Audiophile: A Story-Based Podcast

This interview was recorded by Adam Bemma at Phyo Zeyar Thaw's office in Naypyidaw, Myanmar (Burma) in June, 2017. Phyo Zeyar Thaw, 41, was a Burmese hip hop pioneer, political activist, and politician with the National League for Democracy Party from 2012-21. He was executed in Myanmar on 23 July, 2022.

This interview was recorded by Adam Bemma at Phyo Zeyar Thaw's office in Naypyidaw, Myanmar (Burma) in June, 2017. Phyo Zeyar Thaw, 41, was a Burmese hip hop pioneer, political activist, and politician with the National League for Democracy Party from 2012-21. He was executed in Myanmar on 23 July, 2022.

This interview was recorded by Adam Bemma at Phyo Zeyar Thaw's office in Naypyidaw, Myanmar (Burma) in June, 2017. Phyo Zeyar Thaw, 41, was a Burmese hip hop pioneer, political activist, and politician with the National League for Democracy Party from 2012-21. He was executed in Myanmar on 23 July, 2022.

This interview was recorded by Adam Bemma at Phyo Zeyar Thaw's office in Naypyidaw, Myanmar (Burma) in June, 2017. Phyo Zeyar Thaw, 41, was a Burmese hip hop pioneer, political activist, and politician with the National League for Democracy Party from 2012-21. He was executed in Myanmar on 23 July, 2022.

This is the trailer for Audiophile: A Story-Based Podcast s02. It will feature four episodes of Myanmar's Phyo Zeyar Thaw sharing his story from an interview I did with him back in 2017.

Yasmin Ullah is a Rohingya-Canadian human rights activist, poet and author. She speaks about the pursuit of justice for the Rohingya, and all of Myanmar's ethnic minority groups, by ending the impunity enjoyed by members of the Tatmadaw (military/armed forces).

Myanmar's Ma Nandar hosts the feminist podcast "G-Taw Zagar Wyne [Nosy Women's Discussions]." In this episode, she encourages young people in Myanmar to start their own podcasts to give them a voice, and shares some tips on how to start a podcast.

Myanmar Diaries is a 2022 film documenting the lives of people defying the February 2021 military coup. Earlier this year, it won the Berlinale Documentary Award. Now, Myanmar Diaries can be submitted to the Oscars. The film was made by the Myanmar Film Collective, a group of anonymous filmmakers based inside and outside the country.

Win Min Than is a Myanmar beauty blogger and social media influencer. This story includes interview clips with Win from 2017 when I featured her in my CBC Radio story on young people pushing for social change, in a country transitioning from dictatorship to democracy. You can hear it here: https://soundcloud.com/adambemma/myanmar-youth-seek-social-change-cbc-the-world-this-weekend?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing Win was arrested in April 2021. She's jailed...

Neo is a Myanmar rapper and member of the People's Defence Forces. Following the violent crackdown on non-violent protesters, Neo fled to the Thai-Myanmar border to receive military training. He's fighting to oust the military junta that has tried to gain legitimacy since its 2021 coup d'etat.

Ei Thinzar is the founder of People's Radio Myanmar. Hnin Sett is an assistant producer at Federal 90.2 FM. They discuss the hardships of broadcasting news and information, via online and radio airwaves, to the people since the military coup that overthrew Myanmar's National League for Democracy government.

Pim Koetsawang is the director at Friends Without Borders, a foundation providing humanitarian support along the Thailand-Myanmar border. She explains how Thai media coverage of Myanmar has improved drastically since the 2021 military coup in Myanmar.

Nyi Nyi Zaw is a democracy activist and former political prisoner. He speaks about the discrimination Muslims face in Myanmar.

Cynthia Maung is the founder of the Mae Tao Clinic based in Mae Sot, Thailand. She discusses the challenges faced providing free health care services to the Burmese migrant and refugee communities since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and 2021 military coup in Myanmar.

Ro Nay San Lwin is a Rohingya human rights activist and journalist living in Germany. He discusses the change in attitudes towards the Rohingya following the 2021 coup d'état, including awareness and acknowledgement of the genocide committed by Myanmar's military.

Trinh Huu Long is the co-founder of Legal Initiatives for Vietnam, a group advocating for democracy, civil society and press freedom in Vietnam. He speaks about how the crackdown against Vietnamese human rights activists and journalists have increased dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and has led to the silencing of any online criticism of government policies.

Robin Ramcharan is the executive director at Asia Centre, a research institute for social impact. He discusses how self-censorship began in the mid-1990s as governments like Singapore began to crack down on free expression online. Now "netizens" across Southeast Asia must think twice before speaking freely on social media.

Wai Phyo Myint is the Myanmar representative at Access Now, a digital rights organization. She explains Myanmar's new cybersecurity law and how digital rights have been eroding since the military coup one year ago.

Cambodia's National Internet Gateway comes into effect this week (Feb. 16, but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the government). All internet service providers in the Kingdom will have to route traffic through one central government portal. This vox pop was recorded on the streets of Toul Tom Poung, a neighbourhood popular with netizens in the capital Phnom Penh.