Insight Myanmar

Episode #323: “Quite frankly, and I might catch flak for this, but I'll say it: there is a special place in hell for those who seek to exploit or weaponize this aid, or block this aid for political purposes from getting to those affected communities.” Jack Myint delivers a powerful and urgent appeal following the catastrophic, March 28th, 7.7-magnitude earthquake in central Myanmar that devastated...

Episode #322: Hector and Dr. Paing’s story is a testament to determination in the face of overwhelming challenges. Following the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, they left their medical careers to provide care in conflict-ridden Karenni State. Initially strangers to the region, they overcame deep mistrust from the Karenni community, who equated their Bamar origins with oppression. By establishing cl...

Episode #321: Growing up in Indonesia, Evy Zulyani found her passion for social justice early on, using her skills as a high school journalist to expose corruption. This experience gave her a first taste of how activism could transform society, even on a small scale. She found inspiration in community involvement, particularly through her work providing non-formal education to poor children, solid...

Episode #320: Don Tajaroensuk's story is one deeply influenced by the experiences of refugees and the human rights work led by his mother. As a child growing up in Thailand, Don’s home became a temporary refuge for people political turmoil, on their way to resettlement. Initially, Don didn’t understand the gravity of their circumstances. To him, they were simply house guests; it wasn’t until he wa...

Episode #319: Nyan Linn Htet, founder and managing editor of Mekong News, joins the podcast to discuss the complex dynamics that shape the media landscape, as well as the worsening conflict in eastern Shan State. Mekong News, established in 2019 in Tachileik, focuses on reporting under-covered issues, including drug smuggling, local ethnic groups, and powerful armed organizations active in the reg...

For this Bonus Episode, we share a talk presented at Nowhere Books in Chiang Mai, which was hosted alongside Yucca, the Research Director at Exile Hub. We are including the following description which was prepared by event organizers: Buddhism and anarchism, though originating in distinct realms—spiritual and political—share key commonalities that make for a thought-provoking intersection. Both re...

Episode #318: Lynne Bousfield grew up in Australia, and led a fairly conventional life. But in 1975, when she was a student at the university, she received a postcard from her brother in Thailand. The picture of golden stupas stirred something stirred something deep within her.   After some adventures in Indonesia, Thailand, Laos and India, she still felt she had not found what she was s...

Episode #317: Derek Mitchell’s engagement with Myanmar began unexpectedly in the 1990s when he attended a human rights event featuring Aung San Suu Kyi. Years later, he became the first U.S. Special Representative and later Ambassador to Myanmar, playing a crucial role in shaping U.S. policy toward the country. Under the Obama administration, the U.S. reassessed its approach, transitioning from sa...

Episode #316: “Hunger and undernutrition in Myanmar is a political failure, and it’s a conscious political failure that's devastating,” says Thin Lei Win, a journalist dedicated to exposing Myanmar’s struggles with food security and press freedom. As a co-founder of Kite Tales, a non-profit storytelling project, she seeks to challenge mainstream narratives by amplifying personal stories that refle...

Episode #315: Responding to the question of why he left a comfortable life in Australia to join the resistance against the Burmese military in Karenni state, Jay says, “I would just say it's the crimes against the children. I have a child myself, and we're extremely lucky to be in a Western country where my child can grow up relatively safe. Seeing the reels and videos about children being mu...

Episode #314: Celito Arlegue, the Executive Director of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD), offers a reflective account of his organization's involvement with Myanmar. He discusses CALD's initial engagement with Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD), providing training and support leading up to the 2015 elections, and recalls the optimism of that period, with many NLD membe...

Episode #313: This second interview with Friedgard Lottermoser, recorded in 2023 before her she passed away on August 8th, 2024, delves deeper into her remarkable journey from wartime Berlin to Burma, where her life was inexorably shaped by her 1959 Vipassana course under Sayagyi U Ba Khin. She agreed to share her story only posthumously, due to concerns that the Goenka Vipassana Organization migh...

Episode #312: August grew up in a loving household in Taunggyi, albeit one steeped in conservative values and connected to the military. But as he matured, his worldview began to diverge from his family’s, especially after he attended a pre-collegiate program where he heard firsthand stories of the military's brutality against ethnic minorities. These accounts shattered the narrative he had grown...

Episode #311: Paul Salopek’s Out of Eden Walk is an extraordinary journey that retraces the migration paths of early Homo sapiens while examining the intersections of history, culture, and modernity. A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Salopek embarked on this transcontinental project in 2013 traveling by foot, starting from Africa’s Rift Valley; it will end in Tierra del Fuego. As he walks,...

In this bonus episode, we are sharing four interviews conducted by the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). First, Isabel Todd, the coordinator at the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar⁠ (SAC-M), discusses international advocacy on Myanmar. The SAC-M was founded by three international experts on Myanmar following the 2021 military coup.  Next, a new cyber safety campaign called Stop Online...

Episode #310: Mike shares an in-depth look at the Burma Front during World War II, emphasizing the forgotten contributions of Merrill's Marauders, a U.S. long-range penetration unit tasked with seizing the Myitkyina airfield. The airfield was crucial in maintaining Allied supply lines, but the mission was grueling, with only 130 out of 2,750 soldiers remaining combat-fit by the end. In 1995, Mike...

This interview was recorded before the recent suspension of USAID programs under the Trump administration, which has placed the future of the Diversity and Inclusivity Scholarship Program (DISP) in jeopardy. As a USAID-supported initiative that equips Burmese educators with skills for inclusive and culturally relevant teaching, the program that Maw Maw Tun and Chan Lwin describe in this episode no...

Episode #308: “Stop saying that, 'Oh, China is in Cambodia. Vietnam is in Cambodia. We will never be able to win the war and to go back to Cambodia. Stop putting that into your mind. Stop living in fear! One thing I learned from Aung San Suu Kyi is living in fear. I refuse to live in fear. Live beyond that.” Mu Sochua, an exiled Cambodian politician, reflects on her journey from the devastation of...

Episode #307:   Ashley South's exploration of Myanmar began as a journey into the unknown. He first worked with Karen refugees in Thailand, where he struggled to deal with the many cultural and religious differences. But over time, his understanding of Myanmar was transformed, deepening his connection with the people. Traveling extensively through Kachin, Shan, and Mon states, South's insight...

Episode #306: John Quinley, a Director at Fortify Rights, notes that his initial interest in Myanmar arose during his high school years when he lived in Thailand, and he recounts a humanitarian mission into Shan State deeply impacted him during that time. He has been involved ever since. Quinley describes how before the coup, Fortify Rights led participatory training to build a knowledge of human...

Episode #305: Paul Sein Twa is a Karen environmentalist whose life and work embody the intersection of conservation, indigenous rights, and the pursuit of peace. He shares his journey growing up along the Burma-Thailand border, where he witnessed the massive deforestation caused by unchecked logging, and how it motivated him to dedicate his life to preserving Myanmar's natural landscapes and empow...

Episode #304: In this episode, we bring together three guests who share stories of resilience, artistry, and the transformative power of creative expression when faced with the challenges of displacement and conflict. Elisabeth Win, the Outreach Coordinator of Joy House, discusses its role as a safe space for Burmese refugees in Thailand, focusing on psychosocial support through music, art, and vo...

Episode #303: Hagar International, founded by Pierre Tami in Cambodia in 1994, began with a mission to support a single abused woman but quickly grew to assist thousands of vulnerable individuals affected by extreme human rights abuses. Catherine Kirkendall, the Executive Director of Hagar’s U.S. office, joins the podcast to discuss their organization’s mission. In the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge...

Episode #302: We are joined by Jansen Stovicek, a former monk from the Czech Republic who spent many years in Myanmar as Ashin Sarana. He discusses the intersection of Buddhism and Myanmar's challenging political landscape, with a focus on Thabarwa Sayadaw, an influential yet polarizing monk who inspires both deep reverence and strong controversy. (Note that we will refer to Ashin Sarana by his mo...

Episode #301: “I want to invite everybody to see the Karen people not just as victims, but to experience the real beauty in the culture, the uniqueness, the simplicity.”  These are the words of Saw Sha Kerpaw Wah, a humanitarian from Karen State, Myanmar, who shares his story of displacement, identity, and commitment to his people. Born in 1995 during the fall of Manerplaw, the headquarters o...