about (in brief)

I'm from San Bernardino, California.

I lived in Tokyo for a few years, am fluent in Japanese, pretty good in Spanish, okay in Mandarin,

I have a PhD in Asian Studies from Cornell University, a post-doctorate at Princeton

I have produced documentaries for HBO, on VICE TV, and Showtime; written for places like LA Times, The Guardian, and WIRED Magazine.

My work has won three Emmys (plus two nominations), a Pulitzer (with the Los Angeles Times), and a Fulbright in Japan,

I’ve also established the (possibly) world's largest public collection of Japanese hip-hop, and hosted a TV show about video games.

The most recent class I taught was at UCLA, entitled ‘Why is Japan so Cool?’. It was fun, might do it again soon.

For recent things I've written for various places, check here.

Feel free to contact me if you need specifics.

and you'd like a more detailed resume, here you go: 💭about me (details)