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Podcast adjunct to the Beijing Diary blog
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 01, 2019
Tuesday Oct 01, 2019
This podcast takes off from an earlier blog post where I discussed the bride kidnapping in the country of Kyrgyzstan. The point of that blog post was to show one extreme example of arranged marriage that I think we can all agree is not appropriate. This present podcast outline what is needed to make arranged marriage acceptable and even helpful.
Thursday Jun 20, 2019
Thursday Jun 20, 2019
Discusses the June, 2019 demonsrations in Hong Kong, with a little history of the colony and current relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland, as well as comparison between these demonstrations and the Occupy Central demonstrations of 2014.
Thursday May 30, 2019
Thursday May 30, 2019
I view the American Civil War as the center point of American history. The burning issue of the day was slavery. But the underlying problem was a sense of ambivalence about whether America was really a country, or a group of independent entities. The Civil War established the idea of America as a single nation.
Monday Apr 16, 2012
Monday Apr 16, 2012
Marian interviewed me for English Sunday, the weekly student radio program here at Chinese Youth University. We had a pleasant conversation. Hope you enjoy it.
Saturday May 09, 2009
Saturday May 09, 2009
I am beginning a series on the extraordinary communications revolution that has taken place over the span of my life, and how this communications revolution affects China's relationship with the world. This week we are talking about the history of communication (at least as far as my own life is concerned) and specifically how conventional short wave communication compares to contemporary internet radio.
Saturday Mar 28, 2009
Saturday Mar 28, 2009
I recorded this interview a year ago with a friend of mine who was an orthopedic surgeon here in Beijing. For some reason, I have had trouble with my system, making it hard for me to complete the podcast until just recently. The information will be very helpful to you if you live in China, and very interesting if you are interested in comparative medicine.
Wednesday May 28, 2008
Wednesday May 28, 2008
Several weeks ago, I had a most interesting conversation with Snow's grandmother. The logistics of the thing were a little tricky, because the kind lady did not really speak Mandarin, and certainly not English. But Snow speaks Mandarin, English, her native dialect, Baihua (Beihai area dialect) as well as Cantonese, so she was well able to interpret for me. As the story develops, and we hear about how Snow was adopted, the role of mother and grandmother tend to merge. Snow refers to her as her grandmother, but although Snow was adopted and became part of a peasant family, it was this lady herself who nurtured Snow as an infant.
Wednesday Apr 18, 2007
Wednesday Apr 18, 2007
This episode introduces Snow and Fly, a couple young people I met in Beihai. Snow is very interested in English, and really quite good at it, if you consider her background as a poor country kid from the rural area where absolutely nobody speaks English. Snow does not come from a Christian background at all, but she dragged her classmate along to church, probably in hopes of meeting a foreigner. You will enjoy her warm, engaging personality.
Sunday Apr 01, 2007
Sunday Apr 01, 2007
Chinese young people talking about what Chinese people believe. There seems to be some ambivalence about this. One young lady said, "I believe in myself." This prompted a discussion started by a man in the group who saw this as an evidence of the current spiritual vacuum in China. Very interesting, warm discussion.