Neal E. Robbins is a journalist-turned-filmmaker and educator whose work bridges documentary cinema, Asian studies, and global history. Raised in the Chicago suburbs, he earned degrees in Chinese and Asian studies before immersing himself in Taiwan, where he pursued language and cultural understanding. After completing journalism studies at Columbia University, Robbins worked as a foreign correspondent across Asia, including Hong Kong, New Delhi, and Europe. His reporting eventually gave way to teaching—first in Taiwan, at the post–martial law journalism institute at National Taiwan University, and later as a journalism professor in the United States. In recent years, Robbins has shifted into documentary filmmaking.