Episode 15: “The Activists Are the Hobbits" w/ Kaewta “Ann” Ketbungkan

Poet in Bangkok

In Episode 15, Colin and Donald speak to arts journalist Kaewta “Ann” Ketbungkan recorded at the Bangkok Arts and Cultural Center a few weeks after the passing of His Majesty--the much beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej. During our talk with Ann, she walks us through an art exhibit honoring the late monarch. She explains how art can allow a society to grapple with crisis while depicting how she inherited her passion for the humanities. She discusses her role at Khaosod English as a lifestyle reporter and her desire to make the "hard stuff" easier to understand. She talks about using discussions about existing art, culture and film, to more safely explore the politics of Thailand and gives an example of how an interview helped her process the 2016 Thai Referendum using The Lord of the Rings and The Shawshank Redemption. She touches on the hierarchies of Thai art circles and delves into the risks of making art when laws limiting freedom of speech carry grave consequences. And Ann gives America advice on how to deal with tumultuous political change in the shadow of alien invasions. The hosts discuss the surreality of life following their return to the USA, touching on the rise of the Shepards, a roaming cult with allegiance to Mars astronaut Raymond Shepard. Colin shares his progress on the translation of alien signals, and Donald speaks about a mysterious cure provided to him by an unidentified government agent. Written and Produced by Donald and Colin. Mixed and Edited by Colin. Music by Reports (reports.bandcamp.com/). Thanks to Izotope (www.izotope.com) for the phenomenal sound editing software. Many thanks to freesound.org creators klankbeeld, cydon, and ryansnook for the sound effects in this episode.