Kishore Mahbubani interviews David Kang, the Maria Crutcher Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California and a recognised expert on East Asia. This wide-ranging conversation covers three fraught relationships of East Asia: China-Japan, Japan-South Korea, and South Korea-China; as well as the role of the United States and of North Korea in these relations.
Nov 28, 2025
49 min
In Episode 11, Kishore Mahbubani interviews Ambassador Shivshankar Menon, one of the most distinguished practitioners and scholars of Indian foreign policy. Kishore and Shivshankar talk about India's relations with the United States, China, Pakistan and ASEAN. India is undergoing a geopolitical churn in trying to balance its relations with the US, China and Russia, even as it seeks to expand its footprint into Southeast Asia. How can India nimbly walk this geopolitical tightrope?
Aug 12, 2025
48 min
In Episode 10, Kishore Mahbubani interviews Mr Sundeep Waslekar, author of A World without War, on the topic, "Is a world without the threat of nuclear war possible?". The episode covers a wide range of global geopolitics, from the Ukraine conflict to the recent India-Pakistan conflict, as well as nuclear disarmament and proliferation. Sundeep is a practitioner of Track Two diplomacy, including on nuclear risk reduction between the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council. He has been ...
Jun 16, 2025
53 min
After a hiatus, the Asian Peace Talks is back with our 9th episode. For this episode, Kishore Mahbubani speaks to one of the foremost experts on Indian foreign policy, Professor Kanti Bajpai, on India's relations with China and Pakistan. This episode was recorded on May 9, 2025, when the recent India-Pakistan conflict was still on-going. This discussion assumes particular importance, firstly, in the aftermath of the India-Pakistan conflict, and secondly, in the wake of the October...
May 20, 2025
50 min
Amid a shifting balance of power and mounting transnational challenges, the international order is evidently in transition. But with the great powers at loggerheads, will the Global South succeed in building a new international order that reflects their interests? And can the “hedging” strategies of Global South states succeed in bridging the divides – both amongst themselves and with others – that currently obstruct the international community’s ability to address global challenges? On the h...
Apr 9, 2025
52 min
In this episode, Kishore Mahbubani speaks with Girija Pande, Chairman of Apex Avalon Consulting Singapore and former President of Tata Consultancy Services Asia-Pacific. The topic for this episode is the economic relationship between China, currently the world's second largest economy, and India, currently the world's fifth largest economy. What are the contours of this economic relationship? And how, in spite of the many geopolitical challenges, can this relationship be further strengthened?...
May 8, 2023
41 min
In this special episode for the Asian Peace Talks, seasoned journalist and veteran interviewer, Jyoti Malhotra, based in New Delhi, India, speaks with Sanjaya Baru, a Distinguished Fellow at the United Service Institution of India, on his essay for APP, "India can still be a bridge to the Global South". This conversation covers the role of India in ensuring a more equitable G20, even as the immediate needs of the Global South continues to diverge from the Global North. For Dr Baru's APP essay...
Apr 14, 2023
32 min
In this episode, Kishore Mahbubani speaks with Sarang Shidore of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Washington DC, on the trajectory of US-China relations under the Biden Administration, from the perspective of Asia and ASEAN. This discussion covers the changing trajectory of the bilateral relations, how the Biden Administration has been different (if at all) from the Trump administration on China, the impact of the Ukraine conflict, as well as of Nancy Pelosi's ongoing visit to...
Aug 3, 2022
50 min
Kishore Mahbubani speaks to Professor Kanti Bajpai on India's relations with Pakistan and China, and how they can be improved, despite the seemingly intractable nature of their conflicts. The episode also touches on India's relations with the other great powers, Russia, the United States, its role in an increasingly multipolar world, and its stance in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Mar 18, 2022
56 min
In this episode, Kishore Mahbubani interviews Marty Natalegawa, former foreign minister of Indonesia, and one of ASEAN's most well-known diplomats and scholars, on the importance of ASEAN centrality to Southeast Asia, and how ASEAN can play a constructive role in the time of growing US-China competition in the region.
Nov 27, 2021
40 min
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