Lillian Li — Bad Asians - with Angie Kim
May 12, 2026
55 min
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609 of 672

May 12, 2026
Lillian Li — Bad Asians - with Angie Kim
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Politics and Prose Episodes Around May 12, 2026
Episode 609 of 672 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
55:31This episodeLillian Li — Bad Asians - with Angie Kim
Summary
<p><strong>From the acclaimed author of </strong><em><strong>Number One Chinese Restaurant </strong></em><strong>comes an affecting novel about an unforgettable group of friends trying to make their way in the world without losing themselves, or one another.</strong><br />Diana, Justin, Errol, and Vivian were always told that success is guaranteed by following a simple checklist. They worked hard, got A's, and attended a good university—only to graduate into the Great Recession of 2008. Now, despite their newly minted degrees, they’re unemployed and stuck again under their parents’ roofs in a hypercompetitive Chinese American community. So when Grace—once the neighborhood golden child, now a Harvard Law School dropout—asks to make a documentary about the crew, they agree. It’s not like her little movie will ever see the light of day.<br />But then the video, <a href="https://politics-prose.com/book/9781250363626"><em><strong>Bad Asians</strong></em></a>, goes viral on an up-and-coming media platform (YouTube, anyone?). Suddenly, millions of people know them as cruel caricatures, each full of pent-up frustrations with the others. And after a desperate attempt at spin control further derails their plans for the lives they’d always imagined, the friends must face harsh truths about themselves and coming of age in the new millennium.<br />Lillian Li’s novel wryly captures a generation shaped by the rise of the internet and the end of the American dream. An epic tale of friendship and family, <em><strong>Bad Asians</strong></em> asks, Can the same people who made you who you are end up keeping you from who you’re meant to be?</p><p><strong>Lillian Li </strong>is the author of <em>Number One Chinese Restaurant</em>, which was long-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Her work has been featured in <em>The New York Times</em>, <em>Granta</em>, and <em>Travel + Leisure</em>. She is from the DC metro area and lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.</p><p>Li is in conversation with <strong>Angie Kim</strong>, who moved as a preteen from Seoul, South Korea, to the suburbs of Baltimore. After graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy, she studied philosophy at Stanford University and attended Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the<em> Harvard Law Review. </em>Her debut novel, <em>Miracle Creek,</em> won the Edgar Award, the ITW Thriller Award, the Strand Critics’ Award, and the Pinckley Prize and was named one of the best books of the year by <em>Time, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews,</em> and the <em>Today</em> show<em>. </em>Angie Kim lives in northern Virginia with her family.</p><p>PURCHASE:</p><p>https://politics-prose.com/book/9781250363626?ic_referral=Y5NPp7pyz38vT_kHq3zG6ZiNWUJTqL8dm9YWXAuCqLwwMxpsgLE1sLepO113ExJ3oHiJQlyw8EO2p2qLlqSgGutogjQNTYGa65AUYRTmT5Ow2XkNWBJpNSfDpvG8wwsYzbNB2fQ</p>