The Vietnam Weekly Podcast

Today’s guest is former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius, whose personal history with Vietnam dates back to his first arrival in 1996. We talked about his ongoing engagement with the country spanning the public and private sectors, the current rapid pace of economic and regulatory change, looming challenges such as demographic change, the impact of Trump administration policies such as tariffs and the gutting of USAID, and why he is ultimately bullish on Vietnam’s future.Subscribe to the Vietnam Weekly here.Support the podcast through Buy Me A Coffee. Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at thevietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s guest is Pete Ford, Clean Heat Technical Lead at the Apparel Impact Institute (AII). We discussed the most carbon-intensive aspects of apparel production, the global goal of eliminating on-site coal from factories by 2030, Vietnam’s advantages in embracing more sustainable manufacturing, and a factory in the country’s north that is a world-first in terms of electrification.Subscribe to the Vietnam Weekly here. Support the podcast through Buy Me A Coffee. Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at thevietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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.Subscribe to the Vietnam Weekly here.Support the podcast through Buy Me a Coffee. Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at thevietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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.Subscribe to the Vietnam Weekly here.Support the podcast by Buying Me a Coffee. Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at thevietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe

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.Subscribe to the Vietnam Weekly here.Support the podcast by Buying Me a Coffee. Get full access to Vietnam Weekly at thevietnamweekly.substack.com/subscribe