Taiwan Talk

Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index placed Taiwan at the top of its 2016 rankings of "developing and transitional" countries for its strong gains in democratic institutions and its market economy. Listen in to hear what Taiwan is doing right.

We speak with Jonathan Benda of Northeastern University about American author Vern Sneider¡¦s 1953 novel, A Pail of Oysters, which gave a US audience a rare, unflinching glimpse of life in Taiwan during the White Terror period.

We speak with novelist Shawna Yang Ryan about her newly released book, "Green Island," which provides a fictional account of one family swept up in the powerful forces unleashed by the 228 Incident.

We speak with US expat and prominent showtcaster Ben Novotny about his work in Taiwan's eSports world, and why he believes competitive video gaming should be regarded as an official sport in Taiwan.

We speak with Dr. Wei-sen Li of Taiwan's National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction about what this month's earthquake disaster in Tainan reveals about Taiwan's earthquake preparedness.

We speak with French puppeteer Jean-Luc Penso about his time studying under renowned Taiwanese puppet master Li Tian-lu, and his work sharing the art of traditional Taiwanese puppet theater with the world.

We speak with Father Barry Martinson about his bestselling book "Song of Orchid Island," which recounts the year he spent living on the island among the indigenous Tao people. The book was recently released in a digital format by Camphor Press.

We speak with the foundation's deputy chief executive, Lin Mei-hsun, who says that it's important to look past the symbolism of the Tsai victory, and instead watch to see whether or not her administration will really deliver on policies to protect women.

We speak with political scientist Dr. Nathan Batto of Academia Sinica to get his take on what the landslide DPP victory is going to mean for Taiwan politics going forward.

We speak with some of the foreign correspondents who will be covering the 2016 presidential and legislative election here in Taiwan to learn what it's like covering a place you did not grow up in for an audience that has lots of other stuff on its mind.