There's never been a better time to understand what's going on in Asia. That's why we talk to the people who know it best. The Asia In-Depth podcast brings you conversations with the world's leading experts and thought-leaders on the politics, economics, and culture of Asia — and beyond. Subscribe today.

Asia In-Depth

A conversation with Shiori Ito, whose rape allegation against a powerful journalist sparked a movement in one of Asia's most deeply patriarchal societies.

The Face of Japan's #MeToo Movement

The audio guide tour for Asia Society Museum's exhibition Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians—The Mohammed Afkhami Collection, now on view in New York.

Monir Farmanfarmaian

Khosrow Hassanzadeh

Shirin Aliabadi

Nazgol Ansarinia

Morteza Ahmadvand

Farhad Moshiri

Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet Introduction

The end of U.S. occupation in Afghanistan has raised a number of critical questions, about the humanitarian consequences of the war, the stability of the region, and what life under Taliban rule may look like.

Understanding the Crisis in Afghanistan

The director of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations talks with Mary Kay Magistad about his six decades observing China, in an episode celebrating the launch of the third edition of Asia Society Magazine.

Orville Schell's China Journey

'The Joy Luck Club' author discusses her painful past, her successful career, and everything in between with Orville Schell.

Understanding Amy Tan

Golden Visions of Densatil - Rahu

Golden Visions of Densatil - Chakrasamvara with Footprints of Jigten Gonpo

Golden Visions of Densatil - Introduction

An exhibition focusing on Nam June Paik (1932–2006), a visionary artist, thinker, innovator, and the “father of video art.”

Robot K-456

Light Bikini

Tv Bra for Living Sculture

Toy Robots

Family of Robot: Mother

When Xi Jinping became China’s top leader in 2012, few had any inkling of the sweeping changes that were to come. Three years later, a clearer picture has emerged, but many questions remain. Is he a reformer bent on curbing corruption at the highest levels of government? Or is he merely concerned with consolidating power within China’s opaque political system? In this inaugural episode, scholars, journalists, and political figures weigh in on the man that some have described as China’s most powerful leader since Mao.

Xi Jinping's China

In July, after years of negotiations, Iran signed a historic deal with the United States and five other world powers to limit its nuclear capability in exchange for sanctions relief, triggering controversy throughout the world. But regardless of its international perception, the deal signals a major shift in Iran's domestic politics. In this episode, experts on the country discuss the political conflict playing out over Iran's future between aging hardline revolutionaries and a moderate younger generation more inclined to opening up to the world.

Iran's Political 'Midlife Crisis'

In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, several Middle Eastern countries have descended into violence as terror groups like the Islamic State have gained power. As they’ve seized territory in Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere, these organizations have systematically destroyed millennia-old archeological sites and trafficked priceless artifacts, creating a self-perpetuating cycle that provides funding for arms and erodes the region's shared identity. This process — which some experts have deemed "cultural cleansing" — has augmented the tragedy of the human lives lost to the conflict. In this episode, we explore what’s happening and what the world can do to stop it.

Culture Under Terrorist Threat

For five decades, Myanmar (also known as Burma) languished under a hardline military junta, with most people living in poverty and any hint of dissent quickly stomped out. But in 2008, a new constitution set in motion a profound set of changes. Then this November, it culminated with something that's long seemed impossible: free and peaceful elections that allowed long-time political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party to take power. In this fourth episode of the Asia Society Podcast, we trace Myanmar's "bumpy zig-zag road" to reform and explore what lies ahead for the nascent democracy. 

Myanmar’s Road to Democracy

In January, Taiwan's voters handed the traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) a landslide victory, giving it control of parliament and presidency for the first time ever. The outcome is just the latest of many signals that Taiwanese people are growing more skeptical of mainland China, which appears to be failing in its long-running strategy to entice the self-governing island back peacefully. In the fifth episode of the Asia Society Podcast, we explore how Taiwan has continued to drift further away from the mainland psychologically, and what the implications are of a new Taiwanese government that's less friendly with Beijing.

Taiwan's New Direction

VO for "Seleucid Empire: Conquering East to West". Room tone at end of recording. 

Seleucid VO

When Donald Trump was elected to become the 45th president of the United States in November, it sent shockwaves across the world, particularly in Asia. Throughout his campaign, he made pledges that, if acted upon, could fundamentally alter the U.S. position in the region... and even the broader international order. In this episode, we look at the geopolitical hotspots in Asia including China, North Korea, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, India, and the Philippines, and how President Trump might address them.

Donald Trump and Asia

In recent years, American universities have been setting up branches and full degree-granting campuses in China at a time when Chinese leaders are cracking down on so-called “Western values.” This has raised questions back in the states — including in the U.S. Congress — as to whether academic freedom is being compromised. In this episode, we look at the case of NYU Shanghai and what challenges American educational institutions face in the current political environment.

American Universities in China—Free Speech Bastions or Threat to Academic Freedom?

Artist: Belton
Title: Ze ma janana
Year: 1346
Type: Mahali
Recorded in Radio Studio
Length: 6:46

5 Ze ma janana

Title: Pa ru wru rokda qadamona
Artist: Qamargul
Year: 1349
Type: Mahali
Recorded in Radio Studio
Time: 04:34
Sakata Music Collection

7 Pa ru wru rokda qadamona

Artist: Ustad Awalmir
(Pashtun) 
Title: Esta de qasam wi
Year: 1349
Type: Ghazal
Recorded in Radio Studio
Time: 05:14
Sakata Music Collection


8 Esta de qasam wi (done)

Artist: Ustad Mahwash
Title: Delem aamada ba josh
Year: 1350
Type: fulkulorik
Recorded in Radio Studio
Time: 05:19
Sakata Music Collection

9 Delem aamada ba josh

Artist: Ustad Sarahang
About Kharabat (the musicians' quarters)
Title: Man jane kharabatam  ("My soul is Kharabati")
Year: 1346
Type: Ghazal
Recorded in Radio Studio
Sakata Music Collection


1 Man jane kharabatam (all vocals)

Howard French, former New York Times China correspondent and author of the new book Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power, discusses China's territorial ambitions, and how they harbor potential for conflict with the United States — especially in a "very dangerous period" over the next 10 to 15 years.

The Period of 'Maximum Danger' for the U.S. and China

Artist: Rukhshana
Title: Destergo tor janan
Year: 1351
Type: Fulkalor
Recorded in Radio Studio
Time: 07:36

Sakata Music Collection

3 Destergo tor janan

water flowing, with birds

12 Rak Mukam, Tarze Marghore

In a time when representation and diversity are at the forefront of conversation in Hollywood and media, Kevin Kwan’s 2013 novel ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ has attracted a lot of attention. In this episode, Kwan and director Jon Chu discuss the challenges that come with working on the first big budget film about the Asian American experience.

Crazy Rich Asians

The Rohingya Muslims have long been a stateless persecuted minority in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar. But over the past few weeks, their plight has gone from bad to worse as they’ve endured widespread rape and killing, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee the country. In this episode, Debra Eisenman explains how it got to this point.

The 'Horrific' Plight of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims

Granted permission to use this for NEH project, episode on Mahmud of Ghazni only. 

01 - Rubab Solo

Sample (fair use)
Track: Ikh ezen Bogd Chingiss khaan
From this album: http://www.face-music.ch/catalog/khanbogdvol_2.html

Performed by: Ensemble Khan Bogd

Mongol throat singing

Samanid Empire VO

Pashtun Unity "One could say it's up in the air." (missing VO)

Asia Society Policy Institute Vice President Daniel Russel talks with S. Jaishankar, former foreign secretary of India and ambassador to the U.S. and China, about the state of U.S.-India relations, the India-China-Pakistan triangle, and the foreign policy accomplishments of the Modi government’s first term.

Examining Modi's Foreign Policy

When President Obama appointed Richard Holbrooke to manage the U.S. relationship with Afghanistan and Pakistan, the assignment seemed like a perfect challenge for the veteran diplomat. Instead, the two men could not see eye to eye before Holbrooke's untimely death in 2010. George Packer, author of a new biography of Holbrooke, explains the fundamental differences between the president and diplomat.

Why Richard Holbrooke Clashed With Barack Obama

Leesa Lin and Charlie Woo discuss the recent surge in attacks against Asians in the weeks since the coronavirus spread from China to the rest of the world.

The Coronavirus and Anti-Asian Racism

Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution with centers in New York, Hong Kong and Houston and affiliated offices in Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Washington, D.C., and Zurich.

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