The Vietnam Weekly Podcast: Recent Episodes
Mike Tatarski
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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Today’s guest is Cat-Thao Nguyen, the founder of Earth Water, a pesticide-free rice brand from Tây Ninh Province. We talked about Cat-Thao’s unconventional journey from corporate boardrooms and executive coaching to a rice paddy in rural Vietnam, the spiritual connection she feels to the land of her ancestors, what living in a low-income community has shown her after spending years in the relative prosperity of Ho Chi Minh City, and more.
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Today’s guest is Nguyen Khac Giang, a Visiting Fellow at the Vietnam Studies Programme of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. He’s a repeat guest as well and joined me for a similar year-end conversation in 2024.
We covered the administrative restructuring and its broad impacts, increasing private sector involvement in the economy and infrastructure, General Secretary Tô Lâm’s foreign policy and the move away from ‘bamboo diplomacy,’ the rise of the military and police in business, and the upcoming National Party Congress.
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Today’s guest is Chris Tran, a content creator, a Vietnamese language educator, and more. We discussed the storm relief fundraising campaign he is a part of, how such campaigns are perceived, the resilience of people here, his work with The Ba Lô Project supporting Vietnamese deported by the Trump administration, the importance of preserving the Vietnamese language, and more.
Donate to typhoon relief efforts here.
Learn more about The Ba Lô Project here.
Follow Chris on Instagram to see more about his community work.
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Today’s guest is Anaïs Ca Dao van Manen, author of ‘Vietnam: The Cookbook,’ which features 445 recipes from across Vietnam, including dishes from ethnic minority groups. Phaidon is releasing the book this Wednesday, October 22. She’s also the founder of Yeshi, the casual Taiwanese restaurant with two locations in HCMC that some listeners are likely familiar with.
We talked about Anaïs’s culinary background, how she came to work on the cookbook, learning over 400 recipes while traveling across Vietnam to access the country’s incredibly diverse cuisine, splitting time between working on the book and running a restaurant, and more.
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Today’s guest is Elizabeth Ai, writer and director of the documentary New Wave. We discussed the deeply personal nature of the project; how New Wave music provided a safe space for young people who didn’t consider themselves fully Vietnamese, but also weren’t fully accepted by America; the rewarding challenges of producing the movie through the pandemic and having her first child; and more.
Follow New Wave on Instagram for updates on screenings and streaming availability.
The Curious Subculture of Vietnamese New Wave (Saigoneer)
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Today’s guest is Vân Vương, Saigon Children’s Head of Fundraising & Communication and a key organizer of the upcoming U-GO Far: Vietnam - Cambodia Cycle 2025. The first edition of the ride, held last December in partnership with U-GO and ISF Cambodia, raised over US$50,000 for female students in Cambodia in Vietnam.
We discussed the U-Go program and Saigon Children’s involvement, the first U Go Far charity ride last year and Van’s experience as both an organizer and participant, meeting scholarship recipients along the way, ensuring transparency during a fundraising campaign, goals for the second ride in November, and more.
Related links:
The Evolution of Charity Work in Vietnam (Vietnam Weekly Podcast)
Helping the Disadvantaged During Lockdown (Vietnam Weekly Podcast)
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Today’s guest is Joshua Zukas, a travel writer who has been based in Vietnam for over a decade, writing guidebooks, creating audio tours, and contributing stories to publications like The Economist. His latest Vietnam guidebook, for Bradt Guides, will be published later this month.
We discussed the process of writing a comprehensive guidebook on such a fast-changing country; unique aspects of the book, such as its focus on Vietnamese myths; the risks of overtourism in places like Hoi An and Sa Pa; favorite lesser-known spots to visit; and more.
Join the waitlist for Joshua’s guidebook to get 25% off the physical or digital version, and check out his website for more examples of his writing.
Related links:
Tourism is breaking records in Vietnam. Is that all it’s breaking? (Adventure.com)
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Today’s guest is Daniël Stork, the outgoing Consul General of the Netherlands in Ho Chi Minh City.
We discussed the tight economic relationship between Vietnam and the Netherlands, the EU’s largest foreign investor here; the shared water-related challenges the countries face thanks to their river deltas; major takeaways from his four years in the country; reflections on the art and LGBTQ communities; and more.
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Today’s guest is Celine Ventalon, CEO and founder of Émer, the menstrual underwear company based in Ho Chi Minh City.
We discussed what menstrual underwear is and how it can benefit both women and sustainability efforts, the reasons why she created Émer, social and workplace stigmas that her team is working to address, how they approach the owners of factories with majority female workforces, women’s health awareness-raising efforts at schools, and more.
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Today’s guest is Rich McClellan, Founder & Principal of RMAC Advisory and former country director of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in Vietnam. He’s an expert in public policy, investment, and economic reform across emerging markets.
We covered The Economist’s much-discussed recent cover story on Vietnam, the country’s international finance center ambitions, Resolution 68 and its focus on the domestic private sector, the ongoing government restructuring and provincial merger, semiconductor ambitions, and the genuinely exciting place that Vietnam finds itself in at the moment.
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Today’s guest is Michael Rosen, the principal founder of Vietnam’s first independent whisky distillery, Về Để Đi.
We discussed Về Để Đi’s background and why he pursued making whisky, what single malt means, the response to building a Vietnamese whisky brand and the growing prominence of brands from other non-traditional markets like Taiwan, the biggest surprises - good and bad - so far, the process of using local ingredients such as Vietnam’s first barley, their win at the recent World Whiskies Awards, and more.
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Today’s guests are Thomas Jakobsen, Managing Director at Indochina Energy Partners; and Angus McEwin, Managing Director at Monsoon Carbon.
We discussed the key points of revised PDP; progress on transmission and the national grid; LNG development; current issues and opportunities around solar and onshore wind; Renewable Energy Certificates and voluntary carbon credits and their place in Vietnam’s energy market; Vietnam’s efforts to launch a domestic carbon trading system; the revival and formalization of nuclear energy plans; and what to look out for in the coming years.
Related link:
Vietnam’s Energy Plans & Reality
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Today’s guests are Dr. Nguyễn Thùy An, Historian and Labor Education Professional at the University of Maine, specializing in the history of U.S. foreign relations and Vietnamese history; and Dr. Sean Fear, Lecturer in International History at the University of Leeds, whose research focuses on the Republic of Vietnam.
We discussed progress on reconciliation between Vietnam and the U.S., which took something of a hit following reporting that American diplomats have been told to avoid events related to reunification; how the teaching of the war in Vietnam has evolved; perspectives on the Republic of Vietnam over time; the role of reunification in modern Vietnam; the state of reconciliation within Vietnam and between Vietnam and the overseas diaspora; and what is missing from international perspectives on reunification and the war more broadly.
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Today’s guest is Minh Nguyễn, curator at Dogma Collection in Ho Chi Minh City.
We discussed what Dogma Collection is, the socioeconomic context of socialist realism propaganda created from 1945 to the mid-1980s, the use of digitally rendered versions of this art for the upcoming reunification anniversary, the state of the contemporary art scene in HCMC and Vietnam more broadly, the exhibition ‘A Radial System’ and its presentation of war imagery from different viewpoints, and more.
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Reframing War Memories via the Western-Vietnamese Photographic Perspectives (Saigoneer)
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Today’s guest is Robyn McGuckin, Executive Director of P4G, who joined from Hanoi, where the 2025 P4G Vietnam Summit begins this morning.
We discussed P4G’s goals and approach, the hurdles faced by many climate tech startups and the so-called ‘valley of death,’ the interface between climate tech startups and government, P4G’s national platforms, their nine partner countries, P4G’s success stories in Vietnam such as Stride and Alterno, how P4G connects with and assesses startups, climate tech funding challenges unique to Vietnam, the significant of the 2025 P4G Vietnam Summit, and more.
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Related link:
Vietnam's Climate Tech Ecosystem (Vietnam Weekly Podcast)
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Following the announcement of President Donald Trump’s shocking 46% reciprocal tariff rate on Vietnam, I wanted to get a quick initial reaction from return guest Kyle Freeman, a Partner at Dezan Shira & Associates who leads the International Business Advisory team and the firm's North American client services desk in Asia.
Kyle was on the show in January when the trade situation between Vietnam and the U.S. appeared to be much warmer. With the caveat that this is a very fluid situation, we discussed the tariff announcement, why Vietnam got hit so hard, and what we might expect moving forward.
Editor’s note: In the episode, there’s a mention that the tariff rate imposed on Vietnam is the second-highest of any country. It is the fourth-highest.
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Today’s guest is Khang Vu, a visiting scholar at Boston College with a Ph.D. in International Relations with a focus on East Asian Security from Boston College. Vietnamese foreign policy is one of his key areas of expertise.
We discussed Vietnam’s success in avoiding Trump tariffs thus far, the planned China-backed Lao Cai-Hai Phong railway, Vietnam’s history of dealing with territorial disputes with China and potential lessons for other Southeast Asian countries, the government’s ongoing spree of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership upgrades, the importance of Cambodia and Laos to Vietnam’s strategic security, the ‘era of national rise’ and its foreign policy impact, and more.
Recent articles by Khang:
What Southeast Asian Countries Can Learn from Vietnam’s History of Negotiating Territorial Disputes with China (The Diplomat)
Vietnam’s ‘Era of National Rise’ and the Risk of Imperial Overreach: Lessons from 1975 (The Diplomat)
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Neal Bermas is founder and chairperson of STREETS International, a social enterprise based in Hoi An that offers a fully-supported 14-month culinary and hospitality training program to disadvantaged and vulnerable youth living in poverty
We discussed STREET’s focus on the hospitality sector, its functioning as a social enterprise, the demographics of the young people who receive support and the challenges they face, how the pandemic somewhat diminished the appeal of working in the hospitality sector, STREET’s success in placing program graduates in a job, and a digression into Vietnam’s tourism sector more broadly.
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Today’s guest is Kyle Freeman, a Partner at Dezan Shira & Associates who leads the International Business Advisory team and the firm's North American client services desk in Asia.
We discussed the latest tariff threats coming from President-Elect Donald Trump, how Vietnam benefited from U.S. trade policy during his first administration, Vietnam’s exposure to potential trade remedies given its huge surplus and growing Chinese manufacturing investment, how export-focused companies are preparing for another Trump presidency, and more.
Related Links:
US trade deficit with Vietnam soars beyond $110 billion, as weak dong boosts exports (Reuters)
The Fiction of Western Unity on China De-Risking (Foreign Policy)
Trump’s Tariffs Helped Northern Vietnam Boom Like Never Before. What Now? (The New York Times)
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Today’s guest is Nguyên Lê, an entertainment writer, copy editor, translator, and occasional screenwriter. He’s written for publications including /Film, The Houston Chronicle, Film Threat, and Paste Magazine. He’s also a member of both the Houston Film Critics Society and the Hollywood Critics Association - one of the few Asian members in their ranks.
We discussed how Nguyên got into movies, the evolution of Vietnamese cinema over time, censorship, steps the industry could take to improve its standing both here and internationally, and his current screenplay work.
Nguyên’s recommendations for essential contemporary Vietnamese movies:
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The Rebel (Dòng máu anh hùng - 2007)
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Song Lang (2018)
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The Moon at the Bottom of the Well (Trang noi day gieng - 2008)
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Three Seasons (Ba mùa - 1999)
Related Links:
Vietnam’s box office sets new record at $184mn (Tuoi Tre News)
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Today’s guest is Huê-Tâm Jamme, an assistant professor at Arizona State University’s School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning.
Huê-Tâm explores the effects of new technologies on space and society, especially on how people move, work, shop, and socialize in cities - and she has extensive research experience in Vietnam.
We discussed her theory of ‘productive frictions’ in urban areas; the impact of mass transit on daily life; misguided discussions of motorbike bans in urban centers; and how Ho Chi Minh City should harness its unique nature to present itself as a new model for urban development, rather than pursuing the same strategies used by other cities.
Related Links:
Productive Frictions: A Theory of Mobility and Street Commerce Grounded in Vietnam's Motorbike-Centric Urbanism (PDF)
‘Historic achievement’: Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City’s first metro line opens
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Today’s returning guest is Nguyen Khac Giang, a Visiting Fellow at the Vietnam Studies Programme under the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. He was on the show in March for a conversation about the anti-corruption campaign, and he’s one of my go-to voices for insight into Vietnamese politics.
We discussed the legacy of arguably the most consequential political year in modern Vietnamese history, Tô Lâm ’s strong performance as General Secretary so far, the dramatic streamlining of both government and Party being planned for 2025, what this could mean for the National Congress in early 2026, and what to look out for in the coming months.
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Today’s guest is Daniel Nguyen, the founder of Sông Cái Distillery.
We discussed his background in community development in the United States and rural Vietnam; Sông Cái’s mission as a case study for adding value to agriculture unique to Vietnam; the relationship between ethnobotany, land value, and forest preservation; creating value for smallholder farmers through grains and botanicals not previously desired on the market; Sông Cái’s focus on averting land degradation and biodiversity loss; building relationships with ethnic minority communities, and more.
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Today’s guest is Katie Nelson, a climate change researcher at the International Rice Research Institute - or IRRI - in Hanoi.
We discussed the role of agriculture - and particularly rice farming - in Vietnam’s greenhouse gas emissions, the importance of reducing methane emissions to reach international climate change goals, efforts to mitigate methane production in the country’s rice sector, the alternate wetting and drying farming method, and more.
Related Links:
In Vietnam, farmers reduce methane emissions by changing how they grow rice
How to stop rice fields producing so much methane
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Today’s guest is Wessie Ling, a Professor of Transcultural Arts and Design at London Metropolitan University and Director of The Centre for Creative Arts, Cultures and Engagement, or CREATURE.
We discussed China’s influence on fashion-making in Southeast Asia, from the fabric supply chain through design and sales; how fashion designers in the region feel about this influence and how these sentiments vary by country; steps Vietnamese designers are taking to highlight Vietnamese characteristics in fashion; and much more.
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Today’s guest is Jason Lusk, Managing Partner at Clickable Impact and co-author of the recently released Vietnam Climate Tech Funding Ecosystem Report 2024.
We discussed why Clickable Impact and New Energy Nexus created this first-of-its-kind report, what ‘climate tech’ means in the Vietnam context and why funding for it has lagged behind the country’s other tech sectors, areas of climate tech poised for expansion, and what stakeholders in this space can do to ensure further growth.
Download the Vietnam Climate Tech Funding Ecosystem Report 2024 here.
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Today’s guest is Greg Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program and the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C.
He’s also the author of the 2022 book ‘On Dangerous Ground: America's Century in the South China Sea.’
We discussed the current situation in the East Sea, which tensions between China and the Philippines have dominated; Vietnam’s ongoing effort to significantly expand the islands it controls and China’s silence on the issue; the current U.S. position in the vital waterway; and the state of relations between smaller claimants overshadowed by the sheer size of China.
Related Links:
Hanoi in High Gear: Vietnam’s Spratly Expansion Accelerates (Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative)
The South China Sea Dog That Hasn’t Barked…Yet (War on the Rocks)
South China Sea: why Beijing takes a low-key approach to Vietnam but not the Philippines (South China Morning Post)
Why is Vietnam rapidly building on South China Sea reefs? (Chatham House)
Vietnam accelerates island building to challenge China’s maritime claims (The Washington Post)
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Today’s guests are Yen Vu, Assistant Professor and Major Coordinator in Literature at Fulbright University Vietnam, and Kevin Pham, Assistant Professor of Political Theory at the University of Amsterdam.
Yen and Kevin also host the excellent Nam Phong Dialogues, “a podcast with the purpose of making history (especially about Vietnam) accessible.”
We discussed the creation of Nam Phong Dialogues and why they chose to pursue a podcast, the inspiration behind the name, the importance of making Vietnamese history accessible, how they choose topics to discuss, current focal points within global Vietnamese studies, their thoughts on the TV adaptation of The Sympathizer and its broader significance in centering the Vietnamese experience of the war, navigating sensitive subject matter, and more.
Check out Kevin’s new book, The Architects of Dignity: Vietnamese Visions of Decolonization, available from major booksellers starting tomorrow, September 24.
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Today’s guest is Kelly Vo, Founder & CEO of Dear Our Community and co-founder of Map Me - both of which you’ll hear about in this episode. I’ve known Kelly for a while and she’s a vital part of the sustainability community here in Vietnam - it took a while to schedule this discussion, a testament to how busy Kelly is with her various endeavors, but I’m very glad it happened.
We discussed her work with Dear Our Community, getting young people engaged in sustainability, the importance of businesses communicating with young generations on sustainability in an authentic way, how organizations and companies need patience for results from investing in communications, and MapMe’s mission of focusing on Indigenous knowledge in addressing climate issues, especially in the Mekong Delta.
Donate to Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation to support emergency post-typhoon aid: https://www.bluedragon.org/emergency-appeal-yagi/
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Today’s guest is Skye Maconachie, co-CEO of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation.
I sat down with Skye at Blue Dragon’s busy office in Hanoi to discuss the organization’s ongoing response to Typhoon Yagi, which killed at least 262 people; the needs of flood-hit communities in the capital; the difficult situation in mountainous areas ravaged by deadly landslides; the importance of long-term support; and the resilience of the people of Vietnam.
This episode was recorded on a phone, so the audio quality isn’t as strong as a regular show.
Donate to Blue Dragon’s typhoon relief efforts here.
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Today’s guest is Trường Trần, Captive Manager of the Cúc Phương Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Program for Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, or SVW. He’s been with SVW since 2017 and is deeply involved in their conservation work, particularly their pangolin and Owston’s civet captive breeding programs.
We discussed these breeding programs, SVW’s anti-poaching work, research and monitoring of endangered species, the prominence of pangolins in the illegal wildlife trade, the biggest threats to Vietnam’s biodiversity, national efforts to preserve wildlife, how SVW rehabilitates and releases rescued animals, and where he hopes to see Vietnam’s biodiversity in the future.
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Related Links:
Support SVW’s work here.
10 years of conservation: how many tigers left in the wild in Vietnam? (Vietnam+)
17 live tigers found in Nghe An basements (VnExpress International)
Extinction of the Javan Rhinoceros from Vietnam (WWF)
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Today’s guest is Eric Olander, co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of the China-Global South Project. Eric and his team cover China’s presence across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America, a vast expanse of countries that provides a refreshing alternative to the dominant (though important, of course)‘China vs. the West’ narrative.
Eric also hosts The China-Global South Podcast, which is required listening for anyone interested in global geopolitics.
We discussed General Secretary Tô Lâm’s visit to China; the deeply nuanced ties between Vietnam and China more broadly; how Vietnam’s ‘bamboo diplomacy’ serves as a model for other middle powers; the background of the China Global South Project and its start in Africa; frustrating media narratives regarding contemporary China, the phrase ‘global south’ itself;’ China’s approaches to Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America; the benefits of covering China from Southeast Asia; and more.
Check out the China Global South Project: https://chinaglobalsouth.com/
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Today’s guest is Washington State Senator Joe Nguyễn, whose district covers West Seattle and neighboring areas. Senator Nguyễn is Chair of the state senate’s Environment, Energy & Technology Committee, and one of the few Vietnamese-Americans in a state-level elected office.
We discussed the state trade mission to Vietnam he joined in April and his takeaways on renewable energy and other issues, his approach to the relationship between Washington State and Vietnam given his Vietnamese background, investment opportunities for American companies, carbon markets, and how Vietnamese officials view him plus the amusing phrase domestic media used to describe him.
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Today’s guests are Eddy Malesky, Professor of Political Economy at Duke University, and Paul Schuler, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona. They are two of the five co-authors of the 2023 Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index, or PAPI.
PAPI is “the country’s largest, annual, citizen-centric and nationwide policy monitoring tool.”
Eddy was previously a guest on the episode about the Provincial Competitiveness Index, which I recommend checking out if you haven’t already.
We discussed the origins of the PAPI and the need to assess public views on policy, the response over time from different levels of government, its evolution into an elite public opinion survey, the unique nature of the index on a global scale, PAPI’s dimensions and which matter most to people, the anti-corruption campaign’s reflection through the survey, significant trends over the years, and insights from the open-ended ‘issue of greatest concern’ question.
Related Links:
2023 PAPI Report
Vietnam's Best Public Opinion Source (Vietnam Weekly)
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Today’s guest is Jack Nguyen, CEO of InCorp Vietnam, a corporate services firm that helps foreign businesses set up and operate in compliance with local regulations.
We discussed Vietnam potentially losing out on major investments due to uncompetitive tax incentives; the main concerns of companies considering entering the Vietnamese market; Vietnam’s strengths in attracting investment; the ongoing increase in Chinese investment; whether exporters should be concerned about future tariffs or political shifts in major markets like the U.S.; and the policy changes that would allow Vietnam to harness its investment potential fully.
This episode was recorded before General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng died and President Joe Biden dropped out of the U.S. presidential race, events which are relevant to some of what you’ll hear.
Related Links:
Vietnam enjoys surge in FDI inflows in 2023 (Vietnam+)
Tech giants might shun or leave Vietnam if policy lacks investment support: ministry (The Investor)
Vietnam considers supporting R&D costs for businesses (The Investor)
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Today’s guest is Eddie Thai, co-founder & general partner of Ascend Ventures Vietnam, or AVV. Few people in Vietnam have more tech funding experience than Eddie, and he’s been a great source of insight over the years.
We discussed tech here in the context of the global ‘funding winter,’ the country’s tech strengths and weaknesses, what Eddie looks for when deciding to invest, Vietnam’s nascent AI industry and the rising importance of ‘sovereign’ AI, his wish to see Vietnamese founders aim bigger and understand the hypercompetitive nature of their field, and his outlook for the sector.
You’ll also find out how many people with the last name ‘Nguyen’ work at the Magnificent 7 tech companies in the U.S., meaning Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, and Apple - the answer surprised me!
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Today’s guest is Bernard Kervyn, founder of the NGO Mekong Plus.
We discussed how the organization’s work has evolved given Vietnam’s rapid economic growth over the last 30 years, shifting their focus to people who live on less than US$1 per day, offering microfinance while avoiding its well-documented risks, the different ways communities support each other in Vietnam and Cambodia, and the broader goal of eliminating - not alleviating - poverty.
You can support Mekong Plus’s work here.
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Due to scheduling issues, there isn’t a new guest today, so I’m taking this opportunity to revisit two previous episodes in the context of a pair of recently passed regulations.
The first is the amended Law on Social Insurance, which goes into effect on July 1, 2025. I discussed Vietnam’s social insurance system with Tu Phuong Nguyen, a lecturer of Asian Studies at the University of Melbourne, in February.
Today, I’m sharing the context she provided on previous social insurance reform efforts, options the government was considering earlier this year, and what needs to be done beyond national laws to ensure a sustainable system.
On a different note, last week the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a long-awaited decree on direct power purchase agreements, or DPPA.
In May, Giles Cooper, a Partner at the international law firm Allens based in Hanoi, explained what a DPPA is, the dramatic change it heralds for Vietnam’s energy market, and its potential impact.
That section of today’s episode starts at the 11:06 mark.
The full previous episodes are available here:
Vietnam's Social Insurance Dilemma
Vietnam's Energy Plans & Reality
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Today’s guest is Kim Le, founder and CEO of CL2B - short for Closed Loop to Balance - a consulting boutique that facilitates decision-making across sectors and stakeholders to accelerate the circular economy transition in Southeast Asia.
We discussed what ‘circular economy’ means in the Vietnam context, how the informal economy already embraces circular principles like reuse and repair in contrast to developed markets, the need to understand the different circularity contexts between the global north and global south, the opportunities of recycling in both the pre-consumer and post-consumer spaces, Vietnam’s role in the global circular economy as an apparel production hub, and hopes for the near future of the circular economy here.
Related Links:
Vietnam among top 20 waste-producing countries: official (Tuổi Trẻ News)
70,000 tons of garbage form hill on Con Dao Island (VnExpress International)
Ho Chi Minh City canal swamped with garbage (Tuổi Trẻ News)
Garbage 'unavoidable' in world-famous Ha Long Bay: official (VnExpress International)
Hanoi needs urgent, optimal solution for waste treatment capacity (Vietnam Plus)
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Today’s guest is Eddy Malesky, a Professor of Political Economy at Duke University who focuses on Vietnam. Eddy is also the primary author and lead researcher of the annual Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI).
He played an instrumental role in the creation of the PCI in 2005 and remains heavily involved, offering great insight and nuance on the relationship between sub-national government actions and local business communities.
We discussed the concept of ‘fencebreaking,’ the PCI’s background and the desire to create a tool that provincial officials can use to benchmark against other locations and identify best practices, the surprising official embrace of the index, the genesis of the newer Provincial Green Index (PGI) as a tool for provinces to measure compliance with environmental and energy regulations, how the index’s results illustrate Vietnam’s economic evolution, and how it reflects the anti-corruption campaign.
Related Links:
2023 PGI-PCI Full Report
Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) for 2023 announced (Vietnam Plus)
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Today’s guest is Stuart McDonald, co-founder of Travelfish and author of the excellent Couchfish newsletter. Stuart has been traveling around and writing about Southeast Asia for about three decades and is also working on a Master’s in Responsible Tourism Management. He’s written previously about sustainable tourism in Vietnam as well.
Stuart recently visited Phú Quốc for the first time in a while and I wanted to get his thoughts on the place through a sustainable lens. If you’re expecting a rose-tinted view of the island, this episode is not for you. We cover some positives of Phu Quoc before getting into its severe problems, what could be done to begin addressing them, and whether you should visit.
Related Links:
Vietnam's Sustainable Tourism Challenge
Couchfish: A Journey Along The Camel’s Back. Part 1
Couchfish: Sustainable Vietnam Part 1—Plastic, People, Power
Couchfish: Sustainable Vietnam Part 2—Three Kinds Of Gold
Vietnam's biggest island long held onto a seductive image as the country's 'last paradise.' Then came the clubs, a casino, and a safari. (Business Insider)
Phu Quoc stops officials from going abroad (VnExpress International)
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Today’s guest is Nuno Ribeiro, Senior Lecturer of Tourism and Hospitality Management at RMIT University Vietnam.
We discussed the importance of sustainable tourism development, the need for a qualified tourism workforce and Vietnam’s shortage in this area, frequent comparisons to Thailand from domestic media, factors driving the country’s dismal visitor return rate, and the understated economic impact of tourism.
Related Links:
Phú Quốc's Rapid Decline (Vietnam Weekly)
Vietnam posts nearly 11 billion USD in tourism revenue (Vietnam+)
Tens of thousands protest against Canary Islands’ ‘unsustainable’ tourism model (The Guardian)
Thailand attracts twice the number of tourists as Vietnam (VnExpress International)
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Today’s guest is Giles Cooper, a Partner at the international law firm Allens based in Hanoi who specializes in issues around energy policies and regulations.
We discussed the pending decree on direct power purchase agreements and how this will impact major manufacturers, the dramatic change this will bring to Vietnam’s electricity market, Power Development Plan 8’s LNG and offshore wind targets, and where all of these issues may go over the next few years.
Related Links:
Draft decree on DPPA completed and under review (Viet Nam News)
Exclusive: Apple supplier Foxconn among firms asked to cut power use in Vietnam (Reuters)
Vietnam Electricity denies telling foreign companies to cut power use by 30% (VnExpress International)
New draft regulations on electricity generation tariffs and model power purchase agreements for power plants in Vietnam (Allens)
Despite promise, natural gas faces a difficult road to power in Vietnam (Southeast Asia Globe - from 2021)
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Today’s guest is Timen Swijtink, founder of both CoffeeTrace and Lacàph Coffees of Việt Nam.
The first half of our conversation covers CoffeeTrace, a new project aimed at providing a coffee farmer-centric EUDR data collection and traceability solution to both farmers and traders. We discuss the challenges farmers in Vietnam and other countries that export agricultural goods to the EU face in meeting new rules and what can be done to help, as well as the current turmoil in the international coffee bean market.
Then, we talk about Lacàph’s approach to working with coffee farmers, the increasingly high quality of Vietnamese coffee; misconceptions around robusta, the dominant coffee variety in Vietnam; and how the country may be well-placed for a future in which climate change increasingly impacts global coffee production.
Related Links:
Pricey Coffee Is Here to Stay as Hoarding, Heat Hit Vietnam Supply (Bloomberg)
Measures sought for coffee firms to adapt to EU Deforestation Regulations (Vietnam+)
Severe drought scorches coffee plantations in Vietnam’s Central Highlands (Tuổi Trẻ News)
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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 talked about the evolution of MAG’s work in Vietnam over time; the importance of risk education; the cross-cutting impacts of UXO across agriculture, education, healthcare, and other sectors; how UXO is disposed of after being found; and ongoing efforts to survey and map UXO contamination.
Get in touch with Sarah at Sarah.Goring@maginternational.org.
Related links:
MAG safely removes a MK-82 500LB bomb in Dong Hoi City, Vietnam
Unexploded 200kg bomb discovered in downtown in north-central Vietnam (Tuoi Tre News)
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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 backlash this generated, their ongoing push into Singapore, and where Bicky sees the business going as we face the need to shift our diets in response to climate change and growing populations.
Related Links:
From Insect Farm To Table (Atmos)
Edible insects: future prospects for food and feed security (Food and Agriculture Organization)
Anyone for crickets? Vietnam company aims to serve up insects in Singapore (Nikkei Asia)
Approval of fourth insect as a Novel Food (European Commission)
Sustainability startups Cricket One and GAFT win S$1 million prize each at The Liveability Challenge 2024 (Eco-Business)
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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 Vietnam’s ‘bamboo diplomacy’ and deft balancing of China and the U.S.; its role in broader Southeast Asia as countries like the Philippines confront China while those such as Cambodia draw closer; the delicate dance of territorial claims and naval might in the South China Sea; economic balancing in cutting-edge sectors such as semiconductors and green energy; and what may be on the Vietnamese government’s mind as the U.S. heads into another divisive election.
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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 RMIT University Vietnam’s business school focusing on global logistics and supply chain management.
We talked about how international events are impacting Vietnam’s trade links, possible alternatives to avoid war zones and other crises, the importance of imports as an often-overlooked part of the economy, the proposed $5 billion Can Gio transshipment port, and what the country needs to do to improve internal logistics further.
Related links:
Red Sea crisis: Impact on Vietnam's trade (RMIT University Vietnam)
Vietnamese, Filipinos killed in Houthi missile attack amid Israel-Hamas conflicts (AFP)
Panama plans dry alternative to drought-hit canal (Phys.org)
Government asks to complete study project for construction of Can Gio port (SGGP)
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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 cooperation in addressing environmental, social, and governance issues; how Vietnam’s challenges present huge investment opportunities; and the upcoming second annual ESG Investor Conference in Ho Chi Minh City.
Related links:
Beware Europe’s New Green Colonialism
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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 Transition Partnership and its potential role in catalyzing clean energy financing, the importance of project bankability and currency-based investment risks, and the prospect of Vietnam becoming a clean energy manufacturing hub.
Further reading from Trang and her colleagues:
The supply chain of key decarbonisation technologies in Vietnam
Enabling investment for Vietnam’s energy transition
Energy transitions in Vietnam and Indonesia: Building blocks for successful Just Energy Transition Partnerships
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Get in touch with questions, comments, or concerns: matatarski@gmail.com
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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.
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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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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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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:
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Campaigns to inspire future generations of female leaders in Vietnam
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Efforts to raise awareness of mental health while supporting families with neurodivergent children
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How international economic conditions and new regulations have impacted fundraising
There are multiple ways to support them:
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Sponsor a scholarship for an individual student: https://sponsorship.saigonchildren.com/en/home/
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Contribute to the Anhi Chi Em monthly donation initiative to support emergency cases: https://anhchiem.saigonchildren.com/
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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.
The Vietnam Weekly Podcast is available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and other major podcast platforms. Please rate or review the show!
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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.
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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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I’m thrilled to announce the relaunch of The Vietnam Weekly Podcast, which ran for seven episodes way back in 2021. The first new episode will be released next Monday, February 19.
Every two weeks, I’ll talk to people doing fascinating work in - or about - Vietnam. Initial topics include the anti-corruption campaign, scam compounds across Southeast Asia, the quest to write a comprehensive Vietnamese recipe book, efforts to fight dengue by using mosquitoes against themselves, and the environmental challenges facing the Mekong Delta.
You can listen to the podcast on Substack, or via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other major podcast platforms.
If you have an idea for a guest or want to be on the show yourself, please reach out!
See you on the 19th.
Mike Tatarski
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My guest on the latest Vietnam Weekly Podcast episode is Thao Lam, Executive Director of the LIN Center for Community Development.
Thao has deep experience with NGOs and grassroots organizations, and we talked about how this sector has responded to the end of lockdown in southern Vietnam, as well as the challenges it still faces.
For example, it is easy to raise funding and get community involvement in the midst of a severe crisis, but creating sustainable action on long-term issues is more difficult.
If you’d like to learn more about Thao’s work, you can visit the LIN Center’s website, or check out their new You Impact initiative, which aims to raise awareness on how to effectively create positive social impacts.
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The Vietnam Weekly Podcast is back after some delay with guest Dr. Leigh Jones, Head of Training at the Oxford Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) in Ho Chi Minh City. Leigh has a PhD in Immunology and is one of my go-to sources for information related to COVID-19 vaccines and other scientific issues related to the pandemic.
We discussed the different types of Covid vaccines and how they work; the significance of the timing between your first and second doses; the global debate over the need for boosters; research on the use of vaccines in children; and what current clinical data says about Ivermectin, the medicine being widely touted in some corners as a cure-all to the pandemic.
Leigh is a fantastic science communicator who does a great job of breaking advanced concepts down into language that can be easily understood by people without a technical background. I learned a lot from this conversation, and I hope you do too.
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If you’re anything like me, you are really missing Vietnamese food during lockdown. I’m a decent home cook, but with all street food shut down, I have been craving my favorites, particularly cơm tấm and bún thịt nướng.
With no end in sight to social distancing regulations, I talked to cookbook author Andrea Nguyen of Viet World Kitchen to get some pointers on making Vietnamese food at home.
We covered the basic ingredients you’ll need in your kitchen (4:30) before discussing a range of dishes, including cơm tấm (8:25), canh (10:52), bún thịt nướng (14:13), tofu (17:19), món kho (19:04), phỏ (23:22), gỏi (25:32) and bánh mì (28:03).
I can’t wait to try these out, and I also invite listeners to check out Andrea’s cookbook Vietnamese Food Any Day, which makes many aspects of this wonderful cuisine entirely approachable for the average home cook.
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I’m pleased to present the fourth Vietnam Weekly Podcast episode, which is also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever podcasts are found.
My guest is Neagha Leonard, project director of the Cat Ba Langur Conservation Project. He has lived on Cat Ba since 2014 and is a leading expert on the island, its biodiversity, and the numerous issues facing both human residents and flora and fauna. I strongly recommend following the organization’s Facebook page, linked above, which provides very detailed updates on their work.
We covered a wide range of topics, including the project’s work documenting the critically endangered Cat Ba langur population; the impact of mass tourism and developments such as Sun Group’s cable car on the environment; the importance of providing livelihood alternatives to people moved from their home in the name of environmental protection; the island’s incredible overall biodiversity; and what people can do wherever they live to get involved with conservation.
For more background on Cat Ba, I recommend checking out my Mongabay feature on the island from 2019. I met Neagha during that reporting trip, and he has been an invaluable resource since then. His willingness to speak bluntly on conservation is welcome.
Mike Tatarski
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As discussed in the Vietnam Weekly on Monday, Ho Chi Minh City’s hard lockdown is creating economic pain for many, particularly those on the margins of society who rely on daily income to survive - whether from selling lottery tickets, running a food cart outside a factory, working as a non-contract day laborer, or something similar.
With this work now impossible as the city fights a huge COVID-19 outbreak, many people are in a fairly desperate situation: no income, family support networks stretched thin, cramped living spaces, higher food prices, and heavy restrictions on outdoor movement.
In two separate interviews, I spoke with Damien Roberts, executive director of Saigon Children, about the vital work the charity is doing to keep marginalized kids (and their families) fed and mentally stimulated; as well as Kelly Vo, head of the Philanthropy Services department at the LIN Center for Community Development, who discussed the challenges that grassroots NGOs in Ho Chi Minh City face due to COVID-19 restrictions (25:56).
You can donate to Saigon Children here, and learn more about the LIN Center’s work here. (Also, check out Kelly’s own podcast, Dear Our Community, here.)
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On the second episode of the Vietnam Weekly podcast, I spoke with Beth Lopez, the co-founder and CEO of Docosan. This website/app connects prospective patients with hundreds of doctors in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang, and allows people to book appointments without going through the process of dealing with a hospital or clinic admin team.
I’ve used Docosan several times and it is hugely helpful for foreigners, who often go to the expensive international-focused clinics simply out of perceived convenience - but it also helped many Vietnamese people, especially those looking for help with mental or sexual health.
Beth and the team at Docosan have created an incredibly useful platform, and she shared some insight gleaned since its launch in April 2020 - right in the teeth of the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can also find the Vietnam Weekly podcast on Spotify.
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Good morning, and welcome to the first episode of the Vietnam Weekly Podcast, a new addition to this project. Twice a month, I will interview people from a broad spectrum of industry and society, either working in Vietnam, or with a focus on the country from overseas.
If you are already a newsletter subscriber, you’ll receive new episodes in your inbox just like the weekly updates, and this will also be available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast platforms soon. If you aren’t a subscriber, you can sign up below - I plan to eventually segment episodes into free and paid versions, the latter of which will fit into the US$5/month subscription that is already available.
Please share any feedback you have on this first episode, and note that the audio quality will improve in the future as I’m currently hunting for a proper microphone.
The podcast’s first guest is Michael Brosowski, founder and co-CEO of the Hanoi-based Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation. Michael and his team do incredible work in helping street kids and rescuing survivors of human trafficking - mostly young women who have been trafficked into China for either brothels or marriage.
We talked about how Blue Dragon began conducting cross-border rescues, what drives trafficking into China, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted this underground industry in surprising ways.
I’ve known Michael for some time now, and while these topics are undeniably disturbing, they are extremely important to understand, and he is a leading expert on the issue of trafficking in Vietnam.
You can learn more about Blue Dragon’s work and support their efforts through their website.
Michael Tatarski
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