New Books Network Podcast

Asian Review of Books March 23, 2023

Money Machine

A Trailblazing American Venture in China

Weijian Shan

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

In 2010, Ping An took over Shenzhen Development Bank, ending an experiment that had never been tried before, and not been tried since: a foreign company owning and managing a …

East Asian Studies March 23, 2023

China’s Cold War Science Diplomacy

Gordon Barrett

Hosted by Sarah Bramao-Ramos

During the early decades of the Cold War, the People’s Republic of China remained far outside mainstream international science — right? Gordon Barrett’s new book, China’s Cold War Science Diplomacy …

Folklore March 22, 2023

Oral Traditions in Contemporary China

Healing a Nation

Juwen Zhang

Hosted by Timothy Thurston

Oral Traditions in Contemporary China: Healing a Nation (Lexington Books, 2022) is the newest monograph from Professor Juwen Zhang of Willamette College. Through a historical survey and analyses of oral traditions like …

Disability Studies March 21, 2023

Families We Need

Disability, Abandonment, and Foster Care's Resistance in Contemporary China

Erin Raffety

Hosted by Shu Wan

Set in the remote, mountainous Guangxi Autonomous Region and based on ethnographic fieldwork, Families We Need: Disability, Abandonment, and Foster Care's Resistance in Contemporary China (Rutgers UP, 2022) traces the …

Economics March 19, 2023

From China's Lost Generation to American Private Equity Professor

A Discussion with Weijian Shan

Weijian Shan

Hosted by Keith Krueger

Having lived through both China’s Great Leap Forward during primary school, then the Cultural Revolution and the closing of schools for ten years, Beijing-born Weijian Shan, instead of a secondary …

Japanese Studies March 19, 2023

The God Susanoo and Korea in Japan’s Cultural Memory

Ancient Myths and Modern Empire

David Weiss

Hosted by Raditya Nuradi

The God Susanoo and Korea in Japan’s Cultural Memory: Ancient Myths and Modern Empire (Bloomsbury, 2022) traces reiterations and reinterpretations of the deity Susanoo regarding his relationship with Korea vis-a-vis Japan. Through …

Japanese Studies March 18, 2023

Women and Martial Art in Japan

Kate Sylvester

Hosted by Nathan Hopson

Kate Sylvester’s Women and Martial Art in Japan (Routledge 2023) examines sport, gender, and society in Japan through the author’s extensive experience and ethnographic research as a kendo practitioner both …

East Asian Studies March 17, 2023

One China, Many Taiwans

The Geopolitics of Cross-Strait Tourism

Ian Rowen

Hosted by Li-Ping Chen

One China, Many Taiwans: The Geopolitics of Cross-Strait Tourism (Cornell UP, 2023) shows how tourism performs and transforms territory. In 2008, as the People’s Republic of China pointed over a …

Taiwan on Air March 17, 2023

Reflecting on Hu Tai-li’s Indigenous Ethnographic Work in Taiwan

A Discussion with Scott Simon

Scott Simon

Hosted by Taiwan on Air

In this episode, our host, Niki Alsford, invites Prof Scott Simon, the Chair of Taiwan Studies at the University of Ottawa, to share his thoughts and reflections on Prof Hu Tai-li …

Taiwan on Air March 16, 2023

Human Glitches

A Discussion with Lin Hsin-hui

Lin Hsin-hui

Hosted by Taiwan on Air

In this episode, our podcast host, Ti-han Chang, invited Ms Lin Hsin-hui, a bourgeoning Taiwanese Sci-fi writer to talk about her award-winning short story collection, Human Glitches. Lin comments on …

Taiwan on Air March 15, 2023

Taiwan’s Green Parties

Alternative Politics in Taiwan

Dafydd Fell

Hosted by Taiwan on Air

In this podcast, the host, Lara Momesso, interviews Prof Dafydd Fell, Director of the Centre of Taiwan Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. The two …

Taiwan on Air March 14, 2023

Vietnamese Refugee Camps in Penghu

A Discussion with Asio Liu

Asio Liu

Hosted by Taiwan on Air

In this podcast, the host, Lara Momesso, interviews the Taiwanese movie director Asio Liu on his most recent movie project on the Vietnamese refugee camps in Penghu. Many of us …

Taiwan on Air March 13, 2023

Comics in Taiwan

A Discussion with Norbert Danysz

Norbert Danysz

Hosted by Taiwan on Air

For this installment, we had the pleasure of hosting Norbert Danysz, a PhD candidate at Université Lumière Lyon 2. We chatted about recent developments related to comics in Taiwan – …

Interpretive Political and Social Science March 13, 2023

Marriage Unbound

State Law, Power, and Inequality in Contemporary China

Ke Li

Hosted by Nick Cheesman

In recent years the authors of a slew of books and articles have debated whether China is moving toward or away from the rule of law. Against this end-of-history approach …

Taiwan on Air March 12, 2023

Queering the Anthropocene in Taiwan Sci-Fi

A Discussion with Chi Ta-wei

Chi Ta-wei

Hosted by Taiwan on Air

In this episode, we have the pleasure to have Chi Ta-wei, a renowned Taiwanese writer, talk about his acclaimed LGBTQ+ novel, The Membranes. Chi reviews this work which was published …

Taiwan on Air March 11, 2023

Film Chat: Queer, Sci-Fi and the Family

A Discussion with Maja Korbecka

Maja Korbecka

Hosted by Taiwan on Air

For this installment, we had the pleasure of hosting Maja Korbecka, a PhD candidate at Freie Universitat Berlin. We chatted about five East Asian films released between 2016 and 2022, and …

Japanese Studies March 10, 2023

Science for Governing Japan's Population

Aya Homei

Hosted by Nathan Hopson

Aya Homei’s Science for Governing Japan’s Population (Cambridge UP, 2022) examines the science and policy of population in Japan, 1860s-1960s. As in other modern nation-states and empires, population has been …

Taiwan on Air March 10, 2023

Puppets, Gods and Brands

Theorizing the Age of Animation from Taiwan

Teri Silvio

Hosted by Taiwan on Air

For this instalment, we had the pleasure of hosting Teri Silvio, who works as Research Fellow at the Academia Sinica Institute of Ethnology. We chatted about Teri’s recently published book …

Asian Review of Books March 9, 2023

The King’s Road

Diplomacy and the Remaking of the Silk Road

Xin Wen

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Many of us–who maybe aren’t historians–have an image of the Silk Road: merchants who carried silk from China to as far as ancient Rome, in one of the first global …

Taiwan on Air March 9, 2023

Book Chat: Oceanic Writing

A Discussion with Liao Hung-chi

Liao Hung-chi

Hosted by Taiwan on Air

In this episode, our host, Ti-han Chang, conducted an interview chat with the ecowriter, Liao Hung-chi about his oceanic and cetacean writings. The interview covers the writer's view on the …