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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

22:06

The Shawshank Redemption in China: An Interview with...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2026/04/17

How can an entirely foreign cast perform the American “The Shawshank Redemption” in the Chinese language across China? In this episode of the Nordic Asia podcast, Julie Yu-Wen Chen talks with Matti E. Lehtonen, a Finnish national who shares his journey from a decades-long career in engineering and business to a starring role in the first Chinese-language stage production of The Shawshank Redemption performed by an all-foreign cast.Directed by the legendary Zhang Guoli, this production marks a

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34:37

The Gen Z Revolution in Bangladesh and Its Fallout

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2026/04/02

What role did Gen Z play in the popular uprising that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime in the summer of 2024? And what marks have the uprising left on democratic politics in Bangladesh? We discuss these questions with Arild Engelsen Ruud, Mubashar Hasan, and Ishrat Hossain whose work on the 2024 July Revolution appeared in a special issue of Journal of Bangladesh Studies in early 2026. We also discuss what the Gen Z Revolution can tell us more generally about processes of autocratization,

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28:15

Gods and the State: Environmental Change in the Blang...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2026/03/20

What happens to the environment when the state enters previously self-governed villages in rural China? We explore this question in the Blang mountains in southwestern China, a region that was incorporated into the nascent people’s republic of China from 1953 onwards, with immense consequences for Blang communities and ecologies. Our guest Daniel Mohseni Kabir Bäckström disentangles how the arrival of the state disrupted long-standing relations between Blang communities and the local mountain gods,

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49:52

Drama of Democracy: Political Representation in Mumbai

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2026/03/06

How do the inhabitants of the Indian city of Mumbai navigate political signs and representations? What is the significance of crowds and mass mobilization to popular politics, and what lessons does the politics of Mumbai hold for Indian democracy at the current conjuncture? These questions are at the heart of Lisa Björkman’s Drama of Democracy: Political Representation in Mumbai (U Minnesota Press, 2025), that analyses questions of representation, populism, and political communication and

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31:11

Good and Bad Palm Oil: Food Security, Paradigm Shift...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2026/02/20

Entangled in a nexus of commerce, industry, food security, and environmental concerns, palm oil has become a prominent topic of controversy and debate. In this episode, Dr. Ayu Pratiwi illuminates the complicated reality behind the controversy by introducing the University of Turku research project "Good and Bad Palm Oil: Food Security, Paradigm Shift and Stakeholder Negotiations in Indonesia and the EU." What is good and what is bad about palm oil, and what is the recent paradigm shift in its

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28:38

Competing Visions for International Order

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2026/02/13

Are we living in an era of competing international orders? A new book, entitled Competing Visions for International Order: Challenges for a Shared Direction in an Age of Global Contestation (Routledge, 2025) edited by Ville Sinkkonen, Veera Laine, Matti Puranen addresses the ultimate question.In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof. Julie Yu-Wen Chen from the University of Helsinki talks to Ville Sinkkonen (Finnish Institute of International Affairs), Matti Puranen (Finnish National

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29:27

China’s Climate and Air Quality Governance and...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2026/02/06

When it comes to the global challenges posed by climate change and environmental issues, China has been presented both as a source of problems and a provider of solutions. In this episode, we examine the current state of China’s climate and environmental policies with Dr. Hermann Aubié, whose research focuses on China’s climate and air quality governance and its policy relevance for EU-China relations. What is the on-the-ground reality of climate and air quality efforts in China at the moment, and

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33:01

Cross-Border Intimacies: Affect and Emotions in...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2026/01/23

Transnational marriage migration is among the many features of cross-border mobility that characterise the globalised world. This is also the case in the Taiwan Strait, where the complicated political situation between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland adds a unique dimension to the phenomenon. In this episode, we talk to Dr. Lara Momesso, whose new book Cross-Border Intimacies: Affect and Emotions in Marriage Migration Between China and Taiwan (Manchester, 2025) builds on fifteen years of research

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26:29

Re-examining the Women’s Movement in Cold War South...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2026/01/09

In the past decade, feminism has become one of the heated topics in public debate in South Korea. Feminism is embraced by activists, attacked in election campaigns, and increasingly framed as the source of conflict between men and women. In this episode, Outi Luova talks to Katri Kauhanen to trace the historicity behind the contemporary debates and to ask why the history of the women’s movement still matters today.Drawing on insights from Kauhanen’s recently published dissertation,

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28:58

Tourism and a Kyoto in Flux: A Conversation with Dr....

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/12/22

In today’s episode Julia Olsson continues her talk with Dr. Chiara Rita Napolitano from last episode, and they discuss the issue of overtourism and its effect on traditional urban neighbourhoods in Kyoto.Dr. Chiara Rita Napolitano is a JSPS Postdoctoral Researcher at Kyoto university. She got her PhD from the University of Naples in 2024. Her research focuses on Japanese traditional urban dwellings, known as "machiya" (町家), and the attached concept of "seikatsu bunka" (生活文化, culture of everyday

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31:42

Machiya, Seikatsu Bunka, and Changing Domestic...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/12/15

Kyoto is known as a pinnacle of Japanese history and culture, drawing visitors of more than double its resident population many times over every year. In this and the subsequent episode we explore Kyoto neighbourhoods and the houses in them to see what transformations are happening, and what is at risk of being lost in the process.In today’s episode Dr. Chiara Rita Napolitano discusses her research on Japanese traditional urban dwellings, known as "machiya" (町家), and the attached concept of

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37:05

Strings of Identity: The Horse-Head Fiddle and...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/11/05

In this episode, we trace how the horse-head fiddle has evolved in the People’s Republic of China — from a traditional steppe instrument to a cultural symbol reshaped through state representation and modern performance. We discuss how it is made, taught, and performed in China, how it is portrayed in Chinese institutions, and how young Mongols today engage with the instrument as a way to express identity, creativity, and belonging in contemporary China.Our guest, Ying Song from Zhejiang

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34:27

AI, News, and the State: Reinstitutionalising...

The Nordic Asia Podcast ·

2025/11/03

How is artificial intelligence transforming journalism as both a profession and an institution? In this episode, Ning Ao speaks to Dr. Joanne Kuai, exploring how AI reshapes journalistic roles, organisational structures, and governance systems through the lens of China’s media landscape—while drawing comparisons with the US and EU.Dr. Joanne Kuai is a Research Fellow in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University and holds a PhD from Karlstad University in Sweden. Her research focuses

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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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271 results

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