The Channel: A Podcast from the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS)

The Channel is the flagship podcast from the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) at Leiden University. Each episode delves into a particular Asian Studies topic from across the social sciences and humanities. Through a mixture of interviews, lectures, discussions, readings, and more, The Channel is a platform to connect scholars, activists, artists, and broader publics in sustained conversation about Asia and its place in the contemporary world. We highlight critical perspectives, diverse themes, and interdisciplinary approaches. Subscribe to remain up-to-date on the latest episodes! More information on IIAS and its various initiatives can be found at https://www.iias.asia/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Channel: A Podcast from the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) is a society podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 65 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts The Channel: A Podcast from the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), a society show with 65 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #8

  Memories of Timor with Rita Padawangi

  Aug 26, 202646 minS5

  This episode features an interview with Rita Padawangi , a sociologist and Associate Professor at Singapore University of Social Sciences. Her work explores the politics of urban placemaking and city development, particularly in Southeast Asia, and she's been very involved with several key IIAS programs over the years, especially as co-coordinator of the Southeast Asia Neighborhoods Network , funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. This episode features a conversation about the recent documentary  Ingatan dari Timor  or  Memories of Timor . The film was produced by Rita and directed by Ari Trismana, and it was released by the documentary production house  WatchDoc . Memories of Timor explores the violent history of Timor Leste, which is often omitted from Indonesian textbooks and concealed from Indonesian students. Listeners can watch the film with English subtitles for free on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydfbHFPnzuc Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  The Channel: A Podcast from the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS)

  Cannabis and Colonialism with Utathya Chattopadhyaya

  Jul 21, 202641 min

  This episode features an interview about the social history of cannabis in colonial South Asia. Utathya Chattopadhyaya is Assistant Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and coeditor of the journal The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs . Utathya's new book is  Ganja Matters: Empire and the Pursuits of Cannabis in British India , which was recently published by the University of California Press. Presenting a sweeping social history of  ganja  in colonial India, the book examines the collision between different ways of viewing, using, and valuing cannabis products – namely, those of local religious, cultural, and political groups on the on the one hand and those of colonial administrators on the other. Through a multi-species analysis, the book uses  ganja  to explore broader themes of taxation, governance, transgression, and social identity. The book is available as an Open Access title here:  https://www.luminosoa.org/books/m/10.1525/luminos.276 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #6

  Sounds of the Matua with Carola Lorea

  Jun 25, 202642 minS5

  This episode features a conversation about the Matua community with Carola E. Lorea , Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Tübingen. Lorea is interested in gender, oral traditions, and popular religious movements in South Asia, and she leads the ERC-funded project MANTRAMS: Mantras in Religion, Media, and Society in Global Southern Asia . Lorea is the author of Folklore, Religion and the Songs of a Bengali Madman (Brill, 2016), and with Rosalind Hackett, she also co-edited the volume Religious Sounds Beyond the Global North: Senses, Media and Power (2024, IIAS “Global Asia” series). Her latest book is Communities of Sound: Religion, Displacement, and Caste in the Bay of Bengal , published this year by Wesleyan University Press. Through an ethnographic approach that is both multimodal and multi-sited, the book explores how sound and performance shape the large community of Matua devotees across time and space. In this conversation, Carola discusses the centrality of music, performance, poetry, and storytelling within the history and contemporary religious lives of the Matua community across the Bay of Bengal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #5

  Public Diplomacy and Casa Asia

  May 28, 202647 minS5

  This episode features a recording from a recent event hosted at the International Institute for Asian Studies. On May 18, José Pintor Aguilar gave a talk about the importance of public diplomacy and collaborative knowledge exchange, drawing especially on his work as the Director General of Casa Asia in Barcelona. The Casas’ network represents an innovative approach that the Spanish government has undertaken to build bridges between multiple constituencies and sectors across scales. The audio was recorded live here at Leiden University. After opening and introductory remarks from Philippe Peycam and Laura Erber of IIAS, José Pintor discusses the Casas model of fostering active trust and long-term partnerships in Asia-Europe relations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #4

  Dreaming of Words with Nandan

  Apr 28, 202634 minS5

  This episode features a conversation with Nandan , a filmmaker and writer from Keralam, India. After training and working as a civil engineer, Nandan moved to Mumbai to pursue his passion for filmmaking. As an author, he has published four books:  The Dream Balloon ,  Manam ,  New Desertlands , and  Click , and he has also contributed to several comic anthologies. Nandan’s films, including Breath  and  Dreaming of Words , have been screened at festivals and academic conferences around the world. Our discussion mostly focuses on the latter, Dreaming of Worlds , which explores the life and work of  Njattyela Sreedharan , an elementary school drop-out who embarked on a 25-year quest to compile a dictionary connecting four major Dravidian languages. The documentary earned Nandan the National Film Award as both director and producer. Listeners can watch the film with English subtitles for free on YouTube . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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