Episodes

Aug. 12, 2025

Tourism Challenge: Comparing Thailand to Europe as a Traveler [S8.E7]

While Greg is travelling in Canada, Ed interviews old friend of the podcast Jonathan about his recent trip to Europe. Jon and his Thai wife Poom spent a couple weeks on vacation, first in Paris and then in Poland. Jon begin...

Aug. 5, 2025

The Gun Show: How a Few Thai Cannons Helped Shape History [S8.E6] (Classic ReCast)

We return to our Thai history series with a fascinating look at the role that several Thai cannons played in some important historical events. First, with the help of a cool blog on Thai history from our friend Ken Lohatepano...

July 29, 2025

Second Opinions and Jedi Lies: Stories from Bangkok's Hospitals [S8.E5] (Classic ReCast)

Sooner or later, we all spend some time in the hospital, so Greg and Ed riff on their myriad experiences in Bangkok hospitals over the years. But before we get into that, we should note - due to Thailand’s strict defamation l...

July 22, 2025

When Jaded Expats Wrongly Predict Thai Failures [S8.E4]

Greg and Ed discuss something that is more common than many people think: being wrong about expecting some Thai government project or initiative to fail. It’s pretty easy, as expats often fall into the rut of cynicism about t...

July 15, 2025

CRINGE: Tales of Trying to Fit in to Thai Culture & Failing Badly [S8.E3]

Greg and Ed discuss a few of the many ‘cringe’ moments they have experienced over the years in failing to fit into Thai culture or ‘do the right thing’ according to Thai society. Ed begins with the ‘classics,’ mistakes that...

July 8, 2025

Justin Dunne on Bangkok's Red-Hot Culinary Scene [S8.E2]

Greg interviews repeat guest Justin Dunne, who previously appeared on Season 6, Episode 24, discussing his cool side project ‘Bangkok Haunts.’ Justin’s main gig is to be a legend of the Food & Beverage scene in Bangkok, havin...

July 1, 2025

Looking Back, Looking Forward: What's Next for S8 [S8.E1]

Greg and Ed introduce Season 8 of the podcast first by looking back and all that has been achieved. Greg runs through some crazy stats, just a few of which are that there have been a total of 885 shows and more than 1.6 milli...

June 24, 2025

Dating in Bangkok: Expat Women Share Their Stories - Part 1 [S7.E76] (Classic ReCast)

Greg and Ed do a first for the the show, with a panel discussion with four guests! Why four? Well, everyone knows that cliche about Bangkok being a heaven for expat men, but we didn’t know much about expat women. It stands to...

June 17, 2025

Western Weddings vs Thai Weddings: Which is More Fun? [S7.E75]

Greg and Ed discuss a fascinating question: Are Thai weddings or American weddings more fun? The question was raised after Greg attended the wedding of friend of the podcast Daniel Fraser. As everyone knows, Dan is a legit ex...

June 10, 2025

Thai Tourism: Is the Downward Trend Here to Stay? [S7.E74]

Greg and Ed discuss the recent troubling decrease in overall Thai tourism numbers. In general, since COVID, the Thai tourism industry has bounced back quite well, and projections were that 2025 numbers would exceed the pre-CO...

June 3, 2025

Stolen English: A Few Words That Thai Has Fully Thai-ified [S7.E73]

Greg and Ed tackle a frustrating aspect of learning Thai - borrowed English words that are pronounced according to the rules normally applied to native Thai words. Ed makes clear they are not just talking about accent or ‘pro...

May 27, 2025

Making Thai Subtitles: Culture, Slang & Curse Words [S7.E72] (Classic ReCast)

In this month's Classic Recast, Greg interviews Palm, a professional translator of English to Thai, but in a very specific context: subtitles for film and television. Palm begins by explaining that she literally learned Engli...

May 20, 2025

Are Int'l School Fees a Scam? Stu Jay Raj Crunches the Numbers [S7.E71]

After his , Greg and Ed interview Stu Jay Raj, the podcast’s Thai language expert, but this time Stu explains his new video and website discussing the cost of international school in Thailand. As most people are aware, the Thai public school system...

May 13, 2025

A Few Western Staples Thai Cuisine Refuses to Embrace [S7.E70]

Thai cuisine is remarkably good at adopting flavors and ingredients into its fold, but there are some that just have not made the cut. In a city where you can find almost any type of food from around the world, certain Wester...

May 6, 2025

Phra Pandit Joins to Discuss the Mixing of Monks and Politics [S7.E69]

Greg interviews Phra Pandit about Buddhist monks and politics. Greg begins by framing the issue around the recent tumultuous nature of politics around the world. Could Buddhist calmness provide an answer? Well, Phra Pandit begins by making...

April 29, 2025

Gotcha! Ten Situations When the Score is Bangkok 1, You 0 [S7.E68] (Classic Recast)

Bangkok’s a big city that’s got her own rules. You can try to fight them, but in the end, in certain situations, no matter how much you beg and plead, Bangkok wins, and you lose. Greg and Ed discuss ten ways Bangkok can own you: frustrating...

April 22, 2025

Action Figure Overload: How Accurate Are the Thai Versions of the Viral AI Trend? [S7.E67]

Greg and Ed jump on the bandwagon and discuss the recent trend of images of ‘action figures’ generated by AI. ChatGPT especially seems quite good at creating semblances of plastic blister packs filled with dolls and accessories that might go along...

April 15, 2025

Interesting Friends And Strange Characters: Expat Connections [S7.E66]

Greg and Ed discuss some interesting expats they have met over the years - both good and bad - and what lessons they have managed to glean from them. Thailand is a bit of a strange stew of expats; with many different types of people coming together in...

April 8, 2025

Myanmar Quakes & Bangkok Shakes: Thoughts on the March 28 Earthquake [S7.E65]

Greg and Ed address the unavoidable topic du jour: the earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28 that was felt all the way to Bangkok. Greg begins by pointing out that even though much ink and many words have already been spilled on the topic,...

April 1, 2025

Sopping, Soggy, Sodden, Soaking Songkran: The Thai New Year is Here! [S7.E64]

With the big holiday nearly here, Greg and Ed reminisce about their various Songkran experiences over the years. Ed notes that last year was a breakthrough year: he actually went out and ‘threw water’ for the first time in many years and had a...

March 25, 2025

Second Opinions & Jedi Lies: Stories From Bangkok's Hospitals [S7.E63] (Classic Recast)

A fabulous re-cast episode from season 3! Sooner or later, we all spend some time in the hospital, so Greg and Ed riff on their myriad experiences in Bangkok hospitals over the years. But before we get into that, we should note - due to Thailand’s...

March 18, 2025

The Russians are Coming! What the Influx Means for Phuket [S7.E62]

Greg and Ed discuss the massive influx of Russians (and some Ukrainians) into Thailand, particularly the island of Phuket. Numerous stories have been written in the last year about the unusually high number of long-stay tourists and expats who appear...

March 11, 2025

Bangkok Pains: Distilling Bangkok Into a Board Game [S7.E61]

Greg interviews Tim Swainson and his team at creative agency about their Thai-centric board game, ‘Bangkok Pains.’ The show begins with introductions from the creative team at Invisible Ink, and Tim then gets into explaining the game. The first...

March 4, 2025

How Thick is Your Bubble? Piercing the Thai/Expat Barrier [S7.E60]

Following a great suggestion from listener Kelly, Greg and Ed discuss the ‘expat bubble,’ the tendency for expats (and tourists) to primarily spend time with foreigners, rather than experience the same Bangkok that the majority of Thais are...