Ear to Asia

In 2015, a lone terrorist from an affiliate of Daesh or Islamic State (often referred to as ISIS) bombed a mosque in Kuwait City where the majority of where the majority of worshippers were from the Shia sect. While the overt motive for this act of terrorism was payback for Kuwait's opposition to Daesh, the attack introduced sectarian violence to a country where the Sunni majority and the rather large Shia minority co-existed in relative harmony. In the wake of the mosque bombing incident, the Kuwaiti government passed several anti-terrorism laws. But some observers like Human Rights Watch claim the laws are designed to suppress political dissent. So how effective are these laws at reducing the risk of terrorist attacks in Kuwait? Are such laws the way to maintaining social harmony in a multicultural, or at least, a bi-sectarian population? Dr Kylie Baxter, a specialist in middle-east and Islamic politics from Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne, answers the above and other questions about the fallout from the Arab Spring.

Transcript available here. More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series is found here.

An Asia Institute podcast, produced by Profactual.com.

Despite having more than 3 million teachers, manageable class sizes, and spending on education that amounts to a whopping 20% of national and local budgets, Indonesia continues to seriously lag behind in educational outcomes on a range of international measures. Political economist Professor Andrew Rosser discusses the factors that prevent Indonesia from bringing its children up to par in the education stakes and concludes that significant shifts in Indonesia's politics and society are needed.

Transcript available here. More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series is found here.

An Asia Institute podcast, produced by Profactual.com.

Chinese literature expert Anne McLaren joins Ear to Asia host Clement Paligaru to discuss her research into the folk ecology of the lower Yangtze delta, including the folksongs of this fascinating region. And she explains how these vanishing oral traditions shed light into how people of a bygone era lived.

Transcript available here. More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series is found here.

An Asia Institute podcast, produced by Profactual.com.

Political scientist Dr Sow Keat Tok discusses China's unique view of territorial sovereignty, its creative approaches to sovereignty issues in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the South China Sea, and how it can come into conflict with conventional models of sovereignty originating in the West. Presented by Sen Lam.

Transcript available here. More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series is found here.

An Asia Institute podcast, produced by Profactual.com.

Economist and demographer Professor Binod Khadria joins Ear to Asia host Sen Lam to discuss the huge global movement of skilled and unskilled Indian workers in its surprising diversity, the conditions they work under in destination countries and their persistent ties to Mother India.

Transcript available here. More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series is found here.

An Asia Institute podcast, produced by Profactual.com.

Queer studies researcher Dr Claire Maree joins Ear to Asia host Sen Lam to discuss the plight of people in same-sex relationships in Japan. Despite Japan having a reputation for tolerance of sexual minorities, rigid legal and social barriers are leading same-sex couples to seek creative workarounds to obtain a degree of recognition and rights.

More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series is found here.

An Asia Institute podcast, produced by Profactual.com.

Dr Ken Setiawan, Indonesian civil rights specialist, explains how a new generation of Indonesians are using digital and social media platforms to keep the memory of the genocide of 1965-1966 alive as successive government administrations stall on uncovering the truth. Presented by Sen Lam.

More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series is found here.

An Asia Institute podcast, produced by Profactual.com.

Linguistics expert Dr Ikuko Nakane joins Ear to Asia host Sen Lam to discuss language and interpretation in criminal trials in Japan, and in particular how defendants who aren't native speakers of Japanese may be aided or disadvantaged by the language divide.

More information about this and other episodes of this podcast series is found here.

An Asia Institute podcast, produced by Profactual.com.