Barbarians at the Gate

In this encore episode of Barbarians at the Gate from March 2024, John Alekna talks about his fascinating new book Seeking News, Making China: Information Technology and the Emergence of Mass Society…

In our careers as teachers, we have cycled between embracing change while loudly proclaiming that [Insert New Technology Here] will ruin the classroom experience, doom a generation to intellectual ob…

Where are our nerds at? David Moser is on summer holiday, and stepping into David's seat for this episode is literary translator Brendan O'Kane (BlueSky: @bokane.com) It takes about two minutes for J…

This episode was originally released on May 18, 2020.

Jeremiah and David are joined by Jeffrey Wasserstrom, historian of modern China and a longtime interpreter of the country’s shifting place in the…

In this episode we chat with Shanghai-based author and editor Jacob Dreyer, a China watcher who writes with great insight and nuance about the shifting landscape of China-US relations. We touch on qu…

This week on the podcast, we explore the role of the horse in Chinese culture with author David Chaffetz, whose new book Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: The Horse and the Rise of Empires traces the swe…

In this classic episode of Barbarians at the Gate from 2020, David Moser and I examine Putonghua (普通话), the spoken language most people refer to as Mandarin, and ask the question: What is the point o…

In this special episode, we examine the Trump administration's ongoing attacks on higher education in America and their implications for the future of US-China academic exchanges. On May 29, the Depa…

In this episode of Barbarians at the Gate, hosts Jeremiah Jenne and David Moser interview Steven Schwankert about his groundbreaking research into the forgotten story of the Chinese survivors of the …

In this episode, Jeremiah and David explore a topic drawn from their many years of experience with American study abroad programs: culture shock. Students studying in China often go through a challen…

In this episode of Barbarians at the Gate, we talk with Emily Feng about her new book Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping’s China. Drawing on years of on-the-ground repor…

This week, we catch up with Dutch sinologist Manya Koetse, the creator of "What's on Weibo," a platform offering in-depth insights into trends, events, memes, and social phenomena on Weibo, one of Ch…

This week, we explore a topic close to our hearts: the world of jazz in China. Jeremiah and David bring their respective musical experience to the table—Jeremiah as a rock and blues keyboardist, and …

In this episode of 'Barbarians at the Gate,' hosts Jeremiah Jenne and David welcome Jane Perlez, former Beijing bureau chief for the New York Times, to discuss the evolving challenges of reporting fr…

Happy Year of the Snake!

In this archive episode from January 2024, we chat with Andrew Stokols, who is researching varieties of digital urbanism globally, with an emphasis on China.

We briefly compare…

In this episode, we are thrilled to welcome Jean Hoffman Lewanda back to the podcast to discuss her new book, Shalama: My 96 Seasons in China, published by Earnshaw Books. Listeners may recall Jean's…

In this episode, we invite Rory Truex, an associate professor at Princeton University, to discuss a recurring issue on the podcast: the plight of the US-China academic exchange and the urgent need to…

In this episode, hosts Jeremiah Jenne and David Moser speak with MIT professor Tristan Brown about his award-winning book Laws of the Land: Feng Shui and the State in Qing Dynasty China. Brown reveal…

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 wh…