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.
Ep. 13: Peter Hessler on ‘Other Rivers’
The bestselling author first taught in China in the late 1990s. In 2019, he went back. We caught up with him to ask what had...
Ep. 12: China’s Evolving Art Scene
Contemporary art from China took off in the 1990s, and became a hot commodity in the 2000s. The China Books podcast asks an expert how...
Ep. 11: Beijing in Short Fiction
China’s capital is so difficult to capture that sometimes only fiction can suffice. The editor of a new short story collection explains how a literary...
Ep. 10: Rethinking U.S.-China Trade
For decades, American companies have profited by outsourcing to China — but supply chain disruptions have laid bare the risks and hidden costs. A new...
Ep. 9: Tiananmen Remembered
It has been 35 years since the violent crackdown on the Tiananmen protests of 1989. We talked to an activist whose work pushes for the...