*The Rundown*

Obesity is on the rise in China, and the government is trying to promote healthy living

In North Korea, the government is telling parents to give their kids names that are more reflective of the revolutionary spirit.

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Double Off Beat: BenarNews' Anthony Esguerra explains what's at stake in the ICC trial of the Philippines' ex-president Duterte over his brutal war on drugs.

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Abby Seiff from RFA Investigative explains why scam centers are so widespread in places like Cambodia and Myanmar, and how authorities are trying shut them down.

*Double Off Beat*

We check in with Son from RFA Vietnamese to find out the latest about the unofficial monk Thich Minh Tue who is currently walking from Vietnam to India and might soon enter Myanmar.

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RFA Investigative's Lobsang Gelek explains his personal story of escaping Tibet to India by hiking through the Himalayas as a 10-year-old child.

*The Rundown*

• Buddhist temples in Beijing are overcrowded for Lunar New Year because youth these days are turning to religion in times of economic uncertainty
• How is Valentine's Day celebrated in RFA's broadcast areas?

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RFA staffers Jim Snyder and Gemunu Amarasinghe recently traveled to Myanmar's Kayah state where rebel insurgents have taken control of the countryside and are trying to establish a new state government.

*Double Off Beat*

Production engineer Wa Than discusses his recent trip to Thailand where he met with Burmese youth who fled the Myanmar junta's conscription orders.

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An exodus of TikTok users are migrating en masse to another Chinese social media platform, RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu. RFA Uyghur's Shahrezad Ghayrat, breaks it down for us.

*Double Off Beat*

RFA Mandarin's Kitty Wang discusses U.S.-China relations under the new administration from China's point of view

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We explored many topics in our first year, including:

• Vietnamese Monk Thich Minh Tue and his pilgrimage across the country, and who is now traveling on foot to India.
• North Korea sending soldiers to fight alongside Russia against Ukraine, and both countries trying to hide their presence, including by allegedly burning the faces of dead North Korean soldiers to hide their race.
• The trial of Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai
• Panda Diplomacy and the return of pandas to the National Zoo in Washington, DC.
• RFA Lao's decision to change its output from traditional Lao to modern Lao.

And many more.

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Discussing shocking news of Russians burning North Korean soldiers' faces in war with Ukraine with RFA Korean's Jaewoo Park.

*Podcast Free Asia*

Answering a comment about Vietnam's "barefoot monk" Thich Minh Tue, and revealing RFA's plan to publish a map that tracks his location.

*Double Off Beat*

Discussing H6, an alleged spy with ties to British royalty. RFA Investigative team's director Boer Deng reveals how the team was able to reveal his identity, businessman Yang Tengbo.

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Jun You from RFA Korean joins the Insiders to discuss South Korea's martial law declaration and reversal, and how the checks and balances present in a developed democracy in South Korea are not present in the North, where the word of the leader is the law of the land.

*The Rundown*

Tara McKelvey of RFA Investigative talks about the recent spy exchange between the U.S. and China and why spy stories are really stories about what it means to be human.

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Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation discusses the trial of Jimmy Lai, the media mogul charged with sedition and collusion in violation of Hong Kong's National Security Law, and what the trial means for press freedom in the former British colony.

*Podcast Free Asia*

RFA Multimedia's very own Lauren Kim discusses a kimchi taste test video that she created, and the Insiders participated in, on the occasion of Kimchi Day, which falls on Nov. 22 each year.

*The Rundown*

Western backpackers in Laos die from ingesting drinks made with methanol

A North Korea-backed faction of the International Taekwondo Federation will change the name of its 'tongil' pattern to more closely align with North Korea's shift away from South Korea.

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RFA English's State Dept. correspondent Alex Willemyns discusses possible changes in U.S. foreign policy in Asia after Trump's election victory.

*The Rundown*

The Myanmar junta jailed a citizen for criticizing the title of a movie as being discriminatory to religious minorities.

Vietnam builds a new airstrip on an artificial island built atop a reef in the disputed Spratley archipelago.

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*SPECIAL REPORT*

Amy and Eugene visited the Smithsonian National Zoo in late September to get to the bottom of Panda diplomacy and to try to figure out when the new pandas would arrive. While there, they went *Off Beat* by talking to the zoo's director Brandie Smith, who stressed that conservation was the panda program's goal.

Special thanks to Jack Davies for voiceovers in the special report.

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DOUBLE LENGTH EPISODE!

*SPECIAL REPORT*

Amy and Eugene visited the Smithsonian National Zoo in late September to get to the bottom of Panda diplomacy and to try to figure out when the new pandas would arrive. While there, they went *Off Beat* by talking to the zoo's director Brandie Smith, who stressed that conservation was the panda program's goal.

*Podcast Free Asia*

North Korea sent troops to Russia, and RFA Korean hosted a conversation about the latest developments. Eugene and Amy provide context, and discuss further.

*The Rundown*

A Chinese milk powder company got into trouble with the "Little Pink" nationalists because it collaborated with a Japanese company to produce infant formula, but this story isn't really about milk, is it? Next, Find out why the city of Shanghai is banning Halloween celebrations and decorations this year.

Please take a moment to like, follow, and subscribe.

Special thanks to Jack Davies for voiceovers in the special report.

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Kelis Wong from RFA Cantonese discusses the past 10 years in Hong Kong, and how protests in 2014, known as the Umbrella Movement or Occupy Central, led into subsequent protests in 2019 over an extradition law and then again in 2024 over the passage of Article 23.

*The Rundown*

North Koreans get punished for not saving portraits of their previous leaders as they escaped from their flooded homes.

A museum in France removed the word "Tibet" from exhibitions in favor of the Chinese name of the region, "Xizang."

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*The Rundown*

North Korean lectures tell the people that Vladimir Putin loves Kim Jong Un more than others. Meanwhile the people are getting sick of a propaganda song singing his praises

The AFCL checks into Chinese businessman Victor Gao's claim that 10% of Taiwan's population is descended from Japanese who lived there when it was a colony

The Gumball 3,000 supercar rally runs through five Southeast Asian countries, including a leg through Cambodia and Ankor Wat.

Kanye West performs in Hainan, China, which is suprising becaue the Chinese government is not often welcoming to Western artists

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Discussing Cambodian strongman Hun Sen with Vuthy Huot and Poly Sam from RFA Khmer

*Podcast Free Asia*

The other RFA Podcast, Master of Deceit, is about Wang Shujun, a New Yorker convicted of spying for China, not about those other three New Yorkers arrested for or convicted of spying for China.

*The Rundown*

Caterpillar fungus trade affected by climate change, over harvesting, and counterfeits

Lao video editors get in trouble for editing videos of roads with potholes

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This is part tow of a two part episode featuring a lengthy interview with Seohyun and Hyunseung Lee, who have been described as Pyonghattanites because they were part of North Korea's 1% prior to escaping North Korea.

In part two, the focus is about the issues that North Korean escapees face, including the proper term that we should use when talking about them, and then covers the siblings as they get used to life in New York city

*Podcast Free Asia*

How it’s Made is no longer the right title for our interview segment. So we announce a change for all future episodes.

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This is part one of a two part episode featuring a lengthy interview with Seohyun and Hyunseung Lee, who have been described as Pyonghattanites because they were part of North Korea's 1% prior to escaping North Korea.

In part one, the focus is about their decision to escape,  their time in South Korea before coming to the United States and their experiences in the Korean-American community.

*Podcast Free Asia*

Listener provides new information regarding the Russian abilities of North Korean singers

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RFA Uyghur's Shahrezad Ghayrat unpacks a TikTok video filmed by young Uyghur activists, then discusses the situation in the Uyghur region.

*The Rundown*

Unofficial new "down the rabbit hole" segment begins with talk of anthems played at the olympics then takes a turn to North Korea presenting Vladimir Putin with the Russian anthem during a state visit.

China wins gold-silver in women's singles table tennis, but fans of silver medalist Sun Yingsha threw shade at gold medalist Chen Meng even though both players are representing the same country. China is so strong at table tennis, that many Chinese-born players end up representing other countries, including 61-year old Ni Xia Lian.

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We discus mass student protests in Bangladesh that have claimed over 200 lives and seen more than 10,000 arrested with BenarNews' Mahbub Leelen.

*Podcast Free Asia*

Astronomy and astrology are not the same, and all our zodiac signs are wrong

*The Rundown*

AFCL debunks reports that the BBC reported that China's Chang'e-6 mission to the Moon harmed lunar aliens, then they debunk reports that South Korea is changing its name in Chinese to more reflect how the country is called in English.

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BenarNews' Mem Satitpanyapan discusses the latest developments in the case of six Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans who were discovered by police dead in their hotel room

*Podcast Free Asia*

We explain our format shift and we record some promos.

*The rundown*

YouTubers in Vietnam slapped with a fine for posting video of a rock and saying it looks like Thich Minh Tue, the unofficial monk that's has gone viral despite the government's efforts to prevent that.

The AFCL debunks five claims by Chinese netizens that the 1969 Lunar Landing was faked.

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*How it's made* Truong Son from RFA Vietnamese discusses Thich Minh Tue, the unofficial monk who's gone viral for his barefoot pilgrimage across the country.

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Our panel consists of three RFA journalists who happen to be gay:

Wilson (pseudonym), social media editor

Phoe Khwar, journalist, Burmese Service

Greg Barber, head of digital operations

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*Podcast Free Asia*

A primer for the discussion on language standardization

*The Rundown*

The insiders discuss different standardization processes by governments in the Chinese and Korean linguistic areas, and how adherence to one standard may or may not be political.

*How it's Made*

Max Avary from RFA's Lao Service explains the difference between traditional Lao and modern Lao and why RFA recently decided to shift to modern Lao to better serve its audience.

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*How it's Made*

The panel discusses their journey to becoming journalists and navigating expectations from their parents to adhere to traditional markers of success.

The conversation then shifts to how Asian Americans are making an impact in journalism today, and what we would like to see done better.

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May is Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, so in the rundown, a four person panel of RFA staffers discuss Asian representation in U.S. media over the years.

Recording went on longer than expected so we stopped at the end of the rundown and How it's made will appear in the second half.

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*The Rundown*

V-pop singer Dam Vinh Hung gets in trouble for wearing military costume with medals that look South Vietnamese

North Korea releases a song that praises Kim Jong Un and displays expensive instruments, a possible violation of sanctions.

*How It's Made*

Discussing the espionage case of Wang Shujun, a Chinese-American pro-democracy activist accused of spying for Beijing, with Jane Tang and Tara McKelvey from RFA Investigative.

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*The Rundown*

China's Douyin removes 700 'micro dramas' from its platform for showing too much family drama.

Coffee culture spreads in North Korea despite being associated with capitalists.

*How it's made*

Kyaw Min Htun from RFA Burmese joins the insiders to discuss the situation in Myawaddy, on the border between Myanmar and Thailand.

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*The Rundown*

North Korea goes after people who carry bags on their shoulders

Lao fisherman posts videos of himself using explosives to catch fish

*How it's made*

Shen Ke from RFA's Asia Fact Check Lab is in to discuss the importance of fact checking to counter disinformation.

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*The Rundown*

16 Bears rescued from bile-harvesting farm in Laos China's 'Little Pink' nationalists go over Chinese beverage company for being 'too Japanese'

*How it's made*

RFA's social media editor, Wilson explains the ins and outs of social media at Radio Free Asia.

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*The Rundown*

Taiwanese YouTubers get in trouble in Cambodia for kidnapping hoax video

Police in Vietnam stop an R-rated film to check IDs of moviegoers

*How It's Made*

Tenzin Pema from RFA Tibetan joins us to discuss exclusive coverage of protests in Tibet over China's plan to build a dam that will destroy at least six monasteries and at least two villages

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*The Rundown*

China introduces the 'Year of the Loong.'

Jimmy Carter did NOT say that Taiwan belongs to China

*How It's Made*

Jamin Anderson from RFA Korean talks about her interview with Ilya Voskresensky, a Russian travel blogger who was among the first guided tour of North Korea in four years.

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