Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchThe Xenon Summit: High-Speed Mountaineering and the Ethics of Gas
Season 1 Episode 295
A lightning-fast ascent of Mount Everest has reignited an old argument about what climbing is supposed to mean. When a team of British climbers used …
4 months ago
The Hidden Kitchens of the Untouchables
Season 1 Episode 294
For generations, India’s idea of “authentic” cuisine has been shaped by caste, leaving Dalit food traditions largely invisible or stigmatized as impu…
4 months ago
The Frozen Betrayal: China's Industrialized Culinary Crisis
Season 1 Episode 293
A storm over a single restaurant chain has exposed a deeper anxiety about what Chinese food is becoming. When Xibei was criticized for relying on cen…
4 months ago
The High Stakes of High-End Hydration
Season 1 Episode 292
The bottled-water business is reinventing itself by moving upmarket. Faced with polluted springs, drought, and tighter rules on plastic waste, major …
4 months ago
Pressure at the Table: China’s Lunar New Year Marriage Squeeze
Season 1 Episode 291
Each Lunar New Year, China’s great family reunion doubles as a season of interrogation for millions of unmarried young people. Known as cuihun, the r…
4 months ago
The Synergy and Separation of Science and Art
Season 1 Episode 290
From Leonardo da Vinci to the present, science and art have often been cast as kindred pursuits—but their relationship remains uneasy. Both demand ri…
4 months ago
Duty of Care: Liability and Death on Grossglockner
Season 1 Episode 289
A tragic climb in the Austrian Alps has become a legal test of responsibility at the edge of human risk. After a woman died during a winter ascent of…
4 months ago
The Transpacific Bloom: East Asian Culture in Mexico
Season 1 Episode 288
Once a niche fascination, East Asian culture has gone mainstream in Mexico. Japanese influence, first seeded through dubbed anime and car factories, …
4 months ago
Silicon Valley and the Theology of the Antichrist
Season 1 Episode 287
In an age of spreadsheets and regulation, some of Silicon Valley’s sharpest critiques are being framed in biblical terms. Drawing on apocalyptic prop…
4 months ago
The Jolly Roger of Global Resistance
Season 1 Episode 286
From pirate flags to pop anthems, a new language of protest is circling the globe. Across countries as different as Nepal, Madagascar, and Indonesia,…
4 months ago