The first Taiwanese to receive a Michelin star, Chef Andre (江振誠) closed his 2-star restaurant in Singapore in 2018 to come home. He is the subject of the documentary “Andre and His Olive Tree” on his art, life, and what he calls “original intention”. 

Chef Andre left Taiwan to learn culinary arts at age 13. A citizen of the world, he was inspired while in Japan, trained in France, and made a name for himself in Singapore. Today, he talks to us about finding perfection and letting go; how he stays connected to home during his 30 years abroad; and his creative philosophy. The documentary is now available worldwide on Netflix.

Today’s episode is hosted by Emily Y. Wu - producer of The Taiwan Take. Video of this interview was broadcasted on Dec 12 at Taiwan Fest. Special thanks to Taiwanese American Citizens League (TACL) for organizing the interview in collaboration with TAP (Taiwanese American Professionals) chapters Atlanta, Austin, LA, New York, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC. 

Support us by donating on patreon.com/Taiwan | Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandme.

EPISODE CREDIT | Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu, Host/Producer | Claudia Sheng @flaskprodx, Production Assistant | Video by Gazing Element | Special thanks to Blossom Cafe Taipei | Music license MB01LPN9MJK6YHW | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.media

Nearly 40% of the 700,000 migrant workers in Taiwan are from Indonesia. We speak to Nick Calpakdjian, producer of the feature-length documentary “Help Is On The Way” (2020) from Indonesia that explores the nuances of being domestic caregivers workers in Taiwan. Stories of these migrant workers begin at a nanny school in West Java.

“Help Is On The Way” won Best Feature Documentary at the 39th Indonesian Film Festival (FFI). It premiered in Taiwan in May on Public Television Station. International labor migration is a global issue, and this is The Taiwan Take. Guest-host today is Katherine Wei, a Taiwan-based journalist with The Strait Times. She is on Twitter @Katherinewei508.

Support us by donating on patreon.com/Taiwan | Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandme.

EPISODE CREDIT | Host, Katherine Wei | Producer, Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu | Editing, Eli Morimoto, Emily Y. Wu | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.media

We talk to PhD candidate Lev Nachman about the world of Taiwan Studies in academia. He discusses his entry into the field and provides practical advice for students around the world who are interested in studying Taiwan.

Lev Nachman is a PhD candidate in the political science department at UC-Irvine studying social movements and political parties in Taiwan and Hong Kong. He is also a Fulbright scholar and is currently based in Taiwan. He tweets (a lot!) at https://twitter.com/lnachman32

Today’s episode is hosted by Sam Robbins - a masters student at the department of sociology at National Taiwan University where he researches international data activism. He is also editor at Taiwan Insight, the online magazine from the University of Nottingham. This was Sam’s final episode as a researcher on the Taiwan Take.

Support the show by donating on patreon.com/Taiwan | Follow us on Twitter @ghostislandme.

EPISODE CREDIT | Host/Producer - Sam Robbins | Editor - Claudia Shen, Sam Robbins, Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu | a Ghost Island Media production | www.ghostisland.media