Insight Myanmar

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...

Episode #300: Three panelists explore the complexities of Myanmar’s revolution against military oppression, diving into its tactical, logistical, and humanitarian challenges. Our guests include Anthony Davis, a security analyst with extensive experience in conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Philippines; Azad, an internationalist from the United States who spent nearly a year wor...

Episode #299: Greg Constantine’s project on the Rohingya community is a profound exploration of both their suffering and resilience. Through years of dedicated storytelling, Greg has sought to shed light on the overlooked experiences of the Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar. Despite deep roots in Rakhine State, the Rohingya have faced systemic persecution for decades, cul...

Episode #298: Maia Storm is an immigration attorney with over 25 years’ experience specializing in assisting refugees, particularly those from Myanmar. She began her career helping prisoners facing long detentions or deportation, before opening her own firm to serve the growing Burmese refugee community in Michigan. Her focus shifted after the 2021 Myanmar coup, as she has since worked tirelessly...

Episode #297: The vibrant flavors of Burmese cuisine have traveled far beyond the borders of Myanmar, embedding themselves into global food culture. Earlier this year, we convened a panel discussion that delved not only into recipes and cooking techniques, but also into the themes of resilience, culture, and migration. Our guests included: ·      Kenneth Wong: A...

Episode #296: Azad, an American fighter who is supporting the resistance against the military, returns to the podcast to discuss the current situation in Chin State, and the Chin people’s struggle for liberation. Long isolated and neglected, this region is now at the center of a determined battle against Myanmar’s military junta. The difficult terrain hinders typical military tactics, resulting in...

Episode #295: "I was born on the sixth of the 8th of the '88; the famous '88! My parents were part of the student movement, but growing up with my grandmother, I didn’t know much until I was older. They just said my parents were away." Hnin's story is tightly linked with Burma’s turbulent history.  When her activist parents were forced into exile, she was raised by her grandmother, and grew u...

Aye Mon, a journalism student at New York University, interviewed the founder of Insight Myanmar Podcast about the evolution and mission of the platform. Starting in 2019, the podcast initially focused on spiritual topics related to Burmese Buddhist meditation, but after the 2021 Myanmar coup, it shifted to address broader socio-political issues, reflecting the belief that it was unethical to igno...

Episode #294: This is the second installment of Grahame White’s discussion with Insight Myanmar. He picks up the thread being back in Australia, running group sittings that grew in popularity. Joseph Goldstein was invited to conduct the country's inaugural ten-day course, setting off an explosion of interest. This soon resulted in the building of the Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Centre,...

Episode #293: Journalist Thomas van Linge shares his insights into the dire situation in Karenni state, contrasting the devastation caused by the military junta versus the resilience of the Karenni people. From the beginning of the coup in February 2021, Thomas closely followed the bravery of Burmese protesters who transformed civil resistance into an armed struggle. His work mapping the conflict...