Asia in Washington Podcast

In this episode of "Asia in Washington," hosts Adriana Reinecke and Dylan Harris sit down with Dr. Fumiko Sasaki, lecturer on East Asian Security for the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University, to discuss the Spatial Information Corridor component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Dr. Sasaki explains the importance of space to China’s economic development and security posture as articulated by President Xi Jinping, describing China’s trajectory to its emergence as a major space power. She further explains the implications of China’s provision of satellite services to client nations via its recently-completed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), and how this provision serves to expand China’s global influence. In addition to teaching at Columbia SIPA, Dr. Sasaki is also a fellow at the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies at Johns Hopkins SAIS, where she earned her M.A. and Ph.D. As a fellow, her research focuses on how space capabilities affect the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific region. Dr. Sasaki has spent the past two years examining China’s Belt and Road Initiative Spatial Information Corridor (BRI-SIC) and China’s space capabilities and intentions, and has released four publications on the subject. Her current research focuses on tailoring the Space Strategy of the ‘QUAD plus Taiwan’ to stabilize geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific region. Recorded on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. Sound-edited by Dylan Harris. Produced by Neave Denny. From Asia in Washington, an Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies Podcast. To read a transcript of this episode, please visit: [URL]

In this episode of "Asia in Washington," hosts Jada Fraser and Lam Tran sit down with Professor Lisandro Claudio, Assistant Professor in the South and Southeast Asia Department at UC Berkeley, to discuss his analysis of the outcome of the recent Philippines presidential election. Professor Claudio describes the role disinformation and white-washing played in the election and discusses the potential domestic and foreign policy directions of the new President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr's administration. While the trend of democratic backsliding in the Philippines has not yet reversed, Professor Claudio expresses his hope that a liberal democratic base was solidified through the widely popular campaign of Bongbong Marcos' main electoral competitor from the Liberal Party, “Leni” Leonor Robredo. Professor Claudio is an intellectual and cultural historian of the Philippines, with a broad interest in the history of global liberal thought. His book "Liberalism and the Postcolony: Thinking the State in Twentieth-Century Philippines" received the 2019 George McT. Kahin Prize from the Association of Asian Studies and the 2019 European Association for Southeast Asian Studies Humanities Book Prize. He is also the author of a short book "Jose Rizal: Liberalism and the Paradox of Coloniality," which examines how turn-of-the-century liberalism informed the birth of Filipino literature and nationalism. Prior to his appointment at Berkeley, Dr. Claudio taught at Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University and was a post-doctoral fellow at Kyoto University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies. Recorded on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. Sound-edited by Lauren Mosely. Produced by Neave Denny. From Asia in Washington, an Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies Podcast. To read a transcript of this episode, please visit: https://www.reischauercenter.org/podcasts/the-2022-philippine-election-democratic-backsliding-and-progress-with-professor-lisandro-claudio/

In this episode of "Asia in Washington," hosts Adriana Reinecke and Lauren Mosely sit down with Ms. Margot Carrington, a retired diplomat, whose 25-year career with the US Department of State culminated in a four-year tour as Minister Counselor for Public Affairs, US Embassy Tokyo, to discuss her experiences shaping and communicating U.S. policy in Asia. Ms. Carrington shares some of the biggest challenges of her diplomatic career, such as the barriers for women in the Foreign Service and tensions arising from the large U.S. military presence in Japan, as well as some of her proudest accomplishments, including the first visit of a US president to Hiroshima following its bombing during World War II, which succeeded in conveying a lasting message of US-Japan reconciliation. As Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs, US Embassy, Tokyo - a senior role overseeing a $10 million budget and 70 American and Japanese staff - Margot served as the ambassador's lead advisor on public diplomacy, managed all USG bilateral exchange programs, and raised the profile of the United States through traditional and social media. She also served as chair of the binational commission that administers the Fulbright program in Japan. Prior to her retirement, her achievements in strengthening US-Japan cultural exchange and in underscoring the importance of women's advancement were recognized with the Lois Roth Award for Cultural Diplomacy, the US Department of State's most prestigious award for public diplomacy. Recorded on Thursday, April 8, 2022. Sound-edited by Lauren Mosely. Produced by Neave Denny. From Asia in Washington, an Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies Podcast. To read a transcript of this episode, please visit: https://www.reischauercenter.org/podcasts/the-art-and-challenges-of-diplomacy/

In this episode of the Reischauer Center's podcast, "Asia in Washington," hosts Adriana Reinecke and Jada Fraser sit down with Dr. Daniel Aldrich, Professor of Political Science, Public Policy and Urban Affairs and Director of the Security and Resilience Studies program at Northeastern University, to discuss the role social ties play in disasters and shocks. Dr. Aldrich explains the differences between "vertical" and "horizontal" ties and provides examples of innovative projects around the world aimed at strengthening community and societal resilience through the development of these ties. He also explains the critical role that these ties played in the 3/11 Tohoku earthquake in Japan, and continue to play in the ongoing fight against COVID-19. Dr. Daniel Aldrich, Professor of Political Science, Public Policy and Urban Affairs and Director of the Security and Resilience Studies program at Northeastern University. An award-winning author, Dr. Aldrich has published five books, including "Building Resilience" and "Black Wave," as well as more than 70 peer-reviewed articles and op-eds for the New York Times, CNN, and Asahi Shimbun, along with appearing on popular media outlets such as CNBC, MSNBC, NPR and the Huffington Post. Dr. Aldrich has spent more than five years carrying out fieldwork in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and his research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Fulbright Foundation and the Abe Foundation. Recorded on Thursday, December 9, 2021. Sound-edited by Lauren Mosely. Produced by Neave Denny. From Asia in Washington, an Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies Podcast. To read a transcript of this episode, please visit: https://www.reischauercenter.org/podcasts/building-resilience-through-social-ties-covid-19-and-3-11-with-dr-daniel-aldrich/