Sinica Podcast

Sinica brings you a little levity for this Thanksgiving weekend: In one of the last live events taped at the storied Bookworm in Beijing, which shut its doors this month, the Royal Asiatic Society of Beijing sponsored a debate over a simple proposition: The Ming was better than the Qing. Four seasoned China-watchers battle it out for dynastic supremacy. Who will prevail?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a podcast taped live for the Asia Society of Switzerland in Zurich, Kaiser is joined by Kristin Shi-Kupfer, director of the Research Area on Public Policy and Society at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) in Berlin, and Evgeny Morozov, contributing editor at the New Republic and author of The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom and To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism. They discuss the shifting narratives about the relationship between technology and authoritarian politics, and how these shifts have been affected by China’s rise as a technology power. 6:48: What we got wrong about China’s censorship regime15:28: Was the internet ever meant to set us free?25:20: Two competing visions for the internet39:55: The role of the private sector versus the state51:42: What role does the internet play in society?Recommendations:Kristin: The Romance of the Three Kingdoms podcast. Evgeny: An essay in the most recent version of the New Left Review, Automation and the future of work—1, by Aaron Benanav. Kaiser: The audiobook version of A Hero Born: The Definitive Edition (The Legend of the Condor Heroes, volume 1), authored by Jin Yong and translated by Anna Holmwood.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.

Fuchsia Dunlop, the preeminent writer on Chinese cuisine in the English language, has published a completely revised and updated version of Land of Plenty, her classic book on Sichuan cookery, containing 70 new recipes. Her newest book is titled The Food of Sichuan. She joins Kaiser and guest host Jim Millward of Georgetown University in a discussion of this wildly popular cuisine — and how to get started as a Sichuan chef in your own kitchen.12:18: Are there eight regional cuisines in China?21:20: Sichuanese food going global26:37: Sichuan cooking 10135:01: Useful “hacks” for cooking and preparation41:20: Food fads in China and how they migrateRecommendations:Jim: Give Fuchsia a follow on Instagram; Women and China’s Revolutions, by Gail Hershatter; and the Los Angeles–based Cambodian and American psychedelic rock band Dengue Fever. Kaiser: A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism, by Adam Gopnik. Fuchsia: Away: A Novel, by Amy Bloom; The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Cultural History in the Old South, by Michael W. Twitty; and the soon-to-be-released posthumous album, Thanks for the Dance, by singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. 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 talks about the state of charitable giving in China with Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Has philanthropy kept pace with the growth of wealth? And how have charities fared under Xi Jinping and China’s new laws governing NGOs and charity?6:36: How has charity fared under Xi Jinping?13:04: Party apprehensions about philanthropic giving20:18: Red lines for foreign philanthropy in China29:28: Where is Chinese funding going abroad? 34:52: How philanthropy in China has changed over timeRecommendations:Scott: The China Hustle, by Magnolia Pictures.Kaiser: A birthday letter to the People’s Republic, by Yangyang Cheng. She also writes the Science and China column for SupChina.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 this live show taped at New York University on October 16, Jeremy and Kaiser spoke with Jerry Cohen, the doyen of American studies of Chinese law. We explore the legal foundations for the Hong Kong handover in 1997, and how imprecision has contributed to many of the difficulties playing out in Hong Kong's streets today.5:43: Ambiguity in Hong Kong Basic Law19:38: A look at the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill32:35: Changing repercussions for detained and imprisoned Hongkongers37:59: Hong Kong’s legal system wilting under pressure from Beijing51:08: The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019Recommendations:Jeremy: A series of oral histories by Ben Mauk, Weather Reports: Voices from Xinjiang.Jerry: The works of a few individuals shining a light on the atrocities occurring in Xinjiang: James Leibold, Jim Millward, and Adrian Zenz. Kaiser: Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation, by Andrew Marantz.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, Neil Thomas of MacroPolo sits down with Kaiser to talk about what we know — and what we don’t know — about popular support for the Chinese political leadership. Taking into account the effects of censorship and propaganda, how much “natural” regime support is left, and what explains it? 8:51: How reliable are public opinion surveys of regime support?19:53: Ian Johnson’s NYT op-ed on the October 1 parade22:20: The Party and the People38:18: Anniversaries and “dark anniversaries” — the significance of 201943:56: Hong Kong and Party legitimacyRecommendations:Neil: “Twists in the Belt and Road,” by Ryan Manuel. Kaiser: New episodes of The China History Podcast on the Warlord Period.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.

Samm Sacks, a Cybersecurity Policy and China Digital Economy Fellow at New America, speaks with Kaiser on Huawei’s nebulous role in the U.S.-China trade war, Beijing’s long march to technological self-reliance, and the growing U.S. Commerce Department Entity List. This episode was recorded live at the Columbia China and the World Forum 2019, on September 28, 2019, at Columbia University. 4:12: Trading Huawei for soybeans11:24: The growing Entity List22:16: Beijing’s retaliation 25:09: Silicon Valley’s varying views27:21: Censorship on TikTok and Bytedance Recommendations:Samm: Novels by Irish millennial Sally Rooney, for her ability to invoke emotions you didn’t know you had.Kaiser: Guitar nerd galore. Effects pedals by brand Mooer — the Radar Speaker CAB Simulator, and the overdrive pedal called the Hustle Drive — as well as the JAM BUDDY by JOYO.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.

Jude Blanchette, the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), joins Kaiser for a discussion of the ongoing Hong Kong protests, possible U.S. responses, Beijing's puzzling inaction, the perspectives of mainland Chinese, and media coverage of ongoing events in Hong Kong.4:52: Hong Kong’s young democratic leaders15:39: The volatility of the Hong Kong protests27:10: Mainland sentiments on Hong Kong38:21: Media coverage of the protests46:04: Speaking Mandarin, a new liability in Hong Kong?Recommendations:Jude: How Hong Kong got to this point, an essay by Richard Bush. Kaiser: Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century, by George Packer.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.

Episode 53 of TechBuzz China is about NetEase. Listen to learn about the company’s founder, William Ding, and how he built a $33 billion empire based on a unique business style as well as on his belief that a company doesn’t need a direction or specific labels. Today, NetEase’s offerings range from email to publishing and developing games, and from breeding pigs to educating people. This episode originally aired on October 4, 2019. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

SupChina is celebrating Golden Week with a few of our best episodes from the Sinica Podcast Network. For today’s selection, enjoy this interview with Peter Hessler on ChinaEconTalk, along with host Jordan Schneider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.