Asia Calling

We come to you from Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, the food bowl that is sinking into the sea. In Afghanistan, we speak to families who are forced to travel abroad for essential medical treatment, because they can’t get the care they need at home. Public transport infrastructure in Pakistan is being slammed by environmentalists as trees are being razed and replaced with concrete. And from Timor-Leste, the remarkable story of brave activist Bella Galhos.

We meet a child prodigy, who at just 11 years old has 4 languages under his belt, is teaching classes of adults, and is imagining a new future for education in his two home countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan. A new film explores how Australia’s largest oil spill has had devastating impacts on Indonesian seaweed farmers, and traces their fight for justice. At the end of the show we hear from Korea’s top rating baseball podcast that has an invisible behind-the-scenes twist. But first up, we take a look at the rise of cow vigilante groups in India.

We take a ride through Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, where we get a taste for how the country’s tumultuous past has made it’s mark. With transportation and infrastructure lacking, and population now booming, it’s time to rebuild essential services. In South Korea, ideas about racial purity are being challenged, as the country’s first black model rises to fame. We also meet Indonesia’s up and coming metal band: an unlikely trio of Muslim teenage girls, who are finding their voice through music.

From the banks of India’s holy Ganges River, we ask how climate change and melting glaciers are impacting this sacred place. In The Philippines, we meet former priest turned human rights activist, whose memories of martial law have disturbing relevance today. We visit a border free school in Kabul, Afghanistan. And we explore Indonesia's zine scene.

This week, we take a look at media across our region. The risks that reporters go to, and the new challenges emerging as repressive regimes meet online surveillance. And documentaries that are determined to create change. Also, a former child soldier from Thailand shares his story. And we turn to Afghanistan, where rivers are running dry as the impacts of climate change are being felt.

An exclusive interview with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. With ISIS militants at war on Indonesia’s doorstep in The Philippines, we ask how the tide of radicalism is being stemmed in Indonesia. And at what cost? We speak to women internet activists. And we explore why Australia is boycotting treaty negotiations that would ban nuclear weapons.

A special edition to mark World Refugee Week, we bring you three stories of refugees who are creating lives on the run. A karate champion in Indonesia: A Hazara woman who is pushing the boundaries. A gay man forced to flee Bangladesh finds that life in Nepal isn’t easy either. And we hear from a Syrian refugee in South Korea. But before all of that, we start with the story of striking farmers in India, whose protests recently turned bloody under police gunfire.

Afghanistan’s first TV station by and for women. In India, women branded as witches, and hunted down. We meet the courageous women who have survived the witch hunt, and are fighting back. What would it take to wipe out malaria? We catch up with a scientist who has devoted his life to the task.

This week we bring you a World Environment Day Special! We take a look at Thailand’s giant and grotesque looking water monitor. The unique creature is being hit hard by climate change and urbanization. In Pakistan’s Thar desert, innovative new ways to deal with water shortages. And mining companies failing to clean up after themselves in The Philippines. But before that, we start in the hotly contested region of Kashmir, where Indian security forces and Kashmir separatists are bringing new, and more extreme tactics to a conflict that has simmered for 3 decades.

Triple talaq, or instant divorce, under trial in India, as women try to abolish a system they have no say in. Indonesia’s LGBT community targeted in raids, punished by caning, and now a new task force to track hunt them down. And despite threats, Pakistan’s Pashtun minority is defiantly holding dances all over the country.

Each year, unregistered fishing boats haul billions of dollars worth of fish from Indonesian waters. The government is trying to stamp it out by blowing up and sinking the offending boats at sea. We bring you an investigative report on the illegal fishing trade in Indonesia and The Philippines. We visit a school for grandmothers in India, where women are getting an opportunity they missed out on as kids. And in Jakarta, the case that’s put the Governor in jail on charges of blasphemy.

A law school for rebels and ethnic minorities in Myanmar’s Kachin State. In Pakistan the fall out from the Panama Papers continues after a Supreme Court verdict ordered a new investigation into the money trail surrounding the Prime Minister and his family. And in India, street kids speak out.

Marriages between Afghan refugees and Pakistani women have been taking place for decades, but increasing friction between the two countries leaving families separated by a border. In Indonesia, an inspiring teacher is challenging the stigma surrounding cerebral palsy. We hear from the din of India’s deafening cities – some of the loudest cities in the world. And from Thailand, we meet sex workers who are in control, and showing that they can do it their way.

Spying allegations in Pakistan and a hotly debated death sentence are causing regional tensions. We hear from Rohingya, the Muslim minority group that has been driven out of Myanmar in the hundreds of thousands. We trace the story of two Rohingya people, who have watched first hand as waves of violence unravel around them. And for Rohingya who have fled to India, seeking refuge isn’t as always safe as it seems. At the end of the program, we deep-dive into the extreme world of beauty pageants in the Philippines.

On the show this week, we’re putting the spotlight on history, as we hear from some of the region’s lesser known moments from the past. We ask why Thailand has had more coups than any other country in modern history. Delving into the life of a 19th century Japanese photographer in Australia. A modern twist on Indonesia’s age old puppetry tradition And a bakery in Karachi that’s more than 150 years old, where a Muslim baker sells famous hot cross buns to Christians each Easter…

Violent and racist attacks on African students in India Pakistani women enjoying a long awaited hot cup of tea in a café they can call their own. The shifting sands of aid and development in Asia, as China is set to usurp Japan as the region’s big player. And remembering Antoon Postma, the Dutch anthropologist that dedicated his life to recording Mangyan culture in The Philippines.

Indian film makers getting hot under the collar, as they dispute a ban on a film that puts women’s desires in the spotlight. An elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka bringing a threatened species back from the brink. Plus size models on the catwalk in Indonesia. And environmental activists risking their lives in the Philippines.

Sneaking supplies across borders in Myanmar. A dramatic, and tragic, protest at the Indonesian state palace. East Timor's election. And Afghanistan’s first – all women’s orchestra.

This week, we’re putting arts in the limelight. Rising from the ashes: Painting war-torn walls in Kabul. Reviving the ancient art of Qawwali, or devotional Islamic music in India. And shaking the dust off the art collection of Indonesia’s first President, Sukarno.

A special show to mark International Women’s Day! We’ll be hearing from an inspiring mother-daughter team in the Philippines. In India, a unique mosque for women. East Timor’s rising dangdut star. And the Jakarta's colourful Women's March.