World Music

Published on Dec 2, 2023 by Luke Hunt

Chris Minko and his daughter Anya have carved out prominent lives in Thailand and Cambodia through music, sport, and education that came with the backing of Australian World War II hero Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop and Thai philanthropist Mechai Viravaidya.Chris was raised in the small town of Myrtleford in the alpine valleys of southeastern Australia and initially found fame as a musician with jazz band Bachelors from Prague in the mid-1980s before moving into event management.He courted controversy with Melbourne’s Moomba Festival when he defied orders and put an Aboriginal float at the head of an annual parade but also found favor with the trade unions and the Australian Football League (AFL), where he organized half-time entertainment at the Grand....

A Refugee's Story

Published on Oct 3, 2023 by Luke Hunt

In 1979, Mylinh Lee arrived in Australia as a child, by boat and as a refugee. More than four decades later she is a public relations specialist in Melbourne where she is also dedicated to the construction of the Vietnamese Museum Australia.The museum, due to open in 2025, is the first in the world dedicated to the plight of Vietnamese refugees, who began arriving in Australia shortly after the fall of Saigon in April 1975, signaling the end of the Vietnam War and the communist takeover of South Vietnam.Click here to listen to her podcast recorded with Luke Hunt from The Diplomat..

From Pol Pot to US Presidents

Published on Jul 5, 2023 by Luke Hunt

From the Killing Fields to the US Secret Service. A conversation with author Leth Oun. As a child, Leth Oun enjoyed a happy life in Battambang City in western Cambodia. His family was poor but his father, a lieutenant in the Lon Nol government, ensured he went to school and that there was food on the table. Then, in April 1975, the Khmer Rouge marched into town.He survived Pol Pot's tyrannical rule, was rescued and eventually granted refugee status in the United States. Leth Oun now works for the Secret Service, the first Cambodian to join those ranks in its 158-year history. He guards presidents, vice presidents, and their families with a focus on the K9 unit, training and deploying....

Two British Poets

Published on Jun 18, 2023 by Luke Hunt

A podcast with James Fountain about the British poet Joseph Macleod from the 1930s and 40s. Fountain also talks about author Graham Greene and the literati of that time. With Brighton-based Waterloo Press, Fountain was commissioned with re-introducing and editing all of Mcleod's major works. He also has a novel and two of his own collections of poetry accepted for publication. Some of his poems appeared in UK literary magazines such as Acumen, The Journal and Dream Catcher. Click and listen here..

Unfinished Business

Published on May 1, 2023 by Luke Hunt

Five years ago, Chinese investors began turning Sihanoukville, a sleepy coastal city with pristine beaches, into a gambling mecca rivaling Macao and Las Vegas, but that ended with a ban on online gambling and the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 200,000 Chinese workers had to return home. Plans are now being developed to rebuild and finish about 1,100 abandoned skyscrapers. Ravid Brown, Luke Hunt and Sreynat Sarum produced this television report for VOA. Click and Watch Here.