Podcast Appearances
Pictured: screenshots of me right after recording podcast episodes with Jessica Wan of “The Ampersand Manifesto” (Left), Jessica Fein of “I Don’t Know How You Do It” (Right), and Jana DeCristofaro of “Grief Out Loud” (the next Right).
In the summer of 2024, I had a BIG idea… get on 50 podcasts by the end of the year. We are well on our way to reaching that goal. What’s more, I’m having a blast meeting fellow podcasters and getting real about my life, the memoir, and my journey sharing my story with the world.
“Susan was on our Mayo Clinic Read.Talk.Grow podcast to discuss The Manicurist’s Daughter and surgical complications/risk. It was one of the best conversations we have ever had on the show. Susan is thoughtful and insightful. Her answers were honest, and she asked us (anesthesiologist guest Dr. Alyssa Janousek and me) provocative questions. Our conversation could have gone on for hours – and actually was much longer than usual because we were all so engaged. I’m certain our listeners will learn a great deal – and be healthier – thanks to Susan’s book and this interview.”
- Dr. Denise Millstein, MD, FACP
Women’s Health & Internal Medicine, Integrative Medicine & Health
Podcast: Read. Talk. Grow.
Listen to my podcast appearances below!
(Also, don’t forget to check out my own podcast, Model Minority Moms!)
#1: Moms Don’t Have Time To Read Books
Author Susan Lieu joins Zibby to discuss her stunning, devastating, and intimate memoir (and Zibby’s April Book Club Pick!), THE MANICURIST’S DAUGHTER.
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
#2: Lemonada’s Add to Cart with Kulap Vilaysack & SuChin Pak
Author and playwright Susan Lieu joins the pod this week to create a trifecta of Asian Auntie shenanigans. She talks about writing her first memoir, “The Manicurist’s Daughter,” which chronicles her search for answers after losing her mother to a botched tummy tuck. It’s an emotionally raw conversation that will leave you hopeful that generational healing is just as real as the trauma.
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
#3: What About…? Podcast
Danny and Jason take a long look at themselves in the mirror as they explore the topic of BODY IMAGE with playwright and author Susan Lieu.
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
#4: Critical Literary Consumption
In capturing life as a Vietnamese American daughter in California during the 1990s, Lieu reflects on writing The Manicurist’s Daughter, which originally began as a tale of vengeance, her cultural-specific references, dialogue in Vietnamese, and her knowingly othering the reader.
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
#5: The Premise
Despite the darker topics of generational trauma and tragic, unnecessary death, this episode is humorous, quirky, and full of energy. Susan talks with Jeniffer and Chad about her memoir, The Manicurist's Daughter, which explores her and her family's experience as Vietnamese refugees navigating 1980's California, and processing the death of her mother through the lens of the American dream.
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
#6: They Call Us Bruce
Jeff and Phil welcome writer and performer Susan Lieu, author of The Manicurist's Daughter, a memoir about her search for answers after her mother dies during plastic surgery. She talks about grief, trauma, body image, her family's strident unwillingness to discuss what happened, and her attempts to find acceptance and purpose elsewhere -- including what turned out to be a cult. A yoga cult. Also: The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of writing The Manicurist's Daughter.
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
#7: Deborah Kobylt LIVE
Author, playwright, performer, and TEDx speaker Susan Lieu joins us to talk about her tell-all book, “The Manicurist’s Daughter,” along with her one-woman theatrical show, 140 Pounds: How Beauty Killed My Mother, which has been on a 10-city sold out national tour.
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
#8: Jelly Pops Book Club
LOVED my convo with Julia where we talk about putting on my big girl pants to face all my trauma before becoming a mother, how I have been othered in my life and how I othered my readers to deeply embody that experience, and who I think should play me and my family in a screen adaptation. Julia is zesty, insightful, and also loves crying as much as I do.
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
#9: Grief Out Loud
Grief can be so awkward to talk about: how it appears out of nowhere at the most terrible time (which is all the time), how it seems never ending, how it evolves over time. I got the chance to chat with Jana DeCristofaro from The Dougy Center for Grieving Children & Families based out of Portland. They offer support services for grieving kids, teens, and young adults. Their website is incredible -- it's everything 11 year-old Susan wished I could have had access to when my family never dealt with the emotional impact of my mother's tragic death. With Jana, I unpacked the various facets of grief, including the joy. Tune in so you can better support someone who is grieving or give yourself the space to do it for yourself.
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
#10: Bitch Talk
Tender tears and cackling laughter with Erin and Angela, co-hosts of "Bitch Talk" where I dish on grappling with distorted memory, the divisive term "chosen family," and how loving my body includes squeezing my belly fat at night. "Bitch Talk" is an award winning podcast that highlights the ongoing need for BIPOC women representation in media, film, and the arts. I sometimes forget what it feels like to feel so seen and these two AAPI female creators didn't hold back--which made me pour forth like a gushing waterfall. Their past guests include Ron Howard, Chloe Zhao, Lulu Wang, Lisa Ling, W. Kamau Bell, and Ruby Ibarra. 🤩🤩🤩 STOKED to be in such good company. Tune in.
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
#11: A Bookish Home
In my first interview with a librarian, I share the 3 most important takeaways from the book, how I actually avenged my mother’s death when I found out her negligent surgeon passed away, memoirs that have inspired me as a writer, and recent books I’ve been reading that I highly recommend.
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
#12: I Dare You
On "I Dare You Podcast," Darrin Johnson hones in on Susan's creative pivot to go from a management consultant to a storyteller on intergenerational healing. Susan reveals what was at stake and all the ways her memoir has been received that surprised her.
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
#13: How I Made My Mind
In this raw and deeply personal conversation, playwright and author Susan Lieu opens up losing her mom, who died of plastic surgery when she was 11 years old, and her two-decades search for meaning, answers, and healing. This is an episode about finding light in the darkest corners of life, confronting trauma head-on, and being relentless, curious, and unstoppable in the pursuit of healing and love.
#14: I Don’t Know How You Do It
In this powerful episode, author and performer Susan Lieu shares her journey of uncovering long-buried family secrets after her mother's death from a botched tummy tuck. As the daughter of Vietnamese refugees and a self-described "multi-hyphenate storyteller," Susan reveals how she transformed decades of silence into art, taking her one-woman show on a national tour and writing her memoir "The Manicurist's Daughter."
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
#15: Read. Talk. Grow. (Mayo Clinic)
A Mayo clinic professor and anesthesiologist review what happened during my mother's plastic surgery to unpack the 5 questions you should ask before a major surgery that could save your life. Practical tips on how to advocate for yourself and your loved ones in the very intimidating healthcare setting.
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
#16: The Ampersand Manifesto: Multi-Passionate People Dive Deep
We all have Ampersand identities, some that take the forefront at different phases in our lives. For me, I'm a Multihyphenate Storyteller, Chocolatier, & "Cool" Mom (thanks Amy Poehler from "Mean Girls"!). I weave my most recent epiphany that the purpose of my life is to nourish myself with my values--because otherwise, my soul will be forever hungry and never satiated. All that and more with Jessica Wan and her podcast, "The Ampersand Manifesto."
Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify
