The New East Asian Studies Podcasts in the Age of AI

How have Asian Americans transformed the U.S. political landscape over the past half-century? In this episode, we examine the rise of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in U.S. elective office, tracing their groundbreaking political journeys. From pioneering figures to contemporary leaders, we explore their trajectories to office, the challenges they faced, and the opportunities they forged. Dra...

In this episode, we explore China’s remarkable transformation from a struggling Maoist economy to a global powerhouse, and the alleged end of its economic miracle. Drawing from Anne Stevenson-Yang's book Wild Ride , we recount her 25 years of firsthand experience living and working in China. The discussion covers pivotal moments such as Deng Xiaoping's reforms, the rise of the economic elite, the...

In this episode, we explore the complex dynamics of US-China relations through the lens of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Senior advisor Dr. Yawei Liu analyzes the perspectives of retired and prominent PLA figures, ranging from hawkish calls for forceful reunification of Taiwan to moderate voices advocating peaceful resolution and domestic growth. We delve into the PLA’s role in shaping publi...

In the final panel of the Columbia University and Keio University conference, experts discuss the global ripple effects of leadership transitions in Tokyo and Washington. This conversation examines the evolving dynamics of the U.S.-China relationship, escalating tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the strategic role of Japan in navigating these shifts. Speakers Yuichi Hosoya, Michito Tsur...

In this compelling panel discussion, experts from Columbia University and Keio University analyze the geopolitical and security challenges surrounding the Taiwan Strait amid leadership transitions in Tokyo and Washington. The conversation delves into U.S.-China relations under a potential second Trump administration, Japan’s defense policies, and the complexities of balancing relationships with Ta...

Dive into the complexities of U.S.-Japan relations in Southeast Asia amidst leadership transitions and shifting geopolitical dynamics. This panel discussion, part of a conference co-hosted by Columbia University and Keio University, examines potential policy changes during a second Trump presidency, the implications of reduced U.S. engagement, and Japan's evolving role in a multipolar world. Featu...

Explore the dynamic intersection of leadership changes in Tokyo and Washington and their implications for East Asian security. This panel discussion, co-hosted by Columbia University and Keio University, delves into critical challenges on the Korean peninsula and the evolving U.S.-Japan alliance. Featuring insights from prominent scholars, policymakers, and global advisors, this session is a must-...

This episode delves into the profound transformation underway in North Korea following the death of Kim Jong Il and the rise of Kim Jong Un. We explore North Korea's shifting political ideology, the challenges faced by its economy, and the evolving role of its military and Workers' Party. We discuss key developments such as the emergence of a merchant class, cultural infiltration from South Korea,...

This engrossing book, a brilliant blend of biography and criticism, tells the story of Feng Zikai (1898-1975), one of the most gifted and important artists to emerge from the politically tumultuous decades of the 1920s and 1930s. Barmé provides a closely woven parallel history, that of the life of writer-artist Feng, who was also an essayist and a translator, and that of China's turbulent twentiet...

Contours of Colonialism delves into the legacies of colonialism and the evolving dynamics of postcolonial worlds. Through critical discussions inspired by thinkers like Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Dipesh Chakrabarty, and Edward Said, we explore themes of representation, identity, and power in global history. From the silenced voices of the subaltern to the myths of Eurocentric modernity and the en...

Explore the strategies behind authoritarian rule in this analysis of Coalitions of the Weak , a groundbreaking book examining the leadership dynamics of the Chinese Communist Party. The lecture delves into how Mao Zedong strategically promoted weak, less-networked officials to maintain control, inadvertently creating a power vacuum that Xi Jinping later exploited to consolidate unprecedented autho...

Delve into the fascinating history of the Sino-Russian border, one of the longest and most geopolitically significant land boundaries in the world. Based on Soeren Urbansky’s groundbreaking research in Beyond the Steppe Frontier , this episode explores the evolution of this border from a loosely defined frontier in the seventeenth century to its transformation into a tightly controlled geopolitica...

Explore the complexities of Tibet's integration into China's national development strategies in this deep dive into The Disempowered Development of Tibet in China . This episode examines how rapid economic growth, driven by central government subsidies, has created both improved living standards and intensified marginalization among Tibetans. Based on interdisciplinary research and extensive field...

The Buddha’s nirvana marks the end of the life of a great spiritual figure and the beginning of Buddhism as a world religion. Surviving Nirvana is the first book in the English language to examine how this historic moment was represented and received in the visual culture of China. It is also a study about a pictorial image that has been in use for over 1,500 years. Mining a selection of well-docu...

Discover the untold stories of North Korean women reshaping their society amidst economic and social transformation. This podcast explores the rise of informal markets led predominantly by women, challenging traditional gender roles and family dynamics. Dive into how the collapse of the command economy, the influx of foreign media, and the regime’s tightening grip create a complex interplay betwee...

Buddhist monasteries in medieval China employed a variety of practices to ensure their ascendancy and survival. Most successful was the exchange of material goods for salvation, as in the donation of land, which allowed monks to spread their teachings throughout China. By investigating a variety of socioeconomic spaces produced and perpetuated by Chinese monasteries, Michael J. Walsh reveals the "...

In this episode, we delve into the fascinating world of Kangxi’s Red Tickets , a historical mystery that unveils the Qing dynasty's early engagement with globalization. Based on an enthralling book launch, we discuss the red tickets issued by Emperor Kangxi in 1716—imperial decrees sent to Europe in search of Jesuit envoys who had vanished. Explore how Jesuit missionaries became trusted envoys of...

In this episode, we dive into the intricate history of U.S. involvement in the South China Sea, one of the world's most contentious maritime territories. Drawing insights from Gregory B. Poling's acclaimed book On Dangerous Ground , we explore how the U.S. has navigated over a century of disputes in this vital waterway. From China’s militarization of islands to America’s commitment to freedom of t...

Inked is a social history of common soldiers of the Song Dynasty, most of whom would have been recognized by their tattooed bodies. Overlooked in the historical record, tattoos were an indelible aspect of the Song world, and their ubiquity was tied to the rise of the penal–military complex, a vast system for social control, warfare, and labor. Although much has been written about the institutional...

Explore the challenges and opportunities shaping China's economic future in this insightful podcast series. Delve into discussions on financial reforms, the internationalization of the renminbi, and the U.S.-China technological competition. Join top economists and policy experts as they analyze China's quest to transition into an innovation-driven economy, tackle demographic challenges, and naviga...

The Dutch East India Company was a hybrid organization combining the characteristics of both corporation and state that attempted to thrust itself aggressively into an Asian political order in which it possessed no obvious place and was transformed in the process. This study focuses on the company's clashes with Tokugawa Japan over diplomacy, violence, and sovereignty. In each encounter the Dutch...

In The Chinese Revolution on the Tibetan Frontier, Benno Weiner provides the first in-depth study of an ethnic minority region during the first decade of the People's Republic of China: the Amdo region in the Sino-Tibetan borderland. Employing previously inaccessible local archives as well as other rare primary sources, he demonstrates that the Communist Party's goal in 1950s Amdo was not just sta...

How British authorities and Indian intellectuals developed ideas about deviant female sexuality to control and organize modern society in India During the colonial period in India, European scholars, British officials, and elite Indian intellectuals—philologists, administrators, doctors, ethnologists, sociologists, and social critics—deployed ideas about sexuality to understand modern Indian socie...

Since the nineteenth century, a succession of states has classified the inhabitants of what are now the borderlands of Northeast India and Bangladesh as Muslim "frontier peasants," "savage mountaineers," and Christian "ethnic minorities," suspecting them to be disloyal subjects, spies, and traitors. In  Jungle Passports  Malini Sur follows the struggles of these people to secure shifting land, gai...

Winner, 2023 Bernard S. Cohn Prize, Association for Asian StudiesWinner, 2021 Joseph W. Elder Prize in the Indian Social SciencesWinner, 2021 Ruth Benedict Prize, Association for Queer Anthropology Honorable Mention, 2023 Anne Bolin & Gil Herdt Book Prize, Human Sexuality & Anthropology Interest Group Hijras, one of India’s third gendered or trans populations, have been an enduring presenc...