Barbarians at the Gate

"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." - Jeffre…

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 Mo…

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 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. Edwar…

In this episode, we welcome back a friend of the podcast, Jonathan Chatwin, to discuss his new book, The Southern Tour: Deng Xiaoping and the Fight for China's Future. 

Since the Emperor Kangxi made h…

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: Chime…

In this episode, John Alekna talks about his fascinating new book Seeking News, Making China: Information Technology and the Emergence of Mass Society. In 20^th-century China, the gradual importation …

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,…

In this episode, we chat with Andrew Stokols, who is currently a Ph.D. candidate at MIT researching varieties of digital urbanism globally, with an emphasis on China.

On the podcast, we briefly compa…

Has the Chinese government killed stand-up comedy in China? 

In May of 2023, a popular standup comedian made an innocuous joke in which he mentioned a phrase used to laud the fighting spirit of the Pe…

On this episode of Barbarians at the Gate, I talk to Kristel Ouwehand, also known by her Tibetan language name, Tenzin Dolma, the founder of Snowland Academy in Gansu province where she lives with an…

Jeremiah kicks off the podcast with news that the decades-long Qing History Projectn being carried out by, among other institutions, Renmin University and the Chinese Academy of Social Science(CASS) …

In today’s episode, we talk with journalist and travel writer Thomas Bird about his latest book, The Harmony Express. 

Entering an uncertain new chapter of his life several years ago, Bird decided to …

Warning: GEEKY CONTENT

Hosting solo in this week’s episode, David takes a geeky deep dive into the digital revolution in Chinese language learning in conversation with Chinese language pedagogy expert…

Isabel Nepstad’s passion for nature, food, and agriculture can be traced back to her childhood growing up in Belém, a city on the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil. Her connection to China dates to…

On this episode of Barbarians at the Gate, Jeremiah talks to Brian “DJ Bo” Offenther. From being the FKFDJ (First Known Foreign DJ) to play in Pyongyang since 1945 to putting together the first Elvis…

David and Jeremiah are on holiday this week, but we hope you enjoy this encore episode with educator Jiang Xueqin, originally released in February 2022.

Contrary to the common stereotype that Chinese …

This episode of the podcast addresses a worrisome question: Is China’s “cultural space” shrinking?

The recent crackdown on stand-up comedy content and the scrutiny of foreign musicians performing in …