The Divide

Iris Hsu,Rti
  • 5.0 (1)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

"The Divide" is a show that explores the things dividing us as human beings. In a world where differences often seem insurmountable, this show delves into the complexities of our diverse societies, shining a light perspectives and experiences that create divisions.

  1. JAN 27

    Energy wargame: How Taiwan can maintain electricity sufficiency during a blockade (feat. Stella Robertson)

    Do you know how many days Taiwan’s current energy reserves could last under a blockade? Which energy resources are the main source of our electricity? And how much imported energy accounts for Taiwan’s total consumption? These are the questions Stella Robertson, a journalist with The Domino Theory, is trying to answer. In this episode, Stella shares her findings about Taiwan's vulnerability when it comes to imported fuel, and what she thinks the country should do to sustain its electricity grid under a blockade.

  2. JAN 20

    Silencing dissent through misogyny (feat. Marcus Michaelsen)

    Online harassment, sexualized insults, and AI-generated nudes... These are the realities faced by women human rights activists when they challenge authoritarian power. How do we stop this? And why do autocrats turn misogyny into a political weapon when confronted by women? In this episode, Marcus Michaelsen of the Citizen Lab explains the logic of digital transnational repression, why authoritarian states are emboldened to target women and LGBTQ+ communities first, and the psychological toll these campaigns inflict on those in their crosshairs.

  3. JAN 13

    China tries to destroy her, she comes back stronger (feat. Carmen Lau)

    Carmen Lau left her homeland, Hong Kong, in 2021 after her government decided that her pro-democracy activism was a crime under the national security law. Lau moved to the United Kingdom, where she continued to speak out against authoritarian rule over her beloved city. She has dealt with death threats, a bounty placed on her head, and all kinds of harassment one can imagine from a dictatorship’s playbook. But with the Chinese Communist Party being, well, the Chinese Communist Party, it has updated its old tactics of harassing overseas activists with the help of technology. Last March, Carmen’s neighbors received AI-generated, sexually explicit images suggesting she was a sex worker “open for business.” Disturbed and mortified, Carmen knew exactly what this tactic aimed to achieve: to silence her. So she decided to do the opposite—speak out. In this episode, Carmen shares her harrowing experience of transnational harassment and discusses the psychological impact of such abuse, the role of technology in facilitating these attacks, and the broader implications for women activists.

  4. JAN 6

    'Hope is something we’re not allowed to lose': Venezuela’s long road ahead (feat. Valentina Aguana)

    At 4 a.m. local time on Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that his administration had “carried out a large-scale strike” against Venezuela. Trump said the U.S. military had also captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife and flown the couple out of the country. What does this mean for the millions of Venezuelans who fled the Maduro regime? In this episode, Valentina Aguana, a digital rights activist who tracks censorship and information controls in Venezuela, reflects on her reaction to the news from exile, how she views the political discourse surrounding the attack, and how a cautious sense of hope for a better Venezuela continues to sustain her.

  5. 12/30/2025

    Best of 2025 - Part I

    As we wrap up 2025, we are taking a moment to return to the conversations that challenged us, informed us, and reframed how we think about power, accountability, and the people caught in between.  Throughout this year, The Divide has sat down with voices who lived these tensions every day, from Mark Clifford's reflection on press freedom and the cost of speaking out to Chien Chi-sheng's account of pushing back against institutional harm in sports, and Simon Chang's warning that development without guardrails can reshape entire communities. This episode shares the moments that lingered long after the microphones were turned off, along with clips that never made it into the original broadcasts.

  6. 12/23/2025

    Hong Kong finds Jimmy Lai guilty: 'It’s now down to people of goodwill to protect the defenseless' (feat. Luke de Pulford)

    On December 15, 2025, a three-judge national security panel in Hong Kong found pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiring to publish seditious materials and colluding with foreign forces. Police arrested Lai in August 2020 and shut down his newspaper the following year. In the verdict, one name is mentioned 160 times and vaguely accused of being the “foreign force” Lai was allegedly colluding with: Luke de Pulford. In this episode, Luke discusses Lai’s conviction, explains why he is baffled by the verdict given his minimal personal connection to Jimmy Lai, and what he believes the international community should do to advocate for human rights in Hong Kong.

  7. 12/09/2025

    In case of crisis (feat. Lin Fei-fan)

    On November 26, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te convened a high-level meeting outlining two major pillars for safeguarding Taiwan: a comprehensive democratic defense and the development of full-spectrum military capabilities. As part of the initiative, many families in Taiwan have received a little orange book in their mailboxes. The book, titled " In Case of Crisis: Taiwan Public Safety Guide," offers guidance and safety information in the time of natural disasters and emergencies.  In this episode, we sit down with Lin Fei-fan, Deputy Secretary General of Taiwan’s National Security Council and a former leader of the 2014 Sunflower Movement, to discuss President Lai Ching-te’s newly announced national security action plans.

  8. 12/02/2025

    The cost of speaking out: human experiments at NTNU (feat. Chien Chi-sheng)

    She only wanted one thing: an apology. Instead, she lost her career in football. In this episode of The Divide, whistleblower Chien Chi-sheng speaks out about the forced human experiments at National Taiwan Normal University—how years of coerced blood draws, institutional denial, and public scrutiny still haunt her today.

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About

"The Divide" is a show that explores the things dividing us as human beings. In a world where differences often seem insurmountable, this show delves into the complexities of our diverse societies, shining a light perspectives and experiences that create divisions.

Information

  • Creator
    Iris Hsu,Rti
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    78
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2018-2026 Rti - For Personal Use Only
  • Show Website
    The Divide