East Asian Studies

East Asian Studies

episodes

Interviews with scholars of East Asia about their new books.

Stephen G. Covell, "The Teaching and Teachings of Temple Buddhism in Contemporary Japan" (U Hawaii Press, 2024)

July 12, 2026

The Teaching and Teachings of Temple Buddhism in Contemporary Japan

Stephen G. Covell

How have Buddhist teachings come to be in modern and contemporary Japan and how are they taught? This pioneering work seeks to answer these questions …

Gregory Smits, "The Ryukyu Islands: A New History from the Stone Age to the Present" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

July 9, 2026

The Ryukyu Islands

Gregory Smits
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Most people only know one of the Ryukyu Islands: the island of Okinawa, home to sandy beaches and one of the U.S.’s most important bases in Asia. Ther…

Xian Aubin Wang, "Islam and Maoism in Southern Yunnan: State Violence and Resistance, 1949–2024" (Cornell UP, 2026)

July 3, 2026

Islam and Maoism in Southern Yunnan

Xian Aubin Wang
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Islam and Maoism in Southern Yunnan: State Violence and Resistance, 1949–2024 (Cornell University Press, 2026) by Dr. Xian Aubin Wang investigates …

Fabio Lanza, "Urban Revolution: People's Communes in Beijing" (Cambridge UP, 2026)

June 27, 2026

Urban Revolution

Fabio Lanza
Hosted by Mark Baker

During the Great Leap Forward (1958-62), the collectivization of the Chinese countryside had catastrophic results, but how did this short-lived politi…

Benjamin J. Nourse, "The Power of Publishing in Early Modern Tibetan Buddhism"(Lexington Books, 2025)

June 26, 2026

The Power of Publishing in Early Modern Tibetan Buddhism

Benjamin J. Nourse

The Power of Publishing in Early Modern Tibetan Buddhism (Lexington Books, 2025) is a rich exploration of the history of Tibetan books during the late…

Xiaobing Li, "China’s Mahan: Admiral Liu Huaqing and the Rise of the Modern Chinese Navy (Naval Institute Press, 2026)

June 25, 2026

China's Mahan

Xiaobing Li
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

In 2012, China debuted its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, a refurbished Soviet-era ship from Ukraine. The debut of the Liaoning was largely tha…

Infrastructure, Nickel, and the Politics of Polyalignment in Indonesia

June 23, 2026

Infrastructure, Nickel, and the Politics of Polyalignment in Indonesia

with Trissia Wijaya

Indonesia is often framed as a key arena of China-Japan-US competition in the Second Cold War. In this episode, we talk with Trissia Wijaya about her …

Olivier Krischer and Shuxia Chen, "Wayfaring: Photography in Taiwan, 1950s-1980s" (Australian Centre on China in the World, 2025)

June 22, 2026

Wayfaring: Photography in Taiwan, 1950s-1980s

Olivier Krischer and Shuxia Chen
Hosted by Li-Ping Chen

Wayfaring: Photography in Taiwan, 1950s–1980s (Australian Centre on China in the World, 2025) explores four transformative decades of photography in T…

Don Baker, "Korean New Religions" (Cambridge UP, 2025)

June 20, 2026

Korean New Religions

Don Baker
Hosted by Leslie Hickman

Korean New Religions (Cambridge University Press, 2025) is an excellent primer for anyone interested in modern Korea’s religious landscape. The Korea…

Yoshiko Nakano and Georgina Challen, "Meiji Graves in Happy Valley: Stories of Early Japanese Residents in Hong Kong" (Hong Kong UP, 2024)

June 17, 2026

Meiji Graves in Happy Valley

Yoshiko Nakano and Georgina Challen
Hosted by Bing Wang

The connections between Hong Kong and Japan began far earlier than many realise. Yet only recently has Hong Kong’s historic Japanese community receive…

Colin Flahive, "The Galaxy's Last Ride: Shifting Gears in Rural China" (Earnshaw Books, 2026)

June 15, 2026

The Galaxy's Last Ride

Colin Flahive
Hosted by Anthony Kao

Colin Flahive is an American entrepreneur and writer who has spent more than two decades living and running social enterprises in southwestern China. …

Michael Dillon, "Shanghai: The Story of China's Most Dynamic City" (Yale UP, 2026)

June 9, 2026

Shanghai

Michael Dillon
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Home to 25 million people, Shanghai is the most populous and wealthiest city in China. A meeting point between China and the wider world, the city …

Eileen Otis, "Walmart: Made in China" (Stanford UP, 2026)

June 6, 2026

Walmart

Eileen Otis
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Walmart: Made in China⁠ (Stanford University Press, 2026) by Dr. Eileen Otis tells the story of Walmart's expansion in China, making the case that…

Terao Tetsuya, "Spent Bullets" (HarperVia, 2025)

June 3, 2026

Spent Bullets

Terao Tetsuya and translated by Kevin Wang
Hosted by Anthony Kao

With Taiwan Travelogue winning the 2026 International Booker Prize, Taiwanese literature in translation has achieved new heights of visibility in the …

Weipin Tsai, "The Making of China's Post Office: Sovereignty, Modernization, and the Connection of a Nation" (Harvard UP, 2024)

June 3, 2026

The Making of China's Post Office

Weipin Tsai

How did a vast, nationwide institution like a modern postal system come into being in Qing China — right at the very end of the empire? In The Maki…

Chunmei Du, "Everyday Occupation: American Soldiers and Chinese Civilians in the Aftermath of World War II" (Cambridge UP, 2025)

May 28, 2026

Everyday Occupation

Chunmei Du
Hosted by Anthony Kao

Chunmei Du is an Associate Professor of History at Lingnan University. Her work focuses on the social and cultural history of modern China, specifical…

Hannah Shepherd, "The Narrowing Sea: Fukuoka, Pusan, and the Rise and Fall of an Imperial Region" (U California Press, 2025)

May 27, 2026

The Narrowing Sea

Hannah Shepherd
Hosted by Samee Siddiqui

In The Narrowing Sea: Fukuoka, Pusan, and the Rise and Fall of an Imperial Region (U California Press, 2025), Hannah Shepherd examines the shared hist…

Matthieu Felt, "Meanings of Antiquity: Myth Interpretation in Premodern Japan" (Harvard UP, 2023)

May 25, 2026

Meanings of Antiquity

Matthieu Felt
Hosted by Jingyi Li

Meanings of Antiquity: Myth Interpretation in Premodern Japan (Harvard UP, 2023) is the first dedicated study of how the oldest Japanese myths, record…

Jeremy Yellen, "The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: When Total Empire Met Total War" (Cornell UP, 2019)

May 25, 2026

The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

Jeremy Yellen
Hosted by Nathan Hopson

Jeremy Yellen’s The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: When Total Empire Met Total War (Cornell University Press, 2019) is a challenging transnat…

Mengqi Wang, "Anxious Homes: Inflexible Demand and China's Housing Market" (Cornell UP, 2026)

May 19, 2026

Anxious Homes

Mengqi Wang
Hosted by Yadong Li

Anxious Homes: Inflexible Demand and China's Housing Market (Cornell UP, 2026) is a study of the power that shapes the forms of the homes Chinese citi…