Hanging Out with Nolan Hong
by Nolan Hong: Hawaii Emcee, Actor, Entrepreneur
Listen in as I chat with friends & strangers, people from all walks of life about all kinds of things! The variety of guests we’ve had on ranges from entertainers, musicians, educators, ghost story tellers, professional snugglers, animal communicators, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and more.
Episodes
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Here in Hawaiʻi is Here! | Nolan Hong | HOWNH Ep 242
“Here in Hawaiʻi” is similar to “Hanging Out,” but with a focus on local stories inspired by aloha. Our goal is to strengthen understanding and connection between communities by telling stories that bring to light the shared values that make Hawaiʻi so special. Subscribe to Here in Hawaiʻi for…
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What Theatre Means to Students | MJ Matsushita | HOWNH Ep 241
Why is theatre the ideal place to raise a child? MJ shares her insight from 40 years in theatre, including the power of showing students how what they learn in classes like math, physics and social studies can be applied in real life in the theatre. Get your tickets for Kaimuki High School’s…
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Our 2023 Astrological Forecast vs Reality | Alice Inoue | HOWNH Ep 240
We were super lucky to have our astrological charts read by Alice Inoue in July 2023, and even more lucky to have her sit down with us at the end of 2023 to talk about what actually happened, and what we can expect for 2024! Join Alice (and us!) online for her virtual event – 2024 The Year of...
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Fashion That Celebrates ʻĀina, ʻŌlelo, Moʻolelo & Kānaka Hawaiʻi | Kaʻanoʻi Akaka | HOWNH Ep 239
Kaʻanoʻi grew up dreaming of one day becoming a fashion designer and having her own clothing line. She shares how she got past her tendency to play it safe and overthink things, and started her clothing company Keha Hawaiʻi, during the pandemic no less. We talked about the stories behind her...
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Covid Hobby to Butterfly Business | Henry Fang | HOWNH Ep 238
Butterfly Dad, Henry, is the owner of Paradise Monarchs. He shares how working in the hotel industry got him out of his introverted shell, and how covid led to him learning how to raise monarch butterflies, which has turned into an incredible and unique business. https://paradisemonarchs.com/...
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We’re Making a TV Show?! | The Hongs | HOWNH Ep 237
We’re at the start of a big new adventure – making a TV show! We decided to make an update episode to share the backstory on deciding to do it, the “why” behind the show, our individual “whys” and what we’re hoping for with the show. Please join us in the facebook group! We’re really hoping to…
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Women's Leadership Competencies | Dr. Marshawn Martin | HOWNH Ep 236
Dr. Martin is a professional speaker and certified leadership trainer. We talk about the experiences that lead to her focus on highlighting the leadership skills women possess and how to utilize them for success. https://www.talkstorywithme.com/ Interview recorded September 2023 Come join us in…
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A Sweet Journey to Custom Cakes | Jayme Choi | HOWNH Ep 235
Jayme is using her training in French, Korean and American baking styles to make custom cakes, macaroons and cupcakes at Pua Cake Studio in Wahiawa. She shares how her desire to try lots of different things – including working in the fashion industry and hotel industry – led to opening her own...
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Creativity in a Digital World | Ira Bowman | HOWNH Ep 234
Ira has an incredible back story in how he created his own successful digital company, became a professional photographer covering everything from corporate events to the red carpet at the Emmys, and even did a TED Talk! And I haven’t even mentioned that the man has 8 children!...
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The Truth about Keto with the Keto Doctor | Dr. Jodi Nishida | HOWNH Ep 233
Dr. Jodi is Hawaii’s Keto Doctor! She’s a Doctor of Pharmacy and accredited Metabolic Healthcare Practitioner who has been in healthcare for over 27 years. We talk beef (both the food and schoolyard fight kine), her wild stories of being a drag racer, and what’s true and (more importantly) NOT…
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From Tech Marketing to Mental Health Leader | Rachelle Chang | HOWNH Ep 232
We talk about her life journey, starting her career in marketing in the tech world and then “falling” into her current role as executive director of Samaritan Counseling Center Hawaiʻi, a nonprofit that provides mental health counseling for individuals, couples, and families, regardless of…
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Spiritual Entrepreneurship | Michel Ai Reavis | HOWNH Ep 231
Michel is a coach for spiritual entrepreneurs and Jamie’s business bestie! We talk about her path to becoming a spiritual entrepreneur, making a difference in the world by serving others, her favorite spiritual practices (numerology and Vedic astrology), past life experiences, and how her family...
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Silencing Your Inner Critic | Dan Barone | HOWNH Ep 230
(Content warning: suicidal ideation) Dan opened up about the life experiences – depression and suicidal ideation, substance abuse and divorce – that led him to the work he does now. As a life coach and support partner, Dan helps people work on silencing their inner critic. I was really inspired…
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Grief Support in the Wake of the Lahaina Fire Disaster | Carole Zoom | HOWNH Ep 229
Carole is Executive Director of Nā Keiki O Emalia (NKOE), a nonprofit on Maui whose mission is to provide peer grief support for children, teens, and their families to help them heal after the death of someone important to them. Since the fires, NKOE has been offering emergency services to…
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Art as a Healing Therapy | Nadia Fairlamb | HOWNH Ep 228
Nadia is a professional artist who also teaches art to children and teaches adults how to use art as therapy. She talks about how she started out her career in art – working in ARCHEOLOGY! She really digs (get it?) into the some fascinating stories and how her art studies applied to her work in...
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Parenting With Mental Health in Mind | Haylin Dennison | HOWNH Ep 227
Haylin is a therapist, parent and owner of Spill the Tea Cafe, an inclusive mental health clinic for teens. I asked her all my questions about parenting (I had A LOT, sorry and thank you Haylin!). She shared about her journey learning to support her transgender child, and opened up about what...
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Finding Community After Losing Everything | Michelle Dolan | HOWNH Ep 226
Michelle and her husband own the J. Dolan restaurants – the best pizza on the island! She’s also the Individual Giving Coordinator at Honolulu Museum of Art. She shared about her experiences in the Peace Corps, how traveling shaped her to desire to serve, how her family lost all of their worldly...
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The Hōkūle'a's First Voyage | James Kimo Hugho | HOWNH Ep 225
Kimo was one of the original crewmembers of the Hōkūle’a. He shares how it all started along with stories of their first voyage, and also about his experiences working in rescue before joining Hōkūle’a. Find Kimo’s book, “Hōkūle’a Ohana Wa’a, Family of the Canoe,” at http://familyofthecanoe.com/...
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Random Check-In | Nolan and Jamie Hong | HOWNH Ep 224
Just us with a totally random check in! This time we’re talking about Invisalign, Jamie’s first haircut in almost 10 years, how Nolan always clicks on facebook ads, and the Fast & Furious, Jurassic Park & Hallmark movies. https://www.instagram.com/krislabangphotography/ Come join us in our new...
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Body Positivity Podcast | Diana Gremillion and Arliss Dudley-Cash | HOWNH Ep 223
Diana Gremillion and Arliss Dudley-Cash are back to talk about their podcast, “The Body Positivity Podcast.” They share about the value of being authentic and honest with yourself and those around you, and the healing that can occur when you choose to have those difficult conversations about your...
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The Carnivore Diet | Dr. Lenny Cocco | HOWNH Ep 222
Dr. Lenny is back! He was originally on the podcast 5 years ago for Episode 14 which seems like a lifetime ago! Lenny has been eating carnivore which I heard about but had no idea what it was or why anyone would do it. So he explained it and shared his own life-changing experiences with it. If...
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From Maui to Disney+ | Māpuana Makia | HOWNH Ep 221
Māpu plays Noelani on the hit Disney+ series “Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.” We talk about her journey from growing up on Maui, attending a performing arts school as a daughter of a professional musician, and pursuing her dreams of being a performer. She also shares some of her experiences on set, how…
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Response vs Reaction | Paul N Larsen | HOWNH Ep 220
Paul is an author and life coach who uses trials and traumas to understand the power of response vs reaction. He shared about being bullied in school, how he learned to deal with imposter syndrome, and we somehow even managed to talk about the Partridge Family Learn more about Paul at...
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Connecting With Our Pets | Keao | HOWNH Ep 219
Keao is a gifted animal communicator who helped us immensely a few months ago. Our dog Natto was exhibiting extremely unusual behaviors, so much so that we took her to the emergency vet. They couldn’t explain what was going on, her test results all came back normal and healthy. Luckily a friend...
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Behind the Scenes of the Hawaiʻi Wedding Industry | Tessa Gomes & Joseph Esser | HOWNH Ep 218
Tessa is a veteran wedding planner and Joseph is an incredible wedding photographer, and together they launched “Unveiling Paradise” – a podcast focusing on destination weddings. They shared stories from working at countless weddings throughout the years, wedding trends they like, and how they…
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Vulnerability in Leadership | Heather Lusk | HOWNH Ep 217
Heather is the Executive Director of the Hawaiʻi Health & Harm Reduction Center. We talked about seeing the effects of HIV in the San Francisco community where she was living in the 90s and how that inspired her work today. She also shared about her mental health journey, her recovery from...
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Our Grandparents, Part 2
It’s the follow up to Ep. 207 “Our Popos,” this time we’re talking about the grandparents we were close to, Jamie’s paternal grandma and Nolan’s maternal grandfather. Join us on zoom for a free workshop! We’re teaching how to record an oral history interview with your loved one using your...
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Empowering Community Through Education & Culture | Maile Keli‘ipio-Acoba
Maile is the CEO of INPEACE, a local nonprofit based in Waiʻanae. She talked about the organization’s mission, how they provide educational programs to Native Hawaiian communities with ʻohana-focused models, how they develop their team and programs from within the community, and how important…
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20 Years of Hawaii Weddings | Kelly Sugano
Kelly has been a professional wedding planner for 20 years, getting her start before wedding planning was really a thing. She shares about the evolution of weddings over her career and how couples’ needs have changed, her best advice for planing a wedding, and why things like a professional emcee...
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A Recording Artist, a Food Truck & a Pig Farm | Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a recording artist, a business owner and a farmer! She shares the origin of her name, along with the funny way her dad tells people why they named her that. We also get into her music career and how that led to her meeting the woman who would become her wife. She also shares about...
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9/11 Survivor → Investment Banker → Master Chef → Life Coach | Diana Gremillion
Diana is an international speaker, author, master life coach and cohost of the Body Positivity Podcast! She’s the daughter of Filipino immigrants and grew up in New York before making her way to Hawaii. She shares about being in class just 2 blocks away from the Twin Towers when the 9/11 attacks...
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Caring for 700 cats on Lanai | Keoni Vaughn
Keoni is Executive Director of Lanai Cat Sanctuary. He shares the incredible story of why and how it was created, and how houses more than 700 cats with zero fleas, and each cat has a name! Keoni’s grandpa was a co-owner of the historic Oahu fine dining restaurant, John Dominis, and Keoni shares…
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Hawaii COVID Q&A with Dr. Jill Omori
With the new COVID Booster out, we all have many questions and so we are lucky to have Dr. Jill Omori join us for a live Q&A about the shot. Dr. Jill Omori (Ep 44) is the Infectious Disease Officer for the City and County of Honolulu and Director of the Office of Medical Education, John A. Burns...
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Star clusters, galaxies, mythology and aliens?! | Nick Bradley
Nick gives stargazing shows all across Oahu with his company, Stargazers of Hawaii. We talk about how he left his career in construction to pursue his passion in astronomy. He answers my questions about the universe, distant galaxies, what the coolest thing he’s seen, and yes, we talk ALIENS! He...
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Inspired by learning struggles | Kara Kusunoki
Kara is the Hawaii Regional Director at Catapult Learning, an education service company supporting struggling learners. She shared her experience with learning struggles throughout high school and college, which inspires her to help educators and students through her work today. We talked about...
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From stutter to award-winning keynote speaker | Laura Reid
Laura is a professional speaking coach who grew up with a stutter and is an introvert by nature. She shares how she became an award-winning speaker and now helps others do the same. We also get into how she got into stand-up comedy, what it’s like to slay one night then absolutely bomb the next...
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Our Popos (AKA Grandparents, Part 1)
Our attempt at telling the stories of our grandparents. We started with the grandparents we didn’t know as well – Jamie’s maternal grandparents and her paternal grandfather (whom she called Popo), and Nolan’s maternal grandmother (whom he called Popo). We ran out of time so come back for Part 2...
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Ken Fong on being a Baptist pastor, becoming an LGBTQ ally, and a pioneer of Asian American podcasting
Dr. Fong started his podcast, “Asian America: The Ken Fong Podcast”, in 2015 and it currently has over 600k downloads. He tells his story of how he was a Biology major when he got his calling to become a Baptist pastor, which he did for over 30 years. We also go into how he became a LGBTQ ally…
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Daniela Stolfi-Tow on 808 Viral, her Gypsy background & Star Wars virtual dating
Dani is the founder of 808 Viral and owner of BOSS Hawaii. We talked about her Gypsy ethnic background (I didn’t know that was an ethnicity) and how she dedicated a time in her life to lead activism to protect Gypsies from racial injustice and stereotyping. She shared the crazy story about how…
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#204: Kau’ionālani Mead
In 2004, I discovered the most beautiful singing voice I ever heard — it was Kauʻi. Instead of becoming the next Whitney Houston, Kauʻi dedicated her life to teaching and even created a nonprofit that connects students to Hawaiian values and life skills through music. We talk about working with...
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Fostering Environmental & Cultural Stewards | John Leong | HOWNH Ep 203
John is the CEO of Kupu Hawaii, a local nonprofit that provides hands-on training in conservation, sustainability, and environmental education for young adults, with the goal of fostering our next generation of environmental and cultural stewards. We talk about how he and his wife came to start…
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#202: Arliss Dudley-Cash
Arliss is a business and life coach who teaches people the art of self love. She shares how she was studying for her PhD in Neuroscience when a diagnosis of terminal rare genetic disease changed her life to a path of radical self love and care, and how she has made it her life mission to share…
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#201: Clyde Kusatsu
Clyde has over 300 film and TV credits!! We talk about growing up in Hawaii, being one of the few Asian actors getting consistent work in Hollywood, choosing not to fall into the stereotypical portrayals of Asian characters (even when he was directed to do so), his journey to sobriety, and some...
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#200: Tia Carrere
TIA CARRERE hangs out with us for Episode 200!!! She shares about getting discovered at the Food Pantry in Waikiki at age 17, singing with Daniel Ho at Brown Bags to Stardom, what she learned about how to survive and thrive in Hollywood, and lots more. It’s a great discussion about self-worth and...
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#199: Olin Lagon
Olin is a serial social entrepreneur, innovator, and community organizer. We talked about growing up in KPT where he was stabbed at the age of 7, serving in the Peace Corps in Russia in a city where the economy was collapsing, how Asperger’s Syndrome is his super power and curse, and why his...
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#198: Rachael Aquino
Dr. Aquino is president and founder of Hawaii Workforce Pipeline. She shares about her career journey — from going to school as a data research analyst doing testing on mice and the effects of marijuana and other drugs on humans, then finding her calling through interning at hospitals, and how…
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#197: Steven James
Steven is a growth cultivator and founder of Humanity Consulting. Before this, he was an Air Force Officer, research program manager, and astrophysicist. We talked about his love and interest in the stars and space, and if he knows if aliens are real or not He was really open about his personal...
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#196: Geoffrey Sato
Geoff is the owner of Dream Float Hawaii. We talked about what floating is, how he got started in his business, his interest and passion for learning about health and healing, and stories from driving Uber. Learn more about Dream Float Hawaii at https://www.dreamfloathi.com/
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#195: Jennifer Oyer
Jen is the Principal and Chief Joy Officer of Community Impact Advisors. She shared about her fascinating background — her parents worked for the FBI (?!!) and her dad analyzed surveillance footage and worked the Imelda Marcos case (?!), they adopted Jen from an orphanage in Japan, which she was...
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#194: Ken Sato
Ken is the principal instructor of Pearl City High School’s broadcast and digital media program. We talked about his 20+ years in television as a director and technical producer for all the major Hawaii news stations and video production companies, how he got his college degree 20 years after...
About this show
Listen in as I chat with friends & strangers, people from all walks of life about all kinds of things! The variety of guests we’ve had on ranges from entertainers, musicians, educators, ghost story tellers, professional snugglers, animal communicators, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and more.
Hosted by
Nolan Hong: Hawaii Emcee, Actor, Entrepreneur