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. 


On this remote isle, an icon of the Virgin Mary has endured the flames of war

Sacred Spaces

After a devastating fire, people in Bougainville found hope and strength from a statue of the Virgin Mary that survived the flames. It not only represents a miracle, but serves as an icon for the island’s struggle for independence.

In Bangladesh, warning systems help prevent storm casualties

Bougainville: The world’s next new country?

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

Conflict & Justice

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

Japan in Focus

In Tokyo, some public toilets inspire wonder

Japan in Focus

In Shibuya, a busy ward in Tokyo, Japan, officials want public toilets to inspire wonder. They’ve recently started a tour of 17 bathroom facilities designed by world-class artists and architects. The World’s Patrick Winn reports.

Women fight for respect in Japan’s sumo rings 

Japan in Focus

Sumo wrestling in Japan is among the world’s oldest sports, dating back at least 1,500 years. The rules are simple: Square off with an opponent in a ring lined with sand, then try to push the other person out. Another rule: Japanese professional sumo is also off-limits to women. Japanese women wrestlers who achieve champion status at international sumo events are frustrated to face prejudice back home.

Japanese dads struggle to reform fatherhood

Japan in Focus

Statistically speaking, for every baby born in Japan, two people pass away. The country’s rapidly shrinking population is, according to Japanese officials, a “national emergency” threatening its future prosperity and entire way of life. They’re struggling to reverse this trend but some believe fixing this problem calls for a revolution in Japanese fatherhood. The World’s Patrick Winn reports with Aya Asakura in Tokyo.

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.