Barbarians at the Gate

Nov 12 2024 74 ep. 41 mins 1.1k
Barbarians at the Gate Podcast artwork

A semi-serious deep dive into Chinese history and culture broadcast from Beijing and hosted by Jeremiah Jenne and David Moser.

  History  Society & Culture
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What can the end of the Ming Dynasty tell us about the election of Donald Trump and what comes next

Nov 12 2024 34 mins  
Last week’s election of Donald Trump to a second term as U.S. President disappointed half of the American electorate and much of the world (outside the Kremlin). To help Jeremiah and David process what’s next, they’re joined by Brendan O’Kane— writer, translator, expert in the literature of the late Ming Dynasty, and a Pennsylvania voter. Brendan explores the works of Zha

Historical Battles: Rewriting China's Past to Shape the Future

Oct 15 2024 44 mins  
"We can overestimate and underestimate how much things changed when Xi Jinping took power, but the intensity of concern over historical narratives has definitely grown under his leadership." - Jeffrey WasserstromIn this episode, Jeremiah and David are joined by Jeffrey Wasserstrom (https://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=5310), Chancellor's Professor of History at the Univer

Back to School 2: The View from the EU

Sep 19 2024 29 mins  
In this episode of Barbarian at the Gate, hosts Jeremiah Jenne and David Moser are joined by special guest Karlis Rokpelnis, China country representative for the European Union's Euraxess Research Mobility Initiative. Together, they delve into the evolving landscape of international education in China, discussing the factors influencing the decline in student exchanges and the vary

Back to School?

Aug 27 2024 39 mins  
As David at least gets set for another semester, he and Jeremiah reconnect to catch up on a mix of timely topics from China and the US. They explore the declining number of Chinese students studying in the US and the cautious return of American students to China, offering insights and practical advice on how to introduce China to American students in nuanced ways. They discuss the

Edge of Empire with author and journalist Edward Wong

Jul 22 2024 36 mins  
In this episode, Edward Wong, diplomatic correspondent and former Beijing Bureau Chief for the New York Times, joins us to discuss his new book, Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China. Edward’s father, Yook Kearn Wong, lived through the Japanese occupation and the Communist Revolution in China. Captivated by Mao’s vision of a powerful China, he served in the People�

There and Back Again: Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour and the Legacy of Reform and Opening in China

Jun 27 2024 36 mins  
In this episode, we welcome back a friend of the podcast, Jonathan Chatwin (https://jonathanchatwin.com/), to discuss his new book, The Southern Tour: Deng Xiaoping and the Fight for China's Future. Since the Emperor Kangxi made his southern tour in 1684, many emperors and Chinese leaders have undertaken similar inspection tours, including Mao, Deng, and Xi Jinping. Deng’s southe

From Firefly to Fox News: The Evolution of "Chimerican" Media

Jun 05 2024 39 mins  
This episode features a lively conversation with Fan Yang, Professor of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, about her new book Disorienting Politics: Chimerican Media and Transpacific Entanglements (https://press.umich.edu/Books/D/Disorienting-Politics3). The term “Chimerica” is a portmanteau word, blending “China” and “America.

What happens after a Barbarian walks away from the Gate?

Apr 17 2024 33 mins  
This episode represents a new direction for the podcast, recorded on the eve of Jeremiah’s move to a new home base in Geneva. We start with a retrospective snapshot of the podcast’s beginnings – with many episodes recorded under the backdrop of COVID-19 – and then segue into our perennial concern, the plight of academic exchange in China, for which our consensus was “caut

Seeking News, Making China

Mar 26 2024 37 mins  
In this episode, John Alekna talks about his fascinating new book Seeking News, Making China: Information Technology and the Emergence of Mass Society. In 20th-century China, the gradual importation and development of information technology had an enormous impact on the way that news was disseminated and accessed by the general public. When radio first appeared in the early 1920s,

The Mountains Are High with author Alec Ash

Mar 06 2024 35 mins  
In this episode, we welcome back to the podcast our good friend, Alec Ash, who has written a fascinating book recounting a year spent in the city of Dali, Yunan Province. Unlike Alec’s previous book, Wish Lanterns, his new book, The Mountains are High, is a highly personal account of his attempt to find solace and healing after a pivotal emotional crisis and his decision to disen