The bloody crackdown on protesters in 2010 is seared into the mind of Thanat Thammakaew. For the writer, known by his pen name Phu Kradat, the traumatic events became a political awakening and a source of inspiration for his writing.
“There has never been a time, no other era, where the ordinary villager has cursed the ruling class so much as now. There’s a fire burning down below and the military coup has only poured fuel onto that fire.” Teerapol Anmai speaks about the aftermath of the 2010 protests and the state’s violent response.
Duanwad Pimwana, one of the most prominent voices in contemporary Thai literature, talks about the challenges Thai literature faces in dealing with the trauma of the April-May 2010 violence.
Linguist Saowanee T. Alexander talks about the evolution of the term “red buffaloes” that had been used pejoratively to describe Red Shirts and supporters of the Pheu Thai Party. But in recent years, pro-democracy activists have reclaimed the slur, partly shifting its derogatory usage.
The molam we know today stems from a century-old Lao tradition that is being transformed by its mingling with central Thai forms and international styles. What do we know about that original tradition? Are there khaen-playing practitioners still performing today in Isaan? John Garzoli, an ethnomusicologist looking precisely at these issues, shares his views.
Thawit Sitthongsi, former member of Pong Lang Sa On, talks about the molam troupe’s reputation as a leader in changing contemporary molam music and molam performances forever. [VIDEO]
Fifteen years ago, a molam troupe made history by taking the molam sound of temple fairs and village festivals to the stage of Bangkok’s Impact Arena. We talked to former band member Thawit Sitthongsi about the troupe’s reputation as a leader in changing contemporary molam music and molam performances forever.
Prominent political activist and founder of the satirical Kian Party Sombat Boonngamanong talks about his live after the military coup in 2014 and the fate of the Red Shirt movement.
After the unusual change of color of the Mekong River last year, environmental expert Santiparp Siriwattanaphaiboon warned that manmade changes “will eventually bring an end to the civilization of those living on the banks of the Mekong.”
