The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files

When his grandfather died during the COVID pandemic, Hudson Wei realized how little he knew about the man who had raised him. Determined to uncover his story, he interviewed relatives, pieced together family memories, and eventually turned this into a historical novel,  Abacus . Hudson joins John from California to discuss this multigenerational saga. They begin with his grandfather’s journey from...

Andō Momofuku is a household name in Japan, celebrated as the inventor of instant noodles. But his story actually begins in Puzi, a small town in southern Taiwan, where he was born Wu Baifu in 1910. John is joined by Tom Gibb, a Japan-based translator and author of the cycling travelogue Charinko . Together they unravel the complicated history of the man and his noodles. Going behind the familiar...

NOTE: People not using Spotify can watch this video on YouTube . As the 2026 Asian Games in Japan come to a close, Eryk and John look back at Taiwan’s sporting struggles and successes in Asia. Who knew that the country has long been a powerhouse in soft tennis and women’s tug-of-war? After multiple unsuccessful bids to host the Asian Games, Taiwan finally had its chance to put on a show: the 2009...

Born into a poor farming family in coastal Yunlin County in 1944, Cheng Feng-hsi 鄭豐喜 (Zhèng Fēngxǐ) was severely disabled and spent much of his childhood crawling rather than walking. His early years included travelling with an elderly medicine seller and a performing monkey, and living rough in the countryside. When he finally attended school, he excelled and eventually made his way to univers...

What happens when curiosity about Taiwan turns into something of an obsession? Canadian academic Tyrel Eskelson, who lives in Japan, set out to understand an island nation that kept appearing in the international news. The result was months of travel, hundreds of conversations and his book  Taiwan 22 , published by Formosa Files’ very own Plum Rain Press. John chats with Tyrel about his travels an...

NOTE: We know non-Spotify users may not be able to view this from here, but the program is also available on YouTube . Thanks. Eryk and John look back at Taiwan’s first direct presidential election : the protests and constitutional reforms that made it possible, Lee Teng-hui’s controversial visit to Cornell University, and the Chinese missile tests that turned an election campaign into the Third T...

Eryk and John look back at Taiwan’s first direct presidential election: the protests and constitutional reforms that made it possible, Lee Teng-hui’s controversial visit to Cornell University, and the Chinese missile tests that turned an election campaign into the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis. On March 23, 1996, with two US carrier groups sent to the region and ROC soldiers on alert, more than ten m...

John is joined by writer, artist and comics enthusiast Ray Hecht for a journey through Taiwan’s manga history. This story is sometimes reduced to Japanese comics and their Taiwanese spinoffs. Ray and John, however, get into the forgotten influence of Shanghai  liánhuán túhuà  – “linked-picture” storybooks – in the post-WWII years. Also, central to today’s episode is the humble neighborhood rental...

Apple Podcast users will need to visit YouTube to view this. Defense analyst Bryce C. Barros tells Formosa Files about M.I.T. drones and their surprising connection to Taiwan's remote-controlled toy industry. Before China became the "world's factory," Taiwanese companies emerged as major manufacturers of inexpensive toys and electronics during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, produci...

Defense analyst Bryce C. Barros tells Formosa Files about M.I.T. drones and their surprising connection to Taiwan's remote-controlled toy industry. Before China became the "world's factory," Taiwanese companies emerged as major manufacturers of inexpensive toys and electronics during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, producing them for customers globally. The skills in the production...

We understand that APPLE Podcasts is not showing these videos. We will try to fix this issue, but in the meantime, they can be seen on YouTube . Here is the link for this one. Created with Han Cheung from TAIWAN IN TIME.

John is joined by writer and historian Scott Crawford to recount the bloodiest episode in the history of Dutch Formosa. A revolt, led by Guo Huaiyi, resulted in the deaths of several thousand Chinese. We look at what drove farmers to rebellion and the tragic events of September 1652. This episode grew out of John and Scott’s special ten-part read-along of Dr. Chen Yao-Chang’s novel  A Tale of Thre...

This is a test video to see how it works on Spotify and Apple. These shorts can also be found on YouTube . Created with Han Cheung from TAIWAN IN TIME.

We covered this story in a previous episode. But we recently made a video about it for the Chinese podcast, so we added an English voiceover and are offering it as a video extra. Enjoy. Full story podcast episode link: Taiwan’s Motorcycle Daredevil: Lu Ch’ing-an (呂慶安)

The 1683 Battle of Penghu is over, but there’s plenty more to say after our last episode. Eryk reads some victory poetry by the Kangxi Emperor. John is not a fan. We then turn to changing ideas of patriotism. Why have some Han Chinese nationalists objected to a new film celebrating Shi Lang’s conquest of Taiwan? And does Chiang Kai-shek look rather different if we view him principally as a Chinese...

CORRECTION: This episode originally said Wang Sing-nan was currently serving as a legislator. This was an error. Wang retired in 2012. We regret the mistake and we appreciate Steven Crook for pointing it out. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In October 1976, three innocent-looking dictionaries were mailed to senior officials in Taiwan. Hidden inside...

CORRECTION: This episode originally said Wang Sing-nan was currently serving as a legislator. This was an error. Wang retired in 2012. We regret the mistake and we appreciate Steven Crook for pointing it out. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In October 1976, three innocent-looking dictionaries were mailed to senior officials in Taiwan. Hidden inside...

In July 1683, more than 400 warships clashed around the Penghu Islands in one of the greatest naval battles in Chinese history. Qing admiral Shi Lang had come to destroy the last major stronghold of Ming loyalist resistance: the Zheng regime on Taiwan. The naval campaign would decide Taiwan’s fate. More than three centuries later, the Battle of Penghu is politically explosive once again. A Chinese...

AI images used are illustrations and most are not historically accurate. In July 1683, more than 400 warships clashed around the Penghu Islands in one of the greatest naval battles in Chinese history. Qing admiral Shi Lang had come to destroy the last major stronghold of Ming loyalist resistance: the Zheng regime on Taiwan. The naval campaign would decide Taiwan’s fate. More than three centuries l...

Long before social media, Taiwan had an unlikely food influencer: Chiang Ching-kuo (CCK), son of President Chiang Kai-shek. During his frequent inspection tours around the island in the 1970s and 1980s (as premier and later president), CCK cultivated an everyman image by chatting with workers and farmers and stopping to sample ordinary local foods. Sometimes, a visit from CCK was enough to transfo...

NOTE: Shorter, audio only version also available Long before social media, Taiwan had an unlikely food influencer: Chiang Ching-kuo (CCK), son of President Chiang Kai-shek. During his frequent inspection tours around the island in the 1970s and 1980s (as premier and later president), CCK cultivated an everyman image by chatting with workers and farmers and stopping to sample ordinary local foods....

In 1986, after more than six years behind bars, Chen Chu was released on parole. She immediately doubled down on Taiwan’s democratic struggle. In Part Two, we trace her rise from dissident to political heavyweight. We cover her role in founding the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the fallout from the Kaohsiung MRT migrant-worker scandal that cost her her job as labor chief, and her...

In 1960s rural Taiwan, crossing a river could be deadly. After children drowned on their way to school, a small group of charity workers in Chiayi decided to act. They had previously provided rice and coffins to the poor. But now they turned to building bridges in rural, often remote mountain areas. Nicknamed the “Ant Army,” they worked in human chains, carrying rocks and pouring concrete by hand....

We’ve got a new “snack” for you on Sunday, but today we’re revisiting an episode from 2022. Commodore Matthew C. Perry’s two expeditions of 1852–1854 pried open Japan. Less well known is that one of the American ships visited Keelung in northeastern Taiwan to investigate the harbor and its coal resources.  And completely forgotten is another American project, the North Pacific Exploring and Survey...

Long before becoming a three-time mayor of Kaohsiung, Chen Chu (陳菊) spent decades in Taiwan’s democracy movement. Born into a farming family in Yilan in 1950, Chen Chu moved to Taipei to attend university, and was soon drawn into the dangerous world of the  dangwai  opposition struggle against one-party KMT rule. After the Kaohsiung Incident of December 1979, Chen was sentenced to twelve years,...