In this inaugural episode of the new podcast series The Rise of ASEAN in the Era of Multi-Alignment, Dr Brian Wong (University of Hong Kong; CDGA Fellow) is in discussion with Gita Wirjawan (former Minister of Trade of Indonesia) on Wirjawan’s new book What It Takes, the role of Indonesia within ASEAN and globally, and the future of South-East Asia.
In this podcast episode, Professor Amir Paz-Fuchs (University of Sussex; OXGS Fellow) interviews Dr Beatriz Kira (University of Sussex) on the rising complexity in social media regulation, legal approaches to digital spaces, and the role of social media infrastructure in policy-making.
In this podcast, Dr Brian Wong (HKU; OXGS Fellow) interviews the distinguished writer and historian Dr Thant Myint-U on the legacy of his grandfather, U Thant, the first Asian to serve as the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Dr Thant’s latest book, Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World, examines his grandfather’s role in driving world peace amidst the turbulent events that defined the 1960s.
In this podcast episode, Professor Michael Jinghan Zeng discusses his new book Memoirs of a Confucius Institute Director with Dr Brian Wong. The book draws on Professor Zeng’s experience leading the Confucius Institute at Lancaster University from 2019 to 2025. The conversation delves into the myth, controversies and realities of the Confucius Institute, a topic that is highly debated in the West.
This podcast episode explores the events of July 2025, when Ukraine swiftly passed a law that—under the guise of addressing the issue of missing persons during wartime—introduced far-reaching changes to the country’s anti-corruption framework. The podcast discusses how these amendments undermined the independence of Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption agencies and threatened more than a decade of anti-corruption progress.
In this interview with Dr Brian Wong, former Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Djoomart Otorbaev talked about Central Asia’s rise as a popular destination for investment from global and regional powers and the challenges it faces. He emphasized that Central Asia wants to be friend with everyone, and won’t take sides in geopolitical conflicts.The mineral-rich region wants to be competitive, not only for its natural resources, but also human resources and innovation.