The East Angle

The East Angle
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In this podcast, two University of East Anglia academics working on Japan, Ra Mason and Sherzod Muminov, discuss the history, politics, current affairs, and sports of the so-called East in the broad sense of the term (that also includes the vast post-Soviet space) but with a specific focus on Japan. In each episode, we do so with the help and insights of our guests, who are often but not always practicing academics, thinkers, and writers. Our goal is to have informal discussions on a region that usually goes under the radar, and to bridge the divide between academia and the broader society.

  1. Apr 17

    Asylum seekers are on a journey of death: Council worker's day-to-day struggles and message of hope

    For this episode, we met up with UEA alumna Elham Metwly, who has an MA in Politics and vast experience in social care, specifically working with asylum seekers and refugees in various capacities for local government organisations in the UK.Elham shared her experiences and insight and helped dispel some of the myths about refugees and asylum seekers. She also spoke about the ways in which her UEA degree helps her in her current role, and shared her hopefuly thoughts about the future.

  2. Jan 24

    Samurai, Castles, and the Making of Modern Japan - A Conversation with Professor Oleg Benesch

    In this episode, Ra and Sherzod welcomed Prof. Oleg Benesch to the podcast. Oleg is Professor of East Asian History at the University of York and has written and co-authored a number of amazing books on Japanese history. His first book was Inventing the Way of the Samurai (Oxford, 2014), and in 2019 he co-authored Japan's Castles with Ran Zwigenberg (who was also a guest of the podcast last year). He has also written on drugs in Japan. More recently, Oleg co-curated the upcoming exhibition "Samurai" at the British Museum. We asked Oleg our own questions on the wide range of fascinating topics, as well as questions from our viewers received via social media. This episode will be interesting to those who enjoy the history of Japan's making as a nation once run by a samurai class to a modern, and later postindustrial society. It will also enlighten, we hope, many Japanese studies students, including our own :) LinksOleg's books: Inventing the Way of the Samurai: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/inventing-the-way-of-the-samurai-9780198754251?cc=gb&lang=en& Japan's Castles: https://www.cambridge.org/gb/universitypress/subjects/history/east-asian-history/japans-castles-citadels-modernity-war-and-peace?format=PB Drugs and the Politics of Consumption in Japan: https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/6370 Books mentioned in the podcastSven Saaler, Men in Metal: A Topography of Public Bronze Statuary in Modern Japan:https://brill.com/display/title/39541?language=en&srsltid=AfmBOor6n3zh32DOjmx5Y0b2ZoQ5uXSAxQ6xuZOSDl6KtvH0ey-YnZL4Film mentioned in the podcastGhost Dog: The Way of the Samuraihttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165798/

  3. 12/17/2025

    Where will the babies come from? Talking Japan's future with a Japanese student

    We invited Iguchi Haruka, a student from Japan currently studying International Politics at the UEA, to this Christmas episode. We asked Haruka questions on issues we often discuss on the podcast: Japan's declining population, attitudes to over-tourism and immigration, attitudes towards work-life balance among the Japanese people.We spent some time discussing the personality and policies of Japan's first female prime minister, Takaichi Sanae, and the reasons for her rising popularity among the Japanese populace, including the young.We aimed to better understand what young Japanese people like Haruka think about the nation's present and future, and the great challenges it currently faces. The resulting conversation, we hope, will shed light on the thinking and feelings of the new generation of Japanese people, and will thus be interesting to our viewers.

  4. 11/27/2025

    Cold War Japan, bears, Kyoto, sumo, and so much more—A conversation with Prof. Thomas French

    We were delighted to host Prof. Thomas French, who is a historian of modern Japan, in this new episode of the East Angle.Tom has been a friend and colleague to both of us over many years. He has lived and worked in Kyoto for almost fifteen years, and is currently Associate Professor in the College of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University. He is a specialist on the Occupation of Japan, and peacetime military interactions between Japan and the West. You can learn more about Tom's current research following this link: https://tinyurl.com/53asyr7sAmong his hobbies, Tom lists exploring Kyoto's cultural and culinary landscape, sumo and rugby, and hiking the beautiful mountains surrounding Japan's ancient capital.

  5. 11/01/2025

    We invited a colleague and a student to ask about their Japan experiences

    In this episode, we sit down with a colleague, Dr Georgia Walker-Churchman, and a master’s student, Mr Kevin Revell, who both recently travelled to Japan. We were curious to hear about their experiences firsthand. The resulting conversation was full of curiosities for us. From favourite discoveries and cultural surprises to moments of challenge, we discussed what it was like for our guests to encounter Japan beyond the classroom — the delights, the curiosities, and the occasional frustrations of travelling abroad.Brief bios of our guests:Dr Georgia Walker-Churchman is a Lecturer in Humanities at the Interdisciplinary Institute of Humanities at the University of East Anglia.Mr Kevin Revell is a postgraduate student at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of East Anglia. His personal website can be found at: https://kevinrevell.com.

  6. 09/28/2025

    From Union Jacks to the LDP and the Premier League: What’s Unfolding Now

    In this episode, the hosts Ra and Sherzod dive into England’s heated flag-hanging debate that has dominated the news over the past few weeks (with a local twist as Ra provides an eye-witness account of a nervy encounter), unpack the candidates and stakes in Japan’s LDP leadership race, and gear up for the excitement of the new football season.

  7. 08/29/2025

    Beyond Pokémon, Anime and Sushi: The Real Story of Japan’s Soft Power

    This week's guest is a former student of one of the hosts, Sherzod, and current supervisee of the other, Ra.Heather Faure is writing a dissertation on Japan's soft power, which she says explains the nation's rising popularity globally, including nations where the memory of its expansionist empire and war conduct remains a divisive issue.We talked about soft power as a concept and its impact and importance in the world dominated (and divided, some would say) by social media, with Japan as the case study most of the time.

  8. 07/26/2025

    The End of Expertise: In a Divided World Full of Opinions, Does Truth Still Matter?

    In a post-truth world where more and more people get their news and knowledge from social media or other non-traditional sources, does expertise count anymore? The spread of mobile phones and high-speed internet has enabled unprecedented levels of access to information, but how does one navigate this knowledge maze without the help of experts?To discuss these and other questions, we invited our colleague Dr Anuradha Sajjanhar, who teaches politics and public policy at the University of East Anglia, and one of our talented graduate students, Pham Minh.We talked about a number of things: knowledge production and trust in experts, the role of governments and think-tanks, and the viability of building a more equal, less divided world.We ended our discussion by asking our guests, who both have had experience of being international students, for their advice to potential international students, who comprise a good number of our regular viewers.Dr Anuradha Sajjanhar's professional website: https://anuradhasajjanhar.com---PromotionImmigration into the UK is one of the areas where one cannot do without the help of an experienced expert. Graeme Ross is one such expert, with more than two decades of immigration legal experience, of which thirteen years have been spent assisting postdocs and academics at the University of Cambridge, helping thousands with his top-notch advice and support. Graeme has recently opened a new immigration consultancy, "Postdoc Visas." While anyone with a complicated immigration application can benefit from Graeme's advice, he offers preferential rates for postdocs, whose needs he understands more than any other lawyer due to his rich experience.Please contact Graeme by emailing him at graeme.ross@postdocvisas.co.uk, and if you know anyone who is going to apply for a long-term UK visa, please share Graeme's details with them too. ---

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About

In this podcast, two University of East Anglia academics working on Japan, Ra Mason and Sherzod Muminov, discuss the history, politics, current affairs, and sports of the so-called East in the broad sense of the term (that also includes the vast post-Soviet space) but with a specific focus on Japan. In each episode, we do so with the help and insights of our guests, who are often but not always practicing academics, thinkers, and writers. Our goal is to have informal discussions on a region that usually goes under the radar, and to bridge the divide between academia and the broader society.

Information

  • Creator
    The East Angle
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © The East Angle
  • Show Website
    The East Angle