Ear to Asia

Asia international relations experts Dr Sow Keat Tok and Dr Pradeep Taneja unravel the motivations and implications behind China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure update to the historic Silk Road that’s set to redefine trade and geopolitics across 3 continents, 2 oceans and some 65 countries. Presented by Ali Moore. An Asia Institute podcast, produced by...

Anthropologist Dr Gerald Roche outlines the surprisingly diverse language landscape of the Tibetan Plateau, and what factors — geographic, social and political — contribute to whether a language is supported or even recognised. He also explains why some languages in Tibet are becoming endangered and how new ones are starting to emerge. Presented by Clement Paligaru. More information about this and...

On Ear to Asia, anthropologist Dr Ana Dragojlovic recounts the history of Dutch colonisation of Bali, and examines the experiences of migrants from Bali to the land of their former coloniser as they work hard to maintain their Balinese identity. Presented by Clement Paligaru. More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series can be found here . And the transcript is available h...

Development economist Professor Yang Yao of Peking University argues that China's "selectocracy", its system of appointing political leaders from the Chinese Communist Party and their civil service, has been the major driver of an economic miracle that’s lasted four decades and counting. Presented by Clement Paligaru. More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series can be fou...

Media expert Dr Inaya Rakhmani explains the connection between neoliberal capitalism and the increasing religious conservatism of Indonesia's burgeoning Muslim middle class. Presented by Clement Paligaru. Transcript available here . More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series is found here . An Asia Institute podcast, produced by Profactual.com .

Philosopher Dr Muhammad Kamal talks about the writings of preeminent 16th century Muslim philosopher Mulla Sadra, who grappled with concepts of change and constancy. Mulla Sadra, who lived and worked in Persia, sought to answer questions like "Is everything changing continuously?" and "Why do we continue to recognize people and objects as if there were unchanging identities attached to them?". Pre...

Human migration expert Dr Jiyoung Song talks about North Korean citizens who choose to exit their homeland, putting themselves and family members they leave behind at risk. She discusses their arduous journeys across China and Southeast Asia to reach South Korea or countries in the West, how they fare in their new homes, and how their reasons for fleeing have changed over time. Presented by Clemen...

Veteran China watcher Prof Martin K. Whyte explains why Chinese citizens remain unfazed by the enormous income and wealth disparity created by market-oriented economic reforms that in less than 40 years have made China the world's second largest economy. He also outlines the sorts of social injustices that pose even greater threats to the stability of Chinese society. Presented by Clement Paligaru...

On this episode of Ear to Asia, celebrity chef, author and lawyer Adam Liaw gets behind the microphone to discuss his work, philosophy of life, his love affair with Japan, and how living at the intersection of cultures and nations have shaped him. We recorded this interview with Adam when he was visiting the University of Melbourne to celebrate a century of Japanese language education in Australia...

Professor John Minford is a celebrated specialist in translating Chinese literature into English. On this episode of Ear to Asia, John talks about the practice of translation and how to train others in the art. He shares with us the challenges and triumphs of rendering classic Chinese texts for contemporary Western readers. John Minford is primarily known for his translations of Chinese classics s...

In 2015, a lone terrorist from an affiliate of Daesh or Islamic State (often referred to as ISIS) bombed a mosque in Kuwait City where the majority of where the majority of worshippers were from the Shia sect. While the overt motive for this act of terrorism was payback for Kuwait's opposition to Daesh, the attack introduced sectarian violence to a country where the Sunni majority and the rather l...

Despite having more than 3 million teachers, manageable class sizes, and spending on education that amounts to a whopping 20% of national and local budgets, Indonesia continues to seriously lag behind in educational outcomes on a range of international measures. Political economist Professor Andrew Rosser discusses the factors that prevent Indonesia from bringing its children up to par in the educ...

Chinese literature expert Anne McLaren joins Ear to Asia host Clement Paligaru to discuss her research into the folk ecology of the lower Yangtze delta, including the folksongs of this fascinating region. And she explains how these vanishing oral traditions shed light into how people of a bygone era lived. Transcript available here . More information about this and other episodes of this podcast s...

Political scientist Dr Sow Keat Tok discusses China's unique view of territorial sovereignty, its creative approaches to sovereignty issues in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the South China Sea, and how it can come into conflict with conventional models of sovereignty originating in the West. Presented by Sen Lam. Transcript available here . More information about this and other episodes of this podcast se...

Economist and demographer Professor Binod Khadria joins Ear to Asia host Sen Lam to discuss the huge global movement of skilled and unskilled Indian workers in its surprising diversity, the conditions they work under in destination countries and their persistent ties to Mother India. Transcript available here . More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series is found here . A...

Queer studies researcher Dr Claire Maree joins Ear to Asia host Sen Lam to discuss the plight of people in same-sex relationships in Japan. Despite Japan having a reputation for tolerance of sexual minorities, rigid legal and social barriers are leading same-sex couples to seek creative workarounds to obtain a degree of recognition and rights. More information about this and other episodes of this...

Dr Ken Setiawan, Indonesian civil rights specialist, explains how a new generation of Indonesians are using digital and social media platforms to keep the memory of the genocide of 1965-1966 alive as successive government administrations stall on uncovering the truth. Presented by Sen Lam. More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series is found here . An Asia Institute podca...

Linguistics expert Dr Ikuko Nakane joins Ear to Asia host Sen Lam to discuss language and interpretation in criminal trials in Japan, and in particular how defendants who aren't native speakers of Japanese may be aided or disadvantaged by the language divide. More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series is found here . An Asia Institute podcast, produced by Profactual.com...

Veteran researcher of Indonesian politics Prof Vedi Hadiz examines the phenomenon of contemporary Islamic populism in Indonesia, Turkey and Egypt, how it fares at the ballot box and how it fits into western notions of democracy. Presented by Sen Lam. More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series is found here . An Asia Institute podcast, produced by Profactual.com .

Ear to Asia is a new podcast series produced by Asia Institute, the Asian research specialists, from the University of Melbourne, Australia. We take you from Japan to Turkey, from China to Indonesia, and to many places in between, talking to researchers who focus on Asia -- in all its diversity of peoples, societies and histories. Hosted by Sen Lam. More information about this podcast series is fo...