North Korea recently celebrated its 68th anniversary. To celebrate, leader Kim Jong Un fired off the country’s latest submarine-based test missile, detonated a fifth nuclear bomb, and conducted a rocket engine test. The world condemned the provocative actions of the defiant nation. Why has 2016 seen so many test? The Center for the National Interest’s Harry Kazianis and the University of Leed’s Adam Cathcart break things down.

Who were the first people to visit North America from abroad? Scattered throughout the American southwest are signs pointing to an answer. Dr. John Ruskamp, Jr. is the author of Asiatic Echoes and has spent more than a decade reaching these early travelers.

Sungju Lee is probably a name you’ve never heard before. He’s the son of a former North Korean military official, whose family fell out of favor. Relegated outside of Pyongyang, his parents abandoned him on the streets. So… how did he manage to defect to South Korea while on his own? Listen to his story in this week’s podcast and you’ll be able to read his full account in the new book, Every Falling Star, available beginning September 13, 2016.

Kim Jong Un is the third leader of North Korea. Since 2012, the young leader has conducted a pair of nuclear tests, threatened the United States with war, and shown no signs of stopping what Washington calls provocative behavior. Why, and what should the west do? Troy University’s Daniel Pinkston and One Free Korea’s Joshua Stanton discuss.

In less than two months, nearly 2,000 people have been killed in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs and corruption. Rights groups oppose the extrajudicial killings and there’s even been a government inquiry into suspected abuse, but what do those living in the Philippines think about the program?