Skip to content
Log in Join free
Face-Off cover art

Airwave Media

Face-Off

A News podcast

#138 in News · 🇵🇭
Good podcast? Give it some love!

About the show

The nuclear age began in secrecy and scientific ambition. The story is familiar, but its implications have never left us. A bomb created in a moment of wartime urgency became the foundation of a global order defined by terror and deterrence. But what happens when that global order breaks down? Face-Off: Nuclear Anarchy is an 8-part series tracing the arc of nuclear danger from the Manhattan Project to the Cuban Missile Crisis to the abandonment of the New START treaty and the shattering of the nonproliferation order today. We take you behind the scenes of key moments and key places of the nuclear story to shed light upon the present. In each episode, Pulitzer-winning journalist Jane Perlez interviews leading participants in the nuclear conversation: David Sanger, Tong Zhao, Rose Gotemoeller, Alex Wellerstein and more. Plus, Matthew Bunn, of Harvard's Managing the Atom project, joins for a wrap-up segment to put everything in context.  We are living in a more crowded and unstable nuclear world—where proliferation spreads not through ideology or conquest, but through fear, hedging, and the collapse of confidence. Face-Off asks who will hold the line, and for how long?  Episodes out every Tuesday in October & November 2026.  This project is made possible by the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Managing the Atom Project. Our special guest is Professor Matthew Bunn, Faculty Chair of the Managing the Atom Project (@matthew-bunn.bsky.social). Face-Off is produced and reported by Jane Perlez. Our production team is Nina Porzucki, Louise Morris, and Frank Zhou. Sound design and mixing by John Myers and Rowhome Productions.

Newest episodes

The Outliers

48 min

Iran and North Korea are two of the clearest tests of the global nonproliferation order. North Korea has crossed the threshold entirely as an openly nuclear-armed state. Iran sits at the threshold, advancing its nuclear capabilities while denying its attempts to seek the bomb amid the current U.S.-Israeli war. In this episode Jane Perlez interviews former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman about how difficult it is to stop determined governments from reshaping the nuclear map.  Sherman revisits the moment North Korea agreed to a temporary moratorium on select missile testing and the decisions that ultimately led nuclear diplomacy to break down. Sherman was also the lead U.S. negotiator for the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal. “We cannot underestimate Iran's abilities or future capabilities,” Sherman says. “The whole world is in a much more dangerous place than it once was.” Reading Recommendations: Not for The Faint of Heart: Lessons in Courage, Power and Persistence by Wendy Sherman. A rare book: a gripping read by a senior government official at the center of the action. Kim Jong Un and the Bomb by Ankit Panda. The author, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, reveals how the mercurial leader got the bomb.  Fallout: The Inside Story of America’s Failure to Disarm North Korea by Joel S. Wit. A candid account by a former State Department diplomat involved in the talks with Pyongyang. Iran and the Bomb by Sina Azodi. An assistant professor at George Washington University explores the trajectory of Iran, the United States and the bomb.  Face-Off is produced and reported by Jane Perlez. Our production team is Nina Porzucki, Louise Morris, and Frank Zhou. Sound design and mixing by John Myers and Rowhome Productions. This project is made possible by the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Managing the Atom Project. Our special guest is Professor Matthew Bunn, Faculty Chair of the Managing the Atom Project (@matthew-b...

Ukraine’s Lost Deterrent

40 min

It is one of the great broken promises of the post-Cold War era. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine found itself in possession of the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal. In 1994, Ukraine gave up those weapons in exchange for assurances that its sovereignty would be protected. Jane Perlez was there reporting on the nuclear dismantling in Kyiv that winter of 1994. Decades later, Vladimir Putin has threatened to unleash nuclear weapons on Ukraine. In this episode, Jane Perlez interviews former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba.  Kuleba explains that Russia could have invaded Ukraine in 2022 whether or not Ukraine had nuclear weapons, but he believes strongly that the Americans should have done more to support his nation. “That's always the problem: Ukrainians pay with blood and tears for every intellectual failure of their Western colleagues.” Amid the world’s shifting balance of power, Kuleba weighs in: what could Ukraine have done? Reading Recommendations: Inheriting the Bomb by Mariana Budjeryn. Fabulous archival and on the ground research. A first rate political scientist looks at the disarmament of Ukraine, including the pressures from Washington.  Face-Off is produced and reported by Jane Perlez. Our production team is Nina Porzucki, Louise Morris, and Frank Zhou. Sound design and mixing by John Myers and Rowhome Productions. This project is made possible by the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Managing the Atom Project. Our special guest is Professor Matthew Bunn, Faculty Chair of the Managing the Atom Project (@matthew-bunn.bsky.social). Face Off is produced in partnership with Rowhome Productions. Rowhome's Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome's Executive Producer. Episode Art Image Credit: James Hill for the New York Times. Image Caption: A missile scientist stands inside the Pivdenmash rocket factory 250 miles southeast of Kyiv in 1994. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Age of Arms Control

39 min

There was a time when the nuclear powers did more than posture. During the era of arms control, the White House, Kremlin, and State Department built frameworks to slow the arms race and reduce the chance of catastrophe. The process was imperfect and often fragile. In this episode, Jane Perlez interviews New START Treaty chief negotiator Rose Gottemoeller. Gottemoeller takes us behind the scenes to dissect how a nuclear treaty comes together: the negotiations, the personalities, the yelling from the White House, and the U.S.-Russian nuclear facility ground inspections spelled out in painstaking detail. “Both sides really try to make sure that the other side doesn't see what they're not supposed to see,” Gottemoeller tells us. Now, as the last nuclear treaties expire, we must ask: is there still a path forward on arms control?  Reading Recommendations: Negotiating the New START Treaty by Rose Gottemoeller: The American negotiator for the last arms control treaty tells her story. Insider, juicy stuff.  Detente and Confrontation by Raymond Garthoff: Published in 1985, highly regarded account of the and fall of detente in the 1970s and early 80s. Face-Off is produced and reported by Jane Perlez. Our production team is Nina Porzucki, Louise Morris, and Frank Zhou. Sound design and mixing by John Myers and Rowhome Productions. This project is made possible by the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Managing the Atom Project. Our special guest is Professor Matthew Bunn, Faculty Chair of the Managing the Atom Project (@matthew-bunn.bsky.social). Face Off is produced in partnership with Rowhome Productions. Rowhome's Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome's Executive Producer. Episode Art Image Credit: AP Photo/JH. Image Caption: A young donor receives a button from Dr. Louise Reiss after giving his baby teeth to the strontium research project in St. Louis, Missouri on Jan. 15, 1962. The button announces: “I Gave My Tooth to Science.” Le...

Similar podcasts

All episodes

The Outliers

48 min

Iran and North Korea are two of the clearest tests of the global nonproliferation order. North Korea has crossed the threshold entirely as an openly nuclear-armed state. Iran sits at the threshold, advancing its nuclear capabilities while denying its attempts to seek the bomb amid the current U.S.-Israeli war. In this episode Jane Perlez interviews former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman about how difficult it is to stop determined governments from reshaping the nuclear map.  Sherman revisits the moment North Korea agreed to a temporary moratorium on select missile testing and the decisions that ultimately led nuclear diplomacy to break down. Sherman was also the lead U.S. negotiator for the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal. “We cannot underestimate Iran's abilities or future capabilities,” Sherman says. “The whole world is in a much more dangerous place than it once was.” Reading Recommendations: Not for The Faint of Heart: Lessons in Courage, Power and Persistence by Wendy Sherman. A rare book: a gripping read by a senior government official at the center of the action. Kim Jong Un and the Bomb by Ankit Panda. The author, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, reveals how the mercurial leader got the bomb.  Fallout: The Inside Story of America’s Failure to Disarm North Korea by Joel S. Wit. A candid account by a former State Department diplomat involved in the talks with Pyongyang. Iran and the Bomb by Sina Azodi. An assistant professor at George Washington University explores the trajectory of Iran, the United States and the bomb.  Face-Off is produced and reported by Jane Perlez. Our production team is Nina Porzucki, Louise Morris, and Frank Zhou. Sound design and mixing by John Myers and Rowhome Productions. This project is made possible by the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Managing the Atom Project. Our special guest is Professor Matthew Bunn, Faculty Chair of the Managing the Atom Project (@matthew-b...

Ukraine’s Lost Deterrent

40 min

It is one of the great broken promises of the post-Cold War era. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine found itself in possession of the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal. In 1994, Ukraine gave up those weapons in exchange for assurances that its sovereignty would be protected. Jane Perlez was there reporting on the nuclear dismantling in Kyiv that winter of 1994. Decades later, Vladimir Putin has threatened to unleash nuclear weapons on Ukraine. In this episode, Jane Perlez interviews former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba.  Kuleba explains that Russia could have invaded Ukraine in 2022 whether or not Ukraine had nuclear weapons, but he believes strongly that the Americans should have done more to support his nation. “That's always the problem: Ukrainians pay with blood and tears for every intellectual failure of their Western colleagues.” Amid the world’s shifting balance of power, Kuleba weighs in: what could Ukraine have done? Reading Recommendations: Inheriting the Bomb by Mariana Budjeryn. Fabulous archival and on the ground research. A first rate political scientist looks at the disarmament of Ukraine, including the pressures from Washington.  Face-Off is produced and reported by Jane Perlez. Our production team is Nina Porzucki, Louise Morris, and Frank Zhou. Sound design and mixing by John Myers and Rowhome Productions. This project is made possible by the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Managing the Atom Project. Our special guest is Professor Matthew Bunn, Faculty Chair of the Managing the Atom Project (@matthew-bunn.bsky.social). Face Off is produced in partnership with Rowhome Productions. Rowhome's Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome's Executive Producer. Episode Art Image Credit: James Hill for the New York Times. Image Caption: A missile scientist stands inside the Pivdenmash rocket factory 250 miles southeast of Kyiv in 1994. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Age of Arms Control

39 min

There was a time when the nuclear powers did more than posture. During the era of arms control, the White House, Kremlin, and State Department built frameworks to slow the arms race and reduce the chance of catastrophe. The process was imperfect and often fragile. In this episode, Jane Perlez interviews New START Treaty chief negotiator Rose Gottemoeller. Gottemoeller takes us behind the scenes to dissect how a nuclear treaty comes together: the negotiations, the personalities, the yelling from the White House, and the U.S.-Russian nuclear facility ground inspections spelled out in painstaking detail. “Both sides really try to make sure that the other side doesn't see what they're not supposed to see,” Gottemoeller tells us. Now, as the last nuclear treaties expire, we must ask: is there still a path forward on arms control?  Reading Recommendations: Negotiating the New START Treaty by Rose Gottemoeller: The American negotiator for the last arms control treaty tells her story. Insider, juicy stuff.  Detente and Confrontation by Raymond Garthoff: Published in 1985, highly regarded account of the and fall of detente in the 1970s and early 80s. Face-Off is produced and reported by Jane Perlez. Our production team is Nina Porzucki, Louise Morris, and Frank Zhou. Sound design and mixing by John Myers and Rowhome Productions. This project is made possible by the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Managing the Atom Project. Our special guest is Professor Matthew Bunn, Faculty Chair of the Managing the Atom Project (@matthew-bunn.bsky.social). Face Off is produced in partnership with Rowhome Productions. Rowhome's Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome's Executive Producer. Episode Art Image Credit: AP Photo/JH. Image Caption: A young donor receives a button from Dr. Louise Reiss after giving his baby teeth to the strontium research project in St. Louis, Missouri on Jan. 15, 1962. The button announces: “I Gave My Tooth to Science.” Le...

Thirteen Days on the Brink

41 min

Jane Perlez reports on the thirteen most dangerous days in human history, when the world came closer to nuclear annihilation than ever before or since: the Cuban Missile Crisis. In October 1962, a Soviet submarine trapped under the Atlantic with a nuclear-tipped torpedo faced orders so ambiguous they could spell the end of civilization. Above the surface, American President John F. Kennedy learned of Soviet missiles in Cuba and had to decide: invade, bomb, or negotiate? With historian Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer Prize winner and foremost biographer of President Kennedy, Perlez explores how a young president and a Soviet leader, both haunted by war, chose empathy over escalation. Logevall explains how Kennedy's willingness to see through Khrushchev's eyes—to understand his rival's motives—became key to resolution. The secret agreement to  withdraw Soviet missiles from Cuba for American missiles from Turkey allowed both sides to claim victory and step back from the abyss. But the crisis revealed dangers that still haunt us: the fragility of communication, the weight of incomplete information, and how quickly human judgment can fail under pressure. Sixty-four years later, as nuclear weapons proliferate and leaders lose touch with the visceral fear that defined 1962, the question remains: would we be as lucky next time? Reading Recommendations: Abyss by Max Hastings. This is the latest on the Cuban Missile Crisis by one of the finest contemporary historians.  The Underwater Cuban Missile Crisis at 60 by the National Security Archive. This is nail-biting original research by the Washington-based National Security Archive on what happened aboard the Soviet submarine carrying a nuclear-tipped torpedo at the height of the crisis. Face-Off is produced and reported by Jane Perlez. Our production team is Nina Porzucki, Louise Morris, and Frank Zhou. Sound design and mixing by John Myers and Rowhome Productions. This project is made possible by the Belfer Center at the Har...

The Race to Build the Bomb

51 min

The nuclear age began in fear, secrecy, and scientific ambition. The bomb created in a moment of wartime urgency became the foundation of a new global order defined by terror and deterrence. The story is familiar, but its implications have never left us. In episode two of the series, Jane Perlez interviews nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein about the origins of the bomb and the Americans’ race to build a weapon before Hitler. Wellerstein explains how the White House first learned about a terrifying source of energy and the top-secret decision-making that culminated in Los Alamos and the creation of the first atom bomb used on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945.   Jane Perlez also travels to Hiroshima with Associate Producer Frank Zhou to interview an atomic bomb survivor and retrace her steps through the decimated city in the hours after the blast. Decades later, we must ask: will we let it happen again? Reading Recommendations: Hiroshima by John Hersey. The gruesome, influential reportage by the famed New Yorker writer about Hiroshima eight months after the bombing.  Fallout by Lesley M.M. Blume. The riveting behind-the-scenes story of how John Hersey got his Hiroshima story.  90 Seconds to Midnight by Charlotte Decroes Jacobs. A biography of Setsuko Nakamura Thurlow, a schoolgirl who survived Hiroshima.  The Most Awful Responsibility: Truman and the Secret Struggle for Control of the Atomic Age by Alex Wellerstein. When he gave the go-ahead to bomb, Truman thought Hiroshima was mainly a military base. He was mistaken. Face-Off is produced and reported by Jane Perlez. Our production team is Nina Porzucki, Louise Morris, and Frank Zhou. Sound design and mixing by John Myers and Rowhome Productions. This project is made possible by the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Managing the Atom Project. Our special guest is Professor Matthew Bunn, Faculty Chair of the Managing the Atom Project (@matthew-bunn.bsky.social). Face Off is produced in partnership...

The New Nuclear Age

55 min

For the first time in half a century, the world is drifting into a nuclear era with fewer constraints and more danger. The old arms control architecture is gone. The United States is modernizing its arsenal, Russia is making explicit nuclear threats, and China is expanding rapidly and in secret. Each development is destabilizing on its own. Together, they make a world in which the nuclear threat risks escalating faster than diplomacy can contain it. In episode one of the series, Jane Perlez and  New York Times White House and National Security Correspondent David Sanger lay out the stakes. How did we get to a world with crumbling nuclear guardrails? And what might happen next?  Sanger explains why nuclear weapons are back: how the Biden White House scrambled to respond to Vladimir Putin’s threats to use the nuclear option against Ukraine, what the war in Iran and North Korea’s arsenal signal to nuclear-curious nations waiting in the wings, and whether it is ever possible to wage a “limited nuclear war.” They also discuss how AI and cyberwarfare will transform the future of our arsenals. As nuclear weapons return to the public eye, we must ask: is the world inching toward another nuclear conflict? Reading Recommendations: New Cold Wars by David Sanger on the current global tensions. At The Brink by William Hennigan. A brilliant series of articles by the New York Times opinion writer on the state of nuclear weapons.  Nukesletter, an email newsletter written by noted international expert on nuclear weapons, Ankit Panda. Subscribe here to receive future issues. Face-Off is produced and reported by Jane Perlez. Our production team is Nina Porzucki, Louise Morris, and Frank Zhou. Sound design and mixing by John Myers and Rowhome Productions. This project is made possible by the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Managing the Atom Project. Our special guest is Professor Matthew Bunn, Faculty Chair of the Managing the Atom Project (@matthew-bunn.bsky...

Introducing Face-Off: Nuclear Anarchy?

5 min

The nuclear age began in secrecy and scientific ambition. The story is familiar, but its implications have never left us. Face-Off: Nuclear Anarchy is an 8-part series tracing the arc of nuclear danger. A bomb created in a moment of wartime urgency became the foundation of a global order defined by terror and deterrence. But what happens when that global order breaks down? This season, we take you back inside the Manhattan Project and a decimated Hiroshima in the hours after the blast. We retrace the Cuban Missile Crisis and the abandonment of the New START treaty with a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and the State Department decision-makers in the room. We follow China’s rapid expansion, Russia’s threats, Ukraine’s lost deterrent, and the outliers challenging the world’s nuclear order. In each episode, Pulitzer-winning journalist Jane Perlez interviews leading participants in the nuclear conversation: David Sanger, Tong Zhao, Rose Gottemoeller, Alex Wellerstein and more. Plus, Harvard Kennedy School Professor Matthew Bunn joins for a wrap-up segment to put everything in context. Episodes out every Tuesday in October & November 2026. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. This project is made possible by the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Managing the Atom Project. Our special guest is Professor Matthew Bunn, Faculty Chair of the Managing the Atom Project (@matthew-bunn.bsky.social). Face-Off is produced and reported by Jane Perlez. Our production team is Nina Porzucki, Louise Morris, and Frank Zhou. Sound design and mixing by John Myers. Face Off is produced in partnership with Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump’s War, Xi’s Opportunity: Ambassador Nicholas Burns on Iran’s Hot War

38 min

As this episode is published - on April 21, 2026 -  it’s far from clear which direction the war between the US and Iran is headed. Even so, America’s reputation around the world is in decline, to say the least. Trump is unrestrained.  He’s invaded Venezuela. Started a war like no other with Iran. Soured relations with traditional US allies in Europe. And not to mention the heavy tariffs he’s imposed across the globe.  Trump and Xi Jinping are supposed to meet in a delayed summit in Beijing this spring. What is Beijing thinking? How might China capitalize on this very rocky moment? With so much at stake, we turn to someone who has often been at the forefront of diplomacy: Nicholas Burns, the former US Ambassador to China under President Biden. Our conversation was recorded on April 10th, which is important to note as the news is moving fast, very fast.  ***PLEASE TAKE OUR AUDIENCE SURVEY*** It only takes a minute and will help guide the future of Face-Off: https://bit.ly/faceoffsurvey Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with ⁠Rowhome Productions⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climbing the Great Firewall: Freedom, Censorship, and China’s Internet

44 min

In this episode, we take you inside the Chinese internet.  China is currently home to the world's most sophisticated, far-reaching internet censorship regime. Chinese censors are trained to comb the web for off-limits words and phrases. Offending posts often disappear into thin air. And entire US-based platforms like Google, Youtube, Instagram, and Amazon, not to mention the New York Times are all banned. But it’s one thing to talk about the regime and another to live under it. That’s the subject of a great new book, The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet by Yi-Ling Liu.  Yi-Ling is an American reporter based in Hong Kong.  So today on Face-Off, we hand over the mic to our Associate Producer Frank Zhou for a fascinating conversation with Yi-Ling Liu.  Guest: Yi-Ling Liu, Writer & Editor covering AI and Chinese society Further Reading: The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet  https://www.yi-lingliu.com/the-wall-dancers ***PLEASE TAKE OUR AUDIENCE SURVEY*** It only takes a minute and will help guide the future of Face-Off: https://bit.ly/faceoffsurvey Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with ⁠Rowhome Productions⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Far Will China Go for Iran?

31 min

This week: China and Iran.  The two countries have close ties and, yet, while China initially condemned the US-Israeli war on Iran, the Chinese government has stayed mostly quiet even as the bombing continues.  Meanwhile the Iranian government is doubling down on this friendship. As of this taping,  Iran has opened up the Strait of Hormuz to Chinese ships. To learn more about what this all means, Jane interviews Yun Sun, a Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington where she focuses on China’s relations with other authoritarian regimes. In her most recent article in Foreign Affairs - entitled “Why China Won’t Help Iran” - she points out that China is Iran’s most important partner in the Middle East. But she questions, how important is Iran to China?  Guest: Yun Sun, Senior Fellow & Director of the China Program, Stimson Center  Further Reading: Why China Won’t Help Iran by Yun Sun, Foreign Affairs: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/why-china-wont-help-iran ***PLEASE TAKE OUR AUDIENCE SURVEY*** It only takes a minute and will help guide the future of Face-Off: https://bit.ly/faceoffsurvey Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with ⁠Rowhome Productions⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stolen in China, Raised in Texas: Twins Caught Between Two Superpowers

48 min

In this episode, Journalist Barbara Demick talks with Jane about her latest book Daughters of the Bamboo Grove. It’s the story of Chinese twins separated as toddlers. One twin grows up with her family in rural China. The other twin is adopted by an American family in Texas. It’s a haunting, moving narrative about the harsh repercussions of the One-Child policy, and the realities of life in rural China and rural America. Barbara and Jane know each other from their time together as reporters in China. They both lived in Beijing - Barbara the bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, Jane the bureau chief of the New York Times. Jane thought of her as one of the bravest reporters - always fearless and open to getting the stories of real people.  Daughters of the Bamboo Grove is another example of her excellent reporting and her unique ability to shine a light on the lives of ordinary people. Guest: Barbara Demick, author & journalist, former bureau chief in Beijing for the Los Angeles Times  Book Recommendations: Daughter’s of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick *Also, we want to hear from you! We have a listener survey that takes less than a minute and we would love to hear your thoughts. Fill out the survey here: https://bit.ly/faceoffsurvey Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with ⁠Rowhome Productions⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Black Box: Inside China’s Military Mind

25 min

We’re back! We’ll be publishing five brand new episodes of Face-Off bi-weekly starting today. In this episode, we welcome back Zhou Bo, a retired colonel in the People’s Liberation Army.  Xi Jinping has unleashed a massive purge of the Chinese army, the biggest since the early days of Communist China. Nearly three dozen senior generals have been demoted or disappeared. Almost all have been accused of corruption. Then this past January the most senior general, General Zhang Youxia, essentially Xi Jinping's number two in the army, disappeared.  No-one outside of China, and not many inside China, seem to know what’s going on. There's a reason the Chinese military is known as a black box.  With Colonel Zhou, Jane discusses everything from Greenland to Taiwan to China’s military strength in the South China Sea.  Guest: Zhou Bo, Retired Senior Colonel in the People’s Liberation Army Book Recommendations: Should The World Fear China by Zhou Bo China’s Quest for Military Supremacy by Joel Wuthnow and Phillip Saunders Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with ⁠Rowhome Productions⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chip Whisperer

53 min

Jensen Huang built the company that powers the AI revolution—and he's playing both Washington and Beijing. The Taiwan-born Nvidia CEO holds the keys to artificial intelligence. But whose side is he really on? Inside the rise of tech's most important power broker. Guest: Tripp Mickle  New York Times Tech Reporter Book Recommendations  The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia and the World’s Most Coveted Microchip by Stephen Witt.  After Steve by Tripp Mickle  Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with ⁠Rowhome Productions⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Charm Offensive That Isn't

49 min

As Trump trashes American soft power, can China fill the void? A top Chinese academic explains why Beijing struggles to win hearts and minds and why being feared isn't the same as being loved. Plus: How American influencers are going viral in China. Guest:  Da Wei, Professor, Tsinghua University Book Recommendations  Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and their Battle for the Future by Ian Johnson Other Rivers: A Chinese Education by Peter Hessler Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with ⁠Rowhome Productions⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clash on the High Seas

43 min

High-seas drama as Chinese warships hunt Filipino fishing boats in their own waters. Beijing is testing America's oldest Pacific ally with dangerous games of maritime chicken. With Philippine politics in flux, can Manila hold the line or will China fracture another US alliance? Guest: Marites Vitug, Filipino Journalist & Author, editor-at-large for Rappler and chair of the Journalism for Nation Building Foundation Reading Recommendations  Rock Solid: How the Philippines Won Its Maritime Case Against China by Marites Vitug The U.S. and China Are One Misstep Away From War by Chris Rosenbach and Chris LiFace-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with ⁠Rowhome Productions⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Rugby Gambit

32 min

The strangest geopolitical deal you've never heard of: Australia trades rugby league spots for an agreement not to make an agreement with China. Papua New Guinea's players get to compete Down Under and in return, China gets locked out of a strategic Pacific island. Sports diplomacy at its most serious. Guest: Oliver Nobetau, Papua New Guinea Government Lawyer & Fellow at the Lowy Institute Book Recommendations Lost In Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War 2 by Mitchell Zuckoff If you are looking for other interesting books about China, do check out the China Books Review section of the Asia Society webpage at https://chinabooksreview.com/ Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with ⁠Rowhome Productions⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rise of the Robots

35 min

"If I was the U.S., I would be terrified." We report from a 1,500+ robot convention in Beijing, and an American robotics expert who's toured China's factories reveals how China is winning the robot race. From assembly lines to hospital wards, humanoid robots are everywhere—and America is falling behind. Guest: Alberto Moel, Robotics Scientist, Professor of Practice in Finance at the University of Hong Kong Book Recommendations: I, Robot by Isaac Asimov The Fourth Age by Byron Reese Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with ⁠Rowhome Productions⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Xi Factor

54 min

Jake Sullivan has sat across from Xi Jinping more times than almost any American official—from Xi's rise in 2013 to their last face-off in Beijing. What's it like negotiating with the world's most powerful dictator? Sullivan reveals Xi's ego, tactics, and how a relationship that started with cautious optimism turned into open hostility. Guest: Jake Sullivan, Former U.S. National Security Adviser for President Biden and the host of The Long Game, a new podcast from Vox Media. Book Recommendations: The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping by Joseph Torigian.  Apple in China by Patrick McGee.  Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with ⁠Rowhome Productions⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China's Arms Race

52 min

China is outbuilding America's navy and beating us in hypersonic missiles. Xi has purged corrupt generals to create a military machine loyal only to him. Can China's forces actually win a war? We break down the PLA's transformation from paper tiger to potential superpower. Guest: Zhou Bo, Retired Senior Colonel in the People’s Liberation Army (https://ciss.tsinghua.edu.cn/info/CFExperts/1212) Book Recommendations: Should The World Fear China by Zhou Bo China’s Quest for Military Supremacy by Joel Wuthnow and Phillip Saunders Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with Rowhome Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Generation Burnout

59 min

China's youth were supposed to lead the nation to glory. Instead, they're lying flat, embracing "garbage time," and quietly rebelling against a system that promised everything and delivered economic stagnation. In this episode of Face-Off - our first of Season 3 (!) - we get inside the psychology of China's disillusioned generation. Guest: Chang Che, Chinese-American Writer (https://changnche.com/)  Book Recommendations:  Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and their Battle for the Future by Ian Johnson Other Rivers: A Chinese Education by Peter Hessler Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China is produced in partnership with Rowhome Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 3 Trailer

3 min

In our third season of Face-Off: The US vs China, we’ll explore some of the biggest issues dividing these global powers today: Trump and Xi Jinping, AI, China’s growing military might, and also… robots. Season 3 of Face-Off: US vs China begins Tuesday, November 18th. Join us. Face-Off is produced in partnership with Rowhome Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

THE GREATER WAGER EPISODE 5: The Break-Up

18 min

THE GREAT WAGER Episode 5. The break-up: Richard Nixon’s great wager reverberates from the '70s to today While we’re preparing season 3 of Face Off, we’re excited to present an encore presentation of The Great Wager, a five-part series about Richard Nixon’s top-secret plan to go to China, befriend China, and change the balance of power in the Cold War. This is the series finale: Episode 5. All of a sudden, it’s less clear if Nixon’s wager is paying off. After years of collaboration and mutual economic benefit, relations between China and the U.S. are at a low point. What does the start of this important relationship reveal about its next chapter? The Great Wager was produced in 2022 with Here & Now and WBUR Podcasts. This special presentation of The Great Wager is produced in partnership with Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Face Off is a proud member of the Airwave podcast network. Book Recommendations: Nixon and Mao: The Week that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan. An insider look at how Nixon and Kissinger operated in Beijing. Assignment China: An Oral History of American Journalists in the People's Republic by Mike Chinoy. Chapter 4: How American reporters, who knew little about China, covered the presidential trip Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

THE GREAT WAGER EPISODE 4: Shared Secrets

16 min

THE GREAT WAGER Episode 4. Shared secrets: How The U.S. and China worked together to spy on the Soviet Union While we’re preparing season 3 of Face Off, we’re excited to present an encore presentation of The Great Wager, a five-part series about Richard Nixon’s top-secret plan to go to China, befriend China, and change the balance of power in the Cold War. This is Episode 4. The relationship between China and the U.S. is off and running — and now the two countries are collaborating on secret, sensitive intelligence. This installment of The Great Wager includes exclusive information about how Chinese and American intelligence officials agreed to work together against their common rival of many years. The Great Wager was produced in 2022 with Here & Now and WBUR Podcasts. This special presentation of The Great Wager is produced in partnership with Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Face Off is a proud member of the Airwave podcast network. Book Recommendations: Nixon and Mao: The Week that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan. An insider look at how Nixon and Kissinger operated in Beijing. Assignment China: An Oral History of American Journalists in the People's Republic by Mike Chinoy. Chapter 4: How American reporters, who knew little about China, covered the presidential trip Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

THE GREAT WAGER EPISODE 3: When Nixon Met Mao

17 min

THE GREAT WAGER Episode 3. Grip and grin: When Nixon met Mao While we’re preparing season 3 of Face Off, we’re excited to present an encore presentation of The Great Wager, a five-part series about Richard Nixon’s top-secret plan to go to China, befriend China, and change the balance of power in the Cold War. This is Episode 3. The news of Nixon’s trip to China is public, and he’s getting credit for pulling off such a historic event. Now, he and his advisers have to work with the Chinese to forge a relationship between two very different countries. The Great Wager was produced in 2022 with Here & Now and WBUR Podcasts. This special presentation of The Great Wager is produced in partnership with Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Face Off is a proud member of the Airwave podcast network. Book Recommendations: Nixon and Mao: The Week that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan. An insider look at how Nixon and Kissinger operated in Beijing. Assignment China: An Oral History of American Journalists in the People's Republic by Mike Chinoy. Chapter 4: How American reporters, who knew little about China, covered the presidential trip Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

THE GREAT WAGER EPISODE 2: Plots & Private Planes

17 min

THE GREAT WAGER Episode 2: Plots and private planes: How Henry Kissinger pulled off a secret trip to China While we’re preparing season 3 of Face Off, we’re excited to present an encore presentation of The Great Wager, a five-part series about Richard Nixon’s top-secret plan to go to China, befriend China, and change the balance of power in the Cold War. This is Episode 2. Nixon and his national security adviser Henry Kissinger make contact with China. But in the midst of the Cold War, they don’t want anyone to know. How will Kissinger get to Beijing without alerting anyone — and what’s Frank Sinatra got to do with it? The Great Wager was produced in 2022 with Here & Now and WBUR Podcasts. This special presentation of The Great Wager is produced in partnership with Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Face Off is a proud member of the Airwave podcast network. Book Recommendations: Nixon and Mao: The Week that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan. An insider look at how Nixon and Kissinger operated in Beijing. Assignment China: An Oral History of American Journalists in the People's Republic by Mike Chinoy. Chapter 4: How American reporters, who knew little about China, covered the presidential trip Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

THE GREAT WAGER EPISODE 1: Richard Nixon's "Crazy" Idea

15 min

THE GREAT WAGER EPISODE 1: Richard Nixon's 'crazy' idea: Make befriending the Chinese Communist Party his legacy With money, power and political standing at stake, America’s relationship with China is tenuous. But it wasn’t always that way. The Great Wager is a five-part series that tells the story of the extraordinary encounter between Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong in 1972 that brought these two countries together, the secret collaborations born from that meeting — and the reverberations we’re still feeling today. We’re thrilled to be re-airing this series, while we’re busily preparing season 3 of Face Off behind the scenes.  This is episode 1. President Richard Nixon has a plan: He wants to go to China. The only problem? The U.S. and China have had zero contact since the Communist Party took over China more than two decades before. The Great Wager host Jane Perlez digs into the beginning of Nixon’s improbable diplomatic mission. The Great Wager was produced in 2022 with Here & Now and WBUR Podcasts. This special presentation of The Great Wager is produced in partnership with  Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Face Off is a proud member of the Airwave podcast network. Book Recommendations: Nixon and Mao: The Week that Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan. An insider look at how Nixon and Kissinger operated in Beijing.  Assignment China: An Oral History of American Journalists in the People's Republic by Mike Chinoy. Chapter 4: How American reporters, who knew little about China, covered the presidential trip Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Criss-Crossing China

51 min

In this bonus episode of Face-Off Jane speaks with former ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns. They discuss Ambassador Burns’ encounters with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, his meetings with American CEOs, and his travels to remote places in China.  BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: To Change China, by Jonathan D. Spence The Private Life of Chairman Mao, by Zhi-Sui Li Chip Wars, by Chris Miller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Mao to Xi Jinping: A Conversation with Orville Schell

59 min

In a special bonus episode recorded live at the Asia Society, host Jane Perlez speaks with journalist and scholar Orville Schell about his 50 years covering Chinese leaders and their American counterparts. They attempt to answer the question: how did we get here? Recorded live at The Asia Society on April 8, 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Soulmates: Xi and Putin

40 min

China and Russia have rarely been friendly - until now. Xi and Putin have been open about their bromance, exchanging gifts, sharing lavish dinners, even celebrating a birthday together. Are the two dictators, Xi and Putin, aiming to forge a new arrangement in the world that diminishes the traditional role of the United States? Our guest, Lyle Goldstein, former professor at US Naval War College, and now teaching at Brown University, is an expert on China and Russia. He talks about the new order under President Trump, and how Russia and China, aligned with each other, approach the US in different ways.   Guest: Lyle Goldstein: Former professor at US Naval War College, now at Brown University. Book Recommendations:  Crisis of Democratic Capitalism by Martin Wolf China and Russia by Philip Snow.  Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Face Off is a proud member of the Airwave podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI Superpower: US or China?

44 min

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has given China five years to dominate Artificial Intelligence. He believes China must accomplish this goal in order to become the world’s tech giant. But the United States is doing everything it can to stop China from reaching its goal. Can Washington stop US and European advanced chips from reaching China? It seems not, as the arrival of DeepSeek shows. Will AI development be throttled by the Chinese government’s heavy censorship? Can China achieve its goal?  Guest: Karen Hao, journalist and engineer. Writing appears in The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal. Author of the upcoming Empire of AI.  Book Recommendations:  AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee  Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future by Reid Hoffman and Greg Beato Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Face-Off is a proud member of the Airwave podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Electric Vehicles

44 min

Back in 2015 the Chinese government declared that they would become the world leader in EVs by 2025. Major car companies scoffed. Who wants an EV? Today, China automakers have surpassed Japan, Germany and the US to become the number one exporter of cars. A record number of Chinese EVs were sold globally last year. How did China become the global leader in EVs? We’ll talk with the man who literally wrote the book on the rise of China’s car industry.  Guest: Michael Dunne, Auto executive in China and the US, author American Wheels, Chinese Roads.   Books: Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century by Tim Higgins. Michael Dunne's new book will publish in mid-2025. Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Face Off is a proud member of the Airwave podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feminist Rebels

39 min

China’s leader, Mao Zedong famously said that “Women hold up half the sky.” But these days it doesn’t feel that way in China. Unfair marriage rules, difficulties getting a divorce, barriers to owning property and many more restrictions are challenging women to speak out, and act. We’ll hear about the Chinese “leftover women” who are veering from the traditional path and about the Chinese feminists of today. Guest:  Leta Hong Fincher, author, Left Over Women.  Recommended Books: Left Over Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China by Leta Hong Fincher Tiananmen Square by Lai Wen Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollywood and China

49 min

Motion pictures first came to China in 1896.  China was one of the first countries to screen the Lumiere brother’s “western shadowplays” as they were called. By the 1930’s Shanghai was known as the Hollywood of the East.  That all changed after the founding of the People’s Republic. Western films were eventually allowed back into China but it wasn’t until the release of the American epic, Titanic and its blockbuster success in China that Hollywood woke up to the potential of the Chinese market. Hollywood studios soon swarmed into China, working with Chinese movie makers to concoct big movies for big audiences: The Great Wall; Mulan; Kung Fu Panda 3. Then the dream went in a different direction.  We’ll speak with an American film producer who has been at the center of the push and pull between Hollywood and China. Guest: Peter Loehr, American movie executive with three decades in China. Recommended Books: The Golden Screen by Jeff Yang An Amorous History of the Silver Screen: Shanghai Cinema 1896 - 1937 by Zhang Zhen   Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TikTok: What Now?

55 min

More than 170 million Americans are entertained, informed and earn big bucks from the Chinese-owned app, TikTok. Now their relationship with TikTok is in mortal danger, to say the least. American politicians seem to be able to agree on one thing: TikTok is bad. What happens now, and how did Americans get hooked on TikTok in the first place. Trump used TikTok to great affect in his campaign. What’s his attitude to TikTok going forward? What’s happening to the potential American buyers of TikTok? Guest: Louise Matsakis, senior business editor at Wired. Louise has been reporting on TikTok for more than four years. Recommended Reads: Love It; Hate It; Fear It: How TikTok Changed Our Culture by Sapna Maheshwani  Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalists in China

39 min

There are few American journalists reporting from inside China today. But that has not always been the case. In fact, American journalists in China freely reported on one of the biggest stories of recent history: the Chinese army’s massacre of protestors in Tiananmen Square in 1989. In this episode, we talk to Richard Roth, a CBS correspondent who was there during the 1989 protests. We feature Lingling Wei, the distinguished Wall Street Journal correspondent who was kicked out of China, along with other American reporters. How are journalists today reporting on China from afar? At this vital time, how do we get on the ground reporting from China when we can’t be on the ground?   Guest: Lingling Wei, Wall Street Journal, Chinese born journalist now in New York Book Recommendations: Assignment China: An Oral History of American Journalists in the People’s Republic by Mike Chinoy Chasing Hope: A Reporter’s Life by Nicholas Kristof. Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two Strongmen

48 min

Trump has praised Xi Jinping in the past. He’s also slapped tariffs on China. What does the return of Trump mean for China? Economic rivalry for sure. Possible war over Taiwan? A battle over AI dominance and confrontation over China’s rapidly expanding military force, also for sure. How will Trump stop China from usurping America’s place on the global stage? Guest: Minxin Pei, Claremont College professor and China commentator. Book Recommendations:  The Red Emperor: Xi Jinping and His New China by Michael Sheridan.  Xi Jinping: The Backlash by Richard McGregor. Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Rowhome’s Creative Director is Alex Lewis. John Myers is Rowhome’s Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season 2 Trailer

3 min

Season 2 of Face-Off: US vs China begins Tuesday, February 11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The New Cold Wars: A Conversation with David Sanger

53 min

In this bonus episode, Jane Perlez sits down with New York Times national security and White House correspondent David Sanger. In this candid conversation, they talk about his new bestseller: New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West. Plus they discuss Sanger's views on where the US - China relationship is headed, how he worries about the friendship between China and Russia, and a party in New York City where talk turned to the subject of nuclear weapons. This conversation was recorded in August 2024 at a surf club in Sydney, Australia.  Follow David Sanger on Twitter at @SangerNYT. Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taiwan

35 min

Will the United States and China go to war over an island of 24 million people nearly 6,500 miles from California? Why is this a possibility? What is the history and significance of Taiwan to America and China? Guest: Lyle Goldstein, former professor US Naval College, now at Brown University. Taiwanese expert, Syaru Shirley Lin, founder of the think tank, Capri. An essay by Lyle Goldstein on how Taiwan features in US foreign policy. In the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.   https://home.watson.brown.edu/research/research-briefs/trouble-taiwan  About Shirley Lin’s CAPRI, a foundation that studies the Asia Pacific region.  https://caprifoundation.org/syaru-shirley-lin/ A controversial essay on how nuclear weapons could be used in a war over Taiwan by Matthew Kroenig, a professor at Georgetown University and senior director at The Atlantic Council. Mr. Kroenig’s article is considered an outlier on the subject https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/deliberate-nuclear-use-in-a-war-over-taiwan-scenarios-and-considerations-for-the-united-states/ Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China’s Fortunes

38 min

How the Chinese economic downturn is affecting all kinds of people. How real estate meltdown, with enough unfinished empty apartments to fill the population of Germany, is at the center of it all. How tech entrepreneurs are mysteriously disappearing, and how college graduates don’t want to work.  Guests: Keyu Jin, London School of Economics, author of New China Playbook; Elsie Chen, a member of China’s “lying down” generation, now a Nieman Fellow at Harvard. Elsie Chen’s New York Times article about lying flat. She interviews Luo Huazhong, the factory worker, who quit his job, went back to his rural village. His post about his lifestyle decision went viral, and inspired a movement dedicated to opting out.  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/03/world/asia/china-slackers-tangping.html A roundtable discussion with Keyu Jin at the Fairbank Center at Harvard.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=357QIFs9FXc Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Espionage

34 min

Two young CIA agents were flown to northern China in 1952, part of a bizarre Cold War operation to overthrow Mao Zedong. The plane crashed. The two Americans were arrested, and jailed for 20 years. We fast forward to today and turn the tables: How does China spy on the US now? Who is ahead in the fight over the new technologies? Guests: John DeLury, author, Agents of Subversion; Nigel Inkster, former director operations, MI6; former agent in Beijing.  Details about John Delury’s compelling book that tells the story of how two CIA operatives were captured in China and how they endured 20 years in jail.  https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501765971/agents-of-subversion/ Nigel Inkster’s book about the US and China, the two big tech competitors.    https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Great_Decoupling/K4xfzQEACAAJ?hl=en Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Relationship

32 min

Xi Jinping and Joe Biden met on a basketball court in China in 2011 when they were vice presidents. They later toasted each other in Washington. They’ve spent many hours together. Much has changed. Can they hold the center together?  Guest: Minxin Pei, Chinese born professor of government Claremont McKenna College; author of Surveillance State and other books on China.  Jane’s first podcast about how Washington got it all wrong on Xi Jinping.  https://shorensteincenter.org/podcast-on-the-trail-of-xi-jinping/ Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cultural Threads

20 min

From his studio in Boston, Yo-Yo Ma tells us how music eases tensions between American and Chinese people, even as Washington and Beijing are at each other’s throats.  Guests: Yo Yo Ma; Hai Ye Ni, principal cellist, Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doomsday

27 min

China is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal even as arms control treaties are shredded. Can China and the U.S. come to the table and agree to nuclear arms control accords? Should Artificial Intelligence control nuclear weapons?   Guest: Tong Zhao; Chinese born nuclear expert now at Carnegie China in DC  Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple in China

31 min

Apple, one of the world’s most valuable companies, depends on China, America’s biggest adversary, to manufacture its iPhones. Apple employs millions of contract workers in China. Is this marriage heading for the rocks? What will Apple and China do to keep their marriage intact?  Guests: Prof. Willy Shih, Harvard Business School; Wayne Ma, tech reporter, The Information Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spies in the Sky

32 min

An American surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter jet collide near the Chinese coast in 2001.  Smart diplomacy by a former American Navy Admiral results in the release of two dozen American airmen and women from detention in China. Today, tensions between the countries are much higher, their planes are flying within feet of each other. There are fears a similar collision could result in war.   Guest: Admiral Scott Swift, former Commander US Pacific Fleet. Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing: Face Off

3 min

Our trailer features jaw-dropping audio from the cockpit of an American spy plane flying over the South China Sea. It’s early 2001. A Chinese fighter jet is getting perilously close to the slow moving American plane. Some weeks later, a collision occurred. What happened next? Listen to episode 1 of Face Off. Our trailer also dazzles with interview clips from our episodes covering tech, spies, the Chinese economy and more.  Sound design, original score, mixing and mastering by Rowhome Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

–

0 ratings from members

5
4
3
2
1

Rate this podcast

Log in to rate and review the shows you listen to.

No reviews yet — be the first member to rate "Face-Off".

This podcast, its content and its artwork are not owned by, affiliated with, or endorsed by Castquire.

Keep listening

Discover more podcasts like this.

Browse podcasts See the charts

Up next

  1. Nothing queued. Use + Queue on any episode to line it up.

0:00 0:00

Cookies

We set only what the site needs to sign you in and remember your theme. No advertising, no analytics. Read more.