Best PRC Media Podcasts (2024)

1
There and Back Again: Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour and the Legacy of Reform and Opening in China 36:18

16d ago36:18

36:18

In this episode, we welcome back a friend of the podcast, Jonathan Chatwin, to discuss his new book, The Southern Tour: Deng Xiaoping and the Fight for China's Future. Since the Emperor Kangxi made his southern tour in 1684, many emperors and Chinese leaders have undertaken similar inspection tours, including Mao, Deng, and Xi Jinping. Deng’s south…

1
From Firefly to Fox News: The Evolution of "Chimerican" Media 39:58

2M ago39:58

39:58

This episode features a lively conversation with Fan Yang, Professor of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, about her new book Disorienting Politics: Chimerican Media and Transpacific Entanglements. The term “Chimerica” is a portmanteau word, blending “China” and “America.” The neologism denotes the econo…

1
What happens after a Barbarian walks away from the Gate? 33:50

3M ago33:50

33:50

This episode represents a new direction for the podcast, recorded on the eve of Jeremiah’s move to a new home base in Geneva. We start with a retrospective snapshot of the podcast’s beginnings – with many episodes recorded under the backdrop of COVID-19 – and then segue into our perennial concern, the plight of academic exchange in China, for which…

1
Seeking News, Making China 37:33

4M ago37:33

37:33

In this episode, John Alekna talks about his fascinating new book Seeking News, Making China: Information Technology and the Emergence of Mass Society. In 20th-century China, the gradual importation and development of information technology had an enormous impact on the way that news was disseminated and accessed by the general public. When radio f…

1
The Mountains Are High with author Alec Ash 35:45

5M ago35:45

35:45

In this episode, we welcome back to the podcast our good friend, Alec Ash, who has written a fascinating book recounting a year spent in the city of Dali, Yunan Province. Unlike Alec’s previous book, Wish Lanterns, his new book, The Mountains are High, is a highly personal account of his attempt to find solace and healing after a pivotal emotional …

1
Exile from Expat-ville 43:00

5M ago43:00

43:00

In this episode of Barbarians at the Gate, our guest is Michael Wester, founder and publisher of True Run Media and The Beijinger. Mike is a long-time resident of Beijing, and we talked with him about running the city’s most-read expat publication, his experiences in organizing the “Safe and Sane” WeChat communities during the pandemic, and what th…

1
Xi Built This City 38:41

6M ago38:41

38:41

In this episode, we chat with Andrew Stokols, who is currently a Ph.D. candidate at MIT researching varieties of digital urbanism globally, with an emphasis on China. On the podcast, we briefly compare notes on the urban development of Beijing in the 21st century, including the contradictions between Beijing as a technologically advanced urban cent…

1
No Laughing Matters: The State of Stand-up in China Today 38:58

7M ago38:58

38:58

Has the Chinese government killed stand-up comedy in China? In May of 2023, a popular standup comedian made an innocuous joke in which he mentioned a phrase used to laud the fighting spirit of the People’s Liberation Army. The next day, a complaint from a nationalistic netizen resulted in the Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media Company being fined a who…

1
Art with Altitude 42:57

8M ago42:57

42:57

On this episode of Barbarians at the Gate, I talk to Kristel Ouwehand, also known by her Tibetan language name, Tenzin Dolma, the founder of Snowland Academy in Gansu province where she lives with and teaches young Tibetan artists. Beginning at age 17, Tenzin traveled across Central America, Europe, parts of the Middle East, and the east coast of A…

1
History Wars: The PRC pushes back against unsanctioned views of the past 47:28

8M ago47:28

47:28

Jeremiah kicks off the podcast with news that the decades-long Qing History Projectn being carried out by, among other institutions, Renmin University and the Chinese Academy of Social Science(CASS) seems to have been "put on ice" after the draft document produced by the team of Chinese historians was deemed as “politically unacceptable” by the aut…

1
Riding the "Harmony Express" with author Thomas Bird 37:42

9M ago37:42

37:42

In today’s episode, we talk with journalist and travel writer Thomas Bird about his latest book, The Harmony Express. Entering an uncertain new chapter of his life several years ago, Bird decided to embark on an exploration of the People’s Republic of China via the country’s vast web of railroad lines. In the spiritual footsteps of travel writers s…

1
Do you really need to learn to write characters to study Chinese? 55:25

10M ago55:25

55:25

Warning: GEEKY CONTENT Hosting solo in this week’s episode, David takes a geeky deep dive into the digital revolution in Chinese language learning in conversation with Chinese language pedagogy expert Matt Coss. The Sisyphean task of learning to write hundreds of Chinese characters has long been the bête noire of Chinese language students. The expl…

1
A Career of Change Making: A Conversation with Isabel Nepstad of BellaTerra Consulting 41:48

11M ago41:48

41:48

Isabel Nepstad’s passion for nature, food, and agriculture can be traced back to her childhood growing up in Belém, a city on the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil. Her connection to China dates to Isabel’s experience studying Chinese at the Beijing Foreign Studies University and economic development and environmental science at Yunnan University…

1
Have Tunes, Will Travel: The Musical Adventures of DJ Bo 35:21

12M ago35:21

35:21

On this episode of Barbarians at the Gate, Jeremiah talks to Brian “DJ Bo” Offenther. From being the FKFDJ (First Known Foreign DJ) to play in Pyongyang since 1945 to putting together the first Elvis Festival in Mainland China, DJ Bo has been at the center of China’s music scene for over a decade. The self-proclaimed "Shanghai's #2 DJ" is a DJ and …

1
One From the Vault: Ideology and Education in China with Educator Jiang Xueqin 55:32

1y ago55:32

55:32

David and Jeremiah are on holiday this week, but we hope you enjoy this encore episode with educator Jiang Xueqin, originally released in February 2022. Contrary to the common stereotype that Chinese education is regimented and mired in tradition, the education system in China is actually one of the most dynamic sectors of Chinese society, with cor…

1
From Olympic Gymnast To Chiropractor with Dr Karen Kelsall, DC - Ep. 92 42:37

1y ago42:37

42:37

Karen Kelsall, DC, CCSP®, has been practicing the healing art and science of chiropractic since 1997 from a stately Victorian set in the bustling commercial district of NW 23rd Avenue in Portland, Oregon. She discovered gymnastics at nine, and within three years had moved from her Surrey, BC, home to Eugene, Oregon, to hone her talent at the Olympi…

1
A Great Leap Backwards?: The Closing of Cultural Spaces and the New Normal in Beijing 41:04

1y ago41:04

41:04

This episode of the podcast addresses a worrisome question: Is China’s “cultural space” shrinking? The recent crackdown on stand-up comedy content and the scrutiny of foreign musicians performing in bars have raised worries that other artistic domains will soon be targeted. Over the past decade, there has been a perception of a “death by a thousand…

1
Rocking China with Historian Andrew Field 44:26

1y ago44:26

44:26

In this episode, we welcome back Andrew Field to discuss his new book Rocking China: Rock Music Scenes in Beijing, Shanghai and Beyond. While having already conducted valuable research into the history of Shanghai jazz, in 2007, Andrew began a deep dive into the nascent Chinese underground rock scene of the early 2000s with the passion of a rock fa…

1
Tik-Tok-for-Tat: Jeremiah and David try to Fix US-China Relations 42:02

1y ago42:02

42:02

Fueled by too many red bulls (Jeremiah) and some pretty good pharmaceuticals following an emergency root canal (David), our intrepid cohosts throw caution to the wind and attempt to fix US-China Relations in a single podcast. For those outside of China, the ups and downs of this troubled bilateral relationship are sometimes felt as a rather abstrac…

1
What Xi Said: Comedy and Cross-Cultural Communication with Performer and Content Creator Jesse Appell 48:49

1+ y ago48:49

48:49

This week we catch up with Jesse Appell, an English-Chinese standup comedy star better known to his more than 3 million Chinese followers as Ai Jiexi 艾杰西. Jesse talks about how he parlayed his Fulbright Fellowship research on Chinese humor into a stellar comedy career in China. Stuck in the US for several years during the Covid-19 crisis, Jesse had…

1
The Peking Express with Author James Zimmerman 42:12

1+ y ago42:12

42:12

In this episode, we are delighted to talk with James Zimmerman about his new book, Peking Express: The Bandits who Stole a Train, Stunned the West, and Broke the Republic of China. The book is an enthralling account of a largely forgotten chapter in Chinese history, the harrowing 1923 raid on a luxury train by Chinese bandits and the ensuing 37-day…

1
Bells Up with Lacee Lazoff and Melissa Paris - Ep. 91 57:34

1+ y ago57:34

57:34

On this episode, we welcome Melissa and Lacee, Lacee discovered kettlebell training in 2013; working with bells not only changed her body but her entire career trajectory. She now helps clients build strong bodies with kettlebells, barbells, and bodyweight training. Lacee is a graduate with honors from Portland State University, holding a BA in com…

1
Getting Elevated in Qinghai with Entrepreneur and Mountain Guide Ben Cubbage 36:27

1+ y ago36:27

36:27

In this episode, we are joined by Ben Cubbage, who calls in from the lofty heights of Xining, the capital of Qinghai province. Ben co-founded Elevated Trips, an organization that offers specialized tours in the remote regions of Tibet, Qinghai, Mongolia, and Gansu provinces. As a passionate advocate for eco-friendly tourism, Ben emphasizes principl…

1
The Forbidden City with Matthew Hu 40:59

1+ y ago40:59

40:59

This week’s topic is the Forbidden City, and our tour guide once again is Matthew Hu Xinyu, Trustee of the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP) and founder of the Courtyard Institute. Matthew provides us with updates on recently renovated sections of the Palace Museum previously inaccessible to tourists, such as the Palace of Compassio…

1
CCTV Follies with Journalist and Author Philip Cunningham 31:44

1+ y ago31:44

31:44

In this episode, we welcome to the podcast journalist Philip Cunningham, freelance writer for newspapers such as South China Morning Post and Japan Times, and was a former Knight Fellow and Harvard Nieman Fellowship recipient. Philip is currently posting a daily Substack entitled CCTV Follies, which provides a visual chronicle of the daily CCTV eve…

1
Everything You Need to Know About Near Infrared Light with Scott Kennedy the owner & founder of LightPathLED - Ep. 90 40:12

1+ y ago40:12

40:12

On this episode, we welcome Scott Kennedy, Scott is the owner of Light Path LED. He is on the show to discuss the benefits of red-light therapy and how it can help increase blood flow, oxygen, recovery time, and healing. He explores the differences between red and near infrared light, as well as the benefits of using specific pulses for different p…

1
Understanding Integration Between Professions : Vision, Dental & PRI Clinical Application with Torin Berge, PT, MPT, PRC - Ep. 89 1:16:45

1+ y ago1:16:45

1:16:45

Torin Berge, PT, MPT, PRC is originally from Colorado, Torin knew from an early age that he wanted to be a physical therapist and help people. As he went through his schooling, he kept searching to know not only what was going on with people but “Why”. Shortly after graduating from PT school in 1999, he was exposed to PRI and was hooked knowing the…

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