Gatty Rewind Podcast

In this episode, host Namfon Narumol Choochan, joined by Yi-Jen Chen, a Cornell PhD student in Anthropology, interviews Liang Wu, a postdoctoral associate in Environmental Humanities in the Southeast Asia Program and the Department of Science and Technology Studies. Together, they explore what it means to rethink "maritime Southeast Asia." Rather than treating Southeast Asia as a fixed geographic region, the conversation focuses on the circulation of labor and commodities across Southeast Asia and the globe. Dr. Wu highlights the central—yet often overlooked—role of Filipino seafarers, tracing how their prominence historically emerged from U.S. colonial training, postcolonial labor policies, and the expansion of the global shipping industry since the 1970s. Tune in to learn more about Dr. Wu's work, methodologies, and fieldwork experiences!

Lightning round(Lecture Summary): 3:45

Main interview: 8:18 8:18 – What first sparked your interest in maritime Southeast Asia? 9:37 – The traditional framework divides Southeast Asia into "mainland" and "maritime" regions. Do you think this distinction still holds? What are its limitations, and how does your work challenge or move beyond it? 13:24 – Could you share your ethnographic experience—how did you first gain access to the field, and what were some of the most striking moments early on? 17:28 – As your fieldwork progressed, what observations or turning points led you to refine your core research questions and focus? How did you navigate and plan your work in such an unpredictable and high-risk environment? 20:35 – Where and when did you conduct your ethnographic research? 23:00 – What does "containerization" mean in your work? How does this concept help us understand maritime labor and organization at sea? 26:29 – What historical period does your research focus on? How do contemporary trade routes compare to those of the 16th century, when Southeast Asia is often described as a cosmopolitan hub? 30:29 – When you place these two moments side by side, what key contrasts and insights emerge? 34:35 – While ships are largely male-dominated spaces, the industry depends heavily on the "immobile" labor of women at home. How does the prolonged absence of seafarers reshape gender roles and power dynamics within Filipino families? 39:27 – In the confined, hyper-masculine environment of cargo ships, how do seafarers navigate intimacy, friendship, and vulnerability? Did you observe moments where the "tough sailor" persona breaks down, and how do they support each other emotionally? 43:33 – After years of listening to seafarers' stories—especially narratives of sacrifice—how have you grappled with the ethical dimensions of your research? Has this shaped your perspective or influenced your career trajectory?

Advice for researchers and recommendations: 49:49

Dr. Wu' top recommendations:

• In Asian Waters: Oceanic Worlds from Yemen to Yokohama by Eric Tagliacozzo

• Intertidal History in Island Southeast Asia by Jennifer L. Gaynor

• Maritime Southeast Asia: Not Just a Crossroads by Jennifer L. Gaynor

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

Produced by Neen Yada Tangcharoenmonkong, Adam Farihin, and Cecilia Liu

In this episode, host Namfon Narumol Choochan is joined by Francine Barchett, former host of the Gatty Rewind Podcast and a Cornell PhD candidate in Natural Resources & the Environment. Together, they interview Lydia O'Meara, a postdoctoral fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. Lydia studies how diets in coastal communities can reveal links between human nutrition and marine ecosystem health. Her research focuses on Timor-Leste in the Coral Triangle, a biodiversity hotspot where many people rely on fish but face growing threats from climate change and biodiversity loss. Using mobile phones to collect frequent dietary data, she works to fill important data gaps and track changes over time. Tune in to learn more about how her work connects nutrition and environment!

Lightning round(Lecture Summary): 3:45

Main interview: 9:36

9:55 – How did you become interested in nutrition and food security, particularly with a focus on women and children? 13:39 – Why did you decide to focus on Timor-Leste? How did your research experience in Uganda help you navigate research in the context of Timor-Leste? 17:27 – What does fish species diversity look like in the region? 20:16 – Are there differences in fish consumption between men and women? 22:57 – What are the dynamics of mobile phone use, and how is the system structured? 26:38 – How did you develop the method of using mobile phones to collect data? 29:46 – How did the technical process work? What recommendations do you have for scholars using technology in their research? 31:59 – What languages are used in the project? 33:40 – Who are the main stakeholders in the current project? Did your experience collecting data in Uganda help you use or interpret the data differently in this context? 36:46 – What does development and growth look like in Timor-Leste? 38:00 – What are the implications if we overlook the data and marginalized women in Timor-Leste?

Advice for researchers and recommendations: 40:34

Dr. O"Meara' top recommendations:

• The End Of The Line by Charles Clover

• My Octopus Teacher

• Books by Naila Kabeer

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

Produced by Neen Yada Tangcharoenmonkong, Adam Farihin, and Cecilia Liu

In this episode, host Namfon Narumol Choochan is joined by Trifosa Simamora, a PhD candidate from the New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, to interview Patrick Daly, a research scientist for sustainability and resilience in the Department of Anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Daly gave us a rundown of his lecture, Using Archaeology, History, and Geology to Build a Paleo-Tsunami History for Southeast Asia. We discuss his 20-year endeavor to craft a long history of tsunamis in this region through collaboration between the arts and sciences. Tune in to find out more!

• Lightning round(Lecture Summary): 3:27
• Main interview: 6:58
  • 6:58 - Remembering the 2004 Tsunami in North Sumatr
  • 15:50 - What is Paleo-tsunami history? Why is it important in and for Southeast Asia
  • 19:55 - Scholarly disciplines involved in the project?
  • 23:34 - Involvement with Aceh community
  • 26:35 - Oral history about the 2004 Tsunami, check out https://maritimeasiaheritage.cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp/
  • 30:10 - Data from the research and the prediction of natural disasters

Advice for researchers and recommendations: 35:48

Dr. Patrick Daly' top recommendations:

• Beyond Nature and Culture - Philippe Descola

• The Will to Improve: Governmentality, Development, and the Practice of Politics - Tania Murray Li

• Markets of Sorrow, Labors of Faith: New Orleans in the Wake of Katrina - Vincanne Adams

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

Produced by Neen Yada Tangcharoenmonkong, Adam Farihin, and Cecilia Liu

In this episode, host Namfon Narumol Choochan is joined by Elissa Domingo Badiqué, a recent doctoral graduate from the Department of Performing and Media Arts. Together, they interview Mark John Sanchez, Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Sanchez recapitulates his lecture on the legal tactics used by the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) to defend civil liberties during the martial law era under Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines. He then reflects on how his personal journey and positionality have shaped his research. The conversation further explores the ongoing challenges of historical revisionism and collective amnesia. Tune in to learn more!

Lightning round(Lecture Summary): 4:06

Main interview: 13:24

Advice for researchers and recommendations: 53:01

Mark Sanchez' top recommendations:

• Incomplete Conquests - Stephanie Joy Mawson

• Beauty Regimes - Genevieve Alva Clutario

• Spiderweb Capitalism - Kimberly Kay Hoang

• Betting on Macau - Tim Simpson

• The Profligate Colonial - Lisandro E. Claudio

• Bibliotactics - Cindy Anh Nguyen

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

Produced by Neen Yada Tangcharoenmonkong, Adam Farihin, and Cecilia Liu

In this episode, host Namfon Narumol Choochan interviews Kevin Pham, Assistant Professor of Political Theory at the University of Amsterdam. Professor Pham's talk is titled "A Postcolonial Theory of Free Speech," in which he focuses on North Vietnamese intellectuals and their perspective on new speech in the 1950s. He argues that although the meaning and value of free speech have long been contested in the West, they overlook how people outside of the West, in illiberal conditions, theorize free speech. Growing up in San Jose, Professor Pham was intrigued by a trip to the Middle East and wanted to learn more about conflict and tensions. Tune in for Professor Pham's journey from wanting to be a doctor, to a tattoo artist, and to a political science professor!

Lightning round(Lecture Summary): 3:05

Main interview: 6:45

Advice for researchers and recommendations: 54:39

Kevin Pham's top recommendations:

• Vietnam: A New History by Christopher Goscha

• Vietnamese Tradition on Trial by David Marr

• Vietnamese Anticolonialism by David Marr

• Radicalism and the Origins of the Vietnamese Revolution by Hue-Tam Tai

• Understanding Vietnam by Neil L. Jamieson

• Documentary: Vietnam Geburt einer Nation

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

Produced by Adam Farihin, Neen Yada Tangcharoenmonkong and Cecilia Liu

In this episode, guest co-host Drake Avila, a master's student in Asian Studies, joins host Namfon Narumol Choochan to interview Assistant Professor Jangai Jap from the Department of International Affairs at the University of Georgia. They discuss her recent research on ethnic rebellion in Myanmar and why the current explanation of post-independence political exclusion falls short in accounting for the rebellion's onset. Professor Jap shares how her Kachin heritage and NGO work experience in Myanmar have sparked her academic curiosity and shaped her doctoral and current research. Tune in for Professor Jap's insights and advice for aspiring scholars who are interested in Myanmar!

Lightning round(Lecture Summary): 2:50

Main interview: 6:20

Advice for researchers and recommendations: 1:00:00

Jangai Jap' top recommendations:

• Miss Burma by Charmaine Cragg

• Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh

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, Neen Yada Tangcharoenmonkong and Cecilia Liu

In this episode, host Namfon Narumol Choochan interviews Analyn Salvador-Amores (Ikin), Professor of Anthropology and former Director of the Museo Kordilyera at the University of the Philippines Baguio. Together, they discuss how the recent tourism trend has revitalized Kalinga tattoos, a tradition of the ethnolinguistic group in Buscalan village, northern Luzon, Philippines. Having conducted anthropological research on traditional tattoos for over 30 years, Professor Ikin provides nuanced insights into how tourism has changed the village's landscape, tattoo practices, and reshaped gender dynamics among tattoo practitioners. They also explore various meanings and narratives behind the tattoos of each generation, including Professor Ikin's first tattoo, given by Apo Whang-ud, now the renowned 108-year-old female tattoo artist in Buscalan.

Lightning round(Lecture Summary): 4:00

Main interview: 7:30

Advice for researchers and recommendations: 39:48

Analyn Salvador Amores' top recommendations:

• Fine Description: Ethnographic and Linguistic Essays by Harold Conklin's

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, Neen Yada Tangcharoenmonkong and Cecilia Liu

In this episode, host Namfon Narumol Choochan speaks with "Mai" Anocha Suwichakornpong, independent filmmaker, producer, founder of Electric Eel Film, and Associate Professor in Film at Columbia University. Anocha shares how films and filmmaking can be a form of resistance by rethinking the boundary between truth and fiction. They discuss how her previous and upcoming features have engaged with the politics of remembering and forgetting of state violence in Thai history. The conversation also delves into Before It Gets Dark, her most renowned feature, and what the Thammasat Massacre means to her on a personal level.

Lightning round: 3:01

Research and Lecture Summary: 7:36

Advice for researchers and recommendations: 41:24

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, Neen Yada Tangcharoenmonkong and Cecilia Liu

In this episode, host Namfon Narumol Choochan interviews Chiara Formichi, H. Stanley Krusen Professor of World Religions, Director of the Religious Studies Program, and Professor of Asian Studies at Cornell University. They discuss how Prof. Formichi's personal and intellectual journey shaped her research trajectory in Islamic and Southeast Asian studies. Drawing from her latest monograph, Domestic Nationalism: Muslim Women, Health and Modernity in Indonesia, she explores how Indonesian women envisioned their own versions of modernity through gendered care work, from the colonial Dutch East Indies to postcolonial Indonesia. Departing from her earlier research on elite political actors, she turns to examining women's vernacular magazines, visual sources, and advertisements to uncover the overlooked yet central role of Indonesian Muslim women in shaping Indonesia's postcolonial future.

Lightning round: 3:16

Research and Lecture Summary: 11:00

Advice for researchers and recommendations: 44:57

Chiara Formichi's top recommendations:

• The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our World, Vincent Bevins

• The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis, Amitav Ghosh

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, Neen Yada Tangcharoenmonkong and Cecilia Liu

Indonesia in 10 Films: "Soegija" with Arnoud Arps

In this second episode of "Indonesia in 10 Films," host Michael Kirkpatrick Miller explores the film Soegija (2012), an ambitious historical drama by director Garin Nugroho. Soegjia follows the non-traditional Catholic national hero Monsignor Albertus Soegijapranata, during one of the most volatile periods in Indonesian history — from the Japanese occupation to the return of Dutch forces after World War II. Rather than focusing solely on its titular figure, the film paints a multifaceted image of intersecting lives of diverse characters.

Michael first speaks with Neen about the film's cinematography, then interviews Dr. Arnoud Arps, Assistant Professor of Extended Cinema, Film Heritage and Memory at the University of Amsterdam. Dr. Arps, who previously interviewed Garin Nugroho, shares the director's intention to create a film grounded in humanity and emotional resonance. He also collaborated with the Eye Filmmuseum and the National Museum of Indonesia to curate a special screening series on Indonesian War of Independence films, with Soegija selected as one of the featured works.

Together they discuss the three major waves of the Indonesian Independence War films, the evolution of how nationalism, heroism, and "Merdeka" are portrayed, and the film's subtle treatment of colonizers and revolutionaries, particularly through the conflicted character Robert.

Intro: 0: 38

Producer's Insights: 10:31 Conversation with Guest: 13: 25

Conclusion: 58:30

Professor Arp's Film recommendations:

• Kadet 1947, Rahabi Mandra, Aldo Swastia

• Trilogi Merdeka (Merah Putih, Darah Garuda, Hati Merdeka), Yadi Sugandi, Conor Allyn

Professor Arp's rating on Soegija: 8/10

Host: Michael Kirkpatrick Miller

Producer: Adam Farihin, Cecilia Liu and Neen Yada Tangcharoenmonkong