Bo Xilai: Ten Years On
This year marks ten years since Wang Lijun's fateful flight to the US Embassy in Chengdu, a decision which set in motion a chain of events that ultimately brought down one of China's most powerful pol...
1 Aug 20221h 17min
Elite Power Struggles in the CCP and USSR
I HAVE A NEWSLETTER! Check it out! Joseph Torigian’s “Prestige, Manipulation and Coercion, Elite Power Struggles in The Soviet Union and China After Stalin and Mao” is in pole position for my best Chi...
22 Jul 20221h 18min
Lessons from American Sovietology
When Churchill announced in 1946 that an iron curtain had descended over Europe, the US government only employed two dozen experts on the Soviet Union. Two years later, with the cold war well underway...
15 Jul 20221h 8min
How Abe Reshaped Japan (Repost)
In light of Abe's assassination, I thought it would be worthwhile to reflect on the man and his legacy. Last year I recorded an episode discussing Abe Shinzo, second only to Xi as the most consequenti...
8 Jul 20221h 18min
How corruption works in China
I'm off getting married/honeymooning for the next couple of weeks so in my absence please enjoy this fine ChinaTalk vintage. How can China be so corrupt and yet grow so fast? What's the relationship b...
16 Jun 20221h 5min
The rise and fall of a Suzhou soft serve baron
Mister Softee, the famed northeastern American ice cream brand, in Suzhou, China? Yes, that was a thing. Turner Sparks, rising from humble beginnings as just another English teacher making his way in ...
10 Jun 20221h 1min
Beijing to Britain: China in the UK's halls of power
From then-PM David Cameron knocking back pints with Xi at the local pub to the Chinese ambassador being banned from Parliament: how has China's relationship with the UK changed since the so-called Gol...
2 Jun 202254min
US-China Tech Relations: A Guide for the Perplexed
Where should US-China tech relations go? What should “Competitive when it should be. Collaborative when it can be. Adversarial when it must be” actually mean in practice? To discuss, on this episode w...
27 Mai 20221h 27min
