When I Vomited on Khmer Rouge Leader Khieu Samphan: The Story of the Chinese Nobel Prize Winner and How the Khmer Rouge Saved My Life By Nate Thayer October 6, 2015. I threw up on Khmer Rouge Prime Minister Khieu Samphan. This took place at the heavily guarded Khmer Rouge compound in Phnom Penh, Cambodia […]
I Killed Pol Pot: How The Free Press Brought Pol Pot to Justice
Why a Free Press is a vital institution to Free People By Nate Thayer April 17, 2015 Today marks a tragic day in the modern history of political mass murder by government. Forty-two years ago today six separate armies, under the titular leadership of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge, converged on the Cambodian capital of […]
‘We are the World! Who is that singer? Johnny Jackson?’: Excerpts from ‘Sympathy for the Devil’
‘We are the World!’ After threatening to assassinate American civilians, the Khmer Rouge leader continued: “Why don’t we join hands in national reconciliation. Join together! We are with you, the West!” he said, growing increasingly animated, half breaking into song. “‘We are the World!’ Who is that singer? Johnny Jackson? Like he says, ‘We are […]
“No More Creampuff Journalism”–Readers Object with Fervor and Wit
No More Creampuff Journalism Ouch! Below are a series of reader reactions to an interview I conducted with then Khmer Rouge President Khieu Samphan in 1993. It wasn’t pretty, but it was (mostly) quite witty. Included is the article that sparked the outrage, the response of Phnom Penh Post editor-in-chief and publisher, the inimitable and […]
In Pursuit of Mass Murderers: Sympathy for the Devil by Nate Thayer
Reporting from Inside the Final Collapse of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge. Excerpts from the unpublished book “Sympathy for the Devil: A Journalists Memoir from Inside Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge” (Copyright Nate Thayer. All Rights Reserved. No publication or citation permitted without author’s express written permission.) By Nate Thayer April 18, 2014 By 1994, the Khmer Rouge leadership […]
A Freelance Journalist’s High Praise and Kind Words for Sympathy for the Devil
High Praise from a freelance journalist for Sympathy for the Devil: A Journalist’s Memoir from Inside Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge: “The book also promises to be a rollicking account of a bygone era of journalism, when reporters were colorful characters who nonetheless possessed serious intent and influence. The remarkable thing is that Thayer did it as a […]
Pol Pot’s little girl grows up: Wedding of dictator’s only child is divorce from childhood trauma
By Nate Thayer (excerpts from the unpublished Sympathy for the Devil: A journalist’s memoir from inside Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge. (c) Nate Thayer. No republication in whole or in part without express written permission of the author.) March 16, 2014 Daddy’s little girl has grown up. Pol Pot’s only child got married today. 26 year-old […]
Why Journalism is Better than a Real Job: Excerpts from Sympathy for the Devil
Why Journalism is Better than a Real Job: Excerpts from Sympathy for the Devil Sympathy for the Devil: A Journalist’s Memoir From Inside Pol Pot’s Cambodia (Copyright Nate Thayer. No publication or distribution in whole or part without express prior written permission from the author) Please consider donating to support the publication of Sympathy for […]
No More Creampuff Journalism: Readers React in Letters to the Editor
No More Creampuff Journalism Sometime public commentary on the published writings of a journalist can get nasty, sometimes snarky, and sometimes downright witty. Here, readers react with a series of letters to the editor to an interview I did with Khmer Rouge Prime Minister Khieu Samphan published in the Phnom Penh Post. It wasn’t pretty, but it […]
Nate Thayer: periodismo, crowdfunding y autopromo
Nate Thayer: periodismo, crowdfunding y autopromo A much appreciated note of support from the Spanish language journalists website Globorama.es for my efforts to fund the publication of my my book “Sympathy for the Devil: A Journalist’s Memoir From Inside Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge” http://www.globograma.es/nate-thayer-periodismo-crowdfunding-y-autopromo/
How to Be Buddy-Buddy With a Guerilla General
How to Be Buddy-Buddy With an Guerilla General It is always a pleasure when someone has positive things to say about ones work. So thanks to scholars-stage.blogspot.com for their generous comments: How to Be Buddy-Buddy With an Guerilla General Posted by T. Greer in Dogs of War, Media, Southeast Asia Far Eastern Economic Review (2 August 1997) with Thayer’s […]
A Reporter’s Trek Through Cambodian Minefields, Pursued By Soldiers
A Trek Through Minefields, Pursued By Soldiers From my files: News articles I am digitally archiving here on this blog site. This story was written in 1990 after a many weeks walk deep through the jungle with Cambodian guerrillas. It was the first independent confirmation of guerrilla claims of advances made during the then 11-year […]
