Asia Insight

About Asia Insight

Podcasts from The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) covering the critical issues that leaders need to understand – because the decisions they make matter and the stakes are high.

Publisher

National Bureau of Asian Research

Category

news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

31 Oct 2017

Latest episode

20 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

88 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   20 Oct 2026

   LNG in a Changing World: Supply Shocks and Asia’s Energy Future

   Amid renewed volatility in global LNG markets, NBR asked Kurt Glaubitz and Leslie Palti-Guzman to reflect on what shifting supply dynamics and geopolitical risks mean for Asia’s energy security. In conversation with NBR Advisor and Energy Security Program Research Director Mikkal Herberg, they examine the growing role of U.S. LNG, changing global trade flows, and how governments and companies are navigating an increasingly uncertain energy landscape. Looking ahead, they consider how diversification and changing energy priorities could reshape Asia’s approach to energy security. Kurt Glaubitz is the Co-Founder of the Asia Natural Gas and Energy Association and Former Corporate Affairs General Manager for the Chevron Corporation, Asia Pacific Exploration and Production. Mikkal Herberg is a member of NBR’s Board of Advisors and the Research Director of NBR’s Energy Security Program. Leslie Palti-Guzman is Founder of Energy Vista and Host of the Energy Vista Podcast.

2. 

   20 Aug 2026

   Documenting China’s Borderlands – Episode 10: The Gravity of the Center - China’s Civilizational Aspirations in the Borderlands

   From the National Bureau of Asian Research, an Asia Insight miniseries exploring the geostrategic significance of China’s borderlands, led by Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow for China Studies at NBR. Episode Ten: The Gravity of the Center - China’s Civilizational Aspirations in the Borderlands This final episode explores ways China uses cultural endeavors to pull its Borderlands neighbors into its orbit. Positioning China’s civilization as the core of the historical Silk Roads, promoting state-backed Nanhai Buddhism, or owning entire collections of historical records, require massive financial and human resources. These examples illustrate the crucial importance for Beijing of what otherwise appears as an amorphous, intangible domain. To what end? With Ondřej Klimeš (Czech Academy of Sciences), Amish Raj Mulmi (independent editor and writer), Ryoko Nakano (Kanazawa University), and Dylan Plung (University of Washington). Materials cited or referenced in the recording Alison Kaufman, “China’s Discourse of ‘Civilization’: Visions of Past, Present, and Future,” Open Forum, February 19, 2018, https://theasanforum.org/chinas-discourse-of-civilization-visions-of-past-present-and-future/. Edward Lemon and Bradley Jardine, “Digging up the Past to Justify the Present: China’s Archeological Diplomacy in Central Asia,” Borderlands, March 18, 2026, https://strategicspace.nbr.org/digging-up-the-past-to-justify-the-present-chinas-archaeological-diplomacy-in-central-asia/. Amish Raj Mulmi, All Roads Lead North: China, Nepal and the Contest for the Himalayas (London: Hurst, 2021). Glossary of Chinese terms used in the recording Wenming 文明civilization, civility Tifa 提法coded political formulations that signal ideological guidelines Neiwai tongchou 内外统筹internal-external coordination Additional Recommended Readings Ondřej Klimeš, “China’s Cultural Soft Power: The Central Concept in the Early Xi Jinping Years (2012-2017), Acta Universitatis Carolinae Philologica 4, 2017. Miguel Martin, “Global Religion and the United Front: The Case of Mongolia,” Jamestown China Brief 18(12), July 10, 2018, https://jamestown.org/global-religion-and-the-united-front-the-case-of-mongolia/. Ryoko Nakano, “A Geocultural Power Competition in UNESCO’s Silk Road Project: China’s Initiatives and the Responses from Japan and South Korea,” Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 52(2), August 2023. Dylan J. Plung, “Japan’s WWII Anniversary Strategy and China’s Memory Politics,” The Diplomat, June 28, 2025.

3. 

   10 Aug 2026

   Critical Minerals and the New Era of Economic Security

   In this episode of Asia Insight, NBR Assistant Director for Technology and Geoeconomic Affairs Jonathon Marek sits down with two NBR Nonresident Fellows, Jaemin Baek and Kristin Vekasi, to examine the growing importance of critical minerals as pillars of economic security, industrial policy, and geopolitical competition and to explore how the United States, Japan, and South Korea are working to diversify supply chains and reduce dependence on China. Jaemin Baek is a Director with DGA Group, and he is also a Nonresident Fellow at NBR. Jonathon Marek is an Assistant Director for Technology and Geoeconomic Affairs at NBR. Kristin Vekasi is the Mansfield Chair of Japanese and Indo-Pacific Affairs at the University of Montana, and she is also a Nonresident Fellow at NBR.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

3.8 / 5

4 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 21 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

11

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

77