In this episode, guest co-host Anke Wang, a Cornell PhD candidate in History, joins host Francine Barchett for a tag-team interview with Dr. Hieu Phung, Assistant Professor of Vietnamese and Southeast Asian History at Rutgers University. Dr. Phung discusses her research on how pre-modern environmental factors shaped political and administrative systems in Vietnam, with a focus on state-building in the Red River Delta. She unpacks how perceptions of sea-dykes evolved over time—beyond their physical function, they became central to how people understood nature, risk, and governance. The episode wraps up with Dr. Phung’s candid advice for students still not sure what they want to study (spoiler: it’s okay not to have it all figured out!).

 

Lightning round: 3:41

Research and Lecture Summary: 14:12 Advice for researchers and recommendations: 39:40  

 

The music on the podcast is from "14 Strings!", a Filipino style Rondalla group established in Cornell University. Check them out here.

 

Produced by Adam Farihin and Cecilia Liu