Mosaic of China

Today I’m speaking with Vy Vu. Apart from how much I love the economy of her name, I also love the story of how someone who was feeling lost in Shanghai can ultimately become part of a fitness movement that’s spreading across China and the world. You...

This week’s episode is with Noah Sheldon, who has been making photos and films of workers in China over the last decade or so. We discuss some of the factory conditions that aren’t covered in much of the world’s reporting on the issue. We talk about ...

“Keep it Quiet” is the name of the semi-public bar at Yongfoo Elite, the private members club located in the diplomatic quarter of Shanghai. So I’m especially grateful that its GM, Lori Li, broke her own rules to speak to me in this week’s episode. A...

When I first met today's guest, Sebastien Denes, I liked him immediately. But I did question what kind of content he would be able to bring to this recording. Here was another privileged white male in an executive role on an international career trac...

In 2010, Yael Farjun had a chance encounter with someone at the Shanghai Expo, which led her to undertake an amazing research project. We discuss the heroism and humanity of one Chinese man in Vienna, which resulted in an epic migration from Europe t...

This week’s guest is the award-winning Chinese playwright Nick Yu, 喻荣军, who juggles his work as a writer alongside his role as Creative Director at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre. In our conversation, we cover Nick’s two contrasting identities: th...

There are two themes of today’s show: the first is location, and the second is queer identity. There exist derogatory stereotypes about both, which could be described as either xenophobic or homophobic. Today's conversation touches on the intersectio...

In case you ever feel like complaining about logistics, bureaucracy and red tape in China, spare a thought for Emily Madge, who was part of the team in charge of transporting two beluga whales from Shanghai to Iceland. In today’s episode we discuss t...

Srinivas Yanamandra ("Srini") is the Chief Compliance Officer at the New Development Bank (NDB), the only multilateral organisation based in Shanghai. Comprised of the BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the bank has a u...

Today’s interview is with the artist Nini Sum. We talk about her life and work as the co-founder of IdleBeats, the first independent screen print studio in China, as well as her take on artistic expression and the arts scene in general in China. You’...