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- [00:00]
A
Lots of places can expose you to identity theft. Oh, no. That's why LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats to your identity, which is way more than anyone can do on their own. If we find anything suspicious, like new loans or changes to your financial accounts, we alert you right away, all through text, phone, email, or the LifeLock app. Get the alerts that could make all the difference. Save up to 40% your first year@lifelock.com Spotify don't terms apply? It's Friday, May 15, 2026, from peach fish Productions, it's the Gist. I'm Mike Pesca. I don't lead this show with the uplifting, the heartwarming or sports news too often. But I had to. Why? Because this story that I heard and read about is actually interesting. Very interesting. Also uplifting and heartwarming. Maya Johnson is the best pitcher, arguably the best pitcher in NCAA women's softball. She has the best record, 27 and 2 and a 0.66 ERA, which means that she usually gives up zero runs a game. Kind of ridiculous. Two other things to know about her she pitches for Belmont, not a softball powerhouse. And she has Lupus. The two facts are connected. She had offers to go to all the major programs. Then they withdrew those offers when they found out she had Lupus. Johnson was a day away from enrolling at Pitt, withdrawn because of Lupus. So she found herself at Belmont and began to dominate. So then all the other programs saw, well, she might have Lupus, but she's mowing down opposing batters. Let's give her an offer. She entertained those offers. The New York Times article on what happened next is titled One of College Games Best Left Money on the Table while. Well, how much? It says Johnson entered the transfer portal, where you kind of say, I'm ready to play for you and start receiving nil. Name, image and likeness monetary offers from other schools. And the Times reports she received offers from 150k to just under 500k. ESPN, I think in an interview with Johnson had the more precise figure.
- [02:16]
B
I had over 100 schools reach out to me out of the Power Fours. I had seven Power Fours that didn't reach out to me. And pretty much everyone else that reached out to me had given me offers. What was the highest amount? It was like 383 80.
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A
But wow. In any case, that is a lot of money for women's softball or softball, because that's the only kind of softball they play on the NCAA level. It's a lot of money for anything. Let's be real though. It is reported that Texas Tech pitcher Najara Canada gets paid $1.2 million a year. But Johnson turned that money down. She stayed at bel. Why? ESPN leans on it as a tale of loyalty and triumph over the odds.
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B
In October 2025, ahead of her final season, Johnson learned the lupus was weakening her kidneys. One morning before practice, she told the team she would need to begin chemotherapy for treatment. People just rallied around me. Anything you can possibly think of, like my teammates were doing.
- [03:17]
A
I think the Times via the Athletic, they have better coverage, which is why I was blown away by the story. So Johnson says that the real reason she thought of even leaving Belmont was that they had eliminated her program. No, not softball, nursing. She was getting a master's of science in nursing. She's quite good at it. In fact, she has honors. But then she discovered that Belmont was transitioning to a partially online doctor of nursing practice program and that would work for her. In fact, Belmont can offer her that big nil money, but will pay tuition into the program until she is finished. And it could take a while. Her long term goal, therefore, is not hundreds of thousands of dollars next year. It's not her status as number three pick in the professional women's softball league. That's what she is. Her goal is to be a family nurse practitioner. And she rightly points out that the salary in that will last for decades. Of the hundreds of thousands she was offered, she says, quote, my parents thought I was crazy at first. They were like, that's life, Chang money, Johnson said. But I'm going to have a doctorate debt free and then make six figures. I'm doing just fine. In fact, she is literally right now doing Belmont. As of this recording, as of me speaking into this microphone, is playing in the NCAA tournament against Southeast Louisiana. They're up one nothing. And Maya Johnson has recorded four strikeouts over three innings on the show today, Chinese agent in the mayor's office. But first, Matt Sterling is a guy I worked with for. He sold ads. He sold them. Well, when you saw him, you would say, what's with this guy costs? Because he's a small guy, a very small guy and he's in a wheelchair. But man, did he crush those ads. And man, was he a great guy. I didn't really know his story. I just knew on the couple of times when the ad people and the podcast people at Slate got together, I like talking to him. Now for this interview, for my gist Season two interview, I find out what exactly we was going on with Matt. He has written a book called Mighty Finding the Strength to Survive. Matt Sterling up next. If your team's communications are messy, customers feel it. Mixed messages, drop threads, slow replies.
- [05:43]
B
Ugh.
- [05:44]
A
Ugh. Right? That's how you lose momentum. That's why today's episode is brought to you by Quo spelled Quo, the business communication system built so you never miss a call. So a little about Quo. It's the number one rated business phone system on G2 with over 3,000 reviews. It works quotas wherever you are right from your phone or computer. You keep your existing number and just add teammates and minutes and sync with your CRM and let the call routing handle itself as you scale. If you're running a business, you get it and you get how vital this is. Quo isn't just a phone system. It is a smart system. Money is on the line. Always say hello with Quo. Try quo for free plus 20% off your first six months when you go to quo.com/gist that's quo.com/gist this is the time of year that makes me rethink my closet. I want to pare it down. Fewer things, better things. It should all be quality, well made, easy to wear. That's why I keep coming back to quints. The fabrics are elevated, the fits are thoughtful, the pricing makes sense. The high quality everyday essentials using premium materials like 100% European linen and their insanely soft flow knit activewear fabric. The best part is that their prices are 50 to 60% less than similar brands. I would say even lesser brands, right? I mean brands that you think are good. Then you wear Quince and you're like oh my God this feels great and fits great. I will tell you now about a sweater that I have that I love that is so much my go to that I've had to order a couple of more Quint items just to not keep wearing this Quint sweater. It looks great, it feels great and I wear it probably too much and it hasn't broken down. No pilling. Refresh your wardrobe with quince go to quince.com the gist for free shipping and 365 day returns now available in Canada. To go to quincy.com the gist for free shipping AND 365 day returns quince.com/the gist one great podcast that talks about everything we're going through in our democracy through a constitutional lens is the oath in the Office. I've been on it. I listened to it. It's hosted by Bonafide constitutional scholar Cory Bretchneider, Past just guest and and Sirius XM host John Fugal saying, here's a tip. Future just guest. And the show, which always ranks in Apple's top five in government, has featured guests like Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and journalist Dahlia Lithwick and Justice Stephen Breyer and me, Mike Pesca in that company. Smart, accessible, focused on power. Listen to the oath in the office, wherever you get your podcast also on YouTube with full video episodes every it's interesting about this guy I'm about to interview, Matt Sterling. I knew him years ago, maybe, I don't know, eight. Eight years ago, some. Somewhere between 10 and six. And it's hard not to notice Matt Sterling when you see him in a room of colleagues. When the new ad sales guys come in and you meet them. This was the situation as I was working in Slate. Matt's in a wheelchair and from the waist up, he's, I would say, regular size, might be big. From the. Matt has very short legs. And I thought, oh, that's interesting. And then we would talk about professional matters. And he was one of these good sales guys who had a great reputation who was exactly on board with what I needed from him, and I would have hoped vice versa. And then maybe a decade passes and I don't really think about it. Maybe at the time when you see someone in Matt's condition, you say, oh, I wonder how he got there. It's a fleeting thought, and unless you're over drinks and it comes up, you're never going to ask. And Book comes across the transom that he's written. It's called Mighty Finding the Strength to Survive. It is a memoir of this guy who achieved great things in the world of ad sales in a way that I think probably no one else ever has. Matt, welcome to the Gist.
- [10:06]
B
Thank you so much. Oh, my God, it's so good to see you and be with you. And before we get started, I just want to thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me.
- [10:15]
A
Oh, absolutely. And after this is done, I want you to give me some advice on how we could best monetize this episode. You know, what kind of. What kind of CPMs you think we should be getting out?
- [10:24]
B
I know I. I might be the first guest you've ever had that sold the gist and is now on the gist.
- [10:32]
A
Right. That's true. How. What was it easy to sell the gist? Was it an uphill climb?
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B
Plenty of inventory? Because you were daily at the time and you know.
- [10:40]
A
Correct.
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B
It was great.
- [10:42]
A
Yeah. So you have. We were talking before the interview started, and the technical phrase for it, if I'm saying it right, is arthro griposis multiplex congenital. And that's just a fancy way of saying multiple birth defects.
- [10:57]
B
That's correct. I was born in 1969. So at the time, there's very little technology, very little understanding. They didn't know for six months to a year even what my problem was, because as I developed, you know, I had joints that were fixed, like my ankles, my hip sockets, my hip joints were out of socket, my muscles didn't develop in my legs. And then of course, I had something very common, which is scoliosis, which then got more severe as I got older. But it was something that, you know, my mom and dad were kind of in the dark. I was in a variety of hospitals. I was born in Bowling Green, then went to Columbus Children's Hospital where they kind of were doing all these exploratory surgeries. And then my mom and dad basically said, that's enough. Like, you know, you've tried, this isn't working. We're just going to figure out where he goes from here. And that's kind of, you know, what my start was, is, you know, I started on braces and crutches, walking around. And then as I made it through grade school, things got a little more, you know, fast paced and, you know, I could get conked over in the hallway on braces and crutches. So I went to the wheelchair. And then I began, you know, then to adapt to life in the wheelchair. And I've been that way ever since. And so.
- [12:19]
A
So is the condition, is it a condition that always presents in the way that it presented with you, or is it more a catch all term for a constellation of conditions?
- [12:30]
B
Yeah, when it's catch all term. And what's interesting is that in my life, I have never met anyone with the same set of conditions that I have. Arthrogryposis, fairly common. You can see people with legs like mine that are skinny and straight and all that sort of thing. But when you look at that with the hips out of socket and the scoliosis, you know, and arthrogryposis for that matter, until the web became sort of more popularized and I started to search for people and arthrogryposis, I never knew about it or knew anyone else with it. Huh.
- [13:09]
A
So it also tells me that this wasn't something that the doctors were intent on telling your parents what they were, they were Doing their best. If you were born 50 years later, would there have been other treatments?
- [13:21]
B
I don't think so because it's basically a, a deformed chromosome. So if you get into the science of it, there's nothing they really could have done. There might be new ways to put a joint back in the socket. So I might have been able to walk on crutches better. But you know, in general I think I'd still be the same person that I am today. But I do remember because it was unique when I was a kid, like there were always four or five doctors in the room when I go in for my appointments and sometimes they're taking pictures. It was really weird. But I mean it was, I was in teaching hospitals and that's kind of. They're like they've never seen this before.
- [14:05]
A
Yeah, well, people, times were different and as you write about in the book, people were, kids were a lot less sensitive and to some degree that forged who you were in terms of resilience. But to another degree, man, it's kind of shocking how insensitive kids were. What's your overall take? Looking back, it's your. Can't redo it.
- [14:28]
B
But yeah, well, I'll tell you a funny story. So I have a 12 year old son now and that's a whole nother thing. Like you know, the mind games of am I going to have a child that's disabled? That's a separate thing.
- [14:40]
A
But, but it wasn't like they, they told you that this wasn't congenital. Right, sorry. This wasn't hereditary.
- [14:45]
B
Yeah, yeah, but I mean, you know, it's like they can tell you whatever. You go in it with the panic of, you know, what if something happens here? But anyway, so you know, my, my son's going to grade school and you know, up until that point I had lived in New York City, San Francisco and Hollywood, so these very urban areas with no kids. And I liked it because when I was growing up, kids were cruel. You know, what's with the big head and the small feed? And you know, anything that's different was a negative, which was frustrating. But you know, obviously I was out of the kid game for a long time and the changes in media and sensitivity. When I started to drop my son off at grade school, I was a little bit of a panic, like am I going to get the same weird comments and these kids couldn't have been nicer and you know, asking me about my wheelchair or hey Mr. Sterling. So you know, I, in my lifetime beyond the Americans with disabilities Act. I have seen society move forward in a very positive way.
- [15:56]
A
I couldn't agree with you more. And the younger generation has its problems, as all generations do. Plus I do think every generation thinks the, the next generation is softer and they probably are because life is getting better. That's a good thing, right?
- [16:10]
B
Sure.
- [16:10]
A
But I do think I will say this. The anti bullying curriculum, maybe it gets made fun of a little bit. Chris Rock has some good routines about it. It worked and it was positive. Like anything else, Canada times be taken too far. Can some regular friction of life be called bullying? Yes, yes and yes. But it has been sociologically a boon, I think, to this next generation.
- [16:35]
B
Yes. And it's to me, it's also having worked in the media, it's a testament to the power of the media. You know, when you look at children's books now, you'll see a disabled character. You know, when you see a cartoon, you know, there might be somebody that's deaf or blind or in a wheelchair. So the sensitivity to it, it's not something that they've never seen someone like this before, which is great.
- [16:59]
A
Right, Right. So tell me how you go to University of Florida, you decide to come to New York just from Ohio. These are two ping pong steps that are quite different. But you always, when you land in New York, it's to interview for and get a job at a big ad agency. Agency. What attracted you to ad sales?
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B
So I have a degree in advertising and I got to go to New York City on a scholarship when I was a junior in college. I had written an essay as to why I wanted to be an advertising executive. A lot of people at the University of Florida got an ad degree to go to law school. They didn't want to be in advertising. They just wanted an easy four year degree. And I'm not saying that it was easy, but it was easier than other things. I wanted to work in advertising. I loved it. You know, I fell in love with Ogilvy on advertising and all those things. So I wrote this essay. My parents didn't have any money, so they're like, we're not sending you to New York. So I got a scholarship and I got to go for basically a weekend or a week. And I toured ad agencies, you know, networked with people and then followed up and I ended up landing a job as an assistant media planner. But, you know, the moment I came out of the midtown tunnel and I was in the middle of Manhattan, I was like, this is where I need to be. I fell in love with it immediately. The energy, the people, the diversity. And then, you know, when the decision was made to move there, my parents, because we had moved from Ohio to Florida, basically so it wouldn't snow, so that I had a better way of getting around or an easier way of getting around. When they said. When I said I wanted to move to New York, they're like, have you lost your mind? Like, and it's like, you know, and the ADA had just been passed the Americans with Disabilities Act. Nothing was accessible. You know, there were like three subway stops that I could get on. I had to travel on the bus because they had just put the ramps on there, thanks to the Vietnam vets, the people that, you know, sort of pushed that. So, you know, it was that whole episode. Looking back, I'm like, I don't even know how or how I did it, because everything was a pain in the ass.
- [19:17]
A
Well, you write about in the book how you did it, just taking the flight and they never have the wheelchair there at the gate. And the guy throws your, you know, the Middle Eastern cab driver throws your wheelchair in the back of the car, thinking, we take. We take care of these wheelchairs.
- [19:31]
B
Yeah,
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A
wheelchairs.
- [19:34]
B
Yeah.
- [19:34]
A
Yeah. Well, what about setting up. You get accepted with this essay. What about setting up and telling everyone ahead of time, this must be a portion of your life, Especially before the ADA was passed or when it was just passed. You should know I'm going to need some accommodations. How did those.
- [19:51]
B
This is what is interesting.
- [19:53]
A
Yeah.
- [19:54]
B
Is that I was waiting, right. Like, are they going to complain because they're going to have to put in a new bathroom or whatever. The only feedback I got from this woman, Patty Ransom, who was the HR person at Lintas, the agency asked me if I could make copies because as an entry level assistant. Yeah, you're making copies. And the copy machine is high. Right. And I kind of laughed at her. I'm like, yeah, of course I can make copies. But there was no, you know, I don't know whether it was either fear of a lawsuit or it was never brought up. The only thing was, can you make copies? You know, other than that, you know, every boss that I had there, you know, they accommodated my cubicle and, you know, the bathrooms were kind of okay. It ended up getting better. One of the funniest stories, though, is when I started at Time magazine. And, you know, I've worked in the Time Life building, which, you know, is in the historical landmark list in New York City. The. The elevators. I worked on the 27th floor and I couldn't reach the button for 27 because it was so high up. And then like a year later, they renovated the elevators and dropped all the buttons.
- [21:11]
A
Yeah.
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B
So, like, I was there to see the ada, like, take hold in New York City. It was really cool.
- [21:18]
A
I would say, did you bring an umbrella? But you also. I never. There are so many things in the book I never realized, but someone in a chair can't really use an umbrella, so you just get drenched. It sucks.
- [21:28]
B
It's awful. And Gore Tex had just been sort of brought from space back to us. And the Gore Tex jackets were, like 500 bucks. So, you know, that was. My only thing was I had a shell that I would wear when it rained or snowed or whatever, because. Yeah, you can't wear. I think I made a joke because my dad, who just wants to solve problems, he wanted to buy me one of those clown hats that had the umbrella on top of it.
- [21:55]
A
Oh, yeah. And, like, so dignified. Yeah. Going to a sales meeting in one of those. Yeah, yeah. Jon Hamm takes off his. His bowl. His Mac, Right.
- [22:06]
B
Yeah. Fedora Madman. Is that.
- [22:09]
A
Yeah, his rakish fedora. And you take off the clown hat. So I did ask, but I do mean this. In the book, you said, luckily, I have a sunny disposition. And what was it. What is it about you and just the totality of your life and your circumstances, but also your outlook that put you in a position to go into ad sales, which is, you know, among the, if not the most demanding position in terms of connecting with other people. Why do you think you're so drawn to that?
- [22:42]
B
I. Well, when I started. Well, first of all, when I started on the agency side, you know, I wasn't. I was part of the sales process, but I was buying things, so people were selling me. And I became fascinated with Time, Inc. And the ideas that they were bringing. So I initially went into marketing. So I was at Time magazine, and what was happening is I was putting together, you know, with a team of people, these cool ideas and then sometimes handing it off to salespeople that weren't articulating it in the best way. So I'm like, now I want to be in sales. Not only can I make more money, but I'm actually, you know, interfacing directly with the client. So. But as I was. I basically was on IBM on the agency side. Then I worked in marketing, pitching IBM for Time magazine. And then there was an IBM sales job that opened up globally, and it was Jack Hare, the publisher of Time. You know, this was this was, like, the perfect sales job for me, but I was concerned that my disability was going to get in the way of a sale. Right. Like, somebody would have a weird reaction to me, and I'm not going to close the deal. And so I. I plead my case. I'm like, I want to do this, but this is my concern. And Jack said to me instantly, he said, sterling, some people's personalities are their disabilities. You're going to do just fine. And the rest is history. It changed my life.
- [24:11]
A
Did anything like that ever happen in all your years?
- [24:15]
B
Yes, there were, certainly. Because, I mean, anybody that's worked in media, there are weirdos. Right. People that are socially awkward and, you know, But, I mean, I encounter those people all the time.
- [24:29]
A
Like podcast hosts, you mean, or.
- [24:31]
B
Yeah, exactly. You just got to push through it. So, you know, I felt like once I got the approval from somebody they respected, like Jack, that I could do this job that gave me the confidence to push through any awkward situations.
- [24:46]
A
And also, I would guess there might be something going on subconsciously with people or consciously. But I also would guess that many people would actually overcorrect to the other way, at least.
- [25:01]
B
Yeah.
- [25:01]
A
Wanting to appear to give you a chance.
- [25:05]
B
Yeah.
- [25:05]
A
Taking a meeting when maybe they wouldn't. Right. I don't. Well, I don't want to be the guy who shuts out the dude in the wheelchair.
- [25:12]
B
Yeah.
- [25:12]
A
No, no, no.
- [25:13]
B
Well, and there's. You know, because I had a lot of friends, we do a lot of drinking at Time Inc. And some guy came up to me to party, and when I got into sales, and he's like, oh, you know, what do you do? Just roll in their office and look pitiful and ask for a page? I'm like, you know, no, I actually sell things, you know.
- [25:31]
A
Yeah. Not the best way to close the deal now.
- [25:33]
B
Exactly.
- [25:34]
A
Since your life spans right at the cusp of the ada. Until now. You know, you come into New York, and even now they're supposed to be compliant here, but some gigantic percentages. Percentage of elevators to mass transit don't work. The cutouts, which are supposed to accommodate wheelchairs. I don't know. It's got to be a quarter of them are somehow screwed up.
- [25:57]
B
Yeah.
- [25:57]
A
So things can't be perfect. But give me your assessment of how the ADA has made life better for people in wheelchairs.
- [26:06]
B
Well, I. First of all, it's the legislation for civil rights. Right, Right. Like, if I need to have access to a building now, I have the legal backing to say I need to have access and what was, what was happening in New York early on was, you know, places like Rockefeller center were great places like the local bar that I want to go to, not so much.
- [26:28]
A
Yeah. Well, then again, you did choose the old town, which is like the oldest bar with dumb waiters. So that's maybe not the most sparkling new restaurant.
- [26:38]
B
Was great. But you know, my buddy who I almost opened a bar with, he, you know, had worked in a bunch of bars and he's like, yeah, we just pay the inspectors off and they go away and we don't have to put in the bathroom. Now that's gone away. But that was kind of the attitude, right? But at least what I've, what I've seen is that everybody has to make a conscious effort to make reason what they call reasonable accommodation.
- [27:04]
A
Are big, busy cities easier for people in wheelchairs than, I don't know, take suburbs or I'm not even going to say rural than. Yeah, less crowded places.
- [27:14]
B
Yeah, I would say yes, because you're looking at now public transportation that's being designed to accommodate people with wheelchairs. The Olympics are coming to Los Angeles and I just went down to city hall because they had a public hearing about accessible transportation during the Olympics. And it's great, right? Like all the trains and they're going to create what they call first and last mile. So how do we get you from your house to the train station, then to the venue? So, you know, they're making a conscious effort to fix that and, you know, everything could be better. But I would argue that, you know, when I was growing up in the 70s, where you couldn't get anywhere, like it's much better now.
- [27:58]
A
And if you want to hear the rest of the conversation, which is quite good, please subscribe@subscribe.mike pesca.com There you have a chance to join Pesca plus where there are all these bonus episodes. We had quite a few of them this week. In fact, I just kept talking. You could also just get the show ad free, which is a value, is it not? Subscribe.mike pesco.com. This is the time of year that makes me rethink my closet. I want to pare it down. Fewer things, better things. It should all be quality, well made, easy to wear. It's why I keep coming back to quints. The fabrics are elevated, the fits are thoughtful. The pricing makes sense. The high quality everyday essentials using premium materials like 100% European linen and their insanely soft flow knit activewear fabric. The best part is that their prices are 50 to 60% less than similar brands. I would say even lesser brands, right? I mean brands that you think are good. Then you wear quince and you're like oh my God this feels great and fits great. I will tell you now about a sweater that I have that I love that is so much my go to that I've had to order a couple of more quint items just to not keep wearing this quince sweater. It looks great, it feels great and I wear it probably too much and it hasn't broken down. No pilling. Refresh your wardrobe with quince. Go to quince.com the gist for free shipping and 365 day return returns now available in Canada. To go to quince.com/the gist for free shipping and 365 day returns quince.com/the gist we all need advice, but it's not always clear who to ask. Even in 2026. Enter how to the long standing Advice show and Ambie Award nominated Best Personal Growth Podcast. That's back with new episodes and a new host. And that host. Here's the reveal. It's me, Mike Pesca. Each week I tackle a listener question ranging from travel to finance to relationships and beyond, with help from world class experts who actually know what they're talking about. Think of it as eavesdropping on someone else's therapy session without the copay or awkward silence. No question is too big or too specific. Some topics how to protect the elderly from scammers, how to take psychedelics therapeutically, and of course, how to emigrate to the Netherlands as a throuple. You've got questions. We'll find the answers, so follow how to with Mike Pesca on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And now the spiel. With President Trump back from China, the two superpowers dance of world dominance has been front and center on the world stage. So then, to not think of the implication of Chinese direct meddling in American democracy. That's on everyone's mind. It's kind of hard. Wait, it is on your mind, right? This story in a bombshell admission former Arcadia, California Mayor Eileen Wang agreeing to plead guilty to being an illegal agent for the People's Republic of China, acting, quote, at the discretion and control of Chinese government officials. That story wasn't buried or unreported when it broke earlier in the week. But think about it. A mayor of a pretty large American city, Arcadia, California, located 13 miles from downtown LA. The mayor was a Chinese agent, also not buried or Unreported was the earlier story about this city, which is majority Asian, the majority of whom are Chinese Americans, that there was an advisor of a city council member who was prosecuted and convicted of working as a covert agent for the People's Republic of China. That advisor is now serving a four year sentence in federal prison. And who is this Chinese agent advising? Eileen Wang. He was also her former fiance. Might Wang, the first Chinese American to be elected to the highest office in Arcadia, also be a Chinese agent? She might. In fact, she was. But media seemed particularly uninterested in finding out since the news broke about Mike's son, that was the fiance and adviser since that guy's arrest in December of 2024. Remember, that was when Biden was president. When news broke of that in 24 to Mayor Wang's plea deal last week, there were two articles about the mayor of a city near Los Angeles being a spy for China in the Los Angeles Times. One story was on the occasion of Mike's son sentencing that included three paragraphs about Wang, mostly a perfunctory denial, making clear that at the time that he was charged by the doj, they weren't engaged anymore. The other article was headlined, China allegedly tried to influence this politician. She says she isn't going anywhere. That headline reads, is that you go girl manifesto. Her denial of a relationship wants to bring about thoughts of, I don't know, a typical high achiever who, like so many other powerful women, just made a bad romantic choice. You meet a guy, you think he's gaga for you. Turns out he's running ops for the ccp. Who among us, Right? But other than that, not much coverage. No coverage. Son charged in 2024, sentenced in 2026. In the year 2025, there was no article actually really looking into if the mayor might be working for China. And that's just not the LA Times. They're the dominant paper in the region. But there was nothing in the Orange County Register or a paper called the Pasadena Sun Week, the local Public Radio L A site. Basically nothing on the possibility that Wang was a foreign agent. China allegedly. Remember, here was the. Here was the headline. China allegedly tried to influence this politician. She says she isn't going anywhere. Why is her defiance the story headline should be China tried to influence this politician. And they did influence the politician. By the way, when she said she isn't going anywhere, she didn't even say that on the record to the L. A Times. Such deference. Why no aggressive follow up? Well, here are some reasons newspapers everywhere are Gutted suburbs outside the main coverage areas of newspapers often get short shrift. That's one reason why George Santos avoided any scrutiny as Long Island District was barely covered by the New York Times and Long Island's newspaper Newsday is a shell of its former self. But I also think there's a wariness in accusing Chinese Americans of being disloyal. So here was an article just two days ago on Wang in the L. A Times. Iran on Wednesday headline, Crisis in Chinese Beverly Hills Residents fear a backlash after mayor accused of working with China. They quote the local member of the House of Representatives, the U.S. house of Representative, Judy Chu, who had endorsed Wang. She said in a statement that she's, quote, shocked and disappointed, but that the racist discourse we are seeing from the right on this matter is deeply troubling but also unsurprising. Hatred is no place here and I will continue to fight against all forms of discrimination, including the racial profiling and scapegoating of Chinese Americans. We understand that our community is shocked and hurt by this news. But what's important to remember is that this was the conduct of one individual.
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B
Well, it wasn't.
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A
As I was telling you, it was Wang. It was her fiance. By the way, her lawyers say that Son was someone she thought was her fiance. I don't know what the difference is. I mean, everyone who is a fiance thinks that there's no official registry anyway. There was also another prominent guy who went to prison in all this. John Chen, who is a high level member of the People's Republic of China intelligence apparatus, once met with Xi Jinping. We are told he was involved with son. He's serving 20 months in a US prison. Here now is the statement of the Arcadia Deputy City Manager Justine Bruno. She emphasized in an interview with the Times that all of Wang's alleged misconduct occurred before she was elected to the city council in 2022. Are we sure? I mean, she was charged with actions that took place in 2022, and I know she was elected in November 2022. So maybe the charged conduct ended a couple months before she was elected, but maybe it didn't. Also in the indictment, it was revealed that Chen, that guy who was the member of the PRC who met with Xi Jinping, he coordinated a trip to China in 2023 for Wang to meet with leadership. Didn't say who leadership was. I would not be so confident if I were the deputy city manager. I would not be hitching my public pronouncements to the assertion this was all done and dusted before she got into office. I do understand the sensitivity around racism. You look at social media on this story and many of the comments are really quite racist and terrible. But that should not stop the news media from really looking into the accountability of elected officials. She says she's not going anywhere. That's fine. The media's position should be. Let's find out if she needs to go somewhere. Now I have an update. I put this commentary to bed and was just about to track it when a note came in. L A Times has a new story on this headline. Was the mayor a spy? L A suburb left wondering about China's effort to influence. Quote, There were red flags everywhere, said Sharon Kwan and a Arcadia City council member and former mayor. Yeah, red flags with five golden stars in the top left corner. Okay, but in all seriousness, you would think that this newspaper, the LA Times, or any newspaper might have sought out this official Sharon Kwan, Arcadia's first Asian American female mayor. By the way, Wang was the first Chinese American. Quan is the first Asian American. So one Quan is certainly not motivated by racism. About her misgivings over Wang, maybe the L A Times might have covered Quan's request, which was unanimously denied by the city council, that the city council investigate Wang or that they maybe even suspend Wang. Here's a tape from a city council meeting in April.
- [38:34]
B
I did not say she's doing anything wrong, but I'm just saying.
- [38:36]
A
So you're not aware of her having done anything wrong?
- [38:38]
B
Correct. I'm not accusing anybody of doing anything wrong.
- [38:40]
A
But you still talk about having her step down from her duties.
- [38:43]
B
That could be a possibility. I think it should be a discussion.
- [38:45]
A
But that tape didn't air anywhere at the time. It wasn't covered in the L A Times. No discontent in Arcadia among former mayors was covered. It was all in public. I saw it on a Twitter feed of a local CBS reporter. And by the way, the new report in the L A Times, the just breaking report that I just became aware of, it quotes yet another mayor with suspicions about Wang. By the way, you're asking how many mayors and former mayors does Arcadia have? A lot. They're not directly elected. The job rotates among council members and lasts for less than 10 months. But as for the latest article's title, was the mayor a Spy? This they have nailed down. No, she was not a spy. She was merely an agent of influence, a position worthy of the government and the media's attention. And that's it for today's show. Cory Wara produces the gist. Kathleen Sykes does the gist.
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B
List.
- [39:46]
A
Jeff Craig, he's the guy who produces our how to podcast. And Ben as there's our booking coordinator. Many red flags around. Michelle Pass, COO of Peach Fish Productions in Peru. G Peru de Peru. And thanks for listening.