Episodes

Yet Still Even More Expat Merit Badges! Do You Have Any? [S7.E45]
Nov. 12, 2024

Yet Still Even More Expat Merit Badges! Do You Have Any? [S7.E45]

Greg and Ed revisit a favorite show theme: Thailand merit badges, achievements by expats which solidify your status as someone truly making a life in Thailand rather than just passing through as a tourist. For earlier merit badges, check out Season 5,...
Phil in Udon Thani Talks About Leaving Bangkok for Something New [S7.E44]
Nov. 5, 2024

Phil in Udon Thani Talks About Leaving Bangkok for Something New [S7.E44]

Ed interviews our buddy Phil Allen about his adventures visiting, and eventually living in, the Isaan region of Thailand. Phil begins by explaining his arrival in Bangkok about five years ago as a roving economist working primarily in financial...
Do You Have to be a Weirdo to Thrive in Bangkok? [S7.E43]
Oct. 29, 2024

Do You Have to be a Weirdo to Thrive in Bangkok? [S7.E43]

Greg and Ed revisit an old topic from Season 2, Episode 48: Do you have to be weird to live in Bangkok/Thaiand as a foreigner? Ed begins by noting that the question depends on exactly why an expat has chosen to live here. Are they in the military? Are...
Wats & Working Girls: How Thailand Balances Buddhism and Red Lights [S7.E42]
Oct. 22, 2024

Wats & Working Girls: How Thailand Balances Buddhism and Red Lights [S7.E42]

Greg and Ed begin a new series called “Thailand: Land of Contradictions” with the first installment addressing a fascinating, apparent conflict in Thai culture: how can Thailand have so many temples on the one hand, but also so many ‘working...
Future Southeast Asia's James Clark on Thailand's Transport Infrastructure [S7.E41]
Oct. 15, 2024

Future Southeast Asia's James Clark on Thailand's Transport Infrastructure [S7.E41]

Greg interviews James Clark, the founder of Future Southeast Asia, a website and newsletter focused on transport and urban development in Southeast Asia. The guys begin with the most exciting developments in Thailand’s railway system, and James mentions the 250 km/hr...
What Are the Limits of
Oct. 8, 2024

What Are the Limits of "Mai Pen Rai"? [S7.E40]

Greg and Ed discuss one of the pillars of Thai culture, the general attitude of ‘mai pen rai’ or ‘no problem.’ As the guys have mentioned many times, this attitude is one of the main reasons that living in Thailand is so enjoyable for expats....
Counselor Amy Pothong Talks About Mental Health in Thailand [S7.E39]
Oct. 1, 2024

Counselor Amy Pothong Talks About Mental Health in Thailand [S7.E39]

Mental health in Thailand has never really had its time in the spotlight, but things are slowly changing as more and more Thais realize that taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health. On this episode...
Political Cheat Sheet: Prof. Ed Sums Up Ten Years of Thai Politics [S7.E38]
Sept. 24, 2024

Political Cheat Sheet: Prof. Ed Sums Up Ten Years of Thai Politics [S7.E38]

In our semi-annual update on Thai politics, Ed does his best to explain the current situation and how Thailand arrived here over the last ten years. He begins with the framework that defined Thai politics for almost 15 years: one party led by the...
The Dangers of Letting Bangkok’s Delivery Apps Take Over [S7.E37]
Sept. 17, 2024

The Dangers of Letting Bangkok’s Delivery Apps Take Over [S7.E37]

Greg and Ed discuss the ‘delivery lifestyle,’ the habit of staying at home and relying on delivery services to bring food and products straight to your doorstep. Both guys admit to slipping into this habit, but Greg enjoys getting out more and...
Journalist Patrick Winn Discusses His Book ‘Narcotopia’ [S7.E36]
Sept. 10, 2024

Journalist Patrick Winn Discusses His Book ‘Narcotopia’ [S7.E36]

Greg welcomes back Patrick Winn to the podcast, an intrepid writer and expert on all things dark and shady in Southeast Asia. He previously appeared on the show to discuss his book “Hello Shadowlands,” and he returns to explain his new work,...
What Comes Next: Greg & Ed Try to Predict Bangkok’s Future [S7.E35]
Sept. 3, 2024

What Comes Next: Greg & Ed Try to Predict Bangkok’s Future [S7.E35]

Putting on their best tarot reading hat…or numerology hat…or tea leaf hat…whatever…Greg and Ed make their best prognostications about the future of Bangkok, relying only on their accumulated wisdom and experience. Greg begins by asking Ed...
Journalist Dominic Faulder on the Complex History Between Thailand & Myanmar [S7.E34]
Aug. 27, 2024

Journalist Dominic Faulder on the Complex History Between Thailand & Myanmar [S7.E34]

Greg interviews Dominic Faulder, associate editor at Nikkei Asia, long-time journalist in Southeast Asia and observer of the political and diplomatic machinations of Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia over the past 40 years.  The main...
Selling Thailand to the World: How do the Non-Travelers See Us? [S7.E33]
Aug. 19, 2024

Selling Thailand to the World: How do the Non-Travelers See Us? [S7.E33]

In the wake of Ed’s recent high school reunion, Greg and Ed discuss how to sell Thailand to all different types of people, especially those who have only learned about the place through stories, TV and often dubious word of mouth.  The Land of...
Don't be That Guy: Expat Stereotypes You Should Avoid [S7.E32]
Aug. 13, 2024

Don't be That Guy: Expat Stereotypes You Should Avoid [S7.E32]

Greg and Ed discuss some negative expat stereotypes - roughly the person you (probably) don’t want to become while living in Thailand...at least forever. We all fall prey to stereotypes sometimes - they have to come from somewhere - but if you’re...
Phra Pandit Lends His Insight: What Buddhism Says About the Seven Deadly Sins - Part 2 [S7.E31]
Aug. 6, 2024

Phra Pandit Lends His Insight: What Buddhism Says About the Seven Deadly Sins - Part 2 [S7.E31]

On part 2 of 2 Greg continues his interview with returning show favorite, Phra Pandit on the Buddhist interpretation of the Seven Deadly Sins of western religion. Without wasting any time they pick up where they left off last week and dive right into...
Phra Pandit Lends his Insight: What Buddhism Says About the Seven Deadly Sins - Part 1 [S7.E30]
July 30, 2024

Phra Pandit Lends his Insight: What Buddhism Says About the Seven Deadly Sins - Part 1 [S7.E30]

Greg interviews returning show favorite, Phra Pandit on the Buddhist interpretation of the Seven Deadly Sins of western religion. After a brief introduction explaining Phra Pandit’s current (temporary) abode in Toronto, Canada, the guys get down to...
Bangkok in Your 20s vs Your 50s: We Discuss the Pros and Cons [S7.E29]
July 23, 2024

Bangkok in Your 20s vs Your 50s: We Discuss the Pros and Cons [S7.E29]

Having had the somewhat unenviable (?) POV of living in Bangkok both in their 20s AND in their late 40s (and more), Greg and Ed pro/con Bangkok for different age groups. Is Bangkok really a city for twenty-somethings or fifty-somethings? Greg begins...
Lawyer Dave Lawrence Gives a Legal Perspective on Divorce in Thailand [S7.E28]
July 16, 2024

Lawyer Dave Lawrence Gives a Legal Perspective on Divorce in Thailand [S7.E28]

Greg and Ed interview Dave Lawrence of about the technicalities of divorce in Thailand. Although Ed previously discussed his big ‘D’ on an earlier show, his situation was so simple that it’s probably not representative of the typical divorce....
AI vs The Big Mango: What ChatGPT 4o and Gemini Know (and don’t know) about Bangkok [S7.E27]
July 9, 2024

AI vs The Big Mango: What ChatGPT 4o and Gemini Know (and don’t know) about Bangkok [S7.E27]

Greg and Ed perform an interesting test of the current state of AI: can you actually trust what different AI’s have to say about Bangkok and Thailand? Greg uses ChatGPT, while Ed is a Google guy through and through, so Gemini it is. The first...
Blending Fact & Fiction: Paul & Yuangrat Wedel Return to Discuss Their Novels Set in 1900s Siam Part 2 [S7.E26]
July 2, 2024

Blending Fact & Fiction: Paul & Yuangrat Wedel Return to Discuss Their Novels Set in 1900s Siam Part 2 [S7.E26]

This is Part Two of Greg and Ed’s interview with Paul and Yuangrat Wedel, returning guests to the show who previously talked about their book “Radical Thought, Thai Mind.” This time around the fascinating couple discuss their two novels,...
Blending Fact & Fiction: Paul & Yuangrat Wedel Return to Discuss Their Novels Set in 1900s Siam [S7.E25]
June 25, 2024

Blending Fact & Fiction: Paul & Yuangrat Wedel Return to Discuss Their Novels Set in 1900s Siam [S7.E25]

Greg and Ed interview Paul and Yuangrat Wedel, returning guests to the show who previously talked about their book “Radical Thought, Thai Mind.” This time around the fascinating couple discuss their two novels, “Beads On A String” and “Dark...
Ed’s City Review: Bangkok vs Hong Kong - Which One Comes Out on Top? [S7.E24]
June 18, 2024

Ed’s City Review: Bangkok vs Hong Kong - Which One Comes Out on Top? [S7.E24]

Continuing our regional focus of late, Greg and Ed discuss Ed’s recent trip to Hong Kong and how it compares to big, bad Bangkok. Ed begins with a big caveat: he’s not really much of a traveler, and he spent only 2 ½ days in Hong Kong, so his...
Regional Podcast Pals: Joah McGee on Covering Tragedy & Hope on Insight Myanmar [S7.E23]
June 11, 2024

Regional Podcast Pals: Joah McGee on Covering Tragedy & Hope on Insight Myanmar [S7.E23]

Wrapping up our short series on our regional podcast peers, Greg interviews Joah McGee from the . Joah begins by explaining his early life in Myanmar and how he initially went to the country to study meditation and later secured a proper job doing...
Bangkok Devaluation: A Few Things That Used to Matter…But Don’t Anymore [S7.E22]
June 4, 2024

Bangkok Devaluation: A Few Things That Used to Matter…But Don’t Anymore [S7.E22]

In a possible new series, Greg and Ed discuss things that have become less important or meaningful since they began living in Thailand. In short, stuff that we used to value a lot that just seems not to matter as much anymore. Ed begins with the...