Students in Dr. Beatty’s “Podcasting the Past” course in Spring 2024 conducted original research on the Golden Venture crisis of the 1990s and produced a podcast series entitled Golden Dreams.
Consisting of 8 episodes, Golden Dreams explores various aspects of the experiences of Chinese asylum seekers before, during, and after their journey on the Golden Venture.
All episodes, transcripts, and show notes–all written and produced by the students–are available below, and will be available on all major podcast platforms/apps on May 17, 2024.
Episode 1: Introduction In this introductory episode to Golden Dreams, we acquaint you with the story of the Golden Venture and its passengers. We also provide a breakdown of what will be covered in each episode of the series and the questions we hope to answer.
Episode 2: Ship Kayla Buchanan and Sydney Slack review the reasons compelling the Golden Venture passengers to leave China and seek out a new life in the United States. An interview with Zehou Zhou allowed us to better understand various aspects of their journey, including the part the snakeheads played in the voyage and the terrible conditions the passengers experienced on the ship itself.
Episode 3: Freedom Eagle Shane Mundis and Sara Purdon take a look at the harsh environment of detainment the immigrants experienced over four years. To understand such situations, noteworthy figures such as former judge Craig Trebilcock, Harriet Miller, and Joan Maruskin, each give their views and experiences on the matter.
Episode 4: Greeting Card Sara Bokus and Katie O’Neill dive into the gender issues of the Golden Venture and the treatment of the female passengers in detainment. They interview community leader Demian Yumei to get her insight on the treatment of women in detention centers and how they attempted to fight back against these conditions.
Episode 5: Tower of Gratitude Benjamin Werkley, Zach Grossman, and Dalton Emig explore the experience of the lawyers that worked with the Golden Venture passengers seeking asylum. They interview Jeff Lobach, Craig Trebilcock, Frank Countess, and Margo Murray to gain a better understanding of the obstacles they faced in learning and implementing immigration law against an intimidating opponent: the federal government.
Episode 6: Owl Laila Brown and Jeffery Parris examine the response of the York community to the Golden Venture, through an interview with Reverend Joan Mauskin and Zehao Zhou. This episode evaluates the impact of community engagement and activism, and how a single cause can bring a divided community together.
Episode 7: Statues of Liberty Alaina Crowell and Ryn Johnson cover the political landscape on which the Golden Venture saga takes place. By looking at immigration policy leading up to the 1990s, they argue that the Golden Venture says just as much about immigration today as it did thirty years ago.
Episode 8: Caged Eagle As we wrap up Golden Dreams, we walk you through the pardon and release of the Golden Venture passengers. We also recap some of the series and explain why this story is so important for American immigration policy today.