NOTE: If you haven’t read the book and are allergic to spoilers, please be aware that the interesting surprises of Scott’s story are discussed in this podcast.
Scott Tong is a reporter for American Public Media’s Marketplace, and from 2006 to 2010, he helped found and run the radio program’s Shanghai bureau. During that time, he also experienced a lot of culture shock — his Chinese-American upbringing in the U.S., Hong Kong, and Taiwan didn’t prepare him for mainland China as much as he had expected, and while in Shanghai, he uncovered some surprising truths about his family, which has roots in nearby Jiangsu Province.
A Village With My Name: A Family History of China's Opening to the World is Scott’s deeply personal reporting and reflection on what he learned about his family, and China’s history, by visiting distant relatives in a forlorn part of Jiangsu Province. It is a highly engaging, eye-opening story that sheds light on how Chinese people engage with their past — and their present.
Recommendations:
Jeremy: McKay Books, a huge used books store in Nashville, Tennessee. And Congo Cables: The Cold War in Africa—From Eisenhower to Kennedy, by Madeleine Kalb.
Scott: Resigned Activism: Living With Pollution in Rural China, by Anna Lora-Wainwright. And Rough Translation, an NPR podcast about how foreigners see America.
Kaiser: Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History, by Kurt Andersen.
Big Brother and big data at work in Xinjiang
Dynasty warriors: Ming vs. Qing smackdown
China and the techno-authoritarian narrative
Fuchsia Dunlop on ‘The Food of Sichuan’
Philanthropy in China, with Scott Kennedy of CSIS
Jerome Cohen on the Hong Kong protests and the law
Neil Thomas on regime support in the P.R.C.
Live from Columbia: China tech triage with Samm Sacks
Jude Blanchette on the Hong Kong protests
Podcast Golden Week: TechBuzz China Ep. 53: NetEase
Podcast Golden Week: Peter Hessler on ChinaEconTalk
Podcast Golden Week: Ta for Ta Episode 22
Podcast Golden Week: Middle Earth #16
Is China the Enemy? Featuring Ezra Vogel and Orville Schell
Christian Shepherd on Xinjiang and China's changing ethnic policy
Introducing 'Strangers in China'
‘Mirrorlands’: Ed Pulford on the Sino-Russian border
Trade war economics, with Andy Rothman
Making the world safe for autocracy: Jessica Chen Weiss on what Beijing wants
Matt Sheehan on California's role in U.S.-China relations
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free