Bangkok Podcast: Bringing the city to the world, one audio file at a time

There’s no shortage of Bangkok blogs helping newcomers make sense of this chaotic city, focusing on everything from Thai language to food. But podcasts? For years digital media lovers have been forced to listen to dead air, punctuated by the odd one-off broadcast that barefly scratched the surface of Bangkok's complexities. 

Enter Bangkok Podcast, a weekly English-language series devoted to the city, its people and culture. It was recently created by long time Bangkok bloggers Anthony Joh and Greg Jorgensen. Greg, a CNNGo contributor, said the idea of Bangkok Podcast came about during the tumult of the red shirt protests.

“Our target audience is anyone who is interested in learning a bit about Bangkok or Thai culture, be they past or future visitors, expats living here, or are just curious about what it's like to live in a different culture,” he says.

The format of the show is simple. Four episodes per month, with one uploaded to the website every Monday morning. Two episodes in that period focus on a specific foible, problem or unique attribute of living in Bangkok -- everything from reflections on Thai culture and tips on expat life to the latest Thai news or even hilarious Thai television commercials. One episode features an interview with a notable Bangkok personality, someone with an interesting story, cool job, or useful insight into living, working and traveling in the city. The fourth episode deals with Thai language.

“Thai language scholar and blogger Rikker Dockum will join us to discuss the ins and outs of learning and using Thai in everyday life and how it can help or hinder your understanding of Thai people and their culture.”

Greg admits that since neither of them had produced a podcast before, there were a few confusing moments of sourcing studio space, audio equipment and establishing the format of the show, but it all came together for the premier last month.

“We have some very interesting and exciting guests lined up, and topics to discuss that run the gamut from funny to odd to scary to sad,” says Greg.