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Chase Melton

Mentioned 5 times across 1 podcast this week

This Week's Pulse

Chase Melton appeared as a guest on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast on May 12, 2026, to interview novelist Ocean Vuong. Host Glennon Doyle framed the episode as a deep dive into the nature of motherhood, noting that the conversation was, "without a doubt, in my top five."

During the interview, Chase Melton pressed Ocean Vuong on the specific emotional complexities of his literary career, asking about a moment when his mother expressed pride that, "she was just so happy to see all these old white people clapping for you."

The conversation took a turn toward the broader pressures placed on young Asian men, with Ocean Vuong directly addressing Chase Melton regarding the visibility of his identity. He questioned the tendency for society to recognize that demographic only through tragedy, asking, "is my only way to traffic in the world, is my only way of being recognized is when I'm in pain?"

Where it's discussed

(BEST OF) Mothers & Sons with Ocean Vuong and Chase Melton

We Can Do Hard Things

Glennon Doyleneutralfrom “Ocean Vuong on Motherhood and Masculinity”

Glennon Doyle's son who joins the conversation to interview his hero, Ocean Vuong.

“Pod Squad, welcome back to our Best Of series. The conversation we're sharing with you today is, without a doubt, in my top five. Today, we're doing a mothers and sons episode, but not in the way we've been taught to think about mothers and sons. This conversa…”

Chase Meltonneutralfrom “Ocean Vuong on Death, Art, and Asian American Identity”

The interviewer discussing Vuong's relationship with his mother and his literary work.

“Oh, yeah. Speaking of your mother, so she came to your first reading, and I think one of the stories you've told was how afterwards she came, uh, or you came up to her, and she was crying, and she said she was just so happy to see all these old white people cl…”

Ocean Vuongneutralfrom “Asian American Identity and Visibility”

Addressed as a young Asian man navigating the world and the pressure of being recognized only through pain.

“U- until s- another killing spree happens, and I think that is, is, um, a, a, a sad, you know, moment, uh, for any writer, and I think it's difficult, especially for the children of, of, uh, Asian parents or young folks like you, Chase, who are Asian yourself.…”

Chase Meltonneutralfrom “Navigating Racial Identity and Access”

Discusses his experience as a quarter-Japanese man navigating mixed-race identity and the process of unpacking past racial trauma.

“It's very interesting. I'm only a quarter Japanese, so sometimes I do some self-gaslighting in, um, wondering how much I've actually experienced, and so there's that, which is, of course, also very complicated. But I don't know. It's, it's really interesting. …”

Glennon Doylepositivefrom “Ocean Vuong on Motherhood, Language, and Literature”

Glennon Doyle's son, who found personal resonance and guidance in Ocean Vuong's writing.

“I just wanna... I don't know how I'm gonna say this, 'cause I wasn't planning to say this, but I, I'm thinking about the years before Chase and I had had conversations about what it was like for him to be Japanese in the world, and to be the only non-white pas…”