Myanmar in a PodShell |
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The Podcast "Myanmar in a Podshell" provides analysis and background information on the situation in Myanmar. In each episode, proven experts have their say to shed light on specific social, political, cultural, religious or economic aspects. In doing so, the broadest possible spectrum of opinions is taken into account. The aim is to bring the different points of view into dialogue in order to bridge the rifts and divisions that have dominated the country and discussions about the country for decades. The episodes appear at irregular intervals. The team of the podcast do not necessarily agree with the views expressed by the guests. Myanmar's politics is full of acronyms. They are also regularly used in the podcast. Our list of most common acronyms gives orientation. If you want to make suggestions for topics, send an email to one of the authors: Hans-Bernd Zöllner, Tim Schröder or Rodion Ebbighausen. |
Episodes |
Episode 8Journalism in a polarized environment – Myanmar Media and the CoupJournalism in Myanmar has never been an easy endeavor. But since the coup d'état on 1 February 2021 things went from bad to worse. A lot of journalists have been jailed or fleed the country. The media landscape is split into supporters of the military and supporters of the National Unity Government and the so-called revolution. Space for unbiased reporting is severly limited. Guests Werner Eggert is the Founding Director of Interlink Academy, and also works as a media consultant and journalism trainer for various institutions in Germany and abroad. Werner has been active in international media development for more than twenty years. From 2014 to 2019, he worked as a media trainer and consultant in Yangon.
Mratt Kyaw Thu is a freelance journalist, blogger and podcaster. He started his career in 2010 and won AFP’s Kate Webb Prize in 2017 for frontline reporting on war and conflicts. He fled Myanmar after the military regime issued an arrest warrant for him on 5 April. Among other things, he exposed instances of targeted disinformation by the military when it seized control of the country on 1 February. He is currently seeking asylum in Madrid, Spain. This episode was recorded on 25 March 2022. |
Episode 7Local Democracy - A Feasible Alternative to Top-Down Governing?Democracy is one of the most used buzzwords when it comes to Myanmar. In episode 7 of "Myanmar in a Podshell", we don't talk primarily about democracy as a form of governing or as a buzzword, but about concrete democracy or democratic structures and practices at the community level in Myanmar. In other words, we want to understand what people in Myanmar actually make of the concept of democracy. Guests Tamas Wells who is the coordinator of the Myanmar Research Network at the University of Melbourne. His research focuses on contested meanings of democracy, human rights and accountability in Southeast Asia, and impact on development policy. His first book Narrating Democracy in Myanmar examines activists, aid workers and political party leaders in the lead up to the historic 2015 elections. It reveals diverging narratives of democracy within the opposition movement, and amongst its interna-tional supporters. Before entering academia, Tamas worked as an aid and development adviser and consultant with various NGOs including Save the Children, with seven years living and working in Myanmar. Sam Sai Kham is a PhD researcher at the International Institute of Social Studies, The Hague. His research focuses on land politics, rural democratization and regime transition. He grew up in Shan state, the northern rural borderland of Myanmar. Over 20 years, he worked with different local non-profit organizations in Myanmar, working on various community development and humanitarian issues (including supporting the internally displaced people over 10 years in the frontlines of the Kachin conflict). This episode was recorded on 04 February 2022. |
Episode 6Generation Z - Inventing a New Myanmar?A lot has been written about Generation Z in connection with the coup in Myanmar. Obviously, it is a driving force in the fight against the military regime. But who or what is Generation Z in Myanmar? We talk to a member of Generation Z and an observer close to it to find out more in episode 6 of "Myanmar in a Podshell". Guests Nyein Chan May is co-founder and elected member of board of German Solidarity with Myanmar Democracy organization. She studies Political Science and Sociology in Germany. Before she came to Germany, she was a student activist. Nickey Diamond is a Ph.D. candidate at the Working Group "Social and Political Anthropology" of Prof. Dr. Judith Beyer at Konstanz University. He is also a human rights defender and scholar-activist from Myanmar. This episode was recorded on 23 January 2022. |
Episode 5Is Myanmar on its own again?
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Episode 4Education in the Times of UprisingGuests Marie Lall is chair in Education and South Asian Studies at the UCL Institute of Education and former UCL Pro-Vice-Provost for South Asia (including Myanmar). Her research focuses on the politics of South Asia including education as well as ethnicity, conflict, social exclusion, the formation of national identity, and the linkage between national identity, citizenship and education in India, Pakistan and Myanmar. She is the author of Understanding Reform in Myanmar (Hurst 2016) and Myanmar's Education Reforms - a pathway to social justice? (UCL Press 2021) that can be downloaded for free here. Khaing Phyu Htut has been active in Myanmar education sector for more than 20 years. She has worked in various roles at the Ministry of Education, the British Council and Department for International Development (DFID)/ Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). While she was with the Ministry of Education for 10 years as a University academic, she engaged in teacher training, curriculum development, assessment, research, and coordination between student and teacher bodies in addition to core academic responsibilities. This episode was recorded on 25 November 2021. |
Episode 3Democracy - Myanmar's Endless StruggleGuests Marco Bünte is Professor of Asian politics at the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. He is specialised in issues of democracy and authoritarianism with a regional focus on Southeast Asia, here particularly the developments in Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar. Selected Publications:
Richard Takhun is a PhD Candidate at the department of Asia Studies of the Rheinische-Friedrich Wilhelms University of Bonn. He is a political activist, used to live in Mandalay, Myanmar until very recently. He holds a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration and a Masters of Economics. This episode was recorded on 19 November 2021. |
Episode 2Many third forces – The role of Myanmar's Ethnic Armed OrganizationsGuests Sai Khuensai is a veteran of politics in Myanmar. He has fought the Burmese army as a rebel from 1969 to 1996, he was editor in chief of the Shan Herald Agency for News, and is member of the Peace Process Steering Committee today. Ashley South has 20 years experience as an independent author, researcher and consultant. He has worked closely with a number of ethnic stakeholders in Burma/Myanmar, including Ethnic Armed Organizations, Civil Society Actors and Political Parties. Ashley's interests include: ethnic conflict and peace processes in Burma/Myanmar and Mindanao; forced migration (refugees and internally displaced people); politics of language and education; climate change - mitigation, adaptation and resilience. This episode was recorded on 22 October 2021. |
Episode 1Myanmar without Aung San Suu KyiGuests Mon Mon Myat is an independent writer and journalist from Myanmar. She is a Ph.D. candidate in the Peacebuilding Program at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Michal Lubina is Associate Professor at the Institute of Middle and Far Eastern Studies of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. He has written extensively on Myanmar. His latest book "A Political Biography of Aung San Suu Kyi. A Hybrid Politician" was published in 2020. This episode was recorded on 12 September 2021. |
The Team |
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© 2021 Myanmar in a PodShell |
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