The Bay Area's Jazz Station to the World
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Sunday, 8/30/2026, 8:30am - Like It Is

Scott Kurashige
Scott Kurashige

Scott Kurashige is author of American Peril: The Violent History of Anti-Asian Racism. For over 170 years, anti-Asian racism in California has been fueled by a volatile mix of economic anxiety and xenophobia. During the interview session Kurashige provides historical context on these deep-seated issues both in California and across the country.

Other topics discussed include:
*How California didn’t just experience isolated incidents of prejudice, but rather pioneered a 170-year "template" for institutionalized racism. This began with mid-19th-century economic scapegoating during the Gold Rush and evolved into sophisticated legal frameworks—such as the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and the 1913 Alien Land Law—that codified xenophobia into state and federal policy, effectively treating Asian Americans as a "perpetual threat" to the state's economic and social stability.

*The 2021 Atlanta spa shootings: "We have to look at the way in which Asian American women have been dehumanized . . . this is not just about one person's individual prejudice, but a systemic issue that goes back decades."

*The "Erasure" of History: Why 175 years of systemic violence is missing from our textbooks.
*Beyond COVID: Why "Japan-bashing" and modern xenophobia share the same roots.
*The Detroit Legacy: Lessons from the Vincent Chin case for today’s activists.
*The Path Forward: Building a multiracial democratic future.