The Arts of Travel

I was joined by William Yang of DW News & Vice for an overview of recent events in China and Hong Kong.

 First we discuss the January 6th mass arrests in Hong Kong aimed at destroying Hong Kong's democracy movement and starting the process of 'Mainlandizing' Hong Kong society. 

Then we discuss China's handling of Covid-19 and why citizen journalists have been targeted for reporting on the pandemic within China. 

For more with William, check out his twitter at: @WilliamYang120 

Music by Lethal Needle: https://www.youtube.com/c/lethalneedle/videos

Podcast image from Studio Incendo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/studiokanu

This episode (which may be part of a series) showcases our best' India Interviews of 2020.  The interview clips are 'highlights' (5-15 minutes in length) from long-form interviews on a variety of topics such as Kashmir, Feminism, The CAA/NRC, Caste, Sikhism, The Farmers Protests, and other areas that impacted India in 2020. 

If you enjoy these interviews you can listen to the full interviews on the Arts of Travel Podcast. They have all been posted. I hope for new listeners this serves as a great introduction. 

Music by Prod Riddiman: 'Tranquility' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u43yUcB8uY 

Guest List:  

Eviane Leidig (02:08)- India's Far Right //  Surabhi Tandon(0:15:30) - Kashmir // Debasish Chowdhury (0:32:11) - The CAA & NRC // Pranav Dixit(38:00) - Tech in India // Soumya Shankar (0:49:36) - On Indian American Identity // Neha Dixit( 1:02:50) - Feminism in India // Aruni Kashyap (1:16:48) - Miya Poetry in Assam // Harsh Mander (1:21) - Radical Love in Activism // Navyug Gill (1:28) - On The BJP's 'Carrots & Sticks'  Vs. The Farmers Protests

I was thrilled to speak to Dr. Navyug Gill of William Paterson University on the recent Farmer's protests in India. 

Over 300,000 participants have locked Narendra Modi and his BJP Government in a stalemate. The Future? Perhaps that of Global Capitalism and its ability to dominate the lives of ordinary people. Should the Farmer's movement fail, nothing will be in the way of Modi from violently re-shaping India in his image of neoliberal Hindutva. The last hope of a democracy by and for the people of India rests on the shoulders of the Punjabi Farmers, refusing neoliberalism and demanding more than mere survival. 

I discuss all this with Dr. Gill, who truly was one of my favorite guests this year. We discuss the protests, Sikhism, Modi, Global Capitalism and how we can intertwine faith, anti-capitalism and dissent of the status-quo to build new visions for the future. 

For more w Dr. GIll you can follow him on Twitter: @navyuggill

Or read his work, I highly recommend his most recent article for Al Jazera on the protests: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/12/11/a-popular-upsurge-against-neoliberal-arithmetic-in-india

Music by Prod. Riddiman: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdSuKogXJOZld5Dzw_9285w

I spoke to writer Mikkel Frantzen for an intimate conversation on depression under Capitalism, art and revolution as a form of therapy. 

Mikkel and I discuss our personal battles with depression, how these battles differ for Mikkel as a Danish citizen w. Universal Health Care compared to the privatized hell-th care of Americans, we then explore how capitalism transcends borders to make all of us depressed. 

In addition to these fascinating topics, we also discuss the limits of David Foster Wallace's insights on depression, how artists have false notions of Depression's beauty and what a more beautiful world might look like. 

For more w. Mikkel you can find his essays on Depression and Mental Health at the LA Review of Books: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/future-no-future-depression-left-politics-mental-health/

Mikkel also recently published a full-length book on Depression, Popular Culture and Media w. Zero Book: https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/zer0-books/our-books/going-nowhere-slow

Music is by Prod. Riddiman - Song is 'Fiend' : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMKHwIyxb50

To better understand the popularity of Donald Trump and the American Right in Hong Kong & Taiwan I spoke to Journalist Brian Hioe  and Academic Lev Nachman.  

We discuss why Trump is viewed so fondly in Taiwan, the skyrocketing popularity of the American Right in Hong Kong's digital spaces, and the limits of democracy protests that don't address the profound tyranny at the heart of capitalism. (You can vote for your president, but you can't vote for your boss!) 

For more with Brian, check out his project New Bloom Magazine and their new imprint No Man is an Island . They do great reporting on Taiwan and Hong Kong: https://newbloommag.net/ & https://nomanisanis.land/

And for more w. Lev check out his Twitter, he pops up quite a bit in coverage on Taiwan: @lnachman32

Beat by NK Music - Solar System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6jHOqEtEFU

We had a fascinating conversation on Vietnam and Neoliberalism with University of California-Irving Professor Long T. Bui.  Dr. Bui was kind enough to discuss with me his work on South Vietnam, The Vietnamese Diaspora, and adding nuance to the differences between Asian Students and Asian American Students in the California University System.  It's a deep chat about Vietnam, Education, Identity and Neoliberalism with one of the sharpest young scholars currently wrestling with these topics. 

For more. with Dr. Bui, the two works we discuss today can be found here: 

Music by Juian Avila: https://soundcloud.com/julian_avila

I was thrilled to speak to Matthew Christopher on his multi-year project: Abandoned America, documenting the abandoned spaces, places and buildings of the U.S.A. 

We discuss a variety of fascinating topics: How the paradox of America's toxic capitalism and settler colonialism can be seen in abandoned properties. Why abandoned properties are still guarded by Police,  how Social Media has accelerated the shallow photography of 'Ruin Porn', and why Donald Trump should be known as the 'Abandoner in Chief' for his callous fascism towards America's poor and non-white citizens. 

For more on Matthew and Abandoned America, please check out 

Twitter: @abandonedameric

Website: https://www.abandonedamerica.us/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abandoned_america/

Books: https://bookshop.org/books/abandoned-america-dismantling-the-dream/9782361950941

Music for this episode is: JULIAN AVILA - GOLDEN SKIES. See their soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/julian_avila

I spoke to Mukaddas Mijit, an ethnomusicologist and performance artist from Xinjiang on the music of Uyghurs.  For more w. Mukaddas, I highly recommend: 

Her Personal Website: https://mukaddasmijit.wixsite.com/

Her YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr-rA2fNtxUv_dOXlqGJJ_g

Music is 'Disappear' by Prod. Riddiman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmGn6oBbX3U

With Myanmar's 2020 election recently concluded, we are happy to share our interview with Academic Geoff Aung on Myanmar. 

Topics include: 

- If Western tourism in Myanmar is a continuation of imperialism. 

- The desires of present day Myanmar. 

- And what ideologies challenge that of the Myanmar state and its economy. 

 Geoff was also kind enough to send an audio PS that elaborates on earlier political contestations in Myanmar.  

For more w. Geoff you can follow him on Twitter at: @Rgnhardliner

Music is by Julian Avila https://soundcloud.com/julian_avila

Before the 2020 US election results were finalized, journalist Soumya Shankar joined me to discuss the complex politics of Indian American voters.  Soumya offers critical insights on how a Biden Presidency would both break from and continue on the toxic relationship between the USA and India held in thrall by the hatred of Modi's BJP.  

Topics include:

For more with Soumya,  her most recent piece on the shifting politics of Indian American Voters, is a great place to start: 

I also highly recommend this piece in Foreign Policy on why diaspora who vote for liberal politics in the US, support Modi's hard-right politics in India: 

Music is 'Face' by Noromeo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J93FvXhZr0Q