Sinica Podcast

This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Villanova University historian Andrew Liu. Andy published an excellent essay in n+1 magazine in April that captured how the eclipse of the "wet-market" theory of COVID origins and its replacement by the "lab-leak" theory illustrates how an old racial form — "Orientalism," which sees countries of Asia as backward, dirty, and barbarous — gave way to what's been termed an "Asiatic" racial form, which reflects anxiety over Asians as hyperproductive, robotic, and technologically advanced.3:05 – Andy's n+1 essay on the lab leak theory and the two racial forms6:26 – A primer on Edward Said's Orientalism and why it's a poor fit for Asia today10:41 – The "Asiatic racial form" and the notionally "positive" Asian stereotypes13:58 – How Orientalism and the Asiatic racial form interact today and historically23:50 – Conspiracies on China, and what's wrong with the Asiatic form27:51 – Japan's rise as a parallel30:57 – How to talk about Chinese attitudes toward tech without invoking Asiatic stereotypes37:27 – Race, culture, and global capitalismA full transcript of this podcast is available on SupChina.com.Recommendations:Andy: Stay True: a memoir by the New Yorker writer Hua Hsu and donating to abortion providers in states affected by the end of Roe v. Wade:, like Abortion Care for Tennessee, abortioncaretn.orgKaiser: The Danish political drama Borgen on NetflixSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Jing Tsu, John M. Schiff Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures & Comparative Literature at Yale University, about her wonderful new book Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution that Made China Modern. Jing talks about her role as culture commentator for NBC during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, about how the written Chinese language has helped shape China, and about the fascinating individuals who worked to bring a writing system so deeply rooted in history and tradition into the modern world.Link to Jing and Kaiser interviewed for the Radio Opensource Podcast here.4:59 – Jing's role as cultural commentator for NBC during the Winter Games10:43 – The impetus for writing Kingdom of Characters16:09 – Why the critics of the Chinese writing system called for its destruction18:57 – What the defenders of the Chinese writing system love so much about it25:51 – The challenge of writing about the technology of Chinese writing29:05 – The Chinese writing system as a metaphor for China32:46 – The next technological frontiers for Chinese35:48 – Language and how it shapes thinking in ChinaA complete transcript of this podcast is available at SupChina.com.Recommendations:Jing: Everything Everywhere All at OnceKaiser: The Pattern of the Chinese Past by Mark Elvin; and Closure/Continuation, a new album by the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on the Sinica Podcast, Shelley Rigger of Davidson College returns to the show to talk Taiwan. She's joined by Simona Grano, a sinologist and Taiwan specialist at the University of Zürich. They talk about President Joe Biden's recent "gaffes" that call into question the longstanding, unofficial U.S. policy of "strategic ambiguity," talk about how Taiwan has been impacted by the Ukraine War, and much more.4:59: – What did Joe Biden's latest "gaffe" on Taiwan actually signify?10:06 – Did "strategic ambiguity" serve its intended purpose?16:23 – The mood in Taiwan20:51 – The impact of the Ukraine War on thinking in Beijing and in Taipei34:12 – European countries navigating relationships with Taiwan43:54 – The "One China Principle" versus the "One China Policy"47:20 – Are bilateral trade agreements enough for Taiwan?50:27 – Ethnicity, nationality, and the Taiwan issue59:00 – Making sense of the PRC claim to TaiwanA complete transcript of this podcast is available at SupChina.com.Recommendations:Simona: Orphan of Asia, a novel by Wu Zhuoliu; and the show Orange is the New BlackShelley: Occupied, a Norwegian thriller series on NetflixKaiser: Meizhong.report, a Chinese-language resource from the Carter Center's U.S.-China Perception Monitor, covering official, media, and social media commentary on U.S.-China relationsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with James (Jay) Carter, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. Jay, who joined us on the show in December 2020 to talk about his book Champion's Day, is the author of one of the most widely-read columns that SupChina runs: This Week in China's History. In honor of two full years of contributions, with over 100 columns, Kaiser asked Jay to talk about his process, his purpose, and the challenges and the rewards of writing this excellent column.6:34 – The origin story of the column, and its original intention11:34 – How the hell does Jay do it week in and week out?23:84 – Jay talks about Jonathan Spence and what it was like to study under him at Yale31:32 – On the diversity of perspectives in the column40:53 – How the column keeps Jay connected to academic work and intellectual life43:35 – Threading the needle in deploying historical analogy, and right-sizing historical "rhymes" and patternsA complete transcript of this podcast is available at SupChina.com.Recommendations:Jay: The Broadway musical Hadestown; and the New York City BalletKaiser: The inaugural Sinologia Conference on June 10See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Kaiser welcomes back Dr. George Hu, a clinical psychologist based in Shanghai, who has a lot to say about the state of mental health in Chinese cities under lockdown. Unsurprisingly, mental health disorders like anxiety and depression have been exacerbated under conditions of isolation and food insecurity. Surprisingly, there's a silver lining or two to the whole thing.6:52 – Getting a sense for the scale of mental health problems related to the lockdown in Shanghai16:23 – Have the lockdowns increased awareness of and empathy for people suffering from mental health disorders in Shanghai and in China?20:07 – The lockdowns and impact on children and on the elderly34:05 – The impact on essential workers42:21 – What other Chinese cities are learning from Shanghai's COVID-19 experience45:22 – The quarantine centers and mental health servicesA full transcript of this podcast is available at SupChina.com.Recommendations:George: How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid For Success by Julie Lythcott-HaimsKaiser: Nicholas Confessore's series in the New York Times on Tucker Carlson, "American Nationalist"See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Kaiser welcomes veteran Asia reporter Demetri Sevastopulo, who covers the U.S.-China relationship for the Financial Times. They discuss some of Demetri's scoops, like the news that Vladimir Putin had requested military aid from Xi Jinping, leaked just before National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan's meeting in Switzerland with State Councillor Yang Jiechi and just three weeks after Russia's invasion; and the news that China had tested a hypersonic glide craft in October of last year. But the focus of the discussion is on the Biden administration's China policy and its Indo-Pacific Economic Framework — an Asia strategy that, by all accounts, has met with a tepid response in the region.1:47 – How Demetri landed a beat as U.S.-China relations correspondent5:24 – How the FT scooped the story on Putin's military assistance request to Xi Jinping in March 202212:05 – The Chinese hypersonic glidecraft24:42 – The DC China policy scene: A dramatis personae40:11 – The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework: all guns and no butter52:54 – The Quad and AUKUS: American-led security arrangementsA full transcript of this podcast is available at SupChina.comRecommendationsDemetri: Gunpowder, an Irish gin from County Leitrim; and Roku, a Japanese whiskey by SuntoriKaiser: Chokepoint Capitalism, a forthcoming book on how monopolies and monopsonies are ruining culture, by Rebecca Gilbin and Cory DoctorowSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Kaiser is joined by Mark Leonard, founder and director of the European Council on Foreign Relations and author most recently of The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict. Mark talks about how despite the bright promise that increasing connectedness — whether in trade, telecommunications, or movements of individuals — would usher in a world of better mutual understanding and enduring peace, the reality is that this connectedness has made the world more fractured and fractious. He explains how the three "empires of connectivity" — the U.S., China, and the EU — each leverage their extensive connectivity to advance their own interests. He also unpacks his assertion that the world is coming to share China's longstanding ambivalence toward connectedness.1:05 – Kaiser tells how researching an abortive book project presaged Mark's conclusion that familiarity can breed contempt7:58 – How Mark came to be a deep ambivalence about connectivity16:03 – The three "empires of connectivity" and how they leverage or weaponize connectivity31:41 – How all the connected empires are taking on "Chinese characteristics"41:41 – How the Russo-Ukrainian War fits into Mark's framework in the book51:49 – Chinese intellectuals and the shift in their thinkingA full transcript of this interview is available on SupChina.com.Recommendations:Mark: Chinese Hegemony: Grand Strategy and International Institutions in East Asian History by Zhang FengKaiser: "A Teacher in China Learns the Limits of Free Expression," the latest piece by Peter Hessler in The New Yorker; and the Israeli spy thriller Tehran on AppleTV.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Deborah Seligsohn returns to the show to talk about the sad state of U.S.-China scientific collaboration. As the Science Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing from 2003 to 2007 — arguably the peak years for collaboration in science — she has ample firsthand experience with the relationship. Debbi, who is now an assistant professor of political science at Villanova University in Philadelphia, sees the U.S. decision to dismantle what was a diverse and fruitful regime of collaboration as a consequence of the basic American conception of the relationship: our tendency to see that relationship as one of teacher and student. She also argues that the American obsession with intellectual property protection is fundamentally misguided and inapplicable to scientific collaboration, which rarely deals with commercial IP.3:15 – The rationale for prioritizing U.S.-China scientific collaboration in the 1970s9:11 – A highlight reel of Sino-American scientific collaboration across four decades31:03 – The stubborn American belief that freedom and democracy are necessary — or even sufficient — conditions for technological innovation39:37 – The price we've paid and will continue to pay for the collapse of collaboration44:00 – The end of collaboration and the DOJ's "China Initiative"48:17 – How to rebuild the U.S.-China scientific partnershipA full transcript of this podcast is available on SupChina.com.Recommendations:Deborah: A Buzzfeed story by Peter Aldous about the strange origins of the "lab-leak theory" in the right-wing of the animal rights activist community; and two podcasts — Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast and the Brookings podcast by David Dollar, Dollar and Sense.Kaiser: The sci-fi thriller Severance on AppleTV.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Sinica, Kaiser is joined again by Yawei Liu, Senior Director for China at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia; and by Danielle Goldfarb, head of global research at RIWI Corp, an innovative web-based research outfit headquartered in Toronto. They discuss a survey commissioned by the Carter Center to look at Chinese attitudes toward the Russo-Ukrainian War: whether Chinese people believe supporting Russia to be in China's interest, what they believe China's best course of action to be, and whether they're aware of — and if so, whether they believe — disinformation pushed by Moscow about U.S.-run bio labs in Ukraine. Danielle also discusses other survey research that RIWI has conducted about China that relates to the war in Ukraine.2:41 – Why public opinion still matters in authoritarian countries5:35 – Has the debate over the Russian invasion of Ukraine been completely shut down in China?12:17 – RIWI’s technology and survey methodology18:47 – The Carter Center questionnaire and its results28:05 – RIWI’s Military Conflict Risk Index, and the China-Taiwan results35:26 – The puzzling correlation between education level and propensity to believe disinformation42:00 – Popular attitudes about the relationships among Russia, China, and the U.S.A transcript of this podcast is available on SupChina.comRecommendations: Yawei: How China Loses: The Pushback Against Chinese Global Ambitions, by Luke Patey.Danielle: Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez.Kaiser: Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan by Jake AdelsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser is joined by Manjari Chatterjee Miller, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations and associate professor of political science at Boston University; and Manoj Kewalramani, chairperson of the Indo-Pacific Research Programme and a China studies fellow at the Takshashila Institution, a leading Indian public policy education center. They offer fascinating analysis and insight into the complex relationship between China and India in light of the Russo-Ukrainian War, as powerful and populous Asian nations caught between their commitments to Russia and their well-founded fear of alienating the West. Their predicaments, however, are about all they have in common: despite Chinese overtures, New Delhi and Beijing have too much historical baggage, too many open wounds, and visions for a post-war geopolitical map that are too divergent to allow them to make anything like common cause.3:31 – Indian media positions, political elite takes, and popular opinion on the Russo-Ukrainian War9:05 – Is there a partisan divide in India on the Ukraine War?12:44 – Manoj's amazing potted history of Soviet/Russian relations with India, from 1947 to the eve of the war29:38 – Manjari on how China figures into the Indo-Soviet/Indo-Russian relationship35:33 – China as a factor in Indo-U.S. relations43:17 – China's relative tone-deafness when it comes to India55:56 – Sources of tension in the Russia-India relationshipA full transcript of this podcast is available at SupChina.comRecommendations:Manjari: Bridgerton on NetflixManoj: The 1995 Bollywood film Dilwale Dulhania Le JayengeKaiser: The high school comedy Metal Lords on Netflix; and Matt Sheehan, "The Chinese Way Of Innovation: What Washington Can Learn From Beijing About Investing In Tech" in Foreign AffairsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.