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For thousands of years, voyagers from all across the known world have docked their ships in the harbors of Southeast Asia. The diverse countries that make up this region have played an essential role in human history, witnessing the first waves of migration out of Africa, the development of the earliest oceanic trade networks, the synthesis of political and religious ideas from both China and India, and the birth of overseas colonial empires. But to most people in the west, the history of this region is entirely unknown.

This episode of Gladio Free Europe charts the course of early Southeast Asian history, starting with the miniature early humans of paleolithic Indonesia and ending with the formation of the great ancient civilizations of Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Liam and Russian Sam dive through the deep past to uncover ancient migrations, lost kingdoms, the marriage of indigenous traditions with foreign ideas, and the beginnings of a trade system that would connect the farthest points of Eurasia and transform the entire world. Listen to this week's episode to find out why Southeast Asia may be the most interesting place on earth.