Ngoei Wen-Qing is a scholar of Cold War history at Nanyang Technological University. His first book, The Arc of Containment: Britain, the United States, and Anticommunism in Southeast Asia, was published in May 2019. In his work, Wen-Qing traces the origins of U.S. hegemony and British neo-colonialism in the region, arguing that the Vietnam War was the exception—rather than the defining event—of U.S.-Southeast Asian relations during the Cold War.

In this episode, we speak with Wen-Qing about his background, his book, his thoughts on present-day geopolitics, and his plans for a sequel.