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PODCAST

The Nordic Asia Podcast

NIAS and its academic partners

The Nordic Asia Podcast is a collaboration sharing expertise on Asia across the Nordic region, brought to you by the following academic partners: -Asia Centre, University of Tartu (Estonia) -Asian studies, University of Helsinki (Finland) -Centre for Asian Studies, Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania) -Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University (Sweden) -Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku (Finland) -Norwegian Network for Asian Studies

science social sciences

All Episodes

19:53

Hindutva and Anti-Christian Violence in Contemporary...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/10/24

Kenneth Bo Nielsen is Associate Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oslo and leader of the Centre for South Asian Democracy.M. Sudhir Selvaraj is Assistant Professor at the Department of Peace Studies and International Development at the University of Bradford. Kathinka Frøystad is Professor of South Asia Studies at the University of Oslo.

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31:45

Future of the Forest: Struggles over Land and Law in...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/10/13

How did India’s landmark Forest Rights Act come into being? And what difference has it made to the lives of historically marginalized forest-dwelling communities? These questions are at the heart of Anand Vaidya’s new monograph Future of the forest: Struggles over land and law in India that we discuss in this episode. Future of the forest offers a compelling account of the making, implementation, and partial unravelling of the Forest Rights Act, and traces the complex ways in which collective action

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23:45

Digital Expressions of the Self(ie): The Social Life...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/10/06

Selfies are more than fleeting images—across India, they shape how people imagine themselves, connect with others, and inhabit spaces.In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof. Xenia Zeiler from the University of Helsinki talks to Prof. Avishek Ray about his co-authored book Digital Expressions of the Self(ie): The Social Life of Selfies in India. This book explores how the digital selfie, unlike traditional photography, turns the lens inward while reconfiguring social identities, gender

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19:46

Rivals in a Tight Embrace Russia, China, and the...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/09/28

This podcast episode by Alevtina Solovyeva traces Central Asia as the enduring crossroads “between empires,” where caravan routes outlast the borders drawn over them. It opens with the Silk Roads: trade as the region’s original superpower – moving goods, ideas, and identities. The narrative then tracks how Qing–Russian rivalry and the 19th century “Great Game” layered governors, railways, and taxes onto steppe and peoples, then the Soviet period engineered republics, industries, and pipelines while

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31:11

Gen Z Uprising: Youth, Protest and Political Change...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/09/26

In early September 2025, Nepal witnessed an extraordinary week of upheaval that many now refer to as the ‘five-day revolution’. Within the span of a single week, youth-led ‘Gen Z’ protests spread across Kathmandu and other major cities, the prime minister and his government resigned, the army intervened, parliament was dissolved, and Nepal’s new (and first female) interim prime minister was sworn in. The events revealed deep frustrations among young Nepalis with corruption, socioeconomic exclusion,

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21:05

Localisation of Islamic Arts in Malaysia

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/09/08

The Malay world boasts a wealth of diverse cultures. The arrival of Islam in the Malay world during the 12th to 13th centuries permanently transformed the aesthetic landscape, and even European colonisation could not stem this change.In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof. Julie Yu-Wen Chen from the University of Helsinki talks to Dr. Dzul Afiq bin Zakaria and Dr. Wahyuni Masyidah Binti Md Isa from the Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Malaya about the localisation of Islamic arts

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26:02

Chile’s Growing Interests in China

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/08/19

Chile holds the distinction of being the first South American nation to forge diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China, as well as the first in Latin America to enter into a free trade agreement with China. Despite the nearly 24-hour journey required to travel between the two countries, this considerable distance has not hindered the expanding interactions between them. The presence of various waves of the Chinese diaspora in Chile, while often overlooked, is a real aspect of the

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18:19

Iban Heritage and Culture in Malaysia

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/08/12

Every June, there is a significant cultural event in Malaysia, which is called the Gawai Dayak Festival, highly celebrated to mark the end of the harvest season and give thanks to the Iban agricultural God, Raja Simpulang Gana.In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof. Julie Yu-Wen Chen from the University of Helsinki talks to Dr. Gregory anak Kiyai, an expert of indigenous ethnic heritage from the Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Malaya, about the Iban indigenous people in Malaysia

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22:19

Preserving Traditional Rice and Rice Culture in the...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/08/05

In the Philippines, rice serves as a fundamental component of the diet, typically accompanying most meals as either white or brown rice. It is also a key ingredient in various snacks and desserts. Consequently, the Philippines ranks among the top countries globally in rice per capita consumption, alongside nations like China and India. However, the majority of rice produced are modern varieties, which are intended for mass consumption, and differs from traditional varieties. In this episode of the

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20:45

Kampung Activism in Indonesia

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/07/14

My village, my kampung. The term kampung is a Malay word, referring to a "village hamlet" or "urban informal settlement." As rapid urbanization takes place both regionally and globally, the designation of kampung accrued a negative connotation associated with impoverishment and obsolescence. However, commencing in the mid-2010s, a countermovement aimed at the revitalization of kampung emerged in Indonesia, involving locals, activists, and scholars.In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof

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23:23

Chinese Conceptualisation of the Rule of Law – a...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/07/08

What does the 'rule of law' really mean in China? How does it shape the country’s politics, both at home and on the world stage? And why should it matter to the rest of us when universal norms are being challenged?Dr. Tabita Rosendal from the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies at Lund University, talks to Dr. Martin Lavicka, a scholar of Chinese studies, about his latest project on the rule of law in the Chinese context. Dr. Martin Lavicka is a visiting research fellow at the Department

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32:08

NIAS Podcast from the University of Tartu Asia...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/07/02

This Nordic Asia Podcast episode explores how Estonia and Japan, two countries under demographic pressure with different immigration histories, are managing the integration of foreign labour. Despite Estonia’s EU membership and Japan’s more recent policy shifts, both nations face labour shortages due to rapidly ageing populations. Estonia maintains a controlled but gradually liberalised immigration policy, while Japan has adopted Technical Intern Training Program (TITP). The system that will be

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18:10

Malaysian-Nordic Relations

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/07/01

In the latest episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Professor Julie Yu-Wen Chen of the University of Helsinki speaks with Mr. Mohamed Ariff Bin Mohamed Ali, Chargé d’Affaires of the Malaysian Embassy in Helsinki, Finland. Their discussion centered on Malaysia's Foreign Policy, Malaysia’s current ASEAN 2025 Chairmanship, and the country’s engagement with Nordic nations moving forward.Mr. Ariff Ali, who is part of Malaysia’s diplomatic missions in Finland, Estonia, and Latvia for the past four years,

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42:09

NIAS Podcast from the University of Tartu Asia Centre...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/06/22

This podcast episode, hosted by Kikee Doma Bhutia from the University of Tartu, features Nitasha Kaul, Professor of Politics, International Relations, and Critical Interdisciplinary Studies and Director of Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD), University of Westminster, London, UK.The episode focuses on the Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan. The discussion shows how the issue is shaped more by political narratives than by verified facts. Militant attacks, such as the one in Pahalgam,

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38:29

NIAS Podcast from the University of Tartu Asia Centre...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/06/04

This podcast episode is hosted by Toomas Hanso International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS) who is talking to Urmas Hõbepappel. Urmas is an analyst at the University of Tartu Asia Centre and a researcher at the ICDS. His academic work deals with political psychology, collective identity, and history narratives in China, but this episode focuses on his upcoming article on the psychological function of coping in Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) efforts to legitimise its rule.Starting from the

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38:11

Lines of Control: India’s Foreign Policy and China

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/05/17

This podcast episode, hosted by Kikee Doma Bhutia from the University of Tartu, features journalist and analyst Aadil Brar discussing India's foreign policy amidst rising global tensions. The conversation focuses on India’s balancing act between the US, China, and its own strategic autonomy in a contested Indo-Pacific region.Key topics include India’s evolving role as a middle power, responding to China's assertiveness along the India-China border and in the Indo-Pacific, while maintaining its

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31:27

Political Mythmaking in Nepal

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/04/18

How and why do local political processes in rural Nepal become an arena for political mythmaking? And, how do political myths obscure their own historical construction, thereby making hierarchical power structures appear inevitable? In this episode we discuss these questions with Ankita Shrestha whose ethnographic explorations into these issues foreground the persistent centrality of caste, gender and indigeneity to everyday forms of domination and hierarchy in contemporary rural Nepal.Ankita

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26:11

Studying Myanmar in Times of Crises

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/04/11

How do we to study Myanmar when access to the country is so difficulty? In this episode, Kristina Kironska and Monika Verma from the Myanmar Studies Center at Palacký University Olomouc in the Czech Republic share their insights.Kristina Kironska is a socially engaged interdisciplinary academic with experience in election observation, research, and advocacy. She is the Co-Director at the think tank Central Europe Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS) and Assistant Professor at Palacky University

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35:30

Queering the Asian Diaspora

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/04/04

Have you ever heard of the Chinese gay god, the Rabbit god? How did queer Chinese artists use this icon in reclaiming their own stories, while resisting and persisting through Covid-19? And, how can art be a space for fighting back against national hegemony? In this episode, Hongwei Bao discusses these questions with Kukasina Kubaha.Hongwei Bao is associate professor of Media studies at the University of Nottingham. Bao is the author of several books including Queer Comrades: Gay Identity and

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24:47

India in the Global Attention Economy

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/03/21

What is the global attention economy, and how does this perspective help us make sense of the relationship between India and the Global North? In this episode, we discuss these issues, focusing particularly on the current and oftentimes critical coverage of Indian politics and democracy in the western media. Our guest is Harish Pedaprolu from the University of Oslo’s Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas.Kenneth Bo Nielsen is a social anthropologist and leader of the Centre

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258 results

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