radiofree.asia

Category: News & Politics

  • Why Police Reform Fails

    Six years after Ferguson, St. Louis hasn’t seen a single substantive police reform. A group of young Black leaders have instead set their sights higher: taking control of city politics.

    In 2014, then-Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown. His death sparked reports, blue-ribbon commissions and countless police reform efforts. But so many of those reforms fell short of their stated goals. Today, St. Louis leads the nation in police killings per capita. 

    As the nation continues to grapple with how to save Black lives from police violence, we’re partnering with The Missouri Independent to examine why police reform efforts so often fail. We follow a new generation of leaders who, as a part of the Ferguson movement, are finding new ways to change policing in the St. Louis region. Reporters Trey Bundy and Rebecca Rivas follow local activist Kayla Reed, who went from attending protests to organizing them. After years of frustratingly slow progress toward reform, Reed transformed herself into a political powerbroker who is upending city politics.

    And there’s no way to talk about police reform without talking about the power of police unions. We look how the St. Louis Police Officers Association, the city’s main union, formed to protect white police officers from accountability after beating a Black man. And we talk with James Buchanan, one of the city’s few Black police officers in the 1960s, who went on to help start the Ethical Society of Police, a union founded by Black officers to fight for racial equity in the department and community.

    This show is guest hosted by Kameel Stanley, executive producer of Witness Docs, a documentary podcast network from Stitcher and SiriusXM. 


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    This post was originally published on Reveal.

  • Myanmar Junta Threatens to Fire Striking Teachers

    Teachers have played a prominent role in protests after Myanmar’s military seized power on February 1 and ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • 20 Years Ago, U.S. and Chinese Aircraft Collide over Hainan Island

    Two decades later, tensions remain between the two nations over the South China Sea. Can they avoid another collision?

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Cambodian Court Convicts Five Environmental Activists

    The five are members of the group Mother Nature. They were convicted of incitement to commit crimes after they tried to organize a protest march to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s residence.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • This Myanmar City is a Hotbed for Anti-Coup Protests; It’s Also the Coup Leader’s Hometown

    Residents of Dawei, in southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region, have turned out by the thousands for near-daily marches against the military regime.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Farmers in Cambodia’s Kandal Province Destroy Their Crops During COVID-19 Lockdown

    The farmers say, since the government imposed a lockdown last month, they have no place to sell their produce.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Video Shows Military Helicopter Being Shot Down in Myanmar’s Kachin State

    The rebel Kachin Independence Army (KIA) says it shot down the helicopter after returning fire following military air strikes.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Is freedom possible in the digital era?

    A livestream panel discussion and Q & A co-produced by TRNN and Project Censored, which we will host from 8-9:30 pm EST on Wednesday, April 28.

    The utopian dream that digital technologies would make us more free has given way to a reality in which we are more surveilled and algorithmically conditioned than ever. In the first of our three-part livestream series “The Long Sili-CON,” we ask what it means to be free in the digital era. Our panel will include:

    Maximillian Alvarez (discussion moderator) – Editor-in-Chief, The Real News Network
    Andy Lee Roth – Associate Director, Project Censored
    Allison Butler – Department of Communication, UMass Amherst
    John K. Wilson – Contributing Editor, AcademeBlog.org
    Mickey Huff (Q & A moderator) – Director, Project Censored; President, Media Freedom Foundation

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Another police killing in rural America, another case without accountability

    (Content warning: Some images and details in this episode are graphic and disturbing.) The horrifying body camera footage of Chico, California, police killing 31-year-old Tyler Rushing is another troubling example of why police violence is not a problem limited to urban communities. As part of PAR’s continuing coverage, we examine Rushing’s death in the context of the broader phenomena of rural overpolicing and the persistent use of unwarranted violence by law enforcement across the country.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Beyond Putin and Navalny: Is there a left alternative for Russia?

    Read the full edited text transcript of this interview here: https://therealnews.com/putin-navalny-and-the-left-the-coming-political-crisis-in-russia.
    Alexei Navalny has been celebrated in the West as the democratic savior of Russia, but are things that simple? New TRNN contributor Radhika Desai and world-renowned sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky discuss what Western media gets wrong about Putin, Navalny, and the political reality on the ground in Russia.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Phnom Penh’s Vegetable Sellers Face Tough Time Under COVID-19 Lockdown

    Authorities have put Cambodia’s capital under a 14-day lockdown. Residents are ordered to stay in their homes except in the case of an emergency.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Empty Streets in Lao Capital After Authorities Impose a COVID-19 Lockdown

    Laos has recorded 672 COVID-19 cases, but no deaths, since the pandemic began more than a year ago.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Residents Gather to Plead for Food Aid as COVID-19 Lockdown Grips Phnom Penh

    Cambodia has reported 13,402 COVID-19 cases and 93 deaths since the pandemic began more than a year ago.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Banking on Inequity

    Congress spent hundreds of billions of dollars to rescue small businesses hurt by the pandemic. But Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money disproportionately went to White neighborhoods, leaving communities of color behind.

    Small businesses are the heart of Los Angeles’ many neighborhoods. Reporter Laura C. Morel talks with business owners around Los Angeles who either received PPP money or faced insurmountable hurdles to get one of the forgivable loans. Morel talks with a Latinx barber in the Florence neighborhood, where just 10% of businesses got PPP loans. In a predominantly Black area of Inglewood, we meet clothing store owner Annie Graham, who couldn’t get a PPP loan last year, even from a lender who hooked up with Magic Johnson to specifically help minority- and women-owned businesses access the government lending program. In Graham’s neighborhood, 32% of businesses got PPP loans. Meanwhile, in the majority-White neighborhood of Playa del Rey, 61% of businesses got PPP loans. The disparity among neighboring communities is striking.

    We end with an interview with reporter Gabriel Thompson about fast food franchises that received PPP money. One McDonald’s owner in Chicago got half a million dollars, but workers there filed multiple complaints with OSHA because they felt they were not protected from COVID-19.

    This show is guest hosted by Sarah Gonzalez of Planet Money.


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    This post was originally published on Reveal.

  • Myanmar Farmers Parade on Ox Carts Against Coup

    The country has been in turmoil since February 1, when the military ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • ‘They Could Barely Walk Because of the Beatings’

    A 17-year-old female detainee details the brutal treatment women endure under interrogation by Myanmar soldiers.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Court Fines Journalist Who Produced a Documentary Critical of Hong Kong’s Police Force

    Bao Choy’s conviction comes amid ongoing moves to stamp out public dissent and peaceful opposition in Hong Kong, following huge democracy protests in 2019.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Brief Protest in Yangon Despite Threat of Violence From Military Junta

    Many of the protesters were students. They dispersed when they heard reports that security forces were approaching.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • The Rise and Fall of Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme

    After Bernie Madoff’s death, we dig into how he pulled off one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history. Reporter Steve Fishman explores what lessons the fallen financier’s story holds for today. Madoff duped thousands of investors out of tens of billions of dollars, and his scam rocked Wall Street for years.  


    Fishman, who spent years interviewing investors, regulators and even Madoff himself from inside federal prison, traces the rise and fall of his scheme. We learn how Madoff pulled it off and why nobody caught on for decades. We also hear from experts who say investors still are vulnerable to financial fraud, especially in the era of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

    This show was originally broadcast Feb. 3, 2018.

    This post was originally published on Reveal.

  • Phnom Penh’s Scavengers Struggle as COVID-19 Spreads

    Hundreds of families scavenge in dumps and dumpsters around Cambodia’s capital to make a living. Many suffer from disease, malnutrition and other health problems. Their suffering has gotten worse as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Dwagie, the Taiwanese Rap Godfather, Hip-Hop vs. Xi-Hop

    “Many musicians in Taiwan would say, ‘Let music be music, let politics be politics,’ says prominent Taiwan rapper Dwagie. “But from what I’ve observed, every moment of our life is about politics. Music and politics are intertwined and inseparable.”

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Hong Kong Court Sentences Martin Lee, Other Prominent Democracy Activists

    The sentencings come as Beijing continues to erase democratic freedoms in the city.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • The Jail Tapes in the Dumpster

    Sixteen-year-old Myon Burrell was sent to prison for life after a stray bullet killed an 11-year-old girl in Minneapolis in 2002. Amy Klobuchar, who was Minneapolis’ top prosecutor, brought first-degree murder charges as part of a national crackdown on gang violence – a crackdown that engulfed young men of color.  

    Burrell maintained his innocence for 18 years in prison. Associated Press reporter Robin McDowell spent a year looking into his case and found that multiple people had lied about Burrell’s involvement in the shooting and that police didn’t talk to his alibi witnesses. In December 2020, the state commuted Burrell’s sentence, allowing him to walk free. 

    This end to a prison sentence is rare: Burrell’s case was the first time in at least 28 years that Minnesota commuted a sentence for a violent crime case. But the factors that put Burrell in prison are not rare at all. According to The Sentencing Project, over 10,000 people are serving life sentences in the U.S. for crimes committed when they were juveniles. Half of them are Black. Burrell’s long shot reveals just how difficult it is to right a wrong in our criminal justice system. How many others like Burrell are there?

    This post was originally published on Reveal.

  • Tibetans in Exile Vote in Final Round of Elections for Political Leaders

    More than 83,000 Tibetans cast ballots in 26 countries around the world.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Roadblocks in Phnom Penh as Authorities Enforce a COVID-19 Lockdown

    Prime Minister Hun Sen announced the lockdown without warning late Wednesday. He said Cambodia is “on the brink of death.”

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • The Robert Mueller of Latin America

    Guatemala sends more migrants to the U.S. than anywhere in Central America. What is driving so many people to leave?

    Crusading prosecutor Iván Velásquez has been called the Robert Mueller of Latin America. He’s known for jailing presidents and paramilitaries.

    But Velásquez met his match when he went after Jimmy Morales, a television comedian who was elected president of Guatemala. Morales found an ally in then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

    Like the alleged quid pro quo with Ukraine that prompted Trump’s impeachment, the details can seem confusing – but, ultimately, Velásquez says, both parties got what they wanted: Morales got Trump to pull U.S. support for an international anti-corruption force that was going after his family. And he says Trump secured Guatemala’s support for some of his most controversial policies, both in the Middle East and on immigration.

    Veteran radio journalist Maria Martin teams up with Reveal’s Anayansi Diaz-Cortes for this week’s show. Martin takes us to Huehuetenango, a province near Guatemala’s border with Mexico that sends more migrants to the U.S. than anywhere in Central America. There, she shows that Trump’s hard-line immigration policies did nothing to slow the movement of people from Guatemala to the southern border of the U.S.

    This is an update of an episode that originally aired Aug. 29, 2020.

    Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.

    This post was originally published on Reveal.

  • Cramped Commute a COVID-19 Risk for Cambodia’s Garment Workers

    The coronavirus is spreading in the Southeast Asian nation, and workers are increasingly concerned for their health.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Ethnic Karen Dig Shelters in the Jungle to Escape Myanmar Military Airstrikes

    Ethnic Karen are digging shelters in the jungle to escape airstrikes by Myanmar’s military. Humanitarian workers say many Karen were forced back to Myanmar after trying to seek refuge in Thailand.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Five Hong Kong Fugitives Returned by China Make First Court Appearance

    The five were among 12 who were intercepted by China’s coast guard last year while attempting to flee to Taiwan by speedboat. All 12 served prison terms in China for illegally crossing the border. They now face charges in Hong Kong for their roles in mass democracy protests in 2019.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Will we stand up for Black trans lives, too?

    Last summer, during what some have called the largest social justice uprising in United States history, the lives of Black trans people were ignored. While many rightly raged against the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, few know the names of Black trans people like Kim Wirtz, who have also been murdered by a racist policing and prison system. In Baltimore, trans activists from the LGBTQ organization Baltimore Safe Haven protested, demanding an end to police violence and an end to the erasure of the Black trans community. The Real News’ Eddie Conway talks to activists on the ground in Baltimore about their fight.

    Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and making a small donation:

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.