The Raider: China and the Life of Evans Carlson, with Historian Stephen Platt
Sinica Podcast11 Juni 2025

The Raider: China and the Life of Evans Carlson, with Historian Stephen Platt

This week on Sinica, I chat with Stephen Platt, historian at UMass Amherst and author, most recently, of the book The Raider: The Untold Story of a Renegade Marine and the Birth of U.S. Special Forces in World War II. Like his previous works, Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom and Imperial Twilight, it offers a compelling narrative history of an overlooked chapter through a deeply empathetic and well-researched examination of individual lives. Please make sure to listen to the excerpt from the audiobook at the end of this podcast.

04:21 - Evans Carlson: A forgotten hero

07:49 - The Real Carlson vs. the constructed Carlson

10:04 - The book's origin

12:20 - Carlson's ideological transformation

16:50 - Carlson's religious beliefs and public perception

20:04 - Emerson's influence on Carlson's thinking

23:46 - Inner conflicts: Soul-searching or regret?

27:15 - Carlson's relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt

30:39 - Gung Ho Meetings: meaning, practice, and legacy

33:34 - Zhu De’s influence on Carlson

40:28 - Carlson’s relationships with Agnes Smedley and Edgar Snow

47:49 - Hopes for U.S.-China alliance

51:57 - Carlson’s death and his legacy

58:01 - Lessons from Carlson


Paying it Forward: Peter Thilly, Emily Mokros


Recommendations:

Stephen: 11.22.63 by Stephen King; Ted Chiang (author); Otoboke Beaver (band); Book of Mormon (musical)

Kaiser: Wobbler (band); The Religion by Tim Willocks; Zappa (2020)



See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Avsnitt(538)

Live in Berkeley: Jessica Chen Weiss and Ryan Hass on the U.S. and China in 2025

Live in Berkeley: Jessica Chen Weiss and Ryan Hass on the U.S. and China in 2025

This week, a special episode taped live at the University of California, Berkeley — my alma mater — on March 6 and featuring Jessica Chen Weiss of Johns Hopkins SAIS and Ryan Hass of the Brookings Ins...

12 Mars 20251h 2min

Introducing the Trivium Podcast, now on the Sinica Network

Introducing the Trivium Podcast, now on the Sinica Network

This week, I'm proud to announce a new collaboration with Trivium, a China-focused strategic advisory firm you've probably heard of. They've got offices in DC, London, Shanghai, and Beijing, and they ...

6 Mars 20251h 18min

Studying China in the Absence of Access: Rediscovering a Lost Art — Part 2, with Alice Miller and Joseph Fewsmith

Studying China in the Absence of Access: Rediscovering a Lost Art — Part 2, with Alice Miller and Joseph Fewsmith

This week: Part 2 in a series of podcasts in conjunction with the China Research Center at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The series, titled "Studying China in the ...

27 Feb 20251h 23min

China’s Strategy in Global Power Transitions: Challenges in a Turbulent World — A panel discussion

China’s Strategy in Global Power Transitions: Challenges in a Turbulent World — A panel discussion

This week on Sinica: February 24 marks the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and as I’ve done for the last two years, I moderated a panel organized by Vita Golod, a Ukraini...

24 Feb 20251h 10min

The War for Chinese Talent in America, with David Zweig

The War for Chinese Talent in America, with David Zweig

This week on Sinica, I chat with David Zweig, a veteran China scholar who is Professor Emeritus from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. We discuss Davis'd latest book, The War for Chi...

23 Feb 20251h 14min

Getting China Right: Senator Andy Kim at the Hopkins SAIS Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs

Getting China Right: Senator Andy Kim at the Hopkins SAIS Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs

I’m delighted to bring you today the first in a series of conversations from a remarkable day-long session put on by the Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs, or ACF, at John...

14 Feb 20251h 10min

Back to the 80s: For Trump, is China the New Japan? with Andy Liu

Back to the 80s: For Trump, is China the New Japan? with Andy Liu

This week on Sinica, I chat with economic historian Andrew B. Liu of Villanova University about how to understand Trump's thinking on China and tariffs. Andy wrote about this in an excellent piece on ...

13 Feb 20251h 5min

Is the U.S. Experiencing a Narrative Shift on China?

Is the U.S. Experiencing a Narrative Shift on China?

This week as we enter the Year of the Snake, Sinica co-founder Jeremy Goldkorn makes a re-appearance on the show. It's been a year since his last, and much has changed — and indeed, if Jeremy is right...

3 Feb 20251h 2min

Populärt inom Business & ekonomi

badfluence
framgangspodden
varvet
rss-jossan-nina
rss-svart-marknad
uppgang-och-fall
avanzapodden
svd-tech-brief
rss-borsens-finest
rss-den-nya-ekonomin
rss-dagen-med-di
rss-inga-dumma-fragor-om-pengar
rss-kort-lang-analyspodden-fran-di
24fragor
borsmorgon
lastbilspodden
bathina-en-podcast
kapitalet-en-podd-om-ekonomi
rikatillsammans-om-privatekonomi-rikedom-i-livet
dynastin