Sinica Podcast

Members of the Politburo are rarely praised for their dancing skills, but consider Xi Jinping's almost flawless execution of a political two-step: first casting himself as the voice of liberal moderation in the face of Bo Xilai's mass propaganda, and then draping himself in the mantle of Maoist China and the Communist Revolution once his position was secure. The changes are enough to prompt anyone to ask: How exactly did this happen and does it even make sense? Today on Sinica we take a look at the political movement that some academics are calling neo-Maoism, a group composed of the traditionally conservative politicians and Communist Party members whose influence began eroding with market reforms in the 1980s but who have arguably witnessed a comeback in the last two years. In a conversation with Jude Blanchette, the former assistant director of the 21st Century China Program at the University of California San Diego and currently the associate engagement director at The Conference Board’s China Center for Economics and Business in Beijing, Kaiser Kuo and Jeremy Goldkorn take a look at the history of the movement, its major players and how it is treated in the Chinese media. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kaiser and Jeremy recorded today's show from New York, where they waylaid Holly Chang, founder of Project Pengyou and now the Acting Executive Director of the Committee of 100, for a discussion on spying, stealing and Broadway. Yes, you read that right. After catching the Broadway musical Allegiance, which is about the Japanese-American internment camps in WWII, we wanted to do a show discussing the experiences people of Chinese heritage have with racial profiling today, and particularly the experiences of the Chinese diaspora community in the United States. Recommendations: Project Pengyou Corn Wars by Ted Genoways This American Life - Kaiser Kuo Edition Committee of 100 Jeremy Goldkorn: 1. One the Media: George Takei Has A Play 2. "My Personal Vendetta" An Interview with Hong Kong Publisher Bao Pu by Ian Johnson Holly Chang: Fateful Ties: A History of America's Preoccupation with China Kaiser: The Broad Way Show Allegiance and the original cast recordings available on iTunes   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kaiser Kuo and David Moser are joined this week by Howie Southworth and Greg Matza, creators of the independent video series Sauced in Translation, a reality show that journeys into the wilder parts of China in search of local Chinese specialities that can be repurposed into classic American dishes. The show is a great concept, brilliantly executed, and we're delighted to have Howie and Greg here to share some behind-the-scenes stories and talk about how they got started mixing Chinese and American cuisine. Recommendations: http://www.saucedintranslation.com/ https://www.facebook.com/SaucedInTranslation https://twitter.com/HowieSouthworth http://www.amazon.com/Cadillac-Desert-American-Disappearing-Revised/dp/0140178244/ David Moser http://www.chinafile.com/multimedia/video/drinking-northwest-wind Howie Southworth http://www.vogue.com/13376846/baijiu-cocktail-recipes-chinese-liquor/ Greg Matza Oliver Sacks Seeing Voices http://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Voices-Oliver-Sacks/dp/0375704078/ Oliver Sacks The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat http://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Mistook-His-Wife/dp/0684853949/ Kaiser Kuo Medieval Two Total War http://store.steampowered.com/app/4700/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The hosts discuss the current state of the Chinese stock market and its impact on global faith in China's economic decision-makers. They also explore China's progress in rebalancing its economy towards services and domestic consumption, as well as the challenges faced in deleveraging and shifting from manufacturing to services. Additionally, they discuss the influence of billionaires on politics and the economic implications of wealth inequality in China.

This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser Kuo and David Moser are joined by Deborah Seligsohn, former science counselor for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and currently a doctoral candidate at the University of California, San Diego, where she studies environmental governance in China. With more than 20 years of China experience, Deborah is one of the most knowledgeable people in the world on the question of China's policy response to issues of air pollution and climate change. Recommendations: "How China, the ‘world’s largest polluter,’ is taking on climate change," by Deborah Seligsohn (Non-pay walled version is on SCMP attached below) http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1891794/how-china-worlds-largest-polluter-taking-climate-change https://www.chinafile.com/contributors/deborah-seligsohn http://www.chinafaqs.org/expert/deborah-seligsohn David Moser The Last Dalai Lama http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/magazine/the-last-dalai-lama.html?_r=0 The Age of Irreverence http://www.amazon.com/The-Age-Irreverence-History-Laughter/dp/0520283848 Deborah Seligsohn Hey, China, this is why democracies beat autocracies in a fight. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/12/15/hey-china-this-is-why-democracies-beat-autocracies-in-a-fight-so-back-off-the-south-china-sea/ Kaiser Kuo ISIS is a revolution https://aeon.co/essays/why-isis-has-the-potential-to-be-a-world-altering-revolution   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When Ernest Hemingway somewhat presciently referred to Paris as a "moveable feast" ("wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you"), he captured the feelings of many long-term China expats rather concisely. So why exactly does everyone like to compare life here to Paris in the 1920s? And if life is so romantic here, where are the writers in our midst and what are they producing? This week on Sinica, Kaiser Kuo and David Moser are delighted to host the editors of While We're Here: China Stories from a Writers' Colony, a compilation of short stories, poems and more, lovingly assembled by Alec Ash and Tom Pellman of The Anthill. Join us to listen to some selections as well as unapologetic gossip about the writers in question. If you want to pick up the book, you can find it for your Kindle here on Amazon or drop by The Bookworm in Beijing for a physical copy. Recommendations: The Anthill http://theanthill.org/ While We Were Here: China Stories from a Writers’ Colony, Edited by Alec Ash and Tom Pellman http://www.amazon.com/While-Were-Here-Stories-Writers-ebook/dp/B019136EXI/ Unsavory Elements http://www.amazon.com/Unsavory-Elements-Stories-Foreigners-Loose/dp/9881616409 How to Dress to Buy Dragonfruit http://www.amazon.com/How-Does-One-Dress-Dragonfruit-ebook/dp/B00K21ZXF4 Alec Ash on "Shanghai Cocktales" http://beijingcream.com/2015/05/shanghai-cocktales-and-the-curse-of-the-expat-memoir/ Incarnations http://www.amazon.com/The-Incarnations-Novel-Susan-Barker/dp/1501106783 Rock Paper Tiger http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Tiger-Ellie-McEnroe-Novel/dp/161695258X/ Up to The Mountains and Down to the Countryside, by Quincy Carol http://www.amazon.com/Mountains-Down-Countryside-Quincy-Carroll/dp/1941758452 Radio Lab Episode on CRISPER http://www.radiolab.org/story/antibodies-part-1-crispr/ Alec Ash The Search for a Vanishing Beijing, by M. A. Aldrich http://www.amazon.com/The-Search-Vanishing-Beijing-Capital/dp/9622099394 Voice Map – Walking Guided Tours – Check out the tours of Beijing, by David French and Alex Ash https://voicemap.me/ Tom Pellman Dispatches from Pluto, by Richard Grant http://www.amazon.com/Dispatches-Pluto-Found-Mississippi-Delta-ebook/dp/B00UDCNM82 David Moser 逻辑思维 Logical Thinking – Video Series on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/logictalkshow Kaiser Kuo China’s Bold Push into Genetically Customized Animals, by Christina Larson http://www.nature.com/news/china-s-bold-push-into-genetically-customized-animals-1.18826 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amazing research now suggests that Beijing's swifts, the tiny creatures most residents pass by without noticing, are some of the most well-travelled birds on the planet, averaging an astonishing 124,000 miles of flight in their life, barely landing for years on end, and migrating as far as the southern tip of Africa. This week on Sinica, Kaiser Kuo and Jeremy Goldkorn spoke with Terry Townshend, founder of the environmental education and travel organization EcoAction China and creator of the "Birding Beijing" website, for an inside look at how the scientific community discovered these amazing facts. We also discuss how the changing urban landscape of Beijing is affecting the natural environment for these amazing creatures. Recommendations:   Birding Beijing http://birdingbeijing.com/ Action for Swifts http://actionforswifts.blogspot.com British Trust for Ornithology http://www.bto.org Purity: A Novel, by Jonathan Franzen http://www.amazon.com/Purity-A-Novel-Jonathan-Franzen/dp/0374239215 Cement and Pig Consumption Reveal China's Huge Changes http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-33802777 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is the second part of our episode of Sinica recorded during a special live event at the Bookworm Literary Festival. In this show David Moser and Kaiser Kuo were joined by China-newcomer Jeremy Goldkorn, fresh off the plane from Nashville to field questions from our live Beijing audience. During this show, we talk about what Beijing means to us and what we see happening in China going forward. If you're a long-time listener, be sure to check out this unusual episode recorded in front of a live audience. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our episode of Sinica this week was captured during a special live event at the Bookworm Literary Festival, where David Moser and Kaiser Kuo were joined by China-newcomer Jeremy Goldkorn, fresh off the plane from Nashville. During the show we talked about Beijing-lifers and how the city has changed during our time here. If you're a long-time listener, be sure to check out this unusual episode recorded in front of a live audience. Recommendations: Chublic Opinion https://chublicopinion.com/  Jeremy Goldkorn Holiday Inn Express on 春秀路 David Moser The World According to Xi Jinping, by Benjamin Carlson http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/09/xi-jinping-china-book-chinese-dream/406387/ Kaiser Kuo Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie http://www.amazon.com/Americanah-Chimamanda-Ngozi-Adichie/dp/0307455920 Here’s What All The Chinese Students at Your School are Reading, by Matt Sheehan http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/heres-what-the-300000-chinese-students-in-the-us-are-reading_55f9b409e4b0e333e54c3e22 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The West has spent decades pleading with China to become a responsible stakeholder in the global community, but what happens now that China is starting to take a more proactive role internationally? In today's show, Kaiser Kuo and David Moser are delighted to be joined by a Dutch journalist, Fokke Obbema (the de Volkskrant correspondent with a perfectly normal Dutch name), who is the author of the recent book China and the West: Hope and Fear in the Age of Asia. Recommendations: Fokke Obbema’s China and the West https://www.amazon.com/China-West-Hope-Fear-Asia/dp/178453384X  Susan L. Shirk’s China: Fragile Superpower https://www.amazon.com/China-Superpower-Susan-L-Shirk/dp/0195373197  David Moser Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind https://www.amazon.com/Sapiens-Humankind-Yuval-Noah-Harari/dp/0062316095  Fokke Obbema David Eggers’ The Circle https://www.amazon.com/Circle-Dave-Eggers/dp/0345807294  The Social Credit System https://chinacopyrightandmedia.wordpress.com/2014/06/14/planning-outline-for-the-construction-of-a-social-credit-system-2014-2020/ Kaiser Kuo Will and Ariel Durant’s The Story of Civilization Volume Ten: Rousseau and Revolution https://www.amazon.com/Rousseau-Revolution-Story-Civilization-Durant/dp/1567310214  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.