Chinese Studies

Chinese Studies

episodes

Interviews with scholars of China about their new books.

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 Making…

Charlie Qiuli Xue and Arwen Yingting Chen, "American-Designed Shopping Malls in China" (Hong Kong UP, 2026)

May 30, 2026

American-Designed Shopping Malls in China

Charlie Qiuli Xue and Arwen Yingting Chen
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

China’s remarkable journey from poverty to becoming the world’s second-largest economic power is marked by extraordinary urban growth and consumpt…

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…

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…

Evan N. Dawley, "Taiwan: A People′s History" (Reaktion Books, 2026)

May 18, 2026

Taiwan

Evan N. Dawley
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

While most English-language histories of Taiwan focus on its geopolitical role, Taiwan: A People’s History (Reaktion, 2026) by Dr. Evan N. Dawley cent…

Gregg A. Brazinsky, "Cold War Comrades: An Emotional History of the Sino-North Korean Alliance" (Cambridge UP, 2026)

May 16, 2026

Cold War Comrades

Gregg A. Brazinsky
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In this major new interpretation of Sino-North Korean relations, Dr. Gregg A. Brazinsky argues that neither the PRC nor the DPRK would have survived a…

Charles L. Glaser, "Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America's Future Against a Rising China" (Cornell UP, 2025)

May 13, 2026

Retrench, Defend, Compete

Charles L. Glaser

In Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America's Future Against a Rising China (Cornell UP, 2025), Charles L. Glaser advances a thought-provoking stra…

J. Michael Cole, "The Taiwan Tinderbox: The Island-Nation at the Centre of the New Cold War" (Polity, 2025)

May 6, 2026

The Taiwan Tinderbox

J. Michael Cole
Hosted by Anthony Kao

J. Michael Cole is a Taipei-based security analyst and writer who has spent over two decades documenting Taiwan’s political and security landscape. A …

Through the Lens of Taiwan: Film, History, and Identity

April 30, 2026

Through the Lens of Taiwan

Robert Chen

This podcast episode is hosted by Mart Tšernjuk, the Taiwan Coordinator at the University of Tartu Asia who is talking to Prof. Robert Chen, a leading…

Ker Gibbs, "The Fragile Dragon: Trade, Trump, and China's Vulnerabilities" (Earnshaw Books, 2026)

April 25, 2026

The Fragile Dragon

Ker Gibbs
Hosted by Peter Lorentzen

The Fragile Dragon offers a unique exploration of China's rapid transformation and its evolving commercial relationship with the West. Drawing on the …

Mujun Zhou, "The Death and Life of Chinese Civil Society" (U Michigan Press, 2026)

April 24, 2026

The Death and Life of Chinese Civil Society

Mujun Zhou
Hosted by Yadong Li

In a society undergoing rapid transformation, how do people engage in debates around a foreign concept and in doing so, pursue contested political fut…

Qi Ai, "Feng Xiaogang's New Year Films: Industry, Regulation, Humour and Authorship" (Routledge, 2025)

April 20, 2026

Feng Xiaogang's New Year Films

Qi Ai
Hosted by Victoria Lupascu

Feng Xiaogang's New Year Films: Industry, Regulation, Humour and Authorship (Routledge, 2025) offers not only an in-depth study of Feng Xiaogang as a …

The Shawshank Redemption in China: An Interview with Matti Lehtonen

April 17, 2026

The Shawshank Redemption in China

How can an entirely foreign cast perform the American “The Shawshank Redemption” in the Chinese language across China? In this episode of the Nordic A…

Daniel A. Bell, "Why Ancient Chinese Political Thought Matters: Four Dialogues on China’s Past, Present, and Future" (Princeton UP, 2026)

April 15, 2026

Why Ancient Chinese Political Thought Matters

Daniel A. Bell
Hosted by Keith Krueger

Daniel A. Bell joins the podcast to discuss his new book, Why Ancient Chinese Political Thought Matters: Four Dialogues on China’s Past, Present, and …

Donald Sassoon, "Revolutions: A New History" (Verso Books, 2025)

April 14, 2026

Revolutions

Donald Sassoon

Revolutions: A New History (Verso Books, 2025) is a sparkling account of political upheaval and the power of history. We think of revolutions in terms…

Ruth Mandujano López, "Steamships Across the Pacific: Maritime Journeys between Mexico, China, and Japan, 1867–1914" (Hong Kong UP, 2025)

April 9, 2026

Steamships across the Pacific

Ruth Mandujano López

How did the movement of people, goods, and ships reshape connections between Latin America and Asia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuri…

Ho-fung Hung, "The China Question: Eight Centuries of Fantasy and Fear" (Cambridge UP, 2026)

April 6, 2026

The China Question

Ho-fung Hung
Hosted by Lucas Tse

"The contempt and naive idealization of China are two sides of the same coin. The latter cannot be an antidote to the former." So argues Ho-Fung Hung…

Zhou Meisen, "Property of the People" (Sinoist, 2025)

April 3, 2026

Property of the People

Zhou Meisen translated by James Trapp
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

"Honoured Investors, As Zhongfu Group enters its eighth decade, we are pleased to announce the acquisition of two famous coal mines. These assets fur…

Avner Greif et al., "Two Paths to Prosperity: Culture and Institutions in Europe and China, 1000–2000" (Princeton UP, 2025)

April 2, 2026

Two Paths to Prosperity

Avner Greif, Joel Mokyr, and Guido Tabellini
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

It’s one of the biggest questions in economic history: How did a richer, more advanced China fall behind Europe? Why was Europe the home of the Indust…

Jeffrey Wasserstrom, "Everything You Wanted to Know about China*: * But Were Afraid to Ask" (Brixton Ink, 2025)

March 31, 2026

Everything You Wanted to Know about China*

Jeffrey Wasserstrom
Hosted by Lucas Tse

What does Xi Jinping share with Mao Zedong? Why is Confucius still central to a communist state? What really happened in Tiananmen Square—and why is i…