Extreme Khmer

An interview with Khmer newspaper journalist and the author of Blue Lady Blog, the energetic and insightful Kounila Keo.

An interview with a construction worker working on a temple building in the provincial capital of Surin.

A little something different this episode, it's a Nek Kruu Sokhary tour-de-force. First she presents with a short tale of cross-cultural interaction, then I have people watch it in on iPod in both Siem Reap and Phnom Penh and give their opinions on it. In the end, Nek Kruu

provides us with her final analysis. Illustrations by artist Linda Saphan.

In the last episode of Season Three, we travel to Kampong Cham to get to the bottom of a popular Cambodian legend, about a mountain-building contest between

men and women.

In this episode, we accompany writer and Khmer refugee Teeda Butt (author of one of the original "Khmer Rouge survivor narratives,"To Destroy You is No Loss")

on one of her trips back to Phnom Penh, as she reminisces about her childhood and talks about the changes in Phnom Penh over the past three decades.

In this episode, we talk to the head monk of all Surin Province in Thailand, who is Khmer, and take a brief tour of his temple grounds. We also find out how

Khmer script is used for magical inscriptions in Thailand, and how the Thais reconcile that fact with their view of modern Khmers.

In this episode, we learn about a spirit shrine on the riverfront in Phnom Penh with an unusual name and a mysterious history.

In October, 2007, I attended a book fair in Phnom Penh and interviewed both booksellers and readers. Here are the results. See the episode "extras" at studykhmer.com

for contact info for selected publishers from the book fair.

The Kuy speak a language related to Khmer and are close friends of the Khmer, especially in Surin in Thailand. for centuries, the Kuy

have trapped and trained elephants in the forests of present-day Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. In this episode, we interview an 80-year-old Kuy man (in Khmer) about his experience

working with elephants. Be sure to check out the Podcast section at studykhmer.com for extras.

This month we give you a "snapshot" of the religion and culture of two very different Cham (Cambodian Islam) communities in Cambodia: one in Oudong and the other south of Phnom

Penh. Be sure to check out the Podcast section at studykhmer.com for extras.