Audio, History
Jeremiah Jenne
What can the end of the Ming Dynasty tell us ...

Trump's re-election disappointed many in the U.S. and abroad. To help them process, Jeremiah and David talk with literary translator and Pennsylvania voter Brendan O’Kane about Zhang Dai, the Ming-Qing transition, and living through an age of upheaval.

What can the end of the Ming Dynasty tell us about the election of Donald Trump and what comes next
Contemporary China, History, Audio
Jeremiah Jenne
Historical Battles: Rewriting China's Past to ...

Jeffrey Wasserstrom joins Barbarians at the Gate to discuss the legacy of the Hong Kong protests, Xi Jinping’s patriotic education law, and how Beijing’s control over historical narratives is reshaping academic engagement with China.

Historical Battles: Rewriting China's Past to Shape the Future
Audio, History
Jeremiah Jenne
Dan Snow's History Hit The Creation of the ...

How China transitioned from imperial rule to Chinese Socialism and all about the key characters whose opposing visions for China's future created so much chaos along the way.

Dan Snow's History Hit The Creation of the People's Republic of China
Book Reviews, History
Jeremiah Jenne
Philip Kuhn: Sorcery and Bureaucracy in Qing ...

A supernatural crisis pits an anxious autocrat against his own functionaries when a hunt for soul-stealing sorcerers turns into a political witch-hunt among 18th-century China’s “deep state.”

Philip Kuhn: Sorcery and Bureaucracy in Qing China
Audio, History, Travel
Jeremiah Jenne
Edge of Empire with author and journalist ...

In this episode of Barbarians at the Gates, Edward Wong of the New York Times joins David and me to discuss Ed's new book, At the Edge of Empire. We discuss frontiers, what the Qing Dynasty means for China, and the different generational perspectives on China's recent past.

Edge of Empire with author and journalist Edward Wong

Life in Beijing

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Barbarians at the Gate: CoCo19 and the Quarantines (The Scene from Beijing)

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Barbarians at the Gate: CoCo19 and the Quarantines (The Scene from Beijing)

David returns to Beijing and Jeremiah can't leave the city. We're both navigating the new information and media environment in the run-up to the October Party Congress. BATG is back with the scene from Beijing.

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Barbarians at the Gate: Locked Down in Beijing!

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Barbarians at the Gate: Locked Down in Beijing!

Jeremiah and David discuss the current COVID-19 situation in China along with special guest Zhang Yajun (Wo Men Podcast). Jeremiah and Yajun have been confined to their apartment complex for (as of taping) 13 days after one of their neighbors tested positive for COVID-19. Jeremiah, David, and Yajun share stories of living with the current outbreak, how other folks are handling the situation, the response by local officials, and where China's Zero COVID policy goes from here.

Make Some Noise: The Visible and Not-so-Visible Dangers of Beijing’s Perpetual Din

Make Some Noise: The Visible and Not-so-Visible Dangers of Beijing’s Perpetual Din

On my death bed, I swear the most powerful sonic memory from my years in China will be that of a drill reverberating through walls and floors and burrowing its way into the reptilian part of my brain.

My Beijing Insecurity (on National Security Education Day)

My Beijing Insecurity (on National Security Education Day)

April 15th, National Security Education and Awareness Day in China, has become an annual day of whimsy for those of us living in Beijing.