Posted on 03/11/2017 8:02:39 AM PST by Berosus
I have been a minor participant on FR since 2004, but this is the first time I have ever started a thread. For the past eight months I have recorded a podcast on Southeast Asian history, and I thought some other Freepers would be interested in hearing it, especially when I cover twentieth century events like World War II and the Vietnam War. Although the podcast is hosted on Blubrry.com, you can also access it from iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and four other websites.
As of March 2017, I have seventeen episodes online, and because I have been going in chronological order, I have covered prehistoric, ancient and medieval events so far; currently the narrative is up to the year 1600. When I started, I checked the military history podcasts available, and found there isn't a podcast on the Vietnam War yet. If that is still the case when I reach the mid-twentieth century, my podcast will become the official Vietnam War podcast. Listen and enjoy!
This podcast episode looks at Thailand from 1957 to 1976. Here attempts are made to replace the military dictatorship with a true Western-style democracy, but the civilian government is too unstable to last, showing that the Thais still have much to learn.
https://blubrry.com/hoseasia/69070905/episode-99-thailand-experiments-with-revolution/
Turn your clock back an hour (if you are in a place that does that), and tune in to the podcast! After four years and four months, here is the podcast’s 100th episode! Today we go to the Philippines, to look at those islands from 1957 to 1981, a period that includes the first part of the Marcos dictatorship. And then listen in to hear how I will celebrate, because completing 100 episodes is a big deal for any podcast.
https://blubrry.com/hoseasia/69729908/episode-100-the-philippines-a-dictatorship-made-for-two/
With this episode, the second hundred episodes of the podcast will begin! Today we look at Burma from the 1950s to 1988, going up to the point just before the country was renamed Myanmar. During this period, the country had only two leaders, U Nu and Ne Win. U Nu tried unsuccessfully to turn Burma into a socialist state, while Ne Win was a dictator who did some wild things because he was also superstitious.
https://blubrry.com/hoseasia/70370482/episode-101-burma-a-ne-win-situation/
This episode goes all the way to the eastern extremity of Southeast Asia — western New Guinea. Geographically speaking, it’s really part of the South Pacific region of the world, but it has been considered part of Indonesia since the Dutch claimed it, nearly two hundred years ago. Now we will look at what has happened there since the Dutch handed over western New Guinea to Indonesia, in 1962. Can we call this the last Southeast Asian colony?
https://blubrry.com/hoseasia/71007685/episode-102-western-new-guinea-forgotten-war-unwanted-people/
I have to catch up. I know Laszlo Montgomery was talking about you during his Chinese Thai episodes. How many downloads do you have a month?
For November it was 12,700 downloads. That’s a bit of a slump; normally downloads are in the 13,000-14,000 range. I hope it’s just because people are busy with the holidays.
And by the way, I started listening to Lazlo Montgomery’s podcast recently because this isn’t the first time he mentioned me in his show. He also mentioned me in a 2018 episode, when he was talking about Vietnam.
Episode 103 of the podcast is now available, just in time for Beethoven’s 250th birthday! Today we look at Indonesia during the 1970s, 80s and 90s. This was the time of Indonesia’s long-lasting second president, Suharto.
https://blubrry.com/hoseasia/71628077/episode-103-indonesia-under-suharto/
Although it has been said in many times and many ways, Happy New Year! To start the new year right, listen to the latest episode of the podcast, which covers the history of Singapore from 1965 to the present.
https://blubrry.com/hoseasia/72214177/episode-104-singapore-success-despite-the-odds/
This episode completes the historical narrative for another Southeast Asian nation. Here we see Malaysia from 1970 to 2021. In fact, one of the events covered, the 1MDB scandal, blew up after I started recording this podcast in 2016. Although Malaysia is not as rich as Singapore or Brunei, it comes in a respectable third place, and here you will learn how they did it.
https://blubrry.com/hoseasia/72752382/episode-105-malaysia-another-success-story/
Thanks.
Here is the next episode of the podcast at last! I couldn’t go anywhere yesterday, because the area where I live is covered with ice and snow, so I finally had time to finish Episode 106. At the beginning of the episode, I will explain what kept me from finishing it at the beginning of February, as I had originally planned to do. Today the topic is Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, the grim period known as “the Pol Pot Terror” or “the Killing Fields.” And because I was a teenager when these events were happening, I will tell you how they have affected me even to this day.
https://blubrry.com/hoseasia/73905993/episode-106-the-killing-fields-of-democratic-kampuchea/
Spring is on the way! While you are waiting for the season to change, here is the next episode of the podcast. This episode looks at Vietnam from 1975 to 1986, and Cambodia from 1979 to 1989. During this time there were conflicts between Vietnam and the Khmer Rouge, and between Vietnam and China. Together we call these clashes the Third Indochina War, and because they were waged on a small scale, without big battles like those of the previous wars, they are almost forgotten today.
https://blubrry.com/hoseasia/74701892/episode-107-the-third-indochina-war/
Here’s a phrase I want you to remember: sabai di, pronounced “sa-bye dee.” In the Thai and Lao languages it means “feel good.” Just as Swahili speakers may say “hakuna matata” (no worries) when they are in a good mood, so the phrase sabai di summarizes the general mood in Laos. In fact, an old article from Time Magazine used the phrase to call Laos “The Land of Feeling Good.” Now listen to the latest episode of the History of Southeast Asia Podcast as we finish up the historical narrative on Laos, looking at events in that country from 1975 to the present.
https://blubrry.com/hoseasia/75522630/episode-108-laos-feeling-good-and-thats-all/
Bump!
Today’s episode covers Thailand, from 1976 to 2000. In the middle of the nineteenth century, modernization became the top priority of the Thai kingdom. While the Thais found it fairly easy to adopt new technology, they found it harder to switch from absolute monarchy to a more modern government, and they have been trying to do that since 1932. Listen in to find out if Thailand can get it right this time.
https://blubrry.com/hoseasia/76224940/episode-109-thailand-the-game-of-political-musical-chairs/
Thank you for the ping, kind sir.
Have been buried as tax season progresses.
A well researched podcast on Southeast Asia for those that want to learn history.
It has been five weeks since I gave you an episode, so thank you for your patience! This time we look at the Philippines from 1981 to 1992, the end of the Marcos presidency, and the presidency of Corazon Aquino. And since I told you previously that my wife is from the Philippines, this episode finishes with the story of how we met. Listen and enjoy!
https://blubrry.com/hoseasia/77520563/episode-110-people-power-in-the-philippines/
Today’s episode is the first that is just about Brunei, a country that the podcast has mentioned many times in the past. It is also the last, because this episode covers Brunei up to the present. Although Brunei is one of the smallest countries in Southeast Asia (only Singapore has less land), and it is home to only a few hundred thousand people, its recent history is amazing, thanks to its oil wealth. Thirty years ago, the current sultan was the richest man in the world. Listen to hear what he (and his youngest brother) have done with that money!
https://blubrry.com/hoseasia/78025748/episode-111-brunei-southeast-asias-little-marvel/
Thanks for pinging me. I appreciate the updates. I try to listen, but still have a backlog. I’m happy that you are keeping up with the podcast.
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