Asia Insight

National Bureau of Asian Research
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Podcasts from The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) covering the critical issues that leaders need to understand – because the decisions they make matter and the stakes are high.

  1. Documenting China’s Borderlands – Episode 8: Arteries of Power

    6D AGO

    Documenting China’s Borderlands – Episode 8: Arteries of Power

    From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode Eight: Arteries of Power This eighth episode of the Borderlands podcast miniseries explores one of the most visible manifestations of China’s growing engagement with its neighbors—infrastructure development—and considers whether transportation, telecommunication, and energy infrastructure function not just as conduits to transfer people and goods but also as channels of state influence and generators of strategic advantages. With Jessica C. Liao (U.S. Army War College), Timothy S. Oakes (University of Colorado Boulder), and Shinji Yamaguchi (Japan National Institute for Defense Studies). Materials cited or referenced in the recording Richard Louis Edmonds, “The Legacy of Sun Yat-sen’s Railway Plans,” China Quarterly, no. 111 (1987). Thomas Bird, “Tracing the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway,” Los Angeles Review of Books, April 10, 2020. Jean-François Rousseau, “An Imperial Railway Failure: The Indochina-Yunnan Railway, Journal of Transport History 35, no.1 (2014). "习近平在“加强互联互通伙伴关系”东道主伙伴对话会上的讲话" [Xi Jinping Speech at the Dialogue on Strengthening Connectivity Partnership] November 8, 2014, https://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-11/08/c_127192119.htm. Shinji Yamaguchi, “Creating ‘Facts on the Mountains’: China’s Gray Zone Playbook in the Himalayas,” Institute for Security and Development Policy, Issue Brief, August 29, 2025. Galen Murton, “Strategic Spaces of the Sino-Nepali Borderlands: Making and Breaking Trans-Himalayan Trade Relations,” NBR, Borderlands Project, April 15, 2026, https://strategicspace.nbr.org/strategic-spaces-of-the-sino-nepali-borderlands-making-and-breaking-trans-himalayan-trade-relations. “President Xi Jinping: Why I Proposed the Belt and Road,” CGTN, May 12, 2017, https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d596a4d31677a4d/index.html. Additional Recommended Readings Jessica C. Liao and Zenel Garcia, “How China Reinvented the BRI,” Foreign Policy, April 3, 2026. Jessica C. Liao and Zenel Garcia, “China Is Squeezing Southeast Asia,” Foreign Affairs, March 24, 2026. Timothy S. Oakes, “The National New Area as an Infrastructure Space: Urbanization and the New Regime of Circulation in China,” China Quarterly, no. 255 (2023). Timothy S. Oakes, “Global China and Infrastructure Power: The Technopolitics of the ‘China Model’ of Development’,” Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs 10, no. 85 (2024). Cai Penghong, 蔡鹏鸿, “互联互通战略与中国国家安全——基于地缘政治视角的互联互通” [The Connectivity Strategy and China’s National Security—Connectivity from a Geopolitical Perspective], Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, August 26, 2015. Mao Weizhun 毛维准 and Ma Yunfei马赟菲 ,“互联互通的地缘政治： 大国基础设施竞争的行为逻辑” [The Geopolitics of Connectivity: The Behavioral Logic of Great Power Infrastructure Competition,” Foreign Affairs Review 5 (2024).

    35 min
  2. Next in Line: Indonesia’s Rising Leaders and Foreign Policy

    APR 30

    Next in Line: Indonesia’s Rising Leaders and Foreign Policy

    From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries examining the future of foreign policy through the lens of emerging leadership in South and Southeast Asia. This second episode features Dr. Ann Marie Murphy of Seton Hall University sitting down with Dr. Leonard Sebastian and Mr. Muhammad Waffaa Kharisma to discuss Indonesia's emerging generation of political leaders and the factors influencing their foreign policy outlooks from Jakarta. To view the project webpage, visit https://www.nbr.org/program/next-generation-of-leaders-in-south-and-southeast-asia/. Dr. Leonard Sebastian is a Senior Fellow at the Indonesia Programme, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. His written commentary can be viewed at https://www.nbr.org/publication/how-indonesias-next-generation-will-navigate-u-s-china-competition/. Mr. Muhammad Waffaa Kharisma is a Researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, Indonesia. His written commentary can be viewed at https://www.nbr.org/publication/indonesias-next-generation-foreign-policy-outlook-in-a-fragmenting-global-order/.

    28 min

  3. APR 20

    From Competing to Racing: How 2025 Reshaped U.S.–China Relations

    2026 marks 20 years of Asia Policy, NBR’s peer-reviewed scholarly journal presenting policy-relevant academic research on the Asia-Pacific that draws clear and concise conclusions useful to today’s policymakers. This Asia Insight episode features NBR Senior Director of Research and Programs Doug Strub in conversation with Dr. Evan Medeiros and Mr. Gerard DiPippo as they discuss Dr. Mederios’ latest essay for Asia Policy titled “A New Era of U.S.-China Interaction: From Competing to Racing.” Dr. Mederios’ essay was originally published on April 17, 2026, and can be read at https://www.nbr.org/publication/a-new-era-of-u-s-china-interaction-from-competing-to-racing/. Gerard DiPippo is Director for Global Macro at the Eurasia Group. Evan Medeiros is Director of Asian Studies and the Penner Family Chair at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Doug Strub is Senior Director of Research and Programs at NBR.

    36 min
  4. Next in Line: India’s Rising Leaders and Foreign Policy

    MAR 30

    Next in Line: India’s Rising Leaders and Foreign Policy

    From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries examining the future of foreign policy through the lens of emerging leadership in South and Southeast Asia. This first episode features Dr. Christopher Clary of the University at Albany sitting down with Dr. Rohan Mukherjee and Mr. Bashir Ali Abbas to discuss India’s emerging generation of political leaders and the factors influencing their foreign policy outlooks from New Delhi. To view the project webpage, visit https://www.nbr.org/program/next-generation-of-leaders-in-south-and-southeast-asia/. Mr. Bashir Ali Abbas is a Senior Research Associate with the Council for Strategic and Defense Research based in New Delhi, India. His written commentary can be viewed at https://www.nbr.org/publication/continuity-amid-change-how-indias-emerging-political-leaders-will-steer-its-future-foreign-policy/. Dr. Rohan Mukherjee is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Nonresident Fellow at NBR. His written commentary can be viewed at https://www.nbr.org/publication/after-modi-political-leadership-and-the-future-of-indian-foreign-policy/.

    33 min
  5. Trailer: Next in Line: Rising Leaders and Foreign Policy in South and Southeast Asia

    MAR 20

    Trailer: Next in Line: Rising Leaders and Foreign Policy in South and Southeast Asia

    In this new Asia Insight miniseries, Next in Line: Rising Leaders and Foreign Policy in South and Southeast Asia examines how a new generation of political leaders is shaping foreign policy across a strategically vital region amid intensifying U.S.-China competition. Across six episodes, leading experts analyze how domestic pressures and international dynamics are converging to influence the foreign policy outlooks of emerging leaders in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Moderated by Dr. Christopher Clary of the University at Albany and Dr. Ann Marie Murphy of Seton Hall University, the miniseries launches on March 30, 2026, with new episodes released monthly through August 30, 2026.

    1 min
  6. Documenting China’s Borderlands – Episode 7: Liquid Borders

    MAR 20

    Documenting China’s Borderlands – Episode 7: Liquid Borders

    From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode Seven: Liquid Borders This seventh episode describes China’s position as a “hydro-hegemon,” considers how transboundary rivers can be used either as sources of transborder cooperation or geopolitical leverage, and explores the consequences of China’s river damming. With Selina Ho Li Ching (Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore) and Brian Eyler (Stimson Center). Materials cited or referenced in the recording “Water Wars? A Talk with Ismail Serageldin,” World Policy Journal 26, No.4 (Winter 2009-2010). Li Zhifei 李志斐 “An Analysis of Transboundary River Issues Between China and the Countries of Its Periphery” [中国与周边国家跨国河流问题之分析] Pacific Journal 19, No.3 (March 2011). Mark Zeitoun, Jeroen Warner, “Hydro-Hegemony: A Framework for Analysis of Trans-Boundary Water Conflicts,” Water Policy 8, No.5 (2006). Anthony Spaeth, “China’s Toxic Shock,” Time, November 27, 2005. Brahma Chellaney, “Water, Power, and Competition in Asia,” Asian Survey 54, No.4 (2014). Recommended additional readings Selina Ho, “China’s Transboundary River Policies Towards Kazakhstan: Issue-Linkages and Incentives for Cooperation,” Water International 42, No.2 (2017). Selina Ho, “River Politics: China’s Policies in the Mekong and the Brahmaputra in Comparative Perspective,” Journal of Contemporary China 23, No.85 (2014). Hoang Thi Ha, "China’s Statecraft through the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation: Building a Sino-Centric Regional Order," November 13, 2025 https://strategicspace.nbr.org/chinas-statecraft-through-the-lancang-mekong-cooperation-building-a-sino-centric-regional-order/.

    39 min

  7. MAR 10

    Assessing Indo-Pacific AI Governance and Risk

    As part of The Evolution of AI Governance and Regulation in the Indo-Pacific project at NBR, this Asia Insight episode features NBR Senior Director of Research and Programs Doug Strub sitting down with Mr. Renan Araujo and Ms. Husan Chahal as they discuss AI risks and the role of multilateral organizations in AI governance. Renan Araujo is the Director of Programs at the Institute for AI Policy and Strategy. Husan Chahal is an AI policy researcher currently working as a Senior AI Risk Analyst for the AI Risk Explorer Project at the Observatorio de Riesgos Catastroficos Globales. She is also a Nonresident Fellow at NBR. Doug Strub is Senior Director of Research and Programs at NBR.

    30 min

  8. FEB 10

    AI Governance and Regulation in Southeast Asia

    As part of The Evolution of AI Governance and Regulation in the Indo-Pacific project at NBR, this Asia Insight episode features NBR Senior Director of Research and Programs Doug Strub sitting down with Mr. Nigel Cory and Dr. Karryl Kim Sagun Trajano as they discuss AI governance in Southeast Asia, and opportunities and challenges for ASEAN countries to collaborate with the United States in shaping a future AI agenda. Nigel Cory is a Nonresident Fellow at NBR and is a Director with Crowell Global Advisors. His November 2025 paper on "Codeveloping the Model: U.S. and ASEAN Cooperation in Shaping and Deploying AI" can be viewed at https://www.nbr.org/publication/codeveloping-the-model-u-s-and-asean-cooperation-in-shaping-and-deploying-ai/. Doug Strub is Senior Director of Research and Programs at NBR. Karryl Kim Sagun Trajano is a Research Fellow for Future Issues and Technology in the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Her September 2025 paper on "Charting ASEAN’s Path to AI Governance: Uneven Yet Gaining Ground" can be viewed at https://www.nbr.org/publication/charting-aseans-path-to-ai-governance-uneven-yet-gaining-ground/.

    26 min
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About

Podcasts from The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) covering the critical issues that leaders need to understand – because the decisions they make matter and the stakes are high.

Information

  • Creator
    National Bureau of Asian Research
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    79
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR)
  • Show Website
    Asia Insight

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