Uncovering the world's mightiest (and tiniest) narco-state

EPISODE 1953: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Patrick Winn, author of NARCOTOPIA, about a south-east Asian nation the size of Belgium which controls the region's $60 billion meth trade.Patrick Winn is an award-winning investigative journalist. He mostly covers rebellion and black markets in Southeast Asia. Winn is the author of two narrative non-fiction books:Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel that Survived the CIA (PublicAffairs / Icon Books) & Hello, Shadowlands: Inside the Meth Fiefdoms, Rebel Hideouts and Bomb-Scarred Party Towns of Southeast Asia (Icon Books). Winn is currently the Asia correspondent for The World, a radio program broadcast on more than 300 NPR stations across America. His writing and short documentaries have appeared in or on The New York Times, NBC News, the BBC, The Atlantic, NPR and many other outlets. He has received the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award (also known as the ‘poor man’s Pulitzer’) and a National Press Club award. He’s also a three-time winner of Amnesty International’s Human Rights Press Awards among other prizes. Winn has appeared on screen as an expert source on two documentaries.Narco Wars (National Geographic, broadcast on Hulu), Season Three, Episode Two: “Prince of Death” & The Business of Drugs (Netflix), the “Meth” episode. Winn was an associate producer on Hope Frozen, a Netflix original documentary, and a field producer for the debut Myanmar episode of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Both won Emmys. Winn was raised in Eden, a dwindling North Carolina factory town that once manufactured carpets and beer. He graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2003 with a journalism degree. His early reportage explored economic decay in the American south and crime within the US military. Since 2008, Winn has lived in Bangkok and reported on Southeast Asia. He reads and speaks Thai — and occasionally sings it, badly, in upcountry karaoke joints.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe