Saving Face is a podcast by Eda Yu and NÜFLY dedicated to breaking the stigma around sharing hard-to-tell stories. This series challenges the notion that publicly discussing difficult personal experiences can cause us to lose face — a cultural phenomenon defined as feeling shame due to the loss of others' respect. To fight that pattern, we're asking creatives from all walks of life to recount some of their most moving personal stories in a space of openness, honesty, and healing.

#9: How do we move through loss?

Join us for our Season 1 finale as producer and Saving Face audio engineer Matt Hong recounts his sister's battle with brain cancer, the times he's interacted with death throughout his life, and how music helps him process those feelings and experiences. (A quick warning: This episode contains mention of self-harm and/or suicide.)

#8: When do we learn to trust ourselves?

Plant doctor Maryah Greene dives into the challenges she's overcome as a Black woman entrepreneur, why her definition of success is so rooted in financial stability, and how she's slowly opening herself up to vulnerability.

#7: How do we learn to love the process?

Producer and storyteller Alyza Enriquez discusses their passion for documenting the raw realities of transness, their insecurities around their own identity, and the importance of finding community in fostering growth and healing.

#6: Which moments have made us stronger?

Soulection DJ Kronika offers an in-depth perspective on her childhood in the Philippines, how her relationship with her mother affected her, and her struggles with U.S. immigration and detention.

#5: How does where we come from shape us?

Director and photographer Israel Ramos talks through what is was like growing up in San Francisco's Mission District, the relationships he formed with gangs in his community, and how the camera became a way for him to process and heal. (A quick warning: This episode contains mentions of gun and gang violence.)

#4: What does faith mean to you?

Musician Sarah Lee (better known as REI AMI) dives deep into her Korean American immigrant upbringing, what music means to her, and how her relationship with religion has shaped who she is today.

#3: Who teaches us how to build family?

Mixed-media artist Adrian Octavius Walker opens up about growing up in Northern St. Louis, MO, how a medical emergency helped him break barriers with his father, and the lessons he carries as he builds his own family today.

#2: How do we learn to validate ourselves?

Chinese American jewelry artist Ada Chen delves into how sharing her story helped her get through a toxic relationship, why she has so much trouble bringing emotion into her art, and the many ways her relationship with her parents has shaped how she seeks validation today.

#1: What does it mean to lose face?

Writer and Saving Face creator Eda Yu speaks with Asian American mental health expert Ivy Kwong about the concept of losing face, her own personal experiences with trauma, and how survivalist mentalities in Asian immigrant households can shape our relationship with shame.

Created by Eda Yu
Produced by Eda Yu and Belinda Man
Sounds by Matt Hong
Visuals by Daniel Kit Fung