Labor of Loss
From the open waters of Southeast Asia’s notorious fishing industry to Malaysia’s sprawling palm oil plantations, this series puts human trafficking and labor exploitation in Asia under the microscope. Millions of people are estimated to be trafficked in Asia each year, caught up in complex web of supply chains that stretch across the globe and keep millions of others fed, clothed and housed. Exploitation is deeply entrenched… but is change possible, and what does it look like? Find out in this new series.
Podcasting since 2021 • 8 episodes
Labor of Loss
Latest Episodes
Episode 7: Is Change Possible?
In the last episode of the series, we look at the big picture. What's driving human trafficking and what needs to be done to stop it? Hear unique perspectives from earlier guests Archana and Mustafa joined by Bijaya who is working to secure the...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 7
•
31:20
Episode 6: The Trafficker Next Door
This episode looks at a type of exploitation women in particular face: being forced into marriage. We go on a harrowing journey with Srey Pov, a young woman from Cambodia who was told she'd be working in a shoe factory in China, but instead was...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 6
•
30:10
Episode 5: Disposable People
This episode, COVID-19 and migrant construction workers in the Gulf states. What happens to the most vulnerable workers when the world is stopped by a global pandemic? We go back in time with researchers Mustafa and his colleague Rameshwar, and...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 5
•
29:39
Episode 4: Who Cares for the Carers?
We head back to Malaysia and hear about the women who leave their own homes and families to live abroad as domestic workers. They raise entire generations of kids across Asia and care for the elderly. They keep households all over the region ru...
•
31:52
Episode 3: Carrot and Stick
This episode, a show in two parts – and both of them are about palm oil plantations in Malaysia. First, with Manggalam, we explore the colonial legacy of migrant labor, when palm plantations were still rubber plantations and workers were indent...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 3
•
30:46