Spent Saturday at the Festival of AAPI Books, a perfect way to celebrate our heritage month. If you wanna learn more about how our diasporas took shape, my book “Concepcion” explores colonialism’s legacy thru the story of my Filipino family’s migration: penguinrandomhouse.com/books…

If Pacquiao’s story chronicles the desperation forged in the post-colonial wreckage, Eala’s embodies the ambition to vault into a world the former colonizers had built for themselves. samaha.substack.com/p/mabuha…

Dispatch from the US Open final, where Ben Shelton fell short of a title but leaves Queens as America’s next tennis superstar: wapo.st/4AfXpre

A dispatch from the US Open, a noisy culture clash of serious fans and casual spectators: wapo.st/4A2vHOx

This week's book review: Concepcion by Albert Samaha, a story about an immigrant family that incorporates the history of the Philippines and the US. Well-researched, informative and personal. A discovery. @riverheadbooks @AlbertSamaha talking-about-books.com/2026…

Alexandra Eala, the 21-year-old tennis sensation from the Philippines, has been drawing Filipinos to tournaments in Melbourne, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, D.C., Toronto and elsewhere, part of a sprawling diaspora eager to rally around her. wapo.st/4zTb8nA

Essential reading on Alea Eala! Ealamania coverage by @AlbertSamaha, one of the most talented Filipino American journalists working today. Follow him. ⤵️

Alex Eala’s fans are an unstoppable force of Filipino joy blasting into an immovable wall of tennis tradition. “Sorry we’re loud,” read a sign at this year’s U.S. Open. “We’re Filipino.” My dispatch from last night: wapo.st/4h67Eqj

Why do so many Filipinos come out to support Alex Eala? Fans I spoke with cited the virtues of kapwa and bayanihan — products of a history that has left us hungry for solidarity. Wrote about the roots of Eala mania 🇵🇭 for the @NewYorker: newyorker.com/culture/the-le…

Everywhere that the Filipino tennis star Alexandra Eala plays, legions of fans follow, often waving the Philippine flag and signs in Tagalog (“Laban, Alex!”). Eala mania, people call it, and the 21-year-old athlete, who is currently ranked 18th in the world, has embraced her role as ambassador. In online videos, she lists puto bumbong as one of her favorite Filipino foods, argues that the resort island Boracay isn’t overrated, shares that she named one of her (pig) slippers Chicharrón, and proclaims her love for karaoke. Read more about how Eala became a symbol of the Philippines: newyorkermag.visitlink.me/uv…

Spoke with Alex Eala’s teachers, coaches, and fans for this @NewYorker story about how she has risen through a sport dominated by wealthier countries: newyorker.com/culture/the-le…

“It’s inspiring to see somebody who looks like you, talks like you, be in the kind of places we’ve never been in before,” one tennis fan said, about the 21-year-old Filipino athlete Alexandra Eala. Read more about Eala mania. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/6B…

Wrote about how football coaches are adapting to concerns about CTE: wapo.st/4gJe4uf

At only 21, the tennis phenom Alex Eala is likely already the best-ever player from Southeast Asia. Now she is seeking her first Grand Slam title at this summer’s U.S. Open. newyorker.com/culture/the-le…

Wrote about why Alex Eala means so much to Filipinos: newyorker.com/culture/the-le…

Wrote about people trying to get last-minute World Cup Final tickets outside the stadium: wapo.st/4pqGVY0

Trump booed at the World Cup Final

“England fans were anxious about coming to Mexico. What they encountered was a soccer lover’s paradise inhabited by kindred spirits.” Wrote about the bonds forged in Mexico City last weekend: wapo.st/44qfdB7

First time since 1990 the World Cup’s four semifinalists are all former champions

How are visiting soccer fans experiencing their World Cup vacation in Trump’s America? I spoke with more than 100 fans from more than a dozen countries, including some on the travel ban list. Here’s my story in @NewYorker newyorker.com/sports/world-c…

My dispatch from Mexico City, where I embedded with the lads: wapo.st/4f26FVZ