Troubled Waters

Published on Apr 29, 2022 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Abby Seiff. The plight of the Mekong River and the impact of climate change, dams, and illegal fishing has raised alarms bells across Southeast Asia and beyond.But rarely reported are the lives of ordinary fishermen and their families who rely on the river and the Tonle Sap lake, which branches off the river from the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and extends to Siem Reap in the northeast.Journalist Abby Seiff has sought to address that issue with her new book, Trpubling the Water: A Dying Lake and a Vanishing World in Cambodia.Seiff weaves stories of the past with the present issues plaguing the Mekong basin and the impoverished families who are struggling with everyday life. Many are heavily....

Workers Rights in Asia

Published on Apr 2, 2022 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Dave Welsh. Independent trade unions in Thailand and Myanmar are currently doing it hard, with authoritarian regimes in both countries taking a dim view of labor activism and using the courts to silence complaints over plant closures and even disputes over railway safety.Charges against the State Railway Union of Thailand and13 unionists, including Sawit Kaevwan, head of the overall Thai Trade Union Movement, and court orders issued against major garment brands like Victoria’s Secret, Torrid, and Lane Bryant are among them.Dave Welsh is the country director for Thailand and Myanmar of the Solidarity Center, an international labor rights organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices and programs in 60 countries. Listen here..

War & Hypersonics

Published on Apr 2, 2022 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Carl Schuster, an adjunct faculty instructor at Hawaii Pacific University since 2000, after his retirement as a captain with the United States Navy, and he has since earned an academic reputation for his research on China, Russia, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).His specialties also includes hypersonic weapons, which Russia claims to have used in combat in Ukraine. China is also developing similar weapons.However, Schuster – Chief of Pacific Command’s Intelligence Operations and Director of Operations at the Joint Intelligence Center Pacific from 1994-1999 – remains skeptical about Moscow’s claims and its production capabilities.He spoke with Luke Hunt about Russia’s relationship with China and the impact that is having on broader ties with the Association....

Mekong Drought

Published on Feb 12, 2022 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Brian Eyler. The lower Mekong River is entering its fourth year of drought with poor rainfall, climate change, and hydropower dams producing the worst conditions along Southeast Asia’s largest waterway in more than 60 years, threatening the livelihoods of up to 70 million people.The lower Mekong River is entering its fourth year of drought with poor rainfall, climate change, and hydropower dams producing the worst conditions along Southeast Asia’s largest waterway in more than 60 years, threatening the livelihoods of up to 70 million people.As a result, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) is urging the six Mekong countries to urgently address “regional low flows, water fluctuations, and drought.”In its latest report, “Mekong Low Flow and Drought Conditions....

Reds & Whites in Asia

Published on Jan 15, 2022 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Darren Gall who left Australia more than two decades ago and has since established himself as a wine producer, taster, importer, and writer and played an integral part in promoting an industry which is now worth billions of dollars a year.That includes his stake in vineyards and wine-making facilities in Myanmar where businesses have been punished by the pandemic and last year’s military coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.In 2005 Gall oversaw the selection and importation of 15,000 vine and 2,500 Olive tree rootlings from Australia into Thailand for the further development of the Chateau des Brumes winery in Wang Nam Keow, in the Mekong Plateau highlands of eastern Thailand.He says the....