Sinica Podcast

This week on Sinica, we continue with the ongoing California series of podcasts that Kaiser recorded last winter, and present a conversation taped in December, when he chatted with Margaret (Molly) Roberts, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego. Molly also co-directs the China Data Lab at the 21st Century China Center, and her latest book, Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China’s Great Firewall, takes a deep, data-driven look at the way that internet censorship functions, and how it impacts Chinese internet users. 15:21: Dispelling two narratives about China’s internet censorship25:24: Distracting online communities by digitally flooding forums32:43: How censorship affects those who experience it41:52: How the discussion around Chinese internet censorship has evolvedRecommendations:Molly: Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor, by Virginia Eubanks. Kaiser: The Syllabus, by Evgeny Morozov: A website offering curated syllabi featuring text, audio, and video on a range of topics, including technology, global affairs, arts and culture, and more.This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Kaiser and Jeremy speak with Michael Schuman, a reporter and writer who’s been covering China for 23 years, about his new book, Superpower Interrupted: The Chinese History of the World. The book sets out to present world history as China has understood it, and what that understanding of history tells us about what the China of today really wants. 11:12: Notable historical books on China that have withstood the test of time17:48: What Chinese exceptionalism means34:45: When historical context matters, and when it doesn’t42:11: Michael Schuman’s insights on what China wants Recommendations:Jeremy: The work of SupChina’s very own society and culture editor, Jiayun Feng. Click here to explore more of her work. Michael: The Analects, a work attributed to Confucius and his peers.Kaiser: The “Frankenstein” That Wasn’t: A Realistic Appraisal of Today’s China, an essay by Damien Ma of MacroPolo. Like the podcasts at SupChina? Help us out by taking this brief survey.This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.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 chats with Max Fisher, one of The Interpreter columnists for the New York Times, on what U.S. media coverage got right — and wrong — about the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, and the concerning parallels between 2002 and 2020.8:33: American media coverage of the outbreak15:14: Dehumanizing the disease in China22:17: The role of the media in American political discourse39:11: Moving the American consensus point on ChinaRecommendations:Max: The Farewell, by Lulu Wang. Kaiser: Eternal Life: A Novel, by Dara Horn.This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Former UN ambassador of Singapore, Kishore Mahbubani, joins the Sinica Podcast for an intriguing conversation about American exceptionalism, strategic thinking, and the U.S.-China competition. They discuss the contrasting realities of China and American ideals, the determining factors of the geopolitical contest, strategic thinking in the South China Sea, and America's relationships with its allies. This thought-provoking discussion challenges conventional wisdom and offers valuable insights into the global perspective on U.S.-China relations.

Kishore Mahbubani, former UN ambassador of Singapore, discusses the geopolitical challenges posed by China and Russia, the core pillars of American strength, a financial 'nuclear option' for China, and the fusion of civilizations. The podcast also explores the significance of a comprehensive strategy in managing China's rise, the nature and goals of the Chinese Communist Party, China as a civilization, unveiling the Yellow Peril, and social cohesion and civic virtue.

No, not that Gordon Chang. The other one: the good one. Gordon H. Chang is a professor of American history at Stanford University, where he is also the Olive H. Palmer Professor in Humanities and the senior associate vice provost for undergraduate education. In this prelapsarian podcast, taped on December 19, Gordon chats with Kaiser about the rising tide of Sinophobia — presaging things to come once Trump really started fanning the flames during the present pandemic. 12:15: American perceptions of China and Chinese people20:54: A legacy of discrimination against Chinese scientists in the U.S.31:43: The role of universities in pushing back against xenophobia35:47: Espionage fears and restrictions against Chinese researchersRecommendations:Gordon: The Transpacific Experiment: How China and California Collaborate and Compete for Our Future, by Matt Sheehan. Kaiser: The Scientist and the Spy: A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage, by Mara Hvistendahl.This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A congressional bill and a draft executive order threaten to prevent U.S. government agencies from using drones made in China or that contain Chinese components. Concerns over security issues may end successful programs by the Department of the Interior and other agencies using Chinese-made drones for a huge range of purposes. Brendan Schulman, vice president for public policy and legal affairs of leading Chinese drone maker DJI, joins Kaiser and Jeremy to discuss.3:16: A history of DJI16:04: Shenzhen and the consumer electronic supply chain18:24: DJI under legal scrutiny in the U.S. and abroad 29:01: The role of the U.S. Congress in pushing back against Chinese tech39:18: Drone applications in the fight against COVID-19Recommendations:Jeremy: Fine Music Radio, a Cape Town–based radio station that plays jazz and classical music, and New Frame, a media company that covers news in Africa. Brendan: The book Eternal Life, by Dara Horn. Kaiser: Two pieces from The New Yorker: How does the coronavirus behave inside a patient?, by Siddhartha Mukherjee, and The contrarian coronavirus theory that informed the Trump administration, by Isaac Chotiner.Like the podcasts at SupChina? Help us out by taking our brief survey.This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Literature professor Jiwei Xiao discusses China's initial response to COVID-19, Fang Fang's comments on the pandemic, emerging literature on the topic, and the experience of occupying a space between nations and cultures. Film recommendations and a long-form piece by an ER doctor in New York are also discussed.

For our 10th anniversary show, Kaiser and Jeremy recorded live on Zoom, shared some reminiscences, reflected on how China and the podcast have changed in the years since they started the show, and took questions from listeners who tuned in. A video version of the podcast is available here. 8:05: A bird’s-eye view of Western media coverage of China26:52: The demise of area studies, and the rise of disciplines in China studies36:59: How to keep up with current events in China44:51: A discussion on xenophobia and nationalism in Chinese society1:16:37: Can person-to-person diplomacy exist in an increasingly insular worldRecommendations: Jeremy: An interview with Stephen King by Terry Gross on Fresh Air, Stephen King is sorry you feel like you’re stuck in a Stephen King novel, and an article on SupChina, My family survived the lockdown in Wuhan. Now it’s my turn, in New York, by Zeyi Yang. Kaiser: Fearing for my mother in Wuhan, facing a new Sinophobia in the US, by Xiao Jiwei, and Shockwave, by Adam Tooze.This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a show taped on March 2, before the full force of COVID-19 had hit the U.S., Kaiser and Jeremy chatted with Parsifal D'Sola Alvarado about China's strategy in the resource-rich but economically devastated Venezuela. Parsifal is a co-founder of the Andrés Bello China-Latin America Research Foundation and a foreign policy adviser to Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó.2:47: China-Venezuela relations before Hugo Chávez11:29: Popular attitudes toward China under Chávez30:27: Between Maduro and Guaidó, China is hedging its bets40:40: Documenting Chinese interaction in Venezuela 45:02: Do policymakers understand China’s involvement in South AmericaRecommendations:Jeremy: A list of healthcare and medical professionals on Twitter, dubbed “COVID-19 medical Twitter” by Jeremy. Parsifal: A book in Spanish by Francisco Suniaga, El pasajero de Truman, and The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom, by Simon Winchester. Kaiser: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, by Patrick Radden Keefe.Like the podcasts at SupChina? Help us out by taking this brief survey.This podcast was edited and produced by Kaiser Kuo and Jason MacRonald.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.