Absence of US Policy in Asia Causing Dismay, TurmoilTop of Mind with Julie Rose • Season 1, Episode 603, Segment 1
Jul 26, 2017 • 23m
Guest: L. Gordon Flake, CEO of the Perth USAsia Center, University of Western Australia North Korea’s escalating threat of nuclear war is at the top of the list. But head across the South China Sea to the Philippines and violent attacks by terrorists linked to ISIS have caused President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law on an island of 22 million people. And to the Northeast in Myanmar, also known as Burma, human rights groups say a Muslim minority known as the Rohingya are being systematically tortured, killed and forced to flee their homes. Myanmar has blocked UN investigators from visiting the region.  Meanwhile, American policy in Asia is absent, and China is stepping in to fill the void.

How to Save the World's Ugly AnimalsJul 26, 201717mGuest: Diogo Verissimo, Conversation Research Fellow, Johns Hopkins University When you donate to the World Wildlife Fund, you can get a tote bag with an unbelievably cute and cuddly Giant panda on it. You can even get a stuffed Panda to cuddle. Would you be as keen to donate if that tote had a blobfish on it? I mean, the gelatinous pink blobby fish with a big nose and grumpy frown is so ugly I dare you to look at a picture of it and not cringe.  But the blobfish is endangered, just like the Giant panda. Ugly creatures deserve saving, too, right? But how to get people to donate for them is the question. Conservation research fellow Diogo Verissimo at Johns Hopkins University is convinced the answer is marketing. Maybe the blobfish or the purple frog – seriously, look that one up, it’s hideous – just need some spiffy spin to get donors in their corner.
Guest: Diogo Verissimo, Conversation Research Fellow, Johns Hopkins University When you donate to the World Wildlife Fund, you can get a tote bag with an unbelievably cute and cuddly Giant panda on it. You can even get a stuffed Panda to cuddle. Would you be as keen to donate if that tote had a blobfish on it? I mean, the gelatinous pink blobby fish with a big nose and grumpy frown is so ugly I dare you to look at a picture of it and not cringe.  But the blobfish is endangered, just like the Giant panda. Ugly creatures deserve saving, too, right? But how to get people to donate for them is the question. Conservation research fellow Diogo Verissimo at Johns Hopkins University is convinced the answer is marketing. Maybe the blobfish or the purple frog – seriously, look that one up, it’s hideous – just need some spiffy spin to get donors in their corner.