Coming to you from the heart of Taipei, CONNECTED Podcast goes in-depth on topics we discuss on our show – CONNECTED on TaiwanPlus. Our guests share personal experiences that give texture to issues and news connecting us all.
Is Trump Making Hollywood a ‘Ghost Town’? Taiwan Movie Exec Christopher Chen | CONNECTED Podcast
Is Trump driving movie talent out of Hollywood and back to Asia?
Taiwan movie mogul Christoper Chen explains why Los Angeles is increasingly unlivable, why Taiwan’s production companies are “thriving at the expense of somebody else’s screw-up,” and why AI hasn’t killed, but strengthened the visual effects industry.
Featuring: Christopher Chen (executive producer, Reno Studios)
Hosts: Divya Gopalan and Billie Sweetman
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13 Jun 2026
‘Hellscape’: How the US Wants Taiwan To Arm Itself Against China | CONNECTED Podcast
US Indo-Pacific Commander Samuel John Paparo Jr. has called on Taiwan to deter and defend against aggression from China using a “hellscape” strategy. That is, filling the airspace and waters around Taiwan with drones. Can this keep the islands safe while also driving defense innovation?
Taiwan-based defense expert Bryce Barros unpacks whether the “hellscape” strategy is workable, why Taiwan could be a defense tech hub and why Taiwan should learn from military middle powers like Canada and Sweden.
Featuring: Bryce Barros, visiting fellow at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research and associate fellow at GLOBSEC.
Host: Tomasz Koper
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7 Jun 2026
2026 Market Forecast: AI Boom, China Slowdown and Taiwan Stocks
Is the AI tech stock bubble set to burst? And how can you make money whatever the outcome? Investor and finance professor Orina Chang shares her outlook for the rest of 2026, breaking down the AI boom, US markets, Taiwan stocks, TSMC’s future and why she believes long-term investors still have reasons to be optimistic.
Featuring: Orina Chang, Chair Professor & Associate Dean, School of Banking and Finance, NSYSU
Hosts: Fred Shieh and Divya Gopalan
00:00 Why long-term investing wins00:28 Meet investor Orina Chang01:21 Training Taiwan’s finance talent03:26 Market outlook for 202604:22 Why Taiwan follows US markets04:55 Key US economic indicators06:37 AI’s impact on jobs and hiring08:03 Is Taiwan ready for the AI era?09:35 AI boom and stock market gains11:34 Are tech stocks overvalued?12:17 Gold, uncertainty and safe havens12:46 Why investors should stay invested14:07 Can Taiwan stocks keep rising?16:51 Why China’s economy is struggling19:06 Global impact of China’s slowdown20:23 Taiwan’s AI and chip advantage21:29 Best sectors for long-term growth23:40 ETF investing and compound returns25:39 Don’t trade, invest for the long run
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31 May 2026
‘The Membranes’: Chi Ta-wei on His Taiwanese Queer Sci-Fi Classic 30 Years On | CONNECTED Podcast
Good sci-fi says as much about the present as the future. When “The Membranes”, one of Taiwan’s best-known Queer sci-fi novels, was published in 1996, it explored gender, the climate crisis and data privacy. 30 years and 10 translations later, these themes are as relevant as ever. And they have resonated with a new wave of international readers.
Author Chi Ta-wei reveals his storytelling inspirations, his plans for a sequel and how time has changed his relationship with the book’s characters and themes.
Presenters: Tomasz Koper and Billie Sweetman
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24 May 2026
Taiwan’s Brain Drain: Why Nurses and Engineers Are Leaving | CONNECTED Podcast
Taiwan’s brain drain problem is very real. High-tech engineers, software developers and nurses are among those who continue to leave Taiwan for better pay, more attractive workplace cultures and safer futures abroad.
Recruitment consultant Zeno Fu explains why so many young people in Taiwan do not see a future at home.
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10 May 2026
Why Music Is So Hard for AI to Understand | CONNECTED Podcast
Humans themselves struggle to describe music, emotion and meaning. So how can artificial intelligence ever truly understand it?
We speak with Li Su, a research fellow at Taiwan’s Academia Sinica, about whether AI can actually create meaningful music, why music is more difficult to crack for AI than language and whether the future of AI music is genuine creativity, or endless waves of slop.
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3 May 2026
Microdrama Producer: Vertical Series Are Fast, Addictive and Very Profitable | CONNECTED Podcast
Ever heard of microdramas? The 2–3 minute vertical video series have already surpassed traditional film box office revenues in countries like China.
How does the industry behind these addictive reels operate? Tune in for our conversation with a microdrama producer Cameron Wen.
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21 Apr 2026
A Taiwan Airline’s ‘Toxic’ Working Environment
Working as cabin crew is tough – especially on one of Taiwan’s main carriers, EVA Air. We hear a behind-the-scenes account from crew member Helen Lee. She describes a system that actively penalizes staff for taking sick leave and shifts responsibility for wellbeing from the company onto individuals. She and other crew members even allege that the airline, its policies and practices were key factors leading to a colleague’s death.
Helen also tells us why she stayed with EVA in spite of its ‘toxic’ work culture. She explains how the airline’s union (of which she is a member) has made real change in working conditions but still has a long way to go.
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28 Dec 2025
Augmented Anxiety: Gen Z on Work in the AI Age | CONNECTED Podcast
Gen Z has it tough: AI is set to decimate the entry-level white-collar job market by 2030. For many graduates, leveraging AI to survive and thrive is a must. We spoke to two grad job hopefuls about navigating today’s recruitment process and on-the-job AI nightmares.
🎙️ Sarita Long, recent graduate from the London School of Economics
🎙️ Josh Lee, student at National Taiwan University
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14 Dec 2025
How Big and How Soon? Asianometry’s Jon Explains the AI Bubble | CONNECTED Podcast
Half of global fund managers say there is an AI bubble. The sector’s sky-high valuations and speculative fervor echo the dot com bubble. So is AI on course for a similar fate? Is a burst inevitable?
Asianometry’s Jon breaks it down. How big? How soon? And who will be left holding the bag?
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7 Dec 2025
Digital IDs: The Tech, Risks and Political Challenges Behind the Convenience | CONNECTED Podcast
Digital IDs promise the ultimate convenience. But many are concerned about safety and data privacy, especially in the face of fast-evolving AI fraud tools.
Wayne Chang, the founder and CEO of SpruceID, explains verifiable digital credentials (VDC), as well as the role of blockchains and new security architectures in keeping your digital identity firmly in your hands.
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16 Nov 2025
Asianometry’s Jon Breaks Down Taiwan and TSMC’s Semiconductor Journey | CONNECTED Podcast
Near one million subscribers today, Jon launched Asianometry back when many still thought of TSMC as the name of a Minecraft YouTuber.
He joins us to unpack Taiwan’s semiconductor rise and Asia’s growing tech power alongside the channel’s own journey. We dive into TSMC and microchips, the AI hype, humanoid robots and why tech optimism still matters.
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28 Oct 2025
The Surprising Environmental Upside of Golf | CONNECTED Podcast
Most people see golf as bad for the planet. Delphine Tseng sees it differently. She’s an ecologist who believes golf courses can become unlikely allies for wildlife and conservation.
As more Taiwanese take up a sport once reserved for the wealthy, we ask: can golf become truly sustainable?
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6 Oct 2025
Inside the Hidden World of War Games: Simulating China’s Taiwan Invasion | CONNECTED Podcast
In war games, the blue team almost always loses. Why? Atlantic Council's Global China Hub Associate Director Kitsch Liao takes us behind the doors of tabletop exercises (TTX) — now a go-to tool for officers, military planners and policymakers.
With Taiwan Strait contingencies emerging as the most common scenarios, we uncover how war games really work, what’s real vs. illusion and why results of a game ‘don’t matter’.
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21 Sept 2025
Therapist on Overcoming (and Embracing) Loneliness | CONNECTED Podcast
Loneliness is everywhere, even in our hyperconnected world. Living overseas, navigating a bicultural identity and the rise of the ‘loneliness economy’ through dating apps can make the problem even deeper.
Therapist Evon Chiu, founder of the Taiwan Multicultural Counseling Association, explains why she sees loneliness as the root cause of all mental illness and mood disorders — and shares practical ways to ease it.
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7 Sept 2025
Imam Abdullah Cheng on Islam and Taiwan’s Overlooked Muslim Community | CONNECTED Podcast
Abdullah Cheng’s background often surprises people: he’s an imam of the Taipei Grand Mosque and a social media influencer educating people on Islam. On top of that, he’s a software engineer who created a halal ingredients scanner and a zakat calculator.
We ask Abdullah about his journey and explore questions many have about Taiwan’s overlooked Muslim community — from halal food challenges and persisting social prejudices to Taiwan’s Muslim-friendly tourism.
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24 Aug 2025
Taiwan’s Cost of Living & Housing Prices: Forget About Ever Owning a Home? | CONNECTED Podcast
Housing prices and the cost of living in Taipei keep climbing, making buying a home feel out of reach for most young people. Our guest Nien-Zu Chang managed to do it, but at what cost?
What does it really take to buy a house in one of Asia’s most expensive housing markets?
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9 Aug 2025
What’s Really Going On with Taiwan’s Black Market Rentals? | CONNECTED Podcast
Did you know that the majority of landlords in Taiwan prefer to keep their rental properties off the books? We speak with Robyn Huang, a property tech founder managing over 1,000 units, who lifts the lid on shady landlord practices and difficult tenants, and reveals how rent prices are really set in Taiwan’s massive unregistered rental housing sector.
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26 Jul 2025
The End of Human Purpose? Creativity and Innovation in the Age of AI | CONNECTED Podcast
Could AI kill what makes us human — our creativity? Industrial designer Harm Hogenbirk of Pilotfish warns of a future where AGI and automation reshape not just innovation, but human purpose itself.
In the first episode of the CONNECTED Podcast, we dive into how emerging AI may transform creativity, identity and the very structure of our society.
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