Series tackles Thailand’s Nation, Religion, King

Dr Anders Engvall, Saran Satisart, Daungyewa Utarasint and Professor Des Ball with "Chat, Sasana, Phramahaksat: Nation, Religion, King" presenter Dr Nicholas Farrelly.

Three of the pillars of Thai society are under the spotlight in a new vodcast and podcast series titled ’Chat, Sasana, Phramahakasat: Nation, Religion, King’.

This three part series brings together some of the world’s leading experts on Thailand. The series is presented by ANU Southeast Asia specialist Nicholas Farrelly from the College of Asia and the Pacific, and is produced in cooperation with the annual Thailand Update and the National Thai Studies Centre.

The first of the series will be available on the ANU YouTube channel later today.

That first episode - Chat: Nation - brings together world-renowned husband and wife academic team, Professor Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker, alongside Associate Dean of the College of Asia and the Pacific, Andrew Walker. The panel discuss issues ranging from the strength of Thailand’s economy to what Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s recent election win means to the nation.

The second episode - Sasana: Religion - features Anders Engvall, Daungyewa Utarasint, Saran Santisart and Professor Des Ball analysing the political and social conflicts in southern Thailand, and discussing whether the new government has any chance of resolving that region’s ongoing problems.

The final episode - Phramahakasat: King - deals with the political role of Thailand’s monarchy and discusses the use of the country’s lese majeste law. Analysing these issues are panellists Tyrell Haberkorn, Pavin Chachavalpongpun, Patrick Jory and Professor Charnvit Kasetsiri

Each episode runs for around 20 minutes and will be available on ANU Channel at YouTube, ANU Vision and on podcast at Discover ANU. Sasana will be released on Thursday 6 October, and Phramahakasat will be available on Tuesday 11 October.