The Vietnam Weekly Podcast

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. Sign up for the Vietnam Weekly newsletter here. Support the podcast by Buying Me a Coffee. Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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/Sign up for the Vietnam Weekly newsletter here.  Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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. Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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. Sign up for the Vietnam Weekly newsletter here. Support the podcast by Buying Me a Coffee.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) Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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/Sign up for the Vietnam Weekly newsletter here.  Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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. Sign up for the Vietnam Weekly newsletter here. Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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 ReportVietnam's Best Public Opinion Source (Vietnam Weekly) Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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) Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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!Follow the Vietnam Weekly here. Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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. Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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 DilemmaVietnam's Energy Plans & Reality Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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) Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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 ReportProvincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) for 2023 announced (Vietnam Plus) Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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 ChallengeCouchfish: A Journey Along The Camel’s Back. Part 1Couchfish: A Journey Along The Camel’s Back. Part 2Couchfish: Sustainable Vietnam Part 1—Plastic, People, PowerCouchfish: Sustainable Vietnam Part 2—Three Kinds Of GoldVietnam'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) Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s guest is Nuno Ribeiro, Senior Lectu​rer 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) Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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) Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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) Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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, VietnamUnexploded 200kg bomb discovered in downtown in north-central Vietnam (Tuoi Tre News) Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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) Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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. Sign up for the Vietnam Weekly here. Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at vietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe