Parallel News is a podcast by Keigo Furnival, based on the Parallel News website (parallelnews.org). Each episode explores selected articles and topics from the site in audio form, covering politics, society, culture, media, life in Japan, being biracial, and global current events.
Some episodes are direct audio versions of written articles, while others expand on ideas found in his writing. The podcast focuses on context, nuance, and different perspectives between Japan, the UK, and the wider globalised world.
In this episode, Keigo Furnival talks about two types of people he has increasingly noticed when discussing Japan online and in person: those who become overly confident in explaining Japanese culture and etiquette, and those who respond to positive discussions of Japan by bringing up its wartime history.
Keigo considers why both approaches can sometimes reduce a complicated society to a simplified image. He also discusses the importance of historical awareness while questioning whether it is always appropriate to assume that someone praising or enjoying Japan is ignorant of its past.
This is not an argument against foreigners visiting or discussing Japan, but a reflection on the assumptions we make when we think we already understand another country.
11 Jun 2026
Episode 3: The Man Who Crowned Himself Emperor of the Central African Empire
For less than three years, the Central African Republic became an empire ruled by Emperor Bokassa I.
In this episode, Keigo Furnival explores the rise and fall of Jean-Bédel Bokassa, from military officer and president to self-proclaimed emperor, and examines one of the most unusual chapters in modern African history.
3 Jun 2026
Episode 2: How Japan Sells Emotional Comfort for the Lonely
In this episode, Keigo Furnival delves into the unusual ways loneliness is managed in Japan. From animal cafés and idol culture to rent-a-companions and emotional services, where comfort is often carefully performed rather than openly spoken.
It explores how a society shaped by emotional restraint and social pressure has developed entire industries that soften isolation without directly addressing it, and why so many people turn to controlled fantasy just to feel understood for a while.
30 May 2026
Episode 1: Political Violence in the “World’s Safest Country”
Japan is often seen as one of the safest countries in the world. Yet within three years, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated, Fumio Kishida was targeted with a pipe bomb, and Takashi Tachibana was attacked with an axe.
In this episode, Keigo Furnival explores these incidents, the concept of heiwa boke, and what they reveal about political violence, security, and public perceptions of risk in modern Japan.
29 May 2026
Parallel News Podcast Trailer
In this introduction episode of the Parallel News Podcast, Keigo Furnival introduces the show and explains what listeners can expect. The podcast is an audio extension of the Parallel News website, featuring selected articles and discussions on politics, society, culture, media, life in Japan, being biracial, and global current events, with a focus on context and nuance.
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