Author and researcher Ed Pulford discusses the collapse of progressive endeavors in the China-Russia-North Korea borderlands, exploring post-socialist politics, temporal synchrony in the socialist era, and the pre-revolutionary period. The podcast delves into the complexities of historical narratives, challenges in restructuring causality, and the concept of progress in Chinese society. Scholars are pushing boundaries in understanding the relationship between time and politics in the region, examining the impact of migrations on perceptions of progress.