F1 gridlock in China and Putin's Olympic brainwave

0:45: Mark recounts his earthquake experience in Taiwan and highlights how the cluster of former China journalists now based on the island is affecting the overall narrative.

6:03: The livestream is back for a second week — with one crucial difference thanks to feedback from a listener/viewer.

8:10: F1 releases its 2023 calendar. Shanghai is down for April 23, but Mark promises to eat Haig’s hat if the race actually takes place.

14:32: A discussion about short-term thinking, and how it affects the development of sports in China, especially when long-term horizons are essential. That’s why David Beckham was brought to China as a CSL Ambassador, but had very little effect.

17:01: Vladimir Putin has floated the idea of an alternative sporting competition with China, India and other SCO nations. It sounds rather like – in fact just like – the Olympics.

21:47: A former UCLA basketball player, Jalen Hill, died in Costa Rica this week, aged 22. He spoke eloquently a year ago of battling some demons, linked to a fateful trip to China in 2017.

27:04: Nike is getting in on the podcasting bandwagon in China. What can we expect?

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.