Xin Chao Homie!

This week, the Xin Chao Homie! Podcast talks to Russian-born and up-and-coming filmmaker Boris Meshkov. Joined by an extremely hilarious panel that includes Vu Minh Tu and Phuc, we discuss the state of the film industry in Vietnam, Boris's latest projects, as well as pitching original film ideas for a wide range of genres.       

All included in a cinematic episode.      

00:36- Meet the Panel      

01:53- Catch-up      

05:56- From Hollywood to Saigon (via Shenzen)      

17:43- Cường 7’s Music Video       

27:43- State of Vietnam Film Industry       

41:30- Saigon 3000       

1:01:18- Pitch Session       

Rom-com

1:06:36- Historical Drama       

1:12:53- Psychological Thriller       

1:25:55- Boris's Plans/Social Media Plugs      

In this high energy episode, we are joined by the triple threats of Thanh, Bex, and Sammy, veterans of improv comedy in Vietnam. With a panel that includes both stand-up and improv comics, we chat all things improv, the worst audience’s suggestions as well as play some improv games.

All included in a mostly improvised and fun-filled episode.       

0:22: Meet the Panel and Catch-up       

04:10: An Idiot's Guide to Improv Comedy       

09:06: Doing Improv in Vietnam       

38:01: Doing Improv in Vietnamese       

44:30: Improv Games       

Hashtag       

50:45: Sex with Me       

57:21: Plugs from Thanh, Bex, Sammy       

In our first team-up episode, we catch up with Niall Mackay, showrunner and host of Seven Million Bikes- A Vietnam Podcast. With an all-new panel that includes the talented An Pham and Jack Nguyen,  we discuss the state of comedy in Saigon, Niall's personal  journey into performing stand-up and podcasting as well as brainstorming hilarious and groundbreaking ideas for new Vietnam-based podcasts.

All included in an action-packed team-up episode.       

00:20 - Meet the Panel      

02:10 - Catch-up       

03:40 - An Idiot’s Guide to Niall and Seven Million Bikes       

03:55 - Niall’s Journey       

07:05 - Starting Seven Million Bikes       

15:40 - Getting into Comedy       

20:07 - Producing Comedy/ Jack and An’s experience       

29:27 - Niall’s favourite Seven Million Bikes episodes       

35:30 - An Pham’s Moment of Triumph       

41:02 - Barriers for local female comics       

52:24 - Quickfire Chat: 

Podcast Ideas That Only Work in Vietnam       

58:44  - Famous female figures you would invite on your podcast       

1:05:19 - Things Vietnamese people do when they’re listening to podcasts       

1:08:50 - Niall’s plan for the future/ Podcast plug       

This week is our Pride Special and joining us is our US-born, Saigon-based homie, queer comic Kelso Dowing.

Along with our diverse panel, we chat about Kelso’s journey of self-discovery, moving from DC to Vietnam, zig-zagging between Hanoi and Saigon. Even more so, we talk all things LGBT in Vietnam like changing perceptions, Vietnamese slangs for queer people among other things.

All included in a fun and fabulous episode!       

0:00 - Meet the Panel/ Catch-Up       

2:59 - Coming Out       

4:16 - Moving to Vietnam       

5:13 - Doing in comedy and Hanoi vs Saigon       

23:02 - LGBTQI+ in Vietnam       

35:34 - Viet Queer Slangs       

43:03 - Quick Queer Chat: Queer historical figures you want to invite on your podcast       

50:00 - Quick Queer Chat: Unusual ways to come out to your Vietnamese parents       

57:15 - Quick Queer Chat Things not to say to a drag queen       

1.04.14 : Kelso’s plans/Wrap-up       

This week, Xin Chao Homie! Podcast talks to one of Ireland’s hottest young  comics and enchanting human being (his words, not ours), Matthew Tallon. Along with our host Nghia Mai and the returning of Leo Nguyen, we discuss super cool things like Matthew’s comedic journey in the States, as well as things that Leo and Matthew would show around if they were to visit Vietnam and  Ireland, respectively. All included in a fun and totally awesome  episode.

In our season 2 premiere, our team travels to the kingdom of the  Belgians to catch up with our homie, the warm and cuddly Russo-Belgian  comedian Sergei Lopouchanski. We talk Belgian beers, Tintin and being  Russian. Plus, Huy Doan shares his own stories living and doing comedy  in Belgian and how his name could make him big in Russia. All jammed  into one action-packed episode. Come and chill with the homies.       

P/s: Hey guys, we were recording this episode using our old name  @thehotpotcastvn. From now on we're gonna be Xin Chao Homie! Thanks  again for sticking with us! Check out the old season if you haven't  known us before. From now on we're gonna bringing you guys the video format as well! Check it out in our youtube for the Name that Tintin comic segment!

Our journey Down Under continues in the season finale. This time with our  good friend, Hanoi-based Aussie comic Paul Villanova. He shares with our panel the Australian racial politics, his personal stories and soap operas.       

Introduction (0:00)     

Why Manh Cuong decided to do comedy (02:00)     

Comedy in Australia with Paul Villanova and Derek Nguyen (4:28)    

Pauline Hanson (18:22)      

Racism in Australia (27:02)      

Neighbours (42:06)

The Hot Potcast travels Down Under and chats to Aussie comic and podcaster  Fergus Neal. We talk about all things Australian, Derek's attempts at  assimilating and Fergus's friendship with Joshua Wong, the Hong Kong protest leader.   

Introduction (00:00)      

Australian English? (02:05)      

The most Australian thing I've ever heard (06:10)      

Anh Do the comedian (11:55)    

Derek Nguyen's Journey to Australia (15:50)       

Derek Nguyen's first gig in Australia (20:00)       

Vietnamese community in Australia (22:52)      

Fergus and Joshua Wong (29:17)       

This time, the Hot Potcast travels to Scotland and learns how to set up a comedy club with special guest Ben Verth, co-founder of Edinburgh’s award-winning Monkey Barrel comedy club. In addition, our panelist Minh Tu also shares her own experience doing English-language comedy nights in Vietnam.       

Panel and guest introduction (0:00)       

An Idiot’s Guide to Monkey Barrel Comedy (2:42)        

Minh Tu's experience doing English comedy in Vietnam (12:06)        

Monkey Barrel Comedy's tips to start a comedy club (26:17)        

How to book acts (34:35)

What can happen on a night (38:56)         

Monkey Barrel Comedy in a pandemic and a modern comedy club in Vietnam? (44:00)        

In this special Tết episode, 2 teams of comedians, representing Hanoi and Saigon, test out each other’s wits in a fast-paced and action-packed round of games. Together, they discover some interesting trivia about the traditions of Tết. Most of all, plenty of jokes and shenanigans from both sides in another festive episode of the Hot Potcast.       

Let's start the year of the Buffalo with a bang!       

Catch-up (0:51)      

Your Tet Story (4:35)       

1st Game: Did they do that during Tet? (14:11)       

2nd Game: Wishing Competition (30:50)       

3rd Game: Things we’d like to hear (36:26)       

Bad Pick-up Lines For Tet       

Things not to put in Bánh chưng       

Things from last year Ông Táo should not report to the Jade Emperor       

Non-sexual things you would do to get a higher Tết bonus       

Things a Tay never say during Tet       

Dominik Vu is a half Czech, half Vietnamese stand-up comic from Prague, who is currently based in Hanoi from January 2020 where he is discovering his Vietnamese roots. In the first episode of 2021, he joins our panel of Vietnamese comedians- Nghia Mai, Huy Doan and Phuc, to share his life story, how things are with the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic as well as teaches us some extremely useful phrases in Czech!       

Catch-up (0:53)       

Moving to Hanoi (3:40)       

The Vietnamese community in Czechia (6:52)       

Czech Stereotypes (12:55)       

Czech Expressions:       

Have a dumpling in your throat (17:03)       

Once in a Hungarian moon (18:33)       

Get up with the chickens (22:57)       

A different kind of coffee (23:32)       

How to swear like a Czech (24:05)       

In the year where festivals of any kind are a no-no, a group of Hanoi-based comedians did the impossible and held Vietnam’s 1st ever comedy festival. This week, the Hot Potcast catches up with haha Hanoi, the team behind this impressive feat, to find out what went out during Comedy Oi! 2020. All the highlights wrapped up in a very festive episode with our funny panelists: Nghia Mai, Manh Cuong, Le Kim Thanh, Erick Garcia, Bex and Huy Doan.       

The Panel and their Christmas plans (1:09)        

The Inspiration (5:41)        

The challenges:       

The Stand-up shows (11:30)      

The Vietnamese stand-up show in Hanoi (14:07)        

The Improv shows (16:40)        

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (17:42)       

Newcomers (22:44)        

Plans for the next comedy festival (26:40)        

The Audience (28:07)        

Differences between regional comedy in Vietnam (33:23)        

The Set List (37:00)       

Stepping up (39:29)       

The venues (46:44)        

Lessons learned (49:45)        

The After-party (54:51)        

More stories!!! (57:33)

American Sam may just be a local English teacher with stars in his eyes and a dream in his heart, but he appears destined for greatness having been a stalwart of the Phnom Penh comedy scene for the past eight years. He has gigged extensively across Cambodia and other Asian regions, as well as in the United States. With his fellow Vietnamese comedian friends: Nghia Mai, Phuc and Huy Doan, Sam shares the stories of how things have been changing in Cambodia.          

How Covid’s been affecting Cambodia (1:57)       

An Idiot’s Guide to Cambodia: Useful Khmer expressions (7:22)       

Vietnam-Cambodia Relations (11:06)       

Begpackers in Cambodia (14:01)       

Cambodia in 2012 (20:32)       

Huy and the Cambodian taxi driver (27:10)       

Phuc’s coming-of-age tale in Cambodia (29:30)       

The Cambodian stand-up comedy scene (34:30)       

Doing a French comedy show in Cambodia (37:50)       

Telling jokes in Khmer (49:17)

Hanoi-based, Mexican-American and the runner up of the 2019 Vietnam Comedy Competition, Erick Garcia has been a veteran in the Hanoi comedy scene with his spot on observational humor. This time, he will share his school day memories with his fellow Vietnamese comedians: Nghia Mai, Huy Doan and Leo Nguyen.       

What Erick encountered the other day in Hanoi (2:24)               

A little game (3:40)        

School fooleries (6:36)       

School fights (10:00)       

Cheating in exams (12:46)       

School restrooms in the US vs in Vietnam (15:48)       

Education system during the Covid-19 Pandemic (19:25)        

Erick’s opinion and predictions for the American School system and Leo Nguyen's secret story (22:06)       

School counselor but the advices are….totally wrong (25:35)       

Teacher crushes (30:00)

American-born, Saigon-based and a metalhead, JK Hobson has been an active member in Saigon's comedy scene. Now he gets to learn more of Trung Thu, the Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival with his Vietnamese comic colleagues: Nghia Mai, Vu Minh Tu and Phuc.       

Rammstein did that to you! (1:40)       

Jk Hobson's first mooncake (4:48)        

"Chu Cuoi; the Moon Man Folktale" (the Vietnamese origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival) (7:08)       

Old-school mid-autumn festival (13:05)       

The worst mooncake filling:       

1. Fried Rice and Pâté (16:35)               

2. Chinese sausages (Lap xuong) and deep fried boiled eggs (17:51)              

3. Balut egg (duck embryo) and Steamed Egg Meatloaf (19:52)       

Mid-Autumn Festival during the Covid- 19 pandemic, the Covid situation in Ireland. (22:56)

Once visited Vietnam, Brian Gallagher, the rising star of the Irish comedy scene, catches up with Vietnam's finest comedians: Nghia Mai, Leo Nguyen and Phuc.       

Coping with lockdown and the only rule of the podcast (01:00)       

Brian Gallagher's favorite Vietnamese dish (04:35)       

How Leo Nguyen learned English from his nomadic teachers (05:51) and how to cross the street in Vietnam (07:22)       

Ireland 101 and Phuc's most intimate secrets (12:20)              

Brian and the Cu Chi tunnel's tour guide (16:16)         

Irish vs Vietnamese slang (21:09), what “SMCCL”, “Ngao Da”, “Vet Mang” mean        

USA, Yay or nay? (28:09)