A year and counting of COVID in Las Vegas: The violence

Exit Spring Mountain

This is the third in a three-part series about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Southern Nevada's AAPI communities. In this episode, we look at how Asian Americans in Southern Nevada are responding to the surge of anti-Asian violence in the wake of the pandemic. We visit a self-defense class organized by the Asian Community Development Council, and talk to Desert Fallout gun store owner Lyon Gong, who says he's seen a rise in Asian Americans buying guns since 2020.

UNLV Professor Mark Padoongpatt gives us context for the rise in anti-Asian violence, why we've seen it before, and how political rhetoric filters into our everyday experiences. And Rhode Island College Professor Tamara Nopper invites us to tackle some tough questions: How could the experience of Asian Americans in this moment spur us to confront anti-Blackness, structural inequality, and bigger-picture solutions? There are no easy answers, but we invite you to sit with the questions, together with us.

Exit Spring Mountain is a podcast from Nevada Public Radio. Our team includes executive producer Sonja Cho Swanson, host Lorraine Blanco Moss, assistant producer Nessa Concepcion, academic research consultant Mark Padoongpatt, research assistant Karley Call, and news director Joe Schoenmann. Sound editing, mixing and mastering is by Regina Revazova of Open Conversation.