Ulaanbaatar's mayor wants to build a $1 billion highway along the Tuul River—the city's last remaining river and the primary source of water for 1.7 million people. The mayor contends that the project is essential to alleviate Ulaanbaatar's congestion issues, and he has thoroughly evaluated all environmental risks. But experts can't get the data for the project. Where are the environmental impact assessments? Why wasn't the public consulted before approving the project?

In this episode, we sit down with urban governance expert and civil engineer Anu-Ujin Lkhagvasuren, who has spent five years working with the municipality and the World Bank on Ulaanbaatar's transportation challenges. She breaks down why building more roads has never solved traffic congestion anywhere in the world, why the mayor's own numbers don't add up, and what she believes is really driving 24

simultaneous mega-projects in a city that can barely keep its lights on. We also get into Belt and Road debt traps, forged signatures on environmental documents, and whether the #SaveTuul movement can win.

If you have any suggestions for our show, please get in touch with us at info[at]agulamedia.com

And if you are a supporter of us at Buy Me Coffee, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Great State Mural⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can listen to extra recordings as we briefly discuss the current status of the MPP's infighting and how it came about.

Mongolia ranks poorly on some of the world's most cited democracy indices. But what do those rankings actually measure—and do they tell the real story of how the country operates?

In this episode, we break down how international democracy indices score Mongolia. Are those scores misleading? And whether Mongolian leaders are using these benchmarks as genuine governance tools or political cover. We try answer all of those in this episode.

If you have any suggestions for our show, please get in touch with us at info[at]agulamedia.com

And if you are a supporter of us at Buy Me Coffee, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Great State Mural⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can listen to extra recordings as we briefly discuss the current status of the MPP's infighting and how it came about.

Mongolians have rarely had any connection to Venezuela—aside from a brief moment in the 90s, when a Venezuelan soap opera unexpectedly captured all of Mongolians' attention.

But with the following capture of Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces, "MERGEN Takes" took hold in Mongolia, with commentators, pundits, columnists, and social media users issuing predictions and warnings that Mongolia could face a similar fate if it continues down a “socialist” path.

But is Mongolia actually governed by socialism? Do people truly understand what the label "socialism" means?

We explore these questions in this episode of The Great State Mural.

If you have any suggestions for our show, please get in touch with us at info[at]agulamedia.com

And if you are a supporter of us at Buy Me Coffee, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Great State Mural⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can listen to extra recordings as we briefly discuss the current status of the MPP's infighting and how it came about.