Kaiser Kuo, host of the long-running Sinica podcast, joins us in Zurich to discuss the evolving narrative on China, and why the West is so often 'stunned' by Chinese breakthroughs in electric vehicles, green technology, or, most recently: AI, with DeepSeek. We explore the reasons behind the challenges of reporting on China, the importance of strate…

India and Indonesia, the juggernaut democracies of South and Southeast Asia, both ended 2024 with new governments that hold new ambitions. How will this pan out in the year to come? We talked about this with Dewi Fortuna Anwar, one of Indonesia’s foremost foreign policy experts; and Garima Mohan, Senior Fellow in the Indo-Pacific Program at the Ger…

China is undergoing unprecedented changes domestically, while also dealing with the challenges of a volatile world. Listen to Qing Wang, host of the popular Chinese-language podcast The Weirdo; Zichen Wang, Research Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization; and Adam Tooze, economic historian and professor at Columbia University discuss the …

We're kicking off the year with two great minds discussing the State of the World as Asia's global importance continues to grow, Europe seems somewhat lost, and the U.S. is preparing for the return of Donald Trump to the White House. Listen to Asia Society President & CEO Kyung-wha Kang and economic historian Adam Tooze, professor at Columbia Unive…

Deepti Kapoor's Age of Vice, published in 2023, is a story of power, corruption, and complicity, set in modern India. In the early 2000s, the lives of Ajay, Neda, and Sunny – the novel's three main characters – cross in New Delhi. There is idealism, optimism even; but also crime, drugs, and violence, as Sunny Wadia follows in the footsteps of his p…

Summary In this conversation, Adam and Ste discuss their personal lives, including updates on Adam's house purchase and Ste's experiences with friends visiting. They transition into discussing the development of their hardcover project, focusing on new features, user interface improvements, and data management strategies. The conversation highlight…

Summary In this conversation, Adam and Ste discuss various personal updates, including seasonal changes and the exciting news of Adam's house purchase. They reflect on their previous year's book project and plan for the upcoming 2024 Year in Books, focusing on technical improvements, user experience, and community engagement. They also navigate the…

summary In this conversation, Adam and Ste reconnect after a break, sharing personal updates about their lives, travels, and reflections on current events. They discuss the cultural experiences from Adam's recent trip to Europe, touching on the importance of community and history. The conversation shifts to the political climate, emphasizing the va…

China and India seem to be en route a to better, or less bad, relationship for the first time in years. Germany published its first 'Focus on India' policy paper, immediately followed by a visit of Chancellor Scholz to New Delhi. The new EU Commission has specifically named India as an important part of its strategies. Russia, just like India a fou…

On November 6, 2024, leading global thinker Adam Tooze delivered Asia Society Switzerland's third annual State of Asia Address in front of a full house in the prestigious aula of the University of Zurich. Listen to the address in this episode of the podcast. Tooze talked about the different impact the return of Donald Trump as U.S. President has fo…

’The Weirdo’ is a podcast for people who live up to its name. It’s a very popular weekly Chinese-language show, where younger generation Chinese living both inside China and elsewhere come together to talk about topics ranging from international relations to personal relationships, from current events to the big issues of our time. It’s, as the hos…

Summary In this conversation, Adam and Ste discuss various topics ranging from culinary trends in France to seasonal changes and outdoor activities. They delve into winter preparations, project updates, and technical challenges faced in their work. The discussion also covers the resurgence of Rails and caching strategies, as well as community contr…

Summary In this conversation, Adam and Ste discuss their recent experiences, including attending the FANX convention and the upcoming Dragonsteel convention by Brandon Sanderson. They delve into the technical aspects of migrating their application from Next.js to Rails, addressing challenges and solutions encountered during the process. The duo als…

On October 20, 2024, Indonesia will inaugurate Prabowo Subianto as its new president. Ever since his election win back in February, world leaders have been courting Prabowo, meeting with him even before he has taken office. Prabowo seems to love presidenting around the world much more than current President Joko Widodo did during his ten years in o…

Today we're advancing on Stats, and we'll be doing a building session on the actual components you'll see on your profile. If you want to get a sneak peek and see how we're building Hardcover, join Adam and Ste in an hour-long live. Sound Bites "That's exciting! That's like a big step." "I live in Europe, so that's pretty much by default." "I manag…

Summary In this conversation, Adam and Ste discuss their recent activities and plans. They talk about embracing the Paris lifestyle, the culture of characters in Japan and South Korea, upcoming events, and their exploration of moving from Next.js to a React app within their Rails app. They also discuss the challenges and complexities of web develop…

Summary The conversation revolves around Ste's eventful trip to South France and Adam's use of the Apple Vision Pro for focused reading. They discuss the deployment of a new update for hardcover and the feedback received from users regarding the desired stats for reading habits. The top themes identified include pages read, genres read, books read,…

Asia Society Australia, in collaboration with Asia Society centers in Hong Kong, India, and Japan, hosted a panel discussion to explore how Asian countries perceive the U.S. role in Asia and what bearing the election will have on the region’s security and prosperity. Participants include Dr. Natalie Sambhi, senior policy fellow at Asia Society Aust…

In 2024, over half the world’s population has been voting for new leaders – or will do so very soon. In Asia, countries from Bangladesh to Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, and Indonesia, end this year with other leaders than the one they started it with (though not all through general elections). So do the EU, the UK and, in January 2025, the U…

Summary In this conversation, Adam and Ste discuss their plans for upcoming Hardcover Lives and the importance of marketing emails. They also talk about their personal lives, including their experiences with baguettes and outdoor concerts. The main focus of the conversation is on the development of stats for Hardcover, with Adam and Ste discussing …

Summary In this conversation, Adam and Ste discuss their recent experiences with DevOps work and a security breach. They then shift their focus to redesigning the stats page on Hardcover. They brainstorm different sections and features for the page, including overall takeaways on books, authors, genres, and moods. They also consider adding stats on…

Summary Adam and Ste discuss their living situations and the differences between their apartments in Paris and Salt Lake City. They also talk about a recent incident where someone downloaded a large amount of data from their website. They then shift their focus to designing the stats page on Hardcover, discussing the selection of timeframes and the…

Summary Adam and Ste discuss their recent moves and settling into new cities. They also talk about the challenges of moving with pets and the logistics involved. They then discuss the recent updates and improvements to the Hardcover platform, including the reading journal and addition tracking. They also discuss the upcoming stats feature and brain…

Summary In this conversation, Adam and Ste chat with Haley Hughes, a YouTuber with over 26,000 subscribers, about her experience with book influencing and creating content. They discuss how Haley discovered Hardcover, her background in mental health, her love for character-focused books, and the challenges of setting boundaries with her community. …

Summary In this conversation, Adam and Ste interview author Dan Petrosini. They discuss Dan's writing journey, the challenges of being a writer, and the importance of discipline and perseverance. They also explore the genres of mystery and thriller, and the evolving landscape of self-publishing. Dan shares insights on marketing strategies and the i…

Summary Ste announces his move to Paris and discusses the challenges of the relocation. Adam shares his previous experience in Paris and expresses excitement for Ste's new adventure. They reflect on their 50th episode of Hardcover and the commitment to building the platform. The conversation then shifts to the development of the reading journal fea…

Summary In this conversation, Adam and Ste discuss various topics including the challenges of balancing support and development, the importance of feeling the pain of users, and the progress on the Hardcover app. They also discuss the design updates for the currently reading page and the implementation of progress updates. They explore different op…

Summary Adam and Ste discuss their recent family time and vacations. They also discuss the challenges of balancing work and personal life. They review the design for updating progress on a book and consider different options for the user interface. They explore the idea of using incremental page numbers and discuss the possibility of autosaving pro…

As India’s economy continues to grow, can the world’s most populous country truly replicate China's success of the past decades? Should India even imitate China? Maybe not, says our guest on this episode, Alicia García Herrero, Hong Kong-based Chief Economist for Asia-Pacific at French investment bank Natixis, and Senior Fellow at European think ta…

Two human rights experts and members of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, Yanghee Lee and Chris Sidoti, join Asia Society Executive Vice President and Asia Society Policy Institute Senior Fellow Debra Eisenman to discuss the current state of play in Myanmar, where effective control of the country lies, and prospects and recommendations for …

Summary The conversation covers a wide range of topics related to new technology in the book space, including hardware, open source development, and the implementation of bulk edit mode. The discussion also delves into the challenges and considerations of open sourcing a network like Hardcover. The conversation transitions from discussing new techn…

Summary Ross and Laura from Hardee's Books share their journey of turning their book-buying obsession into a thriving business. They discuss their passion for fantasy and sci-fi, their commitment to donating 20% of their profits to charity, and their dream of opening a physical bookshop. They also talk about their YouTube channel and the challenges…

May 14, 2024 — Dr. Jenny Wang, nationally recognized psychologist and author on the intersections of mental health, Asian American identity, and racial trauma, discusses strategies for both Asian and non-Asian communities to prioritize mental health, reshape limiting narratives, and progress towards personal and collective freedom and autonomy. Kan…

With over 970 million eligible voters, the ongoing Indian elections mark the world's largest democratic exercise. As the six-week-long election process unfolds, Farwa Aamer, director of South Asia Initiatives at the Asia Society Policy Institute, sits down with Dr. Ronojoy Sen, senior research fellow and research lead in Politics, Society, and Gove…

As tensions simmer in its immediate environment, Japan is on high alert. In the midst of China's "sustained aggressiveness," Japan is revising its defense and security policies. But how does this align with its pacifist constitution, and is there still room for engagement with China? Hear from Yuki Tatsumi, senior fellow and co-chair of the East As…