Best Southeast Asian Podcasts (2024)

1
#116: Hungry Ghost Month 2024 – Justice for the Dead - GHOST MAPS - True Southeast Asian Horror Stories 16:11

3h ago16:11

16:11

Will a ghost that was wrongly murdered let his anger overtake him—and who will pay the price if this spirit gives in to the hatred? Find out in our fifth Hungry Ghost Month story. Ghost Maps follows an unnamed narrator as he chronicles true accounts of the supernatural across Southeast Asia. ►GHOST MAPS CREDITS: Kyle Ong - Director Wayne Rée - Writ…

1
Francisca Yuenki Lai, "Maid to Queer: Asian Labor Migration and Female Same-Sex Desires" (Hong Kong UP, 2021) 1:03:37

1d ago1:03:37

1:03:37

Maid to Queer: Asian Labor Migration and Female Same-Sex Desires (Hong Kong UP, 2021) is the first book about Asian female migrant workers who develop same-sex relationships in a host city. Based on participant observation and in-depth interviews with Indonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong, the book explores the meanings of same-sex relationships…

1
Matthew Nola: Building pickleball in Laos 28:20

27m ago28:20

28:20

At the bottom, there's only one direction to go: up. When Matthew Nola left the Nong Khai refugee camp and boarded a one-way flight to America with his family, he could only have imagined that his return ticket would come in the form of an unexpected game: pickleball. Now recognized as the fastest-growing sport in the world, pickleball has transfor…

1
#115: Hungry Ghost Month 2024 – The Ghost King - GHOST MAPS - True Southeast Asian Horror Stories 15:40

1h ago15:40

15:40

Our third Hungry Ghost Month story takes us to Sarawak, where a motherly spirit encounters something far more frightening than another ghost. Ghost Maps follows an unnamed narrator as he chronicles true accounts of the supernatural across Southeast Asia. ►GHOST MAPS CREDITS: Kyle Ong - Director Wayne Rée - Writer Joline Lim - Art Director ►SUPPORT …

1
Help Ghost Maps win in the Asia Podcast Awards! 0:19

4d ago0:19

0:19

Help Ghost Maps win in the Asia Podcast Awards! Vote for us in the People's Choice Vote, under the Best Fictional Podcast category: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AsiaPodcastAwards2024PplChoice We're up against some fierce—and amazing—competition, so every one of you counts! Vote now: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AsiaPodcastAwards2024PplChoice Ho…

1
#114: Hungry Ghost Month 2024 – A Beast in Sarawak - GHOST MAPS - True Southeast Asian Horror Stories 14:22

11d ago14:22

14:22

Our third Hungry Ghost Month story takes us to Sarawak, where a motherly spirit encounters something far more frightening than another ghost. Ghost Maps follows an unnamed narrator as he chronicles true accounts of the supernatural across Southeast Asia. ►GHOST MAPS CREDITS: Kyle Ong - Director Wayne Rée - Writer Joline Lim - Art Director ►SUPPORT …

1
Justine Chambers, "Pursuing Morality: Buddhism and Everyday Ethics in Southeastern Myanmar" (NUS Press, 2024) 48:07

15d ago48:07

48:07

What is the right way to live? This is an old question in Western moral philosophy, but in recent years anthropologists have turned their attention to this question in what has been called, a “moral turn”. In this original ethnographic study, Pursuing Morality: Buddhism and Everyday Ethics in Southeastern Myanmar (NUS Press, 2024), Justine Chambers…

1
Return of Incredible Tales - DEAD AIR 48:32

16d ago48:32

48:32

Kyle and Wayne sit down to talk about what you can expect from Tales From Incredible Tales season two—from frightening locations to surprise guests! ►CHECK OUT INCREDIBLE TALES HERE: MeWatch: https://www.mewatch.sg/show/Tales-From-Incredible-Tales-434229 MeListen: https://www.melisten.sg/podcast/playlist/Tales-from-Incredible-Tales-2297591 YouTube:…

1
How – and How Much – has Malaysian Politics Changed Since 2018, and Why? 49:30

14d ago49:30

49:30

In this episode, host LSE Southeast Asia Centre Director John Sidel speaks with Meredith Weiss, Professor of Political Science at SUNY Albany and a leading specialist on Malaysian politics. In the interview, Professor Weiss provides in-depth analysis and insights with regard to the complex patterns of continuity and change in Malaysian politics sin…

1
#113: Hungry Ghost Month 2024 – Spirit of a Murder Victim - GHOST MAPS - True Southeast Asian Horror Stories 11:59

15d ago11:59

11:59

For the second Hungry Ghost Month story this year, learn about how a young woman's tragic death in the 1970s still affects the students in a Singaporean university till this day. Ghost Maps follows an unnamed narrator as he chronicles true accounts of the supernatural across Southeast Asia. ►GHOST MAPS CREDITS: Kyle Ong - Director Wayne Rée - Write…

1
Lio Mangubat, "Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period, 1565-1946" (Faction Press, 2024) 55:16

16d ago55:16

55:16

Baseball’s introduction to the Philippines. The slot machine trade between Manila and Shanghai. A musical based extremely loosely on the life of the sultan of Sulu. These are just a few of the historical topics from Lio Mangubat’s Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves: Lost Tales from the Philippine Colonial Period (Faction Press: 2024), a collection of 13 …

1
#112: Hungry Ghost Month 2024 – Angry Child Spirit - GHOST MAPS - True Southeast Asian Horror Stories 13:07

26d ago13:07

13:07

In the first of this year's Hungry Ghost Month stories, a child spirit tells the story of how he goes from a playful and mischevious entity—to something more violent. Ghost Maps follows an unnamed narrator as he chronicles true accounts of the supernatural across Southeast Asia. ►GHOST MAPS CREDITS: Kyle Ong - Director Wayne Rée - Writer Joline Lim…

1
Politics in Action 2024: Myanmar Update 26:32

11d ago26:32

26:32

Politics in Action is an annual forum in which invited experts provided an analysis of the current political situation in Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam, and discussed the broader implications of events in these countries for the region. After the event, each of the six speakers sat for a podcast to chat with Dr Natali Pe…

1
Roger Crowley, "Spice: The 16th-Century Contest that Shaped the Modern World" (Yale UP, 2024) 54:31

12d ago54:31

54:31

The spice islands: Specks of land in the Indonesian archipelago that were the exclusive home of cloves, commodities once worth their weight in gold. The Portuguese got there first, persuading the Spanish to fund expeditions trying to go the other direction, sailing westward across the Atlantic. Roger Crowley, in his new book Spice: The 16th-Century…

1
Tales From Incredible Tales is back for Season Two! 0:40

25d ago0:40

0:40

More guests, more episodes—and more stories about the classic Mediacorp horror series! Tune in to season two of Tales From Incredible Tales tomorrow evening at 8pm (GMT+8) on MeWatch, MeListen, YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. MeWatch: https://www.mewatch.sg/show/Tales-From-Incredible-Tales-434229 MeListen: https://www.melisten.sg/podcast/playl…

1
On Sino-Vietnamese Border Relations 48:04

13d ago48:04

48:04

In this episode, host SEAC Director John Sidel talks with Dr Qingfei Yin, SEAC Associate and Assistant Professor of International History at LSE. Dr Qingfei Yin talks about her new book State Building in Cold War Asia Comrades and Competitors on the Sino-Vietnamese Border (due out with Cambridge University Press in August 2024), explains how she be…

1
Kristie Flannery, "Piracy and the Making of the Spanish Pacific World" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2024) 59:13

16d ago59:13

59:13

Piracy and the Making of the Spanish Pacific World (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2024) offers a new interpretation of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippine islands. Drawing on the rich archives of Spain’s Asian empire, Dr. Kristie Patricia Flannery reveals that Spanish colonial officials and Catholic missionaries forged alliances with Indige…

1
Politics in Action 2024: Malaysia Update 28:36

18d ago28:36

28:36

Politics in Action is an annual forum in which invited experts provided an analysis of the current political situation in Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam, and discussed the broader implications of events in these countries for the region. After the event, each of the six speakers sat for a podcast to chat with Dr Natali Pe…

1
#111: Third-Eye Horror Stories: The Haunted Office - GHOST MAPS - True Southeast Asian Horror Stories 11:41

19d ago11:41

11:41

A woman's office on Scotts Road in Singapore is haunted by a spirit—but is it harmless or malicious? Plus: what does The Collector's new gift mean for him as we enter the Hungry Ghost Month? Ghost Maps follows an unnamed narrator as he chronicles true accounts of the supernatural across Southeast Asia. ►GHOST MAPS CREDITS: Kyle Ong - Director Wayne…

1
Anna Ounoutha: Probation Officer and Motorcycle Drag Racer 43:47

19d ago43:47

43:47

Life is a journey filled with highs, lows, joy and pain and no one knows this better than Anna Ounoutha. Raised by refugee parents from Laos, she experienced the devastating loss of her brother to gang violence and became a mother during her teenage years. Instead of succumbing to these challenges, Anna transformed adversity into motivation. She pu…

1
Malaysian Ghost Stories with Kelvin Tay - DEAD AIR 1:01:33

1M ago1:01:33

1:01:33

Kelvin Tay—founder of the Malaysian podcasting network, Renegade Radio—chats with Kyle about his country's horror stories, including a particularly creepy one from Port Dickson. ►THIS EPISODE'S HORROR RECOMMENDATIONS: Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010) Annabelle (2014) ►DEAD AIR CREDITS: Wayne Rée - Host / Writer Kyle Ong - Host / Producer Joline Lim - …

1
Viren Murthy, "Pan-Asianism and the Legacy of the Chinese Revolution" (U Chicago Press, 2023) 1:28:22

1M ago1:28:22

1:28:22

Recent proposals to revive the ancient Silk Road for the contemporary era and ongoing Western interest in China’s growth and development have led to increased attention to the concept of pan-Asianism. Most of that discussion, however, lacks any historical grounding in the thought of influential twentieth-century pan-Asianists. In Pan-Asianism and t…

1
Politics in Action 2024: Singapore Update 25:39

1M ago25:39

25:39

Politics in Action is an annual forum in which invited experts provided an analysis of the current political situation in Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam, and discussed the broader implications of events in these countries for the region. After the event, each of the six speakers sat for a podcast to chat with Dr Natali Pe…

1
#110: Third-Eye Horror Stories: The Pontianak Follows - GHOST MAPS - True Southeast Asian Horror Stories 12:36

2M ago12:36

12:36

A pontianak stalks a group of young friends. Will they find out that they're being hunted in time—and, if they do, will they even be able to escape? Ghost Maps follows an unnamed narrator as he chronicles true accounts of the supernatural across Southeast Asia. ►GHOST MAPS CREDITS: Kyle Ong - Director Wayne Rée - Writer Joline Lim - Art Director ►S…

1
Eric Thompson, "The Story of Southeast Asia" (NUS Press, 2024) 1:08:52

1M ago1:08:52

1:08:52

Does Southeast Asia “exist”? It’s a real question: Southeast Asia is a geographic region encompassing many different cultures, religions, political styles, historical experiences, and languages, economies. Can we think of this part of the world as one cohesive “place”? Eric Thompson, in his book The Story of Southeast Asia (NUS Press: 2024), sugges…

1
Timothy Barnard, "Singaporean Creatures: Histories of Humans and Other Animals in the Garden City" (NUS Press, 2024) 31:44

1M ago31:44

31:44

In Singaporean Creatures: Histories of Humans and Other Animals in the Garden City (NUS Press, 2024), historian Tim Barnard and his colleagues offer an edited volume of historical and ecological analysis, in which various institutions, perspectives and events involving animals provide insight into the development of Singapore as a modern, urban nat…

1
Politics in Action 2024: Laos Update 25:27

1M ago25:27

25:27

Politics in Action is an annual forum in which invited experts provided an analysis of the current political situation in Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam, and discussed the broader implications of events in these countries for the region. After the event, each of the six speakers sat for a podcast to chat with Dr Natali Pe…

1
Andy Rasavongseuk: New York Fire Fighter 50:53

2M ago50:53

50:53

For most of us help is only a phone call away but we often forget that those responding in our time of need are fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters… everyday people. At no time was that more evident than on September 11th, 2001 when 343 firefighters lost their lives. From routine fire inspections to one of the darkest days in our nation’s histor…

1
Erin Lin, "When the Bombs Stopped: The Legacy of War in Rural Cambodia" (Princeton UP, 2024) 53:49

2M ago53:49

53:49

Over the course of the Vietnam War, the United States dropped 500,000 tons of bombs over Cambodia—more than the combined weight of every man, woman, and child in the country. Fifty years after the last sortie, residents of rural Cambodia are still coping with the unexploded ordnance that covers their land. In When the Bombs Stopped: The Legacy of W…

1
Politics in Action 2024: Vietnam Update 21:50

2M ago21:50

21:50

Politics in Action is an annual forum in which invited experts provided an analysis of the current political situation in Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam, and discussed the broader implications of events in these countries for the region. After the event, each of the six speakers sat for a podcast to chat with Dr Natali Pe…

1
#109: Third-Eye Horror Stories: Cemetery Spirits - GHOST MAPS - True Southeast Asian Horror Stories 13:11

2M ago13:11

13:11

A young woman shares the story of when she first learned she had the third eye—and how it brought her and her father closer together. Ghost Maps follows an unnamed narrator as he chronicles true accounts of the supernatural across Southeast Asia. ►GHOST MAPS CREDITS: Kyle Ong - Director Wayne Rée - Writer Joline Lim - Art Director ►SUPPORT & FIND U…

1
Clare Hammond, "On the Shadow Tracks: A Journey Through Occupied Myanmar" (Allen Lane, 2024) 30:59

2M ago30:59

30:59

In 2016, journalist Clare Hammond embarked on a project to study the railways of Myanmar–a transportation network that sprawls the country, rarely used and not shown on many maps, and often used at the pleasure of the country’s military. In her book On the Shadow Tracks; A Journey Through Occupied Myanmar (Allen Lane, 2024), Clare travels the lengt…

1
Politics in Action 2024: Indonesia Update 26:17

2M ago26:17

26:17

Politics in Action is an annual forum in which invited experts provided an analysis of the current political situation in Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam, and discussed the broader implications of events in these countries for the region. After the event, each of the six speakers sat for a podcast to chat with Dr Natali Pe…

1
Joanna Siekiera, "21st Century as the Pacific Century: Culture and Security of Oceania States in Great Power Competition" (Warsaw UP, 2023) 1:20:35

2M ago1:20:35

1:20:35

With the ever-greater shift of the balance of global power towards the Pacific region, what does this have implications for the geopolitics of the region? How should the rest of the world, especially Europe, address the growing power and influence of the Pacific region? How does the complex interplay of cultural, civilizational, economic, legal, en…

1
Meredith Weiss et al., "Mobilizing for Elections: Patronage and Political Machines in Southeast Asia" (Cambridge UP, 2022) 44:10

3M ago44:10

44:10

Politicians in Southeast Asia, as in many other regions, win elections by distributing cash, goods, jobs, projects, and other benefits to supporters, but the ways in which they do this vary tremendously, both across and within countries. Mobilizing for Elections: Patronage and Political Machines in Southeast Asia (Cambridge UP, 2022) presents a new…

1
#108: Third-Eye Horror Stories: The Exorcist - GHOST MAPS - True Southeast Asian Horror Stories 12:53

2M ago12:53

12:53

A spiritual master must defeat a particularly vicious spirit. Will she succeed—and what price must she pay? Ghost Maps follows an unnamed narrator as he chronicles true accounts of the supernatural across Southeast Asia. ►GHOST MAPS CREDITS: Kyle Ong - Director Wayne Rée - Writer Joline Lim - Art Director ►SUPPORT & FIND US HERE: HANTU Instagram HA…

1
Asian Urban Legends Volume 2 - DEAD AIR 1:44:34

2M ago1:44:34

1:44:34

Kyle and Wayne look at some infamous haunted highways, as recommended by you—our fans. Join us on this journey down everywhere from Karak to Bei-Yi Highway. ►THIS EPISODE'S HORROR RECOMMENDATIONS: Maria Labo: Aswang Talk To Me (2022) Taiwan Beiyi Highway Vietnam Hightway of Hell Dark Tourism (2018) ►DEAD AIR CREDITS: Wayne Rée - Host / Writer Kyle …

1
Bonus Episode: 2023 SEA Games Recap 15:39

3M ago15:39

15:39

In 2023 a group of Lao American athletes traveled to Cambodia to represent Laos at the SEA games. Among the group was Angelina Messina (University of Pittsburgh Swim). Astrid Dirkzwager (Georgia Tech swim), Ariana Dirkzwager (Georgia Tech swim, Steven Insixiengmay (University of Georgia swim) and Dawson Sihavong (Stanford University wreslting). Thi…

1
Naosuke Mukoyama, "Fueling Sovereignty: Colonial Oil and the Creation of Unlikely States" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 57:44

3M ago57:44

57:44

European colonialism was often driven by the pursuit of natural resources, and the resulting colonisation and decolonization processes have had a profound impact on the formation of the majority of sovereign states that exist today. But how exactly have natural resources influenced the creation of formerly colonised states? And would the world map …

1
Stephanie Joy Mawson, "Incomplete Conquests: The Limits of Spanish Empire in the Seventeenth-Century Philippines" (Cornell UP, 2023) 47:34

3M ago47:34

47:34

"When the Spanish colonization of the Philippines began in 1565, early reports boasted of mass conversions to Christianity and ever-increasing numbers of people paying tribute to the Spanish crown. This suggests an uncomplicated story of an easy imposition of Spanish sovereignty. But as Stephanie Mawson shows in her book, Incomplete Conquests: The …

1
Building a More Inclusive Society: Disability and Work in Timor-Leste 23:53

3M ago23:53

23:53

What does an inclusive society look like? And what are the challenges and opportunities when the society in question, Timor-Leste, is one of the most resource-constrained in Southeast Asia? My guest today is interested in these questions of inclusion and participation, and argues that people with a disability are a key component of a truly inclusiv…

1
#107: Third-Eye Horror Stories: The Ghost King - GHOST MAPS - True Southeast Asian Horror Stories 12:58

3M ago12:58

12:58

A young woman's destructive way of coping with her third eye leads her into a horrifying encounter with a formidable, malicious spirit. Ghost Maps follows an unnamed narrator as he chronicles true accounts of the supernatural across Southeast Asia. ►GHOST MAPS CREDITS: Kyle Ong - Director Wayne Rée - Writer Joline Lim - Art Director ►SUPPORT & FIND…

1
Mark Moyar, "Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965-1968" (Encounter, 2023) 23:19

3M ago23:19

23:19

Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965-1968 (Encounter, 2023) is the long-awaited sequel to the immensely influential Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965. Like its predecessor, this book overturns the conventional wisdom using a treasure trove of new sources, many of them from the North Vietnamese side. Rejecting the standard depiction of…

1
Robert Lyman, "A War of Empires: Japan, India, Burma, and Britain: 1941–45" (Osprey, 2021) 1:40:00

3M ago1:40:00

1:40:00

In 1941 and 1942 the British and Indian Armies were brutally defeated and Japan reigned supreme in its newly conquered territories throughout Asia. But change was coming. New commanders were appointed, significant training together with restructuring took place, and new tactics were developed. A War of Empires: Japan, India, Burma, and Britain: 194…

1
Martin Dusinberre, "Mooring the Global Archive: A Japanese Ship and Its Migrant Histories" (Cambridge UP, 2023) 1:06:34

3M ago1:06:34

1:06:34

In Mooring the Global Archive: A Japanese Ship and Its Migrant Histories (Cambridge UP, 2023), Martin Dusinberre follows the Yamashiro-maru steamship across Asian and Pacific waters in an innovative history of Japan's engagement with the outside world in the late-nineteenth century. His compelling in-depth analysis reconstructs the lives of some of…

1
Marina Welker, "Kretek Capitalism: Making, Marketing, and Consuming Clove Cigarettes in Indonesia" (U California Press, 2024) 39:14

3M ago39:14

39:14

Indonesia is the world's second largest cigarette market: two out of three men smoke, and clove-laced tobacco cigarettes called kretek make up 95 percent of the market. To account for the staggering success of this lethal industry, Kretek Capitalism: Making, Marketing, and Consuming Clove Cigarettes in Indonesia (University of California Press, 202…

1
Tessa Winkelmann, "Dangerous Intercourse: Gender and Interracial Relations in the American Colonial Philippines, 1898–1946" (Cornell UP, 2023) 1:14:34

4M ago1:14:34

1:14:34

In Dangerous Intercourse: Gender and Interracial Relations in the American Colonial Philippines, 1898–1946 (Cornell University Press, 2023), Dr. Tessa Winkelmann examines interracial social and sexual contact between Americans and Filipinos in the early twentieth century via a wide range of relationships—from the casual and economic to the formal a…

1
Sony Coráñez Bolton, "Crip Colony: Mestizaje, US Imperialism, and the Queer Politics of Disability in the Philippines" (Duke UP, 2023) 43:13

4M ago43:13

43:13

In Crip Colony: Mestizaje, US Imperialism, and the Queer Politics of Disability in the Philippines (Duke UP, 2023), Sony Coráñez Bolton examines the racial politics of disability, mestizaje, and sexuality in the Philippines. Drawing on literature, poetry, colonial records, political essays, travel narratives, and visual culture, Coráñez Bolton trac…

1
Asian Urban Legends Volume 2 - DEAD AIR 1:50:02

3M ago1:50:02

1:50:02

Kyle and Wayne chat about some of the urban legends that you—our fans—asked for, from the many stories of Karak Highway to the infamous kum kum auntie of the 80s. ►THIS EPISODE'S HORROR RECOMMENDATIONS: Kowabana YouTube Kowabana Books Lavender Town Syndrome Karak Highway Karak Movie Creepy call to DJs ►DEAD AIR CREDITS: Wayne Rée - Host / Writer Ky…

1
#106: The Headless Spirit in Their Car - GHOST MAPS - True Southeast Asian Horror Stories 12:38

3M ago12:38

12:38

While at a rest area along the North-South Highway in Malaysia, a couple spots something unearthly—and it's sitting in their friends' car. Ghost Maps follows an unnamed narrator as he chronicles true accounts of the supernatural across Southeast Asia. ►GHOST MAPS CREDITS: Kyle Ong - Director Wayne Rée - Writer Joline Lim - Art Director ►SUPPORT & F…

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