Insight Myanmar

Episode #229: Leon Kennedy's life is a chronicle of personal struggle. Growing up in an era of historical significance, his parents were heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movement, with figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks frequent visitors to his grandparent's home. But when his parents divorced, the pain and the absence of a male role model led him down a path of rebellion despi...

Episode #228: Jane Ferguson speaks about her recent book, Repossessing Shanland: Myanmar, Thailand, and a Nation-State Deferred . The book’s title refers to Shan attempts to reclaim their land and community after many years of conflict. Ferguson explains that contemporary concepts of identity—like “ethnicity”—are often mistakenly used to interpret the past. Rather, her study reveals the lack of pa...

Episode #227: Nathan Ruser, a specialist at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), is an expert in geo-mapping. Building on his experience using satellite imagery to track human rights violations in areas like Syria and Shenzhen, Ruser has begun analyzing the unique nature of the conflict in Myanmar. Influenced by the country’s geographic and ethnic diversity, the clashes here defy conv...

Episode #226: After the National League for Democracy (NLD) party’s landslide victory in 2015, Ko Ko Gyi remembers thinking to himself, “Okay, this is the time to retire from my activism, so let's just relax. I felt forced to retire." This is now a rueful memory as Ko Ko Gyi looks back over some of the key moments in his decades-long struggle for Myanmar’s freedom, and autonomy from military rule...

Episode #225: In this third part of the ongoing discussion with Jonathan Crowley, we delve deeper into his experiences as an Assistant Teacher in the S.N. Goenka tradition of Vipassana meditation. Jonathan starts off by saying how he was moved by his appointment as an assistant teacher, but also candidly describes how aspiring teachers learn the importance of feigning disinterest, creating a false...

Episode #224: Saw Htee Char, working under a pseudonym for safety reasons, has been heavily involved in Myanmar since the devastating Cyclone Nargis in 2008. Recognizing a significant gap in accessible, reliable information about the conflict in Myanmar, Saw Htee Char established the Substack page, Burma Coup Resistance Notes . Contrary to the often simplistic and misleading interpretations of the...

Episode #223: Raised in a Myanmar military compound, Thinzar Shunlei Yi grew up sheltered from her nation's realities. University life exposed her to diverse ethnic narratives, challenging her military-centric worldview. Embracing democracy through literature and the internet, she grappled with guilt over the military's oppression. Her activism took shape through protests and performance art, even...

Episode #222: Davin Hartanto, an experienced migration agent, discusses changes in Australia's student visa strategy, particularly how it is affecting Myanmar nationals after the coup. The changes are intended to verify applicants' intentions to return home after studies, a problematic criterion for those from conflict zones. Hartanto explains the discretionary power of immigration officers, which...

Episode #221: Our guest, Lorenzo Colombo, talks about the great Italian monk, U Lokānatha. Born Salvatore Cioffi near Naples in 1897, his family temporarily moved to New York due to economic difficulties. Salvatore embarked on a spiritual quest early in life. Though his family were devout Roman Catholics, Salvatore initially explored positivism but eventually found himself drawn to Buddhism, quite...

Episode #220: Elliott Prasse-Freeman, author of the recent book “Rights Refused,” joins the podcast for a wide-ranging, erudite discussion. Prasse-Freeman first distinguishes between two kinds of anti-regime acts. One he calls an act of “refusal.” In other words, one avoids direct confrontation and instead supports various prosocial, community-based society initiatives around things the state is u...

The Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) in Washington DC leverages public data to uncover illicit activities linked to global security threats and human rights abuses. As our guest Savanna Slaughter explains, her team focuses on natural resource security, wildlife crimes, and national security concerns. In Myanmar, they have been investigating the junta's military funding and illicit finan...

Episode #219: “The whole military is fragile. The military is collapsing,” says Kyaw Zaw, the spokesperson for the National Unity Government. “This is an unprecedented time, and a turning point in this revolution. It shows that we are winning, and when we are fighting together, then the military is collapsing. When the military fails, then this revolution will succeed!” Despite the pre-coup percep...

Episode #218: Beth Upton, a former Buddhist nun who practiced extensively in Burma and has become an influential teacher in the West, returns to the podcast. She reflects on how the richness of Burmese Buddhism has profoundly impacted her identity and teaching style, and highlights the critical need to acknowledge and preserve its spiritual heritage, especially in the face of the ongoing crisis. T...

Episode #217: Bo Thanmani has emerged as a pivotal figure in the resistance against the military coup in Myanmar. Born into poverty as Tun Oo, he became a monk to access education, which led to English study, further opening the door to democratic thought. His earlier advocacy for human rights led him to undertake bold Peace Walks across Germany, the US, and Thailand; garnering international atten...

Episode #216: Helena Cing Deih Sian explores the interaction of socio-historical context and urban spaces, emphasizing how history manifests in architecture and planning. Her work investigates the influence of memories in shaping the narrative of a city, particularly focusing on Myanmar. She explores how architecture serves as a medium of identity expression and community remembrance, albeit somet...

Episode #215: Ko Ko Aung's life journey is a testament to resilience and purpose amidst Myanmar's political unrest. He was raised in a middle-class family in southern Myanmar, yet unlike his two brothers, Ko Ko Aung chose to focus on academics rather than the family business, making ngapi . He went to study law in Australia, aiming to aid his homeland's transition to democracy. Upon graduation, Ko...

Episode #214: Whit Hornsberger's spiritual journey began unexpectedly when a devastating ACL injury ended his basketball career at the University of Calgary. The loss of his identity as an athlete plunged him into darkness, and he sought solace in surfing and partying in Australia. His path took a significant turn, however, when he discovered the teachings of the Dalai Lama and delved into the Yog...

Episode #213: Isaac Evans-Frantz outlines the mission of Action Corps, a U.S.-based organization dedicated to justice and solidarity in the face of global disasters. One of their initiatives is in support of ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Myanmar. Even though Isaac has never visited Myanmar, the work hits home in a personal way. “When I was a child, somebody came to my class...

Episode #212: Sean Turnell's remarkable journey in Myanmar, spanning over three decades, reflects a life deeply intertwined with the country's tumultuous history. He first describes his extensive research on Myanmar's economy, culminating in his first book, “Fiery Dragons,” which highlighted the importance of understanding history and culture in economics. Turnell's involvement deepened when he jo...

Episode #211: Enze Han, an Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong, conducted ground-breaking research that analyzes patterns of conflict in relation to geography. His study, "Rugged terrain, forest coverage, and insurgency in Myanmar," analyzed the tumultuous years from 2010 to 2018. His findings revealed a strategic dance within the country's terrain. Conflict tends to avoid the extre...

Episode #210: Andrea Gittleman's deep familiarity with Myanmar spans 15 years, and is rooted in her work with the Burma Lawyers' Council in Mae Sot. With meager resources, the council educated Burmese migrants on their labor rights in Thailand while documenting atrocities back in Myanmar. Witnessing the regime's grim human rights record firsthand, Gittleman embarked on a mission to garner int...

Michael Haack sheds light on the intricate world of US sanctions and their impact on Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprises (MOGE) and the wider Myanmar military regime. Haack, a familiar voice on the podcast, has spent two decades advocating for Myanmar, playing a pivotal role in the passage of the Burma Act. These latest sanctions, as Haack explains, cut off US financial services to MOGE, affecting loa...

Episode #209: Susan Zaw’s father and grandfather were both military men, and she had never really been a real fan of the National League for Democracy (NLD). But on February 28, shortly after the coup, everything changed.  Her neighbor, a taxi driver, accidentally was hit in the neck by a soldier’s stray bullet. He was immediately rushed to the hospital for an emergency operation, but wh...

Episode #208: Better Burma’s third panel tackles the issue of the lack of limited international governmental and infrequent media attention on the horrific, on-going situation in Myanmar and the Burmese people’s valiant resistance against a brutal, Russia-backed military. Considering the widespread atrocities and human rights abuses, this lack of attention is actually rather startling.  This...

Episode #207: Seeking a way to satisfy a growing internal discontent, Nobuko Nakano turned to psychedelics and other drugs, and hard partying in her youth. It was hard for her to stop, even after taking her first vipassana meditation course in the tradition of S.N. Goenka. Finally, though, she felt she had come to a fork in the road, and made the commitment to spend an extended period of time sitt...