Buddhism · Axis Mundi Media + IRMCE

Between Qi and Science: My Experience of What Can't Be Measured

by Axis Mundi Media + IRMCE

Can healing be real if science can't measure it? Between Qi and Science: My Experience of What Can’t Be Measured is a six-episode audio memoir about qi, Chinese medicine, and the limits of Western biomedicine. It follows a Cantonese immigrant sweatshop worker who became a self-taught community healer in Brooklyn's Coney Island. His son, Dr. Kin Cheung, a scholar of religion and Buddhism, takes us on the journey of living with and learning from his father.  The story starts with a teenage encounter with qigong (hei gong). From there it traces the sweatshop labor, poverty, and immigration that shaped a "wounded healer." Later episodes dig into acupuncture, placebo research, and the politics of "traditional medicine." Other episodes cover Asian American masculinity and stereotypes, and the challenge of holding mainstream medicine, Chinese healing practices, and Buddhism as equally real. The series blends personal narrative, oral history, and religious studies scholarship. It's for listeners interested in alternative medicine, Asian American stories, religion and science, and healing and grief across generations. Brought to you by Axis Mundi Media, Between Qi and Science is a limited series from the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement (IRMCE), in collaboration with the Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative (APARRI) through generous funding from the Henry Luce Foundation as part of the Under Gods project.  Host: Dr. Kin Cheung Executive Producer: Dr. Bradley Onishi Producer: Andrew Gill Original Music, Scoring, and Engineering: Scott Okamoto Story Editor: Dr. Leah Payne Production Assistance: Kari Onishi Cover Art: Eric Zwierzynski