Patrick Winn

Correspondent

The World

I’m The World’s correspondent based in Bangkok. I like to cover stories on an array of topics but am particularly compelled by narratives that subvert stereotypes about Southeast Asia.

I’m The World’s correspondent based in Bangkok. I like to report on crime syndicates, pop culture trends and any story that has overlooked implications for the United States. I’m particularly compelled by narratives that subvert stereotypes about Southeast Asia.Before joining The World in 2015, I was a senior correspondent with GlobalPost. My work has also appeared on NBC News, The Atlantic, the BBC and other outlets.My investigations and documentaries have earned numerous awards. I’ve received the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award (known as the “poor man’s Pulitzer”) as well as a prestigious National Press Club award. I’m also a two-time winner of Amnesty International’s Human Rights Press Awards.Back in 2012, I was an on-the-ground consultant for the debut episode of CNN’s “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.” Filmed in Myanmar, the show won two Emmys.I was raised in Eden, a largely abandoned North Carolina factory town that once mass-produced carpets and cheap beer. I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2003 with a journalism degree.Since 2008, I’ve lived in Thailand, where I eat an inordinate amount of grilled catfish and sticky rice. I read and speak Thai — and occasionally sing it, badly, in upcountry karaoke bars. 


The Arakan Army is making gains against the Myanmar military. What does it mean for the Rohingya?

Conflict & Justice

The Arakan Army is forcing Myanmar’s military junta out of towns and cities. But recent attacks against Rohingya Muslims have left them wondering about their fate. Host Marco Werman speaks with The World’s Patrick Winn about the situation.

Single and Japanese? The government will find you a date.

Japan in Focus

In Tokyo, some public toilets inspire wonder

Japan in Focus

Women fight for respect in Japan’s sumo rings 

Japan in Focus

Japanese dads struggle to reform fatherhood

Japan in Focus
Working undercover in 1971, former US narcotics agent Michael Levine meets heroin traffickers in Bangkok, Thailand.

Narcs and spies: The drug war’s murky origins in Southeast Asia

In a nationwide address in the 1970s, President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse to be “public enemy No. 1” and stepped up efforts to shut down the global trade. Much of the initial efforts of the DEA were focused on Southeast Asia where US troops in Vietnam were using heroin. 

man speaking at podium

Japan’s infamous ‘happy’ cult sets sights on the United States

Sacred Nation

Happy Science is among the most enduring and far-reaching “new religious movement,” as they’re called in Japan. 

woman at ceremony in front of line of people

Contempt for the messiah: The scandal behind Shinzo Abe’s murder

Sacred Nation

A messianic sect holds sway with Japan’s ruling party. The murder of ex-premier Shinzo Abe is forcing the country to reckon with this shadowy alliance.

Malaysian Chinese comedian Nigel Ng poses as "Uncle Roger" to critique people's culinary endeavors. His YouTube channel has nearly half a billion views.

Uncle Roger, YouTube’s culinary avenger for Asian food

Food

The World’s Patrick Winn spoke with Nigel Ng, “Uncle Roger,” about foodies, cultural appropriation and the universality of the grumpy uncle.

Several members of a youth group hold a flash mob rally to protest against the military government of Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing in Pabedan township in Yangon, Myanmar, Nov. 30, 2021.

From bookworm to bomb maker: The evolution of a Myanmar revolutionary

Anyone who came across Ah Too a little more than a year ago would’ve seen a skinny, sleep-famished guy hunched over a laptop.