In this evening episode of Firelight Chats, Angel Huang descends into the Spacelab to chat and laugh about education, film, and her many life adventures with Kane & Mocha by the fireside. They light the night and the wild with stories about studying abroad in rural America, the 4Ds, attending some of Taiwan's most prestigious schools, being overprotected, learning to take risks, regrets and lessons learned, ballroom dancing, surfing, and wanting to be an eagle.
Angel also shares stories about joining a tech startup in the Bay Area, working in Beijing during the COVID pandemic, producing Taiwan's first unscripted reality series for Netflix, and developing her own animated short film. Towards the end of the episode, Angel is challenged to a FireLightNing Round of random and rapid questions, finishing off with a poignant story that brings her story full circle.
Angel Huang is a graduate of Taipei First Girls High School (TFG), National Chiao Tong University (NCTU), and Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA). She has lived in Colorado, SF, Beijing, and is now living and working in her home city of Taipei. She is currently working on an experimental short animation about education, work, finding your door & unlocking it.

In this jazzy episode of Firelight Chats, Benjamin Holt wailed his strings to the Spacelab to jam hard like a newly freed man with Kane & Mocha by the fireside. They dive head first into adjectives, comedy, frigid winters, Halifax explosions, Jimi Hendrix, kinds of blues, gospel music, country poppin', freelance hustlin', Deep Ellum, road trip tourin', education, the beauty of diversity, wild times, love & heartbreak, keeping it cool, showing up, being a professional, the Taiwan music scene, giving more than you take, and baring your heart & soul for the world to taste.
Weaved into the episode are juicy musical vignettes from Benjamin's diverse repertoire with a full length track rounding out the experience. Like a true jazz improviser and educator, Ben nails the FireLightNing Round of rapid questions and shares some words of wisdom and encouragement with the younger generation of musicians.
Benjamin Holt is originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; studied, lived, and hustled in Dallas, Texas; and is currently living and working in Taiwan. He is a Gold Card holder, professional musician, proud resident of Da Ping Lin, his new Big D in Xindian, and can be found performing alongside some of Taiwan's brightest stars all around the island(s) and beyond.

In this late night episode of Firelight Chats, Jamie Wang joked her way to the Spacelab to chat life, death, and all the tragicomedy in between with Kane & Mocha by the fireside. The lights dimmed and flames sparked, Jamie shares her thoughts and intimate stories about love, sex, inspiration, education, studying abroad, food, culture, mental health, parental & societal pressure, confusing things, philosophy, pushing boundaries, and finding her voice, confidence, and self.
From sensitive parts to risky topics, Jamie provides a masterclass in carefully navigating all the beautifully messy contours of the human condition with aplomb, vulnerability, laughter, truth, balance, and ultimately, a deeply undeniable spirit.
Jamie Wang is stand-up comedian originally from Shanghai. She has been living on and off in Taipei for the past 6 or 7 years, where she is completing her master degree in philosophy at National Taiwan University. While she's still here, you can find her performing at Two Three Comedy, Taiwan's greatest bilingual comedy club.

In this Tomb Sweeping episode of Firelight Chats, Sam Yarborough invisibly soared his way to the Spacelab to chat comedy with Kane, Mocha, and two special ladies by the fireside. Sam shares stories about drinking his way into a top Canadian university, dropping out of law school, beach bumming in Busan, touring all around Taiwan in a surf bus, getting heckled and losing the crowd, becoming buddies & partners with Taiwan's most famous comedian, performing around Asia, woke culture, ChatGPT, his comedy Mt. Rushmore, and opening a comedy club in the capital city.
In a spirited FireLightNing Round of rapid questions, Sam does his best to outwit his friends at the Formosa Improv Group and almost sings Seal's Kiss from a Rose. Before dropping the mic, he offers some encouraging advice to young aspiring comics in Taiwan.
Sam Yarborough is the funny man behind Two Three Comedy, Taipei's first, only, and greatest bilingual comedy club. The next big show, featuring the great Ron Josol, will take place on Saturday, April 15th, and just to ready oneself properly for the show, it is recommended to practice coming in to the club every day until and after that.

In this early morning episode of Firelight Chats, Chef Enrico Negrini grilled his way to the Spacelab to chat food, surf, life, and death with Kane & Mocha by the fireside. In this oceanic chat, the pair connect on topics like learning to adapt, war stories from the kitchen, control & balance, mental health, discovering surfing, Fiorentina steaks, the Chef's Table, philosophy of service & helping others, the Taiwanese restaurant scene, working at Michelin-starred restaurants, the power of community, the importance of fire, the necessity of salt, and dreams of opening a small omakase joint when his hair is fully grey.
To cap off the episode, they attempt to engage in a FireLightNing Round of rapid questions, but it may or may not have transformed into a natural continuation of their philosophical banter. The two masters of their respective crafts pay respect to each other like two stoic martial artists, bowing deeply and knowing full well that their paths will soon cross again.
Chef Enrico Negrini is the maestro behind three of Taipei's most talked about Italian restaurants: DiVino, DiVino Enoteca, and Fo.Co.So. Hailing from both Brazil and Italy, he now lives in Taipei with his wife, two dogs, and can be found surfing early in the morning at his favorite beach in Wanli.

In this early morning episode of Firelight Chats, Denis Chang strummed his way to the Spacelab to jam with Kane & Mocha by the fireside. The trio improvise about everything from growing up in Canada, attending a French school, discovering music, learning about Django Reinhardt, becoming obsessed with gypsy jazz, training with Sinti in a caravan, language learning & acquisition, performing & teaching around the world, to philosophical questions about the importance of understanding culture when engaging in artistic pursuits.
Denis also shares stories about initiating a successful protest to change restrictive policies towards taking musical instruments onto the Taiwan MRT system, launching a new jam session format at Taipei Blue Note, and what he thinks about Taiwan's music scene, young musicians, and the system that subsumes and often shapes them. At the end, they play a spirited Firelightning Round and the episode closes with a full jazzy track from his band.
Denis Chang is originally from Montreal, Canada, born to Taiwanese parents who fled an authoritarian regime. A professional musician and Taiwan Gold Card holder, he is currently living in Japan on an Artist Visa. He will be returning to Taiwan in October of this year to perform at the Taipei Gypsy Jazz Festival with his band, Duved and his Transatlantic Five.

In this good morning episode of Firelight Chats, Jason Cole Mager ruminated his way to the Spacelab to chat with Kane & Mocha by the fireside about art and life. Recently married and smack dab in the middle of his first solo exhibition in Taiwan, the three take a tranquil time out together to ponder art, music, movies, money, masks, love, history, culture, NYC, family, education, politics, symbols, color, and memories.
At the end of the episode, Kane engages Jason in a Firelightning round, which leads to additional insights, reflections, preferences, smiles, code names, and otherwise frivolous banter.
Jason Cole Mager is a NYC-based artist who has been living and working out of Taiwan. Originally from the Midwest, Jason studied in Indianapolis, Michigan, and Boston and has earned an MFA from Hunter College. His first solo exhibition, entitled "To Taiwan," is currently showing at the 99 Degree Art Center in Beitou (March 4-26th, 2023).

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Indri Leonardi calmly stormed into the Spacelab on a glorious night to chat with Kane & Mocha by the fireside about life, love, death, and everything betwixt and between. Laughing joyously throughout the episode over stories about Indonesia, language, ethnicity, religion, saving & spending money, graduate school, expensively honing her craft, crying through her Meisner class, dating apps, memorable swipes & secret gardens, financial planning, the importance of food, Chinese and Taiwanese culture, family pressure, and the problem with over loving someone, they chat deeply and earnestly about the ups and downs of life.
From an appetizing beef rendang ASMR experience to an acapella ode to Indomie instant noodles, Indri shows her range and indomitable spirit on the mic. As a bonus, she belts out another Indonesian and one English song, both also acapella, and still had enough power at the end of the episode to engage in a Firelightning Round. Indri makes several public pleas throughout the episode, and we can only hope that they not only go answered, but that they do so with commensurate style and fancy abundance.
Indri Leonardi is originally from Medan but grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia, but has been living in Taiwan for the past 9 years. She is a graduate of NCCU, works for an Indonesia company in Taipei, and is the star of Susanne Palm's upcoming film, The Bonus Daughter.

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Anthony van Dyck swung by the Spacelab to reminisce about his 34 years in Taiwan. With his Taiwanniversary FB post serving as the springboard, Anthony regaled Kane & Mocha with tales of yesteryear, including the English teaching & buxiban business, long work weeks, Taiwanese Chiayi gangsters, Taekwondo black belts, becoming involved with the famous Forumosa website before it was even called that, and images of trash heaps, stray dogs, serious pollution, taxi cartels, flying cars, manual censorship solutions, fun yet dangerous rooftop amusements parks, pachinko parlors & free cigarettes, bootleg movie cubicles, pre-movie propaganda clips, frozen shoulders, and having a pizza named after him.
While meandering down memory boulevard, Kane & Anthony took their opportunities to digress down other quaint alleyways as well, chatting about military service in Taiwan, Chinese language learning, emotional release, the best yoga studios in Taipei, working on the Taoyuan Airport MRT line, midlife crises and finding love again, and his hopes for dual citizenship between the two countries that have become an integral part of him. At the end of the episode, Kane engages a tired Anthony in a hot and fast-paced Firelightning Round, which he ends up sweating out with grace, serenity, and aplomb.
Anthony van Dyck is originally from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He is a proud single father of two Taiwanese daughters, a founding member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, and runs several FB groups for expats, including Second Saturday Social and Taipei Curry Council.

In this evening episode of Firelight Chats, Susanne Palm smiled her way to the Spacelab to chat about the intersections of Sweden & Taiwan with Kane & Mocha by the fireside. Having first visited Taiwan in 1984, she shares some stories about her early days in Taiwan, her theatre and acting experiences, her favorite places & people, unfortunate events, coincidences and fate, earthquakes, and her transition from theatre to filmmaking, including her short films Love Ghost, Ghostlove, Ghostfree, and the upcoming Bonus Daughter. Ghostlove has been officially selected to over 60 film festivals around the world and has taken home 25 nominations and 18 awards.
On the Swedish side, Susanne also talks about her 11-year-old dreams of being a journalist, becoming the elephant, circus, and rock music reporter for the local newspaper at 15 years old, interviewing the Prime Minister of Sweden as an 18-year-old, religions and traditions, politics, culture, nature, the education system, and being a Swedish teacher.
Susanne Palm is originally from Gothenburg, Sweden and has lived in Denmark, France, Ireland, the UK, & Taiwan. She can be found on Instagram @swedishsuz & @loveghostfilm.