Continent of Resistance

We close the season by challenging the culture of burnout and self-sacrifice that so often haunts progressive movements. Shifting the focus to the "politics of care." We are curious about what care-centered organizing looks like in practice—from shared leadership and restorative rest to the integration of joy in our work. How can we build movements that sustain the very people who sustain them?

As labor struggles increasingly intersect with climate collapse and rising authoritarianism, is the traditional "mobilizing and advocacy" model still enough? We question our collective obsession with "shiny new solutions," the professionalization of activism, and the movement's overreliance on outside experts. Instead, they discuss what it actually takes to put true power back where it belongs: in...

In this episode, we unpack the often-taken-for-granted culture within labor movements and explore the vital shift toward relationship-based organizing. Examining how workers historically build a culture of genuine solidarity, they ask a fundamental question: How can we foster movements that are as resilient as they are democratic?

We continue the conversation on the long-standing assumption that informal labor is unorganizable, positioning it instead as the defining norm of the modern workforce. By examining these diverse leverage points, the conversation moves beyond reactive protests to consider how movements can bridge the gap between temporary resistance and long-term, sustainable structural change.

Labor struggles no longer unfold only on the factory floor. This episode centers on whether new frontiers, such as the rise of platform workers, are truly new or simply extensions of the old system. We discuss the long-standing norms within labor movements that equate organizing primarily with factory and industrial work, noting that this narrow focus often leaves significant contemporary struggle...

In our new season of Continent of Resistance, Reclaiming Asian Labor Futures, Kriangsak Teerakowitkajorn and Kevin Lin are joined by Nash Tysmans to explore how the terrain of labor struggle is shifting across Asia—from industrial to service-oriented and informal work—and how new forms of organizing are emerging in response. We begin with the frustrations we face as organizers, activists, and work...

In the final episode of this series, we reflect on the key takeaways from our exploration of worker struggles across Asia. The historical and geographical context of strike waves offers valuable insights, and the comparative analysis is important for understanding labor movements. We highlight the growing shift toward organizing in non-industrial sectors and the crucial role of grassroots mobiliza...

We reflect on the key takeaways from our exploration of worker struggles across Asia. The historical and geographical context of strike waves offers valuable insights, and the comparative analysis is important for understanding labor movements. We highlight the growing shift toward organizing in non-industrial sectors and the crucial role of grassroots mobilization. We also address the emerging im...

In the aftermath of the major strike waves across Asia in the 2010s, the initial worker victories in Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China were met with increasing government repression and restrictive labor laws. We analyze the more repressive environment for labour activism, the deepening of neoliberal policies, and how workers are mobilizing beyond the workplace, engaging in broader political...

Set against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis and its significant impacts on export sectors in Asia, workers in Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China rose in unprecedented numbers, demanding fair wages, better conditions, and stronger protections. This is a high point in the wave of workers' strikes and mobilizations that swept across Asia during the late 2000s and early 2010s. We are in...

Political reforms and market liberalization significantly shaped the terrains of workers’ struggles in Asia. While Cambodia, Indonesia, China and Vietnam have also all seen market liberalisation and export-oriented industrialisation, they experienced divergent political trajectories, with some undergoing democratization and others remaining as authoritarian states. In this episode, we look at the...

Against the interdependence and dialectics of liberalization and integration into global capitalism, new working classes emerged in Asia as key actors in the 1990s and 2000s. This set the stage for the Asian strike waves of the 2010s. Looking at the divergent histories and parallel developments in Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China, we consider how economic and political shifts spurred instit...

Welcome to Season 2 of Continent of Resistance, a structured and research-driven series. In this introductory episode, we discuss the changes since their first season and introduce the key themes of the new series. We reflect on their motivations for examining the wave of labor strikes across Asia in the late 2000s and early 2010s, sparked by a curiosity about why so many countries experienced sim...

In this special double-episode, we curate selected excerpts from our insightful discussions with activists and researchers throughout 2023. The featured discussions illuminate the challenges associated with organizing gig and freelance workers, showcase the unwavering resilience of women journalists and media professionals confronting issues of harassment and precarity, and dig into the mobilizati...

In this special double-episode, we curate selected excerpts from our insightful discussions with activists and researchers throughout 2023. The featured discussions illuminate the challenges associated with organizing gig and freelance workers, showcase the unwavering resilience of women journalists and media professionals confronting issues of harassment and precarity, and dig into the mobilizati...

Labor movements have aspired to establish their own political parties to contest state power. Indonesia has witnessed the emergence of such a party. In this episode, we delve into the origin story of the Labor Party of Indonesia, exploring its goals and political agenda for the upcoming election. Muhammad Ridha, a candidate representing the Labor Party in next year's election, joins our conversati...

A conversation between the co-hosts, Kiang and Kevin zoom out and take stock of the economic and political moment our labour movements in Asia are in. The widely shared sentiment is that conditions have become much worse for workers in recent years. How have we arrived at this moment, and what explains this development? In this conversation, we draw connections between our current conjuncture and...

Part 2 of our conversation on Gig Workers Rising: Grab Couriers' Self-Organization in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam

One logistics and food delivery platform company, Grab, dominates almost the entirety of Southeast Asian markets. In this two-part conversation, we delve into the dynamic world of collectivization, and the emergence and development of self-organization among Grab couriers and riders in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Joining us are Toan Le and Reza Rumakat, alongside our cohost, Kiang. Our conve...

In Asia, bright and artistic young people have pursued their passion in the media and creative industry as journalists, theater workers and musicians. Despite the space such work affords for their creativity, these are also some of the most precarious and insecure jobs, with many working from one short-term contract to the next. One union in Indonesia, SINDIKASI (the Media and Creative Industry Wo...

Logistics has become the buzzword in today's global economy. But who exactly are logistics workers, and what is the history of the logistics revolution? In this episode, we explore the world of logistics workers and their efforts to build bargaining power through organising and disruption. Our guest, Wol-san Liem, has worked for years with transport workers, previously at the Korean Public Service...

In this May Day special, we explore the meaning of worker and labor activism, with a focus on engaging youth in the fight for workers' rights. To celebrate the special occasion of the 120th anniversary of May Day in the Philippines, the guest for this episode is Kara Taggaoa, a young labor activist who has experiences in indigenous and youth activism. In this high-spirited discussion, Kara joins u...

In this episode, we present a two-part conversation on labour in post-coup Myanmar. More than two years after the coup, how has the labour movement fared? We spoke with labour activists Ma San and Ko Maung about organising garment workers and delivery riders, how activists navigate opportunities and constraints after the coup, and what workers can do to build sustainable and democratic organisatio...

In this episode, we present a two-part conversation on labour in post-coup Myanmar. More than two years after the coup, how has the labour movement fared? We spoke with labour activists Ma San and Ko Maung about organising garment workers and delivery riders, how activists navigate opportunities and constraints after the coup, and what workers can do to build sustainable and democratic organisatio...

We interview Chie Matsumoto about the progress and challenges of women media workers organizing against sexual harassment in Japan. Centering around recent successes of journalists speaking out against predatory behaviours, the conversation touches on addressing sexual harassment as a workplace issue, solidarity building, the culture of male domination in the media profession and labor union, unde...