Sinobabble
A relaxing, educational podcast covering China's modern history, current events, and academic analyses of China's politics, society, and culture in a variety of mini-series. Starting with the history of the 20th century, this podcast aims to explore all facets of the history of China, from the major events to the smallest local changes, to give you a full picture of the development of one of the world's most powerful nations. As the series develops, we will discuss Chinese art, religion, politics, culture, and economics, bringing the country's past to life. If you're more interested in modern China, stay tuned for the modern China series where we talk about how the CCP exercises control, makes people disappear, and encourages loyalty. We also get on the ground and talk to the people of Hong Kong about their recent experiences with the protests in the territory in 2019.
Episodes
18 episodes
Tariffs, Tik Tok, TSMC | China news discussion #1 | 20th April 2025
First episode in a new series where I go through some trending news stories in China and analyse their impact. This version is from last week, for the most recent episode head over to Buy Me a Coffee and become a member to get the episodes as s...
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27:29
Guo Wengui is the scammer the US deserved
A billionaire with a lavish property portfolio promises to save the US from the evil clutches of the Chinese Communist Party, partnering with right-wing media figures to attract thousands of followers, only to be revealed as a criminal whose bu...
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47:47
Zhao Ziyang
When we talk about the making of modern China, no name looms larger than Deng Xiaoping. But despite the heavy media bias and weighty political legacy China's architect carries, he did not build modern China alone. In fact, he cannot claim sole ...
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1:01:54
There is no decoupling from China (#2)
Why are Western (or Global North, whatever) nations pursuing decoupling at this particular moment in history? What is the link between decoupling and de-globalisation? Is either achieveable, or are we doomed to live in an interconnected world w...
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50:11
There is no decoupling from China (#1)
In 2020, Donald Trump made a speech where he announced plans to decouple the US' economy from China's, leading to a media outburst and a half-hearted response from the EU. 4 years later, Trump is back in power and the question of decoupling is ...
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38:29
20th Century Chinese History #4: Early Republican China (1912-1919)
**REUPLOAD**In today's episode we're going to pick up where we left off, at the very beginning of the new Republic of China. We'll look at the rise of Yuan Shikai and the descent of China into a period of warlordism. We will expl...
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32:28
20th Century Chinese History #3: The Xinhai Revolution of 1911
**REUPLOAD**Currently in the process of reuploading old episodes from the history portion of the podcast starting with this one!DescriptionOn October 9th 1911 an accidental explosion in a revolutionary base in Hube...
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31:32
The silliest debate in Chinese academic history (Boodberg v Creel)
What is the origin of the Chinese writing system? Where did Chinese characters come from, and how did they evolve over time? Are they pictographs? Ideogographs? Logographs? Phonographs? Or all of the above? This is the nature of one of the most...
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1:00:14
China's social credit system is real. Everyone is wrong about it though.
Much has been made in Western media about the Chinese social credit system. It's been painted as a totalitarian form of surveillance akin to 1984, where all citizens are tracked, monitored and ranked according to an arbitrary set of rules set u...
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1:04:51
Think Tank China analysis is worthless, actually.
In this episode we discuss Western (mainly US) think tank analysis of China in the 1990s and early 2000s and ask ourselves if they provide any value either for the public discourse or as pieces of policy advice. While experts work hard to produ...
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59:02
How Xi Jinping became emperor. And how everyone missed it.
When Xi became General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, no one assumed he would take up that position for life. But when Presidential term limits were abolished in 2018, it was widely understood that Xi had made himself supreme leader,...
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57:03
Authenticity and the Disney-fication of China's Cultural Heritage
Why are so many cultural heritage sites in China fake? Why is the architecture all the same? And why does no one care that all these old towns were built in the past 20 years? Let's take a deep dive into the history of the cultural heritage ind...
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50:58
Announcing the first ever Sinobabble livestream!
Hi everyone,I’m really excited to announce that I will be hosting my first ever livestream this Friday 10th May over on Youtube. This is just a casual event, where you guys can ask me any questions you want, we can discuss current...
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0:51
China's EV industry (was funded by the US)
There’s a lot of outrage currently about China’s attempts to grow its EV market, at the expense of the US economy. But the truth is that the Chinese EV market wouldn't be where it is today without the generous funding it received (and continues...
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42:53
I read all 212 pages of Hong Kong's new National Security Bill. It's not good.
"Safeguarding National Security Bill", also known as Article 23 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, was passed in March to no public opposition. I read through the whole bill and discussed how it may be used to transgress human rights and common sen...
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43:12
Young Chinese people can't find jobs (they actually want)
In the face of economic turbulence, China's youth are struggling to find jobs that are suited to their skills and can give them the life that they want and were promised. While China's government strives to alleviate youth unemployment, societa...
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44:07
China's ecommerce dystopia: TEMU, SHEIN and the fast-everything model
The newer and nimbler players in Chinese e-commerce are pushing buttons in the West. Rock-bottom prices, fast fulfilment and addictive interfaces are pushed to their limits to take China's dopamine economy global. What's going on, where does AI...
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31:01
The "White Woman aesthetic" trend and Chinese class struggle
Yoghurt bowls. Lululemon leggings. Ugg slippers. More young Chinese women embrace what they identify as the "white woman aesthetic" as an antidote to the pressures of high maintenance beauty standards and material achievement. As more Chinese w...
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41:20