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)

August 28, 2026: episode 2: “What does belonging mean when you’re a third culture kid?”

cited sources Cervantes, C. L. G. (2025). Kaluluwa, kapwa, and kalikasan: Mental health implications of Filipino folk beliefs. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 12(3), 407–413. De Waal, M. F., & Born, M. P. (2021). Where I’m from? Third Culture Kids about their cultural identity shifts and belonging. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 83, 67-83. Donohue, C. (2022). Growing up as a third culture kid and its impact on identity and belonging. Counselling Psychology Review, 37(2), 47-58. Gilbert, K. R. (2008). Loss and grief between and among cultures: The experience of third culture kids. Illness, crisis & loss, 16(2), 93-109. Jones, E. M., Reed, M., Gaab, J., & Ooi, Y. P. (2022). Adjustment in third culture kids: A systematic review of literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 939044. Kwon, J. (2019). Third culture kids: Growing up with mobility and cross-cultural transitions. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 13(2), 113-122. Tan, E. C., Wang, K. T., & Cottrell, A. B. (2021). A systematic review of third culture kids empirical research. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 82, 81-98.

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