Black boxes (part two): Michael Kovrig on his three-year detention inside China’s secret security state

Michael Kovrig spent his first six months at the Dahongmen detention centre in solitary confinement. Inside his padded, windowless cell, the lights were never turned off. They would stay on for the next three years. The former Canadian diplomat quickly realised that survival demanded a strict physical and mental regime. He would need it. 1,019 days passed before the political game that put Mr Kovrig in Dahongmen was resolved. In the second episode of a two-part series, David Rennie, The Economist’s geopolitics editor, speaks with Mr Kovrig about how he survived inside a machine designed to crush the human spirit. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.