A current affairs podcast on Taiwan and the world. Every episode, we invite a journalist to a conversation with an expert to get the big picture context of what we need to know. These are global issues, and this is The Taiwan Take. Nominated for Best News Podcast at 2020 Excellent Journalism Award in Taiwan. Produced by Ghost Island Media in Taipei, Taiwan. 2020年台灣卓越新聞獎 Podcast 新聞獎入圍者．這是一個專門討論臺灣時事的訪談性英文節目， 以「縱觀世界議題，以臺灣觀點論述」為主軸，由記者採訪跨領域專家、名人與來賓等，第一手將臺灣的故事推向國際． 鬼島之音製作播出．
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61. Starting June 30, 2026: Disability Care Eligibility for Taiwan’s Foreign Professionals (permanent residents and dependents)
On June 30, 2026, legal amendments come into effect in Taiwan that will open disability certification to permanent residents (APRC holders) with 10+ years of total residency in Taiwan as foreign professionals. The changes will allow disabled individuals from this group to opt into disability benefits and care. Our guest is David Chang, Founder and Secretary-General of Crossroads , a non-profit…
60. Journalist Tim Culpan on Computex and what’s next for Taiwan’s A.I. boom (Culpium)
90% of the world's AI hardware is manufactured in Taiwan; 90% of the world's most advanced semiconductor chips (they power AI) is made in Taiwan. This gives us a sense of why AI is an industrial priority for Taiwan. Computex (June 2-5) is Taiwan's flagship industry trade show. (Begun in 1986, it's one of the world's oldest and largest computer trade shows.) Our guest today is technology columnist…
59. Asia Pacific is one of the most dangerous regions for journalists: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
World Press Freedom Index is an annual report released by the international non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on the status of press freedom in 180 countries. Its 2026 report, released on April 30, found that press freedom around the world is at a 25-year low. Our guest today is Aleksandra Bielakowska, Advocacy Manager of RSF's Asia-Pacific bureau and President of the…
58. Taiwan-Europe Relations 2026: Matej Šimalčík (CEIAS)
Matej imalč k is the Executive Director of CEIAS (Central European Institute of Asian Studies), a think tank that focuses on foreign and security policy issues related to East Asia. Its new report "Partners in need, partners indeed? Tracking Europe-Taiwan relations amidst global disruption" is an updated overview of Taiwan's relations with 30 European countries. imalč k's research looks at China's…
57. “Zero Day Attack”: a TV show on Chinese invasion of Taiwan
We speak to Hsin-mei CHENG , producer of the 2025 television series " Zero Day Attack" (零日攻擊) - a 10-episode drama that imagines Taiwanese internal divide and cohesion after the Chinese PLA have launched an invasion of Taiwan. She speaks about her experience developing the show and the challenges of censorship and self-censorship in the creative industries in Taiwan. Hsin-Mei CHENG (鄭心媚) is an…
56. The Great Recall of 2025: Nathan Batto “Frozen Garlic” (Academia Sinica)
On July 26th, a third of Taiwan will vote on recall referendums (大罷免) for 24 legislators throughout Taiwan. Our guest is Nathan F. Batto, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica. Taiwan watchers also know him as the writer of Frozen Garlic wordpress on Taiwanese elections. We discuss how we got here: the KMT/TPP coalition in the legislature, the…
55. How China's reshaping the global cybersecurity and digital norms (Article 19)
Michael Caster (Head of Global China Programme) and I-Chen Liu (Asia Programme Officer) are researchers from the international non-profit organization ARTICLE 19, whose report " Cybersecurity with Chinese Characteristics " (2025) outlines PRC's influence over cybersecurity norms in 3 Indo-Pacific countries: Indonesia, Pakistan, and Vietnam; and with a Taiwan alternative. The Digital Silk Road is…
54. On classical music and healing: Mimi Yu (cellist, author of “The Unforgetting Body”)
Mimi Yu (尤虹文) is the author of three memoirs, including the 2019 title "The Unforgetting Body" in which she details her recovery from depression. Yu is a cellist who has worked with musicians like Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Katz, and Robert Levin. She played cello while at The Juilliard School and has a B.A. in economics from Harvard University. Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Mimi Yu went to the…
53. Jimmy Lai is China's most feared critic: Mark L. Clifford (author of "The Troublemaker")
Jimmy Lai, the 77-year-old media tycoon of British citizenship, has been detained for over five years, mostly in isolation. He is one of over 1,500 political prisoners in Hong Kong. Today's interview contains a clip of a conversation between Jimmy Lai and Natan Sharansky from November 20, 2020, one month before Lai's arrest. Sharansky is a former Soviet dissident who spent nine years imprisoned as…
52. Borders, politics, and identity through nature writing: Jessica J. Lee (author of "Dispersals") (Live on April 11, 2025)
British-Canadian-Taiwanese writer Jessica J. Lee (李潔珂) is the author of three books of nature writing, Dispersals (2024), Two Trees Make a Forest (2019), and Turning (2017), the children's book A Garden Called Home (2024), and co-editor of the essay collection Dog Hearted (2023). She has a PhD in Environmental History and Aesthetics and is the founding editor of The Willowherb Review . She teaches…
