Podcasts by Ear to Asia
Ear to Asia is produced by Asia Institute, the Asia research specialists at the University of Melbourne, Australia. In Ear to Asia, we talk with Asia experts to unpack the issues behind news headlines in a region that is rapidly changing the world. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Further podcasts by Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne
Podcast on the topic Gesellschaft und Kultur
All episodes
How the future of Indonesia's peatlands will shape climate change from 2023-12-11T19:00:21
With the return of the El Niño weather pattern after a three-year hiatus, several Southeast Asian nations are preparing for the resurgence of the hazardous haze caused by peatland fires in Indon...
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Managing caste discrimination in the workplace from 2023-11-23T00:42:35
As India’s diaspora continues to expand in Western nations, what are the implications of caste identity, and the discriminatory practices that accompany it, for corporate managers? Despite being...
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China's Pacific push: Assessing the impact on island nations from 2023-11-08T19:00:17
China’s ambitious push into the Pacific Islands through infrastructure investments and loans has raised concerns about its grand strategy and geopolitical goals for nearby middle powers such as ...
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Aid under fire: The dilemmas facing humanitarian actors in strife-torn Myanmar from 2023-10-22T19:00:15
Myanmar is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis dating back to the military coup of February 2021, which toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered a massive popular upris...
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Vietnam's balancing act with powers great and near from 2023-10-04T19:00:23
With a history of conflict with large powers such as China and the United States, Vietnam now pursues a carefully calibrated foreign policy of multi-alignment and hedging to balance its strategi...
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The legacy of the War on Terror for Muslims in the West from 2023-09-17T20:00:15
Although the rising popularity of the political far-right in Western liberal democracies has shifted Australia’s security gaze away from Islamic terrorism, two decades of terrorism countermeasur...
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Minding Xi’s business: How commercial enterprises navigate China’s political landscape from 2023-08-30T20:00:13
With the housing sector on the brink, high youth unemployment and slower than desired GDP growth, 2023 is shaping up to be an annus horribilis for China’s economy. Since many of its cur...
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How do Cambodia’s ever closer ties with China affect Southeast Asia? from 2023-08-09T20:00:45
Cambodia has for decades been aligning itself ever closer to China, with substantial economic and political consequences for the Southeast Asian nation – and with geopolitical implications for i...
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India's long and winding road to affordable and accessible healthcare from 2023-07-18T20:00:22
India faces a daunting task in providing adequate healthcare for its 1.4 billion people. While it can boast world-class hospitals and skilled medical staff, there remain stark disparities in hea...
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What Erdoğan’s staying power means for the future of Türkiye from 2023-06-27T20:00:15
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's victory in Türkiye’s 2023 presidential election extends his two-decade reign by another 5 years yet raises important questions about the country's domestic politics. Despite ...
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Gauging the health of democracy in the Philippines under Bongbong Marcos from 2023-06-07T01:43:38
As Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr begins his second year as president of the Philippines, how is his administration impacting the lives of ordinary Filipinos? The controversial term of Marcos’ imme...
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Why Taiwan leads the rest of Asia in recognising LGBTQ+ rights from 2023-05-22T20:00:27
In May 2019, Taiwan broke barriers by legalizing same-sex marriage, becoming the first in Asia to do so. While the enormous efforts of activists — coupled with the progressive mindset of Taiwanese ...
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All at sea: Contending with maritime disputes in the South China Sea and beyond from 2023-05-08T20:00:35
While China asserts its right to some 90% of the South China Sea, its claims variously overlap and conflict with those of Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and the Philippines -- themselves no ...
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How a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan affects security in the region from 2023-04-23T20:00:32
Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the harboring of extremist or terrorist groups, continued high numbers of displaced Afghans, and ramped up production of opium ...
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Policing political discourse in Malaysia from 2023-03-27T19:00:47
In Malaysia, the 3 “R”s — race, religion, and royalty — are considered politically sensitive topics, and despite constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech, the state has passed laws that rest...
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How Australia's future depends on better understanding Asia from 2023-03-13T19:00:22
There's no question that Australia is tightly bound to Asia. Indonesia is a close neighbor, China is its most important trading partner, and India and Japan are its strategic partners. While pri...
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Policy reversals and political impact in China from 2023-02-28T00:11:55
China's government has made significant policy shifts in recent months, including lifting the zero-covid policy, loosening credit regulations for real estate development, and a less strident ton...
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The future of Taiwan-China relations: Is the status quo the best option? from 2023-02-11T19:00:43
In Taiwan, the victory in Taipei's 2022 mayoral election of Chiang Wan-an, the Kuomintang (KMT) candidate and purported great grandson of former strongman Chiang Kai Shek, has sparked debate abo...
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Singing songs of rebels, rice and romance in China’s lower Yangtze Delta from 2023-01-29T19:00:15
The Yangtze, Asia's longest river, flows through China's wealthiest region, the lower delta, which includes the metropolis of Shanghai. Sadly, the unique traditional cultures and epic folk songs...
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A changed Hong Kong under China’s national security law from 2023-01-11T19:00:33
In 2020, Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong after months of mass protests, resulting in the prosecution and conviction of many activists and journalists. China introduced the l...
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Who wants to be Indonesia’s next president? from 2022-12-15T19:00:14
Although Indonesia's presidential elections take place in February 2024, it's already game on for the lineup of presidential hopefuls, and the nation's political machine is already in high gear....
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The rise and rise of halal consumerism in Indonesia from 2022-11-16T19:00:40
Muslims in Indonesia are increasingly seeking to align their consumption with their religious beliefs. The push comes from a growing urban middle class who have greater access to global products...
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What a Taliban theocracy means for Afghanistan from 2022-10-26T19:00:39
In August 2021, the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan after a 20-year hiatus and promptly replaced the nation’s legal system with their own austere version of Islamic law or Sharia. While...
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How can Sri Lanka continue to hedge between India and China? from 2022-10-05T19:00:25
Sri Lanka recently found itself caught in a diplomatic tussle between China and India over the planned visit of Chinese naval vessel the Yuan Wang 5, to the port of Hambantota. India opposed the...
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What will it take to end the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan? from 2022-09-14T20:00:28
After the Taliban wrested power from Afghanistan’s democratically-elected government in August 2021, almost overnight, life for millions of Afghans changed radically and possibly irrevocably. No...
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The human cost of South Korea’s era of transnational adoption from 2022-08-29T20:00:29
Since the 1950s but peaking in the 1980s, an estimated 200,000 South Korean babies and children have been adopted into mainly white families in western nations, leaving a trail of fractured iden...
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Contrasting memories of Japanese colonisation in Korea and Taiwan from 2022-08-09T20:00:30
Taiwan and Korea were colonised by Imperial Japan for much of the first half of the 20th century, and liberated only after Japan surrendered to allied forces in 1945. While North and South Korea...
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Mindful of power: Politics and nationalism in Buddhist-majority societies from 2022-07-24T20:00:18
While non-violence and detachment may be central to Buddhist teachings, there are growing accounts of human rights abuses – often along ethnic lines – in Buddhist-majority countries like Myanmar...
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How China finds a home for 1.4 billion people from 2022-07-05T20:00
China’s meteoric economic rise over the last 40+ years has been accompanied by hundreds of millions of people leaving the countryside to seek opportunities in the nation's metropolises. Housing ...
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Getting China-Australia relations out of a rut from 2022-06-21T20:00
The recent change of government in Australia and a less strident tone in messaging from the Chinese leadership are being taken by some as a promising turn for fractured bilateral ties. But as Au...
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Thailand's simmering political discontent from 2022-06-05T20:00
Protesters returned to the streets of Bangkok in late 2021 – after a hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions – with anger over curbs to civil and political rights as well as calls for reform of the ...
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Ending the cycle of political disarray in Malaysia from 2022-05-19T20:00
Malaysia has witnessed a succession of prime ministers and political alliances over the past four years in what some observers say is the most serious era of political instability since independ...
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India's two-way bet on the US-Russia divide from 2022-05-05T20:00
India has now on four occasions abstained from voting in the United Nations to censure Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. New Delhi’s muted response to Moscow’s military offensive may seem mys...
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Islamic finance in a fintech future from 2022-04-21T20:00
Having built a Shariah-compliant global finance industry now worth US$3 trillion, Islamic legal experts are now grappling with the question of whether cryptocurrencies are permissible for the wo...
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Pachinko: Korean fates and fortunes in Japan from 2022-04-07T06:00
Pachinko, the New York Times best-selling novel and now major TV series, shines a light on the history and plight of the Zainichi – ethnic Koreans long resident in Japan – and their struggle t...
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Anxiety and aspiration in Japan-China relations from 2022-03-24T06:00
For Japan, China is both its largest trading partner and its greatest strategic threat. And while Tokyo has garnered admiration for how it walks the line between its ally Washington and Beijin...
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Beyond Squid Game: Translating Asian film and TV for a hungry global market from 2022-03-04T08:34
The South Korean mega-hit Squid Game is but one example of an ever growing pool of Asian video content riding the boom in streaming services to a global audience. And while translations...
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Decision making and dissent in the Chinese Communist Party from 2022-02-17T10:05
China’s Communist Party is known to prize loyalty and conformity among its more than 90 million members. If good policies are forged through deliberation and debate, how does the CCP handle th...
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Growing the Australia-India relationship from 2022-02-02T08:40
As Australia’s relationship with China continues to sour, it should come as no surprise that Canberra is bolstering security ties with New Delhi. Additionally, the two governments are working ...
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Was Donald Trump on the money about China? from 2022-01-19T08:28
As US president, Donald Trump rewrote the rule book for dealing with China, breaking norms enshrined in bilateral relations since the days of Richard Nixon. Yet even Trump’s harshest critics h...
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Indonesia's evolving post-pandemic political landscape from 2021-12-14T12:32
Despite being well into his final term as Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo continues his coalition building, and retains the backing of political and business elites. And, while critics poin...
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Weighing up the legacy of Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte from 2021-11-22T10:18
For many, outgoing Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte will be remembered for his call for the extra-judicial killings of alleged drug dealers. He's also gone after his critics in the media,...
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Intimate connections and exit strategies in a changing Japan from 2021-11-02T09:19
In Japan, the norms of human connection and physical intimacy are evolving, with arranged marriages on the wane, and defacto relationships and same-sex unions no longer rare. As the nature of ...
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The political battle over health policy in Indonesia from 2021-10-11T08:38
What's at stake and who are the stakeholders in steering health policy in Indonesia? While the right to health for all Indonesians has been embraced by progressive, populist and technocratic p...
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Law and disorder in China-Australia relations from 2021-09-21T09:05
While relations between China and Australia have been on a protracted downward spiral, with on-the-ground issues continuing to hamper bilateral ties, how much of the impasse is down to a mutua...
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Is democracy at risk in India? from 2021-09-06T11:13
India has been slipping down the league tables of democratic health recently, with concerns over persistent crackdowns on dissent by the Hindu nationalist-led government of Prime Minister Nare...
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Framing and shaming body size in Japan from 2021-08-23T08:25
In Japan, slender bodies are prized and body size is regarded as a personal responsibility. Meanwhile, Japan’s government views the trend of increasing average body weight as a public health p...
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Who's fighting for the environment in China? from 2021-08-02T07:28
China’s natural environment has paid a high price for the nation’s economic success. And despite the Chinese government’s aversion to collective action, there are NGOs working hard to save the...
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Caste and the corporation, in India and abroad from 2021-07-16T14:51
India’s caste system remains alive and thriving, both in India and in its global diaspora. Seven decades after the passing of laws to fight discrimination, caste continues to dictate who India...
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How seriously does Australia take the learning of Asian languages? from 2021-06-30T09:10
For Australia, proficiency in the languages of its major Asian trading partners can yield important insights into what makes those societies and economies tick. But does Australia possess the ...
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What growing China-Russia ties mean for the world order from 2021-06-04T20:32
China and Russia are now arguably closer than they've ever been, with rapidly growing military and economic cooperation. Will the strength of these ties herald the end of U.S. hegemony in the ...
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Australia caught in the escalating US-China rivalry from 2021-05-07T22:28
Australia is finding itself increasingly torn between its largest trading partner, China, and its long-time ally, the United States. So, what is the value vs the cost of Australia’s alliance w...
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Federalism to the rescue in ethnically divided Asian societies from 2021-04-23T20:28
Colonialism has often left diverse and mutually hostile ethnic groups trapped inside a common national border. In Asia, countries like Myanmar and Sri Lanka have played out their unresolved et...
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Pakistan, the Taliban, and the future of Afghanistan from 2021-04-09T21:06
Afghanistan’s Taliban is poised to take the reins in Kabul with the looming withdrawal of US troops. Although dependent on Pakistan in the past, the Taliban are now more geopolitically savvy. ...
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Traitors and treason in the collective Chinese imagination from 2021-03-19T21:06
While traitors are despised in most societies, the preferred term in China, hànjiān, is not only highly charged but also takes on ethno-centric dimensions. So how has the Chinese concept of th...
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India's soft power push with vaccine diplomacy from 2021-03-02T15:14
India is the world’s largest donor of COVID-19 vaccines despite having the world’s second highest caseload of coronavirus. What are India’s motivations for this bold move? Will India have enou...
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Sexual citizenship and Asian migration to Australia from 2021-02-19T21:28
How do people at the intersection of LGBTQIA+ and Asian ethnicity fare when migrating to Australia, why do they choose to make their lives here, and what challenges do they face as they seek g...
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Migrants from China grappling with acceptance in Australia from 2021-02-05T17:53
While the majority of the 650,000+ China-born people living in Australia are here permanently, most choose to forgo Australian citizenship. So how do members of Australia’s mainland Chinese co...
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The fate of China's many languages from 2021-01-14T17:13
Although Mandarin is the national language of China, it remains incomprehensible to 20% of the population. Beijing is now pushing the use of Mandarin hard among ethnic minorities, but while fl...
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Can Australia do better in its relations with China? from 2020-12-02T16:34
China has been punishing Australia via trade sanctions and social media for actions taken by Australia’s government that Beijing regards as part of a US-led strategy to contain its rise. How i...
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Why the outrage over Indonesia's new job creation law? from 2020-11-17T18:01
While Indonesia’s new, so-called Job Creation Law was sold to the public as essential to boosting employment by reducing red tape, it has sparked continued outrage among workers, trade unionis...
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How will Hong Kong march to China's new drum? from 2020-10-27T21:18
Many citizens of Hong Kong fear the recently imposed National Security Law is only the latest move by Beijing to wind back civil liberties promised to last till 2047. But what does China’s gro...
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Who decides who's Muslim in modern Islamic states? from 2020-10-05T14:00
The constitutions of both Pakistan and Malaysia enshrine Islam as the state religion while also protecting individuals’ rights to freedom of worship. So how do their seemingly parallel legal s...
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India and China jousting for control on the roof of the world from 2020-09-17T21:16
India and China have been at odds over their common border for over a century, and this year’s deadly military skirmishes are further dashing hopes of a resolution. So why are there such high ...
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At what cost Turkey's foreign adventurism? from 2020-09-02T19:52
Turkey is increasingly intervening militarily in the territories of several of its Middle East neighbours, while relations with other regional players are souring. This is in stark contrast to...
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Vietnamese seeking their fortunes underground in Russia from 2020-08-17T10:00
For Vietnamese hunting economic opportunities abroad, it turns out Russia is a popular choice. Entering on short stay visas and overstaying sometimes for decades, they typically find work in u...
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Sculpting nations: the politics around statues in Asia from 2020-08-02T20:08
In Asia as elsewhere, whom statues commemorate and whom they overlook comes down to power and politics. And while the early post-colonial period was the heyday of statue building in the newly ...
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The market for Maoism outside China from 2020-07-13T09:05
Despite its roots in China, Mao Zedong’s theories of class struggle and violent revolution spread around the globe in the second half of the twentieth century, igniting armed uprisings in its ...
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Pushing back against plastic waste in Indonesia from 2020-06-28T14:46
In Indonesia, pollution from plastics is reaching crisis levels, with the fabled beaches of Bali now strewn with discarded plastics, while on Java the army is called out to unclog rivers from ...
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Pandemic politics in Turkey from 2020-06-15T20:02
Despite an initial flirt with pandemic denialism, Turkey may well be able to take some pride in its handling of the Covid-19 crisis. Yet, coronavirus continues to impose a huge cost on a natio...
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Kevin Rudd on China's place in a post-pandemic world from 2020-06-04T23:01
Special guest former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd joins host Ali Moore to discuss a post COVID-19 world marked by an increasingly assertive China and anaemic US leadership. Will growin...
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Is Indonesia's covid-19 response too little, too late? from 2020-05-21T10:43
As the Indonesian government’s coronavirus response has shifted from deep denial to broad action, some of its key directives are meeting with public resistance. So what is the pandemic telling...
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Winners and losers in Indonesia's plans for a new capital city from 2020-05-08T17:06
Indonesian President Joko Widodo is forging ahead with his grand plans to replace Jakarta with a new capital on the island of Borneo, but beyond the upbeat political rhetoric, many questions r...
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Covid-19 in India: Cracking open the social and political fault lines? from 2020-04-22T19:49
India has been making the headlines with the world’s biggest nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Epidemiology aside, what is the pandemic revealing about the social...
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The Kurdish struggle for political equality in Turkey from 2020-04-11T17:44
Although the Kurds form a very sizable minority in Turkey, there is little tolerance for those who stray from the dominant Turkish nationalist narrative. So how have the Kurdish people navigat...
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The demand for sand, and its impact in Asia from 2020-03-27T20:54
Ambitious construction programs for infrastructure and housing in Asia and elsewhere are leading to skyrocketing use of concrete, of which sand is a key ingredient. Mining of sand, a surprisin...
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Power, privilege and race in Singapore from 2020-03-13T20:20
Is the playing field truly level in Singapore, which touts itself as the ultimate meritocracy? Or are the ethnic Chinese making up the majority privileged over the other sizeable ethnic groups...
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The push to end violence against women in the Asia Pacific from 2020-02-28T20:43
Violence against women is at epidemic proportions in the Asia Pacific. The region’s governments, if they are to find ways of preventing domestic violence and support its victims, need reliable...
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Freedom of thought under fire in China from 2020-02-14T09:32
As several leading universities scrub freedom of thought from their charters and formalise allegiance to Chinese Communist Party doctrine, we ask just how far academia in China will bend to po...
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What drives Australia-Indonesia relations? from 2020-01-30T17:32
Australia’s relationship with Indonesia is complex, often fluid but sometimes fraught. How do these two nations regard each other, and how can Australia strengthen its ties with its populous n...
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LGBT rights in Japan in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympics from 2019-12-06T21:20
Although Japan doesn't prohibit same-sex relations, its laws do little to protect the rights of the LGBT community. With Tokyo maniacally preparing to host the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralym...
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Empowering women in Indonesia's villages from 2019-11-22T22:02
Improving the lot of Indonesia's rural women is no easy task. Yet the recently passed Village Law provides a unique opportunity for civil society organizations, government and village leadersh...
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Who's afraid of China? from 2019-11-09T10:31
While China's trade war with the US and its treatment of domestic discontents make the news headlines, its economic and military resurgence has truly spooked the West. But do China's ambitions...
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The rise, fall and future of Turkey's Gülen movement from 2019-10-25T20:36
Followers of the Gülen movement, some 10 million strong and active in 160 countries, remain to this day the target of relentless persecution by the Turkish government of Presi...
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The road to Uyghur repression in China from 2019-10-11T15:55
China has been cracking down hard on Uyghur and other Muslim groups in its far northwestern region of Xinjiang. But what’s the real history of the Uyghur people? How do they view themselves cu...
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Hard lessons for aid agencies at work in Myanmar from 2019-09-27T21:54
How do international aid agencies operate on the ground in Myanmar, with its its complex, unstable and sometimes hostile political and social environment? Anthropologist Dr Anne Décobert and c...
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North Korea's top defector speaks his mind from 2019-09-13T11:24
Thae Yong-ho, North Korea’s highest ranking defector, joins us in the studio to share his unique insights into North Korean society and how it’s been shaped by the Kim family. He also sheds li...
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The blessing and curse of Indonesia's resource economy from 2019-08-30T20:15
In Indonesia, as in many other developing economies, the resources sector makes millionaires or billionaires of the few, and often leaves the many to eke out a subsistence. In a country highly...
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Living with disability in Asian societies from 2019-08-16T19:58
In the Asia-Pacific region, it’s estimated that one in every six people is living with a debilitating physical or cognitive impairment, and that figure is set to grow. So what is the lived exp...
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Weaponising social media in Indonesian politics from 2019-08-02T18:37
In Indonesia, what’s the relationship between growing dominance of social media, greater commitment to neoliberal economic policies, and increasing religious conservatism? Indonesia media anal...
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Sufism in an age of political Islam from 2019-07-19T19:43
Sufism, the mystical tradition of Islam, may bring to mind the poetry of Rumi or Turkey’s whirling dervishes, but what are its practices and beliefs? Who are its detractors in the greater Musl...
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Is Xi Jinping's heavy hand just what China needs? from 2019-07-05T20:30
To many observers, Xi Jinping’s leadership appears to be a throwback to the Mao Zedong era. But is it fair to compare Xi’s methods with Mao’s? Or is Xi’s iron-fisted rule just what China needs...
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Language choices and challenges in Indonesia from 2019-06-21T15:08
The complexity and hybrid nature of language in Indonesia means the Indonesian language still vies with other tongues—and even with itself—in the choices people make about how they express the...
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Being Korean in Japan from 2019-06-06T21:29
Ethnic Koreans have made up a substantial part of Japan’s urban populations for generations. And while many get on with their lives among the Japanese, their unique status continues to present...
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How household registration in China continues to divide society from 2019-05-24T14:12
China's household registration—or hukou—system identifies citizens by their urban or rural origins and follows them wherever they may live or work, determining their lifelong access to healthc...
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Will Jokowi's victory be a win for Indonesia? from 2019-05-09T20:55
Fresh after winning his second term as Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo faces stagnant economic growth, high youth unemployment, greater financial dependence on China, and a still powerful o...
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The war memory industries of China and Japan from 2019-04-26T11:35
While both China and Japan run museums dedicated to the horrors of WWII, how well are the facts allowed to speak for themselves? And how are memories of war used to shape domestic and foreign-...
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Cambodia: Hun Sen's unrelenting grip on power from 2019-04-12T14:26
Southeast Asia historian Dr Matthew Galway discusses Cambodia’s politics, culture and history through the lens of Hun Sen, the nation’s strongman prime minister since 1985. Presented by Ali Mo...
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What a deepening China-Pakistan alliance means for India? from 2019-03-29T14:02
How does Pakistan fit into Xi Jinping’s geopolitical ambitions for China? And how do the deepening military and economic ties between China and Pakistan impact on that other vital player in th...
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The evolving lives and language of women in Japan from 2019-03-15T17:22
Social anthropologist Prof. Kaori Okano talks to presenter Ali Moore about the life transitions of a group of Japanese women whom she has interviewed regularly over the past 30 years. Sociolin...
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How healthy is China's healthcare system? from 2019-02-28T15:41
China's citizens are now demanding more from the nation’s healthcare system, with its tangle of institutions, insurance plans and bureaucratic rules. So how do ordinary Chinese seek medical he...
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China's long march to a utopian society from 2019-02-14T23:17
While Chinese notions of an ideal society can be traced back more than two millennia to Confucius, it’s the Chinese Communist Party that claims it’s taking China on the path to a utopia. China...
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Can Japan stop its rapid population decline? from 2019-01-15T08:29
Japan's population is shrinking at the alarming 1000 people per day, with ominous implications for the nation’s economy and society. Can solutions be found in more family-friendly corporate cu...
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Indonesia's foreign policy priorities and predicaments from 2018-12-13T17:56
Caught between China’s geopolitical ambitions and the United States’ questionable commitment to the region, can Indonesia stick to its long held position of not forming alliances with major po...
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Homelands harnessing the power of their diasporas from 2018-11-23T20:51
Diasporas, once viewed by their homelands as merely remittance cash cows, are increasingly being seen by labor-exporting governments as a broader resource for domestic development programs and...
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Will Narendra Modi and the BJP prevail again in 2019? from 2018-11-09T11:46
Can India’s current prime minister, Narendra Modi, lead his party, the BJP, to another victory in the world’s biggest election in 2019? India watchers Professor Robin Jeffrey and Dr Pradeep Ta...
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Grappling with identity in Taiwan from 2018-10-25T17:36
How do the people of Taiwan identify themselves and their society? Most have ancestry that can be traced to the Chinese mainland and now speak Mandarin, but does a uniquely layered history set...
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Xi Jinping and China's Confucianist revival from 2018-10-11T17:13
Confucianism is experiencing a revival in China, with President Xi Jinping now publicly endorsing Confucius’ millennia-old principles of personal morality, social order and justice. So what’s ...
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India and China's growing strategic rivalry in the Indian Ocean from 2018-09-27T09:42
The Indian Ocean, long assumed by India to be its own "backyard", is now host to growing economic and military inroads by China. Asia watchers and political analysts Prof. Derek McDougall and ...
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The price of rising inequality in Indonesia from 2018-09-13T22:50
While poverty in Indonesia has declined significantly in the 20 years since the fall of Suharto, the gap between the rich and poor has only got worse. Political economists Prof Andrew Rosser a...
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Liquid ambition: China's megaproject bringing water to a parched north from 2018-08-31T12:55
China’s South-North Water Transfer Project, the world’s largest-ever diversion scheme, is being rolled out to take water from the Yangtze River in the country’s south to quench the thirst of i...
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Engineering public morality in China from 2018-08-17T15:07
China’s social credit system is being rolled out and will by 2020 track the behavior of all of its 1.4 billion citizens, doling out rewards and punishments to individuals and communities. Asia...
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Taking the pulse of democracy in Southeast Asia from 2018-08-02T11:05
Given the notably mixed results of recent elections in the region, just how healthy is the practice of democracy in Southeast Asia? To distinguish the rhetoric from the political reality, we’r...
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In the pipeline: Bringing clean water to Timor-Leste from 2018-07-17T21:01
Two decades after winning its independence from Indonesia, Timor-Leste is still grappling with delivering clean water and sanitation to its people, both in Dili and in rural areas. With first-...
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Manufacturing nationalism in China from 2018-07-03T21:49
Is rising nationalism among citizens of China a natural result of the country’s growing power, or is it being manufactured and stoked by a Chinese Communist Party only looking out for its own ...
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20 years after Suharto, do human rights matter yet in Indonesia? from 2018-06-12T21:33:01
Two decades after the fall of the authoritarian Suharto regime, is Indonesia finally taking its human rights record seriously? Historian Dr Kate McGregor and socio-legal researcher Dr Ken Seti...
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China's Xi Jinping: The man who would be Mao? from 2018-05-25T19:45:40
China recently abolished term limits for its presidency, clearing the way for Xi Jinping to continue indefinitely — possibly for life — as boss of the People’s Republic. Asia Institute’s China...
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For an ageing China, will demography be destiny? from 2018-05-10T17:07:49
China, after decades of economic growth and a draconian policy limiting families to only one child, now faces a rapidly ageing population, together with a declining workforce and too many men....
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Liberalism in the firing line as Indonesia prepares for elections from 2018-04-25T20:57:17
As Indonesia gears up for important elections in 2018 and 2019, we talk with political observers Prof Vedi Hadiz and Dr Dave McRae to untangle the many strands of the island nation’s political...
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Unforgiven: Japan through the eyes of Korea and China from 2018-03-14T21:33:15
Asia researchers Dr Jun Ohashi and Dr Jay Song consider the optics of Japan’s relations with it neighbours, the Koreas and China, where decades-old memories of Japanese invasion and subjugatio...
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China's Belt and Road Initiative: Audacious global strategy or Sino overreach? from 2018-02-28T09:26:33
Asia international relations experts Dr Sow Keat Tok and Dr Pradeep Taneja unravel the motivations and implications behind China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-trillion dollar i...
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Deciding what's a language in Tibet from 2017-11-22T12:06:57
Anthropologist Dr Gerald Roche outlines the surprisingly diverse language landscape of the Tibetan Plateau, and what factors — geographic, social and political — contribute to whether a langua...
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Maintaining Balinese cultural identity at home in the Netherlands from 2017-11-08T09:35:22
On Ear to Asia, anthropologist Dr Ana Dragojlovic recounts the history of Dutch colonisation of Bali, and examines the experiences of migrants from Bali to the land of their former coloniser a...
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Is"selectocracy"the secret to China's economic success? from 2017-10-25T14:32:33
Development economist Professor Yang Yao of Peking University argues that China's "selectocracy", its system of appointing political leaders from the Chinese Communist Party and their civil se...
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The Purchasing Power Of Piety In Indonesia from 2017-10-11T01:04:19
Media expert Dr Inaya Rakhmani explains the connection between neoliberal capitalism and the increasing religious conservatism of Indonesia's burgeoning Muslim middle class. Presented by Cleme...
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Mulla Sadra: The Persian Islamic Thinker's Take On The Nature Of Reality from 2017-09-27T04:36:49
Philosopher Dr Muhammad Kamal talks about the writings of preeminent 16th century Muslim philosopher Mulla Sadra, who grappled with concepts of change and constancy. Mulla Sadra, who lived and...
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Fleeing North Korea from 2017-09-13T00:41:08
Human migration expert Dr Jiyoung Song talks about North Korean citizens who choose to exit their homeland, putting themselves and family members they leave behind at risk. She discusses their...
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China's Smouldering Volcanoes Of Social Discontent from 2017-05-24T13:24:28
Veteran China watcher Prof Martin K. Whyte explains why Chinese citizens remain unfazed by the enormous income and wealth disparity created by market-oriented economic reforms that in less tha...
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Celebrity Chef Adam Liaw On Life At The Intersection Of Nearly Everything from 2017-05-10T12:48:46
On this episode of Ear to Asia, celebrity chef, author and lawyer Adam Liaw gets behind the microphone to discuss his work, philosophy of life, his love affair with Japan, and how living at th...
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Translation As Performance Art from 2017-04-26T12:27:59
Professor John Minford is a celebrated specialist in translating Chinese literature into English. On this episode of Ear to Asia, John talks about the practice of translation and how to train ...
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Kuwait: Walking The Sunni-Shia Tightrope from 2017-04-12T11:49:20
In 2015, a lone terrorist from an affiliate of Daesh or Islamic State (often referred to as ISIS) bombed a mosque in Kuwait City where the majority of where the majority of worshippers were fr...
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Is It Back To The Drawing Board For Indonesia's Education System? from 2017-03-29T12:07:38
Despite having more than 3 million teachers, manageable class sizes, and spending on education that amounts to a whopping 20% of national and local budgets, Indonesia continues to seriously la...
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Saving The Songs Of China's Yangtze Delta from 2017-03-15T06:48:58
Chinese literature expert Anne McLaren joins Ear to Asia host Clement Paligaru to discuss her research into the folk ecology of the lower Yangtze delta, including the folksongs of this fascina...
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All Under Heaven: China's Often Misunderstood Approach To Sovereignty from 2017-01-12T02:10:18
Political scientist Dr Sow Keat Tok discusses China's unique view of territorial sovereignty, its creative approaches to sovereignty issues in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the South China Sea, and ho...
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A Tale Of Two Diasporas: Indians In The Global Workforce from 2016-12-08T02:22:42
Economist and demographer Professor Binod Khadria joins Ear to Asia host Sen Lam to discuss the huge global movement of skilled and unskilled Indian workers in its surprising diversity, the co...
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Sexual Citizenship And Same-sex Relationships In Japan from 2016-11-24T10:04:04
Queer studies researcher Dr Claire Maree joins Ear to Asia host Sen Lam to discuss the plight of people in same-sex relationships in Japan. Despite Japan having a reputation for tolerance of s...
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Memories Of'65: Young Indonesians Go Digital To Shine A Light On A Massacre Denied from 2016-11-10T10:16:26
Dr Ken Setiawan, Indonesian civil rights specialist, explains how a new generation of Indonesians are using digital and social media platforms to keep the memory of the genocide of 1965-1966 a...
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Lost In Translation? Foreigners On Trial In Japan And The Language Divide from 2016-10-27T00:00:48
Linguistics expert Dr Ikuko Nakane joins Ear to Asia host Sen Lam to discuss language and interpretation in criminal trials in Japan, and in particular how defendants who aren't native speaker...
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Modernity's Broken Promise And The Rise Of A New Islamic Populism from 2016-10-13T00:00:08
Veteran researcher of Indonesian politics Prof Vedi Hadiz examines the phenomenon of contemporary Islamic populism in Indonesia, Turkey and Egypt, how it fares at the ballot box and how it fit...
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Ear To Asia - Teaser from 2016-09-29T00:00:26
Ear to Asia is a new podcast series produced by Asia Institute, the Asian research specialists, from the University of Melbourne, Australia. We take you from Japan to Turkey, from China to Ind...
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