Podcast Episodes

Introducing The Chinatown Sting: Lucky Bird

Here’s a preview of a new podcast, The Chinatown Sting, from our friends at Pushkin Industries.

In the late 1980s, a group of women connected through the mahjong parlors in Manhattan’s Chinatown were…

Published on 9 hours ago

The Unsung Chinese Heroes of D-Day

Here's another quickie for you, only a half hour long. It seems not only are the portions at fast-food chains shrinking, so are the CHP episodes. Thanks to a team of amateur historians, WWII enthusia…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

The Guangxi Massacre

This is a rather long episode, running at just about one hour. The Guangxi Massacre is one of those dark chapters from the Cultural Revolution. Down in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, it w…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Anson Burlingame, the 1868 Treaty, and the Open Door Policy

In this episode, we look at the life of Anson Burlingame, a well-known name  in California. During Lincoln's term as president, he was appointed Chief Minister to China, arriving in Beijing in the su…

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Wade and Giles

Here's a nice little standalone episode on the life and work of Thomas Wade and Herbert Giles. And you can't mention Herbert Giles without mentioning his son, Lionel Giles. And of course, Robert Morr…

Published on 4 months, 1 week ago

The Lin Biao Incident (Part 2)

This is only a 2-parter, so this exciting episode will bring the curtain down on Lin Biao and his famous "Incident." We resume the story following the 1970 Lushan Plenum. Lin, or Lin's ambitious mani…

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago

The Lin Biao Incident (Part 1)

Episode 362

This is Part 1 of a 2-Part series looking at the life of Lin Biao and the actual Lin Biao Incident itself. This bit of history is documented to death. I downloaded a dozen scholarly papers, read a fe…

Published on 5 months, 1 week ago

McKinley, Tariffs, and the Open Door Policy

Episode 361

Just in time for Liberation Day, I'm presenting this timely episode. Back in 1890, with the aim of protecting American companies from foreign competition, tariffs were jacked up significantly.  With …

Published on 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Ep. 360 | Plant Hunters during the Qing Dynasty (Part 2)

This is the second of a two-part mini-series introducing the world of European plant hunting in China. In this episode, we look at some of the more noteworthy names and their accomplishments. After t…

Published on 6 months ago

Ep. 359 | Plant Hunters during the Qing Dynasty (Part 1)

I was afraid I'd barely be able to scrape together enough material for a short episode. Instead, this one is gonna take almost two hours to tell. I hope no one minds that I opted not to drown anyone …

Published on 6 months, 2 weeks ago