RFA Insider
RFA Insider is a podcast hosted by Radio Free Asia staffers Amy Lee and Eugene Whong. Each episode discusses the latest stories from Radio Free Asia and provides a behind-the-scenes look at how the organization's journalists use their expertise and connections to deliver news to a global audience. The show offers insight into the reporting process and the challenges faced by journalists covering Asia.
Episodes
China's coming obesity epidemic, North Korean name regulations | RFA Insider 29
This is the season finale of RFA Insider Season 1*The Rundown*Obesity is on the rise in China, and the government is trying to promote healthy livingIn North Korea, the government is telling parents to give their kids names that are more reflective of the revolutionary spirit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tibetan relics 'repatriated' to China, Philippines' Duterte trial | RFA Insider 28
Off Beat: RFA Tibetan's Tenzin Pema explains why some are concerned that Tibetan artifacts are among 41 "Chinese cultural objects" that were "repatriated" from the U.S. to ChinaDouble Off Beat: BenarNews' Anthony Esguerra explains what's at stake in the ICC trial of the Philippines' ex-president Duterte over his brutal war on drugs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Southeast Asia’s scam center crackdown conundrum | RFA Insider #27
*Off Beat*Abby Seiff from RFA Investigative explains why scam centers are so widespread in places like Cambodia and Myanmar, and how authorities are trying shut them down.*Double Off Beat*We check in with Son from RFA Vietnamese to find out the latest about the unofficial monk Thich Minh Tue who is currently walking from Vietnam to India and might soon enter Myanmar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com
Escape from Tibet: An amazing (but "not unique") story of separation | RFA Insider #26
*Off Beat*RFA Investigative's Lobsang Gelek explains his personal story of escaping Tibet to India by hiking through the Himalayas as a 10-year-old child. *The Rundown*Buddhist temples in Beijing are overcrowded for Lunar New Year because youth these days are turning to religion in times of economic uncertaintyHow is Valentine's Day celebrated in RFA's broadcast areas? Hosted on Acast. See acast.c
Life in Myanmar's Kayah state after rebels pushed out the junta | RFA Insider #25
*Off Beat*RFA staffers Jim Snyder and Gemunu Amarasinghe recently traveled to Myanmar's Kayah state where rebel insurgents have taken control of the countryside and are trying to establish a new state government.*Double Off Beat*Production engineer Wa Than discusses his recent trip to Thailand where he met with Burmese youth who fled the Myanmar junta's conscription orders. Hosted on Acast. See ac
What is the RedNote app and why are TikTok users moving there? | RFA Insider #24
*Off Beat*An exodus of TikTok users are migrating en masse to another Chinese social media platform, RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu. RFA Uyghur's Shahrezad Ghayrat, breaks it down for us.*Double Off Beat*RFA Mandarin's Kitty Wang discusses U.S.-China relations under the new administration from China's point of view Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2024 in review | RFA Insider #23
This is a "clip episode" highlighting some of the best moments of RFA Insider in 2024, its first year in production.We explored many topics in our first year, including: Vietnamese Monk Thich Minh Tue and his pilgrimage across the country, and who is now traveling on foot to India.North Korea sending soldiers to fight alongside Russia against Ukraine, and both countries trying to hide their presen
Why is Russia burning dead North Korean soldiers' faces in Ukraine? | RFA Insider #22
*Off Beat*Discussing shocking news of Russians burning North Korean soldiers' faces in war with Ukraine with RFA Korean's Jaewoo Park.*Podcast Free Asia* Answering a comment about Vietnam's "barefoot monk" Thich Minh Tue, and revealing RFA's plan to publish a map that tracks his location.*Double Off Beat*Discussing H6, an alleged spy with ties to British royalty. RFA Investigative team's director
Martial law in South Korea, US-China prisoner swap: RFA Insider #21
*Off Beat*Jun You from RFA Korean joins the Insiders to discuss South Korea's martial law declaration and reversal, and how the checks and balances present in a developed democracy in South Korea are not present in the North, where the word of the leader is the law of the land.*The Rundown*Tara McKelvey of RFA Investigative talks about the recent spy exchange between the U.S. and China and why spy
What Jimmy Lai's 'sham' trial means for Hong Kong's freedom: RFA Insider #20
*Off Beat*Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation discusses the trial of Jimmy Lai, the media mogul charged with sedition and collusion in violation of Hong Kong's National Security Law, and what the trial means for press freedom in the former British colony.*Podcast Free Asia*RFA Multimedia's very own Lauren Kim discusses a kimchi taste test video that she cr
What Trump's election win could mean for US foreign policy in Asia: RFA Insider #19
*Off Beat*RFA English's State Dept. correspondent Alex Willemyns discusses possible changes in U.S. foreign policy in Asia after Trump's election victory.*The Rundown*The Myanmar junta jailed a citizen for criticizing the title of a movie as being discriminatory to religious minorities.Vietnam builds a new airstrip on an artificial island built atop a reef in the disputed Spratley archipelago. Hos
SPECIAL REPORT: Panda Diplomacy
This is a republish of just the panda-related portions of Episode 18 because we wanted to submit it for an award, but the file must be below 60 minutes.*SPECIAL REPORT*Amy and Eugene visited the Smithsonian National Zoo in late September to get to the bottom of Panda diplomacy and to try to figure out when the new pandas would arrive. While there, they went *Off Beat* by talking to the zoo's direc
Panda diplomacy, North Korean troops in Russia, China bans Halloween: RFA Insider #18
RFA Insider #18DOUBLE LENGTH EPISODE!*SPECIAL REPORT*Amy and Eugene visited the Smithsonian National Zoo in late September to get to the bottom of Panda diplomacy and to try to figure out when the new pandas would arrive. While there, they went *Off Beat* by talking to the zoo's director Brandie Smith, who stressed that conservation was the panda program's goal.*Podcast Free Asia*North Korea sent
RFA Insider #17: 10 years in Hong Kong: from Umbrella Movement to Article 23
*Off Beat*Kelis Wong from RFA Cantonese discusses the past 10 years in Hong Kong, and how protests in 2014, known as the Umbrella Movement or Occupy Central, led into subsequent protests in 2019 over an extradition law and then again in 2024 over the passage of Article 23.*The Rundown*North Koreans get punished for not saving portraits of their previous leaders as they escaped from their flooded h
RFA Insider #16: Putin loves North Korea, Taiwan's '10%', supercars in Cambodia, Kanye's China concert
This episode of RFA Insider is a practice run in "live to tape" format, indicating that we will in the future do a livestreamed episode.*The Rundown*North Korean lectures tell the people that Vladimir Putin loves Kim Jong Un more than others. Meanwhile the people are getting sick of a propaganda song singing his praisesThe AFCL checks into Chinese businessman Victor Gao's claim that 10% of Taiwan'
RFA Insider #15: Cambodia's Hun Sen, Tibet's caterpillar fungus, Laos jails for jokes
*Off Beat*Discussing Cambodian strongman Hun Sen with Vuthy Huot and Poly Sam from RFA Khmer*Podcast Free Asia*The other RFA Podcast, Master of Deceit, is about Wang Shujun, a New Yorker convicted of spying for China, not about those other three New Yorkers arrested for or convicted of spying for China.*The Rundown*Caterpillar fungus trade affected by climate change, over harvesting, and counterfe
RFA Insider #14b: North Korean escapee interviews: Life after Pyonghattan part 2
*How it's Made*This is part tow of a two part episode featuring a lengthy interview with Seohyun and Hyunseung Lee, who have been described as Pyonghattanites because they were part of North Korea's 1% prior to escaping North Korea.In part two, the focus is about the issues that North Korean escapees face, including the proper term that we should use when talking about them, and then covers the si
RFA Insider #14a: North Korean escapee interviews: Life after Pyonghattan part 1
*How it's Made*This is part one of a two part episode featuring a lengthy interview with Seohyun and Hyunseung Lee, who have been described as Pyonghattanites because they were part of North Korea's 1% prior to escaping North Korea. In part one, the focus is about their decision to escape, their time in South Korea before coming to the United States and their experiences in the Korean-Americ
RFA Insider #13: Uyghur awareness memes, Olympic anthems, Chinese ping-pong dominance
*How its' Made*RFA Uyghur's Shahrezad Ghayrat unpacks a TikTok video filmed by young Uyghur activists, then discusses the situation in the Uyghur region.*The Rundown*Unofficial new "down the rabbit hole" segment begins with talk of anthems played at the olympics then takes a turn to North Korea presenting Vladimir Putin with the Russian anthem during a state visit.China wins gold-silver in women's
RFA Insider #12: Unrest in Bangladesh, moon aliens, Olympics Korea naming mixup
*How it's Made*We discus mass student protests in Bangladesh that have claimed over 200 lives and seen more than 10,000 arrested with BenarNews' Mahbub Leelen.*Podcast Free Asia*Astronomy and astrology are not the same, and all our zodiac signs are wrong*The Rundown*AFCL debunks reports that the BBC reported that China's Chang'e-6 mission to the Moon harmed lunar aliens, then they debunk reports t
Episode 11: Mysterious deaths in Thailand, rocks in Vietnam that look like monks, and Chinese lunar landing conspiracy theories.
*How it's Made*BenarNews' Mem Satitpanyapan discusses the latest developments in the case of six Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans who were discovered by police dead in their hotel room*Podcast Free Asia*We explain our format shift and we record some promos.*The rundown*YouTubers in Vietnam slapped with a fine for posting video of a rock and saying it looks like Thich Minh Tue, the unofficial mo
Episode 10: Not just another Tuệsday
On this episode, China sees a sharp drop in marriages; The road to the FIFA World Cup for North Korea (and China and South Korea) becomes more clear after the AFC's 3rd round draw. *How it's made* Truong Son from RFA Vietnamese discusses Thich Minh Tue, the unofficial monk who's gone viral for his barefoot pilgrimage across the country. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 9b: Pride and prejudice in journalism (part 2)
This is part two of a two-part pride-themed episode with a panel discussing LGBTQIA+ experiences and issues in Asian settings or in the field of journalism.Our panel consists of three RFA journalists who happen to be gay:Wilson (pseudonym), social media editorPhoe Khwar, journalist, Burmese ServiceGreg Barber, head of digital operations Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 9a: Pride and prejudice in journalism (part 1)
This is part one of a two-part pride-themed episode with a panel discussing LGBTQIA+ experiences and issues in Asian settings or in the field of journalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 8: What we talk about when we talk about talking (and writing)
On this episode of RFA Insider: *Podcast Free Asia*A primer for the discussion on language standardization*The Rundown*The insiders discuss different standardization processes by governments in the Chinese and Korean linguistic areas, and how adherence to one standard may or may not be political.*How it's Made*Max Avary from RFA's Lao Service explains the difference between traditional Lao and mod
Episode 7b: Radio Free Asian America
Continuing with the second half of our AANHPI Heritage Month episode with guests Boer Deng and Charlie Dharapak.*How it's Made*The panel discusses their journey to becoming journalists and navigating expectations from their parents to adhere to traditional markers of success.The conversation then shifts to how Asian Americans are making an impact in journalism today, and what we would like to see
Episode 7a: Hollywood, we have (had?) a problem! (Or did we?)
On this episode of RFA Insider:May is Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, so in the rundown, a four person panel of RFA staffers discuss Asian representation in U.S. media over the years.Recording went on longer than expected so we stopped at the end of the rundown and How it's made will appear in the second half. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informat
Episode 6: Songs, (alleged) spies, and the curious case of Wang Shujun
On this episode of RFA Insider:*The Rundown*V-pop singer Dam Vinh Hung gets in trouble for wearing military costume with medals that look South VietnameseNorth Korea releases a song that praises Kim Jong Un and displays expensive instruments, a possible violation of sanctions.*How It's Made*Discussing the espionage case of Wang Shujun, a Chinese-American pro-democracy activist accused of spying fo
Episode 5: Flashpoint Myawaddy
On this episode of RFA Insider:*The Rundown*China's Douyin removes 700 'micro dramas' from its platform for showing too much family drama.Coffee culture spreads in North Korea despite being associated with capitalists.*How it's made*Kyaw Min Htun from RFA Burmese joins the insiders to discuss the situation in Myawaddy, on the border between Myanmar and Thailand. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv
Episode F: Factual Correctness
On this episode of RFA Insider:*The Rundown*North Korea goes after people who carry bags on their shouldersLao fisherman posts videos of himself using explosives to catch fish*How it's made*Shen Ke from RFA's Asia Fact Check Lab is in to discuss the importance of fact checking to counter disinformation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 3: The Science of Social
On this episode of RFA Insider:*The Rundown*16 Bears rescued from bile-harvesting farm in Laos China's 'Little Pink' nationalists go over Chinese beverage company for being 'too Japanese'*How it's made*RFA's social media editor, Wilson explains the ins and outs of social media at Radio Free Asia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 2: Turmoil in Tibet
On this episode of RFA Insider:*The Rundown*Taiwanese YouTubers get in trouble in Cambodia for kidnapping hoax videoPolice in Vietnam stop an R-rated film to check IDs of moviegoers*How It's Made*Tenzin Pema from RFA Tibetan joins us to discuss exclusive coverage of protests in Tibet over China's plan to build a dam that will destroy at least six monasteries and at least two villages Hosted on Aca
Episode 1: From Russia With 'Legos'
On this episode of RFA Insider:*The Rundown*China introduces the 'Year of the Loong.'Jimmy Carter did NOT say that Taiwan belongs to China*How It's Made*Jamin Anderson from RFA Korean talks about her interview with Ilya Voskresensky, a Russian travel blogger who was among the first guided tour of North Korea in four years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
