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Help support people affected by Myanmar’s crisis—donate to Better Burma Foundation (501(c)(3)) → https://www.betterburma.org/donation Khay weaves his lived experience as a Karen from a war-torn region with rigorous political research to illuminate Myanmar’s intertwined ethnic and democratic struggles. From Berlin, he connects grassroots governance and youth-led resistance on the ground to broader global trends and European policy debates that are shaping Myanmar’s future. For the latest episodes, subscribe in your podcast app: http://insightmyanmar.org/listen In this episode: • Trace Khay’s journey from growing up in Karen State to becoming a political researcher in Berlin focused on Myanmar and European policy. • Explore how the 2021 coup reshaped displacement, refugee flows, and informal local governance in Karen resistance areas. • Examine the Karen National Union’s evolving strategy, from armed struggle and peace talks to bottom-up federalism and township-level governance training. • Hear how generational debates over federalism, confederation, and ethnic rights are energizing Karen youth and reshaping alliances with Bamar activists. • Analyze the impact of rising right-wing politics and parties like AfD in Germany on immigration, asylum, and the lives of Myanmar refugees. • Consider Khay’s proposals for European humanitarian support, engagement with the NUG and ethnic resistance organizations, and long-term paths toward resolving Myanmar’s ethnic conflicts and building sustainable peace. Chapters 00:00 Intro and podcast announcements 01:11 Meeting Khay and his research focus 03:54 Fieldwork in Karen State after the coup 09:31 KNU strategy and local governance 15:09 Karen youth, federalism and confederation 20:27 Religious divides and new Karen unity 26:46 German politics, refugees and right-wing rise 29:28 Global autocracy trends and Myanmar’s struggle 34:50 What Europe should do for Myanmar 39:21 Buddhism, secularism and national identity 44:23 Growing up Karen and choosing research over arms 50:49 Myanmar youth skills and the spring revolution 52:30 Steps toward sustainable peace in Myanmar

Help support people affected by Myanmar’s crisis—donate to Better Burma Foundation (501(c)(3)) → https://www.betterburma.org/donation Myanmar policy expert Lilianne Fan offers a rare inside look at how ASEAN has actually responded to Myanmar’s post-coup crisis, beyond the often-criticized public statements. Her account shows how regional diplomacy, humanitarian access, and questions of legitimacy are quietly evolving—and how Myanmar’s people are increasingly being seen and heard within ASEAN’s formal processes. For the latest episodes, subscribe in your podcast app: http://insightmyanmar.org/listen In this episode: • Unpack how ASEAN’s consensus-based structure shaped the Five-Point Consensus and the unprecedented decision to exclude Myanmar’s junta from top-level meetings. • Trace the evolution from early, state-centric shuttle diplomacy with Min Aung Hlaing to Indonesia’s and Malaysia’s more inclusive engagement with Myanmar resistance and ethnic stakeholders. • Learn how Malaysia’s Advisory Group on Myanmar and Track One stakeholder meetings in Kuala Lumpur created confidential, high-level space for resistance leaders, ethnic actors, women, youth, and minorities. • Hear how Track 1.5 roundtables on humanitarian access, junta-run elections, and political transition fed documented analysis directly into ASEAN decision-making. • Explore how the March 2025 earthquake opened a window for ASEAN leaders, led by Malaysia, to recognize alternative humanitarian channels, including cross-border aid and local service providers beyond the AHA Centre. • Understand how Myanmar’s crisis is reshaping ASEAN’s comfort with discussing conflict, human rights, and the “right to peace,” and why Lilianne is cautiously hopeful about the Philippines’ upcoming chairmanship. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro and episode overview 00:01:42 Introducing Lilianne Fan and her roles 00:02:57 ASEAN consensus and the Five-Point Consensus 00:15:12 Myanmar’s suffering and ASEAN’s limits 00:18:58 Early ASEAN missteps and lessons learned 00:47:14 Has the needle moved inside ASEAN? 00:50:41 Humanitarian access and the 2025 earthquake 01:07:17 Track One vs Track 1.5 diplomacy 01:15:07 Engaging the military and clarifying divides 01:28:32 Donors, NCA funding and international coherence 01:40:15 How Myanmar is reshaping ASEAN’s norms 01:57:11 Philippines chairmanship and future of ASEAN on Myanmar 02:12:17 Final reflections: Myanmar people within ASEAN

Help support people affected by Myanmar’s crisis—donate to Better Burma Foundation (501(c)(3)) → https://www.betterburma.org/donation Amid Myanmar’s upheaval, this episode shares three deeply personal stories that grew out of a digital storytelling workshop, showing how honest conversation can restore connection and courage. Through the voices of Chit Tun, Zue, and August, listeners glimpse how ordinary people are navigating displacement, cultural loss, and discrimination while still working toward a more humane future. For the latest episodes, subscribe in your podcast app: http://insightmyanmar.org/listen In this episode: • Hear Chit Tun recount a childhood spent moving between prison compounds, shaped by his father’s clashes with Myanmar’s abusive bureaucracy and chronic economic hardship. • Follow Chit Tun’s journey from civil-engineering graduate to protest leader, armed resistance fighter, and eventually refugee in Thailand, driven by a promise to his son not to grow up under dictatorship. • Learn how Chit Tun now supports refugees on the Myanmar–Thailand border, teaches Burmese, and produces a podcast to spotlight authentic revolutionary experiences and shared struggle. • Discover how Zue’s rural upbringing in a weaving town and playful days in nature inspired her path as a Burmese language teacher, artist, and founder of the online Akkhaya Burmese Language Institute. • Explore Zue’s efforts through teaching, YouTube, and podcasting to preserve language, honor Myanmar’s ethnic diversity, and encourage the diaspora not to forget their cultural roots. • Listen as August explains her shift from electrical engineering to studying religion and philosophy in Thailand, building on her work as a gender and LGBTQ rights trainer to challenge discriminatory uses of Buddhism and… Chapters 00:00:00 Workshop intro & the miracle of communication 00:05:37 Chit Tun’s childhood in prison compounds 00:16:41 Coup, CDM protests & armed resistance 00:32:59 From jungle war to refugee life in Thailand 00:54:32 Zue’s rural childhood & love of language 01:03:35 Teaching Burmese & language mindset 01:08:59 YouTube, art & preserving Myanmar cultures 01:15:29 Global fellowship & human-rights debates 01:28:56 August’s path from engineering to religion 01:35:23 Religion, LGBTQ rights & challenging misuse 01:45:59 Studying in Thailand: obstacles & growth 01:52:36 Future plans & courage for Myanmar students

Help support people affected by Myanmar’s crisis—donate to Better Burma Foundation (501(c)(3)) → https://www.betterburma.org/donation Three Myanmar activists from different generations and regions explain why the junta’s planned 2025 elections are a tool to entrench military rule rather than restore democracy. Grounded in Kachin frontline realities, decades of manipulated electoral law, and widespread disenfranchisement, they show how communities are resisting the sham process and what meaningful international solidarity and accountability would require. For the latest episodes, subscribe in your podcast app: http://insightmyanmar.org/listen In this episode: • Examine how the military dismantled and rebuilt the Union Election Commission to script the 2025 vote under a rejected 2008 constitution. • Trace Myanmar’s long history of coups, controlled elections, and restrictive party laws with veteran activist Aung Moe Zaw. • Hear Brang Min describe daily life amid airstrikes, displacement, and internet blackouts in Kachin State, and why elections feel irrelevant to survival. • Detail the disenfranchisement of ethnic communities, including Rohingya, and the cancellation of dozens of townships from the junta’s phased electoral map. • Analyze the new electoral laws and opaque proportional representation system that all but guarantee seats for military-aligned candidates. • Explore coordinated anti-sham election strategies by civil society groups, diaspora communities, and ethnic resistance organizations, alongside calls for international justice for war crimes and the Rohingya genocide. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro: coup, revolution, sham elections 00:02:41 Meet the guests & anti-sham campaign 00:06:35 How the junta rebuilt the UEC 00:11:15 Decades of coups and party restrictions 00:18:13 Kachin frontlines and ethnic divide-and-rule 00:24:31 Disenfranchisement and phased sham elections 00:31:05 Rigged system and pre-decided seats 00:39:19 Power, prisoners, and Suu Kyi’s fate 00:46:46 Why sham elections won’t change resistance 00:48:33 International community, ASEAN, and 5PC 00:59:26 China, India, ASEAN, and regional realpolitik 01:10:01 Boycotts, Kachin attacks, and justice demands

Help support people affected by Myanmar’s crisis—donate to Better Burma Foundation (501(c)(3)) → https://www.betterburma.org/donation Gus Miclat draws on decades of peacebuilding and solidarity work from the Philippines, East Timor, Mindanao, and beyond to frame Myanmar’s current struggle as part of a broader fight against authoritarianism. His stories show how people-to-people networks, intergenerational activism, and a conscious “culture of care” can turn local pain into shared power and long-term change. For the latest episodes, subscribe in your podcast app: http://insightmyanmar.org/listen In this episode: • Hear Gus Miclat recall his high school “long hair” protest in the Philippines and how martial law under Ferdinand Marcos Sr. pushed him into full-time activism. • Discover how the Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) grew from South-South solidarity work on East Timor into a regional force for peace and democracy, including in Mindanao and Myanmar. • Learn why Miclat believes Myanmar’s current, youth-led resistance offers more hope for systemic change than past, elite-driven political struggles. • Explore IID’s people-to-people approach through an exchange that brought Rohingya women to meet displaced women leaders from Marawi in Mindanao. • Examine the rise of authoritarian dynasties and militarization across Southeast Asia, and how activists are adapting strategies, caring for each other, and passing the baton between generations. • Reflect on the promise and pitfalls of social media, from the Milk Tea Alliance to Gaza and Ukraine, and hear Miclat’s practical ideas for how ordinary people can act in solidarity with Myanmar and other struggles. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro: Myanmar’s struggle and podcast mission 00:01:02 High school rebellion and Marcos-era awakening 00:05:38 From anti-dictatorship movement to founding IID 00:13:02 Why this Myanmar uprising feels different 00:18:06 Building solidarity networks and civil society power 00:22:33 Rohingya–Marawi women’s exchange and WPS 00:29:39 East Timor solidarity and the APCET showdown 00:41:03 Journalism, choosing sides, and speaking truth 00:43:26 Authoritarian dynasties and resisting militarization 00:53:33 Evolving activism, care, and passing the baton 00:58:35 Milk Tea Alliance, social media, and global attention 01:04:25 Global solidarity, hope, and what you can do

Help support people affected by Myanmar’s crisis—donate to Better Burma Foundation (501(c)(3)) → https://www.betterburma.org/donation Simon Billenness explains how the U.S. decision to end Temporary Protected Status for Burmese nationals puts thousands of people at risk while signaling a deeper shift in American foreign policy toward Myanmar and refugees. He connects the human impact of this move to questions of U.S. national security, religious freedom, and democratic values, and outlines realistic but difficult paths for legal, legislative, and grassroots pushback. For the latest episodes, subscribe in your podcast app: http://insightmyanmar.org/listen In this episode: • Examine the Department of Homeland Security's decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status for nearly 4,000 Burmese nationals and what it means in practice. • Hear how students, professionals, and religious minorities from Myanmar now face bleak legal options and even forced conscription if returned. • Unpack DHS claims about ceasefires, elections, and 'stability' in Myanmar and contrast them with ongoing airstrikes, repression, and State Department travel warnings. • Explore how Myanmar's military fuels U.S. national security threats through narcotics production and scam centers that target American citizens. • Trace the legal and congressional strategies Simon Billenness is pursuing—from lawsuits to amendments on must-pass bills—to restore TPS and protect Burma-related programs. • Learn how bipartisan allies in Congress and mobilized Burmese American communities are challenging junta propaganda and reshaping the narrative around refugees and U.S. values. Chapters 00:00:00 News montage: TPS canceled for Myanmar 00:02:14 Podcast intro and guest background 00:05:46 How TPS for Burmese nationals was terminated 00:19:41 DHS claims of stability vs Myanmar's reality 00:24:12 Real lives behind TPS and fear of conscription 00:33:16 Lawsuits and congressional options to save TPS 00:53:21 Feeling abandoned and loss of U.S. soft power 01:00:21 Junta lobbying and bipartisan support in Congress 01:11:26 Republican records on Burma and past sanctions 01:20:21 How bills, budgets, and impoundment work 01:35:51 Grassroots advocacy and Burmese American power 01:50:12 Narrative battle, scam centers, and closing hopes

Help support people affected by Myanmar’s crisis—donate to Better Burma Foundation (501(c)(3)) → https://www.betterburma.org/donation Moe Thae Say shares how she left a comfortable creative career and middle-class life in Yangon to train with the People’s Defense Force in the jungle and support Myanmar’s revolution. Her story sheds light on women’s roles in the resistance, the mental health toll of war, and the moral choices facing those who can either normalize dictatorship or stand with villagers under attack. For the latest episodes, subscribe in your podcast app: http://insightmyanmar.org/listen In this episode: • Trace how Moe Thae Say grew up in a Yangon middle-class family, built a digital creative career, and launched a successful concrete crafts business before the coup. • Follow her journey from fundraising entrepreneur to crossing the border, joining friends in the People’s Defense Force, and enduring two months of jungle combat training led by Myanmar military defectors. • Hear how she and six other women challenged discrimination in the training camp and were later pushed into backline roles in management, medic work, and administration instead of the front line they requested. • Witness her account of airstrikes, sleepless nights in the dark jungle, comrades with PTSD who can only be woken by shouting, and her own fear of airplanes after repeated bombardments. • Explore the stark contrast she draws between suffering villagers and elite Yangon friends who keep partying under dictatorship, and how this fueled her refusal to live comfortably in exile. • Listen to her nuanced critique of National Unity Government decision-makers, her insistence on listening to fighters on the ground, and her call for counter-propaganda through art to reach urban and pro-military… Chapters 00:00:00 Host introduction and coup context 00:01:40 Yangon middle-class life and craft business 00:07:11 Joining the PDF and jungle combat training 00:12:31 First time holding a gun under fire 00:16:19 City privilege, villagers’ suffering, self-doubt 00:30:19 Comrades’ PTSD, airstrikes and fear of planes 00:39:31 Love, marriage and comradeship in the jungle 00:42:53 Humanitarian missions, medic work and burnout 00:49:21 How Moe sees the revolution and its leaders 00:54:56 Responsibility, homesickness and guilt-free service 01:00:23 Urban apathy, pro-military ties and refugees 01:07:52 Counter-propaganda through art and final plea

Help support people affected by Myanmar’s crisis—donate to Better Burma Foundation (501(c)(3)) → https://www.betterburma.org/donation Political scientist Dulyapak Preecharush uses Myanmar’s recent history to show how a military‑designed hybrid regime can manage conflict and reform without ever yielding real democracy. By tracing capital relocation, federalism debates, armed resistance, and great‑power rivalry, he explains why Myanmar’s crisis is central to understanding war, state‑building, and stalled democratization worldwide. For the latest episodes, subscribe in your podcast app: http://insightmyanmar.org/listen In this episode: • Hear Dulyapak Preecharush outline his concept of Myanmar’s hybrid political regime under the 2008 Constitution, where military guardianship coexists with elections and parliaments. • Explore the strategic, developmental, and symbolic reasons behind relocating the capital from Yangon to Naypyidaw, including fortified urban design and Buddhist–monarchical imagery such as pagodas and white elephants. • Trace the contested history of federalism from the 1947 Panglong vision and the 1962 coup through the Thein Sein and NLD eras, the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, and post‑coup experiments in federal democracy. • Examine how today’s Myanmar combines centralized unitarian control in the Burman heartland, de facto confederal zones under forces like the Arakan Army and Wa authorities, and ongoing struggles for democratic federalism… • Assess the military’s tightly managed elections as expressions of hybrid rule, including scenarios for renewed civilian–military power‑sharing versus prolonged polarization and revolutionary attempts to break military… • Consider how fragmented opposition structures, the National Unity Government, and local armed and civic actors reshape elite–mass relations and complicate the emergence of a unified alternative authority. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro and podcast information 00:01:53 Guest background and Myanmar research 00:04:43 Why Myanmar moved its capital inland 00:13:36 Naypyidaw as fortified island capital 00:17:45 Federalization history and turning points 00:29:04 Peace process gains, breakdown, and elections 00:38:07 Hybrid regime logic and disciplined democracy 00:47:26 Elites, masses, and fragmented opposition 01:01:02 Geopolitics: China, Russia, US and others 01:06:59 Thailand’s border role and humanitarian space 01:13:03 ASEAN limits and regional diplomacy 01:16:15 Why Myanmar’s hybrid case matters