Podcasts about Mandarin Chinese

You've gotten directions to the office and gotten your friend to tell the taxi driver where to go. All you need to do now is find your way out of the taxi to the correct floor in the office building itself. Learn how to make this final push in Mandarin Chinese in today's elementary lesson! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1855

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介现在正是中国大学生一年一度的秋招季。“应届生”为什么在中国找工作时这么重要？这一期聊聊秋招、校招和社招的区别，以及为什么有些人会通过读研究生重新获得参加校招的机会。It's fall recruiting season for university students in China. Why does “fresh graduate” status matter so much when looking for a job? In this episode, I talk about campus recruiting, experienced-hire recruiting, and why some people pursue graduate school partly to gain another opportunity to enter the graduate recruitment process.中国では今、大学生の秋採用シーズンです。中国の就職活動では、なぜ「新卒」という立場がそれほど重要なのでしょうか。今回は、校内採用と社会人採用の違い、そして大学院に進むことで再び新卒採用に参加する人がいる理由について話します。生词表｜Vocabulary秋招 qiūzhāo — fall recruiting (春招 chūnzhāo — spring recruiting)投简历 tóu jiǎnlì — to submit a résumé 应届生 yìngjièshēng — graduating student; fresh graduate 校园招聘/校招 xiàoyuán zhāopìn / xiàozhāo — campus recruiting 入职 rùzhí — to start a job; officially join a company 国企 guóqǐ — state-owned enterprise 央企 yāngqǐ — centrally administered state-owned enterprise 社会招聘 / 社招 shèhuì zhāopìn / shèzhāo — experienced-hire recruiting 考研 kǎoyán — to take the graduate school entrance exam 全日制研究生 quánrìzhì yánjiūshēng — full-time graduate student#应届生 #秋招 #校招 #校园招聘 #大学生就业 #求职 #FreshGraduate #CampusRecruitment #JobHuntingInChina #ChinaJobsSend us Fan MailSupport the show由于空间限制，录音稿未放在描述栏，可在播客网站对应节目页面下查看。Due to space constraints, the transcript is available on my podcast website https://5minutechinese.buzzsprout.com (免费文稿 Free Transcript Available) 如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

Pigeon/Xiaobei, an American immigrant who has been living in Taiwan since 2017. She discussed her experiences as a foreign woman in Taiwan, including the challenges of dating, cultural integration, and the difficulty of finding appropriate clothing and shoes due to her tall stature. Pigeon explained her decision to call herself an "immigrant" rather than an "expat" to highlight the shared experiences of foreign residents in Taiwan. We also discussed her struggles with learning Mandarin Chinese, including poor experiences with certain language schools and the cultural barriers to deep friendships with local Taiwanese people. The conversation touched on the challenges of maintaining family relationships across international borders, particularly after losing her father while living in Taiwan. *Disclaimer: We both love Taiwan so the things we said wasn't to attack anyone but to be honest of why we love and dislike.*NTD: New Taiwan DollarFind Pigeon on IG @pigeon_learns_ https://www.instagram.com/pigeon_learns_Check out her viral video of Chinese greetings https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaAxpQrT4EN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Pigeon's services linktr.ee/PigeonLearnsIf you enjoy this episode, I recommend...➡️ Ep110 I Got Kicked Out From DMV ft. Suman Sirivella (2)➡️ Ep104 Live Joy Your Way w/ Kamini Wood➡️ Ep89 First Indian Female Entrepreneur in Taiwan w/ Dr. Priya Lalwani Purswaney➡️ Ep68 Teaching ESL in China w/ Kevin Forslund➡️ Ep64 We Were Called Chocolate Chips in A Giant Cookie w/ Sandra Addo➡️ Ep56 Real Talk with A Polyglot - Turning Language Skills into a Career w/ Ianne Chang

You'd normally just check online for the fastest route via public transportation to get to your destination, but you're out of data on your smartphone and can't find wireless. What do you do? Good thing you listened to this ChinesePod lesson and learned how to ask for and understand directions in Mandarin Chinese! Crisis averted! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1843

Practise asking about marriage, saying whether you are married, and introducing a husband or wife in Mandarin Chinese. This beginner lesson uses useful everyday phrases and native-speaker audio. Complete course: https://linguaboost.com/learn-to-speak-mandarin-chinese-beginnerPhrases in this lesson:• Are you married?• I am married.• When did you get married?• I have been married for ten years.• I got married twenty years ago.• I am not married.• This is my husband.• This is my wife.Continue learning with LinguaBoostThis episode is a selected sample from the complete 50-lesson Beginner Mandarin Chinese course. Follow the podcast so you don't miss upcoming sample lessons. Some rotating lessons are available for a limited time.Get the complete course with structured review sessions, downloadable MP3s, PDF transcripts, and lifetime access:https://linguaboost.com/learn-to-speak-mandarin-chinese-beginner

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介为什么已经知道一件事情发生了以后，中文会说“你是什么时候去中国的？”，而不是“你什么时候去中国了？”这一期我们从“了”和“是……的”的区别出发，聊聊“是……的”背后的逻辑。Why do we say “你是什么时候去中国的？” when we already know someone went to China, rather than “你什么时候去中国了？” In this episode, we look at the logic behind 是……的 and how it differs from 了.中国語では、すでに起きたと分かっている出来事について、なぜ「了」ではなく「是……的」を使って詳しい情報を尋ねるのでしょうか。今回は「了」と「是……的」の違いから、この文法の背後にあるロジックについて話します。生词表｜Useful Vocabulary & Expressions 专属 zhuānshǔ — exclusive; specific to  助词 zhùcí — particle  时态 shítài — tense  既定事实 jìdìng shìshí — established fact  细节 xìjié — detail  省略 shěnglüè — to omit  前提 qiántí — premise; assumption  确认 quèrèn — to confirm  双向 shuāngxiàng — two-way; bidirectional  建立在……上 jiànlì zài…shàng — to be based on  强调 qiángdiào — to emphasize  深挖 shēnwā — to dig deeper into#中文语法 #过去时 #语法逻辑 #中文表达 #MandarinGrammar #ChineseGrammar #ChinesePastTenseSend us Fan MailSupport the show由于空间限制，录音稿未放在描述栏，可在播客网站对应节目页面下查看。Due to space constraints, the transcript is available on my podcast website https://5minutechinese.buzzsprout.com (免费文稿 Free Transcript Available) 如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

The 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer brings together leading experts, researchers, and oncologists to showcase the latest advancements in lung cancer research. To reach a global audience, IASLC has recorded podcast episodes on WCLC 2026 in world languages. In this episode, host Dr. Chunxia Su moderates a discussion in Mandarin Chinese about breakthrough advances in thoracic oncology presented at the conference with Dr. Zhengfei Zhu, Dr. Yun Fan, and Dr. Dongsheng Yue. Guests: Dr. Yun Fan, MD, PhD Chief Expert of the Multidisciplinary Lung Cancer Team, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital; Senior Consultant (Grade II Chief Physician); Doctoral Supervisor Dr. Dongsheng Yue, MD, PhD Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital Dr. Zhengfei Zhu, MD, PhD Department of Radiation Oncology Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center

Practise asking what someone is like and describing personality, height, hair, eyes, and family resemblance in Mandarin Chinese. This beginner lesson uses useful everyday phrases and native-speaker audio. Complete course: https://linguaboost.com/learn-to-speak-mandarin-chinese-beginnerPhrases in this lesson:• What is she like?• She is nice and friendly.• What does he look like?• He is quite tall.• He has got brown hair and blue eyes.• Does he look like his mother or his father?• He looks like his father.Continue learning with LinguaBoostThis episode is a selected sample from the complete 50-lesson Beginner Mandarin Chinese course. Follow the podcast so you don't miss upcoming sample lessons. Some rotating lessons are available for a limited time.Get the complete course with structured review sessions, downloadable MP3s, PDF transcripts, and lifetime access:https://linguaboost.com/learn-to-speak-mandarin-chinese-beginner

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介中国的信用卡数量在减少，但借钱并没有消失。现在，分期、先用后付和网上贷款越来越常见。这期节目聊聊现在中国人为什么借钱，以及经济和就业压力下，借贷为什么可能变成负担。Credit cards are declining in China, but borrowing is not. Installment payments, buy-now-pay-later services, and online loans are increasingly common. This episode looks at why people borrow in China today and how debt can become a burden when income or employment becomes unstable.中国ではクレジットカードの数が減っていますが、借り入れ自体がなくなったわけではありません。分割払い、後払い、オンライン融資が身近になる中、今回は人々がなぜお金を借りるのか、そして経済や雇用の不安定さが返済の負担につながる理由について話します。生词表｜Vocabulary睡眠卡 shuìmiánkǎ — a bank card that has not been used for a long time 门槛 ménkǎn — how difficult it is to qualify for or access something  贷款 dàikuǎn — money borrowed from a bank or financial company  审核 shěnhé — to review and approve an application  借贷 jièdài — borrowing and lending money  先用后付 xiān yòng hòu fù — get or use something now and pay later  分期 fēnqī — pay for something in several smaller payments over time  提前消费 tíqián xiāofèi — spend money now before you have fully earned or saved it  大件儿 dàjiànr — an expensive or relatively large purchase  负担 fùdān — something that creates financial or other pressure  周转 zhōuzhuǎn — use money temporarily to cover short-term expenses  手头紧 shǒutóu jǐn — not have much money available right now  拆东墙补西墙 chāi dōng qiáng bǔ xī qiáng — borrow or take money from one place to cover what you owe somewhere else  债务 zhàiwù — money that you owe  量入为出 liàng rù wéi chū — spend according to how much money you earn #借贷 #loan#网上借贷 #OnlineBorrowing #消费贷款 #ConsumerLoans #分期付款 #InstallmentPayments #先用后付 #BuyNowPayLater #信用卡 #CreditCardsSend us Fan MailSupport the show由于空间限制，录音稿未放在描述栏，可在播客网站对应节目页面下查看。Due to space constraints, the transcript is available on my podcast website https://5minutechinese.buzzsprout.com (免费文稿 Free Transcript Available) 如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

Learning to pronounce Mandarin can be tricky, and if you misunderstand the link between spoken sounds and Pinyin spelling, it gets a lot worse. Let's discuss nine questions about learning Chinese pronunciation.#learnchinese #pinyin #pronunciation #questionsLink to the article this podcast episode is based on: 9 answers to questions about Pinyin and pronunciation: https://www.hackingchinese.com/9-answers-to-questions-about-pinyin-and-pronunciation/Chinese Language Stack Exchange: https://chinese.stackexchange.com/5 websites to help answer your questions about Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/5-websites-to-help-answer-your-questions-about-chinese/101 questions and answers about how to learn Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/101-questions-and-answers-about-how-to-learn-chinese/Hacking Chinese Pronunciation: Speaking with Confidence: https://www.hackingchinese.com/courses/mandarin-chinese-pronunciation-course/Pinyin chart (AllSet Learning): https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/pronunciation/pinyin_chartA guide to Pinyin traps and pitfalls: Learning Mandarin pronunciation: https://www.hackingchinese.com/a-guide-to-pinyin-traps-and-pitfalls/Obligatory and optional tone change rules in Mandarin: https://www.hackingchinese.com/optional-obligatory-tone-change-rules-mandarin/International Phonetic Alphabet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_AlphabetLearning the third tone in Mandarin Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/learning-the-third-tone/Focus on initials and finals, not Pinyin spelling: https://www.hackingchinese.com/focus-on-initials-and-finals-not-pinyin-spelling/Why learning Chinese pronunciation by using English words is a really bad idea: https://www.hackingchinese.com/why-learning-chinese-pronunciation-by-using-english-words-is-a-really-bad-idea/Yuen Ren Chao: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuen_Ren_ChaoGwoyeu Romatzyh: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwoyeu_RomatzyhLearning to pronounce Mandarin with Pinyin, Zhuyin and IPA: Part 1: https://www.hackingchinese.com/learning-to-pronounce-mandarin-with-pinyin-zhuyin-and-ipa-part-1/More information and inspiration about learning and teaching Chinese can be found at https://www.hackingchinese.comMusic: "Traxis 1 ~ F. Benjamin" by Traxis, 2020 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)

Practise asking what is wrong and talking about illness, pain, tiredness, and a cold in Mandarin Chinese. This beginner lesson uses useful everyday phrases and native-speaker audio. Complete course: https://linguaboost.com/learn-to-speak-mandarin-chinese-beginnerPhrases in this lesson:• What's the matter?• I feel ill.• I've got a headache.• My eyes hurt.• I've got a cold.• He looks tired.• How is he today?• He is not well.Continue learning with LinguaBoostThis episode is a selected sample from the complete 50-lesson Beginner Mandarin Chinese course. Follow the podcast so you don't miss upcoming sample lessons. Some rotating lessons are available for a limited time.Get the complete course with structured review sessions, downloadable MP3s, PDF transcripts, and lifetime access:https://linguaboost.com/learn-to-speak-mandarin-chinese-beginner

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介 这一期我们聊聊日常生活中的警察。以中国、日本和美国为例，看看不同国家的警察在普通人生活中扮演什么样的角色，以及中国的派出所、社区民警和日本的交番有哪些相似之处，美国的警务方式又有什么不同。 In this episode, we talk about police in everyday life. Using China, Japan, and the United States as examples, we look at how police interact with ordinary people, the similarities between China's local community policing and Japan's kōban system, and how policing in the U.S. differs. 今回は、日常生活の中の警察について話します。中国、日本、アメリカを例に、一般の人が警察とどのように関わるのか、中国の派出所や地域警察と日本の交番にはどんな共通点があるのか、そしてアメリカの警察との違いについて紹介します。生词表 Vocabulary警种 jǐngzhǒng — branch/type of police（如：刑警 xíngjǐng — criminal police；交警 jiāojǐng — traffic police） 分工 fēngōng — division of responsibilities  基层警务 jīcéng jǐngwù — grassroots/community-level policing  派出所 pàichūsuǒ — local police station  户籍 hùjí — household registration  辖区 xiáqū — jurisdiction / assigned area  片儿警 piànr jǐng — neighborhood police officer  走访 zǒufǎng — visit / conduct outreach  防范 fángfàn — prevent / guard against  调解 tiáojiě — mediate / mediation  老百姓 lǎobǎixìng — ordinary people / local residents  巡逻 xúnluó — patrol  失物招领 shīwù zhāolǐng — lost and found  执法 zhífǎ — law enforcement  面面俱到 miànmiàn jùdào — cover every aspect / be comprehensive #派出所 #社区民警 #交番 #警察 Send us Fan MailSupport the show由于空间限制，录音稿未放在描述栏，可在播客网站对应节目页面下查看。Due to space constraints, the transcript is available on my podcast website https://5minutechinese.buzzsprout.com (免费文稿 Free Transcript Available) 如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

Practise asking about a party and describing whether it was fun, boring, short, or memorable in Mandarin Chinese. This beginner lesson uses useful everyday phrases and native-speaker audio. Complete course: https://linguaboost.com/learn-to-speak-mandarin-chinese-beginnerPhrases in this lesson:• How was the party?• The party was great.• We all had a good time.• It was boring.• I left early.• I stayed for a long time.• We danced for many hours.• We should do this again sometime.Continue learning with LinguaBoostThis episode is a selected sample from the complete 50-lesson Beginner Mandarin Chinese course. Follow the podcast so you don't miss upcoming sample lessons. Some rotating lessons are available for a limited time.Get the complete course with structured review sessions, downloadable MP3s, PDF transcripts, and lifetime access:https://linguaboost.com/learn-to-speak-mandarin-chinese-beginner

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介为什么一个二十多岁的上海年轻老师，居然从来没见过信用卡？这一期我从这个真实的小故事聊起，谈谈中国移动支付为什么这么普及、二维码支付的优势，以及为什么实体信用卡正在慢慢退出很多人的日常生活。How could a Chinese teacher in her early twenties in Shanghai have never seen a physical credit card? In this episode, I start with a real story and talk about why mobile payments became so widespread in China, the advantages of QR-code payments, and why people increasingly no longer need to carry or use physical credit cards in everyday life.上海に住む20代前半の中国人の先生が、実物のクレジットカードを一度も見たことがなかったのはなぜでしょうか。今回は実際のエピソードをきっかけに、中国でモバイル決済がここまで普及した理由、QRコード決済の特徴、そして実物のクレジットカードを日常生活で使う機会が減っている背景についてお話しします。生词表 Vocabulary 离谱 lípǔ — ridiculous / outrageous 截至 jiézhì — as of / by  信用卡和借贷合一卡 xìnyòngkǎ hé jièdài héyīkǎ — credit cards and debit-credit combination cards  移动支付 yídòng zhīfù — mobile payment  大行其道 dàxíng qídào — to become widespread / prevalent  二维码 èrwéimǎ — QR code  门槛 ménkǎn — threshold / barrier to entry  扫码 sǎomǎ — scan a QR code  绑定 bǎngdìng — link / bind  信贷 xìndài — credit / lending#信用卡 #CreditCards #移动支付 #MobilePayment #扫码支付 #QRPayment #二维码支付 #QRCodePaymentSend us Fan MailSupport the show由于空间限制，录音稿未放在描述栏，可在播客网站对应节目页面下查看。Due to space constraints, the transcript is available on my podcast website https://5minutechinese.buzzsprout.com (免费文稿 Free Transcript Available) 如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

Everyone forgets the essentials sometimes when they travel. What's a poor traveler to do without their toothbrush? Listen in as a forgetful hotel guest asks hotel staff for vital necessities in Mandarin Chinese and learn how to do the same yourself! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1785

In China, people almost never say "No" directly — and if you're waiting for one, you'll wait forever. In this episode of The Art of Maybe, I break down six real Mandarin Chinese phrases that Chinese people use instead of a flat refusal, the exact situation each one is built for, and what your counterpart is really telling you when they say it.This is a role-play, phrase-by-phrase breakdown of intentional vagueness — one of the core skills in my Pragmatic Face Checklist. For each phrase, we compare the Western instinct (direct, softer, softest) to the Chinese alternative, so you can hear exactly how much emotional and psychological resistance gets stripped out along the way. These aren't phrases to memorize — they're exercises to upgrade your China communication game.The 6 phrases in this episode: 也许 (yěxǔ) — "Perhaps / Maybe" — the pivot phrase that keeps a stalled negotiation moving without committing to anything 可能不太方便 (kěnéng bù tài fāngbiàn) — "It might not be very convenient" — how to decline an unreasonable or unethical request without embarrassing anyone 让我考虑一下 (ràng wǒ kǎolǜ yīxià) — "Let me think about it" — opening with a compliment to buy negotiating room and preserve momentum 我尽量 (wǒ jǐnliàng) — "I'll do my best" — how to set expectations honestly (by Chinese standards) when you're not confident you can deliver 这个嘛… (zhège ma…) — "Well, about this…" — the deliberate pause that signals respectful consideration on sensitive topics 再说吧 (zài shuō ba) — "Let's discuss it later" — the most misunderstood phrase in Mandarin small talk, and what it actually means when someone says it to youTimestamps 03:43 — Phrase 1: 也许 (yěxǔ) — "Perhaps" 06:51 — Phrase 2: 可能不太方便 — "It might not be very convenient" 09:28 — Phrase 3: 让我考虑一下 — "Let me think about it" 11:30 — Phrase 4: 我尽量 — "I'll do my best" 13:56 — Phrase 5: 这个嘛… — "Well, about this…" 16:58 — Phrase 6: 再说吧 — "Let's discuss it later" (Note: timestamps reflect the original video cut — confirm against the audio file before publishing.)Want to understand why this works? These six phrases are the practice — but the psychology behind them is the real skill. On my website, I've created a free 23-page guide, Chinese Thinking: Three Levers to Positively Influence Behavior in China, that breaks down how Face (面子), Pragmatism (现实), and Superstition (迷信) work together to explain Chinese behavior — and how to cooperate with it instead of fighting it. Download it free at genejhsu.com.

Practise describing a morning routine from waking up through arriving at work in Mandarin Chinese. This beginner lesson uses useful everyday phrases and native-speaker audio. Complete course: https://linguaboost.com/learn-to-speak-mandarin-chinese-beginnerPhrases in this lesson:• Do you wake up early?• I wake up at six o'clock.• I get up at seven o'clock.• For breakfast, I always drink juice.• After breakfast, I go to work.• I leave my house at eight o'clock.• I arrive at work at half-past nine.• Sometimes I am late to work.Continue learning with LinguaBoostThis episode is a selected sample from the complete 50-lesson Beginner Mandarin Chinese course. Follow the podcast so you don't miss upcoming sample lessons. Some rotating lessons are available for a limited time.Get the complete course with structured review sessions, downloadable MP3s, PDF transcripts, and lifetime access:https://linguaboost.com/learn-to-speak-mandarin-chinese-beginner

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介中文为什么很多中国人喜欢囤货？这一期聊聊背后的几个原因：过去的物资匮乏、灾害带来的不确定性，还有现代消费和促销对囤货行为的影响。EnglishWhy do many Chinese people like to stock up? In this episode, I talk about how past scarcity, uncertainty during crises, and modern consumer culture all shape this habit.日本語なぜ中国では物を買いだめする人が多いのでしょうか。今回は、過去の物不足、災害時の不安、そして現代の消費文化がこの習慣にどう影響しているのかを話します。生词表囤货 tún huò — to stock up / hoard goods 匮乏感 kuì fá gǎn — sense of scarcity  思维惯性 sī wéi guàn xìng — mental inertia / habitual way of thinking  配给制 pèi jǐ zhì — rationing system  粮票 liáng piào — grain ration coupon  心理烙印 xīn lǐ lào yìn — lasting psychological imprint  突发事件 tū fā shì jiàn — unexpected event / emergency  非理性恐慌 fēi lǐ xìng kǒng huāng — irrational panic  一窝蜂 yì wō fēng — to rush in all at once / follow the crowd  得不偿失 dé bù cháng shī — the loss outweighs the gain #囤货 #计划经济 #消费主义Send us Fan MailSupport the show由于空间限制，录音稿未放在描述栏，可在播客网站对应节目页面下查看。Due to space constraints, the transcript is available on my podcast website https://5minutechinese.buzzsprout.com (免费文稿 Free Transcript Available) 如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

That Manager Li is a busy, powerful woman. You can't expect to just pull her aside next to the water cooler; you're going to need to schedule your precious face time with her. In this lesson, learn how to do just that in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1816

Practise asking whether someone has eaten and talking about meals, hunger, and thirst in Mandarin Chinese. This beginner lesson uses useful everyday phrases and native-speaker audio. Complete course: https://linguaboost.com/learn-to-speak-mandarin-chinese-beginnerPhrases in this lesson:• Have you eaten lunch yet?• No, I haven't eaten yet.• I ate lunch an hour ago.• What did you eat?• I ate fish.• Do you eat breakfast every day?• Yes, I eat breakfast every day.• I'm hungry.• I'm thirsty.Continue learning with LinguaBoostThis episode is a selected sample from the complete 50-lesson Beginner Mandarin Chinese course. Follow the podcast so you don't miss upcoming sample lessons. Some rotating lessons are available for a limited time.Get the complete course with structured review sessions, downloadable MP3s, PDF transcripts, and lifetime access:https://linguaboost.com/learn-to-speak-mandarin-chinese-beginner

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介中国人真的不爱排队吗？这一期聊聊中国不同场景下的排队习惯，以及社交距离和电子叫号系统怎样影响人们排队。Do Chinese people really not queue? This episode looks at queuing in different situations in China, and how personal space and digital queuing systems shape people's behavior.中国人は本当にあまり並ばないのでしょうか？今回は、中国のさまざまな場面での並び方や、人との距離感、電子整理券システムが行動にどう影響するのかについて話します。实用表达 Useful Expressions老老实实 lǎolǎoshíshí — obediently; properly插队 chāduì — to cut in line四面八方 sì miàn bā fāng — from all directions一拥而上 yì yōng ér shàng — to rush forward all at once贴上来 tiē shànglái — to come/stand very close空隙 kòngxì — gap; space普及 pǔjí — to become widespread; to popularize不好使 bù hǎoshǐ — not to work; not effective自然而然 zìrán ér rán — naturally; as a matter of course一概而论 yígài ér lùn — to generalize; treat all cases the same waySend us Fan MailSupport the show由于空间限制，录音稿未放在描述栏，可在播客网站对应节目页面下查看。Due to space constraints, the transcript is available on my podcast website https://5minutechinese.buzzsprout.com (免费文稿 Free Transcript Available) 如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

Learn Mandarin From Movies Series aims to increase awareness of fun Chinese movies that can help you improve your Mandarin Chinese level. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/4599

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介这期节目从我自己的经历出发，聊聊为什么我不太喜欢在中国开车。道路参与者种类复杂，汽车、电动车、自行车和行人经常在很近的距离一起通行，再加上电动车速度快、司机抢道和一些“堵成一锅粥”的路况，都让我觉得开车很难放松。In this episode, I share why I don't really enjoy driving in China. Drivers often have to navigate cars, e-bikes, bicycles, and pedestrians moving in close proximity, while fast-moving e-bikes, aggressive driving, and chaotic traffic can make the experience especially stressful.今回は、私自身の経験をもとに、なぜ中国で運転するのがあまり好きではないのかについて話します。車、電動自転車、自転車、歩行者など、さまざまな道路利用者が近い距離で行き交うことに加え、スピードの速い電動自転車や強引な運転、混乱した渋滞などもあり、運転中になかなか気を抜けないと感じます。俚语 & 常用表达 先上结论 — xiān shàng jiélùn — let me give you the conclusion first  话又说回来了 — huà yòu shuō huílái le — that said / on the other hand  水土不服 — shuǐtǔ bùfú — have trouble adjusting to a new environment  实话实说 — shíhuà shíshuō — to be honest / truth be told  甩锅 — shuǎi guō — shift the blame  蛮……的 — mán...de — quite / pretty / rather  一辈子 — yí bèizi — one's whole life / forever  强插 — qiáng chā — force one's way in / cut in aggressively  堵成一锅粥 — dǔ chéng yì guō zhōu — become a complete traffic mess  究其原因 — jiū qí yuányīn — to look into the reason / the reason behind it is... 身心俱疲 — shēnxīn jù pí — physically and mentally exhausted  不可避免 — bùkě bìmiǎn — unavoidable / inevitableSend us Fan MailSupport the show如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

Practise asking about someone's week and describing work, visitors, routines, and recent purchases in Mandarin Chinese. This beginner lesson uses useful everyday phrases and native-speaker audio. Complete course: https://linguaboost.com/learn-to-speak-mandarin-chinese-beginnerPhrases in this lesson:• How was your week?• It was good.• My friends arrived on Monday.• I worked in the office.• My sister visited on Thursday.• I walked my dog everyday.• I bought a new phone a few days ago.Continue learning with LinguaBoostThis episode is a selected sample from the complete 50-lesson Beginner Mandarin Chinese course. Follow the podcast so you don't miss upcoming sample lessons. Some rotating lessons are available for a limited time.Get the complete course with structured review sessions, downloadable MP3s, PDF transcripts, and lifetime access:https://linguaboost.com/learn-to-speak-mandarin-chinese-beginner

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介很多国家的人对“爬山”的理解，可能和中国不太一样。这一期，我想通过第一次去家乡祖山的经历，聊聊中国不同的登山文化，以及为什么很多景区的山都是台阶。Hiking in China may be different than you think. In this episode, I share my first visit to Zushan Mountain and explore different hiking experiences in China, including why so many scenic mountains are full of stairs.中国でいう「山登り」は、多くの日本人がイメージする登山とは少し違うかもしれません。今回は、故郷・祖山を初めて訪れた体験を通して、中国のさまざまな登山文化や、なぜ観光地の山には階段が多いのかについてお話しします。#登山 #徒步 #中国爬山 #景区登山 #中国旅游 #MountainClimbing #Hiking #ChinaTravel #ChineseMountains Vocabulary小有名气（xiǎo yǒu míngqì） somewhat well-known接驳车（jiēbó chē） shuttle bus折腾（zhēteng） to go through a lot of hassle谐音（xiéyīn） homophone花岗岩（huāgāngyán） granite原生态（yuán shēngtài） in a natural state观景平台（guānjǐng píngtái） viewing platform拍照打卡（pāizhào dǎkǎ） take photos at a popular spot小卖部（xiǎomàibù） small convenience shop歇脚（xiējiǎo） take a restSend us Fan MailSupport the show如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

Most successful professionals are excellent planners, or at least have a responsible secretary to take care of all their scheduling needs! Learn how to delegate your scheduling duties to your underlings in Mandarin Chinese in today's ChinesePod lesson. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1797

节目简介 | Episode Description | エピソード紹介(中文) 中国网购为什么会让人又爱又恨？这一期节目，我分享了这次回国网购的真实体验，从商品标题、优惠规则，到客服、物流和退货服务，一起聊聊中国电商让我喜欢和头疼的地方。(English) Why do I have a love-hate relationship with online shopping in China? In this episode, I share my recent online shopping experiences in China and talk about product titles, discounts, customer service, delivery, and returns.(日本語) 中国のネット通販はとても便利ですが、大変だと感じることもあります。今回のエピソードでは、商品タイトルや割引、カスタマーサービス、配送、返品など、中国のネット通販について実体験をもとに紹介します。#中国网购 #中国电商 #购物体验 #OnlineShopping #ChineseEcommerce 信息过载 (xìnxī guòzài) — information overload平台算法 (píngtái suànfǎ) — platform algorithm堆砌 (duīqì) — to pile up; to cram代言人 (dàiyánrén) — brand ambassador; spokesperson凑单 (còudān) — to add items to qualify for a discount官方旗舰店 (guānfāng qíjiàn diàn) — official flagship store甄别 (zhēnbié) — to distinguish; to identify carefully划算 (huásuàn) — worth it; cost-effective绑定 (bǎngdìng) — to be linked to; to be tied to秒回 (miǎohuí) — to reply almost instantlySend us Fan MailSupport the show如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

Marriage and divorce. We hope you'll be talking much more about one over the other, but just in case, tune into this lesson to learn how to talk about getting married and divorced in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1783

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介中文这次回国，我买了一张新床垫。借着这次经历，和大家聊聊在中国买家具的一些体验，以及中国和美国在服务上的一些不同。EnglishDuring my trip back to China, I bought a new mattress. In this episode, I share the experience and talk about some differences in customer service between China and the U.S.日本語今回の帰国中に新しいベッドマットを買いました。その体験を通して、中国で家具を買うときのことや、中国とアメリカのサービスの違いについてお話しします。 Useful Expressions• 可想而知 (kě xiǎng ér zhī) — as you can imagine• 直奔 (zhí bèn) — head straight for• 映入眼帘 (yìng rù yǎn lián) — come into view• 合美金 (hé měi jīn) — equivalent to about … USD• 包 (bāo) — be included / be covered• 人家 (rén jiā) — they / the other person (colloquial)#mattress #CustomerService #床垫 #中国客服 #中国生活 Photo by Zulian Firmansyah on UnsplashSend us Fan MailSupport the show如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介中文去年在日本爬山时，一根登山杖让我结识了一对日本情侣；今年在北海道旭岳，又因为一根登山杖，我认识了一对住在札幌的日本老夫妇。这一次，这段缘分没有随着登山结束，而是一直延续到了札幌，也成为了这次北海道旅行中最难忘的一段回忆。EnglishLast year, a trekking pole led me to meet a young Japanese couple while hiking in Japan. This summer in Hokkaido, another trekking pole brought me a new connection—an older couple from Sapporo. This time, the story didn't end on the mountain. It continued all the way to Sapporo and became one of the most memorable moments of my trip.日本語昨年、日本で登山をしたとき、一つのトレッキングポールがきっかけで若い日本人カップルと出会いました。今年は北海道・旭岳で、また一本のトレッキングポールが札幌に住むご夫婦とのご縁を運んでくれました。今回は山で終わらず、そのご縁は札幌まで続き、北海道旅行の中でも特に忘れられない思い出になりました。#北海道 #旭岳 #登山 #登山杖 #札幌 #日本旅行 #旅行故事 #Hokkaido #Hiking #TravelStorySend us Fan MailSupport the show如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

In honor of my good friend Brent P, who teaches rhetoric at New St. Andrews in Moscow, Idaho, and along with his lovely wife is expecting their first baby any day now, I am re-sharing this lightly edited episode (from 2024) in which we discussed a wide range of topics, including: Brent carrying the Chinese Olympic torch in 08! Learning from a North Korean classmate Eating "creature soup" and grubworms Our practical tips for learning Chinese What its like to be a "star" on Chinese TV How John Piper introduced Brent and I in 2012 Running from the police and delivering Bibles in Tibet Starring on Chinese TV to pay for NSA Graduate Degree Brent's book promoting Chinese classical Christian education Here are links to the John Piper sermon that God used to introduce Brent and I almost 15 years ago... https://chinacall.substack.com/p/my-burden-for-the-truly-unreached-fbc https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/holy-ambition And here are various links to Brent's book on Chinese classical Christian education, "Redeeming the Six Arts", in both English and Chinese: Roman Roads Press：https://romanroadspress.com/store/six-arts/ Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Redeeming-Six-Arts-Christian-Classical-ebook/dp/B0BXY45TSK/ 中文（Chinese)： 恩道：https://ebook.endao.co/book-914# 微读：https://wdbook.com/dp/54502751633409?fbclid=IwAR2B082mM0lkt2_q_i1-ZR-G-P6Olb-XjO6Xkha27KZJfB_9jdsBIoq046E 亚马逊：https://www.amazon.com/%E6%95%91%E8%B5%8E%E5%85%AD%E8%89%BA-Redeeming-Six-Arts-Chinese/dp/1944482709/ You can follow me on Twitter, @chinaadventures, where I post daily reminders to pray for China (PrayforChina.us). You can also email me any questions or comments @ bfwesten at gmail dot com… And if you want to learn more about our missions projects or get one of my books, visit PrayGiveGo.us.

In honor of my good friend Brent P, who teaches rhetoric at New St. Andrews in Moscow, Idaho, and along with his lovely wife is expecting their first baby any day now, I am re-sharing this lightly edited episode (from 2024) in which we discussed a wide range of topics, including: Brent carrying the Chinese Olympic torch in 08! Learning from a North Korean classmate Eating "creature soup" and grubworms Our practical tips for learning Chinese What its like to be a "star" on Chinese TV How John Piper introduced Brent and I in 2012 Running from the police and delivering Bibles in Tibet Starring on Chinese TV to pay for NSA Graduate Degree Brent's book promoting Chinese classical Christian education Here are links to the John Piper sermon that God used to introduce Brent and I almost 15 years ago... https://chinacall.substack.com/p/my-burden-for-the-truly-unreached-fbc https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/holy-ambition And here are various links to Brent's book on Chinese classical Christian education, "Redeeming the Six Arts", in both English and Chinese: Roman Roads Press：https://romanroadspress.com/store/six-arts/ Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Redeeming-Six-Arts-Christian-Classical-ebook/dp/B0BXY45TSK/ 中文（Chinese)： 恩道：https://ebook.endao.co/book-914# 微读：https://wdbook.com/dp/54502751633409?fbclid=IwAR2B082mM0lkt2_q_i1-ZR-G-P6Olb-XjO6Xkha27KZJfB_9jdsBIoq046E 亚马逊：https://www.amazon.com/%E6%95%91%E8%B5%8E%E5%85%AD%E8%89%BA-Redeeming-Six-Arts-Chinese/dp/1944482709/ You can follow me on Twitter, @chinaadventures, where I post daily reminders to pray for China (PrayforChina.us). You can also email me any questions or comments @ bfwesten at gmail dot com… And if you want to learn more about our missions projects or get one of my books, visit PrayGiveGo.us.

节目简介 | Episode Description | エピソード紹介中文这次回国，我发现很多中国家庭的灯都比美国亮很多。为什么我爸妈总觉得“不够亮”？为什么我的同龄朋友也是这样？这一期，我们聊聊中国家庭的照明习惯，以及这些年照明观念的一些变化。EnglishDuring my recent trip back to China, I noticed that many homes felt much brighter than those in the U.S. Why do so many people prefer brighter lighting?In this episode, we explore lighting habits in China and how they have been changing over the years.日本語今回中国に帰って、多くの家庭の照明がアメリカよりずっと明るいことに気づきました。なぜ明るい照明を好む人が多いのでしょうか。今回は、中国の家庭の照明習慣と、その変化についてお話しします。#照明 #回国体验 #中美文化 #Lighting #ChineseCulture #HomeDesign Photo by Etienne Girardet on UnsplashSend us Fan MailSupport the show如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

节目简介 | Episode Description | エピソード紹介中文这次中亚旅行，阿拉木图是最让我惊喜的城市之一。吸引我的不是某一个景点，而是这座城市整体带给我的感觉。这一期，我想和大家分享为什么阿拉木图会让我想多住几天。EnglishAlmaty was one of the biggest surprises of my trip to Central Asia. What impressed me wasn't a single attraction, but the overall feeling of the city. In this episode, I share why Almaty made me want to stay longer.日本語今回の中央アジア旅行で、アルマトイは特に印象に残った街の一つでした。魅力を感じたのは、特定の観光地ではなく、街全体の雰囲気です。今回は、なぜアルマトイでもっとゆっくり過ごしたいと思ったのか、お話しします。#阿拉木图 #哈萨克斯坦 #中亚旅行 #城市与自然 #Almaty #Kazakhstan #CentralAsia #UrbanNatureSend us Fan MailSupport the show如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

节目简介 | Episode Description | エピソード紹介中文：中亚对我来说一直是一个有些陌生的地方。出发之前，我对这里的了解并不多。不过这次旅行中，最让我印象深刻的并不是某个景点，而是旅途中遇到的人。这期节目跟大家分享几个中亚旅行中的难忘瞬间。English:Central Asia had always felt like a distant and unfamiliar place to me. Before this trip, I didn't know much about the region. Surprisingly, what stayed with me most were not the famous landmarks, but the people I met along the way. In this episode, I share a few memorable moments from my journey.日本語：中央アジアは私にとって少し馴染みのない地域でした。旅行に行く前は、この地域についてあまり詳しく知りませんでした。でも今回の旅で一番印象に残ったのは観光地ではなく、旅先で出会った人たちでした。今回はそんな忘れられない瞬間についてお話しします。#中亚旅行 #旅行故事 #CentralAsia #TravelStories #TravelMemories #中央アジア #旅の思い出Send us Fan MailSupport the show如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

Connecting With My Father, and My Heritage, in Mandarin Many children of immigrants grow up hearing a language at home that they never fully learn to speak. For second generation kids in the US, the top three heritage languages are Spanish, Chinese and Tagalog. Mandarin Chinese is the native language of reporter Anna Zou. But up until a few months ago, she could barely speak it. Central Valley Father and Daughter Train Together For National Boxing Championship In the rural Central Valley of Avenal, Shavana Trejo is getting national attention for her amateur boxing. It's a sport she learned from her father, a single dad of eight children, who's also her coach. As Alice Daniel reports, boxing has helped both father and daughter navigate tough times outside the ring. Dancing With My Daughter at the Prison Parenting Prom Derrell “Sadiq” Davis doesn't get to see his daughter that often. He's incarcerated at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center,where visits and phone calls are monitored and brief. But last year, the prison held a prom for fathers and their daughters, and Sadiq got to spend a day with his daughter, Anaya. As part of the podcast Uncuffed, made by radio producers who are incarcerated, Sadiq wrote a letter to Anaya reflecting on that special day.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Greenall, who shares the following recording and notes:Broadcaster: Xing Xing Guangbo Diantai (Star Star Broadcasting Station)Date of recording: March 16, 2026Starting time: 2358Frequency: 19.052Your location: ThailandYour receiver and antenna: Kiwi SDR with Wellbrook loopMode: Single Side BandSafe for children?: YesNotes: This is a "numbers station" broadcasting in Mandarin Chinese, presumably sending encrypted messages to Taiwanese intelligence agents in mainland China, from Taiwan. It appears to follow a set daily schedule, and begins each transmission with the tune of a Chinese folk song played on a flute. This is followed by station ID, given twice, and a few announcements in Mandarin, then a sequence of numbers read in groups of four. An excellent article about this station can be found on the Mount Evelyn DX Report written by Rob Wagner VK3BVW in May 2025. Xing Xing Guangbo Diantai (Star Star Broadcasting Station): March 16, 2026 Dan Greenall Download

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介中文： 回国以后，我参加了不少接风饭局，也重新体验了久违的中国菜。不过让我意外的是，我最大的感受居然不是“好吃”，而是“油”。这期节目聊聊我这次回国后的饮食体验，以及中文里的“水土不服”。English: After returning to China, I enjoyed lots of Chinese food with family and friends. Surprisingly, what stood out most was not how delicious it was, but how oily it felt. In this episode, I talk about my experience and a useful Chinese expression: shuǐtǔ bùfú (水土不服).日本語： 中国に帰って久しぶりにたくさんの中華料理を食べました。おいしかったですが、一番印象に残ったのは「油の多さ」でした。今回はその体験と、中国語の表現「水土不服」についてお話しします。#ChineseFood #中華料理 #中国菜 #中式饮食 #回国体验Send us Fan MailSupport the show如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

Most school uniforms are retired while they are still perfectly wearable. Children cycle through them on a predictable annual schedule as they grow, which sends a steady stream of usable clothing toward the landfill at the same moment families on tight budgets are paying to replace what their kids have grown out of. The waste side of that equation is substantial: the EPA estimates Americans generated about 17 million tons of textiles in 2018, and roughly 11.3 million tons of it was landfilled. Ethan and Desmond Hua, brothers from San Mateo, California, looked at textile waste and the cost of raising a family and saw a single solvable loop. In 2020, while they were still in middle school, they founded the HOPE Uniforms Program — HOPE stands for Help Our Planet Earth — a student-led nonprofit that collects gently used school uniforms families have outgrown and redistributes them, free, to families who need them. What began in one elementary school, run out of the family garage, now serves about 10 schools across three districts. By the brothers' count, HOPE has kept more than 14,000 uniforms out of landfills, redistributed over 12,000 of them, and served more than 1,400 households, saving those families an estimated $141,000. On this episode of Sustainability In Your Ear, Ethan and Desmond discuss why reuse sits a rung above recycling, how two teenagers built a multilingual logistics operation with a live inventory system, and what it took to talk Costco into donating 2,000 new uniforms. Ethan's work has earned him a 2025 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes and a Samaritan House Young Samaritan Award.The environmental case rests on a point that's easy to miss: the highest-value thing you can do with a garment is keep it whole and in use. What makes HOPE worth attention is the operations as much as the intent. The brothers engineered the return step directly into the model: families request uniforms through a website available in English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese; the uniforms are returned when kids outgrow them; and Ethan and Desmond spot-check and reissue them. That return loop, paired with a deliberate decision to treat families as repeat customers who deserve a dependable service, is what converts a one-time donation into a repeating cycle. The approach is also honest about scale — a garage operation in San Mateo County will not move the national textile-waste numbers on its own. The brothers' wager is replication; Ethan's dream is HOPE in another garage, and then another, and the model is plain enough for a motivated student in another district to copy. Whether thousands of small local loops can add up to a circular economy is the open question this conversation puts on the table.To find out more about HOPE — and to donate uniforms, request them, or start a program in your own community — visit hopeuniformsprogram.com and follow the program on Instagram, @hopeuniformsprogram. If you know a teen making a difference for the planet, the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes recognizes young changemakers each year. And to find reuse, donation, and recycling options for textiles near you, search the Earth911 recycling directory.Subscribe to Sustainability In Your Ear on iTunesFollow Sustainability In Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介这期节目我跟大家简单聊聊我今年暑假的安排，包括回中国、中亚旅行、北海道旅行，还有暑期网课的计划。因为六、七月到八月初有很多事，《五分钟中文》的更新可能不会像平时那么及时，也希望大家见谅。In this episode, I share my summer plans, including my trip back to China, travels to Central Asia and Hokkaido, and my summer teaching schedule. Since I'll have a lot going on from June through early August, podcast updates may not always be as timely as usual. Thank you for your understanding.今回は、中国への帰国や中央アジア旅行、北海道旅行、そして夏休み中の授業予定について簡単にお話しします。6月、7月から8月初めにかけて予定が多いため、『五分钟中文』の更新がいつもより遅くなることもあるかもしれませんが、ご了承ください。#旅行 #TravelPlan #暑假安排 #Summer #夏休み #暑假计划 Send us Fan MailSupport the show如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介很多外国人看到中国游客在海外大量购物，都会觉得“中国人是不是特别有钱？”这一期节目，我想跟大家聊聊中国游客背后的“伴手礼文化”。为什么很多中国人出国以后，会帮家人、朋友、同事买很多礼物？我也分享了自己和朋友的真实经历。Many foreigners think Chinese tourists are very rich because they often buy a lot of things overseas.In this episode, I talk about the gift culture behind Chinese tourists' shopping habits and why many Chinese travelers buy gifts for family, friends, and coworkers. I also share some personal stories and observations.海外でたくさん買い物をする中国人観光客を見て、「中国人はお金持ちだ」と感じる外国人も多いです。今回は、中国人観光客の“お土産文化”についてお話しします。なぜ中国人は家族や友達、同僚のためにたくさんお土産を買うのか、そして私自身の体験についても話しました。#中国游客 #伴手礼 #人际关系 #海外旅行 #旅游购物 #お土産文化 #中国人観光客 #中国の社会文化 #中国の人間関係 #Guanxi #ChineseGiftCulture #ChineseSocietySend us Fan MailSupport the show如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

Recorded May 21, 2026. A lecture by Professor Michael Cronin, Chair of French 1776, Trinity College Dublin The Trinity Long Room Hub Annual Humanities Horizons Lecture for 2026 was delivered by Prof Michael Cronin, on A STEM Strategy for Modern Languages? Mapping Ireland's Multilingual Futures. 250 years ago the first Chairs in Modern Languages in these islands were established in Trinity College Dublin. The TCD Chairs in French and German are the oldest, continuous Chairs in these languages in the world. But what of the future? How does Ireland build on its pioneering role in modern language education to make modern languages central to social cohesion, psychological wellbeing and economic prosperity on the island? The lecture argues for the benefits of a concerted strategy to make modern languages a strategic asset in the future development of our island community. About Michael Cronin Michael Cronin is 1776 Professor of French and Senior Researcher in the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation. Michael Cronin received his BA from Trinity College Dublin, his MA from University College Dublin and his PhD from Trinity College Dublin. He has taught in universities in France and Ireland and has held Visiting Research Fellowships to universities in Canada, Belgium, Peru, France and Egypt. He is a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin, an elected Member of the Royal Irish Academy and the Academia Europaea, an Officer in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques. Michael Cronin is the author of 13 monographs, the co-editor of seven edited collections and the author of over 150 refereed articles and book chapters. His work has been translated into 16 languages including Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Korean and Modern Greek. Among his published works are Across the Lines: travel, language, translation (Cork University Press, 2000), Translation and Globalization (Routledge, 2006), Translation and Identity (Routledge, 2006), The Expanding World: towards a politics of microspection (Zero Books, 2012), Translation in the Digital Age (Routledge, 2013), Eco-Translation: translation and ecology in the Age of the Anthropocene (Routledge, 2017), Irish and Ecology/An Ghaeilge agus an Éiceolaíocht (FÁS, 2019) and Eco-Travel: journeying in the Anthropocene (Cambridge University Press, 2022). His research interests are in the areas of eco-criticism and bio-cultural diversity. Learn more at www.tcd.ie/trinitylongroomhub

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介这一期《5分钟中文》，我想聊聊为什么很多外国人会觉得中国人特别有钱。很多中国游客在海外旅游的时候，看起来都很爱花钱、买很多东西。但其实，这背后还有一个很多人没有意识到的原因，那就是：中国人出国旅游本身就有比较高的签证门槛。这一期节目，我会跟大家聊聊签证、免签，还有为什么很多能够出国旅游的中国人，其实已经是“被筛选过”的人。In this episode of 5 Minute Chinese, I talk about why many foreigners think Chinese people are rich.Chinese tourists abroad often appear to spend a lot of money, but another important reason behind this impression is the relatively high visa barrier for Chinese travelers.In this episode, I talk about visas, visa-free travel, and why many Chinese tourists overseas have already been “filtered” by the visa system.今回の《5分钟中文》では、「なぜ外国人は中国人はお金持ちだと思うのか？」というテーマについてお話しします。海外旅行をしている中国人観光客は、お金をよく使う印象があります。でも、その背景には、中国人が海外旅行をするためには比較的高いビザ取得のハードルがある、という理由もあります。今回は、ビザやビザ免除、そして海外旅行できる中国人が実はすでに「選ばれた層」であるということについてお話しします。#中国游客 #签证 #免签 #海外旅行 #出境游 #旅游消费 #ChineseTourists #中国観光客Send us Fan MailSupport the show如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

How is the German market different to English speaking markets, and why might it be worth looking into translation? What are the best ways to translate, self-publish and market your books in German? With Skye MacKinnon. In the intro, thoughts on feeling empty after a book, and the benefits of SubStack for authors [Stark Reflections; Wish I'd Known Then]; AI-Assisted Artisan Author webinars 16 and 23 May. This episode is sponsored by Publisher Rocket, which will help you get your book in front of more Amazon readers so you can spend less time marketing and more time writing. I use Publisher Rocket for researching book titles, categories, and keywords — for new books and for updating my backlist. Check it out at www.PublisherRocket.com This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Skye MacKinnon is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of over 70 books across romance and children's books under multiple pen names, most of which are also available in German, which is her bestselling market. Her latest book for authors is Self-Publishing in German: How to Translate, Publish and Market Your Books. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why the German-speaking market is much bigger than just Germany, and which genres sell best there Title protection laws, the Impressum, and translator copyright How to find and vet human translators, and what a quality translation actually costs The current state of AI translation for fiction, and why quality assurance passes are essential Distribution decisions: the Tolino Alliance, Skoobe, libraries, and why IngramSpark doesn't work in Germany Marketing in German: BookDeals, LovelyBooks, ads, BookTok, and why pre-orders matter even more You can find Skye SkyeMacKinnon.com and her children's books at IslaWynter.com. Transcript of the interview with Skye MacKinnon Jo: Skye MacKinnon is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of over 70 books across romance and children's books under multiple pen names, most of which are also available in German, which is her bestselling market. Her latest book for authors is Self-Publishing in German: How to Translate, Publish and Market Your Books. Welcome, Skye. Skye: Hi. Thank you so much for having me. Jo: This is such an interesting topic. But first up— Tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing and publishing. Skye: I've always loved writing, but I was always told, “Well, you can't be an author. Get a proper job.” So I became a journalist and did that for a few years, but there was always that love of creative writing. At some point when I was getting more active on social media, I was following some other indie authors and realised they're just like me. They're not special people. I had always pictured authors as these mythical beings high up above the rest of us. That gave me the courage to put out my own book. I self-published from the start, never even looked into trad publishing, and that was in 2017. I was really lucky because my first series totally hit it off. I was able to quit my job a year later and I have been a full-time author ever since. I started with romance and then, by accident, got into children's books. Which has been great fun. I don't even have children myself, but it's just that palette cleanser in between. Writing about cute animals and unicorns and just bringing some fun into everything. Nowadays I have about five or six pen names, depending on how you count, across genres, although most of it is romance, and that's my bread and butter really. Jo: Yes, I'm certainly one of those people who wish I could write romance. It always just seems to be the most profitable market in any language, I guess. Let's get into the book. It's a fantastic book. I've been through it myself. It's really packed full of everything you need, so we can't cover everything. Let's start by considering the German language in general. Why is German a good language market to consider expanding into? And for anyone who might not realise, why is it more than Germany? Skye: Well, Germans love to read, and depending on the statistic that you look at, they're generally seen as the third largest book market in the world after English and Mandarin Chinese. So it's a huge market, even though you think of Germany as a small little country in Europe. As you said, it's much more than Germany. Yes, you've got about 83 million people in Germany, but then you've also got Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, parts of Belgium, Luxembourg, and even Italy. So if you look at the whole footprint on the map, it is much bigger than just the one country. A lot of young people there still read and go to bookshops. There's a huge bookshop culture. You will find, if you go to a high street there, way more bookshops than you do here in the UK, for example. There's demand for quality and for really gorgeous books. They have been way ahead of the curve when it comes to special editions and sprayed edges, and they also like translations. I found one statistic where about two thirds of all newly released titles in German are actual translations. Readers are used to translations, but until a few years ago it was all trad-published translations. So this transition is coming now. It's coming very, very fast, especially with AI. They generally are very open to translations as long as the quality is there. Jo: So what about specific genres then? Obviously we mentioned romance there, and romance is not just one genre anymore. Whatever they're writing— How can somebody tell if it's worth expanding into German? How do we do this? It takes time and effort and money, potentially. Skye: It can take a lot of money, so it is worth doing research. There's one easy way, which is just looking at your current sales and looking at how many books you're selling in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland at the moment in English. That can give you an indication of which of your books might be already quite popular there. Sometimes it's quite surprising. A lot of my books sell very differently in German than they do in English. I've got one series that did okay in English, and I almost didn't translate it. The German version is, I think, my second bestselling series in German and has completely surprised me. So sometimes it's worth just experimenting a bit. Otherwise, obviously as you said, romance is doing really well. There are a few surprises though. I had a chat with Draft2Digital and they gave me lots of information from their statistics, and they said about 40% of all the western title sales on Draft2Digital are actually in Germany, which is just a huge percentage. Jo: In English? Skye: Across languages. Jo: Mm-hmm. Skye: Germans, to be fair, they love their westerns. My dad in Germany, he has been watching westerns for I don't know how many decades. It is one of those things that is just really popular there. Another thing is anything that is set in other countries and really has the location as almost like a character. There's lots of Cornwall, Scotland, different islands, but also mountains and cities. So if your book is set in, even in New York City, if it has a clear setting—if it's not just that it could be any city—then that's a good one to think about translating. In general, most genres can do well. There's a few where you have to be a bit careful. Second World War books, for example. If you have a book that portrays every single German as a Nazi and as evil, it might not do as well in Germany. So some common sense when it comes to historical books. Otherwise, just look at German retailers, look at what is selling there—and not just Amazon. Places like Thalia, which is part of the Tolino Alliance, and they have about 40% of the market. So it's really important to look at them too, and not just at Amazon. Jo: We'll come back to the distribution in a minute. There are some important differences between the German market and the US/UK market. Obviously we're talking about a different language, but of course there are a few things that are different that some people might not think about. So give us a few of those things that people definitely need to think about. Skye: Okay, so even before you start publishing, you need to be aware that title protection is a thing in Germany. Your book can't have the same title as an already published book. That is a law that is basically there to avoid readers being confused. So if you had five books with the same title, readers might not realise which book is by which author. You have to do your research and check if anyone else is using your title. There are some exceptions—if it's a completely different category, so if there's a children's book with that title but you write spicy romance, then the chance that the reader gets confused is much lower. Quite often you can then contact either the author or the publisher and ask, “Can I get written permission to use that title?” I did that for one of my series and it was totally fine. Just be sure to get it in writing, because if your book suddenly becomes a huge bestseller, they might reconsider. So title protection is an important one. You need to research that before you publish. One thing that people sometimes get confused about is reusing their English title. That's totally fine because it's your own title. So if your English title hasn't been used and you want to keep that same title, that works. It's just about other people's books where you can't use those titles. Another important legal bit is the Impressum. It's the copyright page. To be fair, websites that are targeting German readers or a German audience have to have that Impressum. It's usually on page two of the book, and it has things like your legal name, your address, and then the usual things like the translator's name, cover design, and other things you would usually put on a copyright page. The problem is that technically you need to put your legal name in there unless you have a limited company, in which case you can also put the business name there, and your address. A lot of people obviously don't want to do that for privacy reasons, especially romance authors where it's sometimes a bit sketchy when it comes to some readers who get a bit too obsessed. There are services where you can pay a monthly or yearly fee and then use their address. It's a bit of a legal grey zone, but a lot of German authors are doing it because—especially as indie authors—we don't always want to put our legal address out there. Jo: Just for people listening, I use my accountant's address. That's quite common. I mean, you have to share your address on your email for anti-spam laws and all that kind of thing. As you say, there are ways to use other addresses. That just needs to happen. What else then do we need to think about? Skye: There are things about the translator. A lot of things that people are sometimes scared about is when they hear that there is a copyright issue with translators and they think, “Oh, my translator has the copyright. I can't do anything.” Actually, the translator is seen as an author—almost like a co-author of the translation in German law—because, to be fair, it's not just putting one word into another. Translation is quite a creative job, especially when it's fiction. It is a very creative job where the translator has to put a lot of their own creativity into it. So in German law, they're recognised as the creator of that translation and therefore have certain rights. But you as the author, as soon as you have a contract with your translator—which is why you always, always, always have to have a contract—you get the usage rights. This means it's exactly the same as with your English books. You can do with them what you want. You can get audiobooks, you can do print books, you can do whatever you want in different formats. It just needs to be clear in a contract that the translator is giving you the usage rights of that translation. That's something that people sometimes find a bit scary, but actually it's really simple. Translations have been done for so long. It's a normal thing. It's just called slightly different. It has to be set out in a contract. Jo: Just on that, that's when the translator themselves is in Germany, because if they are based somewhere else, still doing a German translation, that's not necessary. So that's something else for people to consider. Skye: Yes, definitely. To be fair— I would always try to get a translator based in the country. I mean, I'm a native German speaker, but I've been in Scotland for so long now that I am not confident enough to translate my own books anymore because I'm not surrounded by German 24/7 and my grammar is slightly off and I don't have that up-to-date, modern lingo. So if it's a translator who's only just moved somewhere else or a few years, that's fine. But if it's someone who's been in the US or UK or somewhere else for 20 years, I would be a bit more hesitant. That's just a personal perspective on that. One other thing that's different is Sie and du. There are two different kinds of “you” when you talk to someone. There's the formal Sie, which you use basically amongst adults, in business contexts. But even my German grandma—she had a friend and they used the formal Sie for about 10 years as friends because in German etiquette, the older person has to offer the younger person the informal du, and they never did that for some reason. We found it hilarious as kids that they were still using the formal Sie as really good friends. So there's an entire culture there that people who haven't been to Germany or haven't lived there for a while just find a bit difficult, because there are so many different unwritten rules about when you use Sie and when you use the informal du. It's weakened a bit over the years and nowadays even strangers would sometimes use the informal du depending on the context. It really depends. A good translator will usually handle that themselves. They will find a scene where, for example, especially in romance, you meet as strangers in the beginning, so you use the formal Sie, and then at some point that formality turns to informality. The translator will usually choose that moment and add a little extra scene or a sentence where they either offer it to each other or they just naturally switch into it. But then there might be an internal little monologue of, “Oh, he just used the informal du—I guess we're at that stage,” or, “I really appreciate that.” Just to make it more natural, because that's something I quite often see with AI translation where that doesn't happen, and readers get confused. Why did they just switch from Sie to du without any kind of acknowledgement of that? Jo: This is the same in Spanish and other languages, I imagine. Skye: Yes, French as well. Italian too, I think. A lot of European languages have this. Jo: I think that's something that English speakers just don't get. It is a really interesting moment. I guess that might not happen so much in other genres—that really is a thing in romance. I was just thinking about some of my thrillers. They may never have time to get to du. Skye: But then sometimes using du can also be a rude thing. So if you have an antagonist who really doesn't like your protagonist, they might just use du as a rude sort of address. Again, that's something that English speakers just wouldn't understand or even think of because we just have the one “you.” Jo: We just have the one. Jo: It's the tone. Of course, it's the tone. Skye: Exactly, yes. Jo: Okay, well let's get into the actual translation of the books themselves. Over the years I've worked with lots of humans. I've also licensed my rights. I've used different AI tools. I mean, there are tons, but as we record this— What are the options that are available for translations? Give us some tips on working with humans and finding humans. Because it can be super pricey. And of course most of us will never know about the quality until we publish it. Skye: Oh, yes, definitely a note on that. I found that quite often you will already have German people on your newsletter list or on your social media, and most of them will be super happy to give you some feedback on your translation. That's something I've used a lot. Not for German, because I speak the language, but when I did French and Italian translations. My French is—well, it used to be quite okay. It is passable at best now. So I would never feel confident enough to rate a translation. So I asked my newsletter list, “Are there any French people here who would be happy to read the book? I'll send you a free copy at the end, and some swag.” There were a surprising number of people who got back to me. The same applies to German and other languages, because if you don't speak the language, you sometimes lack the confidence of knowing if this is any good. Getting some reader feedback is super helpful. For finding human translators, the easiest of course is word of mouth, and I'm a big fan of that because you get instant feedback on whether someone is good or not and whether it's easy to work with them. Then there are freelancer platforms. Reedsy is one where everyone is vetted, so that's pretty good. But there are tons of other ones like Upwork and Fiverr, though there you have to do all the vetting yourself, so that takes a lot more time and effort. There are also more and more agencies—translator agencies who specialise in doing indie book translations. There's Literary Queens, there's Valentine Translations, there are tons of them. Then there's also, which I think a lot of authors ignore or don't know about, translation databases. There are two databases for German translators, for example, where you can search and you can usually narrow it down to whether you want literary translators, what kind of fiction or nonfiction you want. An important thing is that a literary translator is very different from a standard translator who translates birth certificates or formal documents. You want someone who has experience with fiction if you write fiction. Someone who knows about adding drama through language. Sometimes, for example, when you have an action scene, you might have shorter sentences. If you have someone who doesn't know about stuff like that, they might just think, “Oh, in German it sounds really nice to have this really long sentence.” Those little nuances are where having an experienced literary translator is a big bonus. There are some platforms that do royalty-split translations that have been quite popular in the past. Most of them I wouldn't really recommend because you just don't get those professional translators there. You usually get people who speak the language but don't really have much experience. So you might end up with a pretty bad translation, or people might just be using AI translations without telling you. If you use a human translator, always, always get a sample, because yes, they might have amazing credentials, but until they've actually translated one of your books or a scene from your book, you don't really know how good they are. I like to always use, if I write romance, a slightly sexy scene, because sex seems to show you if someone can translate or not. It's just what I've found, because if it sounds absolutely awkward or more like mechanical rather than an emotional, spicy thing, then that's a clear point for me to say, “No, thank you. I'll look for someone else.” Action scenes, sexy scenes, really emotional ones, dialogue that has a bit of colloquial language or humour—those are good scenes to choose as a sample because that really shows you if a translator can do their job or not. Then, again, have some German people from your list give you feedback on that. Also, if you work with human translators, always try to make sure that they will be available for your entire series. And not even just a series—if you have lots of books, try to grab that translator, lock them in your basement, and never let them go, because you want their style for all your books. Just like you have a style as an author, translators have a style and that will always shine through, as much as they try to be as close to your original. A bit of their style will always come through. It helps to have the same translator for at least the same series, preferably for as many of your books as possible. You really want to tell them in the beginning, “This series has nine books. I want you to do all of these, even if we only do a few of them at the beginning. Are you available to do the rest later?” Because you don't want to end up having to find a new translator in the middle of the series. That gives you a whole lot of extra work with trying to have a world bible that explains which words get translated and which get left as the original, and stuff like that. When it comes to non-human translation, it's very different because of course you don't need to do all that vetting. Tools have different capabilities and abilities, but in the end, if you put your book into a translation tool, you will always get a slightly different output. So it's not quite the same where you need an entire vetting process. Jo: Just on the human translation, I think I'd be right in saying that every single author in the world would love to have the best human translator translating their book, whatever genre it is. That would just be amazing for all of us. But let's face it, that's extremely expensive. So if I've got, let's say, a 70,000-word thriller, how much money are we talking about? An approximate number, so people know what that might be. Skye: Usually it goes by the word, but by the target language word count. Although it depends on the translator, traditional translators usually go by the target language because that's what they actually produce as their output. The average at the moment is anything from about seven to nine euro cents per word as the medium price. You will find cheaper people. You can go up as high as you want really. I have definitely seen translators who charge 15 cents and above per word, but those will usually be the ones who have worked with a lot of trad publishers who are used to being paid like that. Although even in trad publishing, the rates are going down. With more and more authors wanting translations, I think in general rates are going down. Good for us, not so good for the translators. You're definitely looking at thousands, even if you translate novellas. Then it depends—some translators have editing included, sometimes they don't. A lot of them will have arrangements with other translators where they give the translation to another translator for them to edit it. Sometimes that's included in the price, sometimes it's extra. Always make sure it gets edited, because just like when we write a book, it will never be exactly perfect. I say that as someone who writes very clean because I have a journalism background, so I'm used to writing really fast and clean for deadlines, but there will always be a few typos that just wriggle their way in. Typos are evil like that. It's the same with translations. Jo: So we are probably looking at 2,000 to 10,000 pounds, dollars, euros. We are talking about quite a lot, and this is the main reason I think that now, with AI becoming a lot better, people are looking at this. Originally—and I don't even know, probably eight years now since I did my first, might even be a decade or more—I did at some point do a version in DeepL, which was an early AI translation tool. This was nonfiction, and then paid an editor, a German editor, to then edit that in German. Those books still get good reviews. But now people are looking at options like GlobeScribe and ScribeShadow, or even just using Claude or ChatGPT. I'm actually working at the moment on a Claude Code pipeline through lots of different QA passes. That's been really interesting for me, because I can say, “Okay, now you are a reader who likes these kinds of books. Read it for that.” And because we can now put really big books in, I can actually get a lot of really interesting feedback. So I feel like there's a lot of potential with AI—potential for good stuff, potential for bad stuff too. So talk a bit about that and what to watch out for with AI. Skye: Okay, so I'm very much pro-AI and I use AI in lots of different things in my business, just to preface that. However, with translations, I'm still a bit wary, just because I have seen a lot of bad AI translations. To be fair, I've experimented with it myself for one of my other pen names. It was readable. It was definitely readable. It had sometimes beautiful, gorgeous prose. Really. But there were, occasionally—quite often even—bits where I stumbled as a native speaker. It's readable and, if I just need a little quick book in between, I would be mostly happy with that. I would read it. It's the same as some of the early KU days where you found a lot of bad quality writing, but you just wanted to read it because the story was pretty good or because you were reading it in KU and so it didn't really matter that much. There is that spectrum of quality where you have the, “Yes, it's good enough to read,” but, “Is it good enough to be up to your standards?” That's a decision that everyone has to make for themselves. If they want the same quality that they put into their English book, or if they're fine with just offering that book to a new audience because maybe you wouldn't be able to do it otherwise. I totally see that. Translation is so expensive. I don't even know how much I have spent on translations over the past few years. I'm lucky that most of my books make it back within the first weeks or months. I've never had a book that didn't make its money back, but I have heard a lot of people where that's not the case. It is a lot of investment and I would never tell someone to go into debt or anything to do translations. Do it when you're at a time where you can afford it, or where you can also afford the loss if it doesn't work out. Now, AI has changed that slightly because it now opens it up to almost anyone. Some of the AI translation tools are a few hundred pounds, but if you do it in Claude or ChatGPT or something where you already have a subscription, it can actually be quite cheap. You can do it for a few dollars or pounds. I love, by the way, having someone in the UK. I'm so used to automatically saying everything in dollars, but actually I should be using pounds. I think if you know what you're doing—and you clearly do, with your several passes, you know what you're doing with AI—but if someone just puts their book into Claude or ChatGPT or some random tool, it might just not be good enough. Jo: Let's say it won't be good enough if you just do that. We know that. You have to have QA passes—quality assurance. You have to have rules per genre. There are ways of doing it. It's kind of like you have to get to know how translation works. It's a process. It's not just a translation, like you put something in Google Translate or a menu or something, because we do care. I think that's really important. Skye: Yes. I think if you don't know how AI works—that you need detailed prompts, that you need a style guide, that you need all that extra material and not just your book, all those rules—then please don't do it. If you value your German readers—and I think sometimes when I see people just churn out those translations without doing any quality control, using exactly the same cover or even just putting a German flag on it or something—I really feel bad for German readers because they're not being valued as having the same sort of value to us as authors as our English-speaking readers. Maybe I'm a bit biased there because I read in multiple languages. I want to be able to get the same sort of quality in all languages. I want the author to think of me as being special because I'm their reader and I'm their customer. I think we are on the way where AI translation can be almost autonomous. I would personally always have a human look over it. I know what I'm doing, and I'm almost happy with my translation system that I've built now in AI, but it still needs that human touch for a few things. It still needs me to tell the AI, for example, “This is where we switch from Sie to du.” This is where I need to keep certain words in. For example, I write a lot of Scottish books, and so words like “glen” or “loch”—they are words I want to stay the same in my German translation. I don't want to translate it to the German equivalent of “lake” because that just misses that Scottish context. Things like that need instruction. A human translator will usually know that and chat to you about which words you want to keep and which ones you want translated. AI just needs our guidance, our helping hand, and if we don't know enough about the target language, we just miss knowing that. Now, a lot of tools do it all for you basically, and they set up all these rules. I think many of them are at a very advanced stage now. But AI isn't perfect and it likes to hallucinate, it likes to add random things. So I will always still have a human touch at the end, even if it's just a quick edit. A lot of people think that they just need a proofread after an AI translation, but AI doesn't really make typos—or not to an extent that humans do. So proofreading isn't really what's needed for an AI translation. It is actual editing where you go for the style, the phrasing, and sometimes the context. There's one example I always like to give. I have an alien romance where they go on a honeymoon, and because he's an alien and she's human, he misunderstands and thinks she wants to go to an actual moon. So it's a little pun in the book. It doesn't work in German at all because the word “honeymoon” has nothing to do with moons or planets in German. An AI would probably just try to translate that in a way that's quite close to the original. But my German translator, she had to come up with several different ways of fixing that issue, because humour is hard. It's hard even for humans to get the humour translated in a way that is still funny but also culturally appropriate. If you have a book that is full of puns, it gets harder with AI. I am not saying it's impossible, but it needs a lot of handholding. Jo: Yes, I think humour is hard to translate in general, isn't it? Let's move on to the distribution, because again, having done quite a lot of different languages over the years, I do use Amazon KU for my books in German and Italian and Spanish and some French. So I haven't gone wide in terms of ebook and print or audio, in fact, because I have a lot of books and it is hard to go wide in English, let alone in other languages. But you mentioned earlier that Thalia has 40% of the market or something, and that special editions and print books are important. So what are the decisions we have to make around the actual publishing? Skye: In Germany they did a really cool thing, and I wish they'd done that in other countries. When the bookshops saw that Amazon was growing and posing a threat to them—not just with print books but also with ebooks—a lot of the German bookstores got together and they formed the Tolino Alliance. They have big book chains like Thalia, but also I think it was over 1,500 indie bookshops that all got together. They all support this ecosystem for ebooks, which means they all share the same e-readers. They share the same sort of backend for the shops, which made it really easy for them because they didn't all have to develop an ebook system. It saved them a lot of money. It made it really easy to tell readers, “This is the Tolino system. You can get your books at our bookshops, but you can read them on your Tolino e-reader no matter where you get the books from.” The Tolino e-readers are actually the same as Kobo e-readers, just rebranded. They've got that big advantage there—these independent bookshops and book chains all got together. Now it's hard to find numbers because Amazon doesn't really like to share their numbers, but it's about 40% of the German ebook market, which means it rivals Amazon. They have about the same. Then the rest is split by Apple Books, Google Play, and some of the smaller players. So it is a huge chunk of the market. I'm wide with pretty much all my English books. So for me, I looked into KU, but when I saw that I was going to miss out on 60% of the market—even if Amazon has 45%, that's still a big chunk—I decided to go wide. To be fair, I haven't regretted it, because Tolino are amazing to work with. I like to compare them to Kobo because they have a really lovely human team where you can just email them and tell them, “I've got a new release coming up,” and they will put you into different promos and it's all free. Jo: Do you publish direct to Tolino, or do you use Draft2Digital? Skye: Yes, you can publish direct to Tolino and that's actually the best way of doing it. You don't have access to their marketing opportunities if you use a distributor. The Tolino dashboard is annoyingly all in German, but by now every browser has a translating plugin built in. I know lots of authors who don't speak a single word of German who navigate Tolino very successfully. They started with only ebooks in the beginning, and then about two weeks after the first edition of my book on German translations was published, they introduced print books, which meant my book was immediately out of date. I was fuming. But this time they introduced audiobooks a few weeks before my Kickstarter launch for the second edition, so this time the audiobook part is included. I was very happy about that, because it was a pain to just tell everyone, “Well, this book is out now but it's actually missing a big part of how to do print books in Germany.” So Tolino does print, ebooks, and audiobooks. And just because you're in KU with your ebooks doesn't mean you can't publish your print books via Tolino. I highly recommend that, because IngramSpark—which most of us indies use for distribution for print books—doesn't get you into the German bookstores. They used to. Then German stores have fixed price laws where books have to be the same price in all stores, and IngramSpark kept going against that. They kept sending them the wrong prices. So German bookstores at some point just said, “Nope, we've had enough of this. We no longer take books from IngramSpark.” So now Tolino, in my opinion, is the best way of getting your books listed in German online bookstores, but they can also help you get into brick-and-mortar stores. One of my books was featured by them, I think two years ago, and it was in about 300 of their shops all across Germany. It had its own little pedestal and it was amazing. Tolino love working with their indie authors. They also love romance, which is always a bonus because some stores are more prudish than others. It's really easy to work with them. They speak perfect English, so you can do all your communication outside of the dashboard in English. Their audiobooks feature is very new. Until they did that, it was much harder for German audiobook distribution because places like Findaway Voices and other distributors wouldn't get you into the Tolino Alliance stores for audio. That's a big chunk that we were missing out on. I was always looking for ways to get my German audiobooks into those stores, but the German distributors that I found were really difficult to upload to, to be honest. I'm a very technical person, but it challenged even me. I did not like that experience at all. At some point I really just gave up and wanted to throw my computer out of the window. So when Tolino introduced that, I was celebrating internally. The only problem with their distribution at the moment for audio, because it's so new, is that you can't exclude any shops. So it's all or nothing. They will get you into all the different places, including Audible, Spotify—you name it, lots of different streaming services and retailers—but you can't exclude any. So while they don't actually want exclusivity, if you published it yourself at the same time through ACX or Findaway Voices or something else, you would have duplicates, and of course, we try to avoid those. Jo: Is it human narration only, or do they also accept AI narration? Skye: They accept AI narration. The thing with Tolino is that they want everything made very clear. If you publish any books with them that have an AI production aspect, you need to put that into your Impressum. For audiobooks, there's a box to tick to make it clear. Jo: Hmm. Skye: So they are open to it all. You just need to declare it. Jo: Which I think should be true everywhere, to be fair. Skye: Oh, definitely. And a lot of German distributors—while I was researching for this book, one thing I always looked at is, “Do they need you to declare your AI use?” More and more German distributors and retailers now want you to do that. I think that's the way it's going. It's not a judgement thing. I think it's just making it clear to readers. In Germany, it's all about transparency. That's why there are all those laws with GDPR—everyone will have heard about that one by now. But there are lots of other laws where it's all about consumer rights and transparency, and that's one of them. Jo: Is there anything else on the distribution side we need to think about? Skye: One thing I like to highlight is libraries, because that's quite a big thing in Germany too. They love books and bookstores and they love libraries. Some of the ways we get our English books into libraries—like a distributor like Draft2Digital for OverDrive—OverDrive is growing in Germany. There are other systems like Onleihe, just to name one. You can't get into those through, for example, Draft2Digital or PublishDrive or StreetLib. Tolino gets you into those. There are also subscription platforms that are growing. I think it's the same as in the English-speaking market. People love a subscription, and I love them. I just don't like exclusivity. So I very much support any subscription platform that doesn't require me to be exclusive to them. Skoobe is one of them. They used to be an independent platform, and then the Tolino Alliance bought them. So now they're integrated into the Tolino stores. That means it's really prominent. Basically, any time you go to an ebook on, for example, Thalia, it will have a banner there saying, “You can also get this in our subscription.” So it's taken a while to grow, but actually in December I now made more with their subscription programme than I made in book sales. I think three of my books were in their top 10 in December. To be fair, that was a pretty good month. But it definitely shows that it can take a while to grow these subscription platforms, but when you do, it can be really successful and very much worth it. So I highly suggest looking into those sorts of platforms too, not just the standard retailers and the platforms that you're already used to. Jo: Fantastic. So we've now got translations, they're on the various stores, and then just like in English, one of our next challenges is actually marketing the books. Now this becomes another challenge, because one of the reasons I am in KU for foreign languages is because you get the five free days and you can do Amazon ads. I mean, you can do Amazon ads for wide books too, but it's easier to know that there are some options for marketing at all. I don't do email marketing. I don't do social media, so I'm pretty bad at marketing in foreign languages. So what are your suggestions for those who want to do more active marketing in German especially? Or even if we don't speak German, it can't be all the personal stuff. But are there also advertising things like BookBub? What are our options basically? Skye: There are quite a few things. It's not quite as easy as in English, of course, but I think sometimes you have to remember that you already have most of the material for marketing when you've released a book. You will have made graphics in English, you will have written a newsletter, you will have done some social media posts. All that material is already there, so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You can just translate that, and for that, AI translation is really good because it's very quick. You don't have to bother your translator. You can just get that done. That's what I had to remind myself, because in the beginning I did everything from scratch and it took me forever and I was hating it. Then I realised, well, I could just look at the newsletter I wrote three years ago when that book released in English and translate that. That's done within a minute and I can send that out. So remember that you have a lot of content already. There's no BookBub or nothing as big as BookBub. There is a site called BookDeals, which sends out newsletters for both reduced or free books and also for new releases. I use them for pretty much all my new releases, or at least always the first in series. They're nowhere near as big as BookBub, so don't expect miracles, but I generally always break even or a bit more. It's hard to tell, of course, especially if you do several things for a new release. But my instinctive look on this is that it's worth it. BookDeals is the big one. There are a few other promo sites, but to be honest, I've not really found any of them to give me a positive ROI. I experiment with them occasionally and I listed them all in my book just for completeness, but BookDeals is the big one. Then there is LovelyBooks, which is the German Goodreads. Some Germans also use Goodreads, so always make sure to have all your German books listed there. But LovelyBooks is the big one. I love that place because people are so much kinder than on Goodreads. I avoid Goodreads completely. If I need a review, I send my assistant there to look at reviews. I don't go there. It is scary. LovelyBooks—the name is kind of telling. It is a more lovely place. People are generally more friendly. They are probably a bit more critical when they write reviews than they are on retailers, but I have found it really nice to build a community there. You can do these book clubs where you give away a copy of your book, either as print books—or I always do ebooks because I don't want to send books to Germany. Then people discuss the book as a sort of book club and then they review it at the end. I have had great success with that. I've built up a community of readers who will now buy my books too, even if they don't get them for free. I found some beta readers through that. So I love LovelyBooks. The annoying thing again is it's in German. However, their support all speaks English and you can email them with questions. They're really good. Even if you don't plan to run any book clubs or anything like that because you don't speak the language, I would always advise just setting up an author profile there because it makes it easier for your books to be found. You can track reviews, you can track reads, and that just gives you an extra place to get more visibility for free. Ads—there's not much difference compared to what you do for your English-language books. The one thing is with Facebook ads, now because of EU data protection laws, it's much harder to target because people can opt out of ads and targeting. In general, cost-per-click ads are cheaper than in the US or the UK, so that's a bonus. BookTok is big and only growing there. I don't really do social media for my German books because I just don't have the bandwidth. I wish I could, and I know some people who outsource that. In an ideal world, I would have a social media account for every single language, but it's not an ideal world and I just have limited hours in the day. But even just creating an account so that people can tag you, so that people can find you, can already be a good start. One thing that's not maybe a marketing strategy as such, but something I like to highlight, is pre-orders. If you write in series, always, always make sure that the next books in your series are up for pre-order, because— German readers have been burned so many times by authors or even publishers who just translate book one in a series and then stop. They are quite hesitant sometimes to start a new series when they see it's book one of something and they don't see the next book up for pre-order. To be fair, it's similar in English. I always make sure to have a pre-order up for the next book. Because people would just not read the series until it's complete or until they know it will be complete at some point. So always set up a pre-order if you can. Don't set it up when you don't actually know when your translation is being done, or choose a date far in the future. Just make it very clear to your readers that you are intending to translate the entire series, that you're not going to disappoint them, that they're not just wasting their money on a book one only to never find out what happens next. Jo: Fantastic. Well, this is a big decision for people to make, I think, because there's no point in doing one book in German and then not doing anything else, in the same way as doing one book in English or any language. You have to think about investing in an audience. So lots for people to think about. The book is fantastic. It's called Self-Publishing in German. So where can people find you and your books online? Skye: For my author-facing things, just go to SkyeMacKinnon.com/authors, and there you find the book about German translations. You also find more information on what I do. You can book consultations with me. I love doing those one-to-ones, especially about translations, because you can really dive into someone's catalogue and look at what would be a good strategy for someone, rather than just in general. Otherwise, it's SkyeMacKinnon.com for all my romance. If you want adorable children's books, it's IslaWynter.com. That's Wynter with a Y. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Skye. That was great. Skye: Thank you so much for having me.The post Self-Publishing in German: How to Translate, Distribute, and Market Your Books with Skye MacKinnon first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Teaching is hard work, so every now and then you might need to come up with an excuse to take a week off, like "surgery" or something. But being the responsible teacher that you are, you're going to need to find someone to take those pesky classes off your hands. Learn how to use Mandarin Chinese to find that substitute teacher in this lesson. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1609

Interview recorded - 10th of April, 2026On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming on Catherine Austin Fitts. Catherine Austin Fitts served as Managing Director at Dillon, Read & Co and as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George H. W. Bush — before leaving government to document what she describes as a systematic looting of public finances on a scale most people still find difficult to believe. She is also the publisher of The Solari Report, and managing member of Solari Investment Advisory Services, LLC and Sea Lane Advisory, LLC.During our conversation we spoke about the shifting global order, Chinese control, Mr Global, Bank of international settlements, US governments financial corruption. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:56 - Shifting global order6:00 - Chinese control7:15 - Pushing Russia out of financial system9:16 - Western geopolitical strategy15:03 - Mr global18:54 - Bank of International Settlements31:19 - China & BRICs?32:24 - US government lost money37:04 - Protecting your wealth43:44 - Less transparency44:24 - One message to takeaway?Catherine served as managing director and member of the board of directors of the Wall Street investment bank Dillon, Read & Co. Inc., as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in the first Bush Administration, and was the president of Hamilton Securities Group, Inc. Catherine has designed and closed over $25 billion of transactions and investments to-date and has led portfolio and investment strategy for $300 billion of financial assets and liabilities.Catherine graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Wharton School (MBA) and studied Mandarin Chinese at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She blogs for the Solari Report at solari.com.Catherine Austin Fitts:Website - https://solari.com/X - https://x.com/solari_theWTFinance -Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes -https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-fatseas-761066103/Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Greenall, who shares the following recording and notes:Broadcaster: Xing Xing Guangbo Diantai (Star Star Broadcasting Station)Date of recording: March 16, 2026Starting time: 2358 UTCFrequency: 19.052 MHzReceiver location: ThailandReceiver and antenna: Kiwi SDR with Wellbrook loopMode: Single Side BandNotes: This is a "numbers station" broadcasting in Mandarin Chinese, presumably sending encrypted messages to Taiwanese intelligence agents in mainland China, from Taiwan. It appears to follow a set daily schedule, and begins each transmission with the tune of a Chinese folk song played on a flute. This is followed by station ID, given twice, and a few announcements in Mandarin, then a sequence of numbers read in groups of four. An excellent article about this station can be found on the Mount Evelyn DX Report written by Rob Wagner VK3BVW in May 2025.

The Israeli Defense Force pushes Hezbollah further north into Lebanon to protect those living in the north of Israel. Meanwhile, Ukraine worries that American focus has drifted away from their war with Russia. And, how should we feel about AI data centers being built in towns and cities around the US? Mike Cosper and Clarissa Moll discuss these headlines, and then Mike sits down with The Wall Street Journal's China bureau chief Jonathan Cheng to talk about the Christian evangelical roots of the founding leader of North Korea, Kim II Sung. REFERENCED IN THE EPISODE: Korean Messiah - Jonathan Cheng GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN: Join the conversation at our Substack. Find us on YouTube. Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice. ABOUT THE GUESTS: Jonathan Cheng is the China bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, overseeing a team of more than two dozen correspondents and researchers in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore and New York. Previously, Mr. Cheng was the Seoul bureau chief for the WSJ. He speaks English, Cantonese, Mandarin Chinese, French and Korean, and his book Korean Messiah: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea's Personality Cult will be published in April of this year. ABOUT THE BULLETIN: The Bulletin is a twice-weekly politics and current events show from Christianity Today moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today's editor-at-large and columnist) and Mike Cosper (senior contributor). Each week, the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Sharon McMahon, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more. The Bulletin listeners get 25% off CT. Go to https://orderct.com/THEBULLETIN to learn more. “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today Producer: Clarissa Moll Associate Producer: Alexa Burke Editing and Mix: Kevin Morris Graphic Design: Rick Szuecs Music: Dan Phelps Executive Producer: Erik Petrik Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the year wraps up, we are replaying some of our favorite conversations from 2025, including this one!What if bankruptcy, a global financial crisis, and other hurdles along the way aren't the end of your brand, but instead a way to help you define what it truly is?Agility requires a willingness to experiment and adapt, not just in your technology stack, but also in your organizational structure and the very culture of your company. It also demands a deep understanding of your customer and a commitment to delivering personalized experiences.Today, we're going to talk about building a resilient brand in the face of uncertainty, balancing the need for both efficiency and innovation, and the critical role of company culture in achieving long-term success. To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Shawn D. Nelson, CEO at Lovesac. About Shawn D. Nelson Shawn D. Nelson is the author of Let Me Save You 25 Years: Mistakes, Miracles, and Lessons from the Lovesac Story. He is the founder and CEO of the Lovesac Company, which designs, manufactures, and sells such furniture as modular couches and bean bag chairs. Nelson holds a BA in Mandarin Chinese from the University of Utah and a Master's degree in Strategic Design and Management from Parsons, The New School for Design in New York City, where he later became an instructor. Shawn D. Nelson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawndnelson/ Resources Lovesac: https://www.lovesac.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Palm Springs, Feb 23-26 in Palm Springs, CA. Go here for more details: https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/ Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://ratethispodcast.com/agileConnect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.showCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the year wraps up, we are replaying some of our favorite conversations from 2025, including this one!What if bankruptcy, a global financial crisis, and other hurdles along the way aren't the end of your brand, but instead a way to help you define what it truly is?Agility requires a willingness to experiment and adapt, not just in your technology stack, but also in your organizational structure and the very culture of your company. It also demands a deep understanding of your customer and a commitment to delivering personalized experiences.Today, we're going to talk about building a resilient brand in the face of uncertainty, balancing the need for both efficiency and innovation, and the critical role of company culture in achieving long-term success. To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Shawn D. Nelson, CEO at Lovesac. About Shawn D. Nelson Shawn D. Nelson is the author of Let Me Save You 25 Years: Mistakes, Miracles, and Lessons from the Lovesac Story. He is the founder and CEO of the Lovesac Company, which designs, manufactures, and sells such furniture as modular couches and bean bag chairs. Nelson holds a BA in Mandarin Chinese from the University of Utah and a Master's degree in Strategic Design and Management from Parsons, The New School for Design in New York City, where he later became an instructor. Shawn D. Nelson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawndnelson/ Resources Lovesac: https://www.lovesac.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Palm Springs, Feb 23-26 in Palm Springs, CA. Go here for more details: https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/ Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://ratethispodcast.com/agileConnect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.showCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company