Podcast
Sinobabble
Hosted by Edi Obiakpani · EN
A relaxing, educational podcast covering China's modern history, current events, and academic analyses of China's politics, society, and culture in a variety of mini-series. Starting with the history of the 20th century, this podcast aims to explore all facets of the history of China, from the major events to the smallest local changes, to give you a full picture of the development of one of the world's most powerful nations. As the series develops, we will discuss Chinese art, religion, politics, culture, and economics, bringing the country's past to life. If you're more interested in modern China, stay tuned for the modern China series where we talk about how the CCP exercises control, makes people disappear, and encourages loyalty. We also get on the ground and talk to the people of Hong Kong about their recent experiences with the protests in the territory in 2019.
28episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Nationalism with International Characteristics w/Nick Zeller
1w ago01:06:52Tap to summarizeNick and I ramble about nationalism for about an hour.Follow the China Monitor and Nick on SubstackBuy bookclub books hereBuy me a coffeeLatest Substack postLinks to everythingSupport the showSign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod
Transcribe →Can an outsider truly portray an ethnic group faithfully? | Last Quarter of the Moon Review (Sinobabble Book Club)
2w ago00:29:57Tap to summarizeA (late!) review of our April Book club book The Last Quarter of the Moon by Chi Zijian. A 90-year-old Evenki woman who has spent her life in the forests of northeast China herding reindeer recounts the story of her life, her people, and the encroachment of modernity and imperialism on how they live. A story of nature, love, loss, despair, and change, we also ask if someone who is not part of a particular ethnic group can truly capture their spirit, or are they doomed to orientalism at worst and essentialisation at best.May's book is The Party's Interests Come First by Joseph Torigian, check out the link below if you still need to buy a copy!Buy bookclub books here Buy me a coffeeLatest Substack postLinks to everythingSupport the showSign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod
Transcribe →China's Ethnic Unity and Progress Law: A breakdown
Apr 1801:04:51Tap to summarizeIn early March, the PRC's National People's Congress passed a law titled the P.R.C. Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress. According to the government the law, which has been in development since 2023, the law "lays out the overall requirements, important principles, and responsibilities and duties of relevant entities concerning the promotion of ethnic unity and progress. It also outlines specific measures to build a common cultural home, facilitate interaction, exchanges, and integration, and promote shared prosperity and development."In this episode we do a close reaading of the letter of the law, and look at some of the analyses that have come out in support or condemnation of its contents. We'll also look at some of the wider academic discourse on the treatment, place and role of ehtnic minorities in the Chinese nation-building project, so that we can understand the law in its full context.Buy bookclub books here Buy me a coffeeLatest Substack postLinks to everythingChapters (00:00) Introduction to the Ethnic Unity and Progress Law(12:25) The Letter of the Law(32:20) Initial reactions to and analyses of the law(48:48) Further discussion on ethnic minorities in ChinaSupport the showSign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod
Transcribe →[Archive] Dreaming of East Turkestan: Xinjiang and China, c.700-1950
Apr 900:46:48Tap to summarizeOver the Easter break, the next two episodes of the podcast will be archival episodes covering the medieval and modern history of Mongolia and Xinjiang. This is in preparation for an episode I'll be doing when I get back on the New Ethnic Unity Policy released by the Chinese government. Our book club book for this month is The Last Quarter of the Moon, also on the theme of ethnic minorities in China, so it's a very topical month!This episode discusses the historical background of the relationship between China and the Xinjiang region, putting into context the current situation of the Uyghur people. It traces Chinese imperial attempts to first turn the area into a vassal, and then incorporate the region entirely into the empire, creating a new nationalist ideology based on a multicultural identity. The discussion starts from the 8th century AD and the fall of the Uyghur Khaghanate, and ends with the story of the reintegration of Xinjiang into the PRC after 1949, and the CCP's views on the status of the region since then.Buy bookclub books here Buy me a coffeeLatest Substack postLinks to everythingSupport the showSign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod
Transcribe →[Archive] Why is Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia? (+Bonus Article)
Apr 200:30:45Tap to summarizeOver the Easter break, the next two episodes of the podcast will be archival episodes covering the medieval and modern history of Mongolia and Xinjiang. This is in preparation for an episode I'll be doing when I get back on the New Ethnic Unity Policy released by the Chinese government. Our book club book for this month is The Last Quarter of the Moon, also on the theme of ethnic minorities in China, so it's a very topical month!The second episode of three on the CCP’s incorporation of the periphery into the PRC after 1949. We discuss the historical relationship between the Mongolian people and the Mainland Han Chinese people, to give context to why modern China feels that Inner Mongolia is part of the great Chinese nation.At the end of the episode, we discuss the numerous articles on attitudes towards sex in China that I've come across in my casual reading. We highlight a woman working towards bringing foreplay into Chinese couples' bedrooms, and a survey revealing the lack of sexual knowledge among Chinese university students.Buy bookclub books here Buy me a coffeeLatest Substack postLinks to everythingSupport the showSign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod
Transcribe →How to glaze your billionaire bestie | The Troublemaker Book Review | Sinobabble Book Club
Mar 2701:02:39Tap to summarizeThis episode is the third installment in our book club, we’re doing well guys. The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic certainly tries to live up to its name. It covers the “‘extraordinary life story’ (Publishers Weekly) of the billionaire businessman Jimmy Lai, a leading Hong Kong democracy activist fighting for freedom of speech who became China’s most famous political prisoner.”My review of this book is very, very mixed. All will become clear when you listen! Please do leave your own thoughts in the way of comments, I’d love to hear what you thought about the book.Oh and I forgot to mention in the review that Lai also blocks a state pension law using his media outlets to push anti-pension propaganda. And that’s probably why you still see old men and women picking up cardboard for pennies every morning. Enjoy!Buy bookclub books hereBuy me a coffeeLatest Substack postLinks to everythingSupport the showSign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod
Transcribe →Internal agitprop & 'minimum compliance' in Chinese governance
Mar 2000:31:57Tap to summarizeA look at three recent papers published in the China Quarterly, and what they say about local governance, internal propaganda and the politics of 'getting things done' in modern China.Buy bookclub books here Buy me a coffeeLatest Substack postSupport the showSign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod
Transcribe →Down to the countryside 2.0 & the myth of the rural reset
Mar 1300:51:20Tap to summarizeChina’s post 90s and 00s generation are burnt out, mentally and emotionally drained, and apparently are not getting enough sunlight. While grinding in the city seems to have led to a law of diminishing returns -- typically referred to as ‘involution’ -- many young hopefuls are still seeking opportunity elsewhere. In this episode I explore the phenonmenon of the ‘rural reset’, the idea that one can up sticks and move down to a beautiful rural idyll and live out the dream life running a coffee shop and farming a small veg patch.But is taking your urban ways of life and grindset mentality down to the countryside the true path to happiness? Is a bucolic setting all one really needs to reinvent the self? Is it really possible to outrun admin? We discuss all this and more as we try to determine whether or not this is a sustainable, long-term vision that can be supported by the government, or another flash in the pan fad for the downtrodden laobaixing to cling to while they can.Buy bookclub books hereBuy me a coffeeLatest Substack postLinks to everythingSupport the showSign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod
Transcribe →Consumption as identity and politics in China w/Yaling Jiang
Mar 601:00:31Tap to summarizeToday's guest is Yaling Jiang. Yaling is a former journalist who currently uses her research and reporting skills to provide businesses with insights and analysis on the Chinese consumer market. She is the founder of research agency Aperture China, alongside which she runs the newsletter Following the Yuan on Substack, which provides nuanced takes on Chinese consumer trends.We discuss how Chinese people see themselves as consumers first and political citizens second, the CCP's attempts to influence the consumer market, and how a rise in China's soft power is linked to trends like Chinamaxxing. We also talk about how movements like involution, lying flat, and feminism present in people's lives, and prove once more that Chinese people and Americans are more similar than we think.Subscribe to Following the YuanBuy bookclub books Buy me a coffeeLatest Substack postLinks to everything: https://linktree.com/sinobabbleSupport the showSign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod
Transcribe →Sex and irreverence during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution | "Serve the People!" Review (Sinobabble Book club)
Feb 2700:40:30Tap to summarizeThis is a recording of the livestream of our monthly book club. In this livestream we discuss the book Serve the People! by Yan Lianke, a banned book set during the Cultural Revolution in China.If you would like to find out more about the book club and which books we’re reading, please click here.Buy me a coffeeLinks to everythingSupport the showSign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod
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