Atsuko Okatsuka | My Kidnapper, My Best Friend

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Before Atsuko Okatsuka became an internationally renowned comedian, sold-out performer, and one of the most unique voices in stand-up, she was a quiet eight-year-old girl living in a garage in Los Angeles, undocumented and confused, trying to make sense of why her grandmother had taken her from Japan and why her father never came to get her. In this deeply personal and unguarded conversation, the trailblazing comic sits down with David Begnaud to share the story of the woman who believed in her when no one else could, and how that belief came wrapped in complexity, sacrifice, and what Atsuko calls minor tiny criminal activities. Atsuko opens up about being born in Taiwan, delivered by an…