Sinica Podcast

Kaiser Kuo
Sinica Podcast

A weekly discussion of current affairs in China with journalists, writers, academics, policymakers, business people and anyone with something compelling to say about the country that's reshaping the world. Hosted by Kaiser Kuo.

  1. JUN 18

    The Strange Afterlife of an American Football Story from China

    In 2014, the writer Christopher Beam published a humorous, heartwarming story in The New Republic about an unlikely team of American football enthusiasts in Chongqing who went on to defeat their archrivals in Shanghai to win a championship. The piece was optioned by Sony Pictures, and had some big names attached, but was ultimately never made — not, at least, by an American studio. Eleven years later, Chris has written about a film that was made: Clash, produced by iQiyi, hit theaters in China earlier this year and followed the Chongqing Dockers in the same story arc, but with important and telling differences. His new story was published in The Atlantic, and he talks to me about the Dockers and the long, strange story of the film that wasn't and the one that was. 03:50 – The Meaning of Chinese YOLO 05:33 – Chris’s First Meeting With the Chongqing Team 13:11 – Chris McLaurin’s Background 15:54 – American Football as a Symbol of Masculinity 19:50 – The Failed Hollywood Adaptation 25:34 – First Impressions of the Film 31:55 – Bridging Perspectives: Can a Movie Speak To Both Sides? 36:42 – A Lost Moment in Globalization Paying it Forward: Viola Zhou Recommendations:  Chris: Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte (short story collection) Kaiser: Becoming Led Zeppelin (documentary); the Beijing-based artist Michael Cherney. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    45 min
  2. JUN 11

    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.

    1h 22m
  3. JUN 10

    Industrial Policy, "Overcapacity," and U.S.-China Trade: A Conversation with Cambridge's Jostein Hauge

    This week on Sinica, I chat with Jostein Hauge, political economist and an Assistant Professor in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge, based at the Centre of Development Studies and the Department of Politics and International Studies, and author of the book The Future of the Factory: How Megatrends are Changing Industrialization. 3:09 – Self Introduction: Jostein Hauge 4:23 – Anti-China Sentiment in Western Discourse 7:40 – Misconceptions and Prevailing Narratives 10:08 – Technological Transfer and the Political Economy 12:18 – Historical Periods of Economic Rivalry  14:36 – Evolving Industrial Policy: From Japan’s MITI to China and the U.S. today 18:59 – China’s Contemporary Industrial Policy: Quality or Quantity?  21:13 – China as a Rising Power: Is History Repeating? 24:18 – The Sustainability of China’s Industrial Policy  26:43 – China, Overcapacity, and Global Imbalances 34:07 – Overcapacity: Economic Reality or Ideological Construct? 36:04 – China's domination in the renewable energy market 39:13 – China’s greenhouse gas emissions 43:17 – How China is reshaping the IP regime  48:14 – The U.S. national security stance and the trade war with China 55:10 – Europe’s approach to China Paying it forward: Kyle Chan at High Capacity Recommendations: Jostein: The White Lotus (TV Series) Kaiser: The Raider: The Untold Story of a Renegade Marine and the Birth of U.S. Special Forces in World War II by Stephen R. Platt See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    1h 8m
  4. JUN 4

    Seeking the Next DeepSeek: the Chinese Generative AI Algorithm Registry, with Kendra Schaefer

    This week on Sinica, I speak with Kendra Schaefer, the partner at Trivium China who heads their tech practice. She recently published a fascinating paper looking at the Cyberspace Administration of China's comprehensive database of generative AI tools released in China, and she shares the insights and big takeaways from her research on that database. It's a terrific window into what Chinese firms, both private and state-affiliated, are doing with generative AI. 03:51 – Mandatory registration of generative AI Tools in China 10:28 – How does the CAC categorize AI Tools? 14:25 – State-affiliated vs. non-state-affiliated AI Tools 18:55 – Capability and competition of China's AI Industry 22:57 – Significance of Generative Algorithmic Tools (GAT) registration counts 26:06 – The application of GATs in the education sector 29:50 – The application of GATs in the healthcare Sector 31:00 – Underrepresentation of AI tools in other sectors 32:56 – Regional breakdown of AI innovation in China 36:07 – AI adoption across sectors: how companies integrate AI 40:21 – Standout projects by the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) 42:42 – How multinationals navigate China's tech regulations 47:50 – Role of foreign players in China's AI strategy 49:38 – Key takeaways from the AI development journey 53:41 -– Blind spots in AI data 57:25 – Kendra's future research direction Paying it Forward: Kenton Thibaut. Recommendations: Kendra: The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age by Thomas Mullaney. Kaiser: the Rhyming Chaos Podcast by Jeremy Goldkorn and Maria Repnikova See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    1h 4m
4.7
out of 5
589 Ratings

About

A weekly discussion of current affairs in China with journalists, writers, academics, policymakers, business people and anyone with something compelling to say about the country that's reshaping the world. Hosted by Kaiser Kuo.

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