Insight Myanmar

Episode #147: Many years ago, Jesse Phenow signed up to be a volunteer at a resettlement organizing, initially thinking he would be “the friend and ally and welcomer that that they've been needing.’”…

Episode #145: Calvin Khoe, the Co-Director of Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), speaks with us about ASEAN’s and Indonesia’s in role in the Myanmar conflict.

Khoe emphasizes the importance…

Episode #145: Who am I?” Valerie remembers asking herself this question while sitting in a meditation hall at Aung Lan Monastery late one evening. “Why are we seeking and loving so much about having …

Episode #144: In October 2007, Bobo witnessed uniformed soldiers beating Buddhist monks on the streets of Yangon. That experience radically changed the trajectory of his life.

Bobo realized that any s…

Episode #143: The Burma Act’s origins can be traced to before the coup, according to Michael Haack, a longtime advocate. Its goal was to provide support for civil society while limiting the power of …

Episode #142: “What must a government do to be worthy of recognition?”  This is a question that Philipp Annawitt poses in a recent The Diplomat article, and discusses with Insight Myanmar Podcast vis…

Episode #141: Jon rejoins us one year following his interview last year, and straight away expresses how his original hopes for a nonviolent solution were somewhat naïve. In the past year, he has com…

Episode #140: Better Burma, in partnership with One Light Global, was proud to host "Myanmar's Voices for Freedom,” a panel discussion that bought together five, dynamic, Burmese nationals, each resi…

Episode #139: After Bhikkhuni Vimala (they/their) learned about military coup in Myanmar, they wanted to find a way to express their feelings against it. They ultimately landed on the idea of encoura…

Episode #138: “Almost everything was propaganda,” Paing comments, reflecting on his childhood growing up in Yangon. His release came in the form of artistic expression through music, largely influenc…

Episode #137: A lifelong Czech diplomat and currently Ambassador to Austria, Jiří Šitler talks about his career and the interesting ties between his country and Myanmar.

He first official task was to …

Episode #136: “I usually do what I want,” Nyein admits openly. Somewhat unusual for a woman in traditional Burmese culture, it is an attitude Nyein cultivated during the democratic transition period …

Episode #135: “We just felt like we knew Myanmar, and it didn't seem like a foreign place to us.” So says Tamara Edwards, currently the Center Teacher at Dhamma Pabha, a vipassana meditation center i…

Episode #134: Liv Gaborit, a Danish social scientist with a background in psychology, conducted a groundbreaking study about intensive vipassana meditation retreats offered in the tradition of S. N. …

Episode #133: Zach Abuza, a professor at the National War College who shared his analysis of the Burmese military in our previous discussion, now turns his attention to the resistance movement.

While …

Episode #132: Zach Abuza, a columnist at Radio Free Asia and a professor at the National War College in Washington, DC, provides his analysis of the tactical and strategic situation facing the Tatmad…

Episode #131: Mike Davis is CEO of Global Witness, an international NGO that seeks “justice for those disproportionately affected by the climate crisis: people in the global south, indigenous communi…

Episode #130: Igor Blaževič experienced the chaos, violence and fear of the Bosnian War at a young age. Once the war ended, Igor wanted to support others who were suffering from the lack of freedom h…

Episode #129: Andrea Passeri and Hunter Marsten co-authored an article which looks at Myanmar’s quest for a non-aligned foreign policy, and that is the subject of this podcast discussion.

In 2011-12, …

“The greatest tragedy of Myanmar as a country is that it gets the headline for a week or two, and then it generally gets buried, because so many other things are happening,” Matt Davis explains. With…