One of the few Asian faces I saw on screen as a kid was Tia Carrere’s. She played Cassandra Wong, the female protagonist in 1992 comedy Wayne’s World—something rare now but virtually unheard of at the time.
Growing up, her character strongly resonated with me. That, combined with the fact that creator Mike Myers is a hometown hero (we’re both from Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto), inspired me to write my very first piece for New York Magazine‘s The Cut: an ode to Cassandra.
Given that objective truth is under siege in America and U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized media as the “opposition party,” I’ve been thinking a lot about the role storytellers — particularly journalists — play in today’s fraught political climate. Is our approach to…
In my new Policy Options magazine piece, I argue that since American news media is now under attack, Canada should fill this vacuum and aspire to be a global leader in journalism. Read on for an excerpt, and click here for the full article.…
Public Policy Forum included my thoughts about the future of media in its Canadian government-commissioned report. Download “Shattered Mirror,” here, and read pages 68-69 for my contributions.…
I recently wrote an op-ed for The Walrus about how Canadian media can learn from America when it comes to covering diversity. Read on for an excerpt, and click here to check out the full piece.…
Last month, I had the pleasure of watching the world premiere of Gimme Shelter, a play that melds innovative storytelling techniques with a traditional narrative. Written by Why Not Theatre artistic director Ravi Jain, it was inspired by The Mahabharata, an important Sanskrit epic…
In late May, I was privileged to have had the opportunity to speak at this year’s TEDxDistilleryDistrictWomen conference in Toronto, Canada. Video of my TEDxWomen talk, “The Power of Digital Journalism: Taking Risks and Telling Diverse Stories,” is now available, and I’m thrilled to…
Dope, which received glowing reviews at Sundance earlier this year for presenting a unique take on the coming-of-age genre, is getting fresh buzz ahead of its theatrical release Friday. Written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa, Dope follows Malcolm (Shameik Moore), a Los Angeles teen…
Finally. After a season of ups and downs (but mostly downs), Pied Piper emerges victorious in an intense Silicon Valley finale that genuinely feels suspenseful.…
Will the madness ever end? It’s been failure after failure after failure for Pied Piper, and this week is no exception.…