Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom

This month’s “Fretful Laowai: Rear Window Edition” finds KEVIN GEIGER and Brendan catching on 3 main topics: the new normal, our new thoughts about the state of things, and the new directions we’re going in - all observed from our respective rear apartment windows: BD in Los Angeles, and Kevin in his new home of Taipei. Enjoy!

"Just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD do something.” MENGFEI LI shares his perspective as a former international journalist who lived in the US for 13 years, but who also has the clarity of someone trained to be a detached observer. We discuss how political reactions affected the spread of COVID-19 in different countries; the near-term futures we can anticipate; the power of engaged citizenship; and most provocatively, the meaning of the word FREEDOM.

Knowing your audience. Multinational branding. The ideal brand-customer relationship. Creating tangible, transformative results through trust and understanding each others needs. Gumpian journeys and near-death experiences as deep-game changers. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and harnessing the energy of facing your fears. The importance of contingencies in long-term planning, and how if you think you’re still in the same business today that you were two months ago, you’re likely in trouble. Veteran music businessman JOSH LEVINE of the “Rebel Radio” podcast and I get into all of this and more.    Episode Permalink: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/josh-levine-entertainment-brands-and-creatives AMP Music Summit (online, May 6): https://ampmusicsummit.com Josh’s "Rebel Radio” Podcast: https://www.rebelradio.net Mark Levine (Josh’s dad) interview: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com/mark-levine-a-true-friend-of-china

RONALD PAREDES designed the logo of the podcast you’re listening to, but that’s only a tiny hint of what he’s all about. On our first talk (linked below) we talked about his background in Venezuela and his initial move to China when things went south in his home country. Today we discuss his experiences lately in Nantong, China as a father, husband, freelancer artist and designer, and socially aware human. Ronald cares deeply about women’s rights, homeless or otherwise displaced people, the overnight bricking up of the back road out of his town, rising nationalism and racism, the lack of acceptance and growing outright resentment he receives from less-educated people in his relatively rural home, and his feeling of being rootless and floating as he enters middle life. It’s a moving, candid, and powerful share by Ronald, and I’m honored to bring it to you.    Ronald Paredes online: https://mundosanto.art "Creativity Roots” latest episode: https://creativityroots.com/2020/04/22/change-happens-within/ “The Daily" April 20th episode: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/podcasts/the-daily/coronavirus-how-long-lockdowns.html Ronald Paredes 2017s interview: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com/022-the-war-of-art-ronald-paredes

In the last week I’ve been a guest on THREE shows I love, so instead of releasing new interviews of my own, I wanted to take a break and acknowledge / share the shows that folks were nice enough to invite me on. Special THANKS to all involved with making the Grey Space Podcast, The Cinematography Podcast, and the CinemATL Podcast. Links below to check them all out!    Grey Space Podcast: https://youtu.be/VSKCGHftiX8 CinemATL Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/ycyuhxan The Cinematography Podcast: http://camnoir.com/podcast/ep71/

My guests this week are JOHN PETERSON and CHRIS SANDERS. John is a friend from all the way back in high school, and Chris has been a great friend and business / creative collaborator in LA for over 15 years. They are on two opposite sides of the country and dealing with the pandemic response in their own ways, and each talk adds an interesting perspective to the mix. Chris is also this week’s long-form interview guest on “If I Knew You Better”, linked below.    CHRIS SANDERS on “If I Knew You Better” - Permalink: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/chris-sanders-austin-hollywood-and-masonry

This week my monthly freeform check-in show with KEVIN GEIGER - a little ditty that we call the “Fretful Laowai Radio Hour” - moves BACK to it’s original home, “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”! Kevin and I discuss the latest and not always greatest news in our respective worlds as we stay at home away from home. Please SHARE-RATE-SUBSCRIBE and most of all, be safe!   DHL China PPE shipping deal (in Chinese): https://marketing.5idhl.com/overseasstudent2020/?tracking=&from=singlemessage&isappinstalled=0   Kevin Geiger AWN article: https://www.awn.com/blog/new-normal   Kevin Geiger on “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com/size/5/?search=geiger   Kevin Geiger on “If I Knew You Better”: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/size/5/?search=geiger

STAR BURLEIGH, BRIAN ENGELMAN, JONO KENYON | Pandemic Perspectives from Los Angeles, Louisville, and Auckland   Star is a fashion stylist and designer based in Los Angeles but whose work is around the world. Brian is a media entrepreneur who left LA to move to Louisville, Kentucky. Jono is a British actor back home n Auckland, New Zealand whose vacant ROOM in LA I’m staying in as we wait out the next chapter in the pandemic drama. Listen and hear how three people are having very different responses to this unique time. NOTE that these conversations were all recorded at various points LAST week relative to the release date. The differences between now and then are stark.    STAR BURLEIGH online: http://www.starburleigh.com BRIAN ENGELMAN online: http://www.thenewamericanmedia.com JONO KENYON on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5645314/

Welcome to the rebooted podcast! For the time being, I’ll be doing special episodes talking to all sorts of people, in and out of China, about their response to the pandemic and the impact it’s having on them. This week we hear from Jeff Marder and Susie Qin. Jeff is a musician in NYC with strong ties to China, and Susie is a resident of Beijing who shares her experiences both with COVID-19 as well as SARS v1.0, which she lived through as a high school student - two great short chats back-to-back. Please enjoy, be safe, and tune in next week for more!   Previous long-form “BFMK” interviews: Jeff Marder: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com/077-broadway-music-freemasonry-martial-arts-more-jeff-marder Susie Qin: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com/089-susie-qin-from-erdos-to-beijing-places-in-between   Brendan Davis online: Twitter: @VeritasInLux Web contact: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/contact-us

In this week's episode - cross-posted on both "If I Knew You Better" and "Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom"! - I discuss the BFMK reboot, a new layer for KNEW, the great new episode of “How China Works” done by my partner Yingying Li, and much more. KNEW is adding a feature that I think of as “Marc Maron hosts The Daily”, while the revived BFMK will take my solo China-centric chats in a new direction. Please check them all out via the links below, SUBSCRIBE and SHARE if you enjoy, and stay safe and sane while we head into the next exciting chapter of global humanity.    Show libraries: “If I Knew You Better”: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com  “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com “How China Works”: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com

This is a short introduction to a very personal series of interviews I did on my other show, “If I Knew You Better". They deal extensively with domestic abuse, sexual secrets, and escaping violence in the home. But there is also lots of humor and inspiration here, so I hope you check it out. Parts 1 and 2 are searchable everywhere and also linked below; the finale - Part 3 - is coming next week.  Act 1 | Into The Unknown: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/ellen-shook-my-mom-part-1-into-the-unknown Act 2 | Us Against The World: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/ellen-shook-my-mom-part-2-us-against-the-world

We’re coming off an extended hiatus on my NEW podcast, "If I Knew You Better", and looking forward to a great 2020 of new shows. This week, I sit down with KEVIN GEIGER again for a special New Years Eve edition of the two-man jam we call the Fretful Laowai Radio Hour. Enjoy the show, and please join me NEXT week when I interview…my Mom. Happy New Year!   http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/kevin-geiger-fretful-laowai-nye-special

October’s solo episode of my new show could be called “If You Knew ME Better”. This is a very candid and revealing one, as I share details about my father and his life that I never have publicly, so I wanted to share it here, too. NOTE: *trigger warning* for those sensitive to stories of domestic violence that you might want to skip the second half of this one. SHARE: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/brendan-davis-about-my-father 

This week I’m cross-posting an 8-minute shortie episode to both “If I Knew You Better” and my original, retired podcast “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”. There are THREE recent episodes of my other show, “How China Works” (co-hosted with Yingying Li), that I really don’t want you to miss. Check out those shows and our guests MARK LEVINE, FU HAN, ISABEL CROOK, & JESSE APPELL via the links in the shows notes, and subscribe to “How China Works” and “If I Knew You Better” so you don’t miss anything. Thanks! LINKS: https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com/resources

Writer-Producer-Director KEVIN GEIGER & I had a long-running “bonus feature” on THIS show called the “Fretful Laowai Radio Hour”: a very popular free-form conversation about all sorts of current China-Hollywood & related issues. I’m very pleased to now bring "Fretful Laowai" to my NEW show, “If I Knew You Better”, as a recurring feature. Please search it in YOUR favorite podcatcher or find it right HERE to listen & SUBSCRIBE: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/kevin-geiger-the-fretful-laowai-radio-hour

Okay! All good things must come to an end, and in this - the last episode of “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom” - I say THANK YOU to many of the people who’ve helped me make it as good as it can be. The catalog of over 120 shows will stay live forever, but to hear me on NEW shows, please search and visit “If I Knew You Better” or “How China Works”. Thanks for over 2 great years! MORE: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers OR listen / learn more below: APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources “How China Works”: LISTEN - APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-china-works/id1440747395 / ALL PLATFORMS: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com / WEB: https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com

Nick Cheng is a popular British comedian based in Beijing, and a natural storyteller. And he has some great stories to tell: some are funny, most are fascinating, and a few - discussing a family member’s suicide attempts, his coming out while a member of the Royal Navy - are wrenching. But all are worth hearing, and I am glad to share them with you on this very special LAST REGULAR EPISODE of “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”. Please enjoy! LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/nick-cheng

This week I want to tell you about another of my podcasts, “How China Works”. My co-host Yingying Li interviews 2-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Malcolm Clarke about his new film BETTER ANGELS. If you like THIS show, I think you’ll like THAT one, too, so I hope you’ll check it out! APPLE: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/0001-introduction-to-how-china-works/id1440747395?i=1000422918906&mt=2&app=podcast / ALL PLATFORMS: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com / WEB: https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com

Michael Nakan is the founder of Clipper Media Capital, a London-based production and packaging company. He cut his Hollywood teeth on the US version of “House of Cards” and then in NYC at HBO before returning home to the UK to work in development for DARKEST HOUR director Joe Wright. He's also established a China office of his UK firm and is successfully bridging the gap between the two markets. A great talk! LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources MICHAEL NAKAN / Clipper Media Capital: https://www.clippermedia.co.uk  SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers OR listen / learn more here: APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

Weiko Lin was born in Taipei, Taiwan, & he continues to work throughout Asia, but it’s in Hollywood that he’s really made his name. His upcoming book, Crazy Screenwriting Secrets (Michael Weise Productions, avail July 1) is both a solid art & craft writing manual, AND a knowledgable how-to on navigating the often-treacherous waters between China and the global cinema industry, as epitomized by Hollywood. If you follow the world entertainment business with any degree of seriousness, YOU MUST LISTEN TO THIS SHOW. Just sayin’. Enjoy! FULL BLOG POST: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/weiko   WEIKO LIN book: Crazy Screenwriting Secrets - Pre-Order now on AMAZON:  https://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Screenwriting-Secrets-Capture-Audience/dp/1615933018   BRENDAN DAVIS on “The Carl King Podcast”: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-carl-king-podcast/id1202709564?i=1000440895085 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/carlkingdom/brendan-davis-interview-carl-king-podcast-15-060619 or SEARCH “The Carl King Podcast” in your favorite podcatcher   SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers OR listen / learn more here: APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

Today Kevin Geiger & I bring you a special “Fretful Laowai: Summer Vacation" edition of Big Fish! In it we discuss our new alliance on the movie I’m developing in France, film festivals, some recent guests on my new podcast “If I Knew You Better”, my appearance on “The Carl King Podcast”, and what the changing tides (personal, professional, international) mean for us both. We aim for fun, informative, & thoughtful too; hope you enjoy it! LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/kg-fl-june12 KEVIN GEIGER links: Peewee Frogbooks http://peeweefrog.com/news.html   Magic Dumpling Entertainment www.magicdumpling.com   BRENDAN DAVIS on “The Carl King Podcast”: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-carl-king-podcast/id1202709564?i=1000440895085 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/carlkingdom/brendan-davis-interview-carl-king-podcast-15-060619 or SEARCH it in your favorite podcatcher   SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers OR listen / learn more below: APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

Fei Wu is the host of the Feisworld podcast, a documentary filmmaker, & a digital marketer. She left China to finish high school in the US, where she’s lived for almost 20 years now, but lately she’s been revisiting her China roots and supporting her artist mother, whose famous paintings illustrating Chinese literature classic The Dream of the Red Chamber made her famous and which are now getting a permanent gallery home in Qingdao. We also touch on Fei’s passion promoting palliative care for the sick & dying, which she developed after her father’s long illness and passing when she was a little girl. This topic just became highly relevant to me, too, as my own father died just this past Monday (after the interview was recorded). The first 10 minutes of the show is me talking about that, but the interview with Fei is fun, enlightening, fresh, and optimistic about the power of art to transform. Please enjoy this very special episode of the show, and visit https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources for links and more.

Steve Katz has possibly the most eclectic background and resume of anyone I’ve ever spoken to. His early influences in the 1960s, like Ray Harryhausen and Famous Monsters magazine, mixed with watching rehearsals at the nearby Westport Country Playhouse with visiting directors like Woody Allen to the influence and support of his parents to propel him into an artistic life from the very beginning. That led him to, among other things: learning film cameras via a cousin in New York who worked on TV shows like “Car 54, Where Are You?”; putting together psychedelic light shows in NYC at places like the Fillmore East and working with bands like The Grateful Dead, The Doors, The Byrds, and Sly & The Family Stone starting at age 19; playing bluegrass banjo; working on John McTiernan’s first film; befriending “Saturday Night Live” writing legend Michael O’Donoghue and seeing a legendary short film he directed, “The Clams”, go on to open a season of “SNL” and catch a big break as a TV writer; he continued to work and grow and eventually established himself as a writer-director-producer in Hollywood; created the first digital previz on the feature Clear and Present Danger; and eventually, all his experience brought him to - yes - China, where he has been involved in many projects big and small. But of all the references I just name-checked, the one that originally cemented Steve’s name in my mind back in the day was that he wrote a truly legendary cinema book called Film Directing: Shot by Shot, published by the then-upstart Michael Weise Productions. It was released in 1992, which is when I was in film school, and it instantly became required reading in my Film Production courses! It’s familiar blue cover was updated a few years ago to announce the new, 25th anniversary edition, which was freshly and thoroughly revised for the digital age. It’s easily the film book I have gifted to more people than any other, and it was a real treat to get to hear some of Steve’s stories in-depth. Among the crazy but true tales already mentioned, we scratch the surface on Steve’s several engagements as Michael Jackson’s personal filmmaking tutor - a story he has NEVER told before! Steve was resident at the Neverland Ranch for months at a time, was flown into luxury hotels to work with the star, sometimes just watching movies late at night. He also saw things in his time around MJ that will likely merit another show entirely, but we will have much more on that topic another day. We even overlap on his interest in the intersection between art and neuroscience, among many other wonky and highly specific topics. To top it off, he’s also a good friend of one of my best friends, Kevin Geiger, so the “small world” meter is off the charts with this one for me. More on all that later. For now, though, you can visit the blog post at https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources for links, contact information, and I hope you enjoy this epic conversation with Steven Katz!

Elliott Zaagman has built a professional life as a writer, podcaster, investor in, & consultant to the leaders of some of China’s most famous (& infamous) tech companies. He appears in print & on-air internationally speaking truth about that environment. Ell co-hosts the China tech Investor podcast w/James Hull and has been on my other shows several times too, so we started from a place of comfort and dove deep from there. LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources

Today is both my 3-year “Chinaversary” and the 2-year anniversary of launching THIS VERY PODCAST! In all that time, I’ve released about 300 hours worth of podcasts, and I’m looking forward to many more. Please SEARCH and join me on “If I Knew You Better” & “How China Works”, and thanks for all your support. It means the world to me. MORE: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/podcast-links

Millions of people in the tech & startup world know Steve Hoffman as “Captain Hoff” from Foundersspace, a leading incubator from Silicon Valley that is now omnipresent throughout China. But very few people know that his FIRST career was as a development executive in Hollywood, and this is the first time Steve’s talked about all this in-depth since beginning his China adventures. The lessons he's learned from his success shaping startups & stories are invaluable, & applicable regardless of your vocation or location. I especially love his closing thoughts: “Are you putting your time into the most important things? Given who you are and where you are in your life, what's the most value you can be creating for the people around you and the world around you, and can you focus your energies on that instead of getting distracted by all these other things?” This was a very fun and special conversation, so I hope you check it out. LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/steve-hoffman-2019

James Goodnight is an Arts Center graduate who adventured around the US after school, but that was just the start. He moved to Beijing 10 years ago and built a career as a commercial photographer, specializing in car ads. He’s also a big fan of indoor watersports, and tells us all about that. James’ story involves a lot of synchronicities and I just had one of those days myself yesterday, so I share my own weirdly funny tale in the intro. LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/james-goodnight

Lee Chen is a familiar face on US TV, but her own story is more impressive & incredible than the many shows she’s appeared in. For starters, she’s probably the only successful Hollywood actor who got their start in a "Chairman Mao Thought" propaganda performance troupe towards the end of the Cultural Revolution in China. She was born in Inner Mongolia, was a founding-class member of the Johns Hopkins Chinese Program at Nanjing University, then moved to the US for grad school - earning two Master’s degrees - and began a dual professional life as an academic and an actor. She landed in Chicago after grad school, and fell into studying acting at the famous Piven Theater Workshop. Lee worked and studied for years, moved to Hawaii for a second Masters, did every theater production she could, and finally moved to Hollywood. Today, Lee has built an eclectic film, TV, & theater career with roles ranging from the dramatic to the absurdly funny. She also worked diligently over a 20 year period to move her ENTIRE family - one by one - over to the US from China. I was lucky to meet Lee when she accepted a role in a small film I produced, and when I heard her incredible story I knew I had to get her on the mic to share it with you, too. I am cross-posting this show "If I Knew You Better" and my original China-focused podcast “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom” too, but no matter where you hear it, I hope you enjoy it. DO NOT MISS this one! MORE: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/lee-chen

Returning champion Kevin Geiger (Magic Dumpling, Peewee Frog; ex-Disney) is back for another freewheeling China chat! We start with an outline and let it rip from there. Big fun, and a big reason I rebooted the podcast. We talk about returning home & expat ennui (hence the “Fretful Laowai” show handle), our new projects, how to (and how NOT to) package and produce a feature film (note: it really helps if you hire a rockstar cinematographer, and then he brings on partners who’ve worked on Green Book, the latest Star Wars, Interstellar, etc) and lastly: how to tell if you’ve been in China for too damn long. Enjoy! LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/kg2019 

To introduce “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom” listeners to my NEW, globally-focused podcast “If I Knew You Better”, I decided to share this particular China-related episode with actor Raymond Ma. Raymond has worked with everyone from Ali Wong & Awkwafina to Chuck Lorre & Aaron Sorkin. He was born in Hong Kong & lives in Los Angeles. I hope you enjoy this special bonus! Please visit https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/raymond to learn more!

Tom McGregor is a widely-read China journalist from Dallas, Texas living in Beijing. His upcoming book US vs. China: From Trade War to Reciprocal Deal (being published under his given last name Pauken) draws on his experiences being both very pro-Trump AND pro-China. Our views diverge at the expected point, but we have the kind of respectful chat which we both agree we’d like to hear more of, so I hope you’ll check it out. LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/tom-mcg

This week I talk about rebooting “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”, my other show (w/Yingying Li) “How China Works”, my NEW show “If I Knew You Better”, & I tell a pretty incredible “moving to China / crazy synchronicity" story which I’ve never told on the mic before. BLOG & LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/reboot

Check out this special episode from Paris as I dish out the details of what I've been up to here, the future of THIS podcast, the launch of my NEXT podcast, how to attend a sneak preview in Los Angeles of the film my team and I recently completed, and when I’ll be back in China - in theory. Enjoy!  BLOG: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home

Today I’m presenting a live recording of a special event I did at the Beijing American Center at the US Embassy to China back in December, 2018 with my former Migration Media partners Mike Shaw and Chrislyn Choo, plus Cara Gleeson. We were introduced by Janice Englehart at the BAC, the event was organized by Leslie Dong, and my esteemed friend and colleague Jonathan Garrison was kind enough to moderate the discussion. Enjoy! BLOG: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/bac-final

CARL KING is a true polymath: someone who’s professionally good at many things. He’s a screenwriter, published book author, composer, engineer, director, producer, & more. Carl has worked with numerous legends in the progressive music and geek culture scenes, including Dweezil Zappa, Steve Vai, Kevin Smith, the late Jon Schnepp, Brendon Small, and many others. And among his massive credits list, Carl created our theme music! So since Carl’s work (with drums by Mike Stone!) is the FIRST thing you hear on this podcast, I thought it made sense to have him on as my LAST regular guest on the show, too. Wait - last show, you say? What!? More details in the show. Enjoy!  BLOG & LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/carl-king

FRIENDS & FANS: today marks the last regularly scheduled solo “BFMK” show for me. It’s been an amazing journey! And although I'm sad to end this chapter, I'm also very excited to introduce you to the NEW interview show I am launching in a month. It will be similar to BFMK, except that it features people making moves in the greater world instead of having a specific focus on China. We have ONE last regular “BFMK” interview show dropping on Monday, January 28, so please enjoy that, and this one! APPLE: https://tinyurl.com/BFMK-iTUNES / SOUNDCLOUD: https://tinyurl.com/BFMK-Soundcloud / STITCHER: https://tinyurl.com/BFMK-Stitcher / WEB: https://tinyurl.com/BFMK-Web

Welcome to 2019! I’m jumping the show numbers ahead to reflect the actual number of shows released so far. And I'm in Los Angeles this week & for awhile in general, so I’m making some other changes & expanding the idea of what’s possible. Check out today’s show, which doubles as my January solocast, to hear all the latest. Cheers! APPLE: https://tinyurl.com/BFMK-iTUNES / SOUNDCLOUD: https://tinyurl.com/BFMK-Soundcloud / STITCHER: https://tinyurl.com/BFMK-Stitcher / WEB: https://tinyurl.com/BFMK-Web

Susie Qin is from Erdos, Inner Mongolia, sat for her CPA exam in San Francisco, and now lives in Beijing. On this episode we cover a lot of subjects: the hard-drinking culture of Erdos, her unique experience in college, working for an infamous Chinese boss, her volunteer work at Shepard’s Field Children’s Village in Tianjin, and more. NOTE: This show contains a vivid story of domestic violence starting around 28 minutes in, so please be advised. It’s a special show, and I hope you enjoy.  BLOG: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/susie-q

On this special lucky Holiday Edition of the show (#88!), Kevin Geiger and I talk about: his wife Wen’s recent award-winning VR project on the Dunhuang Caves, the value and necessity of offshore creative development, his new children’s book, my writing ambitions, upcoming LA and Paris trips, and the future of this show - including a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT. Enjoy!  BLOG + LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/kg-dec18  

Haus of Lily are Beijing’s finest drag queen revue. Three of the nine current queens were in the studio tonight, and we may not break the internet, but we DID kill the wine before the show even started. We have fun, get real, laugh our heads off, and talk about damn near everything you can imagine. NOTE: I put the “Explicit Language” rating on this for a REASON. Consider yourself warned - and enjoy!

Today I can announce that I am honored to have been invited, along with my Migration Media cohort, to speak at the US Embassy here in Beijing on Thursday, December 13, in celebration of International Migrants Day. We've put together what should hopefully be a fun and fascinating evening, and I hope you’ll join us if you can. More information and the SIGN UP link are in the blog post below. BLOG POST: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/bac

Andy Braun is a photographer and art director who left the beautiful horse country of Kentucky to explore the world. He spent a lot of time in Germany growing up, and moved there to work for awhile after college, but it was China that drew him to stay - at least for the last 4 years and counting. Good fun talk, great guy - enjoy!   BLOG: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/abraun

On this week’s Side Dish, Yingying Li and I talk about lessons learned from doing “How China Works”, which is at the halfway point of Season 1 as of today - but this isn’t a promo. It’s a jumping-off point for some real talk about how the crazy and ever-changing US-China dynamic is affecting us, our friends, our plans, and how we are changing our trajectories as a result. BLOG: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/yy-sd-nov30

Meredith Sides is the kind of effortlessly funny that makes her a freakin’ joy to talk with - so much so that I had to edit 15 minutes of me rambling and BSing with her out of the raw interview (which is on me and not her for sure). But she’s also deadly serious about a topic near and dear to her heart: nut butters. She's an addict, and along with her friend and co-founder Katie, she created and runs NAKED Nut Butters to bring the joys of all-natural blended nut products to the Beijing market and beyond.  BLOG: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/msides

Kevin Geiger makes another appearance on the ‘Fretful Laowai’ edition of "Big Fish Side Dish” to talk mobile cat cremation, “faux”ga, Stan Lee, VPN-less communications during my LA trip, speaking accidental Chinese, impending Thanksgiving fun, Kevin’s love for “How China Works”, and more.  BLOG: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com

Author. Speaker. Personal development guide. A Ted Talker. He’s been on “The Howard Stern Show”, “Larry King Live”, and now he’s at my studio in Beijing. Bart Baggett has worn many hats, but perhaps “sherpa” is the one that fits best. His new company is Prism Life Design, his new book is the title of this podcast episode, and his energy is contagious. Enjoy!  BLOG + ALL LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/bart

Today I’m dropping this hot take on my recent trip to LA as my November solo show. The actual details of the project I was there for are under wraps for now, but the trip itself is the star of THIS show - so I hope you enjoy my sleep-deprived  tangential ramblings. BLOG + ALL LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/bd-nov18

Nillah is a journalist from Kenya who came to China and developed a strong career in radio. She does several shows on CRI including “My China Story”, which will have me on as a guest on the Friday that this episode releases. We discuss issues of home, local versus regional versus national identities, how the arc of her career has developed and where she might go next. Great talk! BLOG: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/nillah

Returning champion Elliott Zaagman is back, and this week he lights it UP! He gives us the quick info about HIS new show with James Hull that’s powered by TechNode, the “China Tech Investor Podcast”, we discuss MY new show with Yingying Li called “How China Works”, he fills me in on the legend of the GeekPark Mafia, AND as a palate cleanser from all the love up to that point, he goes HARD at Bytedance. Dude! Don’t miss this one. BLOG & LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/zaag2

This is one of the VERY BEST shows I've ever done: Simply put, JEFF MARDER is a world-class talent. He has established himself as an A-list Electronic Music Designer, keyboardist, and Conductor for numerous Broadway shows, tours, Cirque du Soleil, and the Radio City Christmas Show. He’s also the former pianist with the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble and toured the world with them for 6 years. In his spare time he’s a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practicioner, travel blogger and music tech guru. Jeff is also, like me, a Freemason, which is where our friendship began - and which I talk about in detail myself publicly for the first time ever, here or anywhere. This is one of the most candid and interesting talks I have ever had on the mic, and easily one of the most personal and meaningful shows I’m likely to release, too, so I really hope you check it out. I’ll do a FULL TRANSCRIPT for this one as soon as possible and publish that also. Please enjoy, share, rate, review, and subscribe wherever YOU get your podcasts, and enjoy! BLOG / LINKS: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/jmarder

In this episode of “Big Fish Side Dish”, I sit down with Mike Shaw, the founder of Migration Media (MM) and host of “Migratory Patterns”, and Chrislyn Choo, fellow MM team member and the creator of her 2-pronged project “Chrysalis”, to discuss the MM platform, the proper launch of the 1.0 version of the MM website, our various shows, my NEW show “How China Works” with Yingying Li, and much more. Good fast talk. Enjoy! All links at the BLOG POST: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/bfsd-mm