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12 episodes with Breakneck
2 episodes with Breakneck
2 episodes with Breakneck
3 episodes with Breakneck
2 episodes with Breakneck
2 episodes with Breakneck
2 episodes with Breakneck
2 episodes with Breakneck
2 episodes with Breakneck
In his new book Breakneck, tech analyst Dan Wang argues China’s engineering mindset has given it an edge in all sorts of domains, including climate technologies, while America’s lawyerly mindset is holding it back. This week on Zero, Wang tells Akshat Rathi what the world can learn from China and how the US could start to compete on green tech in the future. This episode was recorded as part of the SOSV Climate Tech Summit. Explore further: Dan Wang’s book, Breakneck - Penguin China's Winning the Energy Exports Race - Bloomberg China’s Green Tech Firms Pour Billions Into Overseas Factories - Bloomberg Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Sharon Chen and Laura Millan. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why can't we build anything? We dig into the Dublin Metro being dragged back into court by the cavemen of Ranelagh and unpack how a tiny, well-lawyered minority can stall infrastructure for an entire city. From there, we bring in writer and analyst Dan Wang, whose book Breakneck argues that China is an engineering state, run by people who build, while America, Ireland and the wider Anglosphere have become lawyer states, run by people who litigate. China lays highways and high-speed rail at warp speed; common-law countries file objections and environmental reports. Europe, meanwhile, risks turning into a mausoleum economy with great croissants, beautiful cities, and a shrinking industrial base. We ask does China's engineering mindset can deliver both stunning bridges and harsh social controls? Does a world of tariffs, security fears and cyber-fragility forces us to rethink who we let run the show: the builders or the barristers? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Reporting from New York, with a Bitcoin slump at his heels and the Hollywood-launch buzz of Money: A Story of Humanity still in the air, we dive into one of the most important economic questions of 2025: why can America, Ireland, and Britain no longer build the infrastructure that made them great? From the riveted, soot-stained genius of the New York subway to China's ability to throw up a hospital in ten days, we explore a new way of understanding global power: engineers vs. lawyers. Guided by Dan Wang's Breakneck, we trace how China's engineer-run state builds at breakneck speed while lawyer-dominated America litigates itself into paralysis, and how Ireland, with a Dáil stuffed with talkers rather than doers, finds itself in the same boat. We dig into the numbers, the politics, the personalities, and the quiet collapse of Western state capacity. If the people running your country don't know how to build, how can the country itself ever hope to? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
250 Years Ago (November 1775) Gen. George Washington sent Henry Knox, his newly appointed chief of artillery, to New York City and Fort Ticonderoga to secure cannon, mortar, shells, lead and ammunition to continue a siege of British-occupied Boston. "The want of them is so great that no trouble or expense should be spared to obtain them," Washington said. Knox and his brother arrived in New York City on Nov. 25 and left three days later for Lake Champlain. 150 Years Ago (November 1875) Johnny Mead broke his ankle while playing leapfrog with classmates from the Rock Street school. Tim Dunn nearly lost his ear when a chain slipped loose while he was loading filters aboard the schooner Norma at the foundry wharf. John Meisenbaher opened a Shaving and Hair Cutting Saloon. Hamilton Brown of Garden Street left home on a Friday morning, telling his wife he was headed to Glenham to look for work and would return on an afternoon train. Five days later, there was no sign of him. Investigators learned he had withdrawn all his funds from Fishkill Savings Bank, including a small sum in his 5-year-old son's name. (The Cold Spring Recorder reported that Brown returned home on the following Thursday, although it did not explain his absence.) William Warren, 14, employed by Mr. Ferris in the ice business, was sent home with the team and an empty wagon. On a nearby lane, he encountered the Cronk boys cutting down a tree. The Cronks said Warren told them: "Let 'er go, I can hold the horses," but William said the brothers let the tree fall just behind him, spooking the horses, who knocked a gate from its hinges and left him "demoralized." The Recorder suggested that, unlike in other parts of the state, and against the wishes of the "best class of our citizens," local police too often released suspects before trial for lack of evidence. Gen. Tom Thumb (aka Charles Stratton of Bridgeport, Connecticut, who was 3 feet, 4 inches tall), 37, and his wife, Lavinia Warren, appeared at Town Hall for two performances as part of a world tour. Tickets were 25 cents [$7.50]. The bill also included Minnie Warren and Major Newell, with songs, duets, dances, dialogues and comic acts and sketches. Stratton's small carriage and ponies were driven through the streets to draw attention to the shows. [P.T. Barnum "discovered" Stratton when he was 4 years old; he became a sensation in the 1840s after the showman taught him to sing and dance.] A Poughkeepsie man named Michael Mullen was arrested at Garrison's Landing on a Saturday night and accused of stealing a satchel from a fellow passenger on the 4 p.m. train. After Mullen had been held at the Town Hall jail for two days, the satchel owner said he couldn't identify him, and he was released. Thieves stole a beehive with 30 pounds of honey, valued at $25 [about $735 today], from outside the Nelsonville residence of Malcomb Evans. Mrs. Charles Cooney of Breakneck, after returning from a trip to Cold Spring, built a fire to boil water. The stovepipe, which extended through the floor above the kitchen, sent sparks into the woodwork and her modest home - worth about $100 [$3,000] - burned to the ground. Joseph Dore Jr., 6, was warming himself by resting his feet on a hot-water boiler when the lid tipped, scalding both feet. William Hustis lost 11 sheep overnight in the North Highlands to fatal injuries inflicted by wild dogs. David Hustis had earlier lost 17. Capt. Joshua Cronk was brought to his home on Fair Street after suffering partial paralysis on his left side while lying at anchor in Peekskill Bay to wait out a gale. The Recorder suggested that the cold and anxiety led to the attack. The same gale blew a 500-pound wagon in a semicircle around Thomas Jaycox's barn while spinning it around. The post office announced it would close at 10:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Village officials said the owner of a black lace veil could claim it at Town Hall. Thomas Reed completed a map of Putnam County from his own survey ...
Comparing Chinese Engineers (Technocracy) and American Lawyers (Process) Guest: John Kitch John Kitch reviewed Dan Wang's book Breakneck, which contrasts China's engineer-dominated political leadership with America's lawyer-dominated system, noting China's engineers excel at executing large-scale plans and directing resources, fostering output, but their technocratic mindset struggles with complex human problems and leads to unintended consequences, while American lawyers establish effective regulations and protect civil liberties but often result in excessive process, compliance focus, and reduced economic dynamism, with Wang advocating for greater economic dynamism in the United States. 1920
SHOW 11-19-25 CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR 1937 THE SHOW BEGINS IN THE DOUBTS ABOUT JAPAN... FIRST HOUR 9-915 US Military Deployment near Venezuela and Geopolitical Conflicts Guest: Colonel Jeff McCausland Colonel Jeff McCausland discussed the large U.S. naval force, including the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier, deployed near Venezuela, suggesting this force, the largest in the Caribbean since the Cuban Missile Crisis, appears designed for regime change rather than just narcotics interdiction, with a resulting occupation requiring 60,000 to 100,000 troops and risks turning the U.S. into an occupying force dealing with narco-terrorism and sanctuary issues in countries like Colombia, while also noting Moscow's lack of genuine interest in negotiating an end to the conflict in Ukraine. 915-930 930-945 China's AI Strategy and Chip Self-Sufficiency Guest: Jack Burnham Jack Burnham discussed China's AI development, which prioritizes political control and self-sufficiency over immediate excellence, evidenced by the Chinese Cyberspace Administration banning large internet companies from purchasing high-end Nvidia processors, with the CCP aiming to build out its own domestic systems to insulate itself from potential U.S. leverage, while the Chinese DeepSeek AI model is considered a "good enough" open-source competitor due to its low cost, accessibility, and high quality in certain computations, despite some identified security issues. 945-1000 US Productivity vs. Chinese Manufacturing Dominance Guest: Dave Hebert Dave Hebert analyzed China's manufacturing dominance, which is fundamentally based on massive state subsidies (over $1 trillion annually) and a huge workforce of up to 212 million people, despite this scale, the U.S. workforce is vastly more productive per capita, supported by foreign investment, skilled immigration, and innovation, while China suffers from factory overcapacity due to subsidized production regardless of market demand, and he argued that U.S. tariffs harm domestic productivity by increasing the cost of raw materials and components for American manufacturers. SECOND HOUR 10-1015 Japan's New PM and Existential Threat of Taiwan Conflict Guest: Lance Gatling Lance Gatling discussed Japan's new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, who has adopted a notably hawkish position towards China, stating that a blockade or threat against Taiwan could be interpreted as an existential threat to Japan, allowing the possibility of engaging in collective defense with allies like the U.S. or Philippines, and amid rising tensions and China's attempts to inflict economic damage, Takaichi is moving to accelerate the doubling of Japan's defense procurement budget, while the U.S. withdrawal of the mobile Typhoon missile system was criticized as strategically counterproductive during this critical moment. 1015-1030 The USS Gerald R. Ford and Gunboat Diplomacy in the Caribbean Guest: Rebecca Grant Rebecca Grant affirmed that the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford supercarrier in the Caribbean is the "top symbol of American power," providing significant strike and surveillance options, with the rapid deployment being unusual and signaling a large strategic shift to reassert U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere, pressure Maduro, and push back against Chinese and Russian influence, and Grant agreed with China's label of the action as "gunboat diplomacy," noting that it is strategically effective in signaling America's seriousness about the region. 1030-1045 Canada-China Relations and Chinese Deception Guest: Charles Burton Charles Burton, author of The Beaver and the Dragon, discussed Canada's troubled relationship with China, criticizing the new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for adopting rhetoric favoring "pragmatic and constructive relations," suggesting Canada might ally with China's geostrategic goal of undermining U.S.-backed liberal democracies, with Carney's accelerated meetings with Xi Jinping possibly being attempts to secure market access or apply pressure on the U.S., while Burton noted concerns over the non-implementation of Canada's foreign agent registry despite issues like Chinese espionage and election interference. 1045-1100 THIRD HOUR 1100-1115 Chinese Hybrid Warfare and Lawfare in the Solomon Islands Guest: Cleo Paskal Cleo Paskal detailed China's hybrid warfare in the Solomon Islands, focusing on Daniel Suidani, a former premier of Malaita who resisted Chinese influence by instituting a moratorium on CCP-linked businesses due to concerns over environmental and social harm, but after being politically ousted, he and his colleague were targeted with spurious "lawfare" charges (unlawful assembly) designed to demoralize and bankrupt them, with Suidani tragically dying of kidney failure after being denied use of a China-donated dialysis machine, while India-donated machines sat unused due to government stonewalling on training. 1115-1130 1130-1145 Space Exploration Updates (Blue Origin, SpaceX, China's space station, FAA regulations) Guest: Bob Zimmerman Bob Zimmerman provided several space updates, noting Blue Origin successfully launched and landed the New Glenn first stage, demonstrating sophisticated sideways landing software technology comparable to SpaceX, while SpaceX achieved its 150th launch this year, dominating the industry and surpassing the combined total of all other entities, with the FAA ending the daytime launch curfew that was previously implemented due to air traffic controller limitations, and furthermore, three Chinese taikonauts aboard Tiangong 3 are in an emergency, currently lacking a functional lifeboat capsule. 1145-1200 FOURTH HOUR 12-1215 Commodities, AI Demand, and UK Political Turmoil Guest: Simon Constable Simon Constable reported on market trends with energy prices significantly down but metals like copper and steel consistently higher, reflecting strong demand particularly for AI data center construction, while future chocolate prices are projected to rise due to "transcontinental climate change" linking Amazon deforestation to political instability in major cocoa regions like the DRC, and in UK politics, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faces constant internal revolts and distrust due to policy flip-flops, tax increases, and failure to solve the immigration problem. 1215-1230 1230-1245 1245-100 AM Comparing Chinese Engineers (Technocracy) and American Lawyers (Process) Guest: John Kitch John Kitch reviewed Dan Wang's book Breakneck, which contrasts China's engineer-dominated political leadership with America's lawyer-dominated system, noting China's engineers excel at executing large-scale plans and directing resources, fostering output, but their technocratic mindset struggles with complex human problems and leads to unintended consequences, while American lawyers establish effective regulations and protect civil liberties but often result in excessive process, compliance focus, and reduced economic dynamism, with Wang advocating for greater economic dynamism in the United States.
PREVIEW China's Technocratic Leadership: Efficiency vs. Brittle Decision-Making. John Kitch discusses Dan Wong'sbook Breakneck, which views Chinese leaders as engineers skilled at rapidly executing plans and directing vast resources, which has helped China rise up the value chain. However, Wong argues, and Kitch agrees, that using a purely technocratic mindset to handle complex human and political problems is a major downside. This approach results in leadership that lacks imagination and is brittle and inflexible in its decision-making. Guest: John Kitch.
Roger welcomes Dan Wang, a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution History Lab and author of “Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future.” They discuss Wang's perspective on China's technological rise and the contrast he draws between China's engineering approach to governance and the United States' lawyerly system, which emphasizes rights, pluralism and individual liberty. Wang also explains how his life in Canada, the United States and China shaped his understanding of the assumptions and incentives that drive each society.They explore China's intense focus on large-scale industrial and technological projects, as well as the costs and vulnerabilities of this top-down model. Wang discusses the long-term social damage caused by policies such as the one child policy and zero-COVID, which reflected an engineering mindset stretched beyond physical infrastructure into attempts to reshape society itself. Additional topics include America's challenges with permitting, infrastructure and housing, the limited areas where a modest shift toward engineering thinking could help, and how both countries might navigate the complex and uncertain future of U.S. and China relations.The Liberty + Leadership Podcast is hosted by TFAS president Roger Ream and produced by Podville Media. If you have a comment or question for the show, please email us at podcast@TFAS.org. To support TFAS and its mission, please visit TFAS.org/support.Support the show
What can the US learn from the benefits–and perils–of China's quest to engineer the future? Tech analyst and author Dan Wang joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast to discuss his new book "Breakneck," China's infrastructure boom, and the future of the US-China relationship. Over the last two decades, China has transformed into what Wang calls an “engineering state,” marshaling near unlimited resources to build almost anything–roads, bridges, entire cities overnight. That investment has created astounding growth, but also domestic challenges and soaring debt. It's also led to a stubborn belief within the Chinese government that society itself can be engineered from the top down, where the state treats its people like a building material that can be tweaked or destroyed if necessary. Wang and Bremmer dig into all things US-China: the future of the relationship, the surprising similarities between the two countries, and whether Washington can learn from Beijing's example without repeating its mistakes.Host: Ian BremmerGuest: Dan Wang Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
One big story captures all six books selected by the Financial Times for their short list of best business books of 2025. As the FT's Senior Business Writer, Andrew Hill, notes, it's the story of the shift in global economic power from the United States to China. It's game over. From Dan Wang's Breakneck, which contrasts China's “engineering state” with America's “lawyering nation,” to Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's Abundance, chronicling America's inability to build infrastructure, the shortlist reads like an autopsy of American decline. Edward Fishman's Choke Points examines the new age of economic warfare, while Eva Dou's House of Huawei reveals how Chinese companies vaulted past Western competitors. Even Stephen Witt's The Thinking Machine, ostensibly about NVIDIA's triumph, ultimately focuses on the US-China technology race. The judges, Hill admits, “very clearly narrowed in on this highly consequential US-China theme.” Whether chronicling rare earth minerals, clean energy dominance, or regulatory sclerosis, these books ask the same uncomfortable question: Is the American century over?* China's “Engineering State” vs. America's “Lawyering Nation” - Dan Wang's framework in Breakneck captures the fundamental difference: China builds (pouring concrete, clearing regulatory obstacles), while America litigates, creating layers of bureaucracy that prevent infrastructure development.* The Abundance Paradox - Klein and Thompson's bestseller reveals America's core dysfunction: a nation that once defined progress now can't build a high-speed rail link between its two most important California cities, spending billions for thirty yards of track.* Economic Warfare Replaces Free Trade - Edward Fishman's Choke Points documents how sanctions, tariffs, and supply chain control have become the primary weapons of statecraft, with “choke points” entering the policy lexicon as the new language of power.* China Already Controls the Future's Raw Materials - From rare earth minerals to clean energy technology, China has made strategic bets on tomorrow's economy while America remained wedded to oil and coal, creating dependencies that may be impossible to reverse.* Even American Success Stories Are Really About China - NVIDIA's $5 trillion valuation, chronicled in Stephen Witt's The Thinking Machine, isn't purely an American triumph—it's fundamentally about Taiwan, China, and the geopolitical competition for semiconductor dominance.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
What can the US learn from the benefits–and perils–of China's quest to engineer the future? Tech analyst and author Dan Wang joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast to discuss his new book "Breakneck," China's infrastructure boom, and the future of the US-China relationship. Over the last two decades, China has transformed into what Wang calls an “engineering state,” marshaling near unlimited resources to build almost anything–roads, bridges, entire cities overnight. That investment has created astounding growth, but also domestic challenges and soaring debt. It's also led to a stubborn belief within the Chinese government that society itself can be engineered from the top down, where the state treats its people like a building material that can be tweaked or destroyed if necessary. Wang and Bremmer dig into all things US-China: the future of the relationship, the surprising similarities between the two countries, and whether Washington can learn from Beijing's example without repeating its mistakes.Host: Ian BremmerGuest: Dan Wang Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The Hoover History Lab invites you to "Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future", a book talk with the author, Dan Wang, on Monday, October 27, 2025 from 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. PT in the Shultz Auditorium, George P. Shultz Building. FEATURING Dan Wang is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, in its Hoover History Lab and is one of the most-cited experts on China's technological capabilities. He is the author of the forthcoming Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future (W. W. Norton [US] and Penguin [UK], Fall 2025). Stephen Kotkin is director of the Hoover History Lab, Kleinheinz Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and senior fellow at Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. He has been conducting research in the Hoover Library & Archives for more than three decades.
The book is called "Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future." Author Dan Wang (WONG) was born in China in 1992. His parents moved to Canada when he was seven. In 2014, he graduated from the University of Rochester in New York. Then in 2018, Dan Wang went to live in China until he returned to the US in 2023. He then went to the offices of the Yale Law School and wrote about his comparison of China and the United States. He writes in his introduction: "A strain of materialism, often crass, runs through both countries, sometimes producing variations of successful entrepreneurs, sometimes creating displays of extraordinary tastelessness and overall contributing to a spirit of vigorous competition." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The book is called "Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future." Author Dan Wang was born in China in 1992. His parents moved to Canada when he was seven. In 2014, he graduated from the University of Rochester in New York. Then in 2018, Dan Wang went to live in China until he returned to the US in 2023. He then went to the offices of the Yale Law School and wrote about his comparison of China and the United States. He writes in his introduction: "A strain of materialism, often crass, runs through both countries, sometimes producing variations of successful entrepreneurs, sometimes creating displays of extraordinary tastelessness and overall contributing to a spirit of vigorous competition." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
My guest today is Dan Wang. Dan is a technology analyst and author who spent six years living in China studying its manufacturing ecosystem and tech development, best known for his new book Breakneck. Dan offers the most nuanced framework I've encountered for understanding US-China competition. We explore a critical asymmetry: it's far harder for the US to rebuild manufacturing capacity than for China to improve scientific research, with profound implications for AI, national security, and investment returns. For investors, Dan explains the "ByteDance problem"—why exceptional Chinese companies trade at massive discounts due to Communist Party unpredictability and geopolitical risks. He argues China is a "high agency" society that executes relentlessly while America deliberates endlessly, yet also reveals the societal cost. We discuss innovation, state capacity, and investing across both superpowers. Please enjoy my conversation with Dan Wang. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp's mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. – This episode is brought to you by AlphaSense. AlphaSense has completely transformed the research process with cutting-edge AI technology and a vast collection of top-tier, reliable business content. Invest Like the Best listeners can get a free trial now at Alpha-Sense.com/Invest and experience firsthand how AlphaSense and Tegus help you make smarter decisions faster. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:05:55) China's Engineering State and Social Engineering (00:12:15) US-China Competition: Innovation and Manufacturing (00:19:41) The Future of US and China: Technological and Economic Perspectives (00:25:22) Cultural and Work Ethic Comparisons (00:39:09) Investing in China: Opportunities and Risks (00:44:43) Future Equilibrium States Between US and China (00:48:32) China's High Agency and Infrastructure (00:49:58) Lawyerly Tendencies in US Society (00:53:41) Comparing US and Chinese Societal Structures (00:57:59) China's Historical Lessons and Future Prospects (01:10:39) AI and Technological Competition (01:15:30) Vertical Integration in Chinese Companies (01:26:39) The Kindest Thing
איך הצליחה סין לבנות ב-30 שנה יותר תשתיות ממה שהמערב בנה במאה? ואיך היא הפכה למובילה העולמית בתעשיות מפתח תוך עשור?בפרק זה נצלול לספרו המעולה והטרי של דן וואנג, "Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future", המציג מסגרת נוחה ומעניינת להבנת התחרות בין המעצמות. וואנג טוען שהכל מתחיל בהבדל תרבותי-שלטוני אחד: סין היא "מדינת מהנדסים" שרואה כל בעיה כפרויקט שיש לפתור ביעילות, בעוד שארה"ב היא "חברת עורכי דין" שכובלת את עצמה ברגולציה ובירוקרטיה. חלק לא מבוטל מהנקודות שוואנג מעביר ודאי מוכרות לכם אם אתם עוקבים כאן מספיק זמן - אבל המסגרת המוצעת מכניסה את הדברים לתבנית שעושה סדר. נדבר על היתרונות והחסרונות הקיצוניים של הגישה הסינית – מההצלחה המסחררת בבניית תשתיות בהיקפי ענק והקמת תעשיות מתקדמות, ועד לאסונות ה"הנדסה החברתית" כמו מדיניות הילד האחד ומדיניות ה"אפס קורונה". ננתח את סוד ההצלחה של התעשייה הסינית, נשאל מה המערב יכול ללמוד מכך, ומהן הסכנות במודל שמקדש את היעילות וההנדסה על פני פלורליזם וצרכי הפרט.מוזמנים לעקוב גם אחרי העדכונים השוטפים על סין:בפייסבוק https://www.facebook.com/groups/aboutsinבטלגרם https://t.me/sinpod8בטוויטר/אקס https://x.com/yuval_weinreb
Trade tensions between the US and China have hit a new high mark. Last week, after China announced plans to ratchet up its export controls of some rare-earths and magnets with strategic uses, President Trump threatened to retaliate with 100% tariffs, which would go into effect on November 1 or sooner. But the competition between these two world powers goes far beyond trade disputes and tariffs. It's a contest between fundamentally different approaches to governance, technology, and economic development. China, of course, dominates critical supply chains for clean energy technologies. But many of the innovations that spawned those technologies were born here in the US. China builds, and governs through strong state control. The US innovates, but struggles to build. How did these two nations develop such different capabilities? What does China's dominance in manufacturing mean for American competitiveness and national security? And can the United States learn from China's approach to building at scale without sacrificing democratic values and individual rights? This week, Jason Bordoff speaks with Dan Wang about his recent book Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future. They discuss the book's framing — that China is an engineering state and America as a lawyerly society — and how those orientations undergird what, and how, these world powers produce. Dan is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover History Lab and studies China's technological capabilities. He was previously a fellow at the Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center and a lecturer at Yale University's MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies. Credits: Hosted by Jason Bordoff and Bill Loveless. Produced by Mary Catherine O'Connor, Caroline Pitman, and Kyu Lee. Engineering by Gregory Vilfranc.
➡️ Watch the full interview ad-free, join a community of geopolitics enthusiasts and gain access to exclusive content on PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingGeopolitics➡️ Sign up to my free geopolitics newsletter: https://stationzero.substack.com/Probably the biggest trend defining geopolitics today is the global competition between two superpowers: the United States and China. And despite America having many major advantages, China is increasingly managing to catch up with the US - and it has been able to do that from basically nothing and in a record time.My guest today - Dan Wang - explains why was China able to do that and what that means for who will end up winning in the future. He is a fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford and author of the book Breakneck, where he argues that while the United States is led by lawyers, China is led by engineers. And that as a consequence China is able to build with speed and scale that the US is struggling to catch up - but it's also why China tends to make pretty catastrophic decisions just as often as it makes the brilliant ones. It is a fascinating explanation of both of these two countries and their global competition and we talk about what it means for their respective futures, who is better positioned to win the new Cold War and much more.
Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future By: Dan Wang Published: 2025 288 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The rise of China's immense manufacturing prowess, where it comes from (a culture of engineering according to Want), and where it might be going. What's the author's angle? Wang has been putting out a well regarded annual letter on China for many years now. This is a distillation of his thoughts in book form. Also he has Chinese parents who often regret leaving China when they did. Who should read this book? If you're at all interested in what's happening with China you should absolutely read this book. Specific thoughts: Which theory of China is correct?
In this episode, I spoke with Dan Wang, author of “Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future”, shortlisted for the FT & Schroders Business Book of the Year.Dan is one of the most astute observers of China's technological and industrial development, and his annual letters from Beijing have long been required reading for those seeking to understand the country's evolving role in the world.We unpacked a bold thesis: China is not merely a competitor in AI and tech, but is re-imagining its entire state apparatus as an engineering state - in contrast to the more “lawyerly” institutions of the US and UK.If you're interested in AI, energy or geopolitics, this conversation is for you.We covered: (00:47) Why China is an engineering state(03:40) China's pro-engineering disposition(06:08) The role of market competition in China(08:07) Living through Zero COVID(11:35) What political science terms get wrong(12:58) Characteristics of a lawyerly society(15:23) What Americans misunderstand about China(21:54) Has China produced essential tech?(23:50) The AI divide: China vs. US(27:45) Differences in energy production(32:07) The inherent value of process knowledge(38:34) Is the US developing pro-engineering policies?(44:23) What does it take for countries to compete?Where to find me:Substack: https://www.exponentialview.co/Website: https://www.azeemazhar.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azharTwitter/X: https://x.com/azeemWhere to find Dan:Website: https://danwang.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danwang15/Twitter/X: https://x.com/danwwangProduction by supermix.io and EPIIPLUS1 Ltd, including Chantal Smith, Marija Gavrilov, Nathan Warren and Hannah Petrovic. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Sep 26, 2025 – If China can build 11 nuclear plants in the time it takes the U.S. to finish one, what does that mean for the future balance of power? Jim Puplava and Cris Sheridan discuss Dan Wang's new book Breakneck: China's Quest...
In his new book “Breakneck,” Dan Wang argues that the U.S. has a lot to learn from China. He also says that “no two peoples are more alike.” We have questions. SOURCES:Dan Wang, research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, author of Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future. RESOURCES:Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future, by Dan Wang (2025).The Anaconda in the Chandelier: Writings on China, by Perry Link (2025)."Is the U.S. Ready for the Next War?" by Dexter Filkins (The New Yorker, 2025)."How smartphones made Shenzhen China's innovation capital," by Dan Wang (2016).How China Escaped the Poverty Trap, by Yuen Yuen Ang (2016).The Art of Not Being Governed, by Jame Scott (2009). EXTRAS:"The Engineering State and the Lawyerly Society: Dan Wang on his new book 'Breakneck,'" by the Sinica Podcast (2025)."Is the U.S. Really Less Corrupt Than China?" by Freakonomics Radio (2021). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Technology analyst Dan Wang wrote NYT bestseller “Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future.” His central contention is that America is run by lawyers, China by engineers, and this difference in mindset helps explain how each nation addresses challenges. Bruce Mehlman sat down with Dan earlier this month to discuss his book and its implications.
It's fun to play a game of superlatives with China. From the awe-inspiring and cyberpunk scale of the metro trains cruising through apartment blocks in Chongqing to the stupendous rate of its shipbuilding, housing construction and waterworks, China has shown that it can build like no other. That includes the just-announced Medog Hydropower Station, which at $167 billion would be one of the largest and most expensive construction projects ever seen. Behind all of this activity is a state organized for engineering, designed for speed and scale.That's one half of the thesis of Breakneck, the new book out by Dan Wang, which was already long listed for book of the year by the Financial Times. The other half of the thesis is that America is ruled by a lawyerly society, one that holds up projects across years of red tape and lawsuits in the name of everything from noise pollution to just good old-fashioned trolling. Can we have growth without the lawyers? And what are the costs when every project can't be debated to its most minute detail?Dan and host Danny Crichton talk about Dan's trips across China, the massive growth he witnessed while living in the country for six years, and comparisons between China, America, South Korea and Japan, and why the virtuous cycle of construction is so absent from America today.
In Darren's own research, topics like tariffs, industrial policy and the decaying rules-based economic order are a daily focus. On these issues and many more relating to the global economy, financial markets, economic security, and US-China geoeconomic rivalry, there is no-one whose expertise and judgment Darren respects more than that of Brad Setser, today's guest. In a conversation recorded on 1 September, three big themes are canvassed: (i) tariffs, (ii) China, and (iii) Australia's position in a fraying economic order. As the hosts of the “Odd Lots” podcast would say, Brad is the ‘perfect' guest, and Darren could not be more thrilled. What is motivating Trump, and what could constrain him? Which country has negotiated the best deal? Is China's export-driven economic model locked in? Could other countries rein in Beijing's overcapacity? Is the rules-based economic order finished? Brad Setser is the Whitney Shepardson senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. His expertise includes global trade and capital flows, financial vulnerability analysis, and sovereign debt restructuring. Bred served as a senior advisor to the United States Trade Representative from 2021 to 2022 and as the deputy assistant secretary for international economic analysis in the U.S. Treasury from 2011 to 2015. Australia in the World is written, hosted, and produced by Darren Lim, with research and editing this episode by Hannah Nelson and theme music composed by Rory Stenning. Relevant links Brad Setser (bio): https://www.cfr.org/expert/brad-w-setser Odd Lots (podcast), "Liz Truss on the 'Doom Loop' Engulfing the UK Economy", 29 August 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyQOEJ38kW8 Jonathon Sine, “Litigation Nation, Engineering Empire: A review of Dan Wang's new book Breakneck”, Cogitations (substack), 28 August 2025: https://www.cogitations.co/p/litigation-nation-engineering-empire Bob Davis and Lingling Wei, Superpower Showdown: How the Battle between Trump and Xi Threatens a New Cold War (Harper Collins, 2020): https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780062953070/superpower-showdown/ Mark Kurlansky, Salt: A world history (Penguin, 2003): https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780062953070/superpower-showdown/
Il rafforzamento dell'asse tra Cina, Russia e India, il vantaggio strutturale cinese, secondo il libro “Breakneck” di Dan Wang, la delicata situazione della Federal Reserve, tra stagflazione e disoccupazioni, la crisi dei fondi pensioni olandesi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dan Wang at long last makes his solo ChinaTalk debut! We're here to discuss and celebrate his first book, Breakneck. We get into… Engineering states vs lawyerly societies, The competing legacies of the 1980s in China, the decade which saw brutal repression via the One Child Policy and Tiananmen alongside intellectual debate, cultural vibrancy, and rock and roll, Methods of knowing China, from the People's Daily and Seeking Truth to on-the-ground research, How to compare the values of China's convenient yet repressive society with the chaotic pluralism of the USA, What Li Qiang's career post-Shanghai lockdowns can tell us about the value of loyalty vs competence in Xi's China. Outro music: Mozart - The Marriage of Figaro (YouTube link) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dan Wang at long last makes his solo ChinaTalk debut! We're here to discuss and celebrate his first book, Breakneck. We get into… Engineering states vs lawyerly societies, The competing legacies of the 1980s in China, the decade which saw brutal repression via the One Child Policy and Tiananmen alongside intellectual debate, cultural vibrancy, and rock and roll, Methods of knowing China, from the People's Daily and Seeking Truth to on-the-ground research, How to compare the values of China's convenient yet repressive society with the chaotic pluralism of the USA, What Li Qiang's career post-Shanghai lockdowns can tell us about the value of loyalty vs competence in Xi's China. Outro music: Mozart - The Marriage of Figaro (YouTube link) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Today I'm talking to Dan Wang. He has a great new book, Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future. Dan spent the better part of the last decade in China and published a yearly letter summarizing his thoughts, explorations, and eating.Breakneck is like those letters: it goes all over the place, as does our conversation. Topics include:* America's overabundance of lawyers* Whether our ruling class should be all economists* Stylish propaganda* The book collections of Yale professors* iPhone manufacturing* Forced sterilization* Planting cassavaOne of the things I like most about Dan's work is that he's comfortable looking at China through multiple, very different lenses. Parts of Breakneck explicitly use China as a lens to think about the US and its political culture and institutions. Other parts of the book try very hard to take China on its own terms, without reading our own culture into it. It's that mix that made the book so enjoyable for me, and I hope you enjoy it too.Thank you to Harry Fletcher-Wood for his judicious transcript edits, and to Katerina Barton for her audio edits. You can find the full, annotated transcript to this conversation at www.statecraft.pub. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.statecraft.pub
Open Source bi-weekly convo w/ Bill Gurley and Brad Gerstner on all things tech, markets, investing & capitalism. This week, they dive deep into China's explosive innovation across AI and EVs, the rise of open-source models, lessons for U.S. competitiveness, the real story on tariffs and trade—and what America must do to win the global tech race. Enjoy another episode of BG2!Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(01:20) OpenAI, Anthropic, Private Market Overheating(03:30) China's Role in the Global Tech Order(04:50) Why Bill Went to China(06:40) Dan Wang's Breakneck: Engineers vs Lawyers(10:30) Xiaomi, BYD, and Auto Innovation(14:00) Factory Productivity, Automation, and the Jobs Debate(15:20) Open Source Model Culture in China(19:30) Can the US Compete Without Reform?(23:30) Tariffs, Trade Deals, and a Path to Cooperation(28:00) Waymo, Baidu, and Cost Innovation(33:00) Is China Winning Global Trade?(36:30) Debunking the Subsidy Narrative(38:30) What the CEOs Who Visit China Actually Say(41:30) China's AI Ecosystem: DeepSeek, Qwen, Alibaba Cloud(44:00) Open Source in China and the US: Strategic Choices(48:00) VC Pullback from China & What's Still Happening on the Ground(53:00) China's New K-Visa vs US Skilled Immigration Policies(56:30) Gurley: Read Dan Wang's Breakneck, Watch the Ground Game(01:03:00) VC Pullback from ChinaShow Notes:Open Source Development in China https://merics.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/MERICS%20Primer%20Open%20Source%202021_0.pdfLei Jun 2024 Annual Speech: https://www.youtube.com/live/l5f3wvLwLXYProduced by Dan ShevchukMusic by Yung SpielbergAvailable on Apple, Spotify, www.bg2pod.comFollow:Brad Gerstner @altcap https://x.com/altcapBill Gurley @bgurley https://x.com/bgurleyBG2 Pod @bg2pod https://x.com/BG2Pod
Dan Wang is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover History Lab, and previously a fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center. Before that, he was an analyst focused on China's technology capabilities at Gavekal Dragonomics, based across Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai. Dan is perhaps best known for a series of annual letters, published between 2017-2023, which encapsulate his reflections on Chinese society; his writing has also appeared in other outlets including Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and beyond. In this New Books Network Episode, Dan discusses his debut book Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future (Norton, 2025). Styled as an aggregation of seven of his famed annual letters, Breakneck presents a dichotomy of China and the US as an “engineering state” and "lawyerly society” respectively, and traces how China's “engineering state” has shaped Chinese society over the last decade. Breakneck is now available for purchase online and in physical bookstores. Show notes: Dan's website Dan's annual letters: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 Dan's blogpost about Breakneck, which we reference several times in the episode China-related English books that Dan mentions: The Halls of Uselessness (Simon Leys), Other Rivers (Peter Hessler), Invitation to a Banquet (Fuchsia Dunlop) Chinese-language movies from 2017+ that Anthony recommends for illustrating a diverse spectrum of sociopolitical noteworthiness: Wolf Warrior 2 (for China's nationalistic/geopolitical narrative), Upstream (for China's tech industry/labor market), Detention (for Taiwanese popular memory on authoritarianism); plus two additional movies not mentioned in the episode — Ne Zha 2 (for China's soft power potential) and Limbo (for a dark taste of Hong Kong's contemporary malaise). Chinese-language movies that Dan recommendations: Caught by the Tides (Jia Zhangke), One Second (Zhang Yimou) Anthony Kao is a writer who intersects international affairs and cultural criticism. He founded/edits Cinema Escapist—a publication exploring the sociopolitical context behind global film and television—and also writes for outlets like The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Diplomat, and Eater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Dan Wang is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover History Lab, and previously a fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center. Before that, he was an analyst focused on China's technology capabilities at Gavekal Dragonomics, based across Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai. Dan is perhaps best known for a series of annual letters, published between 2017-2023, which encapsulate his reflections on Chinese society; his writing has also appeared in other outlets including Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and beyond. In this New Books Network Episode, Dan discusses his debut book Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future (Norton, 2025). Styled as an aggregation of seven of his famed annual letters, Breakneck presents a dichotomy of China and the US as an “engineering state” and "lawyerly society” respectively, and traces how China's “engineering state” has shaped Chinese society over the last decade. Breakneck is now available for purchase online and in physical bookstores. Show notes: Dan's website Dan's annual letters: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 Dan's blogpost about Breakneck, which we reference several times in the episode China-related English books that Dan mentions: The Halls of Uselessness (Simon Leys), Other Rivers (Peter Hessler), Invitation to a Banquet (Fuchsia Dunlop) Chinese-language movies from 2017+ that Anthony recommends for illustrating a diverse spectrum of sociopolitical noteworthiness: Wolf Warrior 2 (for China's nationalistic/geopolitical narrative), Upstream (for China's tech industry/labor market), Detention (for Taiwanese popular memory on authoritarianism); plus two additional movies not mentioned in the episode — Ne Zha 2 (for China's soft power potential) and Limbo (for a dark taste of Hong Kong's contemporary malaise). Chinese-language movies that Dan recommendations: Caught by the Tides (Jia Zhangke), One Second (Zhang Yimou) Anthony Kao is a writer who intersects international affairs and cultural criticism. He founded/edits Cinema Escapist—a publication exploring the sociopolitical context behind global film and television—and also writes for outlets like The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Diplomat, and Eater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies
Dan Wang is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover History Lab, and previously a fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center. Before that, he was an analyst focused on China's technology capabilities at Gavekal Dragonomics, based across Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai. Dan is perhaps best known for a series of annual letters, published between 2017-2023, which encapsulate his reflections on Chinese society; his writing has also appeared in other outlets including Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and beyond. In this New Books Network Episode, Dan discusses his debut book Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future (Norton, 2025). Styled as an aggregation of seven of his famed annual letters, Breakneck presents a dichotomy of China and the US as an “engineering state” and "lawyerly society” respectively, and traces how China's “engineering state” has shaped Chinese society over the last decade. Breakneck is now available for purchase online and in physical bookstores. Show notes: Dan's website Dan's annual letters: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 Dan's blogpost about Breakneck, which we reference several times in the episode China-related English books that Dan mentions: The Halls of Uselessness (Simon Leys), Other Rivers (Peter Hessler), Invitation to a Banquet (Fuchsia Dunlop) Chinese-language movies from 2017+ that Anthony recommends for illustrating a diverse spectrum of sociopolitical noteworthiness: Wolf Warrior 2 (for China's nationalistic/geopolitical narrative), Upstream (for China's tech industry/labor market), Detention (for Taiwanese popular memory on authoritarianism); plus two additional movies not mentioned in the episode — Ne Zha 2 (for China's soft power potential) and Limbo (for a dark taste of Hong Kong's contemporary malaise). Chinese-language movies that Dan recommendations: Caught by the Tides (Jia Zhangke), One Second (Zhang Yimou) Anthony Kao is a writer who intersects international affairs and cultural criticism. He founded/edits Cinema Escapist—a publication exploring the sociopolitical context behind global film and television—and also writes for outlets like The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Diplomat, and Eater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs
Dan Wang is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover History Lab, and previously a fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center. Before that, he was an analyst focused on China's technology capabilities at Gavekal Dragonomics, based across Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai. Dan is perhaps best known for a series of annual letters, published between 2017-2023, which encapsulate his reflections on Chinese society; his writing has also appeared in other outlets including Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and beyond. In this New Books Network Episode, Dan discusses his debut book Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future (Norton, 2025). Styled as an aggregation of seven of his famed annual letters, Breakneck presents a dichotomy of China and the US as an “engineering state” and "lawyerly society” respectively, and traces how China's “engineering state” has shaped Chinese society over the last decade. Breakneck is now available for purchase online and in physical bookstores. Show notes: Dan's website Dan's annual letters: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 Dan's blogpost about Breakneck, which we reference several times in the episode China-related English books that Dan mentions: The Halls of Uselessness (Simon Leys), Other Rivers (Peter Hessler), Invitation to a Banquet (Fuchsia Dunlop) Chinese-language movies from 2017+ that Anthony recommends for illustrating a diverse spectrum of sociopolitical noteworthiness: Wolf Warrior 2 (for China's nationalistic/geopolitical narrative), Upstream (for China's tech industry/labor market), Detention (for Taiwanese popular memory on authoritarianism); plus two additional movies not mentioned in the episode — Ne Zha 2 (for China's soft power potential) and Limbo (for a dark taste of Hong Kong's contemporary malaise). Chinese-language movies that Dan recommendations: Caught by the Tides (Jia Zhangke), One Second (Zhang Yimou) Anthony Kao is a writer who intersects international affairs and cultural criticism. He founded/edits Cinema Escapist—a publication exploring the sociopolitical context behind global film and television—and also writes for outlets like The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Diplomat, and Eater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies
Dan Wang is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover History Lab, and previously a fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center. Before that, he was an analyst focused on China's technology capabilities at Gavekal Dragonomics, based across Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai. Dan is perhaps best known for a series of annual letters, published between 2017-2023, which encapsulate his reflections on Chinese society; his writing has also appeared in other outlets including Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and beyond. In this New Books Network Episode, Dan discusses his debut book Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future (Norton, 2025). Styled as an aggregation of seven of his famed annual letters, Breakneck presents a dichotomy of China and the US as an “engineering state” and "lawyerly society” respectively, and traces how China's “engineering state” has shaped Chinese society over the last decade. Breakneck is now available for purchase online and in physical bookstores. Show notes: Dan's website Dan's annual letters: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 Dan's blogpost about Breakneck, which we reference several times in the episode China-related English books that Dan mentions: The Halls of Uselessness (Simon Leys), Other Rivers (Peter Hessler), Invitation to a Banquet (Fuchsia Dunlop) Chinese-language movies from 2017+ that Anthony recommends for illustrating a diverse spectrum of sociopolitical noteworthiness: Wolf Warrior 2 (for China's nationalistic/geopolitical narrative), Upstream (for China's tech industry/labor market), Detention (for Taiwanese popular memory on authoritarianism); plus two additional movies not mentioned in the episode — Ne Zha 2 (for China's soft power potential) and Limbo (for a dark taste of Hong Kong's contemporary malaise). Chinese-language movies that Dan recommendations: Caught by the Tides (Jia Zhangke), One Second (Zhang Yimou) Anthony Kao is a writer who intersects international affairs and cultural criticism. He founded/edits Cinema Escapist—a publication exploring the sociopolitical context behind global film and television—and also writes for outlets like The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Diplomat, and Eater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Route 9D to Little Stony Point deemed 'unwalkable' Sidewalks dominated the discussion at the Aug. 13 meeting of the Cold Spring Village Board. Concerns increased recently after a wheelchair-bound village resident tipped over along Morris Avenue/Route 9D near Hamilton Street, at the north end of the village. The incident prompted a meeting at Village Hall at which the state Department of Transportation agreed to allow the village to replace the asphalt sidewalk between Whitehill Place and the Haldane football field. Mayor Kathleen Foley said the project, being implemented "until there is a larger plan for 9D," will cost about $30,000. She said she hopes Putnam County, the Town of Philipstown and the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail will contribute financially. The work will be done "in kind" by local highway crews. The "larger plan for 9D" relates to HHFT having identified Dockside Park as its preferred southern gateway to the 7.5-mile trail being constructed between Cold Spring and Beacon. Foley and Philipstown Supervisor John Van Tassel have advocated starting the trail at Little Stony Point, with a series of improved sidewalks leading there from the village. The final route is yet to be decided. During the Aug. 13 meeting, the board voted 4-1 to pay Hahn Engineering up to $2,000 to estimate the cost of installing sidewalks on both sides of Route 9D from the northern boundary of the village to the Washburn Trail parking lot opposite Little Stony Point. The cost of the Hahn study will be split with Philipstown. Foley said pedestrians along that route encounter "holes you can put your foot in, up to your ankle" and that foot traffic can be expected to increase as the fall hiking season begins. She noted that from May to July, visits to the Washburn and Cornish trails increased by 6.6 percent over last year. Along the entire corridor, where Breakneck and the Metro-North platform are closed for HHFT construction, usage is down 47 percent. Trustee Aaron Freimark voted against the Hahn study, saying it would be spending village money on an analysis of a sidewalk that's not on village property. Foley responded that the estimate will be used to negotiate sidewalk improvements with the Department of Transportation (DOT), state parks and HHFT. "It is in villagers' best interest to have a sidewalk there," she said. DOT estimates the project, which requires relocating power lines and constructing a retaining wall, will cost $1 million. The Hahn study will fine-tune that estimate. Foley said DOT encouraged Cold Spring and Philipstown to apply jointly for funding through its Transportation Alternatives Program. Trustee Andrew Hall described the study as an "investment to unlock funding to improve the infrastructure of the village." In other action, the board tabled a letter from the mayor addressed to state parks and HHFT about the "not safely walkable" Route 9 approach to Little Stony Point and the Washburn Trail from the village. A new draft will be considered at the Wednesday (Aug. 27) meeting. The Philipstown Town Board approved a similar letter at its Aug. 7 from Van Tassel to state parks, although an accusation that HHFT was "directing the general public to walk along the shoulder of Route 9D" was removed. Board Member Jason Angell noted that advisories to pedestrians about construction-related closures do not use those words, and that other routes are available. Foley reported that a Breakneck Closures Logistics Working Group has been formed with municipal representatives from Cold Spring, Nelsonville and Philipstown, as well as state parks, HHFT and the Haldane school district, which has raised concerns because hiking apps encourage people to park at the school and use the campus as a short cut to trails. In other business… Marjorie Gage was appointed as village clerk-treasurer through Dec 1. She will earn a pro-rated annual salary of $72,000; the position had been hourly. Greg Henson resigned as clerk-treasurer on June 10. The boa...
This week on Sinica, I'm delighted to be joined by Dan Wang, formerly of Gavekal Dragonomics and the Paul Tsai Law Center at Yale University, now with the Hoover Institute's History Lab. Dan's new book is Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future, and it's already one of the year's most talked-about books. In this conversation, we go beyond what's actually in the book to discuss the origins and implications of the Chinese "engineering state" — the world's biggest technocratic polity — and what the United States should and should not learn from China. We discuss how Dan's ideas sit with Abundance by Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein, and much more. Don't miss this episode!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
America used to pride itself on ambition. Today, it looks stuck. Meanwhile, China has been busy building the future. In a new book, Breakneck, technology analyst Dan Wang provides a new framework for understanding China. It operates as an engineering state - which brings a sledgehammer to problems both physical and social, in contrast with America's lawyerly society, rooted in its constitution, which protects individual rights but blocks almost everything, good and bad, and leads to greater inequality. In this episode, Dan speaks to Chris Miller about the remarkable strengths and appalling weaknesses of the engineering state, and how each country reveals a better path for the other. --- If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Town Board also approves Glassbury sales price The Philipstown Town Board on Thursday (Aug. 7) agreed to poll residents about implementing a tax on property sales in which the proceeds would be used to protect open spaces, wildlife habitats and other natural resources through land purchases and conservation easements. Ted Warren, the public policy manager for the Hudson Highlands Land Trust, informed the board that revenue for the Community Preservation Fund would be generated through a transfer tax of up to 2 percent, paid by buyers on the portion of a property purchase exceeding the median price for home sales in Putnam County. That is, if the median price is $500,000, a house that sold for $700,000 house would be taxed on $200,000. People buying homes for less than the median price would be exempt. Philipstown took the initial step toward the fund by in August 2023 by adopting a Community Conservation Plan. But Supervisor John Van Tassel said then that the idea of a new tax during the pandemic "did not settle well" with the board. In addition, said Warren, a survey of Philipstown residents conducted by the Trust for Public Land showed "a lot of ambivalence" about a fund. On Thursday, Van Tassel said the "time is right" to revisit the idea, with the goal of having a referendum ready for the 2026 general election. "There have been several parcels that this fund could have really secured for conservation protection," he said. Under the Hudson Valley Community Preservation Act, a state law that gives municipalities in Putnam and Westchester counties the authority to create conservation funds, the money would be administered by a five- or seven-member advisory board of volunteer residents. Proposals to create funds in other towns have faced opposition, usually from the New York State Association of Realtors, said Warren. He said the tax could be considered an "investment" for people buying property in Philipstown. "It's a very small amount, compared to what they're probably paying for that home," said Warren. "It is a way of saying, 'You know, we're moving to this community and this is our little investment in allowing the town to have this flexibility.' " Glassbury Court At its Aug. 7 meeting, the Town Board approved a maximum sales price of $547,558 for one of the 10 Glassbury Court units set aside as affordable housing. It also agreed to waive a requirement that the buyer be approved by an "affordability consultant." Under Philipstown's approval of the Quarry Pond Planned Development District for the construction of Glassbury Court, the maximum price at which the affordable units can only be sold is capped by a formula, and buyers must be approved by the consultant. Because the town does not have an affordability consultant, it agreed to allow the owners of 11 Revolutionary Road to sell to any buyer. State parks letter A letter approved by the board will be sent to state parks and the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail raising concerns about the safety of hikers who use Fair Street and Route 9D to walk from the Cold Spring Metro-North station to the trails in the Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve. A draft written by Van Tassel originally accused HHFT of "directing the general public to walk along the shoulder of Route 9D." He agreed to change the wording after a board member, Jason Angell, noted that advisories to visitors about construction-related closures do not use those words, and that there are alternative routes. According to the letter, titled "Dangerous Condition on Route 9D Caused by HHFT," the closure of the Breakneck train station and parking north of the tunnel, and limited parking at the Washburn trailhead lot, means more visitors catch Metro-North to Cold Spring and walk through the village to the trails. Van Tassel reiterated his proposal that the state and HHFT install sidewalks on Route 9D. Nat Prentice, one of two candidates running unopposed for seats on the Town Board, said he and other volunteers at the ...
Part A of a two-sided mix from two Nyege Nyege all-stars. Nyege Nyege is synonymous with radical sonic innovation. Since 2015, the boundary-pushing Ugandan festival and its associated label have become a vital hub for adventurous, experimental sounds emerging from East Africa and beyond. Its alumni roster includes some of the past decade's most thrilling and forward-thinking artists—DJ Travella, Nihiloxica, MC Yallah, and even New York's newly-elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani. In the process, the collective has reimagined what club music can be. Kampala-based Kampire has been a core member of the collective since the label's inception. Her mixes often feel like a lesson in musicology: weaving together narratives, tempos and genres while losing nothing in dance floor vitality. These talents are reflected in her contribution to RA.995. A typically kaleidoscopic blend of tough percussive workouts, infectious edits and raw, unreleased gems, the hour-long mix spans batida, singeli, bruxaria and countless more urgent sounds from the global underground. Then there's the enigmatic DJ TOBZY. At the tender age of 23, he's at the forefront of the effervescent cruise scene in his adopted hometown of Lagos. Breakneck, unpolished and fiercely DIY, it's a sound Giulio Pecci described as "a delirious blur of vocals and drums, influenced by other African dance music styles but moving only to its own strange, internal logic." TOBZY's mix captures the frenetic energy of a scene evolving in real time. Presented together, as the first edition of a new format marking the countdown to RA.1000, this mix offers a bracing snapshot of a label that has redefined electronic music over the last decade. Find the tracklist and interview at ra.co/podcast/995
Part B of a two-sided mix from two Nyege Nyege all-stars. Nyege Nyege is synonymous with radical sonic innovation. Since 2015, the boundary-pushing Ugandan festival and its associated label have become a vital hub for adventurous, experimental sounds emerging from East Africa and beyond. Its alumni roster includes some of the past decade's most thrilling and forward-thinking artists—DJ Travella, Nihiloxica, MC Yallah, and even New York's newly-elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani. In the process, the collective has reimagined what club music can be. Kampala-based Kampire has been a core member of the collective since the label's inception. Her mixes often feel like a lesson in musicology: weaving together narratives, tempos and genres while losing nothing in dance floor vitality. These talents are reflected in her contribution to RA.995. A typically kaleidoscopic blend of tough percussive workouts, infectious edits and raw, unreleased gems, the hour-long mix spans batida, singeli, bruxaria and countless more urgent sounds from the global underground. Then there's the enigmatic DJ TOBZY. At the tender age of 23, he's at the forefront of the effervescent cruise scene in his adopted hometown of Lagos. Breakneck, unpolished and fiercely DIY, it's a sound Giulio Pecci described as "a delirious blur of vocals and drums, influenced by other African dance music styles but moving only to its own strange, internal logic." TOBZY's mix captures the frenetic energy of a scene evolving in real time. Presented together, as the first edition of a new format marking the countdown to RA.1000, this mix offers a bracing snapshot of a label that has redefined electronic music over the last decade. Find the tracklist and interview at ra.co/podcast/995
Wwwhats up Swingaz? From the grizzly lands of Wisconsin, welcome to Thrall's Balls episode 186!Mixed Drink of the WeekGershom - G-99 Breakneck-crap, I forgot. watch this space for an update....Next week: Johnnie - Shipping and HandlingWoW NewsDastardly Duos That said - what is the lore here? There's a 15-minute video featuring Sean Copeland (Blizzard Loremaster, as the video says haha) and PlatinumWoW, a massively talented Lore content creatorhttps://www.wowhead.com/news/dastardly-duos-begins-june-3rd-release-date-and-launch-time-377097https://www.wowhead.com/news/building-azeroth-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-dastardly-duos-event-coming-june-377061https://www.wowhead.com/tw/guide/the-war-within/dastardly-duos-overview-rewardshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjuiRH5Fn-4June Trading Post - Gershhttps://www.wowhead.com/news/june-2025-trading-post-rewards-2-new-mounts-and-colorful-beach-chair-377069https://www.wowhead.com/news/june-2025-reward-for-completing-travelers-log-molten-cormaera-mount-377070MoP Classic Releasehttps://www.wowhead.com/mop-classic/news/mists-of-pandaria-classic-pre-patch-coming-july-1st-full-release-july-21st-377048https://www.wowhead.com/mop-classic/news/bind-on-account-cloud-serpent-riding-reputation-rework-and-raid-testing-mists-of-377088Green Astral Cloud Serpenthttps://www.wowhead.com/news/new-green-astral-cloud-serpent-from-pandaren-starting-experience-in-mop-classic-37705285 Boosthttps://www.wowhead.com/classic/news/earn-a-level-85-character-boost-in-mists-of-pandaria-classic-by-defeating-377050https://www.wowhead.com/mop-classic/news/level-85-character-boosts-can-be-used-on-monks-mists-of-pandaria-classic-377065SoD Endinghttps://www.wowhead.com/classic/news/the-end-of-season-of-discovery-work-on-next-major-wow-classic-project-begins-377063https://www.wowhead.com/classic/news/what-happens-to-my-character-at-the-end-of-season-of-discovery-character-377073Scarlet Enclave Buffshttps://www.wowhead.com/classic/news/scarlet-enclave-player-buffs-starting-june-3rd-377057Follow Us:@Woolly08 Twt Insta Bluesky@HunterGershom Twt@BoomyNation Twt YouTubeJohnnie.Tips Discord, @Johnnie.Tips InstaCRAIIIIG! @CraigAddict Twt@ThrallsBallsPod TwtEmail us with any feedback or questions: ThrallsBallsPodcast@gmail.comYou can also leave us feedback on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or even in a specialized reviews channel on our Discord. Go to ThrallsBalls.com to find our Linktree. All our relevant links (including Discord) can be found there.Bye we love you be good!https://discord.gg/HuFkhagM3Z
Wwwhats up swingaz? From the TBHQ in the grizzly lands of Wisconsin, welcome to Thrall's Balls episode #185!Mdotw: Woolly - The Nightfall-start with large strawberry shake from mcdonald's-2 oz blue curacao-squirt some black cherry "drink enhancer" (great value brand mio thingy)Next week: Gershom - G-99 Breakneck!Wow NewsCD/Heal Trackinghttps://www.wowhead.com/news/no-more-tracking-cooldowns-of-party-in-future-game-director-interview-with-pc-376979Blood Tieshttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/538376/blood-ties-world-of-warcraft-midnight-by-christie-golden/https://www.wowhead.com/news/pre-order-world-of-warcraft-blood-ties-by-christie-golden-arator-focused-376962Mog and Mount Bundlehttps://www.wowhead.com/news/new-chimera-mount-and-transmog-emerald-inferno-pack-now-available-for-30-376949Follow us:@Woolly08 twt insta bsky, @Woolly_08 tktk@HunterGershom twt Bsky, @HunterGerrshom insta@BoomyNation twt YouTubeJohnnie.Tips Discord, @Johnnie.Tips InstaCRAIIIIG! @CraigAddict Twt@ThrallsBallsPod TwtEmail us with any feedback or questions: ThrallsBallsPodcast@gmail.comYou can also leave us feedback on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or even in a specialized reviews channel on our Discord. Go to ThrallsBalls.com to find our Linktree. All our relevant links (including Discord) can be found there.Bye we love you be good!https://discord.gg/HuFkhagM3Z
Jump in the FREE Discord to leave episode reactions and ask questions for future episode. https://discord.gg/4QMxjFyQGJPlease take a second to leave a review where ever you are listening. In this episode Tara and Brad sit down and discuss training and racing over the last few weeks and what is coming up this summer for both of us. Tara just completed the Breakneck marathon which is regarded as on of the hardest trail marathons in the county at close to 27 miles and 10k feet with sections require for points of contact and many rock scrambling sections. She breaks down the 9+1 process that the NYRR uses to get into the NYC marathon and her concerns for the Never Summer 60k in Steamboat Colorado this summer.
Does anybody really understand China? Could America pursue an abundance agenda without the threat of the PRC? Can podcasters change the world? To discuss, ChinaTalk interviewed Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, who need no introduction, as well as Dan Wang, who has written beautiful annual letters and is back in the US as a research fellow at Kotkin's Hoover History Lab. He has an excellent book called Breakneck coming out this August, but we're saving that show for a little later this year. Today, our conversation covers… The use of China as a rhetorical device in US domestic discourse, Oversimplified aspects of Chinese development, and why the bipartisan consensus surrounding Beijing might fail to produce a coherent strategy, The abundance agenda and technocratic vs prophetic strategies for policy change, How to conceptualize political actors complexly, including unions, corporations, and environmental groups, The value of podcasting and strategies for positively impacting the modern media environment. Outtro Music: Recomposed by Max Richter, I went with a deep cut Autumn 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUEeqvp_BrQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Does anybody really understand China? Could America pursue an abundance agenda without the threat of the PRC? Can podcasters change the world? To discuss, ChinaTalk interviewed Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, who need no introduction, as well as Dan Wang, who has written beautiful annual letters and is back in the US as a research fellow at Kotkin's Hoover History Lab. He has an excellent book called Breakneck coming out this August, but we're saving that show for a little later this year. Today, our conversation covers… The use of China as a rhetorical device in US domestic discourse, Oversimplified aspects of Chinese development, and why the bipartisan consensus surrounding Beijing might fail to produce a coherent strategy, The abundance agenda and technocratic vs prophetic strategies for policy change, How to conceptualize political actors complexly, including unions, corporations, and environmental groups, The value of podcasting and strategies for positively impacting the modern media environment. Outtro Music: Recomposed by Max Richter, I went with a deep cut Autumn 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUEeqvp_BrQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Political Strategist Ashley Hayek discusses the vote on the spending bill to avoid a government shutdown as GOP rallies to the cause
Did you know we all descend from history's first murderer? Or that Adam separated from Eve for 130 years, during which time spiritual "demons" were created that still exist today? In this captivating episode of Breakneck through the Bible, Rabbi Bentzi Epstein and Tom Levine explore the surprising hidden wisdom within the genealogy from Adam to Noah.Discover why ancient humans lived for nearly a millennium, why we say "God bless you" when someone sneezes, and the mysterious case of Enoch—a man so righteous that he didn't leave the earth the way the rest of us do. Rabbi Epstein unveils the four profound reasons people die according to Jewish wisdom, sharing insights that have brought genuine comfort to those facing loss.The conversation takes fascinating turns as they examine which biblical patriarch requested that humans experience illness before death, why another asked for visible aging, and what these seemingly mundane details reveal about divine purpose. Most importantly, you'll gain perspective on what makes a life truly meaningful beyond mere longevity.Join Rabbi Epstein and Tom as they transform what appears to be a simple list of names into timeless wisdom about purpose, relationships, and the true measure of a life well-lived—all as the world approaches the dramatic events of the Great Flood.
While King Hap is on the mend, We reach in to the bag for this HHSC Classic!!!!!Jujitsu Black Belt, Scuba Diver, 30 Year US Marshal, and National USA Today & New York Time Best Selling Author Marc Cameron joins King Hap!! These two have a blast talking about Marc's experiences! His new book BREAKNECK, hit shelves last week and is a hit!!! The Arliss Cutter series 5th installment DOES NOT DISAPPOINT! This is a great read for by the pool or at the beach this summer!!These two have a lot of fun chatting and Marc talks about some crazy experiences, as you can imagine a 30 year US Marshal would have. This episode was recorded live on the network in front of Happy Hour V.I.P.sIf you want to be part of the live tapingsfollow us on Twitchhttps://m.twitch.tv/thehappyhourscorwww.TheHappyHourSocialClub.comAS ALWAYSThe Happy Hour is brought to you by the official Top Shelf Alcohol of the Happy Hour!CLEARWATER DISTILLERY https://shop.clearwaterdistilling.com/PROMO CODE KINGHAPSAVES 10% and free shipping over $100OLD SCHOOL LABSAmazing Supplements made for Amazing people!TRY OATMEAL CREAM PIE PROTEIN! Save 15% site wide with promo code Kinghaphttps://shop.oldschoollabs.com/?aff=364Liquid I.V.WOW..... NEW MOCKTAILS!!!
It's time for another great Zoop.gg crowdfunding doubleheader week in Episode #659 as Wayne catches up with Mark Bertolini from the newly collected Breakneck, then Joe Harris returns to talk Great Pacific's new hardcover edition! Everything kicks off with my fun interview with Mark Bertolini, who is bringing back one of my personal favorites in Breakneck! Here's how this book is described: “In a world where all supervillains have been wiped out, one final villain is on the run from the world's collected heroes - but Ethan Shade is the crappiest villain left alive!” We talk about why this is a great time to revive this series, who the various characters are, and what else Mark is up to, including possibly another five issues of Breakneck! Be sure you back this crowdfunding project on zoop.gg before it concludes on Friday, September 27, so we can enjoy more of Mark's excellent storytelling! Then it all concludes with the return of Joe Harris to the podcast, who is collecting his classic tale in what he's calling Great Pacific: The Completely Trashed Edition. Here's the description: “Chas Worthington dreams of big things, solving bigger problems, and making his mark on the world. Only no one takes the twenty-one year-old heir to one of the biggest oil fortunes in history very seriously… that is, until he turns his back on his cushy life of wealth and prestige, and seeks to solve an environmental disaster twice the size of his native Texas known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” Joe discusses how this story came to be, who the characters are, and what else he has heading our way in the months ahead! Be sure to back this high-power Zoop.gg crowdfunder before it concludes on Friday, September 27, 2024. Major Spoilers Podcast Network Master Feed RSS Feed Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patreon member. It will help ensure Wayne's Comics Podcast continues far into the future!
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