Insight Myanmar

Episode #371: “I remain confident in the longer term, completely, actually, that this regime is losing,” says Sean Turnell, Australian economist and former advisor to Myanmar’s civilian government, as he analyzes the recent U.S. decision to lift sanctions on several junta-linked cronies, in what his fourth appearance on this platform. While acknowledging widespread concern, he offers a measured, o...

Episode #370: "Why are [Asian women] not allowed to dream that we can open our own thing and lead our own work?" This question by human rights lawyer Emilie Palamy Pradichit slices through the silence, exposing the systemic barriers that have historically muted and marginalized Asian women in leadership. Pradichit’s journey as a young Lao refugee navigating discrimination in a low-income Parisian...

Episode #369: “I promised Aung San Suu Kyi and committed myself to work for democracy and human rights in the country as long as necessary. And still it is necessary!” So says Kjell Magne Bondevik, former Prime Minister of Norway and a longtime supporter of Myanmar’s democratic struggle. In this conversation, he reflects on his decades of advocacy for Myanmar, from a surreptitious 1997 visit to Ya...

Episode #368: The Adhikara podcast is an important, new voice in Burmese media, aiming to build not just a movement but a resilient community against oppression. Created by Maw Nwei and Morgen after the 2021 military coup, Adhikara provides a platform for expression and education, especially around human rights. The podcast allows the creators to connect with the Burmese people without the barrier...

Episode #367: In this episode, we hear from two compelling voices grappling with the human and political costs of authoritarianism in Southeast Asia. Raoul Manuel, the youngest elected member of the Philippine Congress, describes how his work on education reform and youth rights intersects with a broader transnational resistance against repressive leadership. He draws on his experience in grassroo...

Episode #366: Sallo Polak, founder of the Philanthropy Connections Foundation (PCF), has spent decades building a grassroots approach to humanitarian aid in Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Motivated by a lifelong desire to address global inequality—first sparked by a formative journey to India at age 18—Polak established PCF in 2011 to serve under-resourced communities through trust, dignity, and...

Episode #365: “The Buddha lives and teaches for the welfare of the world, for the happiness of the world,” says Bhikkhu Bodhi. “He does live for the welfare and happiness of human beings. And so now, when we look at contemporary conditions, the question arises as Buddhists following in the footsteps of the Buddha, how do we live for the welfare and happiness of other human beings?”  Bhikkhu B...

Episode #364: Ben’s simple words resonate strongly: “If I could do something small for one person, why would I not?”  This episode brings together Ben and a Burmese student who goes by the moniker Little Activist. Together, they discuss the profound impact of individual gestures and transnational solidarity. Ben, who worked briefly in Myanmar with a UN agency, was moved by an episode that Ins...

New Bloom is an online magazine and community space covering activism and youth politics in Taiwan and the Asia Pacific, founded in Taiwan in 2014 in the wake of the Sunflower Movement. They welcomed the host of Insight Myanmar for a talk at their Taipei center.

Episode #363: In post-coup Myanmar, where conventional aid channels with humanitarian intentions risk getting diverted and empowering the military junta, Blockchain technology presents a nuanced alternative. An anonymous Blockchain researcher, 7k, highlights both the promise and the pitfalls of digital solutions. He explains that “Blockchain is a fundamental technology that enables cryptocurrencie...

Episode #362: Myanmar has recorded the world’s worst casualties from landmines and explosive ordnance for the first time, with over 1,000 casualties in 2024 alone, 29% of whom are children. The inaugural episode in our “Navigating a Minefield” series kicks off with Bekim Shala, a humanitarian mine action expert whose journey in the field began in his native Kosovo, heavily contaminated by landmine...

Episode #361: “I am Burmese. I feel like it is my duty and responsibility to speak about it.” With these words, Myet opens a conversation that explores Myanmar’s past and present, weaving together personal history, political critique, and spiritual insight.  Raised under military rule, Myet witnessed the silencing of dissent and the trauma that shaped her parents’ generation after the 1988 up...

Episode #360: “To have my daughter summarily decide that I was complicit in genocide, I really had to think through again my logic for taking the position that we should stay. It sent me on a lot of soul searching,” confesses Ellen Goldstein, a former World Bank Country Director for Myanmar. This revelation, a central theme to her book “Damned If You Do”, encapsulates the dilemmas she faced during...

Episode #359: “The real motivating force is people, it is those human relations.” Duncan McArthur, a backpacker turned decades-long humanitarian leader, found his truth not in textbooks, but in the raw, unfiltered experiences along the Thai-Burma border. His journey began as an English teacher in a Karen refugee camp, where he was inspired by the resilience and humility of the communities he worke...

Episode #358: The 4th International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies (ICBMS), hosted by Chiang Mai University in August 2024, brought together scholars, activists, and experts to discuss Myanmar's critical issues. The event focused on conflicts, peace processes, human rights, and the 2021 coup's impact, drawing an estimated 800 participants, making it one of the largest gatherings on Myanmar st...

Episode #357: When Wai Yan Phyo Naing, a civilian scholar in Myanmar vocal against the human rights atrocities of the junta, received a scholarship from a Russian university to pursue his Masters, he did not expect to receive a rare insight into the intricacies of Myanmar's military. Yet that is exactly what happened, as many soldiers were also studying at his university in Moscow. Surrounded by h...

Episode #356: Jonathan Crowley shares his experiences as an Assistant Teacher within the Vipassana Meditation Organization of SN Goenka. He participated in a culture that heavily prioritized rules and regulations over open and meaningful discussion about the practice itself. This lack of space for open dialogue, especially about the Dhamma, led Jonathan to feel that the organization was stifling i...

Episode #355: “You need to pay attention to what the kids care about,” says Naomi Gingold. “It will inform so much about the place that you're trying to understand, be it politics, culture, all of it! And you do a disservice to the nature of what you're trying to understand when you don't.”  In the late 1990s, amid Myanmar's strict military rule, Burmese hip hop began to emerge as a new form...

Episode #353: Professor Lahra Smith, a political science professor specializing in East Africa at Georgetown University, argues that Myanmar’s current struggles must be seen within a global framework of colonial legacies, using Sudan as a comparative case. While acknowledging contextual differences, Smith shows how both countries were shaped by British colonial rule that hardened ethnic divisions,...

The Global Citizen Podcast recently featured a look at the work behind Insight Myanmar and Better Burma, which we bring you here as a bonus episode.

Episode #352: Nicholas Coppel’s tenure as Australia’s ambassador to Myanmar (2015–2018) provides a unique lens on the country’s transition toward democracy, as well as the enduring challenges posed by military dominance. Serving during the historic 2015 elections, Coppel witnessed the National League for Democracy (NLD) rise to power under Aung San Suu Kyi. Yet despite the optimism surrounding the...

Episode #351: Aurora Chang’s diverse background and upbringing deeply influence her perspective and activism. Born in Taiwan, she spent formative years in South Africa, the United States, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, an international upbringing that provided her with a multifaceted worldview. This exposure also played a role in informing how she views her Taiwanese identity, particularly as...

Episode #350: Dr. Kevin Casas-Zamora, Secretary-General of International IDEA since 2019, speaks on the enduring struggle for democracy in Myanmar, a fight he frames as universally relevant. “At a fundamental level, any country’s struggle for democracy is every country’s struggle for democracy,” he says. He contrasts the brutal 2021 military coup with the more gradual democratic erosion seen globa...

Episode #349: Oliver Tanner's journey begins in London, where as a teenager, he became restless and dissatisfied with the status quo. At 19, he traveled through Asia, which first exposed him to the idea of meditation. He first practiced yoga, but a chance encounter led to a Vipassana meditation course in the tradition of S. N. Goenka, which profoundly shifted his perspective. His commitment deepen...

Episode #348: The Spring Revolution in Myanmar represents a continuation of long-standing struggles for a legitimate political order, according to Charlie Thame, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Thammasat University.   Thame describes this uprising as a "redemptive revolution," striving to fulfill the promises of past movements like the 1988 Uprising and the Saffron Revo...