knots is a show that explores Pan-Asian cultures, histories, and lived experiences through the metaphor of interconnection.

Inspired by Asian knot crafts and the idea of the red string that binds people across time and space, the show examines how culture, memory,
spirituality, power, and identity are intertwined rather than isolated. Produced and hosted by Sage and CKUT volunteers, Knots invites listeners
to sit with complexity, tension, and care—understanding Pan-Asian realities not as monolithic, but as layered, dynamic, and relational.

In a Western context where Asian identities are often flattened through orientalism, fetishization, and historical erasure, Knots seeks to gently pull at these narratives and ask what has been tied, tightened, hidden, or cut. Each session focuses on a “thread”—such as erased histories excluded from mainstream curricula, intergenerational memory, diaspora, ancestral traditions, spirituality, or representation—and traces how these threads knot together across personal and collective experience.

Music on the show reflects themes of memory, lineage, diaspora, spirituality, and connection across Pan-Asian worlds.

Every 4th Friday of the month, 2 - 3pm (EDT)

July 24, 2026: episode 1: “What is a “knot, really?” Pan-Asian identities beyond monoliths. Interconnection, flattening, diaspora, contradiction, and intersectionality

cited sources Castillo, E. (2022). How to read now: Essays. Viking. Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299. Ferdous J, Das M (2025), "From remittances to representation: the Asian diaspora in development and politics". International Journal of Development Issues, Vol. 24 No. 2 pp. 282–297, doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDI-07-2024-0189 Huang, T. J., Tran, V. C., & Mumtaz, M. (2026). Asian diaspora research in Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1978–2025. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2026.2645421 Kim, S., & Schattle, H. (2012). Solidarity as a unifying idea in building an East Asian community: Toward an ethos of collective responsibility. The Pacific Review, 25(4), 473–494. Okamoto, D. G. (2003). Toward a theory of panethnicity: Explaining Asian American collective action. American Sociological Review, 68(6), 811–842. Wu, J. D. (2022). Understanding pan-Asian identity: How and when threat affects Asian and national origin identity attachment. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 12(2), 376–394.

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