In the Shadows of Utopia: The Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian Nightmare Podcast By Lachlan Peters cover art

In the Shadows of Utopia: The Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian Nightmare

In the Shadows of Utopia: The Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian Nightmare

By: Lachlan Peters
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 A comprehensive, long-form history podcast about Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge and the Pol Pot Regime. Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary True Crime World
Episodes
  • S1 Ep1: An Introduction to the Khmer Rouge, the Killing Fields and the 'Cambodian Genocide'

    S1 Ep1: An Introduction to the Khmer Rouge, the Killing Fields and the 'Cambodian Genocide'
    Jan 28 2018
    How would you react to being forced out of your home at gunpoint, ordered to leave all of your belongings behind, and instructed to walk for days, weeks and months, to an unknown fate in the countryside?

    And that is just the beginning of the nightmare.
    ​
    The first episode of the series is intended to be a very basic introduction to the the complex set of circumstances that Cambodia faced midway through the 1970s.

    ​The conquest of Cambodia by the Communist Party of Kampuchea, known to the world as the Khmer Rouge, would usher in one of the most destructive and murderous regimes of the 20th century. This limited series is an attempt to provide a detailed narrative history of Cambodia, with a focus on explaining the rise of the Khmer Rouge and the reasons why their utopian visions ended with more than one quarter of the population dying in just under four years. More than two million Cambodians, as well as various ethnic minorities, will perish at the hands of their own government. Explaining this story requires time, research and explanation of historical forces in Cambodia as well as the wider world. Not just dates, numbers and names.

    Join Lachlan Peters, a long-time student of Cambodian history as he shares the story of one of the most fascinating countries in the world, and the long path toward its darkest period.


    Sources
    Pin Yathay Stay Alive My Son
    David Chandler A History of Cambodia and Voices From S-21
    Philip Short Pol Pot: History of a Nightmare
    Roland Neveu The Fall of Phnom Penh
    Elizabeth Becker When the War Was Over
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    53 mins
  • S1 Ep2: The Rise and Fall of the Khmer Empire - Part One

    S1 Ep2: The Rise and Fall of the Khmer Empire - Part One
    Apr 19 2018
    How did the Khmer civilisation begin? How were they able to prosper to the point of building the megacity of Angkor?

    Time period covered: 2000 BC – 900 AD

    In this episode, Lachlan seeks to explain the early processes that developed amongst the Khmer civilisation in and around the region that would eventually become Cambodia. This involves an explanation of the different cultural influences from India and China that would see a kind of hybridised people come to prominence on the Indochinese mainland. The story of early Funan and Chenla, as well as the development of the ‘Devaraja cult’; a system where a universal monarch is regarded as a kind of incarnation of a deity is discussed as well as the establishment of the early cities which will become the seat of the vast Khmer Empire. The ingenious methods of water management that will support the kinds of society and architecture the civilisation is famous for is also explained.

    The episode ends at the reign of Yasovarman and the construction of Phnom Bakheng and the vast baray, in the era just before the ‘peak’ of the civilisation.

    Sources
    David Chandler A History of Cambodia

    Extra Media
    https://www.shadowsofutopia.com/show-content.html
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    46 mins
  • S1 Ep3: The Rise and Fall of the Khmer Empire - Part Two

    S1 Ep3: The Rise and Fall of the Khmer Empire - Part Two
    Jul 18 2018
    How did the largest city in the pre-industrial world function? What was Khmer society like during the ‘golden age’ of Angkor? How did this civilisation falter and fade?

    Time period covered: 1100 - 1431

    Lachlan begins this episode with a discussion of one of the most impressive and famous examples of Khmer architecture; Angkor Wat. The details of this building, and what it meant for the civilisation that could build it, is explained. We also learn about the life and times of Jayavarman VII, widely recognised as the ‘greatest’ of the Devaraja who lead the Khmer to conquer the greatest extent of territory and build some of its most iconic temples.

    Zhou Daguan, a Chinese diplomat who visited the region, is discussed as he gives a rare insight into the lives and culture of the Khmer at Angkor somewhere near it's peak. But changes would soon follow. But rather than using words like 'collapse', 'decline' or 'fall' to describe this period of Khmer civilisation, it may be more accurate to term this process as the 'transformation' of a society. The reasons for this transformation, ranging from climate change to religion are discussed.

    Sources
    David Chandler A History of Cambodia
    Zhou Daguan The Customs of Cambodia
    BBC, ‘Jungle Atlantis: Angkor Wat’s Hidden Megacity’ 2014
    Virtual Angkor Project https://www.virtualangkor.com

    Extra Media
    https://www.shadowsofutopia.com/show-content.html

    Jungle Atlantis on Vimeo https://vimeo.com/123320994 
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    57 mins
All stars
Most relevant  
Tons of information about Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge, including how pre-revolutionary Cambodia and world history contributed to the eventual tragedy. Thank you!

Outstanding

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Where to start? In the Shadows of Utopia is stunningly good. It feels like this podcast was created as a cosmic gift to me. For more than half my life I have pursued an amateur interest in twentieth-century Cambodian history, learning the language, reading books, visiting places, meeting people, trying to wrap my head around what happened, how, and why. And then I found this amazing podcast. This podcast is the single greatest synthesis of modern Cambodian history available. It pulls together a lot of threads into a coherent narrative that is extremely compelling, that helps to contextualize, to picture, to imagine, and to understand all the events of that history in a way that no other resource ever has. And all without skimping on details. (My one, teensy critique is that Khmer names and words are delivered oddly sometimes. But that is a minor and personal quibble, maybe even an endearing quirk, compared to the absolute wealth of content that is In the Shadows of Utopia.)

I personally place a very high value on the ability to explain something complex in a way that makes it accessible and understandable. I believe that almost any complex subject, given the right talented individual, can be explained in a way that opens it up and makes it accessible to other people. This involves not just explaining or telling information, but painting mental pictures. For history in particular, it includes helping someone to imagine a scenario in real life and to unlock an understanding of that event as a believable real-world happening, not just a constellation of cold facts, through that imagining. (For me, that also means a passion for nitty-gritty contextual details, and using them to bring events to life and ground them in the actual world.) And it includes the use of great examples and great metaphors to unfold and illuminate. Lachlan Peters is a master at all of this, and pushes all of the right buttons. It is these talents, combined with his obvious, palpable passion for the topic itself, that makes his podcast so effective in unlocking this topic so deftly, and so compelling to listen to. (Also, the theme music is awesome and enhances the production.)

What an absolute treasure. I rejoice at the existence of this podcast, and my fortune in having discovered it. I can barely wait for more episodes.

An absolute masterpiece of popular history

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This is one of best historical storytelling podcast series ever. As a student of Cambodian history I really appreciate the author’s ability to set and put the listener in the situation and flesh out context of what is happening around characters and events and what is happening to the characters and events. I felt I was time traveling and was with these accounts of historical figures at that time. The amount of historical details is breathtaking and incredible! Im looking forward to season 2. Great job!

Incredibly storytelling

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A well thought out and responsible account of history that lead to one of humanities greatest follies. Worth the listen. One point of critique; The narrator had stated there is a finite amount of wealth and resources. Material resources can be finite, but by no means is wealth zero sum. That is a large economic misconception which leads to many poor ideas, including communism, that those who have more than others do so at the cost of others having less. When the truth is that wealth can be created, not just transferred. An excellent reference to this is in Steven Pinker’s book: Enlightenment Now. Keep in mind I also question a lit of ideas from this book, but great points are made.

Thank you for creating this :)

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After visiting Cambodia a few years ago, I stumbled across this podcast to learn more about the history of Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge. After the first episode, I was hooked. The history and storytelling is fabulous and I anxiously await the release of each new episode. Thank you for all the effort, research and passion put into this oral history of Cambodia.

Outstanding history brought to life by fabulous storytelling

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Peters is the epitome of the historical story teller. Though he admits to not being a professional historian, you wouldn’t otherwise know it based on his astute organizational skills of complicated history that can be confusing. The history of the Khmer Rouge and Cambodia is not a history that needs to be embellished and is fascinating on its own, which is why Peters’s skills as a storyteller stand out so much. Many professional and amateur historians strive to break apart historical events into digestible chunks that keep consumers interested and often fall short, but not Peters. His podcast is not only hooks the listeners in, but is incredibly accurate and true to the history of Cambodians. His podcasts, while thorough, sorts complex ideologies and chronology in ways that make history accessible to more people. This is a wonderful podcast that focuses on often misunderstood or untold stories that must be told. 10/10 will recommend to others. Great job, Mr. Peters.

Intriguing story-sublime storytelling

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Absolutely fantastic podcast. Well researched and a host with credentials to talk about this stuff.

Incredible

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This is a breathtakingly good explanation of the Khmer Rouge and indeed the history of Indochina. Chock full with several jaw-dropping revelations. History comes vividly alive here.

Spectacular history well told

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A complex history spanning centuries told in an engaging, informative and enlightening way. I would have loved to have had this as a companion while I was traveling in Cambodia.

So informative

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The only downside was that it could have used more citations since this is a subject where people are going to want to change history and more citations will give the listener a chance to verify.
I must say that the deep historical story of the region and the people gave much more insight to the whole story than I would have thought. compared to the gulag archipelago (about Russia) this series gave a lot more history and a lot less detailed description of the horrors although there was plenty of that.

The complete context the Khmer Rouge

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