The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files

John Ross and Eryk Michael Smith
  • 5.0 (69)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files

NEW: Full-length ENGLISH episodes every THURSDAY (and other days too) - One short CHINESE episode on TUESDAY. The history of Taiwan (1600 C.E. - 2000) told through interesting stories in a non-chronological order. John Ross is an author and publisher of works on Taiwan and China, while Eryk Michael Smith has worked as a writer and journalist for several media outlets in Taiwan. Both hosts have lived in Taiwan for well over 20 years and call the island home. Email: formosafiles@gmail.com

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    S5-E1 – Taiwan’s Shrinking Population

    Did you know that former Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文 is the youngest of eleven siblings? Her personal story is a dramatic example of how quickly we’ve fallen from high fertility in the 1950s, when the rate was over six children per woman, to the current birthrate of about one. That’s half of what’s needed to maintain a population. Eryk and John discuss Taiwan’s dramatic demographic changes and explore possible solutions. This is an important subject, an existential threat for Taiwan, which is why we chose it to kick off Season Five of Formosa Files.

    33 min
  2. FORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH45-陽明山上的車禍疑雲—讓蔣介石折壽20年的事故

    2 DAYS AGO

    FORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH45-陽明山上的車禍疑雲—讓蔣介石折壽20年的事故

    上陽明山的仰德大道，由於彎道視線不良，過去時常發生重大車禍。但絕大多數的人也許不知道，蔣介石自己也曾經在陽明山發生過非常嚴重的車禍，嚴重損害了他的健康，甚至讓他自認因此「折壽二十年」。到底是怎麼一回事呢？這集的 Formosa Files 中文版，就讓兩位主持人來一起聊聊這場一度被懷疑是意圖暗殺國家元首的（不）單純車禍。 主持人簡介： Eryk Michael Smith－ICRT南臺灣特派員，長期從事記者採編工作、聲音編輯，也會客串DJ。現居高雄，在臺灣已經居住了接近30年，認為臺灣是自己的家。 Eric Hsu（徐葆權）－彰化北斗人，從大學南漂高雄以來，人生的大部分時間都在高雄渡過。關心臺灣文史與地方文化發展，尤其是自己的兩個家鄉：北斗與高雄。

    15 min

  3. FEB 13

    Formosa Files Season Four Finale: A Short Intro to “Daddy Zheng” 鄭芝龍

    Next week we’ll kick off Season Five of Formosa Files! A huge thank you to the Frank C. Chen Foundation for its continued support of the program; without it, this podcast would not exist. In S4 we talked a lot about the 1624-2024 anniversary of the arrival of the Dutch, the new historical novel “A Tale of Three Tribes in Dutch Formosa,” and other Dutch-in-Taiwan-related things, and today we're staying on the topic with a short, informal chat about Koxinga’s father. We’ll cover his incredible story in future episodes, but this is his basic bio, a simple telling of his epic win at the Battle of Liaoluo Bay, and a few hints about his unhappy end. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! And thanks for following us on social media, for the wonderful reviews and emails filled with high praise… all very much appreciated. In Season Five we’re going to turn it up with big names like CKS (maybe Mao as well!), plus historic milestones such as the 2000 Presidential Election (and maybe the 2004 Chen Shui-bian shooting as well!). Catch you next week!

    24 min
  4. FORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH44-風靡亞洲的「女主角」—徐熙媛（大S）

    FEB 12

    FORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH44-風靡亞洲的「女主角」—徐熙媛（大S）

    2001年，有一部臺灣改編自日本漫畫的電視劇席捲全臺，開啟了臺灣「偶像劇」的年代，甚至還輸出到中國及亞洲各地，成為當時重要的社會、文化現象。而演出這部《流星花園》女主角的徐熙媛（大S），則是無論劇裡劇外，都是對臺灣社會風氣、性別印象帶來強烈衝擊的新時代女性。這集的 Formosa Files 中文版，就讓兩位主持人來一起聊聊這位一度走在時代尖端，但又有無數爭議的「女主角」。 主持人簡介： Eryk Michael Smith－ICRT南臺灣特派員，長期從事記者採編工作、聲音編輯，也會客串DJ。現居高雄，在臺灣已經居住了接近30年，認為臺灣是自己的家。 Eric Hsu（徐葆權）－彰化北斗人，從大學南漂高雄以來，人生的大部分時間都在高雄渡過。關心臺灣文史與地方文化發展，尤其是自己的兩個家鄉：北斗與高雄。

    11 min

  5. FEB 6

    S4 [ENCORE] - World War II Aviation Stories: An American “ghost pilot,” and the Japanese fighter pilot who became a god in Tainan 台南

    Formosa Files presents two incredible stories about WWII airmen in this week’s remastered, re-edited encore episode (first released in Sept. 2022).  First, a tale by the author of “God is My Co-Pilot” about a U.S. pilot who cobbled together a plane – with bamboo “skis” instead of wheels – and flew it on an epic raid a year after the Pearl Harbor attacks.  And second, the story of how a young Japanese fighter pilot from Mito (near Tokyo) became “General Flying Tiger,” a deity worshiped at a temple in Tainan City, Taiwan.  We recommend listening to the whole episode; however, if you're only interested in the “General Flying Tiger” story, skip to about minute 14.  Pics, info, and links at formosafiles.com

    25 min
  6. FORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH43-神明駕前的威武家將—被汙名化的臺灣家將文化

    FEB 4

    FORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH43-神明駕前的威武家將—被汙名化的臺灣家將文化

    在一些神明出巡的時候，總會有一團「家將」在駕前護衛，協助神明執行任務。這個「家將」的文化由於時代與人心變遷，大多已經失去過去的宗教意涵，還時常由於廟會的各種失序行為與黑道滲透，在現代社會中遭受非議。但也有許多家將團，在現代的各種誤解與非難中，持續努力維持正派與傳統，讓世界看見臺灣文化。這集的Formosa Files 中文版，我們邀請到長期紀錄廟宇文化的「一步就出走」文字影像工作室的阿丹，來與大家一起聊聊臺灣家將文化的歷史與故事。 來賓簡介： 阿丹－一步就出走文字影像工作室（下港人文化工作室、廟會小學堂）成員。府城人，外文所文學碩士畢業，高中理組，後讀文學，跨入民俗中。 一步就出走文字影像工作室（Facebook、部落格）－以影像及文字紀錄廟宇文化為主，並與廟宇一同進行歷史、故事、神蹟等資料的收集、統整及出版。同時也透過活動推廣臺灣的廟宇文化。 主持人簡介： Eric Hsu（徐葆權）－彰化北斗人，從大學南漂高雄以來，人生的大部分時間都在高雄渡過。關心臺灣文史與地方文化發展，尤其是自己的兩個家鄉：北斗與高雄。

    16 min

  7. JAN 30

    S4-E41 – Happy Year of the Wood Snake!

    Sing: Gongxi, Gongxi, Gongxi Ni, hey, (repeat ad nauseum).  Sin Nien Kwai Le (as they might write it in Kaohsiung). We hope everyone is enjoying the long holiday. Nine days of auspicious food, firecrackers, red envelopes, and… relatives!! Should you, however, need a little break from the mahjong table or the relatives, John and Eryk have a few snake stories for you. Not to give too much away, but guess what? John is a snake eater, and he also refrigerates snakes! Eryk is not a fan of snakes; except for a certain fire snake woman, and a certain water snake child. Pics and more at formosafiles.com

    27 min
  8. FORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH42-鄧麗君：華語歌壇的傳奇—臺灣的「軍中情人」

    JAN 27

    FORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH42-鄧麗君：華語歌壇的傳奇—臺灣的「軍中情人」

    如果要舉一位臺灣或華語流行音樂史上最有影響力，也最令人感到惋惜的歌手，相信很多人的選擇都是鄧麗君。這位在東亞有巨大影響力的歌手，在臺灣因為積極投入勞軍活動，也曾是許多男性的「軍中情人」。這集的Formosa Files中文版，就由兩位主持人來與大家聊聊鄧麗君，Teresa Teng，這位臺灣永遠的歌姬。 主持人簡介： Eryk Michael Smith－ICRT南臺灣特派員，長期從事記者採編工作、聲音編輯，也會客串DJ。現居高雄，在臺灣已經居住了接近30年，認為臺灣是自己的家。 Eric Hsu（徐葆權）－彰化北斗人，從大學南漂高雄以來，人生的大部分時間都在高雄渡過。關心臺灣文史與地方文化發展，尤其是自己的兩個家鄉：北斗與高雄。

    14 min
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5
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About

NEW: Full-length ENGLISH episodes every THURSDAY (and other days too) - One short CHINESE episode on TUESDAY. The history of Taiwan (1600 C.E. - 2000) told through interesting stories in a non-chronological order. John Ross is an author and publisher of works on Taiwan and China, while Eryk Michael Smith has worked as a writer and journalist for several media outlets in Taiwan. Both hosts have lived in Taiwan for well over 20 years and call the island home. Email: formosafiles@gmail.com

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