Pei Pals with Pei

Wen-Jung Kuo: The Woman Who Bosses Me Around, My Mom

Hi there, you are listening to pei pals and today I am interviewing someone I’ve known for 39 years, quite literally my longest lasting pal, my mom. So welcome to a special episode of the podcast—one that’s a little different and a lot more personal. Today, I’m sitting down with my mom for our first-ever recorded conversation.We’ve never really done this before—just the two of us, talking about her life, our family, and things we’ve never said out loud. It’s truly astonishing the things we never discuss with our parents because we just take it for granted. In this conversation, I get to learn more about who she was before she became “Mom”—her upbringing, the challenges she faced, the things she felt but didn’t always show.There are stories I’ve never heard, emotions we’ve tiptoed around, and some real moments of reflection. It’s been eye-opening and surprisingly grounding to hear her perspective, especially on things I thought I already understood.This episode is a chance to slow down and connect—to look past the everyday roles we play and just see each other as people. I hope it sparks something for you too—maybe a conversation you’ve been meaning to have with someone important in your life.So here it is—me, learning more about my mom than I ever expected, and appreciating her in a whole new way. Thanks Mom.

Davis Nguyen: The Human Hustle Factor, Layered Like an Onion, Future Billionaire

Hi there, you’re listening to Pei Pals, and today I’m interviewing my friend Davis.Davis, for lack of a better word, is an alien. And I mean that with affection—truly, in the most positive way possible. I later discovered that whatever I I was feeling is the feeling of being in the presence of a future billionaire. They're just built different.I met Davis over Korean BBQ a few years ago when I was based in Taipei, and as I mentioned—it was instant confusion. Is this guy for real? Is his brain composed of TSMC processors, and his heart a humming motherboard? But I quickly learned he’s one of the most caring, considerate, and generous people I’ve ever met. And the more you learn about him, the more it all makes sense. He’s a true onion in that respect—layer after layer, but at the center, a chewy, gooey, golden nugget. Who else do you know who set going to Harvard as a goal when he was six—while basically living in poverty, with occasional blackouts from unpaid electric bills? Or who gave to charity and supported his entire family with his very first paychecks out of university?Actually, Davis is the person who inspired me to start giving more to charity, which eventually led to the creation of my nonprofit Baan Books (Thai for House of Books) and everything that followed.We don’t talk about work much, because if you know me, you know I usually find that the least interesting part of most people. Let’s just say this: Davis is determined to make an impact, change lives, and inspire—and he’s already doing all of that, very successfully.Thanks, Davis!

Kanae Otsuki: Competition-Winning Sunshine Dancer, Observer of Eyes, Proof that Affirmations Works

Kanae, or Kanae-chan as I usually refer to her, just happens to be one of Japan’s most well-known Latin dancers. But to me what stands out more is how that happened, and that's all about her mindset and approach to dance. We met at a dance festival in Tokyo - actually she had a solo performance, and I managed to work up the nuts to ask her for a dance. It turned out that we have a lot in common, which is something you’ll occasionally find in dance. People have hobbies such as dance for many reasons - some to just have fun, some to socialize, some to be active and get out of the house. For me, one of the primary reasons is to challenge myself and create a feeling of self-growth, since it comes with a pretty large learning curve. In other words, you'll get people with ambitious and somewhat obsessive personalities (guilty) and Kanae-chan is similar here. Her other big passion is self-growth and self-love. Again, not surprising since they are all related to ambition and drive in some way.We’ve got a short episode here with Ms. Sunshine. We talk about green and red flags in people, the specific affirmations she’s used to feel happier in her life, the somewhat enclosed box that is Japanese culture, and what the future holds for her in terms of life coaching.Sugoi ne, Kanae-chan

Bondipity: Thai Michael Buble, IHOP Expert (Not What You Think), Ambiguously Accented, Highly Anticipates Fatherhood

Take one listen to this guy’s voice. He just sounds like a singer, doesn’t he?Bondipity, or Bond as I call him, is a singer based in Bangkok. He'ss what you’d call a gigging musician, in that he performs everywhere around town, from hotels, to lounges, to clubs, to bars. But like all performers, the onstage persona and the real him have some real differences. What you see is not necessarily what you get.Bond grew up in Bangkok, but plot twist - went to study music at a bible school in the midwest of the US of all places. There he picked up one version of his English accent, made friends, made enemies, and had his first brush with the law. Upon moving back to Bangkok, he decided to embark on his lifelong dream of becoming a musician. I met Bond through mutual friends. Though Bangok has 12-15 million people depending on who you ask, there are small bubbles of expats and people who have lived abroad that share similar more western values and culture contexts. To illustrate, we met, and then the next week, I went to a cafe, and it just happened to be the cafe where Bond worked in his corporate-ish day job.I loved this deep dive into the artist's mind. Of course we talk about his musical process, the plans for his upcoming album, and who his musical influences are. Then we go a layer deeper into the mind of Bondipity, chatting about his family background, the normal human thirst for validation, his life coach, and the big moments that made him really, really, really want to become a father in the future. Thanks, Bond!

Arie Winograd: Psychotherapy Clinic Founder, Vitamin “N” Dealer, World’s Leading Expert on BDD (Not what you think), TOO Good at Validating People

This is a different type of episode, because even though Arie and I are friends, we wanted this conversation to be more educational. That’s because Arie just so happens to be one of the world’s best known experts on something called BDD, which stands for body dysmorphic disorder. It’s quite different from body dysmorphia, and just because you are obsessed with going to the gym or social media, doesn’t mean you have it. He’s been leading his field for over 20 years, and I can confirm this because I found interviews of him on Youtube from when he still had a full head of hair. He’s been on Doctor Phil, he’s published a few books, he has patients worldwide, and he is sought out by media constantly. So instead of my being the armchair psychologist, why not leave it to the professionals!Other than BDD, we talk about a huge range of psychological topics, starting with him diagnosing me with something called “insecure overachievement” and I must say… guilty as charged. We also discuss his concept of vitamin Nurture and the influence on childhood attachments and security, what emotional validation looks like, the frustration of dealing with narcissists, and how we use mirror neurons in everyday life. Basically, the underpinnings of why people do what they do. Thanks Arie!