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Robert Norris on Living and Writing in Japan
Episode 69
Robert Norris has lived in Japan since 1983, mostly in Dazaifu, near Fukuoka, Kyushu. After retiring from university teaching in 2016, he returned to…
5 months ago
T.R.Reid and How to Ski Japan!
Episode 68
In a tribute to the 2026 Winter Olympics being held right now in Cortina, Italy, Amy takes up a discussion of skiing in Japan. Japan has hosted the W…
5 months, 1 week ago
China's Backstory with Lee Moore
Episode 67
John Ross talks to Lee Moore about his book, China’s Backstory: The History Beijing Doesn’t Want You to Read (2025, Unsung Voices Books). The book lo…
5 months, 2 weeks ago
Japan Guides and Guidebooks 1891 to 2019
Episode 66
Amy muses on the death of guidebooks due to the internet and reminisces about some oldies but goodies on Japan, from John Murray's Handbook for Trave…
5 months, 3 weeks ago
Simon Winchester’s Biography of Joseph Needham (with Tim McGirk)
Episode 65
The Man Who Loved China by Simon Winchester (with Tim McGirk)
John Ross talks with Tim McGirk about Simon Winchester’s masterpiece, The Man Who Loved …
6 months ago
New 2026 Book Releases on Japan, Taiwan
Episode 64
This episode of the Books on Asia podcast introduces new fiction and non-fiction on Japan to be published this year, along with two upcoming books on…
6 months, 1 week ago
Harmony Express: Travels by Train through China with Thomas Bird
Episode 63
Thomas Bird was living in Southern China when he decided to explore the country by train and write a book about it. He first attempts to trace the st…
6 months, 2 weeks ago
The 1910 Japan-British Exhibition
Episode 62
The 1910 Japan-Britain Exhibition – with Formosa Files
In this special crossover episode, John Ross and Eryk Michael Smith from Formosa Files: the His…
6 months, 3 weeks ago
Amy Reads from her Book: The Widow, The Priest & The Octopus Hunter
Episode 61
Amy reads from The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island.
Chapter 1: The War Widow …
6 months, 4 weeks ago
Amy & John Discuss Childhood Reading Influences
Episode 60
John Ross, during his schoolboy days in New Zealand, was interested in far-flung places such as South America, Papua New Guinea, Ancient Greece and R…
7 months ago