Today’s returning guest is Nguyen Khac Giang, a Visiting Fellow at the Vietnam Studies Programme under the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. He was on the show in March for a conversation about the anti-corruption campaign, and he’s one of my go-to voices for insight into Vietnamese politics.

We discussed the legacy of arguably the most consequential political year in modern Vietnamese history, Tô Lâm ’s strong performance as General Secretary so far, the dramatic streamlining of both government and Party being planned for 2025, what this could mean for the National Congress in early 2026, and what to look out for in the coming months.

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Today’s guest is Daniel Nguyen, the founder of Sông Cái Distillery.

We discussed his background in community development in the United States and rural Vietnam; Sông Cái’s mission as a case study for adding value to agriculture unique to Vietnam; the relationship between ethnobotany, land value, and forest preservation; creating value for smallholder farmers through grains and botanicals not previously desired on the market; Sông Cái’s focus on averting land degradation and biodiversity loss; building relationships with ethnic minority communities, and more.

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Get in touch with comments, feedback, or guest ideas: [email protected].

Today’s guest is Katie Nelson, a climate change researcher at the International Rice Research Institute - or IRRI - in Hanoi.

We discussed the role of agriculture - and particularly rice farming - in Vietnam’s greenhouse gas emissions, the importance of reducing methane emissions to reach international climate change goals, efforts to mitigate methane production in the country’s rice sector, the alternate wetting and drying farming method, and more.

Related Links:

In Vietnam, farmers reduce methane emissions by changing how they grow rice

How to stop rice fields producing so much methane

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Get in touch with comments, feedback, or guest ideas: [email protected].

Today’s guest is Wessie Ling, a Professor of Transcultural Arts and Design at London Metropolitan University and Director of The Centre for Creative Arts, Cultures and Engagement, or CREATURE.

We discussed China’s influence on fashion-making in Southeast Asia, from the fabric supply chain through design and sales; how fashion designers in the region feel about this influence and how these sentiments vary by country; steps Vietnamese designers are taking to highlight Vietnamese characteristics in fashion; and much more.

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Get in touch with comments, feedback, or guest ideas: [email protected].

Today’s guest is Jason Lusk, Managing Partner at Clickable Impact and co-author of the recently released Vietnam Climate Tech Funding Ecosystem Report 2024.

We discussed why Clickable Impact and New Energy Nexus created this first-of-its-kind report, what ‘climate tech’ means in the Vietnam context and why funding for it has lagged behind the country’s other tech sectors, areas of climate tech poised for expansion, and what stakeholders in this space can do to ensure further growth.

Download the Vietnam Climate Tech Funding Ecosystem Report 2024 here.

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Get in touch with comments, feedback, or guest ideas: [email protected].

Today’s guest is Greg Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program and the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C. 

He’s also the author of the 2022 book ‘On Dangerous Ground: America's Century in the South China Sea.’

We discussed the current situation in the East Sea, which tensions between China and the Philippines have dominated; Vietnam’s ongoing effort to significantly expand the islands it controls and China’s silence on the issue; the current U.S. position in the vital waterway; and the state of relations between smaller claimants overshadowed by the sheer size of China.   

Related Links:

Hanoi in High Gear: Vietnam’s Spratly Expansion Accelerates (Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative)

The South China Sea Dog That Hasn’t Barked…Yet (War on the Rocks)

South China Sea: why Beijing takes a low-key approach to Vietnam but not the Philippines (South China Morning Post)

Why is Vietnam rapidly building on South China Sea reefs? (Chatham House)

Vietnam accelerates island building to challenge China’s maritime claims (The Washington Post)

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Today’s guests are Yen Vu, Assistant Professor and Major Coordinator in Literature at Fulbright University Vietnam, and Kevin Pham, Assistant Professor of Political Theory at the University of Amsterdam.

Yen and Kevin also host the excellent Nam Phong Dialogues, “a podcast with the purpose of making history (especially about Vietnam) accessible.”

We discussed the creation of Nam Phong Dialogues and why they chose to pursue a podcast, the inspiration behind the name, the importance of making Vietnamese history accessible, how they choose topics to discuss, current focal points within global Vietnamese studies, their thoughts on the TV adaptation of The Sympathizer and its broader significance in centering the Vietnamese experience of the war, navigating sensitive subject matter, and more.      

Check out Kevin’s new book, The Architects of Dignity: Vietnamese Visions of Decolonization, available from major booksellers starting tomorrow, September 24.

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Today’s guest is Kelly Vo, Founder & CEO of Dear Our Community and co-founder of Map Me - both of which you’ll hear about in this episode. I’ve known Kelly for a while and she’s a vital part of the sustainability community here in Vietnam - it took a while to schedule this discussion, a testament to how busy Kelly is with her various endeavors, but I’m very glad it happened. 

We discussed her work with Dear Our Community, getting young people engaged in sustainability, the importance of businesses communicating with young generations on sustainability in an authentic way, how organizations and companies need patience for results from investing in communications, and MapMe’s mission of focusing on Indigenous knowledge in addressing climate issues, especially in the Mekong Delta.     

Donate to Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation to support emergency post-typhoon aid: https://www.bluedragon.org/emergency-appeal-yagi/

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Today’s guest is Skye Maconachie, co-CEO of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation.

I sat down with Skye at Blue Dragon’s busy office in Hanoi to discuss the organization’s ongoing response to Typhoon Yagi, which killed at least 262 people; the needs of flood-hit communities in the capital; the difficult situation in mountainous areas ravaged by deadly landslides; the importance of long-term support; and the resilience of the people of Vietnam.

This episode was recorded on a phone, so the audio quality isn’t as strong as a regular show.

Donate to Blue Dragon’s typhoon relief efforts here.

Today’s guest is Trường Trần, Captive Manager of the Cúc Phương Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Program for Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, or SVW. He’s been with SVW since 2017 and is deeply involved in their conservation work, particularly their pangolin and Owston’s civet captive breeding programs.

We discussed these breeding programs, SVW’s anti-poaching work, research and monitoring of endangered species, the prominence of pangolins in the illegal wildlife trade, the biggest threats to Vietnam’s biodiversity, national efforts to preserve wildlife, how SVW rehabilitates and releases rescued animals, and where he hopes to see Vietnam’s biodiversity in the future.

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Related Links:

Support SVW’s work here.

10 years of conservation: how many tigers left in the wild in Vietnam? (Vietnam+)

17 live tigers found in Nghe An basements (VnExpress International)

Extinction of the Javan Rhinoceros from Vietnam (WWF)