#77 Jenny Chan: The Questions We Didn't Ask Our Grandmothers

"The most powerful questions aren't really the ones that demand an answer, but really demand a presence." - Jenny Chan

"The most powerful questions aren't really the ones that demand an answer, but really demand a presence." - Jenny Chan

Jenny Chan founded Pacific Atrocities Education after her grandmother's death surfaced a box of wartime relics of military yen, rice rationing coupons, and decades of unexplained anger toward Japanese culture. That inheritance of unasked questions launched Jenny into the hidden history of the Pacific Asian War: comfort women, Unit 731's biological experimentation program, and the postwar immunity deals that let war criminals become CEOs and prime ministers.

Jenny's research method centers on presence before inquiry. Sitting with survivors long enough to earn the right to ask hard questions. She sees historical memory not as a burden but as an essential context for understanding today's geopolitical decisions. Her work with survivors, students, and Japanese citizens seeking truth suggests that healing begins when forgotten stories are finally allowed to be told.

This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com.

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Episode Notes

00:00 Missing History Gap

00:22 Questions as Presence

00:50 Subscribe and Support

01:24 Show Opening Quotes

02:23 Meet Jenny Chan

03:54 Grandma’s War Box

04:46 School Narratives Challenged

05:42 Why China’s Gap

06:10 Healing Through Asking

08:16 Grandma’s Yen Mystery

09:57 From Curiosity to Mission

13:06 Interviewing Survivors

17:04 Stories Before Death

20:03 Defining Comfort Women

21:00 Inside Unit 731

24:09 Postwar Immunity Deals

33:22 Dehumanization Seeds Genocide

34:45 Gaza Dehumanization Pain

35:24 Philippines Freedom Betrayed

37:09 Rebels To Empire Shift

38:38 Debt And Empire Decline

39:33 Dynasties Fall Patterns

40:33 Bad Questions About Atrocities

42:05 History Trauma Shapes Politics

43:16 Carrying Stories And Healing

46:45 Memorializing With Empathy

48:50 Youth Hope And Open Minds

50:28 Japanese Truth And War Legacy

53:34 America Abroad And Blowback

55:12 Curiosity Rabbit Holes Research

58:12 History Repeats And Media Spin

01:05:14 Right Now Questions And Wrap