Season 3

Oct. 8, 2019

Neighborhood Focus: Sukhumvit Soi 71 (Phra Kanong) [Season 3, Episode 80]

Big News: This show will be the final episode of Season 3! We figure 80 episodes is the right number given the length of previous seasons, so the Bangkok Podcast will be taking a week off next week before commencing Season 4, which will include a few...

Oct. 1, 2019

Thailand's Evolving Attitude Toward Mental Health [Season 3, Episode 79]

Greg interviews Rex de Koening and Johanna de Koening Schaaij from , who have been working as therapists in Thailand since 2001. Rex and Johanna begin by explaining that traditionally in Thailand there was no concept of mental health other than the...

Sept. 24, 2019

Are Bangkok's Floods Getting Worse? [Season 3, Episode 78]

Greg and Ed dive into the flooding crisis in Thailand. (Get it?) Ed begins with some sobering statistics on the recent spate of floods that have affected 34 provinces, including Bangkok, which kicks off some not-so-nostalgic discussions about previous...

Sept. 17, 2019

Making Thai Subtitles: Culture, Slang, and Curse Words [Season 3, Episode 77]

Greg interviews Palm, a professional translator of English to Thai, but in a very specific context: subtitles for film and television. Palm begins by explaining that she literally learned English by being a couch potato and watching a lot of Western...

Sept. 10, 2019

Neighborhood Focus: Sukhumvit Soi 11 [Season 3, Episode 76]

Greg and Ed discuss one of their old stomping grounds - Sukhumvit Soi 11, perhaps the most famous destination on Sukhumvit that doesn’t involve a red light district! Beginning with stories of their early days on the soi, when it was primarily known...

Sept. 3, 2019

Roger Crutchley: Writing About 50 Years in Bangkok [Season 3, Episode 75]

Readers of the Bangkok Post will need no introduction to this week’s guest. Roger Crutchley - or Old Crutch, as he’s known - arrived in Bangkok in 1969 by accident, never intending to stay. Yet here we are, 50 years later, and after a multi-decade...

Aug. 27, 2019

Second Opinions & Jedi Lies: Stories from Bangkok's Hospitals [Season 3, Episode 74]

Sooner or later, we all spend some time in the hospital, so Greg and Ed riff on their myriad experiences in Bangkok hospitals over the years. But before we get into that, we should note - due to Thailand’s strict defamation laws, some of the places...

Aug. 20, 2019

Bangkok Social: Conversations That Matter at Aristotle’s Cafe

Greg talks to Hassan Ghiassi, the creator and organizer of , a Bangkok group that focuses on meetups that involve discussions and debates on questions voted on by the participants themselves. Firstly, Aristotle’s Cafe is a format, and the...

Aug. 13, 2019

Expat Destinations: Bangkok vs. Phnom Penh [Season 3, Episode 72]

First up - apologies for Greg’s bad audio on this episode! Small technical problem, and it sounds like he’s talking on a phone from Peru. Luckily, Ed does most of the talking! Speaking of Ed, he recently returned from 4 days in Phnom Penh,...

Aug. 6, 2019

Transport Engineer Don Siridhara Digs Deep into Bangkok’s Rail Network [Season 3, Episode 71]

With the iminent opening of the MRT Blue Line extension, we sit down with Don Siridhara, a lecturer and transportation planning engineer, to geek out over Bangkok’s expanding rail network. But first - you might want to consult that Greg made as you...

July 30, 2019

Why Do Expats Leave Thailand? [Season 3, Episode 70]

Greg and Ed address an important but tricky question: Why do expats leave Thailand? How do you know when the right time to leave is? The boys ponder the various reasons why to find out what’s more common - work or family issues, personal problems...

July 23, 2019

Making Bangkok Accessible for All: Khun Saba Keeps Fighting [Season 3, Episode 69]

First - don’t forget our meetup on 27 July at Smalls. . And also don’t forget that both Greg AND Ed will be speaking at Bombyx on 26 July. . Okay, on this episode Greg interviews Khun Saba, a disabled rights activist in Bangkok. It’s a topic...

July 16, 2019

Dr. Vorapot Discusses Bangkok’s Dengue Dangers [Season 3, Episode 68]

Dengue infections are off the chart this year, and it pays to know the dangers. Do you? ARE YOU SURE? Greg interviews Dr. Vorapot, an expert in travel medicine and in particular tropical diseases such as dengue fever. Greg and Dr. V review the scary...

July 9, 2019

Director Pailin Wedel Talks About Her Film ‘Hope Frozen’ [Season 3, Episode 67]

A bit of self-promotion first - we’re happy to see that the Bangkok Podcast was chosen as one of 2019’s . A great honor! Now to the show... Greg and Ed are psyched to sit down with Pailin Wedel, a Thai-American journalist and filmmaker based in...

July 2, 2019

Bangkok History Highlight: The Cambodian Thai Soap Opera Riots of 2003 [Season 3, Episode 66]

Continuing our series on interesting events in Thai history, Greg introduces the Thai-Cambodian ‘crisis’ of 2003. It started when rumors began spreading that a Thai soap opera actress, Suvanant Kongying, had said Cambodia had ‘stolen’ Angkor...

June 25, 2019

Dating in Bangkok: Expat Women Share Stories & Advice - Part 2 [Season 3, Episode 65]

Part 2 of a panel discussion with four guests! Why four? Well, everyone knows that cliche about Bangkok being a heaven for expat men, but we didn’t know much about what it’s like for expat women. It stands to reason that one woman can’t speak...

June 18, 2019

Dating in Bangkok: Expat Women Share Their Stories - Part 1 [Season 3, Episode 64]

It’s a very unique episode of the Bangkok Podcast! Greg and Ed do a first for the the show, with a panel discussion with four guests! Why four? Well, everyone knows that cliche about Bangkok being a heaven for expat men, but we didn’t know much...

June 11, 2019

Ed vs. Reverse Culture Shock [Season 3, Episode 63]

When you’ve been an expat for a long time and don’t visit home regularly, what’s it like going back? Is reverse culture shock even real? Greg and Ed discuss Ed’s first trip back to the States in 4 years to see how ed digested it all....

June 4, 2019

Driving in Bangkok: Cars vs. Motorbikes [Season 3, Episode 62]

With Ed still on vacation, Greg is joined by special co-host Scott Coates to discuss a question of the ages - when driving in Bangkok, what’s the best way to do it - car, or motorbike? Despite neither of the guys having their own transportation for...

May 28, 2019