The Vietnam Weekly Podcast

Today’s guest is Sarah Goring, Country Director for the Mines Advisory Group, or MAG. The organization is marking 25 years of operations in Vietnam, entirely in Quảng Bình and Quảng Trị.They have disposed of over 390,000 explosive items since 1999, ranging from small cluster bomblets to huge 500-pound bombs like one that was cleared in Đồng Hới in early April.We talke

Today’s guest is Bicky Nguyen, co-founder and business development director of Cricket One, a startup aiming to create sustainable, healthy food products sourced from crickets.We discussed the company’s background and why Vietnam is the perfect base for farming insects on a large scale, the European Union’s approval of Cricket One’s products as a Novel Food and the bizarre

Today’s guest is Dr. Prashanth Parameswaran, author of the excellent ASEAN Wonk newsletter, a fellow at the Wilson Center, a senior columnist at The Diplomat, and an instructor at institutions including the State Department and the Department of Defense.He has a deeply nuanced view of defense, economic, and diplomatic issues across Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.We discussed V

According to The World Bank, trade was worth 186% of Vietnam’s GDP in 2022, one of the highest rates in the world - this means the value of the country’s traded goods is worth far more than the national GDP, currently just over $400 billion.Global logistics and shipping, therefore, are vital to continued economic growth.Today’s guest is Dr. Majo George, a senior lecturer at R

Today’s guests are Mimi Vu and Van Ly, partners at Raise Partners, a collaborative partnership sharing expertise with organizations that contribute to the betterment of humanity.We discussed their diverse professional backgrounds, especially in fundraising, and how this brought them into the ESG space; criticisms of ESG from some corners; the importance of multi-stakeholder coope

Today’s guest is Trang Nguyen, Southeast Asia Lead at the Climateworks Centre in Melbourne. Her background as an economist spans the public, private, and development sectors - including the UK in Vietnam, KPMG, and GIZ - giving her unique insight into energy investment and financing.We discussed the opportunities and challenges of Vietnam’s net-zero commitment, the Just Energy

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 designin

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 pri

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),

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