Road Blocks: The Big Issues That Thailand Needs to Solve [S8.E20]
The Bangkok Podcast11 Marras 2025

Road Blocks: The Big Issues That Thailand Needs to Solve [S8.E20]

Greg and Ed discuss an article on Ajarn.com by Dr. Jesse Sessions called "What Does the Future Hold" which discusses some of the bigger problems currently facing Thailand and how they might impact the country's prosperity, competitiveness and social longevity. The guys walk through the issues one by one and give their take on its significance,

The first issue is border security. Ed points out that Thailand actually has major security issues on the Burmese, Malaysian, and Cambodian borders, something that is easy to forget from the security of Bangkok. In fact several of the later issues tie in to this problem, including the major problems of government corruption and of scam centers in Cambodia and Burma, that implicate Thailand in international crime networks. Greg points out that these 'scam cities' are sometimes connected to the Thai power grid or Internet service and may also be trafficking victims through Bangkok. As a 'rule of law' guy, Ed emphasizes the importance of cleaning up these issues and ridding Southeast Asia of its Wild West image.

Another cluster of issues centers around the economy, such as the slower the expected recovery of the tourism sector after COVID and Thailand's perennial fixture in the 'middle income trap,' clearly surpassing Cambodia but somehow also managing to be miles away from South Korea and Japan.

Check in for discussion of a bunch of other topics, including demographics, AI adoption, and environmental problems, and make sure to read the full article for a more thorough breakdown of each issue.

Jaksot(560)

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

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 number...

10 Kesä 202531min

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

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 tal...

3 Kesä 202545min

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

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 sh...

27 Touko 202537min

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

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

After his latest video dropped and generated a lot of buzz, 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 c...

20 Touko 202558min

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

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 ...

13 Touko 202537min

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

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 an...

6 Touko 202549min

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

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 t...

29 Huhti 202543min

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

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...

22 Huhti 202544min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
sita
i-dont-like-mondays
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
kaksi-aitia
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
uutiscast
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
kolme-kaannekohtaa
aikalisa
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
mamma-mia
rss-murhan-anatomia
rss-nikotellen
rss-haudattu
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
loukussa
taskula-trishin