Sandra Tsing Loh (, born February 11, 1962) is an American writer, actress, radio personality, and former professor of art at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

Life and career

Loh is the younger daughter of a

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

father and a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

mother. She was raised in Malibu,

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, and after attending Malibu Park Junior High School was bused South to

Santa Monica High School Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to Samohi or SMHS, is a public high school in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Bo ...

, where she was active in the computer-and-engineering-related "Olive Starlight Orchestra" and founded the performance-arts group and civic volunteer organization "Young Bureaucrats, Of Course (YBOC)". She also played violin in the Samohi school orchestra. Loh graduated from

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private university, private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small g ...

with a BS in

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

; she returned in 2005 to deliver its

commencement speech In the United States, a commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions and in similar institutions around the ...

. She is also a graduate of the

Master of Professional Writing Program A Master of Professional Writing Program is a type of graduate degree program in professional writing. Chatham University in Pennsylvania has an online MPW program. The University of Southern California's MPW program ended in May 2016, at which poin ...

at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. Her early career as a performance artist included a piano concert on a freeway overpass in

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

, and one in which she distributed hundreds of one-dollar-bills. She went on to perform a number of well-received autobiographical one-woman shows, in which she developed a particular form of

observational humor Observational comedy is a form of humor based on the commonplace aspects of everyday life. It is one of the main types of humor in stand-up comedy. In an observational comedy act, the comedian makes an observation about something which is common eno ...

. A writer for the publication ''Asian American Playwrights'' called Loh "a multifaceted artist'". Her piano recordings of her original compositions that were made during the late 1980s were labeled "a cross between

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever. From early in his career, fellow musicians acclaimed Tatum's technical ability as extraordinary. Tatum a ...

and

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

". A writer for ''The New York Times'' called Loh "perpetual darling of the ever-beleaguered Los Angeles intelligentsia and constant candidate for that publishers' holy grail, the female David Sedaris". Loh gained some national notoriety when

KCRW KCRW (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an NPR member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programming ...

canceled her weekly radio commentary, ''The Loh Life'', after an engineer neglected to

bleep Bleep may refer to: * Bleep sound, a noise, generally of a single tone, often generated by a machine ** Bleep censor, the replacement of offensive language (swear words) or personal details with a beep sound ** Bleep techno, a Yorkshire-born subgen ...

her on-air utterance of the word "

fuck ''Fuck'' () is profanity in the English language that often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested ...

" during a segment on

knitting Knitting is a method for production of textile Knitted fabric, fabrics by interlacing yarn loops with loops of the same or other yarns. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done Hand knitting, by hand or Knitting machi ...

that aired on 22 February 2004. ''The Loh Life'' was soon after picked up by the other Los Angeles NPR affiliate, KPCC. She is also the host of ''The Loh Down on Science,'' a daily science oriented radio show, and was a regular commentator on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's ''

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 a ...

'', PRI's ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is ...

'', American Public Media's ''

Marketplace A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...

'', and other

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

programs. She has some versatility as a radio personality in that many of her programs, some of which air at the same time, are aimed at a different radio audience. As an example, Loh would use humor to publicize a recent but serious scientific discovery on ''The Loh Down on Science'' series while she would make a humorous comment on a current business topic on her segment on ''Marketplace''. Loh is the author of several books, including the semi-autobiographical ''A Year in Van Nuys''. She has also written reviews of books about parenting,

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, and several other topics for ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'', where she is a regular contributor. Loh appeared in yet another one-woman show, "Mother on Fire," at the 24th Street Theatre in Los Angeles between October 2005 and March 2006. She made a brief cameo appearance in the 2006 film ''

Unaccompanied Minors ''Unaccompanied Minors'' (also known as ''Grounded'' in the United Kingdom and Ireland) is a 2006 Christmas comedy film directed by Paul Feig and starring Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, Brett Kelly ...

''. She is featured in the book ''Part Asian, 100% Hapa'' by artist

Kip Fulbeck Lawrence Keith "Kip" Fulbeck is an American artist, spoken word performer, filmmaker and author. Fulbeck's work explores identity politics. His mixed race ethnic background is English, Welsh, Irish and Cantonese. He is best known for his work a ...

. In reviewing Loh's 2008 book ''Mother on Fire'' for the ''

New York Times Sunday Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'',

Pamela Paul Pamela Paul (born 1971 or 1972) is an American journalist, correspondent, editor, and author. She is writer at large for The Wall Street Journal.https://www.leighbureau.com/speakers/ppaulhttps://www.pamelapaul.comhttps://x.com/BenMullin/status/ ...

wrote that she "was in awe of

oh's Honey Ohs! (previously Oh's!, Ohs, or Honey Graham Ohs) is a breakfast cereal made by Post Cereals, but originally introduced by the Quaker Oats Company. The original Oh's! cereal was introduced in 1980 by the Quaker Oats Company and came in two ...

quippy brilliance" and that Loh's writing ability "is no less than a feat of genius". Loh wrote about her divorce in a 2009 article for ''The Atlantic'', where she has been a contributing writer for several years, focusing mostly on parenting and family issues. She explained at the time that, as a parent and full-time writer, "I did not have the strength to 'work on' falling in love again in our marriage." She also admitted to cheating on her husband. Loh's essay, "The Bitch Is Back," which first appeared in ''The Atlantic'', was selected a Best American Essay for the 2012 edition of the Best American Essays series. In 2014, Loh published ''The Madwoman in the Volvo: My Year of Raging Hormones,'' and was profiled in ''The New York Times''. Loh adapted '' The Madwoman in the Volvo'' into a play for

South Coast Repertory South Coast Repertory (SCR) is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California. South Coast Repertory was founded in 1964. It has three stages and presents plays from all eras. SCR producers new plays, Theatre for Young Audiences ...

Theater. She was the invited commencement speaker at Caltech in 2005, at

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

in 2014, and the

University of Michigan–Flint The University of Michigan–Flint (UM-Flint) is a public university in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1956 as the Flint Senior College, it was initially established as a remote branch of the University of Michigan, offering upper-d ...

in 2015. In 2013, Loh received an appointment as an Associate Adjunct Professor in the

Claire Trevor School of the Arts The Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA, Claire Trevor) is an academic unit at the University of California, Irvine, focused on the performing and visual arts. The four departments housed in the school are for art, dance, drama, and music. CT ...

at the

, in which she teaches courses in drama and also science communication. She has since left UC Irvine at an unknown time prior to 2017.

Selected works

Books

*Loh, Sandra Tsing (2020). ''The Madwoman and the Roomba.'' Norton. * * * * * *

Plays

*'' The Madwoman in the Volvo'' (2016) *''The Madwomen of the West'' (2023)https://playbill.com/article/reviews-what-do-the-critics-think-of-madwomen-of-the-west

Interviews

Sandra Tsing Loh Q&A
at The Nation magazine (2014)

Book reviews

Discography

*''Pianovision'' (1991) K²B₂ Records

Filmography

*''

The Weekenders ''The Weekenders'', also known as ''Disney's The Weekenders'', is an American animated television series created by Doug Langdale that premiered on February 26, 2000, with the last episode airing on February 29, 2004, spanning four seasons. I ...

'' (2000–2003) *''

Weight Loss (The Office) "Weight Loss" is the collective name for the first and second episodes of the fifth season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the show's 73rd and 74th episodes overall. Written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, and ...

'' (2008) *'' Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank'' (2022)

Other audio/visual work

;Radio programs * , Audio archives of her business oriented radio commentaries on the public radio program, ''

'' (2004–2005)
This American Life
Audio archive of her contributions to the public radio program

(1995–1998) * , Audio archive of her weekly radio commentaries on public radio
The Loh Down On Science
Audio archive of her daily science show on public radio ;Public speeches * ; A
audio
an
video
versions are also available via

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

;Interviews
Audio interview with Sandra Tsing Loh
on public radio program

The Sound of Young America ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

Audio interview with Sandra Tsing Loh
on KCSN Arts & Roots Forum by

Martin Perlich Martin Perlich (born 1937 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American broadcaster and writer. He attended Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio and Columbia University where he studied music history with composer Douglas Moore. After a one-off 1965 inte ...

References

External links

* * *
The Atlantic Monthly - archive of her articles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loh, Sandra Tsing 1962 births Living people 21st-century American comedians Actresses from Los Angeles American actresses of Chinese descent American feminist writers American people of German descent American television actresses American women comedians American writers of Chinese descent The Atlantic (magazine) people California Institute of Technology alumni Comedians from Los Angeles People from Malibu, California Radio personalities from Los Angeles University of Southern California alumni Writers from Los Angeles 21st-century American actresses