The Vietnam Weekly Podcast Mike Tatarski
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- News
Every week, Ho Chi Minh City-based journalist Mike Tatarski sits down with a guest doing unique, important work in - or about - Vietnam to get a panoramic view of this dynamic, increasingly important country.
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Building Resilience in Vietnam
Today’s guest is Mai Nguyen, a civil engineer by training who has studied and worked around the world and is currently based in Vietnam.
Mai is, in her own words, an entrepreneur, a sustainability/ESG/climate resilience advisor, an occasional investor, and a work-in-progress creator. I first came across her thanks to a recent Mekong Eye article about Vietnamese architects designing climate-friendly homes for the local context.
Her diverse interests are evident through our conversation, which covers the importance of generational local knowledge to resilience, the opportunities and challenges of inclusive urban planning, Vietnam’s struggle to build affordable housing, and her hope of using urban art to drive conversations about resilience and climate.
Learn more about Mai’s work and get in touch through her website.
Subscribe to the Vietnam Weekly here.
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The Impact of the Anti-Corruption Campaign
Today’s guest is Nguyen Khac Giang, a Visiting Fellow at the Vietnam Studies Programme under the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and one of the sharpest Vietnamese analysts out there.
We discussed the historical context of the ‘blazing furnace,’ the unprecedented centralization and institutionalization of power that is driving the campaign, how a 2018 regulation opened the private sector up to corruption investigations, the impact on performance-based legitimacy, and the possibility of a ‘Đổi Mới 2.0.’
Follow Giang on Twitter @khacgiang
Check out further analysis on his website
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The Fate of the Mighty Mekong
Today’s guest is Brian Eyler, Southeast Asia Program Director at the Washington D.C.-Based Stimson Center, project lead of the Mekong Dam Monitor, and author of the 2019 book Last Days of the Mighty Mekong.
This wide-ranging conversation covers the proposed Funan Techo Canal in Cambodia (2:45), how the Mekong Dam Monitor is doing a job regional governments should be doing (20:40), a new dam that China has not announced the completion of (25:20), the role of Laos in the river’s declining health (29:34), and what can be done to ensure that these are not the Mekong’s last days of might.
Relevant links:
Mekong Dam Monitor
The Mekong’s Forgotten Fishes
Q&A: How Cambodia’s Chinese-backed Funan Techo Canal Risks Destabilizing the Lower Mekong Delta
Follow Brian on Twitter @aikunming
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The Evolution of Charity Work in Vietnam
Today’s guests are Truong Thuy Ngan, Communications Lead at Saigon Children’s Charity; and Damien Roberts, the organization’s Executive Director.
We discussed how the longstanding charity - now in its 32nd year - has evolved over time, including:
* Campaigns to inspire future generations of female leaders in Vietnam
* Efforts to raise awareness of mental health while supporting families with neurodivergent children
* How international economic conditions and new regulations have impacted fundraising
There are multiple ways to support them:
* Sponsor a scholarship for an individual student: https://sponsorship.saigonchildren.com/en/home/
* Contribute to the Anhi Chi Em monthly donation initiative to support emergency cases: https://anhchiem.saigonchildren.com/
* Or, for those in Vietnam, take part in the annual Charity Cycle Adventure starting in Phong Nha and ending in Đà Nẵng from March 28-April 1 while raising funds: https://www.saigonchildren.com/vi/engage/charity-cycle-adventure/
Visit Saigon Children’s website to learn more: https://www.saigonchildren.com/
Sign up for the Vietnam Weekly here, and connect with us on Threads, LinkedIn, or Instagram @vietnamweekly.
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Vietnam's Social Insurance Dilemma
Today’s guest is Tu Phuong Nguyen, a lecturer of Asian Studies at the University of Melbourne. Tu’s research focuses on labor in Vietnam, particularly the country’s social insurance system.
We discussed the precarious nature of factory work, even in the vaunted tech manufacturing sector, the challenges facing social insurance after 2023’s mass layoffs in the garment and footwear industries, and the government’s troubled efforts to reform this system.
Keeping these issues in mind is vital in the context of the overall positive news regarding Vietnam’s FDI and manufacturing growth.
For more on this topic, check out my previous coverage, as well as Lien Hoang’s recent story for Nikkei Asia.
The Vietnam Weekly Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your preferred podcast platform.
Sign up for the newsletter here: https://vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe
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The Rise of Scam Compounds in Southeast Asia
Today’s guest is Michael Brosowski, Founder & Strategic Director of the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation. Blue Dragon works to rescue Vietnamese people from slavery, homelessness, and extreme poverty and then works with them in the long term so they can heal from trauma, injustice, and disadvantage.
We discussed how the organization’s work has evolved over the last two years, the rise of scam compounds across Southeast Asia and how they are driving new forms of human trafficking, the impact of the ongoing civil war in Myanmar on trafficking networks, and more.
This conversation covers disturbing material, but understanding these issues is vital.
You can learn more about Blue Dragon and support them through their website: https://www.bluedragon.org/
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