The best Asia newsletters

DUNIA is an independent nonprofit investigative newsroom covering Asia, with reporting on topics such as police use of pellet guns in India, South Korea's and the U.S.'s pursuit of deep-sea mining, and the founder's account of why the outlet exists. The newsletter gives readers long-form reporting on power, resources and human costs across the region.

Kawan is a newsletter from Kontinentalist that uses data literacy and nuanced storytelling to examine Asia, with essays on naming practices, protest culture and everyday consumer ethics. Readers get personal, reflective pieces that connect regional stories to broader questions of identity, resistance and responsibility.

BobaChair covers culture, politics and online stories from Asia, mostly Taiwan, using a satirical and irreverent voice. Issues pair local news items, sourced to outlets and social posts, with context that explains them to outsiders.

A personal blog by an engineer who writes about building AI travel software, practical lessons from using Claude on real codebases, and travel and history in Japan and Asia. The reader gets thoughtful first-hand accounts of engineering tradeoffs and idiosyncratic, well-argued travel advice.

A round-up newsletter covering underreported news, trends and people across Asia, with regional coverage from Myanmar and Southeast Asia to South Asia and West Asia. Issues pair curated news summaries with original field reporting and commentary.

Off The Bench Thailand publishes long-form feature stories about football people and careers in Thailand and across Asia, from players to coaches, beyond match results. Each issue profiles one figure and looks at the personal choices and challenges behind their football life.

A English-language news and culture magazine covering Philippines-Japan relations, including diplomatic talks, bilateral anniversaries and features on Filipino and Japanese personalities. Readers get news reporting on government ties, community events and entertainment stories linking the two countries.

New Asia Currents covers art, science and civilisations with a focus on Asia, including reporting on exhibitions in Penang and regional diplomacy such as the Penang Peace Dialogue. Readers get news-style coverage of cultural and geopolitical events, with quotes from officials and artists.

A personal travel blog by a traveller who documents Asian markets, festivals and places through selfie videos, photo essays and short first-person accounts. Readers get a casual mix of travel tips, visual storytelling and occasional history, such as a visit to Chernobyl.

SPILLR is a daily newsletter that summarises wire-service news stories from the day, covering economics, disasters and environment in short bullet-point digests. Readers get quick, sourced rundowns of major international headlines with key figures.

A photo-heavy travel diary from a group tour of Bhutan, with captions naming the travellers, guides and scenes such as dzongs, yak butter tea and local dances. It mainly serves as a memento for the participants and offers little practical or analytical content for other readers.