The Tea Leaves Podcast
by The Asia Group
The Asia Group's Rexon Ryu and Tiffany Ma break down the Indo-Pacific through revealing interviews with policymakers, business leaders, journalists, and artists from the world's most dynamic and consequential region. Previous guests include Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA), and Washington Post Asia editor Ana Fifield.
Episodes
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IPDI Spotlight: Reimagining the Allied Maritime Industrial Base
In this Indo-Pacific Defense Incubator (IPDI) Spotlight episode of Tea Leaves, Kelly Magsamen and Chris Johnstone sit down with Admiral (Ret.) John Richardson and Admiral (Ret.) James Foggo to explore the urgent challenges and opportunities facing the allied maritime industrial base. From China's...
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IPDI Spotlight: Accelerating Allied Innovation Through AUKUS Pillar II
In this episode of Tea Leaves, Kelly Magsamen, Senior Advisor at The Asia Group, sits down with Abe Denmark, TAG Partner and former Senior AUKUS Advisor to the Secretary of Defense, to unpack the strategic significance of AUKUS Pillar II. They explore how the U.S., U.K., and Australia can...
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Building the Indo-Pacific’s Defense Future: Innovation, Industry, and Alliances with Kelly Magsamen
In this episode of Tea Leaves, Rexon and Mira sit down with Kelly Magsamen, former Chief of Staff to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and newly appointed Senior Advisor at The Asia Group, to introduce the Indo-Pacific Defense Incubator (IPDI). Drawing on her decades of experience in the…
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Dr. Kurt Campbell Returns to Tea Leaves to Discuss The China Challenge: Industrial Scale and Allied Strategy
In this episode of Tea Leaves, TAG Chairman Dr. Kurt Campbell joins the show to discuss his recent Foreign Affairs article, “Underestimating China,” and outlines why the United States must shift its strategic approach to remain competitive. In his conversation with Rexon Ryu, Dr. Mira…
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Tariff Shockwaves: The New Era of U.S.-China Economic Competition
In this episode of Tea Leaves, Rexon Ryu and Tiffany Ma are joined by Dr. Mira Rapp-Hooper, head of The Asia Group’s Geopolitics Practice, and Dr. Evan Medeiros to assess where things stand nearly two weeks after April 2’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement. They unpack the escalation from...
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Tariffs, Technology, and Transactionalism - U.S. Policy in Asia Under Trump
In this episode of the Tea Leaves Podcast, Rexon Ryu and Tiffany Ma are joined by Ambassador Kurt Tong to explore the Indo-Pacific's response to the re-election of Donald Trump. Ambassador Tong provides valuable insights into how regional leaders and businesses are bracing for potential shifts in...
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China Outlook: Evan Medeiros on the China’s Complex, Competitive Relations with the U.S. and EU
In this episode of Tea Leaves, TAG President Rexon Ryu and Dr. Evan Medeiros explore the expanding scope of US-China and EU-China competition in the spheres of security, economics, technology, and governance. They discuss recent bilateral meetings, emerging tariff policies, China's military...
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Sharon Burke on Environmental Security and the Energy Transition
Sharon Burke is the Founder and President of Ecospherics, an environmental research and advisory firm based in Washington, D.C. She most recently served as the lead on climate change, energy, and environment for the Biden-Harris Transition Team. She previously served as the first Assistant...
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Jennifer Welch on the Taiwan Election and Cross-Strait Dynamics
Jennifer Welch is the Chief Geoeconomics Analyst at Bloomberg. She most recently served as Director for China and Taiwan on the U.S. National Security Council and as Special Advisor for Asia and the Pacific in the offices of Vice President Kamala Harris and former Vice President Mike Pence....
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Debbie Yong on Indo-Pacific Consumer Trends and Food Culture
Debbie Yong is a Senior Strategist focusing on the Asia-Pacific region at WGSN, a consumer-trend forecasting company. She previously worked as the Editorial Director of the Michelin Guide in Asia and the Middle East, a China media analyst for BBC Monitoring, and a reporter for the Straits Times…
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Arthur Sinodinos on Prime Minister Albanese's Washington Visit
The Hon. Arthur Sinodinos AO is Partner and Chair of The Asia Group's Australia Practice. He most recently served as Australia's Ambassador to the United States, where he was closely involved in negotiations related to AUKUS, the Quad, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Amb. Sinodinos...
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Adm. Phil Davidson on Indo-Pacific Security Dynamics
Phil Davidson is a retired four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy who last served as the 25th Commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM). He served in the Navy for almost 40 years until his retirement in 2021. Before becoming the Commander of INDOPACOM, he was the commander of U.S....
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Mitsuru Claire Chino on Law and Business in Asia
Mitsuru Claire Chino is the Managing Executive Officer of ITOCHU Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. She was previously president and CEO of ITOCHU International, the company’s New York-based North America-focused subsidiary. In 2013, she became the first female...
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Anand Shah on India's Impactful G20
Anand Shah is a Partner at The Asia Group, which he joined in 2022 as part of the firm’s acquisition of Dhamiri, a venture that he founded to help corporations align their core businesses with public good in critical international markets. He previously led the development of strategic…
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Chat Chuenrudeemol on "Bangkok Bastards" and Finding Beauty in Everyday Architecture
Chatpong "Chat" Chuenrudeemol is the Principal and Founder of CHAT Architects, a Bangkok-based research and design practice, as well as CHAT Lab, a think tank that aims to discover new Thai vernacular typologies. In 2020, Chat received the Silpathorn award from Thailand’s Ministry of Culture –…
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Kathy Matsui on Japan's Growing Workforce Diversity
Kathy Matsui is a General Partner of MPower Partners, Japan’s first ESG-focused global venture capital fund. She is also an external board director at Fast Retailing, at adjunct professor at Kyoto University Graduate School of Management, and an advisory board member at the University of Tokyo.…
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Anand Shah on India as a Global Economic Superpower
Anand Shah is a Partner at The Asia Group, which he joined in 2022 as part of the firm’s acquisition of Dhamiri, a venture that he founded to help corporations align their core businesses with public good in critical international markets. He previously led the development of strategic…
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Chris Johnstone on Japan’s Growing Security Leadership
Chris Johnstone is a senior advisor at The Asia Group and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Prior to joining CSIS, he served in government for 25 years in a variety of senior positions with a focus on U.S. policy toward Japan and the Indo-Pacific region. He...
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Arthur Sinodinos: The Future of U.S-Australian Relations With Canberra's Most Recent Man in D.C.
The Hon. Arthur Sinodinos AO is Partner and Chair of The Asia Group's Australia Practice. He most recently served as Australian Ambassador to the United States, where he was closely involved in Australia’s negotiations related to AUKUS, the Quad, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.…
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Valerie Rozman: From Cajun to Asian Cuisine
Valerie Rozman recently joined The Asia Group as Director of Research and Analytics and as a Principal, co-leading the Southeast Asia practice. She served in the U.S. government for nearly two decades, primarily in the intelligence community. She was inducted into the CIA’s Senior Analytic…
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Wendy Cutler on the Future of Trade in the Indo-Pacific
Wendy Cutler is Vice President at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and the managing director of the Washington, D.C. office. She joined ASPI after nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she served as Acting Deputy…
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Author Charles Dunst on Strengthening Democracy
Charles Dunst is the deputy director of research and analytics at The Asia Group and an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. A former foreign correspondent, he has reported from countries including Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Israel and the Palestinian…
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Best-Selling Author Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai on Vietnamese Literature
Dr. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is an award-winning Vietnamese writer. She is the author of eleven books of poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction. Her books in Vietnamese have won the 2010 Poetry of the Year Award from the Hanoi Writers Association and first prize in the Poetry Competition celebrating...
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Dr. Evan Medeiros on the Balloon Incident and the State of U.S.-China Relations
On this episode of the Tea Leaves Podcast, Dr. Evan S. Medeiros provided his unique insight into the state of U.S.-China relations following the Chinese surveillance balloon incident, why the incident matters, and the outlook for re-engagement. Dr. Medeiros and Rexon also explored how China’s...
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Ashok Malik on India’s Economic and Strategic Outlook
Ashok Malik is a Partner at The Asia Group and Chair of its New Delhi-based subsidiary in India where he leads the firm’s in-market business strategy and services. Prior to joining the firm, Ashok served for three years (2019-22) as Policy Advisor/Additional Secretary in India’s Ministry of...
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Former USINDOPACOM Commander Adm. Philip S. Davidson Examines Taiwan’s Deterrence Capabilities
Admiral Philip S. Davidson served as the 25th Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command from 2018 to 2021. Before leading USINDOPACOM, Admiral Davidson held U.S. Navy leadership roles in North America, Europe, and Africa, and served ashore in multiple policy, strategy, and operations roles…
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Hon. Kevin Rudd Details a Strategic Framework to Protect U.S.-China Stability
Hon. Kevin Rudd served as Australia’s 26th Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010 and again in 2013, and as its Foreign Minister from 2010 to 2012. Today, Kevin is global President and CEO of the Asia Society in New York, and President of the Asia Society Policy Institute. On this episode we discussed...
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Dr. Amy Searight on the Issues Driving the 2022 U.S.-ASEAN Summit
Dr. Amy Searight is a leading U.S. expert on Southeast Asia and U.S. policy in the Indo-Pacific region. Dr. Searight served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia from 2014 to 2016, before which she served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, USAID, and on the...
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Ashley J. Tellis, Part 2: Opportunities for U.S.-India Cooperation on Trade, Technology, and Security
In part two of our conversation with Ashley J. Tellis, we discussed opportunities for the United States and India to expand their relationship through greater cooperation on trade, technology, and security. We also discussed India's views on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, the outlook for a...
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Ashley J. Tellis, Part 1: Explaining India-Russia Relations Amid the Ukraine War
Ashley J. Tellis holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Previously, he served on the National Security Council (NSC) as special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for strategic planning and...
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Amb. Joseph Yun on South Korean Foreign Policy and President-Elect Yoon
On this episode, Ambassador Joseph Yun joined us for a deep dive on South Korean President-Elect Yoon Suk-yeol's victory and how the Yoon administration will shape Seoul's foreign policy. We discussed South Korea's relations with the United States, North Korea, and Japan, as well as potential...
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Amb. Ted Osius on Shaping U.S. Economic Diplomacy in ASEAN
On this episode of The Tea Leaves Podcast, we sat down with Ambassador Ted Osius, the President and CEO of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council and former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam (2014-2017). Ted highlighted his experience promoting the Trans-Pacific Partnership as the top U.S. diplomat in Hanoi…
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Dr. Thomas Wright on the Russia-Ukraine Crisis and World Order After COVID-19
Dr. Thomas Wright is the director of the Center on the United States and Europe and a senior fellow in the Project on International Order and Strategy at the Brookings Institution. Tom is also a contributing writer for The Atlantic magazine, and last year published Aftershocks: Pandemic Politics...
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Welcome.US CEO Nazanin Ash on Welcoming Afghan Refugees
Nazanin Ash is the CEO of Welcome.US, a non-profit, non-partisan initiative that seeks to rally additional support and resources from the American private sector, NGOs, and community groups in support of arriving Afghans. The initiative was launched in September 2021, and has partnered with the...
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Congressman Ami Bera on “Strategic Deterrence” and Congress’ Role in U.S. Indo-Pacific Policy
Congressman Ami Bera has represented California’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013, and he serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation for the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Before entering politics,...
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AwanTunai Founder Dino Setiawan on Redefining Indonesian Fintech
This special episode, presented by the Asia Group in partnership with Bloomberg, highlights the InFinity Forum, a new flagship conference hosted by the Government of India and Bloomberg. Our guest for this episode is Dino Setiawan, chief executive officer and co-founder of AwanTunai, and an…
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Representative Bi-khim Hsiao on Taiwan’s Overseas Engagement and Economic Ties
Representative Bi-khim Hsiao leads the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Washington, DC, serving as Taiwan’s top representative in the United States since July 2020. Before entering her current role, Representative Hsiao was Senior Adviser to Taiwanese President Tsai...
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Peter Borup on the Supply Chain Crisis and the Global Shipping Industry
Peter Borup is a seasoned shipping executive with nearly three decades of experience across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Peter began his career with A.P. Moller Maersk in Copenhagen, and helped to build the company’s businesses in South Korea and China. Most recently, Peter was the CEO of...
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John Brennan on U.S. Partnerships and Intelligence in the Indo-Pacific Region
Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan led the CIA from 2013 to 2017, following four years as assistant to President Obama for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. A key decision-maker on many of the country’s most critical national security matters, Mr. Brennan played…
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Dr. Michael J. Green on the Quad Summit and Suga’s Successor
Dr. Michael J. Green is senior vice president for Asia and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and director of Asian Studies at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Previously, Dr. Green served on the National Security…
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Shweta Rajpal Kohli of Sequoia India on Bridging Innovation and Regulation
Shweta Rajpal Kohli is Chief Public Policy Officer, Sequoia India and Southeast Asia. She advises the fund’s Indian and Southeast Asian portfolio companies on regulatory risks and engages policymakers on matters related to India’s startup ecosystem. Prior to joining Sequoia, Shweta was the head…
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How PichaEats Empowers Kuala Lumpur’s Refugee Community Through Food
PichaEats is a Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based social enterprise in the food industry, focused on supporting the city’s large refugee community. PichaEats partners with refugee chefs to cook and package meals based on the chefs’ personal recipes, and sells and delivers those meals to individuals and...
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Anna Fifield on What Drives Kim Jong-un
Anna Fifield was Beijing bureau chief for The Washington Post from 2018 to 2020, before which she covered the Korean Peninsula and Japan as the Post’s Tokyo bureau chief from 2014 to 2018. Anna is the author of The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un…
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Dr. Evan Medeiros on Biden’s China Strategy
Dr. Evan S. Medeiros is Penner Family Chair in Asian Studies at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and a Senior Advisor at The Asia Group. Dr. Medeiros served on the National Security Council for six years under U.S. President Barack Obama, first as Director for China, Taiwan…
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NBA Asia Chief Scott Levy on Sports Culture in Asia and the Outlook for the Tokyo Olympics
Scott Levy is Managing Director of NBA Asia, where he oversees development and expansion of the National Basketball Association’s strategic initiatives across the Indo-Pacific region – excluding China. With the Tokyo Olympics opening later this month, Scott spoke with Tea Leaves about sports and...
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Journalist Natasha Khan on the Hong Kong Protests and the City’s Future
Natasha Khan is a Hong Kong-based reporter at The Wall Street Journal, where she has covered major stories including Hong Kong’s popular protest movement, the emergence of COVID-19 and the city’s response, and major changes to Hong Kong’s political system. On this episode of Tea Leaves, Rexon and...
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Ashley J. Tellis on India’s Battle Against COVID-19 and the Outlook for U.S.-India Relations
Ashley J. Tellis holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Previously, he served on the National Security Council (NSC) as special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for strategic planning and...
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Ambassador Nina Hachigian on the Role of Cities in Foreign Policy
Ambassador Nina Hachigian is Deputy Mayor for International Affairs for the City of Los Angeles and previously served as U.S. Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from 2014 to 2017. On this episode, Rexon and Shery spoke with Nina about how cities shape international...
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Admiral Harry Harris on South Korea and U.S. Strategy in the Indo-Pacific
Admiral Harry Harris served as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea from 2018 to 2021, before which he was a four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy, commanding the U.S. Pacific Fleet and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). Admiral Harris was also the first American of Japanese descent to lead...
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Introducing Tea Leaves 2.0: A Conversation with Rexon Ryu and Shery Ahn
Tea Leaves welcomes our listeners back with two new co-hosts: Rexon Ryu, Managing Partner at The Asia Group, and Shery Ahn, an anchor at Bloomberg Television’s “Daybreak Asia” and “Daybreak Australia.” In this latest iteration of the Tea Leaves Podcast, Rexon and Shery share their personal…
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About this show
The Asia Group's Rexon Ryu and Tiffany Ma break down the Indo-Pacific through revealing interviews with policymakers, business leaders, journalists, and artists from the world's most dynamic and consequential region. Previous guests include Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA), and Washington Post Asia editor Ana Fifield.
Hosted by
The Asia Group