English as a National Language, Vietnam Cliches in Foreign Media & Food Writer Soleil Ho

On this week's show, we begin (1:16) with a discussion on what it would mean for English to be named Vietnam's second national language, as recently mentioned at a conference on startups and tech innovation in Hanoi. Then (12:28), we break down several cliches about Vietnam that we're frustrated by seeing in international media. These include an over-reliance on war references and simplistic food coverage. Our interview guest (23:26) is Soleil Ho, the San Francisco Chronicle's new food critic and co-host of the Racist Sandwich podcast. We talked to Soleil via Skype about her background, her rise to food writing prominence in the US, cultural appropriation in food and much more. As always, we end with Banh Mi Banter (51:49).