Best Mary Kay Magistad Podcasts (2024)

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Ep. 9: Tiananmen remembered 59:57

17d ago59:57

59:57

Tiananmen -- the place, the protests, the crackdown -- reverberates in memories and imaginations around the world, even 35 years after tanks rolled in Beijing’s streets, and the Chinese military’s crackdown on student demonstrators in the week hours of June 4, 1989, killed at least hundreds and wounded thousands of people. The protesters had been c…

1
Ep. 8: Uyghur Women Speaking Out 51:14

2M ago51:14

51:14

Genocide is not a word thrown around lightly by the U.S. government, but it uses that term to describe the Chinese government’s ongoing assaults on Uyghurs’ distinct culture, identity, rights, and freedom in China’s far western region of Xinjiang. China's government has long had an uneasy relationship with Uyghurs’ distinct Turkic Muslim identity, …

1
Ep. 7: Why China's ahead in the green energy 'gold rush' 49:08

3M ago49:08

49:08

China has bet big over the past couple of decades on how building up its renewable energy sector -- solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles and their batteries, and the metals and minerals that make them all possible -- will help China achieve a dominant global position in an essential field. So far, with intensifying climate change making t…

1
Ep. 6: Spy novels, a real-life thriller, and the BBC 56:05

4M ago56:05

56:05

Acclaimed spy novelist Adam Brookes started out in China as a languge student in the mid-'80s, skipping class to travel in trucks and buses to Tibet and other parts of China that had just opened up after being shut off to foreign visitors for decades. He want back as a BBC China correspondent, informed by his earlier experiences in remote parts of …

1
Ep. 5: China's Economic Challenges, Explained 1:09:47

5M ago1:09:47

1:09:47

The sizzle has come off of China's decades of economic growth, as the country contends with deflation, slumping consumer confidence, plummeting foreign investment, a cratered urban property sector, high local government debt, overcapacity in manufacturing, and a private sector cowed by government crackdowns, as well as a shrinking workforce and an …

1
Ep. 4: How "Leftover Women" may reshape China's future 47:29

6M ago47:29

47:29

A funny thing happened at the height of China's economic boom, as more and more Chinese women were getting college degrees, good jobs, and promising careers. The government launched a propaganda campaign, urging women to get married young, before they became "yellowed pearls". Leta Hong-Fincher captured that phenomenon in her book Leftover Women (2…

1
Ep. 3: How China's Future Looked in the Past 47:46

7M ago47:46

47:46

Dreams of a better future have driven many a revolution, but not all have turned out the way the dreamers imagined. China's early revolutionaries, a century ago, aimed to rid the country of what they saw as corrupt capitalism and the world of colonialism and imperialism. Instead, they said, socialism would bring a future of peace, prosperity, equal…

1
Ep. 2: American Correspondents in China 45:44

8M ago45:44

45:44

China's rise is one of the great stories of the past century, and China correspondents have told that story in myriad ways -- as a story of transformation, of falling poverty rates and rising power, of new wealth and old political elites, of new opportunities and unintended consequences, of abuses of rights and of power, of surveillance and censors…

1
Ep. 1: Chinese Fiction in the Reform & Opening Up Era 54:18

9M ago54:18

54:18

China's epic transformation over the past four decades has seen cities expand, fortunes rise, and expectations change. It has left Chinese people to either ride the waves of change, or scramble -- perhaps struggle -- to keep up. In the midst of it all, Chinese fiction has reflected and riffed on life on the ground, with humor, satire, pathos, and g…

1
China Books, Trailer 3:49

9M ago3:49

3:49

Fresh ideas and thought-provoking conversations on fiction and non-fiction, about China and from China, with host Mary Kay Magistad, a former China correspondent for NPR and PRX's The World. The China Books podcast is a companion of the China Books Review (chinabooksreview.com), co-published by Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations (where M…

1
Ep7: Sci-Fi Takes on Climate Change 51:03

2y ago51:03

51:03

Who doesn't like a good story, especially one that sharpens your thinking about the future? Science fiction has been doing that for generations, and now, a growing number of sci fi and speculative fiction writers around the world are imaging what a future with climate change will look like, and how we might respond to it. Listen in to this thought-…

1
Ep6: Making Our Urban Future Livable 29:44

2y ago29:44

29:44

Most of us on earth now live in cities. By 2050, more than two-thirds of us will. And by the end of this century, demographers predict, 85% of the world’s population will live in cities. By then, demographers estimate, cities like Lagos in Nigeria and Mumbai in India will have 60 million or more inhabitants, and much of the world's urban growth wil…

1
Ep5: Feeding the World in a Climate Change Future 47:52

2+ y ago47:52

47:52

We've all got to eat. And climate change is throwing us new challenges as to how to feed a global population that's getting bigger, more urban, and more affluent -- and make sure the world's poorest have enough nutritious food too. This would have been a challenge without climate change. With it, farmers need to adapt to wilder weather, less predic…

1
Ep4: Going, Going, Gone: Biodiversity & Climate Change 40:19

2+ y ago40:19

40:19

Enjoy nature? Well, do it while you can. We’re losing as many as 200 species a day, scientists say – plants, animals, birds, bugs – with cascading effects for all other species, including humans. And it's humans – our factories, cars, planes and power plants, our sprawling cities and mono-culture farms – who have disrupted complex ecosystems and ar…

1
Ep3: Himalayas' Melting Glaciers Impact Billions 23:56

2+ y ago23:56

23:56

Himalayan glaciers have long served as a frozen water tower, releasing water on which billions of Asians rely — into ten of Asia's mighty rivers, into agricultural and food systems, and into ground water. Climate change is now rapidly melting those glaciers — up to two-thirds of them may be gone by the end of this century — throwing ecosystems thro…

1
Ep2: What Polar Ice Is Telling Us 30:33

2+ y ago30:33

30:33

Polar ice has a story to tell. Trapped in it are clues to the past -- dirt and dust, and air -- going back a million years . From this, climate scientists can figure out what was happening during past ice ages and warm periods. In each case, it all came down to carbon -- how much carbon dioxide was in the air. And we're now at CO2 levels last seen …

1
Ep1: Burning Up: The Climate Challenge 48:31

2+ y ago48:31

48:31

We're awfully good at burning things up in the name of progress -- coal, oil, gas, Amazon rain forests. We're not as good at factoring in the real cost of those choices, on our health, and on the health of the planet. In this first episode of the COAL+ICE podcast, top climate journalists talk about what these choices look like where they live -- in…

1
Introducing COAL+ICE Podcast 2:56

2+ y ago2:56

2:56

We're all living with climate change, but what can we do about it? Join host Mary Kay Magistad, for global conversations on what's happening with climate change around the world, and what's being done to bend the curve. This biweekly Asia Society podcast starts in late January 2022.By Asia Society

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Ethiopia and the Road Ahead 49:43

3+ y ago49:43

49:43

Episode 9: Chinese investment in Africa has built roads, railways, dams, and more, spurring new interest and competition from other global investors. Critics say China’s too often exploitative, including with loans that leave some countries too deeply in debt. But its investments helped famine-prone Ethiopia become one of the world’s fastest growin…

1
The Other Asian Giant: India 44:16

3+ y ago44:16

44:16

Episode 8: China is one of India's top trading partners, but India has chosen not to be part of China's New Silk Road. It's not wild about a future in which China leads Asia, much less the world. So India's offering its own investments and vision of a more multipolar world. And with Chinese and Indian troops in a tense stand-off on their contested …

1
China's Digital Silk Road 48:20

3+ y ago48:20

48:20

Episode 7: China is fast becoming a global leader in cutting edge technologies—such as AI, facial recognition, surveillance, and 5G—and is exporting them worldwide. Fans like the high quality and low cost. Critics say China’s technology enables authoritarian control and increases dependence on an autocratic state. They call for democracies, includi…

1
China’s Arctic Ambition 42:54

3+ y ago42:54

42:54

Episode 6: China’s leaders see climate change as an opportunity in the Arctic, where a new shorter trade route is emerging as ice melts. With its Polar Silk Road, China is targeting access to rare earths, uranium, fish stocks, oil, gas—and the strategic benefits of having a presence in the Arctic. China’s initiative has revived U.S. interest in the…

1
China In America’s Backyard: Panama & Mexico 45:11

3+ y ago45:11

45:11

Episode 5: Many Latin American countries have joined China’s New Silk Road, including Panama, where Chinese companies now manage ports on both ends of the Panama Canal. As Mexico considers whether to join, some countries in the region are facing heavy pressure from the Trump Administration warning them not to get too close to China. Still, China's …

1
Rough Seas: Malaysia, Cambodia & Thailand 47:17

3+ y ago47:17

47:17

Episode 4: Southeast Asian countries have long managed a complex relationship with China—the region’s biggest trading partner and powerful neighbor. The New Silk Road promises opportunities for economic growth, but at what cost? With China increasingly enforcing its disputed claims to the South China Sea with its military, many Southeast Asians are…

1
Old World, New Silk Road: Italy & Europe 39:54

4y ago39:54

39:54

Episode 3: Italian populists—skeptical of the value of EU membership—drove Italy to become the first G7 country to join China’s New Silk Road amid pushback from Europe and the US. Italians hoped this would boost their exports to China and increase Chinese investment in Italy. But not much happened. Then came the pandemic, and generous EU aid, leavi…

1
Paving the Old Silk Road: Kazakhstan & Central Asia 44:04

4y ago44:04

44:04

Episode 2: Kazakhstan—situated on the overland route from China to Europe—has long played an important role in global trading. Some Kazakhs think the New Silk Road will benefit their country’s economy. Others worry about China’s growing influence in the region, and its detention of Muslims in neighboring Xinjiang province. As a former Soviet republ…

1
The China Dream 42:01

4y ago42:01

42:01

Episode 1: Chengdu is one of China’s fastest-growing cities, thanks to major investments in infrastructure. Now China’s taking its success at home on the road, promising that infrastructure done well can transform people’s lives around the world. Starting in Chengdu, a stop on both the ancient Silk Road and the new one, this episode looks at how Ch…

1
On China's New Silk Road Podcast Preview 3:05

4y ago3:05

3:05

If you like Whose Century Is It?, check out this preview of my new limited series podcast with the Global Reporting Centre, On China's New Silk Road. I've teamed up with great local journalists on almost every continent to explore how China's global ambition is seen around the world, and at the impact Chinese investments in one of the biggest globa…

1
On China's New Silk Road 2:50

4y ago2:50

2:50

Join host Mary Kay Magistad as she explores how China's New Silk Road may change the world. Dozens of countries have invited China to build roads, railways, ports, 5G networks, and more. How is China’s global ambition seen around the world and what impact are its investments having on the ground? Over nine episodes, Mary Kay, a former China corresp…

1
Modern slavery in your grocery cart 35:43

5y ago35:43

35:43

Next time you sip your tea or bite into a bar of chocolate, or load up your grocery cart with other treats, spare a thought for the underpaid or unpaid workers who made it possible. Modern slavery comes in many guises, and politics professor Genevieve LeBaron of the University of Sheffield in England, who's done field studies on the subject, is her…

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Mary Kay Magistad Podcasts

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