Surviving Saigon in 1945

Published on Jan 1, 2022 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Thierry de Roland Peel, who will shortly release his first book “Ashes from Annam,” which tells the story of how his mother and her family survived the incredible upheavals in Saigon at the end of World War II when the occupying Japanese realized they had lost.Central to the story is the family dog, Mephisto, a lively Groenendael, who delivered secret messages to the outside world as the frontlines surrounding their home changed constantly with the Japanese, French, British, and Vietnamese communists vying for control and influence.De Roland Peel also serves-up a delightful history lesson about a time and place that deserves greater attention, in particular how Japan kickstarted the first Indochina war, drawing the United States into....

Afghanistan Back Then

Published on Dec 1, 2021 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Chris WoolfT. hirty years ago, Abdullah Abdullah guided former BBC “History Guy” Chris Woolf and a colleague through a horrific war zone that they’d wandered into from Kabul. Abdullah would later become the chief executive officer in a unity government reached with President Ashraf Ghani, eventually heading the High Council for National Reconciliation in hopes of engaging the Taliban in peace talks.When Woolf met Abdullah, the Soviet Union was withdrawing from the country, paralleling this year’s events and the exodus of the United States after a 20-year conflict that resulted in the Taliban’s return. Click here to listen..

Twenty Years after 9/11

Published on Aug 27, 2021 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with Dan Boylan. American journalist and communications consultant Dan Boylan has worked across the Muslim world over the last two decades as a reporter and then as an advisor to the U.S. State department, the Pentagon, and governments in Iraq and Afghanistan.He spoke with Luke Hunt about 9/11 and the next 20 years which has culminated in an American evacuation of Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban.Listen here..

Hong Kong Heritage; The Punji Trap

Published on May 16, 2020 by Luke Hunt

On Hong Kong Heritage this weekend… As a student, longtime Hongkonger and Australian veteran journalist Luke Hunt first learned about Pham Xuan An, a South Vietnamese who spied for the Communist north during the Vietnam War. An worked as a journalist for Time and Reuters and through propaganda this spy for north Vietnam helped convince the Americans that it was time for their troops to go home. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, Pham Xuan An became disenchanted with the Communist government but continued to live in Vietnam until his death in 2006. He told Luke that he could write a book about his life, once he was dead. On Hong Kong Heritage this weekend, Luke tells me about....

Wrap: East Timor 20 Years after the Massacres

Published on Sep 5, 2019 by Luke Hunt

East Timor is commemorating the 20th anniversary of a referendum that delivered its independence but sparked widespread massacres that left 1,500 people dead and displaced about half-a-million people. here is a collection of stories from Dili written by Luke Hunt.East Timor Remembers a Vote and a Bloody RampageEast Timor Massacres Remembered by Australian SurvivorsTimor-Leste Dancing to Indonesia’s Tune despite 20 years of IndependenceEast Timorese Retain a Soft Spot for AussiesEast Timor’s Bloody Road to IndependenceTimor-Leste Forged in Blood, Struggles with Peace and Independence.