Looking Back on the 2006 Coup and Why We're Still Feeling it Today [S7.E20]

Greg and Ed revisit the 2006 coup in Thailand and reminisce about
the oddness but also impactfulness of the experience. Ed begins
with a quick recap of the career of Thaksin Shinawatra, the
billionaire business tycoon who swept to power (democratically)
in 2000 on a promise to fix the Thai economy which was still
reeling from the 1997 financial crisis. He did in fact manage to
stabilize the economy and easily won re-election in 2004.
Although controversies did mar his terms, his ability to repay
loans to the World Bank and IMF lent him significant
credibility. 


However, in 2006, a constitutional crisis ensued in parliament,
and eventually, while Thaksin was away in New York giving a
speech to the United Nations, the military seized control of the
government. Ed relates his utter shock at waking up to headlines
of "COUP D'ETAT," and Greg talks about the strange expectation of
tanks rolling through the streets and whether or not it was even
going to be safe going outside. Alas, the coup was real but also
almost entirely peaceful, with soldiers manning the streets
accepting flowers and taking selfies with pedestrians.


The guys wonder at the difference between pre-coup Thailand and
post-coup Thailand, the relative peace beforehand and the almost
constant political drama since. In their time in Thailand, the
guys can't think of another single event that changed life in the
Land of Smiles as much as the 2006 coup. 


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