How the "best laid plans" of Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government went awry. Australian economist Sean Turnell has released his latest book "Best Laid Plans," detailing his efforts to lift Myanmar out of deep poverty as a policy advisor to Aung San Suu Kyi before she was ousted by a military coup in early 2021, when both of them were jailed.He sp…

How have states chosen to engage the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan three years later? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the state of Afghanistan three years after the Taliban’s return. Click the play button above to listen. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscr…

The veteran Bangkok-based photojournalist takes aim at the World Press Photo awards. Nic Dunlop ranks among the best and most prominent photographers in Southeast Asia and he was the first journalist to track down and interview the former Khmer Rouge commandant from the S-21 extermination camp that operated in Cambodia under Pol Pot.Armed with a Kh…

Zahra Joya and Shanthie D’Souza unpack the Taliban regime, its suppression of women and minorities, and the wider consequences of its rule on global terror and geopolitics. On August 15, 2021, the Taliban seized Kabul, bringing an end to the U.S.-backed Afghanistan National Government. Join Beyond the Indus host Tushar Shetty as we evaluate Afghani…

What will become of Bangladesh’s position in Asia following Sheikh Hasina’s ouster? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the geopolitical implications of the 2024 political crisis in Bangladesh.Click the play button above to listen. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscrib…

How will a possible change in U.S. direction in 2024 manifest in the region? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the candidates in the 2024 U.S. presidential election and the implications for Asia.Click the play button above to listen. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subs…

What does the death of Vietnam's second-longest serving party chief mean for the country? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) is joined by Sebastian Strangio, The Diplomat's Southeast Asia editor, to discuss the implications of Nguyen Phu Trong's death for Vietnam.Click the play button above to listen. If you’re an i…

A conversation with Lars Olsen about Cambodia’s hybrid tribunal and lessons for prosecuting war crimes elsewhere. War crimes tribunals have been actively touted by Ukrainian authorities and in Myanmar by the exiled National Unity Government, but what type of in-country tribunal would suit best? Or should alleged criminals be prosecuted by the Inter…

Michael Martin of CSIS discusses the progress of the conflict, and the possible impact of the U.S. presidential election. Michael Martin is currently an adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, where he has also spent the past two decades as a specialist policy advisor on Myanmar alongside China, …

How will China approach a Lai-led Taiwan? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss Lai Ching-te's inauguration as the new president of Taiwan and the outcome of the Indian 2024 general elections.Click the play button above to listen. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscribe t…

"Even in a forgotten war, everyone has a right to a home," says the veteran aid worker. Fr. John Murray is an Australian Catholic priest with Caritas Thailand who has worked extensively with refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) since arriving in the northwest border regions almost 20 years ago.He says the war inside Myanmar remains forgo…

What does Vladimir Putin's embrace of Kim Jong Un portend for Northeast Asian geopolitics? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) discusses the recent summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with Shannon Tiezzi, The Diplomat‘s editor-in-chief.Click the play button above to lis…

A veteran editor reflects on five decades on the front lines of the Thai media. Pichai Chuensuksawadi spent his early years at boarding school in Australia before returning to Thailand, where he would work the next five decades as a journalist, editor, and publisher, and remains a key player on Thailand’s media front lines.At Post Publishing Public…

Daniel Bosley discusses China-India competition and domestic politics in the Maldives, and Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan puts that in the context of broader IOR dynamics. After the tumultuous election season in South Asia, this week's episode of Beyond the Indus takes a look at the geopolitics of the wider Indian Ocean Region (IOR). We speak to Dani…

Greening says anti-regime forces could capture the Irrawaddy Basin and eventually declare victory over the junta. Paul Greening has worked as a political analyst and a specialist consultant with civil society organizations covering Myanmar since the military ousted an elected government in early 2021, pushing the country into a bitter civil war.He …

Horror tales from inside Myanmar’s cyber-scam cities. Judah Tana has spent the last two decades in humanitarian work along the Thailand-Myanmar border, where criminal syndicates have revolutionized human trafficking and 21st-century slavery into an industry with worldwide turnover in the trillions of dollars.Myanmar, along with Cambodia and Laos, h…

Are Beijing and Moscow moving beyond their "no limits" partnership? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the recent summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing with Shannon Tiezzi, The Diplomat's editor-in-chief.Click the play button ab…

What do Russia and the Central Asian republics stand to gain from each other? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss Russia-Central Asia relations after the Crocus City Hall terror attack in March 2024.Click the play button above to listen. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also su…

Host Tushar Shetty and guests Kavita Chowdhury and Milan Vaishnav highlight some of the issues and controversies surrounding India's 2024 general election. In the epic finale to our “Road to '24” elections series, we cover the world's largest democratic election in India and highlight some of the issues and controversies surrounding the campaign. W…

With the world's relief efforts focusing on Gaza and Ukraine, Africa is missing out. American Andy Pendleton has spent his entire adult life providing relief for civilians in war-torn countries from Southeast Asia to Africa and in his own words he has witnessed the “full spectrum of war and fighting, death and misery, pain and politics."Most of his…

What did Kishida and Biden accomplish? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the outcomes of the 2024 U.S.-Japan leaders summit.Click the play button above to listen. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscribe to The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast on iTunes here; if you…

What will India's 2024 vote mean for Asia and the world? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the geopolitical implications of India's 2024 general elections.Click the play button above to listen. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscribe to The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics…

The veteran editor speaks about the media's changing role and declining influence in both Australia and Southeast Asia. The media industry has changed enormously since David Armstrong began his career as a junior reporter for The Australian newspaper in Sydney in 1969, and not for the better. Superficiality and a “gotcha” mentality by too many jour…

Let's explore India's opposition coalition, its struggles and prospects, with guests Snigdhendu Bhattacharya and Gilles Verniers. With the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) electoral juggernaut looking to dominate the upcoming polls, the Indian opposition has responded by uniting to create a grand coalition: the Indian National Developmental In…

The leaders of the United States, Japan, and the Philippines will meet in Washington amid shared and growing concerns about China. The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) preview the April 2024 U.S.-Japan-Philippines summit.Click the play button above to listen. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, yo…

The veteran editor on winning awards, breaking news, and managing journalists. Australian journalist Alan Parkhouse holds the rare distinction of having served as editor of both The Phnom Penh Post and its rival, the Khmer Times, at a time when journalistic freedoms in Cambodia were much greater than they are today.During his long career, Parkhouse…

What does the U.S. intelligence community's 2024 Annual Threat Assessment suggest about Asia? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the U.S. intelligence community's 2024 Annual Threat Assessment.Click the play button above to listen. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscri…

How to save thousands of lives by preventing STDs. Mechai Viravaidya has spent the last 50 years at the helm of family planning in Thailand, and has been credited with saving countless lives through his safe sex campaigns, which rose to the fore when the HIV/AIDS virus took hold in 1981.From his flagship restaurant Cabbages and Condoms in Bangkok, …

Join us in the lead up to the Great Indian Election as we explore Narendra Modi’s BJP, and what made it the dominant force in Indian politics. Join Beyond the Indus host Tushar Shetty in the lead up to the Great Indian Election as we explore Narendra Modi’s BJP, and what made it the dominant force in Indian politics.We sit down with Akhilesh Pillal…

A conversation with Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch ahead of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit. In his role as Deputy Director for Asia at New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), Phil Robertson has spearheaded investigations into human rights violations across Southeast Asia for the past 15 years, calling out and upsetting governments of all…

What is the state of play in Afghanistan today? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss Afghanistan's geopolitical position in 2024.Click the play button above to listen. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscribe to The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast on iTunes here; if y…

The Asia Geopolitics podcast hits 10 years! The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) reflect on the 10 year anniversary of the podcast.Click the play button above to listen. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscribe to The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast on iTunes here; if you use…

A conversation with war crimes lawyer Michael Karnavas. Michael Karnavas is an American-trained lawyer licensed in Massachusetts and Alaska with 40 years of experience focused largely on war crimes and charges of genocide at tribunals in Cambodia, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia.He has worked as a criminal defense lawyer, in state and federal cou…

A preview of Pakistan’s critical 2024 election, featuring host Tushar Shetty and guests Michael Kugelman and Kunwar Khuldune Shahid. For the next episode in our Road to ‘24 series, Beyond the Indus host Tushar Shetty sat down with Michael Kugelman and Kunwar Khuldune Shahid to break down Pakistan’s chaotic election campaign. Kugelman is the directo…

What does North Korea's abandonment of Korean unification portend? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss geopolitical dynamics on the Korean Peninsula heading into 2024.Click the play button above to listen. If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscribe to The Diplomat’s Asia G…