Ep. 25: Timothy Thurston on Tibetan Satire
Tibetans inside China have found various ways to push back against Beijing and voice their dissatisfaction. A lesser-known form of subtle resistance is the art...
Ep. 24: China Conspiracy Theories
From Covid as a bioweapon to Chinese soldiers infiltrating America, Alexander Boyd discusses the right-wing conspiracy theories that lead our ranking of bestselling China books.
Ep. 23: Mark Kitto on Shanghai in the 2000s
The author and former media mogul explains why he chose fiction as the best way to capture Shanghai’s go-go years in his new novel.
Ep. 22: Michael Luo on the Chinese-American Story
The New Yorker writer discusses his new history of the Chinese in America, and immigrant identity from the Chinese Exclusion Act to Donald Trump.
Ep. 21: Jenna Tang on Taiwan’s MeToo Movement
We talked to the translator of a novel that helped launch #MeToo in Taiwan, about why both the movement and the book are having a...
Ep. 20: Linda Jaivin on the Cultural Revolution
The writer and China watcher talks us through her microhistory of Mao’s last decade in power, and its relevance to Trump’s MAGA movement.
Ep. 19: Steven Schwankert on the Titanic’s Chinese Survivors
The author of "The Six" tells us about the Chinese survivors of the Titanic, and how they were met with racist scorn on arrival in...
Ep. 18: Lijia Zhang on Women’s Stories
The memoirist and novelist talks us through her grandmother's and mother’s stories, as well as her own, and discusses how the status of women has...
Ep. 17: Lau Yee-Wa on Hong Kong Fiction
We talked to the author of "Tongueless" about how Cantonese is disappearing from Hong Kong schools, and what literature can do to raise awareness.
Ep. 16: Oriana Skylar Mastro on China’s Challenge to the U.S.
An expert on China’s military and security policy looks ahead in 2025 to uncertain U.S.-China relations under Trump, and the risk of a war over...
Ep. 15: Paul French on Wallis Simpson’s China Year
In 1924, an American socialite — who would later cause a scandal by marrying Britain's King — traveled the length of China. Her experience was...
Ep. 14: Kishore Mahbubani on the Asian Century
The Singaporean diplomat and author tells us how Asia’s rise to preeminence is inevitable, and what Western writers get wrong about China.