Loïc reflects on growing up in France, where healthcare and education are treated as rights, not luxuries, and what it felt like to open his first American medical bill. He shares the conspiracy theory he has chosen to believe: that the people in power are energy vampires who feed on anger and attention. His conclusion is that living a joyful life is the biggest act of rebellion available to us right now.

Miyoko traces her complicated relationship with politics, from a family that stayed quiet through the Japanese American incarceration to the day she became campaign manager for her high school's first Black student body president, and the local newspaper that then printed an article full of things she never said. She shares the Japanese Buddhist concept of Shikata Ga Nai: it cannot be helped, so let us endure with humility, courage, and strength.

And then there is Richard, who worked in San Francisco General's first AIDS ward in the early eighties, before anyone knew what AIDS was, and the psychic who told him decades later that the young men were still there, and they wanted to say thank you.

Also: competency is sexy, diva energy is not traditionally Japanese, and Loïc was mean-girled by a straight man on the first day of Pride.

Culturally Distressed is the podcast where a French gay millennial and a Japanese American baby boomer figure out what it means to belong, one culturally distressing moment at a time. Hosted by Loïc Pichot and Miyoko Sakatani.

Loic kicks things off with updates on his stand-up comedy journey, including a surprise appearance by Conan O'Brien at his favorite queer comedy night in Silver Lake. Miyoko shares her experience as an honorary participant in Lunar New Year celebrations, as a Japanese American welcomed into the Chinese community.

Then the conversation gets interesting. The theme is fetishes, and both hosts quickly realize they came in with very different definitions. Miyoko opens up about the three years she spent in a rural cottage, completely off the grid, immersing herself in spirituality, metaphysics, hypnotherapy, rebirthing, and every alternative healing path she could find. Loic shares what it's like to be fetishized for his French accent on dating apps, and how that's found its way into his sketch comedy.

Miyoko also recounts an uncomfortable moment at an intimacy workshop where someone revealed they had a fetish for Asian women, and both hosts reflect on the difference between being desired for who you are versus what you represent. Plus: Loic's theory that Patrick has a fetish for comedians, professional mourners, and why Loic wants a drag queen to death drop at his funeral someday.

Culturally distressing, spiritually grounding, and surprisingly funny.

Culturally Distressed is hosted by Miyoko Sakatani and Loic Pichot.

We kick things off with Miyoko sharing the glow of finishing her one-woman show about the overlooked Japanese American activist Mitsue Endo, and Loic heading back to the stand-up stage, including a queer open mic at The Eagle.

Then we dive deep into Miyoko and Richard's love story: two nurses who met through an independent nursing registry, became best friends for years before they realized something more was brewing, and yes, everyone around them could tell before they could.

We talk about navigating an interracial relationship, living in sin when families disapproved, and the wisdom that comes from 32 years of marriage and 40 years of friendship. Richard shares his golden rules for a lasting relationship: I statements, vulnerability, and the magic of daily belly laughs. Plus scheduled cuddle time, pony rides, and why showing love is more powerful than just saying it.

Loic closes things out with his own culturally distressed moment: being perpetually mistaken for straight thanks to a certain French accent, and the time he moved to the US and thought every bro was gay.

Valentine's Day may have been last week, but love is always on time. 💕

Culturally Distressed is hosted by Miyoko Sakatani and Loic Pichot.

From ukuleles to airplane chaos, from heritage to humor, it’s an episode about finding grace in the mess, and laughing through the turbulence.

We dig into the inner saboteur: that voice that tells you the arts aren't for people like you, that you're not smart enough, not connected enough, not from the right place. Loic opens up about growing up in rural France where theater felt like another world, and Miyoko shares the moment her mother's offhand comment about nursing school became the fuel that pushed her through it.

We also talk generational trauma, late bloomers, and why connecting back to joy might be the only real antidote to self-doubt.Plus: Loic's improv class is finally a place where being French is celebrated, not explained. And Miyoko's ukulele band reminded a room full of strangers that music makes us more alike than different.

Culturally Distressed is a podcast about cultural identity, generational differences, and the confusion in between, hosted by French-American comedian Loic Pichot and second-generation Japanese American Miyoko Sakatani.

They talk breakups, rebirths, and breathwork with a detour into clothing-optional retreats, primal screams, and a chaotic run-in with demon twinks from Minnesota.

A heartfelt, funny conversation about finding balance between faith and self-love, and learning to laugh at the mess along the way.

They discuss the impact of cultural identity on their artistic journeys, the importance of representation in the arts, and the challenges they face in navigating cultural expectations. The conversation also touches on their friendship, collaboration in creative projects, and the moments of cultural distress they experience in their lives.

Through humor and vulnerability, they reflect on the complexities of identity and the importance of embracing one's unique experiences.

From there, the conversation goes deep on where the comedy instinct actually comes from, French TV sketches, Buddhist household humor, tragedy as fuel, and the surprisingly thin line between a love language and a roast. They also recap the live show, talk about laughter as a coping mechanism, and float the idea of the world's most unexpected podcast sponsor.

Culturally Distressed is the podcast where a French gay millennial and a Japanese American baby boomer figure out what it means to belong, one culturally distressing moment at a time. Hosted by Loic Pichot and Miyoko Sakatani.

From there, the conversation takes a turn toward the earth, literally. With Earth Day on the mind, Miyoko traces her relationship with nature back to her family's farming roots in rural Hiroshima, and shares the Japanese concept of mottainai: the art of not wasting, and the quiet reverence for everything the earth provides. Loïc opens up about his six years as a vegetarian, his hunter father's complicated relationship with the land, and the one time he was handed a stick and sent into the French countryside to help flush out game. He did not help.

Birth order, Buddhist dads, baby sheep, glaciers, and a brief but important lesson in English pronunciation round out the episode.

Culturally Distressed is the podcast where a French gay millennial and a Japanese American baby boomer figure out what it means to belong, one culturally distressing moment at a time. Hosted by Loïc Pichot and Miyoko Sakatani.

This week: idioms. Miyoko grew up in a Japanese-only household where American expressions were nowhere to be found, then married into a family that speaks almost entirely in them. She still finds them mildly infuriating. Why say the ball is in your court when you can just say what you mean? Loïc, eleven years into American life, thought his English was solid until he spent an entire improv set using toss a salad as a business catchphrase without knowing what it meant. The audience loved it.

From there, the two go head to head: Miyoko throws American idioms at Loïc, Loïc translates French ones back. Highlights include fingers in the nose, raining like a cow is peeing, putting a rabbit on someone, and the birth of a brand new idiom that may or may not catch on.

Also: Miyoko produced, directed, and performed in a webinar reading of Tokyo Rose, the true story of a Japanese American woman wrongly convicted of treason. Her ukulele band played This Land Is Your Land at an assisted living facility, not knowing Woody Guthrie's son was in the audience. And Loïc has feelings about American vacation culture.

Culturally Distressed is the podcast where a French gay millennial and a Japanese American baby boomer figure out what it means to belong, one culturally distressing moment at a time. Hosted by Loïc Pichot and Miyoko Sakatani.

Loïc, meanwhile, had a moment at board game night. Tasked with reading the rules out loud, he confidently announced that everyone needed a sheet of paper. Nobody heard sheet.

From there, the conversation goes deep. Kids, legacy, and what it means to build a family outside the blueprint society hands you. Loïc opens up about burying his dream of becoming a dad when he came to terms with his sexuality, and how living in LA helped him reclaim it. Miyoko reflects on a lifetime of being asked when she was having children, her brother who once put her in a box on the front porch hoping the mailman would take her away, and what legacy looks like when it has nothing to do with having kids.

Also: 12 years of Japanese Saturday school, twin gays, French school in LA, and the white sheep of the family.

Culturally Distressed is the podcast where a French gay millennial and a Japanese American baby boomer figure out what it means to belong, one culturally distressing moment at a time. Hosted by Loïc Pichot and Miyoko Sakatani.

Loic, meanwhile, breaks down his own awkward journey, performing straightness for girls and dating women. Together, they talk about identity, secrecy, and the strange roles we learn to play before we understand who we actually are. It’s an honest, funny conversation about growing up, figuring yourself out, and laughing at the versions of ourselves that didn’t quite work.

Miyoko recalls boarding an ocean liner in her 20s and falling into a full-on Love Boat romance with a mysterious “James Bond” type, only to later learn what common law chaos really means. Meanwhile, Loic shares how a divorce, a move to LA, and a bleach blonde reinvention era led him to rediscover joy, spirituality, and eventually… an engagement.

Also in this episode:

- meeting a real gigolo in Spain

- TikTok algorithms sabotaging queer joy

- straight comedians and bad gay jokes

Whether you’ve loved a spy, survived a breakup, or dyed your hair as a personality reset, this one’s for you.

Miyoko opens up about discovering she’s an empath and how that shaped her relationship with celebration and family. Loic shares how living between France and the U.S. turned his holiday season into a cultural marathon, and why hearing “All I Want for Christmas Is You” in November is his personal nightmare.

Together, they reflect on found family, the politics of the dinner table, and how empathy can both heal and exhaust us during “the most wonderful time of the year."

Between hangovers, movie debates, and reflections on representation, the duo unwrap the intersections of identity, art, and celebration, from holiday performances to queer cinema to the quiet ways we all search for belonging.

From Mrs. Claus to oversized cabernets, from cultural hangovers to holiday cheer, it’s an episode about indulgence, identity, and finding laughter in the middle of December madness.