Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchThe Finite Energy of Elite Leadership
Season 1 Episode 215
At the highest levels of leadership, success often depends on a resource that is rarely discussed and easily depleted: personal energy. When football…
4 months, 1 week ago
China's Passion for Self-Help: Competition and Imported Advice
Season 1 Episode 214
In China’s bookstores, self-help manuals tower over fiction and history, reflecting a society under intense pressure to adapt, compete, and succeed. …
4 months, 1 week ago
The Science and Sentiment of Sporting Streaks
Season 1 Episode 213
Sport is obsessed with streaks—with dynasties that seem unstoppable and teams so cursed they appear incapable of winning. From the record-breaking do…
4 months, 1 week ago
The Culinary Genius of Chinese Cuisine
Season 1 Episode 212
Chinese cuisine is often reduced in the West to takeaway staples, but a new book invites readers to taste something far deeper. Fuchsia Dunlop’s Invi…
4 months, 1 week ago
The Racket Sport Rivalry
Season 1 Episode 211
For more than a century, tennis has ruled the world of racket sports, crowned by global stars, billion-dollar tournaments, and a reputation for athle…
4 months, 1 week ago
The Politics of Urban Planning and Social Equity
Season 1 Episode 210
Urban planning is often presented as a technical exercise, but at its core it is a political act—one that decides who benefits from city life and who…
4 months, 1 week ago
The Commercial Slowdown of Airplane Speed
Season 1 Episode 209
Ever since the Concorde’s final landing in 2003, commercial air travel has been getting slower, not faster—despite decades of technological progress.…
4 months, 1 week ago
Beijing's Wild Swimming Resistance and Sanctuaries
Season 1 Episode 208
In one of the world’s most tightly managed cities, an unlikely form of freedom splashes into view. Along Beijing’s rivers and canals, residents—once …
4 months, 1 week ago
Godzilla: A Global Icon of Anxiety
Season 1 Episode 207
Born from the shockwaves of the atomic age, Godzilla first stomped onto Japanese screens as a creature of terror and trauma—a living metaphor for nuc…
4 months, 1 week ago
The Axolotl's Rise to Global Fame
Season 1 Episode 206
Once a quiet inhabitant of Mexico’s ancient canals, the axolotl has become one of the internet’s most recognizable creatures—smiling, pink, and endle…
4 months, 1 week ago