History of Southeast Asia

History of Southeast Asia episodes:

• 04.07.2024

  Episode 133: The Divided History of Timor, Part 2

  I'm back, and sorry for keeping you waiting so long! Today we continue our look at Timor, one of the larger islands on the eastern edge of Southeast Asia. This episode will cover the island's history from 1661 to about 1800. As always,...

  
• 02.14.2024

  Episode 132: The Divided History of Timor, Part 1

  Happy Valentine's Day, if you observe that holiday, and here is a new episode for the podcast! This episode is the first part of an historical narrative about the island of Timor, covering events up until the mid-seventeenth century. How many more...

  
• 01.06.2024

  Episode 131: Sightseeing on Timor

  Here is the first episode of the podcast for 2024. This is the first of a two-part series on one of Southeast Asia's easternmost islands, Timor. In fact, it is so far east that it looks more like a place in the...

  
• 10.31.2023

  Episode 130: More Southeast Asian Monsters

  This episode is a Halloween special, a short sequel to one I recorded four years ago. Meet five more of the monsters that Southeast Asians believe in!Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the...

  
• 10.15.2023

  A Very Special Announcement

  Today, instead of announcing a podcast episode, I am announcing the 2023 Intelligent Speech Conference. This year I will be one of the speakers giving a presentation. Listen here for the details.And click on the link below to join me at the...

  
• 09.19.2023

  Episode 129: Sumba, the Forgotten Island

  I started working on Episode #129 of the podcast in the middle of August, but was interrupted in early September by illness. Now I have recovered enough to finish the episode, so here it is. This time we visit Sumba, an island...

  
• 07.22.2023

  Episode 128: Komodo and Flores, or Here be Dragons, and Hobbits

  Please accept my apology (again) for taking so long to finish the latest episode! I honestly tried to get it done in less than two months, but again real world concerns got in the way.But I am not here to tell...

  
• 05.20.2023

  Episode 127: Sumbawa, or I Don’t Know Where I’m A Gonna Go When The Volcano Blows

  I had a challenging time creating the podcast episode that I am releasing today. I was ill for much of April, and I had to take time out to work on my taxes, as most Americans have to do. Then my computer...

  
• 03.25.2023

  Episode 126: Lombok and the Volcano

  Hello! As you have been expecting, here is the next episode in the podcast mini-series on eastern Indonesia. Today we visit Lombok, a little-known island just east of Bali. Lombok is home to a volcano that erupted in 1257, possibly changing the course...

  
• 02.18.2023

  Mini-Episode: It Must Be The Mystery Factor

  This is a special mini-episode. It has nothing to do with Southeast Asian history. In a recent conversation I had, the subject of ancient aliens came up. For the record, here are my opinions on that subject. Listen and enjoy,...

  
• 02.02.2023

  Episode 125: Sulawesi and the Way of the Ancestors

  Happy Groundhog Day, if you are in the United States! But seriously, after nearly three months of researching, recording, editing, and fighting off the challenges that kept me from working on the podcast, Episode 125 is now available! Today we take a...

  
• 11.05.2022

  Episode 124: Another Look at Bali

  One of my listeners requested I give equal time to eastern Indonesia, because in the past when I talked about this vast island nation, I concentrated on the big western islands: Java, Sumatra and Borneo. Well, it turns out I'm going to...

  
• 09.30.2022

  Episode 123: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations

  Thank you for your patience! This shows that despite all the little things life has thrown at me since the last episode, I was able to get another one done. Today's episode covers another topic that a listener requested, an in-depth look...

  
• 07.09.2022

  Episode 122: The Boat People

  This is the first episode I promised on special topics that were overlooked when we were going through the historical narrative, in previous episodes. Today we have an in-depth look at the Boat People, the refugees who fled Vietnam in the...

  
• 06.03.2022

  Episode 121: Question and Answer Session 5

  As promised, here is the newest episode! Today I answer the eleven questions I didn't have time for in the previous episode.Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my...

  
• 04.06.2022

  Episode 120: Question and Answer Session 4

  Okay, I am back at last! The previous episode of the podcast completed our historical narrative of Southeast Asia. Now for today's episode, I will start answering the questions you have sent me over the past two months. In fact, you sent me...

  
• 02.07.2022

  Episode 119: The Unconquered Kingdom, One More Time

  To all the listeners of this podcast, I want to thank you for your patience.  I actually started to record this in the third week of January (there is a reference to January early in the episode), but the work...

  
• 12.25.2021

  Episode 118: Which Way is Myanmar Going?

  If you listen to the podcast, here is a Christmas present from me! This episode covers the turbulent recent years of Myanmar's history, from 2008 to 2121. The next episode will come out in 2022, so Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!Do...

  
• 11.22.2021

  Episode 117: East Timor, the New Kid on the Block

  At last, after promising it for a long time, here is the episode on East Timor! Meet Southeast Asia's newest country.Do you think you would like to become a podcaster on Blubrry? Click here for the details on joining. (http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/?code=HSEASIA) Enter my promo...

  
• 10.28.2021

  Episode 116: The Philippines Muddle Through

  Sorry again for making you wait five weeks. As compensation, this episode is the longest I have recorded in the past year. Today we finish up the narrative on the Philippines, covering the recent history of those islands from 1992 to the...

  
• 09.21.2021

  Episode 115: A New Beginning for Indonesia

  This episode of the podcast is the last one planned for Indonesia. Here we look at events in the world's largest archipelago, from 1998 to the present. Listen and you will understand what is going on in a large nation that often...

  
• 08.23.2021

  Episode 114: Cambodia, a Rocky Road to Recovery

  This episode of the podcast covers Cambodia, from 1989 to the present. As you can guess from the title, it's mainly a story of how Cambodia has recovered from all the awful things that happened to it in the...

  
• 07.24.2021

  Episode 113: Vietnam, the Phoenix of Asia

  Today we finish up the podcast's narrative about Vietnam. This time it won't be war stories, but the story of how Vietnam recovered from the wars it suffered in the twentieth century, and how it has become the exciting,...

  
• 06.26.2021

  Episode 112: Yesterday's Burma, Today's Myanmar

  All right, Episode 112 of the podcast is now available! Today we pay another visit to Burma, to look at what happened from late 1988 to 2011. To start with, from this time onward, the country will usually...

  
• 06.06.2021

  Episode 111: Brunei, Southeast Asia's Little Marvel

  Today's episode is the first that is just about Brunei, a country that the podcast has mentioned many times in the past. It is also the last, because this episode covers Brunei up to the present. Although Brunei...

  
• 05.22.2021

  Episode 110: People Power in the Philippines

  It has been five weeks since I gave you an episode, so thank you for your patience! This time we look at the Philippines from 1981 to 1992, the end of the Marcos presidency, and the presidency of Corazon...

  
• 04.17.2021

  Episode 109: Thailand, the Game of Political Musical Chairs

  Today's episode covers Thailand, from 1976 to 2000. In the middle of the nineteenth century, modernization became the top priority of the Thai kingdom. While the Thais found it fairly easy to adopt new technology, they found it...

  
• 03.30.2021

  Episode 108: Laos, Feeling Good . . . And That's All

  Here's a phrase I want you to remember: sabai di, pronounced "sa-bye dee." In the Thai and Lao languages it means "feel good." Just as Swahili speakers may say "hakuna matata" (no worries) when they are in...

  
• 03.09.2021

  Episode 107: The Third Indochina War

  Spring is on the way! While you are waiting for the season to change, here is the next episode of the podcast. This episode looks at Vietnam from 1975 to 1986, and Cambodia from 1979 to 1989. ...

  
• 02.16.2021

  Episode 106: The Killing Fields of Democratic Kampuchea

  Here is the next episode at last! I couldn't go anywhere yesterday, because the area where I live is covered with ice and snow, so I finally had time to finish Episode 106. At the beginning of the...

  
• 01.17.2021

  Episode 105: Malaysia, Another Success Story

  This episode completes the historical narrative for another Southeast Asian nation. Here we see Malaysia from 1970 to 2021. In fact, one of the events covered, the 1MDB scandal, blew up after I started recording this podcast. ...

  
• 01.02.2021

  Episode 104: Singapore, Success Despite the Odds

  Although it has been said in many times and many ways, Happy New Year! To start the new year right, listen to the latest episode of the podcast, which covers the history of Singapore from 1965 to the present. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/nogum.jpg) Singapore's...

  
• 12.16.2020

  Episode 103: Indonesia Under Suharto

  Episode 103 of the podcast is now available, just in time for Beethoven's 250th birthday! Today we look at Indonesia during the 1970s, 80s and 90s. This was the time of Indonesia's long-lasting second president, Suharto. Do you think...

  
• 12.01.2020

  Episode 102: Western New Guinea, Forgotten War, Unwanted People

  This episode goes all the way to the eastern extremity of Southeast Asia -- western New Guinea. Geographically speaking, it's really part of the South Pacific region of the world, but it has been considered part of Indonesia since...

  
• 11.16.2020

  Episode 101: Burma, A Ne Win Situation

  With this episode, the second hundred episodes of the podcast will begin! Today we look at Burma from the 1950s to 1988, going up to the point just before the country was renamed Myanmar. During this period, the...

  
• 11.01.2020

  Episode 100: The Philippines, A Dictatorship Made For Two

  Turn your clock back an hour (if you are in a place that does that), and tune in to the podcast! After four years and four months, here is the podcast's 100th episode! Today we go to the...

  
• 10.17.2020

  Episode 99: Thailand Experiments With Revolution

  This episode looks at Thailand from 1957 to 1976. Here attempts are made to replace the military dictatorship with a true Western-style democracy, but the civilian government is too unstable to last, showing that the Thais still have much...

  
• 10.03.2020

  Episode 98: Malaysia and Singapore Get Organized

  For this episode, the narrative goes to Malaya, which was last covered in Episode 69, and to Singapore and the British-ruled areas on the north side of Borneo. We will hear how Singapore became independent, and how Malaya became...

  
• 09.16.2020

  Episode 97: Indonesia Under Sukarno

  Today's episode begins a series of episodes on the recent history of Southeast Asia. We will start by looking at Indonesia from 1950 to 1967, when Sukarno was the country's first president. (http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/seasia/KennedySukarno.jpg) In 1961, Indonesia's President Sukarno visited Washington, D.C.,...

  
• 09.01.2020

  Episode 96: The Second Indochina War, Part 23

  This episode is the longest for the podcast yet, because it wraps up the narrative that has continued since Episode 71. Yes, today you will hear how the Second Indochina War ended, in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos! So...

  
• 08.16.2020

  Episode 95: The Second Indochina War, Part 22

  The previous episode of this podcast was a bit on the short side, so to make up for it, this episode is twice as long! Today we look at Vietnam and Cambodia, in 1973 and 1974. A cease-fire...

  
• 07.29.2020

  Episode 94: The Second Indochina War, Part 21

  This episode covers the war in Vietnam, also called the Second Indochina War, during 1972. North Vietnam launches a major offensive that is eventually defeated, thanks to American air power, but they are able to grab ten percent of...

  
• 07.12.2020

  Episode 93: The Second Indochina War, Part 20

  Better late than never, as the saying goes! Sorry for the delays. This episode covers the war in Vietnam during 1970 and 1971. Also covered are events in the United States in the same time that affected...

  
• 07.01.2020

  An Important Announcement

  Today the podcast is four years old. Listen for a special message on where the podcast is going from here.

  
• 06.16.2020

  Episode 92: The Second Indochina War, Part 19

  Today we look at the first half of the Cambodian Civil War, the phase of the Second Indochina War in Cambodia, from 1970 to 1972. Also, if you like educational podcasts besides this one, you won't want to miss...

  
• 06.01.2020

  Episode 91: The Second Indochina War, Part 18

  After thirteen episodes about the Second Indochina War in Vietnam, and four episodes about the same war in Laos, it is time to shift our attention to Cambodia. This episode covers Cambodian history from 1953, when independence from France...

  
• 05.16.2020

  Episode 90: The Second Indochina War, Part 17

  Here is the second episode for May 2020, and this one is a hair-raiser for sure! Today we cover one of the Vietnam War's most notorious events, the My Lai Massacre. Do you think you would like to become a...

  
• 05.02.2020

  Episode 89: The Second Indochina War, Part 16

  This episode covers events in the Second Indochina War, also called the Vietnam War, in 1969. In the United States there is a new president, Richard M. Nixon, and he starts the process of removing the Americans from the...

  
• 04.17.2020

  Episode 88: The Second Indochina War, Part 15

  In the previous episode, we came to the Tet Offensive, which many consider the climax of the Second Indochina War. However, we still have a long way to go before the Vietnam story is finished. Today's episode covers...

  
• 04.01.2020

  Episode 87: The Second Indochina War, Part 14

  Today is April Fool's Day and a new episode is available for your listening pleasure. That's no joke! This episode covers what many people consider the climax of the Second Indochina War -- the Tet Offensive. Here...