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This week marks the close of International Masturbation Month. Dedicating time to celebrate masturbation may seem trivial, but the month has political roots that are particularly significant given the current attempts to repress sexual freedom and bodily autonomy.

Mark Padoongpatt has written on Thai-American foodways, Asian-American Suburbia, and is currently researching the history of Asian restaurant health inspections in the United States. Coral and Mark discuss the history of Asian migration to the suburbs, the impact of Asian-dominated strip malls, and who these public spaces really serve.

For Kris Yenbamroong, the timeline of Talesai — his family’s Thai eatery on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles — is intimately tied with his own life: It opened its doors in 1982, the year he was born.

A week ago, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation put the entire state of Nevada on its Dirty Dozen list for sexual exploitation.

When you ask anyone about good food off the Strip, you're definitely going to hear about Thai food. Everyone has a favorite — Komol, Weera, Lotus of Siam. How did the cuisine become popular in Las Vegas, and why does it have such staying power? Turns out clever marketing , government intervention and a glowing Jonathan Gold review go a long way. We talk to Lotus of Siam Chef Saipin Chutima, Asian Studies Professor Mark Padoongpatt and the kind members of Chaiya Meditation Monastery, a hub for Las Vegas' Thai community.

Lynn Comella, an associate professor of gender and sexuality studies at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ, said she doesn’t know details of the interactions between the company and show organizers. But, she said, rescinding the award may suggest not just gender bias, but a lack of awareness by show organizers about what’s happening in the world of sex tech.

In the past 15 years the Thai population in America has doubled in size, and it’s a community that opens a lot of restaurants. In fact, if you’re just looking at the ratio to a community’s population, there are ten times more Thai than Mexican restaurants in the United States. We wanted to know how Thai restaurants first became popular in the U.S. and what fueled their spread across the country. You might be surprised to find the Thai government and Hollywood had a lot to do with it. Francis Lam talked with Padoongpatt, a professor of Asian and Asian American studies at University of Nevada Las Vegas, and the author of Flavors of Empire: Food and the Making of Thai America. Mark also gave us a list of suggested Thai restaurant that we've included below.

Since the 1960s, the right has explained away black Democrats by denying them agency.

While Los Angeles’ Thai Town may be diminutive in size, only occupying a half-mile stretch in East Hollywood, its existence has been symbolic and influential in Thai culture on a much grander scale, locally and transnationally. As the first officially recognized Thai Town in the nation, and located in a city with the largest Thai population outside of Thailand, this designated area has grown into a hub of culture.

The biggest and perhaps best source of data about what people like to watch on the internet and what they would pay for doesn’t come from streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Hulu. It comes from porn.

As a gay Latina growing up in Chicago, the only time Dr. Erika Gisela Abad would see someone like herself on a television screen was if she happened to catch her reflection.

On a gritty stretch of road, a stone’s throw from the Las Vegas Strip, sits the Erotic Heritage Museum. A cavernous 24,000 square-foot space, the building is filled with erotic art, artifacts and exhibits that run the gamut from educational to political to whimsical.