Podcast Summary: The Dream – Andrew Ti

Host: Jane Marie
Guest: Andrew Ti (Taylor)
Release Date: December 19, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode marks a new chapter in The Dream podcast, now a weekly interview show with a broader focus, but still rooted in exploring the “American Dream” and the systemic barriers that make it difficult. Jane Marie sits down with Andrew Ti (Taylor), creator of the long-running show and podcast Yo, Is This Racist?, to dig deep into race, call-out culture, activism, and the often-difficult realities of confronting racism in America today.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins of "Yo, Is This Racist?"

• Andrew Ti shares the inception of his “racism clearinghouse,” which began as a Tumblr blog answering questions about racism—often in wry, blunt terms.
• Andrew’s background: Not an “expert” by his own admission, but uniquely positioned as one of few people of color in comedy writing rooms at Comedy Central.

Notable Quotes:

• “I feel like other people have done better in the intervening years, but it was a little bit just like baiting white people into asking questions that were relatively too extremely ignorant about other races and shooting those fish in a barrel because it was just sort of like, yeah, dude, of course that's racist.” — Andrew Ti (00:46)
• “What racists call politically correct is just what the rest of us call correct, right? That's correct… FYI, this will never get any less depressing.” — Jane Marie quoting Andrew’s early blog (01:39)

2. Accountability and the Role of the “Expert”

• Andrew jokes about his own qualifications and addresses criticisms (including not being Black) about being a public voice on racism.
• Discusses the burden and inappropriateness he felt being the “representation” in majority-white settings.
• Reflection on how the apparent simplicity of some racism questions underscores bigger societal issues.

Notable Quotes:

• “I'm not a fucking expert in anything… The fact that I can more or less pull this off says more about everyone else than about me.” — Andrew Ti (02:41)
• “Still not Black.” — Andrew Ti, tongue-in-cheek, on frequent identity questions (03:14)

3. Evolution into a Podcast & Changing Dynamics

• Andrew explains that taking the project into podcast format—with co-host Tawny Newsom—invited more interpersonal, sometimes combative, narratives, often involving family confrontations and workplace dramas.
• Notable increase in “tattletale” style calls—listeners venting about social or workplace incidents.

Timestamps & Quotes:

• “So, I was in a meeting and they had an icebreaker… if you could put anybody else on Mount Rushmore, who would you put… maybe we should just give it back to the tribes… Awkward conversation.” — Listener call (10:44)
• “I think the thing that happened when it turned into a podcast is it kind of became more like interpersonally combative in a… probably in a good way… The people who are, like, very clearly trying to use this as, like, their next step after the podcast comes out is going to be like, hey, dad, listen to this.” — Andrew Ti (04:57)

4. Confronting Everyday and Systemic Racism

• Recurring questions about privilege, social etiquette (e.g., emoji skin tone, tolerance of “nice” racists).
• Listeners confront revelations about close acquaintances’ political leanings or subtle racism, and ask how to respond or set boundaries.
• Andrew and Jane dissect the problem of “niceness” in progressive spaces, and the discomfort in confronting racism among acquaintances.

Memorable Moments:

• “If you have the type of Thanksgiving and the type of household that a Trump supporter could stand being in without saying something, I do think it's worth examining what your, like, niceness is like.” — Andrew Ti (07:29)

5. White Liberal Performances & Election Season

• Callers and hosts lament the condescension and entitlement often exhibited by white liberal voters towards Black and Brown communities during elections.
• Andrew expresses discomfort with both blatant (“overt”) and “insidious” liberal racism.
• Discussion includes pop culture references (“Nancy Pelosi in a kente cloth”), underscoring the performative aspects.

Quotes:

• “There was sort of this idea… I prefer overt racism. At least you know where people stand. Like, I don't like all these liberal white people who are racist but are just, you know, the like, get out variety type.” — Andrew Ti (09:12)

6. Activism and Mutual Aid

• Jane notes Andrew’s shift from commentator to active participant in causes, particularly mutual aid.
• Andrew describes his work with “Solidarity and Snacks,” a grassroots aid group in Skid Row, LA.
• He reflects on the psychological benefits of direct action versus the paralysis of “changing the world” as a concept.

Quotes:

• “I needed to sort of know more and be more and do more… because as I lear more about everything, it felt necessary to just be better and smarter.” — Andrew Ti (12:39)
• “Don’t think of this as building community. Think about it as these are the motherfuckers that we’re all in it with together. When it’s time to start throwing rocks—asterisk, I’m not suggesting anyone throw rocks—these are the people you’re going to be throwing rocks on the same side with.” — Andrew Ti (15:54)
• “At the end of the day, there’s just going to be like the billions of people on earth and Some, you know, 0.01% of them are going to have a better or worse life because you are around, and that’s really all it’s ever going to be, ever.” — Andrew Ti (19:35)

7. Calls for Action and Self-Care

• Listeners are encouraged to support mutual aid, whether by joining established groups or initiating small acts of direct support in their communities.
• Andrew and Jane both stress the importance of “showing up” in tangible ways and caution against perfectionism or paralysis.

Quotes:

• “Just give yourself something to do. That’s like moving a bunch of boxes from point A to point B… I found it to be immensely, psychologically helpful, personally.” — Andrew Ti (20:39)
• “Every time your friend with a membership goes to Costco and asks if you need anything, just give them a short list of stuff the local soup kitchen could use or things you could drop off on porches.” — Jane Marie (21:07)

Notable Listener Calls & Segments (with Timestamps)

• [05:35] Tess from Seattle: Dilemma about a neighbor, a Trump supporter, attending Thanksgiving — should she be excluded or confronted?
• [10:44] Anonymous: Sharing cringe at a corporate icebreaker about adding a face to Mount Rushmore, leading to awkward conversations about Indigenous land.
• [17:13] Anonymous: Work story about a racist coworker making anti-Asian jokes, and the exhaustion of always being “the only one” to notice or care.

Memorable Quotes

| Speaker | Quote | Timestamp | |------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------| | Andrew Ti | “If these motherfuckers are gonna keep asking me, I’m gonna tell them. And thank God I’m mostly right.” | 03:34 | | Jane Marie | “You sound tired. You sound tired.” (Empathizing with a caller confronting workplace racism) | 19:19 | | Andrew Ti | “It has gotten less fun and it’s sort of gotten significantly worse, I guess, after 2016.” | 09:12 | | Jane Marie | “I'm a big fan of calling out bad behavior in the moment.” | 07:20 | | Andrew Ti | “It just felt like my sort of off the cuff ignorance was not going to cut it anymore.” | 13:37 |

Tone and Style

The episode is candid, blunt, and often sardonic, balancing humor with serious reflection. Andrew’s tone is self-effacing and honest, both critical and hopeful about the possibilities for progress. Jane’s approach is direct but caring, foregrounding both the gravity and absurdity of how racism manifests in everyday American life.

Takeaways & Calls to Action

• The fight against racism is both big and small: systemic, but also personal and local.
• Don’t underestimate the impact of showing up, even when you can’t “fix” everything.
• Anyone can participate in mutual aid—find a group or start something small.
• Self-awareness, listening, and actually doing the work (not just talking about it) matter.

Useful Links:

• Find Yo, Is This Racist? on all podcast platforms.
• Solidarity and Snacks (Instagram): To support mutual aid efforts on Skid Row.
• Andrew and Tawny’s new show Starter Trek at Suboptimal Pods.

Next Week: Jane and Dan discuss the holidays and their own traditions.