Across 135th Street – Staying Positive with Hua Hsu

Writer Hua Hsu began his career in the ’90s Bay Area, penning his musings on indie music in self-published zines with handles like *Hella*. Now an associate professor in the English department at Vassar College and author (*A Floating Chinaman: Fantasy & Failure Across the Pacific*), he’s also one of the most esteemed critical voices of our time. Hua’s work has appeared in such editorial outlets as *The Fader*, *Slate*, *The Paris Review* and *The New Yorker*, for whom he wrote a biting post-2016 election piece, “What Normalization Means.” As the world inaugurates a new era of geopolitical uncertainty, Hua – at the behest of friend and fellow vinyl obsessive, Across 135th Street host Jeff Mao – delves into his record collection for an escape from despair. The result: a batch of tunes evoking positive thoughts only.