Here Ann Feldman shares her harrowing experience in a restrictive political regime: China. After the women she interviewed there for a national public radio series revealed their political and religious protests, she was forcibly “exited” from the country. The experience made clear how vital it is to know who is and isn’t in control. The women’s stories became the award-winning, 12-part “Unbreakable Spirits” radio series for Public Radio International (PRI).

The case study explores the experiences of a South Korean native who came to the U.S. and experienced exclusion and prejudice at a boarding school as an Asian immigrant, especially while performing with an all-girl Asian band during the COVID pandemic. At college, Kwan needed to learn whom to trust and whom to avoid and took a leadership role to hold her band together in the face of harassment.