Hey everyone, I am waiting for the next Carlin series like the rest of you. I've seen a lot of people talking about a historical period they wish the master would cover, and quite often the Khmer Rouge will come up and someone will joke that it might take hours and hours for Dan to complete...
Well, inspired by Hardcore History, a few years ago I decided I would do exactly that... covering the history that I have spent a significant amount of my life researching.
'In the Shadows of Utopia' is my attempt to bring the history of Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge to a historically minded, general audience... In Carlin-fashion it goes deep, but with suitable entertainment/relatability, as well as the respect that the topic deserves. If you've read a book or two, or seen a movie... you might think you know the story, but there is much much more.
I am currently about 20 episodes in, probably more than 30 hours (with a few interviews with prominent historians chucked in) and we have covered the basic introduction to the topic, ancient Cambodia and Angkor, the middle period, colonialism, nationalist movements, communism, the influence from Vietnam, the first and second Indochina wars, Maoism... and the rise of the Khmer Rouge and the eventual leaders of the movement into the late 1950s.
People seem to like it, a lot of good reviews and getting to a good listener count.. I know it gets shared here from time to time which is great, but if you are looking for something new maybe these Dan down-times are a good opportunity !
https://www.shadowsofutopia.com/
stitcher / spotify / apple podcasts / youtube
It seems there should be a plan.
Despite border skirmishes and Vietnamese annoyance with the murderous regime to its east, Vietnam endured the KR insanity until 1979, which stopped most of the genocidal killings by the KR regime. If that didnβt happen, would the KR continue to slaughter its people? If yes, would Cambodia be left with a population of true believers in the KRβs extreme Maoist ideology? Would the KR continue to act (foolishly or otherwise) on its belief that Vietnam was illegally occupying large parts of the historical Khmer Empire?
The Chinese invaded Vietnam after Deng took power right? Seems weird that he would do so to prop up a Communist revolution.
Is there any good reading anyone could recommend?
Thanks!
I was reading up on the history of North Vietnam and came across the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge and Vietnam's defensive invasion of Cambodia that resulted in the ousting of Pol Pot and his regime. Why did China support the Khmer Rouge and go so far as to send troops into North Vietnam?
