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

Available Episodes

5 of 50

S3 Ep10: Interview: The Super Great Leap Forward, Khmer Rouge Prison System and the Myths of Angkor with Henri Locard
This episode is a follow-up to the two-hour discussion I had with historian Henri Locard. The video of that full conversation is available for free on Patreon right here (or just go to https://www.patreon.com/shadowsofutopia) - no sign up required. Henri Locard is a prominent scholar of the Khmer Rouge, he testified as an expert witness at the ECCC, and has written extensively on the subject. Most notably Pol Pot's Little Red Book, a collection of the slogans used by the Khmer Rouge, and most recently, Jungle Heart of the Khmer Rouge, a biography of Phi Phuon, Pol Pot's Jarai bodyguard. He also has an upcoming book about the extent of the Khmer Rouge prison system that he is looking to find a publisher for. Unlike last time, in our 'discussion', the focus is tighter. I ask Henri four main questions, particularly the ones that we hadn't got to last time, and while he still drifts a little in his answers (as he does), this is a more concentrated exchange that digs deep into how he sees Cambodia’s past and present. We talk about the meaning of the “Super Great Leap Forward,” the myths of the so-called “hydraulic city” and how they shaped Khmer Rouge policy, the true extent of the regime’s prison system (which Henri argues was more than three times what the ECCC has documented), and finally, what he believes is the single best book written about the Khmer Rouge. Henri has a habit of challenging accepted ideas about Cambodian history, but not in the revisionist way of minimizing the regime’s crimes. He re-examines long-held assumptions, particularly about just how widespread the brutality of the Khmer Rouge was. What makes his perspective powerful is his deep, lived connection to the country, and his long study of how the Khmer Rouge prison network worked. And as you’ll hear, the conversation begins in one place, loops back around, and then veers in an unexpected direction by the end.
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S3 Ep9: Krang Ta Chan - Ta Mok's S21
Watch my full walk around and visit to this terrible site (for free!) at https://www.patreon.com/posts/visiting-s21-of-140518814 AGAIN. If you find yourself halfway through that 20 minute preamble, just click the bloody link and watch me investigate a site that no one ever sees. FOR FREE. NO SIGN UPS. JUST CLICK THE BLOODY LINK. Please excuse my indulgent preamble, and its emotion. But you can skip all that by just watching the video at the link above (again FOR FREE). I’ve just released a new video filmed at Krang Ta Chan, the main Khmer Rouge prison of the Southwest Zone. It’s a quiet place today. Rice fields, birds, a small museum. But during the 1970s it was one of the most active execution sites in Cambodia. Thousands of people were killed here under the authority of Ta Mok, the man who ruled this region with an iron grip. This video walks through the site as it looks now, using maps, archival material, and testimonies from the Khmer Rouge Tribunal to piece together how it worked, who was sent here, what life and death were like inside the compound, and what still remains today. It’s one of the most sobering things I’ve ever filmed. But I think it’s important to show these places as they are, to remember what happened, and to understand how people and landscapes still carry that memory.
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S3 Ep8: An Interview with An Ex-Khmer Rouge Doctor
This is an episode that could be listened to if you’d like, or if you’d prefer to watch it (without ads!) then head to https://patreon.com/shadowsofutopia and watch it for free, no sign ups, no obligations. It's a nice pleasant video, and just one click away. In this bonus episode, I sit down to go through and explain an interview I recently conducted with an ex-Khmer Rouge doctor, who we will refer to as ‘uncle’. He lived through the events that we have been covering so extensively in the last few episodes of the podcast, the start of the war, Sihanouk’s call for his people to join the resistance against Lon Nol, the Vietnamese communists fighting in Cambodia, and training to become a Khmer Rouge doctor in their primary hospital during the civil war - and then going on to be become a surgeon in Phnom Penh during the regime’s time in power. While he obviously has certain biases, and beliefs, about what the Khmer Rouge were, what went wrong, and why… This is still a fascinating piece of history to contend with. Hearing from the Khmer Rouge themselves about what they felt they were trying to accomplish, as well as his own thoughts about communism, and that he felt that nothing was going wrong in the country - until 1977. He did not blame Pol Pot, but, like many Khmer Rouge, he instead blamed ‘factions’, bad actors, saboteurs, and those who were colluding with the Vietnamese. We get a very one sided view of the story here, and I put it into context for you, and challenge the views that this Khmer Rouge doctor had come to believe about their war, their time in power, and who was really responsible for what happened. I must extend a deep gratitude to Chhay Lim, who organised this trip, and organised contacts for me to be able to speak with.
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S3 Ep7: On the Ground in Cambodia: The Future of Shadows of Utopia
I’m back in Cambodia until the end of the year, researching my book on Pol Pot, visiting archives, and filming mini documentaries at places like Kraing Ta Chan prison, Pol Pot’s hometown of Prek Sbauv, and the jungles of Rattanakiri. You can watch these videos in full, for free, on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/shadowsofutopia Or send a one time donation via paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/lpeters1991 This project has been my life’s work for 8 years. But aside from all that went into that, now every trip, every interview, every story takes time, money, and travel to make this happen. Even a free sign up helps, and if you would like to support further, you can do so for as little as $2 a month. Thank you for keeping In the Shadows of Utopia alive.
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S3 Ep6: Witness to the end of the Cambodian, and Vietnamese Civil Wars - Jim Laurie
In this bonus podcast episode, I’ve invited veteran journalist Jim Laurie to reflect on a lifetime spent amid global upheaval. From the Nixon incursion into Cambodia to the oblivious tranquility of Phnom Penh before war erupted—Laurie shares his remarkable memories, including a poignant love story with a local woman, a comparison between the wars in Saigon and Cambodia, and the shock of revisiting Cambodia in 1979 to find destruction everywhere. This episode is enhanced by visuals, including archival footage, that bring his narrative powerfully to life. If you have the opportunity to watch on YouTube, you’ll gain an even richer experience. Watch it at https://youtu.be/hBSejgATaB8
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