History & Diplomacy with Canadian Ambassador Sarah Taylor [S5.E12]

Greg and Ed interview Dr. Sarah Taylor, the Canadian Ambassador to Thailand to discuss her role in Thailand, Thailand’s role in Asia, and what Canada and Thailand have in common...and don’t have in common.  Ambassador Taylor comes from a long line of diplomats, with parents who met while on mission overseas. Once bitten by the travel bug, she ended up majoring in archaeology but later began a career in the Canadian foreign service. She has had stints in several countries around the world, including Indonesia, the Philippines, and China, before becoming Canada’s Ambassador to Thailand in 2019. The ambassador discusses her job as well as Canada’s relationship with Thailand, especially in light of Canada’s much larger neighbor often hogging the international spotlight. She also discusses how Canada’s experience dealing with indigenous peoples could be helpful to the Thai government in its relationship to the various hill tribes scattered throughout North Thailand.  Among other things, the guys pepper the Ambassador with questions about the trouble in Myanmar, the role of Asean, Canadian companies in Thailand, feminism in Thailand, and the most important issue of them all: the exorbitant price of maple syrup in Thailand.  Listen in if you want proof that a person can be both insanely erudite and successful and ‘aw shucks’ down-to-Earth as well.    Don’t forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of the show as well as swag and other perks. And we’ll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.