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PODCAST

Insight Myanmar

Insight Myanmar Podcast

Insight Myanmar is a beacon for those seeking to understand the intricate dynamics of Myanmar. With a commitment to uncovering truth and fostering understanding, the podcast brings together activists, artists, leaders, monastics, and authors to share their first-hand experiences and insights. Each episode delves deep into the struggles, hopes, and resilience of the Burmese people, offering listeners a comprehensive, on-the-ground perspective of the nation"s quest for democracy and freedom. And

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All Episodes

01:00:00

Bonus Episode: Zenanarchism

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/03/16

For this Bonus Episode, we share a talk presented at Nowhere Books in Chiang Mai, which was hosted alongside Yucca, the Research Director at Exile Hub.We are including the following description which was prepared by event organizers:Buddhism and anarchism, though originating in distinct realms—spiritual and political—share key commonalities that make for a thought-provoking intersection. Both reject coercive authority and hierarchical structures, emphasizing individual responsibility and autonomy

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02:29:08

Navigating the Inner Journey

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/03/14

Episode #318: Lynne Bousfield grew up in Australia, and led a fairly conventional life. But in 1975, when she was a student at the university, she received a postcard from her brother in Thailand. The picture of golden stupas stirred something stirred something deep within her.After some adventures in Indonesia, Thailand, Laos and India, she still felt she had not found what she was seeking. But she had to replenish her coffers, and so went on to Iran to find work. While there, an expat she met told

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02:00:52

The Usual Suspects

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/03/11

Episode #317: Derek Mitchell’s engagement with Myanmar began unexpectedly in the 1990s when he attended a human rights event featuring Aung San Suu Kyi. Years later, he became the first U.S. Special Representative and later Ambassador to Myanmar, playing a crucial role in shaping U.S. policy toward the country.Under the Obama administration, the U.S. reassessed its approach, transitioning from sanctions to diplomatic engagement. Mitchell was tasked with determining whether Myanmar’s new government,

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02:16:19

The Hunger Games

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/03/07

Episode #316: “Hunger and undernutrition in Myanmar is a political failure, and it’s a conscious political failure that's devastating,” says Thin Lei Win, a journalist dedicated to exposing Myanmar’s struggles with food security and press freedom.As a co-founder of Kite Tales, a non-profit storytelling project, she seeks to challenge mainstream narratives by amplifying personal stories that reflect Myanmar’s diverse realities. She says that before the 2021 coup, journalists were beginning to move

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01:31:45

The Devil You Know

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/03/04

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 murdered pulled on my heartstrings, big time. That was the driving factor of me wanting to do

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01:43:37

Hope Deferred

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/02/28

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 members showing remarkable resilience despite years of imprisonment and torture. These experiences were

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02:00:56

Breathless In Burma

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/02/25

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 might block her acceptance to long-courses.This chapter of Friedgard’s story unfolds during her formative

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01:20:40

August and Everything After

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/02/21

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 up with, creating a rift between him and his family, particularly his grandfather, who had once been

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01:06:56

Where The Streets Have No Name

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/02/18

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 hewalks, experiences humanity’s age-old urge to move, he collects stories and makes connections with the landscapes

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01:36:21

Bonus Content: DVB English News

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/02/16

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 Harm was launched last year in Myanmar. Its program lead, Hetty, shares how its resources and technology tools help

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01:48:35

Apocalypse Then

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/02/14

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 accompanied veterans on an emotional return to Burma to revisit wartime locations, including Myitkyina

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01:19:40

Unbroken Lessons

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/02/11

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 now faces uncertainty about its continuation.Episode #309: Myanmar's educational landscape has faced

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01:04:23

Fearless in Cambodia

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/02/07

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 the Khmer Rouge genocide to advocating for democracy and justice. A tireless opponent of Hun Sen’s

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02:18:25

Ghosts of Empire

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/02/04

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 insights reveal Myanmar not as a true “nation state,” but more a tapestry of distinct, ethnic identities, and a

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01:37:22

The Long Road to Freedom

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/01/31

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 rights, helping communities document abuses, and making connections with international legal mechanisms

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01:57:12

Roots Run Deep

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/01/28

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 empowering indigenous communities.The conversation delves into Paul's work with the Salween Peace Park, an

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01:23:57

Strings Attached

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/01/24

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 vocational training. She highlights Joy House’s efforts to bridge cultural gaps between the Thai host

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01:48:37

Hagar The Wonderful

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/01/21

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, Cambodia was left a devastated infrastructure and widespread poverty on top of its national trauma

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02:45:32

Blood on the Lotus

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/01/17

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 monastic name here, as at the time of the interview, he had not yet disrobed.)Ashin Sarana notes that

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01:44:48

Homeward Bound

Insight Myanmar ·

2025/01/14

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 of the Karen National Union, his family fled through the jungle, marking the start of their journey as refugees

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