You might think food brings people together. But online, it has sparked some of Asia’s fiercest cultural disputes. From Singapore and Malaysia arguing over Hainanese chicken rice and hawker centres, to China and South Korea clashing over kimchi and bibimbap, food has become a proxy for deeper debates about history, identity and power.

Dishes migrate across borders and governments now stake claims over recipes and food cultures - even durian has ended up drawing in the United Nations.

In this episode, host Mariko Oi is joined by Asia Specific podcast journalists, Derek Cai and Rachel Lee, to unpack why food disputes are often most intense between close neighbours, and why they’ve become louder in the age of tourism branding and soft power. Chinese American chef and food writer Jenny Dorsey also reflects on why food is never just about taste - and how questions of ownership, authenticity and belonging shape the way we eat and argue. Asia Specific brings you essential insights and conversations on the stories shaping the Asia Pacific region - an economic powerhouse, geo-political flashpoint and the birthplace of global cultural trends.

Asian perspectives on international issues and in-depth analysis on news from a region that’s home to nearly 2.5 billion people. Whether it is the latest on trade between China and Donald Trump, the rise and fall of political dynasties in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, or South Korea’s K-pop inspired soft power strategy - we unpack what key players are thinking and dive into the stories that matter. Hosted in Singapore by Mariko Oi alongside BBC experts in Beijing, Bangkok, and beyond – listen to new episodes twice a week. Episodes of Asia Specific are also available on YouTube here: https://bit.ly/4iJyeVt

Get in touch: asiaspecific@bbc.co.uk

It’s a grand promise by Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto - a free meal every day for 83 million school children and pregnant women.

But one year into one of the boldest free meal programmes in the world, the policy is facing budget challenges and several mass food poisoning cases affecting thousands of children.

The success or failure of the programme will define the legacy of a leader who pledged to end malnutrition during his presidential campaign in 2024.

But Subianto isn’t just stopping at free food. He has bigger ambitions for a country long seen to be underperforming compared to its huge potential.

To find out if Indonesia’s leader can reshape South East Asia’s largest nation, Asia Specific podcast host Mariko Oi is joined by the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head and Bloomberg Opinion’s Asia columnist Karishma Vaswani, who grew up in Indonesia and was the BBC's correspondent and editor from 2009 to 2015.

Asia Specific brings you essential insights and conversations on the stories shaping the Asia Pacific region - an economic powerhouse, geo-political flashpoint and the birthplace of global cultural trends.

Asian perspectives on international issues and in-depth analysis on news from a region that’s home to nearly 2.5 billion people. Whether it is the latest on trade between China and Donald Trump, the rise and fall of political dynasties in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, or South Korea’s K-pop inspired soft power strategy - we unpack what key players are thinking and dive into the stories that matter.

Hosted in Singapore by Mariko Oi alongside BBC experts in Beijing, Bangkok, and beyond – listen to new episodes twice a week. Episodes of Asia Specific are also available on YouTube here: https://bit.ly/4iJyeVt

Get in touch: asiaspecific@bbc.co.uk

How tycoon Jimmy Lai went from pro-democracy activist to national security criminal is a story that, some say, mirrors the changes in Hong Kong itself. The 78-year-old once published the city's most widely-read tabloid Apple Daily, which played a pivotal role in encouraging and supporting pro-democracy protestors during a prolonged and violent uprising in 2019.

But for the past six years, he’s been the target of the Chinese government’s national security police. Now, after a landmark trial in Hong Kong, Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of foreign collusion - a conviction that one human rights group describes as the ‘death knell’ for press freedom in the former British colony.

Asia Specific host Mariko Oi is joined by BBC Senior Journalist Danny Vincent and Hong Kong Journalists Association Chairperson Selina Cheng, and examines the reaction of activists exiled abroad with former Hong Kong Legislative Councillor Ted Hui.

Asia Specific brings you essential insights and conversations on the stories shaping the Asia Pacific region - an economic powerhouse, geo-political flashpoint and the birthplace of global cultural trends.

Asian perspectives on international issues and in-depth analysis on news from a region that’s home to nearly 2.5 billion people. Whether it is the latest on trade between China and Donald Trump, the rise and fall of political dynasties in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, or South Korea’s K-pop inspired soft power strategy - we unpack what key players are thinking and dive into the stories that matter. Hosted in Singapore by Mariko Oi alongside BBC experts in Beijing, Bangkok, and beyond – listen to new episodes twice a week. Episodes of Asia Specific are also available on YouTube here: https://bit.ly/4iJyeVt

Get in touch: asiaspecific@bbc.co.uk

A deadly shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach - one of Australia’s most iconic public spaces - has raised urgent questions about how such an attack could happen in a country known for strict gun control. With more than a dozen people killed, the attack has shocked the nation and sharpened concerns about security failures, gun ownership and the targeting of Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah.

From Sydney, the BBC’s Phil Mercer reports on the national mood as communities mourn and authorities investigate how the gunmen evaded police and security agencies. Asia Specific’s Bill Birtles explores the wider implications, including rising concerns about antisemitism, social cohesion and the challenges faced by multicultural societies across the Asia-Pacific. This episode was recorded on Monday, December 15.

Asia Specific brings you essential insights and conversations on the stories shaping the Asia Pacific region - an economic powerhouse, geo-political flashpoint and the birthplace of global cultural trends.

Asian perspectives on international issues and in-depth analysis on news from a region that’s home to nearly 2.5 billion people. Whether it is the latest on trade between China and Donald Trump, the rise and fall of political dynasties in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, or South Korea’s K-pop inspired soft power strategy - we unpack what key players are thinking and dive into the stories that matter. Hosted in Singapore by Mariko Oi alongside BBC experts in Beijing, Bangkok, and beyond – listen to new episodes twice a week. Episodes of Asia Specific are also available on YouTube here: https://bit.ly/4iJyeVt

Get in touch: asiaspecific@bbc.co.uk

What made flooding in Indonesia and South East Asia so deadly and how to prevent a repeat of it? With close to a thousand people killed across the region, South East Asia’s late-2025 wet weather events were particularly devastating. And scientists say climate change is shaping weather patterns in a way that will likely make future rain and flooding events worse. With a relatively high number of densely populated sinking cities, the region is one of the most flood-prone parts of the world, but there’s no shortage of bold ideas that could offset the problem in the future. Asia Specific host Mariko Oi is joined by the presenters of the BBC Climate Question podcast Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar.

Asia Specific brings you essential insights and conversations on the stories shaping the Asia Pacific region - an economic powerhouse, geo-political flashpoint and the birthplace of global cultural trends. Asian perspectives on international issues and in-depth analysis on news from a region that’s home to nearly 2.5 billion people. Whether it is the latest on trade between China and Donald Trump, the rise and fall of political dynasties in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, or South Korea’s K-pop inspired soft power strategy - we unpack what key players are thinking and dive into the stories that matter. Hosted in Singapore by Mariko Oi alongside BBC experts in Beijing, Bangkok, and beyond – listen to new episodes twice a week. Episodes of Asia Specific are also available on YouTube here: https://bit.ly/4iJyeVt

Get in touch: asiaspecific@bbc.co.uk

President Trump seeks to intervene again as Thailand and Cambodia conflict intensifies. As hundreds of thousands are displaced, we bring you a special episode on why the deadly border dispute has re-ignited, shattering a peace accord signed in October.

Asia Specific host Mariko Oi unpacks why the peace deal unravelled so quickly, with reporting at the border from BBC South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head plus analysis from Senior Journalist Panisa Aemocha in Bangkok.

This episode was recorded at 0300 GMT on Thursday, December 11.

Asia Specific brings you essential insights and conversations on the stories shaping the Asia Pacific region - an economic powerhouse, geo-political flashpoint and the birthplace of global cultural trends. Asian perspectives on international issues and in-depth analysis on news from a region that’s home to nearly 2.5 billion people. Whether it is the latest on trade between China and Donald Trump, the rise and fall of political dynasties in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, or South Korea’s K-pop inspired soft power strategy - we unpack what key players are thinking and dive into the stories that matter. Hosted in Singapore by Mariko Oi alongside BBC experts in Beijing, Bangkok, and beyond – listen to new episodes twice a week. Episodes of Asia Specific are also available on YouTube here: https://bit.ly/4iJyeVt

Get in touch: asiaspecific@bbc.co.uk

Has an American leader who cut aid and imposed tariffs changed US ties with Asia forever? Or will it be business as usual with the region once the Trump era is over? Except for China, most Asian countries have been at pains to placate President Trump with offerings of crowns, gold golf clubs, and even a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Does the special treatment suggest a region seeking to get closer to America under Donald Trump’s leadership? Or is the rest of Asia edging away from US influence towards the world’s other superpower - China? Asia Specific host Mariko Oi is joined by the BBC’s China correspondent Laura Bicker and the BBC’s South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head.

Asia Specific brings you essential insights and conversations on the stories shaping the Asia Pacific region - an economic powerhouse, geo-political flashpoint and the birthplace of global cultural trends. Asian perspectives on international issues and in-depth analysis on news from a region that’s home to nearly 2.5 billion people. Whether it is the latest on trade between China and Donald Trump, the rise and fall of political dynasties in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, or South Korea’s K-pop inspired soft power strategy - we unpack what key players are thinking and dive into the stories that matter. Hosted in Singapore by Mariko Oi alongside BBC experts in Beijing, Bangkok, and beyond – listen to new episodes twice a week. Episodes of Asia Specific are also available on YouTube here: https://bit.ly/4iJyeVt Get in touch: asiaspecific@bbc.co.uk

As Australia moves to restrict children under 16 from accessing social media, several Asian countries are signalling they may follow suit. Malaysia’s government plans to stop under-16s from creating social media accounts, while Indonesia has also expressed interest in adopting a similar policy. But does banning teenagers really address online harms, or does it raise new questions about enforcement, digital rights, and growing up online?

Asia Specific host Mariko Oi is joined by BBC Australia correspondent Katy Watson and Indonesian influencer Indah G to look at what’s driving these proposed bans, how young people might respond, and whether regulation - rather than education - is the right answer for the region.

Asia Specific brings you essential insights and conversations on the stories shaping the Asia Pacific region - an economic powerhouse, geo-political flashpoint and the birthplace of global cultural trends. Asian perspectives on international issues and in-depth analysis on news from a region that’s home to nearly 2.5 billion people. Whether it is the latest on trade between China and Donald Trump, the rise and fall of political dynasties in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, or South Korea’s K-pop inspired soft power strategy - we unpack what key players are thinking and dive into the stories that matter. Hosted in Singapore by Mariko Oi alongside BBC experts in Beijing, Bangkok, and beyond – listen to new episodes twice a week. Episodes of Asia Specific are also available on YouTube here: https://bit.ly/4iJyeVt Get in touch: asiaspecific@bbc.co.uk