Taiwan Talk

Liam Fanning is organizing the upcoming "Taipei Shorts IV", the fourth installment of a series of short plays, going on stage in early January 2022! ICRT's Trevor Tortomasi speaks with Liam about writing, directing, and acting, as well as how Taipei Shorts is keeping English- and multi-language theater alive in Taiwan. Find tickets to Taipei Shorts here: bit.ly/taipeishorts Find out more about Tai...

Jim Geddes is the founder and bandleader of the Taipei Professional Orchestra Big Band, as well as a freelance musician and woodwind instrumentalist extraordinaire. ICRT's Trevor Tortomasi speaks with Jim about the TPO Big Band, gathering musicians in a pandemic, and his background on Broadway. You can find the TPO Big Band's new album here: https://tpotaipei.bandcamp.com/album/tpo-live-at-yuchen-...

Satoki Matsushita is an astrophysicist who has worked with international projects like the Event Horizon Telescope and the Greenland Telescope Project, which have contributed to humanity's first imaging of a black hole, millions of lightyears from Earth. ICRT's Trevor Tortomasi speaks with Satoki about his research on black holes, his work with telescopes around the world, and his personal journey...

Bonnie Lin and Angela Hsiung are professional street dancers, and are directing an immersive dance performance called "Lili", which is set to open for the weekend of December 11th and 12th. ICRT's Trevor Tortomasi speaks to Bonnie and Angela about their show Lili, immersive dance, training during the pandemic, and their experiences with street dance. Follow them on instagram: Lili: @lili20210717 B...

Mark Hsu, found of outsourcing service provider and consulting agency 11th Fleet joins the podcast this week to talk about his organisation and the new, decentralised business environment that organisations around the world are slowly starting to adopt. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

Brian Hioe is a founding member of New Bloom Magazine, and a regular correspondent for news agencies including Taiwan Plus and ICRT. ICRT's Trevor Tortomasi speaks to Brian about his recent contribution to an extensive feature story on Taiwan by HBO's "Last Week Tonight", hosted by John Oliver, which is some of the most mainstream coverage of Taiwan by the U.S. in recent years. You can find more f...

French filmmaker Aurelien Jegou joins us on this week's episode of Taiwan Talk to discuss his love of Taiwanese cinema, and two of the short movies he has produced since moving to Taiwan over five years ago. You can find more information about Aurelien's work at www.aurelien-binggan.com. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

Eddy Gonzalez is the owner of the restaurant "Eddy's Cantina" in Taipei, where he hosts the weekly live show "Eddy LIVE". ICRT's Trevor Tortomasi chats with Eddy about running a restaurant through the pandemic, what he's learned from hosting a live show, and how to turn a Wednesday into a Friday. You can see his show on YouTube every Wednesday at 7 PM: https://www.eddy.live/ And you can follow him...

LGBTQ advocate and business-owner Olivia Wu joins us on Taiwan Talk this week to talk about her organization The Light Program. The organization offers holistic healing services and is involved in community-building activities in Taiwan. Olivia has also helped organize Asia Rainbow Ride - a biking event to raise money for LGBTQ charities. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

Ray Ko is a freediving instructor on the island of Xiaoliuqiu, off the coast of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. ICRT's Trevor Tortomasi speaks with Ray about the different kinds of diving, ocean stories, sea life, and pushing the limits of one's own diving potential. You can find more info on diving lessons with Ray here: https://www.freedivenomadtaiwan.com/ Follow Ray on instagram: @freedivenomad And check ou...

This final episode in the Renewable Energy and Taiwan series features representative of Siemens Taiwan Anthony Tam, who talks about the company’s Smart City concept for sustainable energy usage. Anthony discusses the three key Smart City initiatives of “grid edge”, smart buildings, and smart electrification, and explains where these have been implemented in Taiwan and around the world. -- Hosting...

Sarah Chang is an action film star turned podcaster, and host of "The Kungfu Momma Show". ICRT's Trevor Tortomasi chats with Sarah about her show, parenting experts, bringing the tenets of martial arts into everyday life, normalizing Asian representation in film, and her experiences on all sides of the cameras and microphones. You can hear more on the Kungfu Momma Show podcast: Spotify: https://op...

Seqalu is a TV series focusing on a critical piece of Taiwan's history, at the crossroads of indigenous culture and foreign influence. ICRT's Trevor Tortomasi speaks with Seqalu's director Jui-Yuan Tsao (曹瑞原), as well as starring actors Andrew Chau (周厚安) and Chien-Wei Huang (黃健瑋). This episode is the full bilingual interview, with all responses presented in their original languages. Seqal...

Seqalu is a TV series focusing on a critical piece of Taiwan's history, at the crossroads of indigenous culture and foreign influence. ICRT's Trevor Tortomasi speaks with Seqalu's director Jui-Yuan Tsao (曹瑞原), as well as starring actors Andrew Chau (周厚安) and Chien-Wei Huang (黃健瑋). This episode is a shortened version of the full bilingual interview, but includes English translations of key...

Professor Min Lee of National Tsing Hua University's Institute of Nuclear Engineering Science is our special guest this week. Professor Lee is a nuclear power advocate and campaigned to repeal an article in the Electricity Act that would have mandated the decommissioning of all nuclear plants by 2025. We discuss Taiwan's nuclear dilemma and the pros and cons of nuclear energy. -- Hosting provided...

Elias Ek is an entrepeneur from Sweden and a co-organizer of Dragon's Chamber, a pitch event for startup companies in Taiwan. ICRT's Trevor Tortomasi speaks to Elias about startups in Taiwan, competition in the Dragon's Chamber, impressing investors, and making connections. You can register to compete on the official website, or you can sign up to see the event for free! Signups close on September...

Why has Taiwan's birth rate declined at such a rapid rate? Can we do anything to ensure more people have children? This week we're joined by demography expert Doctor Alice Cheng from Academia Sinica's Institute of Sociology who helps answer these questions and delves deeper into Taiwan's fertility dilemma. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

Stewart Glen is an accomplished actor and coach in Taiwan's performance community, who is helping actors in Taiwan prepare for the World Monologue Games. The World Monologue Games is a global event which invites thousands of performers to showcase their acting, in front of internationally acclaimed judges! You can read about joining the Taiwan Team here: shorturl.at/FG467 Sign up for performance c...

James Chien from state-run energy enterprise Taipower joins us this week to discuss hydropower. Professor Jian-ping Suen of National Cheng Kung University's Department of Hydraulic and Ocean Engineering is also at hand to give additional information. We discuss how hydroelectricity is generated and the future of hydropower in Taiwan. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

Cindy Yang hosts the podcast Taiwanren, an interview show that focuses on Taiwanese innovators, makers, and advocates. ICRT's Trevor Tortomasi speaks with Cindy about her experiences with interviewing all kinds of people, raising awareness for mental health, and rediscovering what it means to be Taiwanese. You can find Taiwanren wherever you normally listen to podcasts… And you can follow Taiwanre...

Are you an avid bird watcher? Scott Pursner, director of international affairs at the Taiwan Wild Bird Federation, comes on the show to discuss how to track and treat birds you find in the wild, what issues wild birds are facing in Taiwan, and much more! -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

James Wong is a YouTuber living in Taiwan who has overcome some rare hurdles to become a content creator. James speaks about growing up with hearing loss, making bucket lists, and a momentous conversation with his father. See more of James' work on his channel: www.youtube.com/c/JamesWongLife And you can follow him on Instagram: @jameswonglife Thanks for listening! -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

Ciel et Terre is a French solar power developer specializing in floating solar panels. The company's Regional Business Development Manager Vivi Lee joins us to discuss how it is cooperating with existing industries, like fisheries, to not only increase Taiwan's capacity for generating renewable energy, but create a more stable business environment for these industries. -- Hosting provided by Sound...

Migrant workers from Southeast Asia often face adversity in Taiwan, and Lennon Wang of the Serve the People Association comes on the show to explain how his organization helps migrant workers get back on their feet after a difficult time at work. The association runs shelters for those transitioning between jobs and helps with legal troubles workers may face after raising a complaint about their e...

Lee Ching-chun (李靜君) is the Associate Artistic Director of the Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan. Trevor speaks with Ms. Lee about her performances with Cloud Gate, her sources of inspiration, and the long history of Taiwan's most prestigious dance studio. You can read more about Cloud Gate on their official website: https://www.cloudgate.org.tw/en/cg And once this epidemic is over, they'll be...