thoughts about Pearl Jam's new album, Atarashii Gakko's Coachella breakout, and why Michael Jordan's Playground is his favorite Snyderverse destination. Help Do…
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Dominic returns to Hard NOC Life to tell Keith about his interviews with Zack Snyder and the cast of Rebel Moon: Part 2 -- The Scargiver. Before that, though, the two share their thoughts on CinemaCon and the trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux. Help Dominic crowdfund 12 Valentines: https://ko-fi.com/dommah All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it …
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Dominic is out this week, so Keith decided to talk all things Wrestlemania XL with one-half of the not-wrestling Fuckin Do It podcast, Jamie Noguchi! They mainly break down how The Rock's return to WWE and Cody Rhodes finishing his story against Roman Reigns brought pro wrestling back to prominence. Help Dominic crowdfund 12 Valentines: https://ko-…
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After spending the weekend at WonderCon, Dominic is back on Hard NOC Life. He tells Keith his time at the convention representing 12 Valentines, and meeting Gail Simone. Then, they talk about how Ghostbusters discourse in 2016 foreshadowed the current pop culture climate. Help Dominic crowdfund 12 Valentines: https://ko-fi.com/dommah the current po…
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Building a 'House of Ninjas' with Creator Dave Boyle
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On a special Hard NOC Life, Keith chats with the creator, writer, and director of Netflix's House of Ninjas. They talk about the journey from indie film to the top of the streaming giant and how he has been a champion of centering Asian and Asian American narratives in his work. Help Dominic crowdfund 12 Valentines: https://ko-fi.com/dommah Hard NO…
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On a new episode of Hard NOC Life, Keith has to process his feelings about Justin Fields being traded to Pittsburgh before he and Dominic discuss the re-release of each Spider-Man film and what's next for DC Studios. Then, Keith explains how Atarashii Gakko got him excited for a new Ghostbusters movie, and Dom gives a 12 Valentines update on a Suic…
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From Musical Theater to the Oscars with Erin Quill
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Hard NOC Life looks back at the highs and lows from last night's Oscars ceremony with Avenue Q original cast member, Erin Quill! She joins Keith and Dominic to discuss their favorite moments from the telecast and what role this year's big movie musicals like Wicked and Joker (allegedly) might play in next year's show. Help Dominic crowdfund 12 Vale…
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Episode 64: LIVE at Awesome Con (Washington D.C.)!
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Joined by our friends Darya Bajestani, Roxana Hadadi, Ali Nasser, and Zaina Ujayli (while sadly missing Mae!), we're live at D.C.'s premier comic-con, Awesome Con! In this panel of SWANA writers, scholars, artists, and actors, we will discuss how we grew up feeling or not feeling represented, how Hollywood has constantly Orientalized our peoples, e…
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Episode 63: 'Dune: Part Two' Review
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Roxana Hadadi joins us once again to review the Dune franchise, now with Dune: Part Two in theaters. In a franchise that appropriates so much from SWANA and Muslim cultures, does the second installment improve on that regard, or does it continue to appropriate and Orientalize? But even beyond that, does Denis Villeneuve effectively convey the meani…
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This week on Hard NOC Life, Keith is excited about the start of production on James Gunn film formerly known as Superman: Legacy. And Dominic shares his takeaways from the weekend's box office champ, Dune: Part Two and what Gail Simone thinks about his Secret Six-inspired song. Help Dominic crowdfund 12 Valentines: https://ko-fi.com/dommah Hard NOC…
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On a new Hard NOC Life, Keith and Dominic talk about Awkwafina grand marshalling San Francisco's Lunar New Year parade and the current state of Asian American representation in media, especially the rash of new shows on Netflix like Avatar: The Last Airbender and House of Ninjas! Help Dominic crowdfund 12 Valentines: https://ko-fi.com/dommah Hard N…
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Keith and Dominic are back and so are some of your favorite childhood Marvel Memories! For the Boomers, Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four announcement was dripping with '60s sentimentality. Meanwhile, Millennials were mesmerized by the X-Men '97 teaser. Naturally, it'll require a couple of Gen X-ers to break down what it all means! Help Dominic crowdf…
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Keith helps Dominic process his feelings about the 49ers losing Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs. Then they process their feelings about the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer, as well as some other ads from the big game, before Dom debuts a snippet from his next musical project. Help Dominic crowdfund 12 Valentines: https://ko-fi.com/dommah Ha…
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Episode 62: 'Assassin's Creed Mirage' Review and Updates on Gaza
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We welcome back our friends Jasmin and Isa to discuss Assassin's Creed Mirage, a sprawling action-adventure game from Ubisoft set in 9th Century Abbasid Baghdad, that tells the story of Basim Ibn Ishaq (Lee Majdoub) and his mentor Roshan (Shohreh Aghdashloo). We go into detail on why this game is the the best Iraqi, Arab, Persian, Muslim, and SWANA…
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'Suicide Squad' Kill the Gaming Discourse
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Dominic has thoughts about the discourse surrounding the recent release of Rocksteady Games' Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League video game. He explains to Keith why he thinks it's one of the best games ever made, despite the negative reviews it's received. Reade more of Dom's takes on SS:KTJL here and here. Hard NOC Life is brought to you by Pa…
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Keith and Dominic recap Championship Sunday of the NFL Playoffs, as the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers advance to Super Bowl LVIII. That's right, Hard NOC Life is a sportsball podcast now! Hard NOC Life is brought to you by Paramount+. Stream Super Bowl LVIII on Paramount+. Try it FREE! https://paramountplus.qflm.net/c/4058705/1001331/3…
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Episode 61: ‘The Persian Version’ Review on the Eve of Yalda
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On the eve of Yalda, the Iranian Winter-Solstice, we review writer-director Maryam Keshavarz's The Persian Version with our friends Arezou and Samira. How well does Keshavarz do at portraying a unique yet universal experience through Leila (Layla Mohammadi) and her mother Shireen (Niousha Noor)? How does intergenerational trauma shape our familial …
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Episode 60: "Squire" Through the lens of Palestine with Nadia Shammas
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We welcome back Palestinian-American Harvey award winning comic and video games writer, Nadia Shammas, to discuss their critically acclaimed graphic novel Squire, which takes place in an a SWANA/MENA fantasy setting, through the lens of Palestine in the midst of the IDF's ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. We discuss Nadia's upbringing in bo…
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