Podcasts about Shanghai

This week on Sinica I'm joined by Robert Wright, author of The Moral Animal, Nonzero, and The Evolution of God, for a conversation that runs a little outside our usual beat, though China sits closer to its center than you'd expect. The occasion is his new book The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning, which reads the AI revolution as the latest turn in a story going back billions of years. We get into the French Jesuit paleontologist Teilhard de Chardin's "noosphere," Bob's argument that we evolved large language models rather than engineered them, the cognitive empathy we've both long preached, and the two-word talking point — "But China!" — that Bob thinks is most likely to lead us astray.6:56 – Teilhard de Chardin, the noosphere, and why a planetary "global brain" has become necessary14:49 – Directionality without the mysticism: complexification, teleology, and the "cell's-eye view" worry21:57 – The God Test: is moral progress really the price of governing AI, and is that hopeless on a short clock?28:33 – Why Bob says we evolved large language models rather than built them, and the sycophancy problem that follows35:19 – Open weights and open source: a real safety argument, or competitiveness in safety's clothing?40:03 – Cognitive empathy as the master key, and the same capacity as an engine of deception48:06 – Arms-race fatalism and its limits: cheetahs, gazelles, and the rival who can pick up the phone53:40 – "But China": fear of Beijing, Anthropic and Amodei, Jeff Ding, and the chip-control backfire1:10:48 – Nonzero: game theory, common threats, and the takeoff scenarios that worry Bob most1:23:22 – Attribution error and projection, Ed Fredkin's old warning, and the actual first movePaying It Forward: Garrison Lovely, author of the forthcoming Obsolete (Nation Books) and the Substack of the same name on the AI race.Recommendations:Bob: Pantheon, the animated series on uploaded minds and emergent superintelligence; and the Crowded House song "Don't Dream It's Over."Kaiser: Kyle Chan's High Capacity podcast, especially his episode with Carnegie's Matt Sheehan, "Is China Getting Worried About AI?"; and Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A comprehensive, day-long breakdown exposes a series of critical security and political crises threatening the foundation of the United States. The program begins by unpacking a rising tide of domestic extremism, specifically linking radical left-wing online networks to a terrifyingly sophisticated, multi-state drone-and-sniper plot targeting the historic UFC Freedom 250 White House celebration. The hosts connect this ideology to a "mental health political identity" gaining traction among Gen Z liberals, which is actively weaponized into violent anti-capitalist rage. This brand of radicalism has already produced devastating consequences, from the multi-billion dollar devastation of the Palisades Fire—ignited by a suspect fixated on health care executive assassin Luigi Mangione—to armed training operations run by underground entities like the Socialist Rifle Club. The hosts assert that this movement is not organic; rather, it is supercharged by foreign digital networks and billionaire tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham, who funnels millions from his headquarters in Shanghai to back anti-Western propaganda and radicalize a generation. Turning to federal domestic policy, the show highlights a massive law enforcement crackdown under the Trump administration that successfully removed 20,000 illegally licensed immigrant truck drivers from American roads over the past year. The hosts reveal a dangerous loophole where sanctuary states are issuing commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) to undocumented individuals—including an international fugitive wanted for homicide—while progressive officials aggressively block federal oversight to preserve a future voting bloc. Additionally, the show delivers a blistering, consistent critique from the right against Donald Trump and JD Vance's newly unveiled Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Backed by scathing editorials from *The New York Post* and *National Review*, the segment blasts the administration for executing what they call a complete capitulation. The terms reveal that the U.S. will lift its naval blockades, hand complete control of the Strait of Hormuz to the IRGC, and allow Iran to sell its backlogged oil entirely sanction-free—all upfront, with zero nuclear verification mechanisms, just to guarantee a 60-day window for technical talks. The program also features an in-depth interview with Dean Steve Nails from Anderson University's College of Business, who outlines a bleak timeline for white-collar job displacement, predicting AI automation will fully eliminate 9.2 million knowledge-worker, accounting, and legal research roles by 2030. Finally, looking across the Atlantic, the show spotlights a massive global scandal out of the United Kingdom, diving into a damning 180-page inquiry report that alleges Prime Minister Keir Starmer systemically shielded extensive human trafficking networks to preserve progressive political alignments. UFC Freedom 250 Threat, White House Drone Plot, Marxist Extremism, Left-Wing Radicalization, Gen Z Voting Blocks, Luigi Mangione Fixation, Palisades Fire Arson, Neville Roy Singham, Chinese Communist Party propaganda, Blue Sky Extremism, Capital Police Threat Assessment, Socialist Rifle Club, Illegal Trucker Crackdown, Sanctuary States CDL Loophole, Commercial Driver's License Sting, Trump Iran Deal, Strait of Hormuz MOU, JD Vance Foreign Policy, Naval Blockade Capitulation, National Review Critique, General Jack Keane Warning, Steve Nails Interview, AI Job Disruption, White Collar Automation, Keir Starmer Cover-Up, UK Grooming Gang Report --- To understand how these extreme, anti-capitalist talking points cross from digital subcultures into destructive, real-world acts of violence, check out this report on the [Palisades Fire Suspect Fixated on Luigi Mangione](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTmDZ6LD2sg). This video outlines the exact anti-billionaire rhetoric and obsession with the corporate health care assassin that federal prosecutors say drove ...

In this hard-hitting segment, the hosts argue that recent threats and planned attacks against conservative figures are not the work of isolated, radicalized individuals, but rather a coordinated, South American-style Marxist guerrilla uprising tied to the Democratic Party. Citing a 58% spike in threats against members of Congress reported by the US Capitol Police, the discussion exposes how foreign influence networks—specifically billionaire Neville Roy Singham operating out of Shanghai—are allegedly funding CCP propaganda at US protests. The hosts sound the alarm on figures like Hasan Piker radicalizing followers toward violence, and call on the Republican party to build a unified messaging apparatus to hold the Democratic leadership accountable before a mass tragedy occurs. Political Rhetoric, Marxist Guerrilla Uprising, Democratic Party, Chinese Communist Party, Neville Roy Singham, Capitol Police Threat Assessment, Foreign Influence Networks, Anti-Semitism, Anti-Capitalism, Political Violence, Conservative Messaging, Hasan Piker

Raffe is the owner of Cantina Agave,  the very first Mexican restaurant in Shanghai.  Today he is joined by some old friends, BT and Dino on the podcast, as we celebrate Cantina's 18th anniversary and the launch of his new restaurant, Vice.  We talk about why he's stayed in Shanghai and discuss the constant pressure to keep up with this unique city, the challenges of running F&B amid unpredictable rules and high turnover, and how the city shifted from "wild east" days to stricter, safer, more equal enforcement.  We compare Shanghai's convenience and safety with rising costs, crime, and lenient enforcement in the U.S., especially LA, and talk about perspective, media-driven fear, and cultural adaptation. We talk about a renaissance in Shanghai's dining scene, social media's impact, and Cantina's clientele flipping to 70% local Chinese. We also end the episode with a blindfolded taco taste test that doesn't go as planned.   _____________________ If you enjoy this show don't forget to leave a rating! Follow Us On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehonestdrink_/ RedNote: THD The Honest Drink WeChat: THD_Official Find us on: Spotify, Apple, 小红书, 小宇宙, 网易云音乐, Ximalaya, YouTube, Bilibili or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

A US federal court just ruled the IRS acted in an "arbitrary and capricious" manner on solar and wind safe harbor rules, shaking up project timelines for developers racing toward the July 4, 2026 deadline. Meanwhile, at the Shanghai Solar Show (SNEC), energy storage claimed more floor space than solar panels for the first time, signaling a major shift in where the industry is placing its bets. Tim and John dig into safe harbor court rulings, vertical integration in US module manufacturing, battery technology milestones, and agrivoltaics at the Vatican. Viewers get first-hand reporting from the Shanghai Solar Show floor alongside detailed discussion of what these stories mean for developers, installers, and investors. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTSIRS Safe Harbor Court Ruling (PV Magazine): A US federal court in DC ruled the IRS acted arbitrarily in requiring wind and solar projects above 1.5 MW AC to meet a continuous physical work test to qualify for safe harbor. The ruling opens a potential 5% spend pathway for developers who could not meet construction requirements. Shanghai Solar Show 2026(BSKY): John Weaver returned from his first visit to the Shanghai solar show and reported that battery storage occupied more floor space than solar panels. Module efficiencies of 25% were common across exhibitors, and one solar module clocked in at 27%. BYD's 2,710 Amp-Hour Battery Cell: BYD showcased a single battery cell rated at 2,710 amp-hours, roughly double the largest cell previously available. BYD's press materials claimed a levelized cost of storage of 1.4 cents per kilowatt-hour over 10,000 cycles, compared to the 3 to 4 cent range seen elsewhere. Q Cells Full Vertical Integration in Georgia: Q Cells announced a 3-gigawatt fully vertically integrated manufacturing facility in Georgia, covering polysilicon through module assembly. The announcement means US-made solar modules are now available from a single domestic supply chain. Australia's First 8-Hour Battery, New South Wales (PV Magazine): Australia's first 8-hour battery storage system reached full operations in New South Wales, using Tesla Megapack units configured to charge at 100 MW and discharge at 50 MW. C&I Battery Storage Playbook for 2026: Tim published a story in Solar Builder on the Earn, Save, Protect framework from Intelligent Generation, a three-part guide to battery value stacking for commercial and industrial installers. (Solar Builder) Vatican Agrivoltaic Project: Pope Leo XIV established the Fratello Sole Foundation to implement an agrivoltaic installation at the Vatican, aligned with Pope Francis's 2024 sustainability directive. The project will supply power to Vatican Radio's transmission center and Vatican City State. (Vatican News)This episode is built for solar developers, commercial installers, battery storage professionals, and clean energy investors tracking policy and technology in 2026. The safe harbor ruling alone could affect capital decisions on projects above 1.5 MW AC before the July 3 deadline. Between the Shanghai show floor, the QCells factory update, and Australia's 8-hour battery milestone, this episode covers the week's most consequential moves in clean energy.  Support the showConnect with Tim  Clean Power Hour  Clean Power Hour on YouTubeTim on TwitterTim on LinkedIn Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com Review Clean Power Hour on Apple PodcastsThe Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email:  CleanPowerHour@gmail.comCorporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America's number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems.  Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

Last time we spoke about the Hubei-Henan Campaign of 1940-1941. In November 1940, a Central Hubei operation using multiple task forces aimed to exploit Chinese dispersal, achieving only local successes and no lasting territorial gains. The Japanese then tried again in late January 1941 with a major offensive into southern Henan. Despite concentrating a large force, the campaign failed strategically. After the Henan failure, Japan attempted to regain momentum in spring 1941 by attacking western Hubei around Yichang on the Yangtze. Despite an initial barrage and rapid early gains, Japanese forces became exposed in a narrow salient. The Chinese reorganized their river defenses and launched a converging counteroffensive, driving the invaders back and ending the engagement where it began, with the Japanese suffering heavy casualties and their westward push thwarted.   #206 The Battle of Shanggao Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. The year 1940 had brought a particular humiliation. In August of that year, Communist General Peng Dehuai had launched the Hundred Regiments Offensive — a massive, coordinated assault across North China that shattered Japanese rail and supply lines, embarrassed Imperial General Headquarters, and demonstrated that the Chinese were far from finished. Japan's response had been brutal, the infamous "Three Alls" campaign of reprisals across the countryside. But the damage had been done, and the attention of Imperial General Headquarters shifted northward. The autumn of 1940 had also seen the First Battle of Changsha, where the Japanese 11th Army under General Sonobe Yahachirō pushed south into Hunan Province expecting to overwhelm the Chinese defenders and finally deal a decisive blow to Chiang Kai-shek's armies. Instead, General Xue Yue — the "Tiger of Changsha" — had allowed the Japanese to advance deep into his prepared killing ground before counterattacking from multiple directions. The Japanese had been forced to retreat in disorder, and the front in Hunan and Jiangxi settled once again into sullen stalemate. It was in this atmosphere of frustrated ambition and strategic inertia that the seeds of Shanggao were sown. By February 1941, Imperial General Headquarters had decided to redeploy the 33rd Division — then garrisoned in the town of Anyi, in northwestern Jiangxi — to North China. The transfer was scheduled to begin in early April, and it made strategic sense: the north required reinforcement, and the front in Jiangxi had been quiet enough that one division could be spared. The problem was that the 33rd Division's departure would leave a gap in Japanese dispositions, and no significant offensive operation had yet been conducted to weaken the Chinese forces that would be left facing a thinned-out Japanese line. Lieutenant General Ōga Shigeru, the energetic commander of the Japanese 34th Division, saw opportunity in the window that existed before the 33rd departed. His division was concentrated around Xishan and Wanshou Palace, astride the Xiang–Gan Highway — the main road running westward through Jiangxi — and across that highway lay the town of Shanggao and the Chinese forces defending it. Ōga proposed exploiting the presence of both divisions for a coordinated strike: a sharp, limited offensive to crush Chinese field forces around Nanchang and the Jiangxi interior before the 33rd Division's train north. The 11th Army headquarters, now commanded by General Marube, endorsed a cautious concept — a "quick strike" with limited objectives. But the 34th Division's staff, energized by Ōga's ambition, had already run well ahead of this guidance. Large-scale requisitioning of coolies for logistics was underway; training exercises aimed at the specific terrain around Shanggao had been conducted; planning had progressed in far more detail than a "limited" operation warranted. This eagerness would prove to be the Japanese undoing before the first shot was fired. Chinese intelligence networks, always attentive to the movement of porters and the telltale preparations that preceded a Japanese offensive, quickly detected the scale of these preparations and reported them to General Luo Zhuoying, commander of the Chinese 19th Army Group. By the time the Japanese columns were forming up to march, Luo had already hardened his defenses and laid the groundwork for a trap. General Luo Zhuoying was not a passive commander. He served simultaneously as commander of the 19th Army Group and as Deputy Commander of the 9th War Zone — the latter post placing him directly under General Xue Yue, the victor of Changsha. Luo had spent the lull after Changsha doing what Chinese commanders across the theater had learned was essential: reorganizing, retraining, and above all improving the defensive architecture of his sector. The plan Luo devised for meeting the anticipated Japanese offensive was elegant in its simplicity and demanding in its execution. Rather than contesting the Japanese advance at the frontier, he would allow the enemy to push westward, yielding ground through three successive defensive lines while bleeding the attackers at every step. The first and second lines would slow the Japanese, exact casualties, and stretch their logistics. The third line — anchored at Shanggao itself — would be the killing ground. There, the Chinese forces would hold fast while other formations swung around the Japanese flanks and rear to close the encirclement. The Japanese, having marched deep into Chinese-held territory with their supply lines thinning and their flanks exposed, would find themselves surrounded rather than victorious. For this plan to work, each Chinese formation had to perform its role with discipline. The 70th Corps, deployed in the north along the arc from Shitou Street through Fengxin to Jing'an, would have to conduct a controlled fighting retreat — yielding ground but making the Japanese pay for it, never breaking and running. The 49th Corps would hold the southern flank and create conditions for flanking action. And the 74th Corps — General Wang Yaowu's elite formation, comprising the 51st, 57th, and 58th Divisions — would hold the final line at Shanggao and serve as the anvil upon which the Japanese advance would shatter. The 74th Corps was by 1941 one of the most battle-hardened formations in the Nationalist Army. It had fought at Shanghai in 1937, at Wuhan in 1938, and in the hills and valleys of Jiangxi through the years since. Its men knew the terrain around Shanggao. They had prepared positions in depth, studied the approaches, and rehearsed the defensive plan Luo had designed. When the Japanese came, they would be ready. Against the Chinese 70,000 — distributed across eleven divisions in four corps, with additional provincial security forces for local coverage — the Japanese would throw roughly 20,000 men: three major formations advancing in coordinated columns. The disparity in numbers was stark, but the Japanese had the advantages of offensive initiative, air superiority, and the formidable fighting quality that the Imperial Army had demonstrated throughout the war in China. The question was whether those advantages would be enough to overcome a prepared defense wielded by a commander who had invited the attack. The operational plan devised by the Japanese 11th Army called for three columns to converge simultaneously on Shanggao from north, center, and south — a classic encirclement concept that, if executed with precision, would catch the Chinese defenders in a tightening vice. In the north, the main force of the 33rd Division under Lieutenant General Sakurai Shōzō would drive westward from its bases around Anyi and Ganzhoujie, descending the Liao River valley to threaten the Chinese right flank and prevent the 70th Corps from interfering with operations in the center.In the center, Ōga's 34th Division would advance along the Xiang–Gan Highway — the direct route from Nanchang toward Shanggao — capturing the town of Gao'an along the way and pressing relentlessly westward until it reached the main defensive positions. This was the principal striking force, the column designed to crack open the Chinese defenses and seize the objective.In the south, the Independent Mixed 20th Brigade under Major General Ikeda would cross the Jin River and advance along its south bank, eventually swinging north to link up with the 34th Division and complete the encirclement of whatever Chinese forces remained in the Shanggao area. The plan was coherent on paper. But it contained a structural flaw so serious that, in retrospect, it is difficult to understand how the 11th Army's staff allowed it to proceed uncorrected. The success of any converging operation depends on synchronization — on each column hitting its objectives on schedule and maintaining communication with the others so that each can react to developments on the other prongs. Yet the 11th Army headquarters made no recorded effort to coordinate the 33rd and 34th Divisions before the battle began. There was no forward command post established to oversee the operation. General Marube remained at Hankou, hundreds of miles to the north, throughout the battle — as remote from the fighting as a Tokyo bureaucrat. Operational decisions were left entirely to the individual divisions, with no mechanism to coordinate their actions if something went wrong. Something was going to go wrong. Luo Zhuoying had seen to that. On the morning of March 15, 1941, all three Japanese columns stepped off simultaneously, advancing into the misty hills and rice paddies of northwestern Jiangxi. In the north, Sakurai's 33rd Division moved briskly from Anyi toward Fengxin. The town fell by noon, and the division pressed westward in good order. The Japanese infantry moved confidently along the Liao River valley, experienced soldiers who had fought across China and had no particular reason to expect what was coming. The Chinese 70th Corps gave ground — as it had been ordered to — but did so on its own terms, occupying and then abandoning successive pieces of high ground along both banks of the river, making the Japanese advance uncomfortable and costly. Gradually, almost imperceptibly, the 33rd Division was being drawn forward into terrain that favored the defender. By March 18 and 19, the 33rd Division had pushed all the way to Guzhu'ao and Huamenlo — a considerable advance, but one that had taken the division far from its base at Anyi. And it was here, far from support and with flanks increasingly exposed, that the Chinese blocking forces closed in. Chinese infantry, who had been waiting in prepared positions in the high ground overlooking the river valley, launched coordinated counter-attacks that struck the 33rd Division from multiple directions. The fighting was fierce and costly. In two days of close combat, the division suffered more than 2,500 casualties — a grievous toll that represented a significant fraction of its effective strength. The northern column had been stopped dead. On March 19, Sakurai ordered the 33rd Division to reverse course. By March 23, after four days of painful withdrawal under pressure, it had pulled back to Anyi — the same place it had started. The northern prong of the Japanese offensive had accomplished nothing except the loss of thousands of men. In the south, the Independent Mixed 20th Brigade had a rougher start. Its initial attempt to cross the Gan-Jin river junction at noon on March 15 was repulsed by Chinese defenders, and it was only under cover of darkness that the brigade managed to force a crossing. Once across, it moved westward along the south bank of the Jin River, but progress was slow and contested. A detachment — the Gan River Detachment — ran into fierce resistance from the 26th Division of the Chinese 49th Corps on March 19. The brigade's main body meanwhile fought its way through the 51st Division of the 74th Corps, but the 107th Division and elements of the 51st managed to contain the advance at the Laichunling–Zhutoushan line. On the night of March 20, the main body of the 20th Brigade crossed the Jin River at Huifu to link up with the 34th Division — but a portion of its troops, cut off on the south bank, was destroyed by Chinese forces. The southern column was across the Jin River, but it had taken losses and was already engaged in ways its planners had not anticipated. In the center, the 34th Division fared best in the early going. Ōga's division moved westward from Xishan along the Xiang–Gan Highway on March 16, and by the 17th had captured Gao'an — a meaningful early success. The Chinese 74th Corps, executing Luo's plan faithfully, dispatched only screening forces east of the Tangpu River to slow the Japanese advance rather than contesting it decisively. The main body of the 74th Corps fell back to the third-line positions at Sixi, Guanqiao, and Tangpu, preparing the killing ground that Luo had designated. Simultaneously, the 26th Division and most of the 105th Division from the 49th Corps were shifted across the Gan River to operate south of the Jin River on the Japanese left flank, and the 72nd Corps was ordered to maneuver on a wide envelopment around Daxia and south of Ganfang. By March 20–21, the 34th Division had pressed forward to attack the Chinese positions at Sixi and Guanqiao. Ōga's men were confident — they had taken Gao'an, they were moving, and the objective of Shanggao lay within reach. But as the division pushed toward Shangjijia, it ran squarely into the 57th and 58th Divisions of the 74th Corps, fighting with a tenacity that told the Japanese plainly enough: this was where the Chinese intended to stand. The week of March 21–24 brought the battle to its crisis. The 34th Division hammered at the Chinese positions defending Shanggao itself, while on the flanks, the fighting took on a character that neither side had entirely anticipated. On March 21, General Wang Yaowu — commanding the 74th Corps from his headquarters in Shanggao — decided it was time to do more than absorb Japanese blows. He ordered General Li Tianxia to clear Japanese forces from the south bank of the Jin River and advance on Gao'an, with the aim of cutting the 34th Division's supply line and threatening its rear. It was an aggressive move, and if it had worked, it might have produced a decisive result earlier than history would record. It did not work — at least not immediately. That very evening, the Independent Mixed 20th Brigade, which had been reorganizing after the chaos of the river crossing, launched a powerful offensive at dawn on the 22nd. Li Tianxia's lead elements had barely set out from Shitou Street when they collided head-on with the main force of the 20th Brigade, which had crossed back from the north bank of the Jin River. The Japanese thrust was coordinated and aggressive: one column circled wide to attack Lazhu Mountain; another swung south of Hu Family west of Shitou Street to strike Li's division in the flank and rear; and nine aircraft with four artillery pieces bombarded the Chinese positions from north to south. Li's division could not hold against this convergent assault and fell back to the high ground southwest of Shitou Street. Wang Yaowu reacted quickly. He ordered Li's main body to wheel left to face the new threat and simultaneously dispatched the Army's Field Supplementary Regiment — held in reserve near Yintang — on a forced march to Huayang to block the Japanese westward drive. This regiment, racing down roads strafed by nine enemy aircraft, covered 15 li per hour and seized Huayang and the high ground to its northeast by around seven in the morning. By nine, the 20th Brigade arrived in strength and — supported by more than ten aircraft — launched a fierce assault on the regiment's positions. The regiment's officers and men held firm, taking heavy casualties but refusing to break. Frustrated at Huayang, the 20th Brigade shifted its effort to the Kuang Family area, linking up with over a thousand men who had crossed from Baichetou to the south bank and pushing along the river toward Xiongfang in an attempt to outflank the Chinese left wing. The Supplementary Regiment sent its 1st Battalion with a mortar company to meet this threat, and the two forces met in a fierce engagement. When the Japanese reinforced their assault and deployed incendiary bombs and poison gas, Xiongfang fell by early afternoon — but Li Tianxia immediately sent two regiments from his right flank to take it back, and by midnight the position was in Chinese hands again. Shitou Street and Jigong Ridge were simultaneously recaptured. The Independent Mixed 20th Brigade now found itself in an increasingly uncomfortable position, fighting with the Jin River at its back and the initiative slipping away. Meanwhile, the main event was being fought in the rubble and ridgelines around Shanggao itself. From March 22 to 25, the 34th Division and whatever remnants of the 20th Brigade could contribute threw themselves repeatedly at the defensive line anchored on Stone Arch Bridge, Xia Po Bridge, Xu Lou, Pan Family Bridge, Cloud Head Mountain, and Lei Family Mountain. This was not the fluid, mobile warfare that the Japanese had envisioned but brutal, grinding attritional combat for individual strongpoints and ridgelines, with positions changing hands multiple times in a single day. The Japanese air arm was deeply involved. Ōga's division had close air support that could operate even in poor weather, and Group 3 of the Japanese Air Force hammered the Chinese positions with sustained effort. On the morning of March 24, after the 34th Division fed in more than 3,000 additional troops transferred across the Jin River, the Air Force dispatched over seventy aircraft that dropped more than 1,700 bombs, largely destroying the defensive positions of Liao Lingqi's division. The Japanese exploited the resulting chaos and twice broke through gaps in the line — but were driven out each time by Chinese counterattacks. At noon, enemy aircraft bombarded in relays and Japanese infantry broke through at Xia Po Bridge. It was at this moment that Li Hanqing, commanding the Chinese infantry defense in that sector, did what officers throughout history have done when systems fail and only personal example can stem the tide: he personally led his officer cadre in repeated counter-attacks, hand-to-hand fighting in the rubble until the Japanese were finally expelled. By this point, the 34th Division's offensive capacity was nearly spent. At the same time — and this was the critical shift that would determine the battle's outcome — General Luo Zhuoying recognized that the moment to spring the trap had arrived. The northern column had already been broken and sent reeling back toward Anyi. The southern column was pinned against the Jin River with its back to the water. The central column was bled white against the defenses of Shanggao. Luo now ordered all his armies to close in from multiple directions. On the morning of March 22, he had already begun revising his orders; by noon on the 23rd, the forces of Liu Duoquan and Li Jue had occupied Shitou Street, Guanqiao Street, and Yanggong Market, pressing on Huifu and Gaoyao. The encirclement of the 34th Division was not yet complete, but its shape was unmistakably forming. By March 25, the 34th Division knew it was in mortal danger. Surrounded on three sides, its ammunition running low and its casualty lists growing by the hour, the division urgently appealed to the 11th Army for rescue. The message that arrived in Hankou was a shock. General Marube and his staff, who had remained at their distant headquarters throughout the battle without establishing a forward command post, had not properly grasped the scale of the disaster unfolding in Jiangxi. The lack of coordination between the 33rd and 34th Divisions — the structural flaw that had been built into the operation from its conception — had allowed Luo Zhuoying to defeat each column separately, and now the central column faced annihilation. The 11th Army responded in a scramble. Chief of Staff Kinoshita was dispatched by aircraft to Nanchang with Operations Staff Officer Lieutenant Colonel Yamaguchi and Captain Ōne to organize a relief operation. The 33rd Division — barely recovered from its own battering in the north — was ordered to sortie immediately and fight its way to the 34th Division's relief. Sakurai organized his battered 33rd Division into three rescue columns. Infantry Brigade Commander Araki Shōji took the right column, leading Infantry Regiment 215 with one mountain artillery battalion. Infantry Regiment 214 formed the left column. The divisional commander himself led the central column with the main divisional force. On March 24 and 25, all three columns sortied from strongpoints at Niuxing, Fengxin, and other positions, attacking across the Wuqiao River and through Cunqian Street toward Tangpu and Guanqiao. The relief operation brought the battle to its most complicated moment. On the morning of March 25, the 33rd Division launched a fierce assault on the forces that Luo Zhuoying had positioned to tighten the encirclement from the north — striking Zhang Yanchuan's division at Kengkou Leng, Jiezipo, and Nancha Luo. Zhang's division, struck simultaneously from the front and rear, withdrew at dusk to near Tu Di Wang Temple, where it linked up with Tang Boyin's division. What happened next became one of the most controversial decisions of the entire battle. Zhang Yanchuan was serving as deputy army commander in the absence of Li Jue from the front. Surveying the situation — his own division under heavy pressure, the 33rd Division's relief columns pushing aggressively — Zhang concluded that the position was untenable. On his own authority, without authorization from Luo Zhuoying or any superior commander, he withdrew both his own and Tang Boyin's divisions to Fenghuang Market and Zhuangfang. The consequence was immediate and severe. The withdrawal opened a corridor through which the 33rd Division entered Guanqiao and linked up with the encircled 34th Division. An encirclement that had taken days of blood and sacrifice to construct was torn open by a single unauthorized decision. Luo Zhuoying, when he received word of Zhang's withdrawal the following morning, was furious — but he could not change what had already happened. He could only adapt. The breakout itself was an ordeal. A portion of the 34th Division that attempted to escape to the east was intercepted near Huifu by a division of the 49th Corps and lost roughly half its strength before being compelled to turn back. The main body ultimately broke out on March 27, withdrawing in march order that told its own story of disaster: headquarters, baggage, artillery, casualties, field hospital, rear guard — all moving in what the records describe as "a wretched state." On the night of March 27, Japanese troops escorting the 34th Division's field hospital — a field artillery company of the 8th Battery — were completely annihilated in a Chinese night attack. When the division reached Longtuan Xu on March 28, the stretcher-bearer column carrying the wounded stretched some seven to eight kilometers along the road. That same day, the 33rd Division's Infantry Regiment 214 finally made contact with the 34th Division's headquarters, completing what amounted to a rescue of men who had already endured their defeat. The 33rd Division's mountain artillery batteries exhausted their entire ammunition supply covering the retreat and required emergency aerial resupply drops to continue. The 34th Division limped back to its original garrison on April 2. Despite the setback caused by Zhang Yanchuan's unauthorized withdrawal, Luo Zhuoying did not abandon his design. Assessing his situation on the morning of March 26, he found reason for cautious optimism: Wang Yaowu's army was still making progress at Shanggao; the Japanese south of the Jin River had largely been cleared; and Sichuan Army and Northeastern Army units that had been moving to reinforce the battle had now reached the field, meaning Chinese forces retained significant numerical superiority. He resolved to execute a second encirclement. At nine in the morning of March 26, Luo issued strict orders: Zhang Yanchuan's and Tang Boyin's divisions were to immediately comply with their original orders and block the enemy near Guanqiao; Yu Chengwan's division was to attack northward via Pan Family Bridge; Liao Lingqi's and Song Yingzhong's divisions were to press toward Guanqiao with full force; Wang Kejun's division was to strike the enemy's flank and rear east of Guanqiao; Fu Yi's division was to advance south of Jiang Family Isle; and Chen Liangji's division was to swing southeast via Changpu to complete the enemy's destruction. The second ring was being drawn. On March 28, as the 34th Division's battered column trudged eastward toward survival, Wang Kejun's division advancing from Yanggong Market moved to intercept it. The Chinese occupied high ground north and south of Yanggong Market and along Mozi Ridge, and what followed was a grinding all-day battle that fixed the Japanese column at the Xiama Bei–Huxing Ridge line. Part of the 20th Brigade, moving up from Gao'an to assist the withdrawing 34th Division, was blocked near Long Tu Market. Liao Lingqi's division pursued the enemy rear guard to the Changling–Manmei high ground, where the fighting erupted with renewed intensity. At noon, part of Li Tianxia's division arrived and deployed along the Shangluoxiang–Shanyuan–Fangtounao line to harass the Japanese right flank; part of Yu Chengwan's division reached Longxing Mountain and outflanked Guanqiao Street from the south. The surviving Japanese defenders in Guanqiao withdrew into the town for a last stand, and after Liao's division pressed the assault, street fighting raged until five in the afternoon, when over 600 defenders were annihilated. Over 2,000 troops of the Independent Mixed 20th Brigade conducted a fighting withdrawal from Long Tu Market and Yanggong Market, covered by Japanese aircraft bombing to shield the 34th Division's retreat. By noon on March 30, the Japanese had abandoned both strongpoints and scattered northeastward. One group of over 600 men fled directly into the main positions of Zhang Yanchuan's division — an ironic fate, given Zhang's earlier withdrawal — and were largely annihilated. The encircling forces had been essentially dispersed, and the two pursuit columns now pressed forward under the overall direction of General Xue Yue, who had assumed personal coordination of the chase. On March 27, Luo Zhuoying — confident that victory was secured — issued a general order for a final offensive and announced substantial cash rewards to his troops: prizes offered for the capture of Japanese officers, artillery pieces, regimental colors, and other materiel. The rewards were both a practical incentive and a mark of how far the battle had tipped. By midnight on March 31, Chen Hongshi's advance column had recovered Gao'an; Wang Tiehan's division had recovered Xiangfu Guan. On April 2, the divisions of Zhang Yanchuan and Song Yingzhong recovered Fengxin; that afternoon Wang Tiehan's division took back Xishan and Wanshou Palace — the very base from which the 34th Division had launched its offensive. By April 3, the pursuing armies had reached the vicinity of Dacheng and Ganzhoujie. On April 8 and 9, the 70th Corps recovered the outpost strongpoints around Anyi before halting operations. The Japanese had retreated into their original positions and were defending from prepared terrain. The pursuit was over. The Battle of Shanggao had lasted nineteen days and nights. No battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War was ever free of the fog of competing claims, and Shanggao was no exception. On March 29, before the pursuit had even concluded, Luo Zhuoying telegraphed Chiang Kai-shek with his accounting of the victory. His numbers were dramatic: Major General Iwanaga, the Japanese infantry commander, killed; regimental commander Colonel Hamada, killed; over 15,000 Japanese killed or wounded in total. Chinese losses, Luo reported, exceeded 20,000. Ten guns, over a thousand rifles, and numerous machine guns had been captured. His superior, General Xue Yue, was skeptical. In a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek on April 5, Xue reduced Luo's numbers by twenty percent, reporting 12,520 Japanese killed or wounded and 14 prisoners captured. The discrepancy between two Chinese commanders reporting on the same battle speaks to the difficulty of battlefield accounting in any era, and suggests something of the competitive pressures that shaped how Chinese commanders reported their victories to Chongqing. The official Chinese histories, compiled after the war in the History of the War of Resistance, reported approximately 15,000 Japanese killed or wounded, 17 prisoners taken, and significant quantities of captured materiel: 6 mountain guns, 1 mortar, 24 light machine guns, 408 rifles, 24 grenade launchers, and over 111,717 rounds of various ammunition. Chinese casualties, by the same records, were 17,119 killed or wounded and 2,814 missing. Japanese records for the battle do not survive — a consequence of the wholesale destruction of Imperial Army documentation at the war's end. Contemporary scholars, working from other sources, estimate actual Japanese combat losses at approximately 5,500 killed and wounded. This is substantially lower than the Chinese claims, as was nearly always the case in the war, but represents a significant defeat by any measure: roughly a quarter of the force committed, many of them veterans impossible to replace. Chiang Kai-shek subsequently awarded the victorious Chinese units a commendation prize of 150,000 yuan — a substantial sum that marked the battle's significance in Nationalist eyes. The outcome at Shanggao was not accidental. Several interlocking factors combined to produce a Chinese victory, and each deserves consideration. The most fundamental was Luo Zhuoying's defensive plan. The decision to trade space for time — to absorb the Japanese advance through three successive defensive lines rather than contest the frontier — required both tactical confidence and a willingness to accept initial setbacks that could easily be misread as defeat. Chinese forces had to give ground, and they did. They had to suffer through the early days of Japanese advance without breaking and running, drawing the enemy forward and allowing the encirclement to take shape. That they largely succeeded in executing this plan reflects the improving quality of the Nationalist Army by 1941: better trained, better led at the operational level, and — critically — equipped with a strategic design that matched the actual balance of forces. The defeat in detail of the Japanese columns was equally important. By neutralizing the 33rd Division in the north before it could contribute to the central effort, and by pinning the 20th Brigade against the Jin River with its back to the water, Luo's forces ensured that the 34th Division faced the third-line defenses essentially alone — outnumbered, overextended, and unsupported. The Japanese operational concept had been a three-pronged convergence; what actually materialized was a single exhausted division hammering at a prepared defense while two other columns were rendered ineffective. The absence of coordination within the Japanese 11th Army was a gift that kept giving throughout the battle. No forward command post. No mechanism for the divisions to adjust their operations in response to each other's situations. No ability to recognize, in real time, that the northern column was being destroyed and redirect resources accordingly. General Marube's decision to remain at Hankou while his men died in Jiangxi was not merely an administrative failure; it was an operational catastrophe. Japanese commanders acknowledged this failing explicitly after the battle, but the acknowledgment changed nothing for the dead. Zhang Yanchuan's unauthorized withdrawal — the single most consequential individual decision of the battle — ultimately prevented a complete annihilation of the 34th Division rather than affecting the battle's outcome. The 34th Division escaped; but it did so in a "wretched state," having lost enormous numbers of men and equipment. It broke out, not triumphed. The encirclement Luo had constructed was torn open, but the Japanese paid dearly for the breach. The consequences of Shanggao rippled outward in ways that shaped the subsequent course of the war in central China. The transfer of the 33rd Division to North China — the original logistical rationale for the entire operation — was delayed by the division's involvement and subsequent losses at Shanggao. When it finally arrived at the Battle of Central Plains  the following month, it did so on the eve of battle with no time for preparation or orientation, entering combat under severely disadvantaged conditions. The operation that was supposed to facilitate a smooth redeployment had instead damaged one of the two units involved and delayed the other. For the Chinese 74th Corps, Shanggao had an ironic consequence. The Japanese 11th Army, following the battle, formally designated the 74th Corps as a priority target — a "standing enemy" and directed its forces to seek out and destroy it in future operations. At the First Battle of Changsha that September, the 11th Army specifically oriented its forces against the 74th Corps, a testament to the lasting impression that corps's fierce resistance at Shanggao had made on its adversaries. The compliment of being specifically targeted by the enemy was one the 74th Corps had earned in blood at Shanggao's ridgelines and shattered bridges. More broadly, the battle was widely regarded at the time, and has been regarded since, as one of the most significant Chinese tactical victories of the first four years of the War of Resistance. Its significance lay not only in the casualties inflicted — those were contested and probably inflated in the Chinese records — but in what it demonstrated. The improving tactical and operational competence of the Nationalist Army was on display. The deliberate defense, the layered withdrawal, the coordinated encirclement — these were not the operations of an army that had been fighting desperately for survival since 1937 and had learned nothing. They were the operations of an army that had studied its defeats and adapted. Shanggao did not change the strategic situation in China. The front in Jiangxi remained where it had been; the Japanese still occupied Nanchang and the major cities; Chiang Kai-shek was still in Chongqing and the war was still far from over. But it demonstrated something important: that the Chinese Army, given capable commanders, a sound plan, and the discipline to execute it, could do more than survive Japanese offensives. It could reverse them, encircle them, and pursue them back to where they came from. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. In March–April 1940, Japanese forces attacked Shanggao with a limited, multi-pronged plan. Chinese troops used elastic defense and coordinated counter-moves, turning initial advantages into a trap. After intense fighting and air strikes, a coordinated encirclement and timely breakout routed the Japanese, forcing retreat despite their numbers in a costly battle.

durée : 00:02:36 - Debout la Terre - L'établissement, premier français dans le classement de Shanghai, a signé le jeudi 10 juin un partenariat avec la multinationale pour qu'elle participe à son master "Énergie" à partir de la rentrée 2026. Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France

Michael McFaul explains that China's current global posture is deeply rooted in the "century of humiliation," a period of historical weakness that Xi Jinping is determined to never repeat. Under Xi's leadership, the state has become significantly more autocratic, utilizing advanced technology for domestic monitoring and total surveillance. McFaulpoints out that Xi is moving away from the market-driven ideas that fueled China's growth, potentially leading to future economic stagnation. Despite this tightening control, internal demands for freedom remain in regions like Hong Kongand Xinjiang, where people continue to resist state-led repression. (4)11925 SHANGHAI

Major cities report sharp increases in departure tax refund transactions各大城市离境退税业务量大幅增长Chinese-made drones, smartphones, action cameras and designer toys are increasingly replacing tea, porcelain and panda-themed gifts on foreign tourists' shopping lists in China, as they increasingly seek innovative, higher-value products offering strong value for money, advanced features and models often unavailable abroad, according to customs authorities across the country.全国海关表示，外国游客在华购物清单中，国产无人机、智能手机、运动相机、潮流玩具正逐步取代茶叶、瓷器、熊猫周边礼品。如今他们更青睐创意足、附加值高的商品，这类产品性价比出众、功能先进，且很多款式在海外难以买到。Bolstered by the "Shopping in China" campaign and the growing popularity of the "China Travel" trend, customs authorities in major cities have reported sharp increases in departure tax refund transactions during the first five months, and expect the momentum to continue throughout the year.依托“购在中国”活动以及“中国游”热度持续攀升，各大城市海关数据显示，今年前五个月离境退税业务量大幅上涨，业内预计这一势头将贯穿全年。Customs officials at Nanjing Lukou International Airport in Jiangsu province verified 1,171 departure tax refund applications during the January-May period, covering tax-refundable goods worth 26.67 million yuan ($3.94 million), up 173.6 percent and 32.42 percent year-on-year, respectively, said Nanjing Customs.南京海关介绍，今年1至5月，江苏南京禄口国际机场海关共审核通过1171笔离境退税申请，退税商品总值达2667万元人民币（折合394万美元），同比分别增长173.6%和32.42%。Zhang Qian, a customs official at the airport, said that as departure tax refund transactions continue to rise, new trends are emerging in shopping preferences of foreign visitors.该机场海关工作人员张茜表示，随着离境退税业务不断增多，外国游客的购物偏好也出现了新趋势。"Chinese-made smart electronic products and trendy domestic cultural and creative goods have become increasingly popular among foreign travelers, attracting growing interest with their quality, innovation and distinctive Chinese appeal," said Zhang.她说道：“国产智能电子产品、新潮文创商品深受外国游客喜爱，凭借优良品质、创新设计和浓郁的中国特色收获了越来越多关注。”Hong Yang, another customs official at Ningbo Customs' airport branch in Zhejiang province shared similar views.浙江宁波海关机场办事处工作人员洪洋也持相同看法。"Fashion apparel, beauty products and premium lifestyle goods are also gaining traction among foreign travelers departing from Ningbo," she said.她表示：“时装、美妆产品以及高端生活日用品，也越来越受到从宁波离境的外国游客青睐。”Guan Lixin, a researcher specializing in marketing and consumption at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said the shift in foreign visitors' purchasing patterns reflects how Chinese brands are moving up the value chain and gaining recognition among consumers worldwide. Many products also offer better value and a wider selection of models than those available overseas.北京商务部国际贸易经济合作研究院流通与消费研究所的研究员关利欣认为，外国游客消费偏好的转变，体现出中国品牌正迈向价值链高端，获得全球消费者认可。不少国产商品性价比更高，款式选择也比海外市场更丰富。Guan said the trend also highlights the growing appeal of shopping as part of the travel experience in China, with foreign visitors seeking unique products that combine practical value, cultural elements and memorable experiences.关利欣称，这一趋势也说明，购物已成为中国旅行体验中极具吸引力的一环，外国游客偏爱兼具实用性、文化特色且能留下美好回忆的特色商品。To further enhance the shopping experience for foreign visitors, the Shanghai municipal government recently rolled out a new departure tax refund program, introducing new measures such as upgraded end-to-end digital tax refund services and improved digital verification services at ports of departure.为进一步优化外国游客购物体验，上海市政府近期推出全新离境退税方案，升级全流程线上退税服务，并完善口岸线上核验等多项举措。Shanghai Customs processed 201,000 departure tax refund verification forms between January and May, with refund-eligible purchases totaling 1.92 billion yuan, up 300 percent and 62 percent year-on-year, respectively, underscoring the growing popularity of tax-free shopping among foreign visitors.今年1至5月，上海海关共审核20.1万份离境退税单据，退税消费总额达19.2亿元人民币，同比分别增长300%和62%，足以体现免税购物在外国游客中愈发受欢迎。In the Chinese capital, Beijing Customs verified 87,906 departure tax refund applications during the first five months, involving refund-eligible purchases worth 758 million yuan, up 612.42 percent and 53.13 percent year-on-year, respectively.首都北京方面，北京海关前五个月共审核通过87906笔离境退税申请，退税商品总额7.58亿元人民币，同比分别上涨612.42%和53.13%。In a further move to encourage spending by international travelers, the Ministry of Commerce and several other government departments unveiled a new departure tax refund program in May aimed at optimizing departure tax refund services and expanding inbound consumption.为进一步提振境外游客消费，商务部等多部门于5月发布全新离境退税相关方案，旨在优化退税服务、扩大入境消费规模。The policy package includes broader coverage of departure tax refund stores, paperless processing, enhanced refund-upon-purchase services and more efficient verification procedures.该系列政策包括扩大退税商店覆盖范围、推行无纸化办理、优化即买即退服务以及简化核验流程。The measures will make refund-upon-purchase services more convenient by enabling travelers to complete tax refund procedures at any eligible port of departure, said Yang Mu, director of the department of market operation and consumption promotion at the Ministry of Commerce.商务部市场运行和消费促进司司长杨沐表示，新规允许游客在任意合规离境口岸办理退税，将大幅提升即买即退服务的便捷度。transaction /trænˈzækʃn/交易；业务办理momentum /məˈmentəm/势头；发展趋势verification /ˌverɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/核验；审核premium /ˈpriːmiəm/高端的；优质的underscore /ˌʌndəˈskɔː(r)/强调；凸显unveil /ʌnˈveɪl/公布；推出（政策、方案）

ITP - 148 follows Scott and Amanda as they share their international teaching journey from Dubai, Shanghai, the Philippines, Thailand, and Riyadh to their upcoming move to Jakarta. In this episode, they talk about meeting through OkCupid across continents, transitioning from teaching into school counseling, supporting student mental health in international schools, and what it is like to have a baby in Saudi Arabia while living overseas as educators.The conversation also explores raising a child as a third culture kid, navigating maternity and paternity leave abroad, international healthcare experiences, taxes and residency considerations for overseas teachers, and the realities of moving countries with pets, a newborn, and a teaching career. This episode is especially relevant for international teachers interested in counseling, family life abroad, overseas childbirth, and long-term expat living.-more information-The International Teacher Podcast is a bi-weekly discussion with experts in international education. New Teachers, burned out local teachers, local School Leaders, International school Leadership, current Overseas Teachers, and everyone interested in international schools can benefit from hearing stories and advice about living and teaching overseas.Additional Gems Related to Our Show:Greg's Favorite Video From Living Overseas - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQWKBwzF-hw⁠Signup to be our guest  ⁠https://calendly.com/itpexpat/itp-interview?month=2025-01⁠Our Website⁠ -  ⁠https://www.itpexpat.com/⁠Our FaceBook Group - ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/itpexpat⁠⁠JPMint Consulting Website  - ⁠https://www.jpmintconsulting.com/⁠Hannah's Personal IG - https://www.instagram.com/thatexpatfamily?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==Greg's Personal YouTube Channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs1B3Wc0wm6DR_99OS5SyzvuzENc-bBdO⁠Books By Gregory Lemoine:⁠International Teacher Guide: Finding the "Right Fit" 2nd Edition (2025)⁠ | by Gregory Lemoine M.Ed.⁠⁠"International Teaching: The Best-kept Secret in Education"⁠⁠ | by Gregory Lemoine M.Ed.Apps by Greg:https://apps.apple.com/app/6755244840  1. Who's That? Name & Face Trainer  Nov 21, 2025https://apps.apple.com/app/6756509803   2. Facetag | Memory Trainer   Dec 16, 2025Chapters:(00:00) Introduction and Location Check-In(02:38) Scott and Amanda's Journey in International Education(05:51) Navigating Long-Distance Relationships in Teaching Abroad(08:18) Transitioning from Teaching to Counseling(10:58) The Role of Counselors in International Schools(13:53) Cultural Perspectives on Mental Health(16:38) The Importance of Counseling in Diverse Environments(19:19) Advisory Programs and Their Impact(21:51) Mental Health Awareness and Support(24:42) Parenting and Teaching Abroad(25:32) The Birth Experience: Teams and Protocols(27:30) Emergency Situations and Communication Challenges(29:29) Healthcare Experiences: Comparing Countries(31:24) Maternity Leave and Support Systems(35:13) Raising Third Culture Kids(38:47) Family Dynamics and Long-Distance Relationships(45:17) Choosing the Right Place to Live(47:54) Navigating Life Changes and Challenges(49:50) Understanding Tax Implications for Expats(52:41) Creating a Sense of Home Abroad(58:50) Adventures with Law Enforcement(01:00:52) Final Thoughts and Reflections

The Shanghai International Film Festival is back and completely different this year, breaking records with over 4,100 submissions from 125 countries. But the real story is what happens off screen, from AI workshops and experimental film labs to walking tours through historic neighborhoods. So how is SIFF turning all of Shanghai into part of the show? On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yang Guang

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: From Towering Heights: Lijuan Climbing Her Path to Success Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2026-06-12-07-38-19-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 丽娟站在上海塔的底部，抬头望着这座高耸入云的建筑。En: Lijuan stood at the base of the Shanghai Tower, looking up at this towering building that soared into the clouds.Zh: 塔的玻璃反射出晚春的阳光，闪闪发光。En: The glass of the tower reflected the late spring sunlight, sparkling brightly.Zh: 今天是端午节，上海的街道上到处都能看到粽子和五彩绳。En: Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, and on the streets of Shanghai, zongzi and colorful strings were everywhere.Zh: 丽娟心里有些紧张，因为她即将去见她的哥哥志浩。En: Lijuan felt a bit nervous because she was about to meet her brother Zhihao.Zh: 志浩是一家科技公司的高管，他的办公室在上海塔的顶层。En: Zhihao is a senior executive at a tech company, and his office is on the top floor of the Shanghai Tower.Zh: 在家人眼中，志浩总是成功的象征，这让丽娟倍感压力。En: In the eyes of the family, Zhihao has always been a symbol of success, which added pressure on Lijuan.Zh: 丽娟刚刚大学毕业，渴望在上海找到一份工作，证明自己的能力。En: Having just graduated from college, Lijuan was eager to find a job in Shanghai to prove her own capabilities.Zh: 尽管丽娟觉得和哥哥比肩是件难事，但她决心抓住机会。En: Although Lijuan felt that matching her brother's achievements was challenging, she was determined to seize the opportunity.Zh: 在志浩的安排下，她参加了塔顶的一个科技会议，希望能结识到一些行业的前辈。En: Arranged by Zhihao, she attended a tech conference at the top of the tower, hoping to connect with some industry veterans.Zh: 塔内现代化的装潢，简约而又繁忙，不少人在忙着交流科技创想。En: The modern decor inside the tower was both simple and busy, with many people engaged in exchanging tech ideas.Zh: 会议上，每个人都在讨论着最新的科技创新。En: During the conference, everyone was discussing the latest technological innovations.Zh: 丽娟走进一个房间，里面正举行着一个临时的交流活动。En: Lijuan entered a room where an impromptu networking event was being held.Zh: 有人突然叫她上台做简短的自我介绍，这让丽娟心跳加速。En: Someone suddenly called her to the stage for a brief self-introduction, which made her heart race.Zh: 丽娟深吸了一口气，走上台前。En: Taking a deep breath, Lijuan walked to the front of the stage.Zh: 她向大家介绍了自己的专业和兴趣，并说起了她对科技的热爱。En: She introduced her major and interests to everyone and spoke about her passion for technology.Zh: 虽然声音有点颤抖，但她坚持说完了自己的话。En: Although her voice trembled a bit, she insisted on finishing her speech.Zh: 难以置信的是，一个潜在的雇主对她的话很感兴趣。En: Incredibly, a potential employer was very interested in what she said.Zh: 他之后主动找丽娟交谈，并向她提供了一个实习机会。En: He later approached Lijuan and offered her an internship opportunity.Zh: 这次机会对丽娟来说，是对她能力的肯定。En: This opportunity was an affirmation of her abilities for Lijuan.Zh: 当她离开上海塔时，丽娟感到一种从未有过的坚定。En: As she left the Shanghai Tower, Lijuan felt a sense of determination she had never felt before.Zh: 她明白，自己不用再和哥哥比较，而是可以走出自己的道路。En: She realized that she no longer needed to compare herself with her brother but could instead pave her own path.Zh: 丽娟对未来充满了希望，心里默默地笑了。En: Lijuan was filled with hope for the future, silently smiling to herself.Zh: 今天在塔顶，她不仅克服了自己的恐惧，也找到了自信和奋斗的方向。En: Today at the top of the tower, she not only overcame her fears but also found confidence and a direction for her efforts. Vocabulary Words:towering: 高耸入云soared: 高耸sparkling: 闪闪发光colorful strings: 五彩绳nervous: 紧张symbol: 象征pressure: 压力capabilities: 能力seize: 抓住opportunity: 机会conference: 会议veterans: 前辈modern decor: 现代化的装潢engaged: 忙着technological innovations: 科技创新impromptu: 临时的networking event: 交流活动self-introduction: 自我介绍passion: 热爱trembled: 颤抖incredibly: 难以置信potential: 潜在的employer: 雇主affirmation: 肯定determination: 坚定compare: 比较pave: 走出path: 道路overcame: 克服confidence: 自信

Le chinois Unitree Robotics accélère sa marche vers la Bourse;Alibaba veut démocratiser l'IA;Des surveillants assistés par l'IA ont été intégrés à Gaokao ;En Chine, 32 modèles de véhicules à essence ont baissé leur prix cette année ;Les exportations de voitures de tourisme à énergie nouvelle ont bondi en mai;La Chine lance un gigantesque projet de voie navigable sur le fleuve Yangtsé;La Chine prévoit de construire et de moderniser 770.000 km de canalisations souterraines urbaines ;La première croisière sans destination précise de la Chine part de Shanghai;Ouverture du Forum de coopération agro-technologique et industrielle Chine-Afrique 2026;Une nouvelle technique chirurgicale favorise le rétablissement de la vision en Chine

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Steamed Surprises: A Midsummer Tale of Team Unity Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2026-06-11-07-38-20-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 在上海的一家繁华茶馆里，空气中飘着热腾腾的茶香，四周挂满了为端午节准备的纸灯笼。En: In a bustling tea house in Shanghai, the air was filled with the aroma of steaming tea, and paper lanterns prepared for the Duanwu Festival hung all around.Zh: 茶馆里人声鼎沸，坐在临窗位置还能看到远处现代化的上海天际线。En: The tea house was buzzing with chatter, and sitting by the window offered a view of the distant, modern Shanghai skyline.Zh: 明宇、丽华和小雷，正在为他们的老板准备一个惊喜生日派对。En: Mingyu, Lihua, and Xiaolei were busy planning a surprise birthday party for their boss.Zh: 明宇是个热情且细致的团队领袖，他决心使这个派对完美无瑕。En: Mingyu, an enthusiastic and meticulous team leader, was determined to make the party flawless.Zh: 他的心思缜密，每个细节都不放过。En: He was thorough and left no detail unchecked.Zh: “小心，别让老板发现我们的计划，”明宇小声嘱咐道。En: "Be careful not to let the boss discover our plan," Mingyu whispered.Zh: 他环顾四周，确保所有布置合理。En: He looked around to ensure all the arrangements were appropriate.Zh: 丽华擅长解决问题，但内心却对老板的看法感到一丝焦虑。En: Lihua was great at problem-solving, but she felt slightly anxious about what the boss would think.Zh: 小雷则是个机敏的同事，虽然有些凌乱，却总能即兴找到解决方案。En: Xiaolei, a quick-witted colleague, was a bit disorganized but always managed to come up with spontaneous solutions.Zh: 可是，计划不总是能按部就班地进行。En: However, plans don't always go smoothly.Zh: 就在派对准备的最后一刻，他们意外发现一些重要的装饰品不见了。En: Right at the last moment of the party preparations, they unexpectedly discovered that some important decorations were missing.Zh: 这时，丽华提出，在附近的商店可能还有存货。En: Lihua suggested that the nearby stores might still have stock.Zh: “快，丽华，你去找装饰品，小雷，你负责迷惑老板，让他晚点儿过来。”明宇急切地分派任务。En: "Quick, Lihua, you go find the decorations, Xiaolei, you distract the boss and delay his arrival," Mingyu urgently assigned tasks.Zh: 然而，所有人尚未各就各位，老板便提前到达了茶馆。En: Yet, before everyone could take their positions, the boss arrived early at the tea house.Zh: 看到老板的身影，明宇心跳加速。En: Seeing the boss's figure, Mingyu's heart raced.Zh: 他站起来，用镇定的语气与老板寒暄，而丽华快速藏起了袋子里的标志性装饰品。En: He stood up and greeted the boss with a calm voice, while Lihua quickly hid the signature decorations in her bag.Zh: 小雷站在一旁，巧妙地转移话题，描绘着上海天际线的变化，引导老板欣赏窗外的风景。En: Xiaolei stood by, skillfully steering the conversation to describe the changes in Shanghai's skyline, leading the boss to admire the view outside.Zh: 正当一切似乎变得一团糟时，丽华和小雷悄然返回，并默契地展示了一张装满丰富色彩的桌子。En: Just when everything seemed to be in chaos, Lihua and Xiaolei quietly returned and seamlessly presented a table filled with vibrant colors.Zh: 为了增添欢乐氛围，还有粽子和手工制作的艾草香囊，都是为端午节特地准备的。En: To add to the festive atmosphere, there were zongzi and handmade aicao sachets, specially prepared for the Duanwu Festival.Zh: 在一片欢声笑语中，老板被带到了装饰好的茶馆中央。En: Amidst laughter and tea fragrance, the boss was brought to the decorated center of the tea house.Zh: 看到团队的用心和团结，他露出感动的笑容。En: Seeing the team's thoughtfulness and unity, he showed a touched smile.Zh: 虽然突如其来的状况让明宇紧张不已，但他明白如果信任同事，善于合作，一切问题总会迎刃而解。En: Despite the sudden situation making Mingyu nervous, he understood that by trusting his colleagues and cooperating well, any problem could be resolved.Zh: 这场惊喜生日派对在笑声和茶香中圆满结束，所有人都体会到了团队合作的力量。En: The surprise birthday party concluded successfully with laughter and the scent of tea, and everyone experienced the power of teamwork.Zh: 这是一个盛夏的傍晚，茶馆在纸灯笼下显得更加柔和，静静见证着这一场充满温馨和惊喜的盛事。En: It was a midsummer evening, and the tea house, under the paper lanterns, appeared even softer, quietly witnessing this event full of warmth and surprises. Vocabulary Words:bustling: 繁华aroma: 茶香lanterns: 纸灯笼chatter: 人声鼎沸enthusiastic: 热情meticulous: 细致flawless: 完美无瑕thorough: 缜密problem-solving: 解决问题anxious: 焦虑quick-witted: 机敏spontaneous: 即兴decorations: 装饰品disorganized: 凌乱distract: 迷惑urgent: 急切figure: 身影calm: 镇定signature: 标志性steering: 转移chaos: 一团糟vibrant: 丰富色彩fragrance: 茶香touched: 感动trusting: 信任cooperating: 合作resolved: 迎刃而解midsummer: 盛夏witnessing: 见证warmth: 温馨

Ce jeudi 11 juin, Gabrielle Chou, professeure à la New York University Shanghai sur l'IA appliquée, était l'invitée dans Le monde qui bouge - L'Interview, de l'émission Good Morning Business, présentée par Laure Closier. Elle parle de la robotisation et du décalage qui est en train de s'opérer avec la Chine. Retrouvez l'émission du lundi au vendredi et réécoutez la en podcast.

Romina Espinosa — Red Romina — has been to 81 countries, published a book of poems at 15, built a film production company, appeared in Hollywood movies, founded a creator events community, and started a movement called Reject 9 to 5. She also has ADD. She manages it without medication most days. And she never once had a backup plan. This is a 100-minute conversation about what it actually looks like to live entirely on your own terms.

1. China's first cruise-to-nowhere voyage sets sail from Shanghai 2. Study warns storage loss in global small reservoirs 3. Hong Kong pushes ahead with AI development: HKSAR financial chief 4. China seeks to expand extraction of strategic minerals from seawater

Geschätzte Lesedauer: 14 Minuten Was unterscheidet einen deutschen Vertriebsingenieur von einem amerikanischen Sales-Profi – und was kann der deutsche Mittelstand aus fast zwei Jahrzehnten internationalem B2B-Vertrieb lernen? Genau darum geht es in dieser Folge. Mein Gast Olaf Detlef hat acht Jahre in Shanghai verbracht, dann elf Jahre in den USA – und ist seit Anfang 2025 zurück in Deutschland. Als Geschäftsführer von Kendrion Industrial Brakes bringt er Erfahrungen mit, die kaum jemand im deutschsprachigen Mittelstand so gesammelt hat. Und ich sage dir: Es lohnt sich, genau hinzuhören. Internationaler B2B Vertrieb: Drei Kontinente, drei Lektionen Olaf ist kein Vertriebstheoretiker. Er hat als junger Vertriebler den Finger gehoben, als sein damaliger Arbeitgeber – ein Mittelständler mit 300 Mitarbeitern – einen Aufbau in China suchte. Kein Netzwerk, keine China-Erfahrung und außerdem keine Sprachkenntnisse. Aber er war der Einzige, der sich gemeldet hat. Folglich wurden aus geplanten drei Jahren acht. Danach folgte Amerika – auch dort sollte es drei Jahre werden, doch es wurden elf. Wer in zwei Märkten, die kaum unterschiedlicher sein könnten, erfolgreich Vertrieb aufgebaut hat, der sieht danach das Geschäft in Deutschland mit ganz anderen Augen. Was Olaf mitgebracht hat, ist kein Handbuch. Es ist ein Mindset – und eine Menge konkreter Beobachtungen, die direkt auf den deutschen Mittelstand übertragbar sind. Lass uns die wichtigsten durchgehen. China: Zustimmung im Meeting ist keine Zustimmung im System Die erste große Lektion aus dem internationalen B2B Vertrieb kommt aus Shanghai. Olaf hatte ein vielversprechendes Projekt im Bereich Windkraft. Die Meetings liefen gut, die Stimmung war positiv, der CFO war dabei. Beim anschließenden Abendessen fehlte dieser plötzlich. Und am Ende wurde nicht das komplette System bestellt – sondern nur eine Komponente. Was war passiert? Olaf hatte die Zustimmung im Meeting mit einer echten Entscheidung verwechselt. In China läuft vieles über Gesichtswahrung. Ein „Ja" im Gespräch bedeutet oft nicht mehr als: Ich möchte dich nicht in Verlegenheit bringen. Die eigentlichen Entscheider sitzen im Hintergrund – die sogenannte unbekannte Einkäufergruppe. Und die hat niemand auf dem Schirm gehabt. Das klingt zunächst wie ein China-spezifisches Problem. Tatsächlich ist es das aber nicht. Denn genau dasselbe passiert täglich in deutschen Vertriebsgesprächen. Der Kunde sagt: „Schick mir mal ein Angebot." Daraufhin denkt der Verkäufer: Auftrag in Sicht. Was der Kunde gemeint hat: Ich habe keine Zeit mehr für dieses Gespräch. Der Unterschied ist also nur, dass in Deutschland niemand so höflich ist, es nicht zu sagen – und dass in China niemand so direkt ist, es auszusprechen. „Eine Zustimmung im Meeting bedeutet noch lange keine Zustimmung im System." – Olaf Detlef Stakeholder-Management: Der Spaghetti-Ball, den du verstehen musst Eine der wertvollsten Erkenntnisse aus dem internationalen B2B Vertrieb – und gleichzeitig eine, die im deutschen Mittelstand noch viel zu selten gelebt wird – ist das konsequente Stakeholder-Mapping. Olaf beschreibt, wie sein Team eine Kundenorganisation aufgezeichnet hat und am Ende vor einem Bild stand, das aussah wie ein Spaghetti-Ball. Verwirrend. Undurchsichtig. Kaum zu entwirren. Die entscheidende Frage dabei: Wer muss diesen Spaghetti-Ball eigentlich verstehen? Der Kunde selbst? Meistens weiß der nicht mal genau, wer bei ihm intern alles mitentscheidet. Es ist unsere Aufgabe als Vertrieb, das herauszufinden – und zwar bevor wir in den ersten echten Discovery Call gehen. Ein konkretes Beispiel: Olaf hatte ein Projekt, das praktisch abgeschlossen war. Doch kurz vor Projektabschluss meldete sich plötzlich der Produktionsleiter – den niemand auf dem Schirm hatte, nicht einmal der Kunde selbst. Sein Urteil: So geht das nicht. Folglich kam es zu über einem Jahr Verzögerung. Mein Tipp dazu, den ich auch in Workshops immer wieder bringe: Mach eine Stakeholder-Map. Wie in einem Tatort-Krimi – Fotos an die Wand, Fäden ziehen, fragen: Wen kennen wir noch gar nicht? Wer könnte noch mitentscheiden? Wo fehlen uns Informationen? Tools wie LinkedIn Sales Navigator helfen dabei, Entscheidungsstrukturen zu recherchieren – und gezielt Fragen zu stellen, die den richtigen Ansprechpartner ins Spiel bringen. So baust du deine Stakeholder-Map auf So erstellst du eine Stakeholder-Map für komplexe B2B-Deals Bekannte Kontakte auflisten Notiere alle Personen, mit denen du bereits Kontakt hattest – Name, Rolle, Abteilung. Entscheidungsstruktur recherchieren Nutze LinkedIn Sales Navigator, um herauszufinden, wer an wen berichtet und welche Rollen noch relevant sein könnten. Weiße Flecken markieren Wo fehlen Kontakte? Einkauf, Produktion, Qualität, Geschäftsführung – welche Ebenen hast du noch nicht erreicht? Gezielte Fragen im nächsten Gespräch stellen Frag deinen Ansprechpartner aktiv: „Sollten wir auch Herrn Müller aus der Qualitätssicherung einbeziehen?" – so eröffnest du Türen, ohne aufdringlich zu wirken. Map laufend aktualisieren Stakeholder-Maps sind keine einmalige Übung. Aktualisiere sie mit jeder neuen Information aus Gesprächen, E-Mails und Recherchen. Vom Problem hinter dem Problem: Was chinesische Verhandlungsstrategien uns lehren Olaf hatte in China das Glück, einen Mentor zu finden – einen Deutschen, der in Aachen studiert hatte, fließend Deutsch sprach und beide Kulturen wirklich kannte. Dieser Mentor machte ihn auf eine alte chinesische Verhandlungsstrategie aufmerksam, die heute noch im internationalen B2B Vertrieb angewendet wird: das Feuer vom Kochtopf entziehen. Gemeint ist: Das Wasser kocht – aber du musst nicht das Wasser abkühlen, du musst die Flamme wegnehmen. Übertragen auf den Vertrieb: Was ist wirklich die Ursache des Problems? Was will der Kunde wirklich erreichen? Will er Preisführer werden? Nach Europa exportieren? Netzwerk aufbauen? Die Symptome sind sichtbar – die eigentlichen Ursachen liegen tiefer. Das ist im Grunde das, was ich immer als „Problem hinter dem Problem" bezeichne. Ein Kunde sagt, er braucht eine neue Industriebremse. Okay. Aber warum? Was läuft mit dem aktuellen Lieferanten nicht? Welche Herausforderungen hat er? Und wenn er sagt, er ist mit dem aktuellen Lieferanten super zufrieden – was steckt dann wirklich dahinter? Genau hier liegt der Unterschied zwischen einem Vertriebsingenieur, der Features erklärt, und einem Verkäufer, der wirklich versteht, was der Kunde braucht. Amerika: Geschwindigkeit, Klarheit und der erste Call entscheidet alles Nach acht Jahren China kam für Olaf Amerika. Und der Kulturschock war in gewisser Weise noch größer – weil man glaubt, Amerika zu kennen. Tut man aber nicht. Die USA haben Olaf gelehrt: Im internationalen B2B Vertrieb zählt Geschwindigkeit. Amerikanische Kunden wollen früh wissen, ob eine Lösung grundsätzlich passt. Kein vollständiges Konzept, keine fertige Zeichnung – eine Skizze und eine grobe Preiseinschätzung reichen für einen ersten Orientierungspunkt. Während ein deutscher Ingenieur sagt „Das kann man nicht schätzen, das müssen wir genau berechnen", antwortet der amerikanische Einkäufer innerlich bereits: „Nächster Bitte." Noch entscheidender: In den USA gilt – wenn der erste Call nicht sitzt, bist du raus. Nicht etwa nach dem zweiten oder dritten Gespräch, sondern bereits nach dem ersten. Keine zweite Chance, kein Wiederanlauf. Das klingt zwar hart, bringt aber eine wichtige Konsequenz mit sich: Der Discovery Call muss so vorbereitet sein wie eine Präsentation vor dem Vorstand. Dazu kommt: Eine freundliche Gesprächsatmosphäre in den USA bedeutet keine Verbindlichkeit. Amerikaner sind von Natur aus freundlich und offen – das ist kulturell bedingt, aber kein Kaufsignal. Olaf hat das selbst schmerzhaft erlebt: Ein Meeting verlief bestens, er war am Ende überzeugend, aber er hatte das eigentliche Signal – es geht auch um einen Preisvorteil – überhört. Danach kam nichts mehr. Der Discovery Call: Das wichtigste Meeting im internationalen B2B Vertrieb Was Olaf aus Amerika mitgenommen hat und jetzt in Deutschland umsetzt, ist eine neue Ernsthaftigkeit gegenüber dem Discovery Call. Früher, als man sich noch persönlich getroffen hat, gab es ein Warm-up, ein paar Minuten Smalltalk, man konnte die Körpersprache des Gegenübers lesen. Heute hat man 30 bis 45 Minuten – manchmal mit Kameras aus, manchmal kommen kurzfristig unbekannte Teilnehmer dazu. Und in dieser Zeit soll man sich vorstellen, den Kunden verstehen, seinen Nutzen zeigen und die nächsten Schritte klären. Das ist kein Meeting mehr – das ist ein Sprint. Und wer unvorbereitet reingeht, verliert. Cross-funktionale Teams statt Einzelkämpfer Olafs Ansatz: Cross-funktionale Teams für wichtige Discovery Calls. Nicht einer geht alleine rein, sondern zwei bis drei Personen mit unterschiedlichen Fähigkeiten. Ein Techniker, ein Kaufmann und außerdem jemand, der gut zuhört und nachfragt. Das hat mehrere Vorteile: Zum einen kannst du das Playbook wechseln, wenn sich herausstellt, dass auf der anderen Seite plötzlich ein CFO statt eines Ingenieurs sitzt. Zum anderen zeigst du Kompetenz durch Professionalität. Und schließlich kannst du auf fast jede Frage sofort antworten. Dazu hat Olaf bei Kendrion ein Setup gebaut, das einem kleinen Nachrichtenstudio ähnelt: mehrere Kameras, professionelle Beleuchtung, ein Setup, das Professionalität ausstrahlt. Im klassischen Maschinenbau ist das noch die Ausnahme – genau deshalb fällt es auf. Und genau deshalb funktioniert es. Deutschland: Ingenieure im Vertrieb – Stärke und Schwäche zugleich Seit Anfang 2025 ist Olaf wieder in Deutschland. Und was er sieht, klingt vertraut – vielleicht zu vertraut. Deutsche Vertriebsingenieure sind tief in der Technik. Sie können erklären, wie ein Produkt funktioniert, welche Toleranzen es hat, welche Zulassungen vorliegen. Das ist ein echtes Asset. Aber es ist eben auch eine Falle. Denn während der deutsche Vertriebsingenieur noch erklärt, hat der amerikanische Einkäufer schon innerlich aufgehört zuzuhören. Olaf beschreibt das sehr treffend: In China waren deutsche Ingenieure noch bewundert – die Präzision, die Tiefe, das Fachwissen haben Eindruck gemacht. In Amerika hat er manchmal erlebt, wie die Augen seiner Gesprächspartner schon an die Decke wanderten. Die Botschaft: Komm auf den Punkt. Das bedeutet allerdings nicht, dass Fachwissen wertlos ist. Im Gegenteil. Aber es muss in den Dienst des Kunden gestellt werden, anstatt als Selbstzweck präsentiert zu werden. Denn der Kunde will nicht wissen, wie eine Industriebremse funktioniert. Vielmehr will er wissen, was sie für sein konkretes Problem bedeutet. Der informierte Kunde: 60 bis 80 Prozent des Kaufprozesses sind bereits gelaufen Ein weiterer wichtiger Punkt aus der Praxis des internationalen B2B Vertriebs: Der Kunde kommt heute nicht mehr unwissend ins Gespräch. Er hat recherchiert, er hat 3D-Zeichnungen heruntergeladen und außerdem Wettbewerber verglichen – vielleicht hat er sogar schon fünf Pitches gehört. Folglich weiß er in vielen Fällen mehr als mancher Vertriebsmitarbeiter, zumindest über die Marktoptionen. Was bedeutet das für den Vertrieb? Olaf bringt es auf den Punkt: Eine Company-Presentation zu zeigen ist heute irrelevant. Der Einstieg in ein Gespräch über die eigene Geschichte, die eigenen Awards und die eigene Unternehmensphilosophie kostet wertvolle Minuten – und die hat man nicht mehr. Was der Kunde wirklich braucht: Jemanden, der die vielen Informationen, die er bereits hat, in eine sinnvolle Reihenfolge bringt. Der sagt: Das ist zwar interessant, aber das brauchst du eigentlich nicht – weil dieses und jenes dein Problem bereits löst. Das ist echter Kundennutzen. Das ist der Moment, in dem ein Discovery Call nicht endet mit „Danke, wir melden uns" – sondern mit „Das war wirklich hilfreich." Marketing und Vertrieb: Gemeinsam oder gar nicht Wer im internationalen B2B Vertrieb Leads generieren will, kann sich nicht mehr leisten, Marketing und Vertrieb als getrennte Welten zu behandeln. Olaf setzt das konsequent um: Marketing sitzt bei Strategie-Meetings dabei, ist verpflichtet, Content zu liefern, der den Kunden bereits vor dem ersten Kontakt informiert und qualifiziert. Denn wenn 60 bis 80 Prozent der Kaufentscheidung bereits gefallen sind, bevor der Vertrieb ins Spiel kommt, dann muss Marketing diese Phase aktiv gestalten – nicht nur hübsche Broschüren produzieren. Das bedeutet konkret: technische Inhalte, die echte Fragen beantworten. Dazu Case Studies, die zeigen, wie das Problem tatsächlich gelöst wurde. Außerdem 3D-Zeichnungen, die der Kunde direkt verwenden kann. Und schließlich eine Website, die nicht über das Unternehmen redet, sondern über den Kunden und seine Herausforderungen. Mindset-Change statt Training: Der Challenger-Club als Modell Wie überträgt man all diese Erkenntnisse aus dem internationalen B2B Vertrieb auf ein deutsches Team? Olaf hat bei Kendrion einen Weg gewählt, den ich wirklich spannend finde: keinen Frontalunterricht, kein externes Training, das nach zwei Tagen vergessen ist. Stattdessen: einen Club. Erst gab es eine Verhandlungsgruppe – ein freiwilliger Zusammenschluss, der Vertrieblern hilft, schwierige Verhandlungen zu meistern. Das Format: Man liest Bücher, trifft sich, diskutiert – und hilft anderen in der Gruppe mit echten, laufenden Verhandlungen. Als Olaf den Zugang begrenzte und Bewerbungen verlangte, war der Club innerhalb von 24 Stunden ausgebucht. Dieses Prinzip hat er auf den Challenger-Sale-Ansatz übertragen. Eine gemischte Gruppe – Vertrieb, Konstruktion, Logistik – arbeitet gemeinsam daran, echte Fälle zu analysieren und Playbooks für unterschiedliche Stakeholder-Konstellationen zu entwickeln. Kein Lehrbuch, gelebte Praxis. Und der Sog-Effekt funktioniert: Andere Mitarbeiter fragen inzwischen, warum sie nicht dabei sein dürfen. Warum der Chef selbst mitmachen muss Das Wichtigste dabei: Olaf macht selbst mit. Denn er ist nicht der Chef, der von oben anordnet. Vielmehr ist er ein Teil des Teams – angreifbar, offen für Fragen und außerdem bereit zuzugeben, dass er selbst nicht immer alle Antworten hat. Genau dieser Führungsstil ist es, der echten Wandel überhaupt erst möglich macht. „Erst verstehen, dann verstanden werden." – Olaf Detlef KI im internationalen B2B Vertrieb: Noch am Anfang, aber unverzichtbar Auch das Thema KI kommt nicht zu kurz. Bei Kendrion ist man gerade dabei, die richtigen Tools auszuwählen – Enterprise-Versionen, die datenschutzkonform in einem börsennotierten Unternehmen eingesetzt werden können. Ein konkretes Problem, das gelöst werden soll: Informationen wiederfinden. Was früher auf dem Server lag, dann in Teams, dann im SharePoint, dann in der Cloud – und was jetzt niemand mehr findet, wenn ein Kunde fünf Jahre später auf eine damalige Vereinbarung verweist. Parallel läuft der Wechsel aller CRM-Systeme auf SAP Cloud for Customer – mit allen Schmerzen einer Übergangsphase, in der man gleichzeitig das alte System herunterfährt und das neue aufbaut. Das kostet Kraft. Aber wer diese Phase nicht konsequent durchzieht, hat danach keine belastbare Datenbasis – und ohne Datenbasis kein vernünftiger Vertrieb. Der Vertriebsleiter als Ermöglicher, nicht als Aufpasser Einer der wichtigsten Punkte, die Olaf mitbringt, ist sein Führungsverständnis. Ein guter Vertriebsleiter im internationalen B2B Vertrieb – oder auch im rein deutschen Markt – ist kein Händchenhalter und kein Kontrolleur. Vielmehr ist er derjenige, der seine Leute befähigt. Er findet heraus, was im Werkzeugkasten fehlt, und ist bei wichtigen Calls dabei – nicht um zu übernehmen, sondern um zu unterstützen. Außerdem steht er bei schwierigen Situationen als Gesprächspartner zur Verfügung, ohne gleich eine fertige Lösung zu diktieren. Empathieverständnis ist dabei das Schlüsselwort. Wer an der Basis versteht, welchen Druck die Vertriebsmitarbeiter haben – und diesen Druck wirklich ernst nimmt, anstatt ihn weiterzugeben –, schafft ein Klima, in dem Menschen wachsen wollen. Und das ist am Ende das, was Unternehmen langfristig besser macht. Key Takeaways: Was du aus dem internationalen B2B Vertrieb mitnehmen kannst Zustimmung im Gespräch ist kein Kaufsignal – weder in China noch in Deutschland. Hinterfrage immer, welche Stakeholder noch involviert sind. Kenne deine unbekannte Einkäufergruppe – erstelle vor jedem wichtigen Deal eine Stakeholder-Map und mache weiße Flecken sichtbar. Suche das Problem hinter dem Problem – der Kunde nennt dir ein Symptom. Deine Aufgabe ist es, die eigentliche Ursache zu verstehen. Der Discovery Call entscheidet alles – bereite ihn so vor wie ein Vorstandspräsentation. In 30 bis 45 Minuten musst du liefern. Fachwissen ist kein Selbstzweck – stelle dein Wissen in den Dienst des Kunden, nicht in den Dienst deiner eigenen Präsentation. Marketing gehört in den Vertriebsprozess – nicht davor, nicht daneben, sondern mittendrin. Kulturwandel funktioniert nicht per Anweisung – schaffe Sog, nicht Druck. Mach selbst mit. Häufige Fragen zum internationalen B2B Vertrieb (FAQ) Was ist der größte Unterschied zwischen amerikanischem und deutschem B2B Vertrieb? Der größte Unterschied liegt in der Geschwindigkeit und Direktheit. Amerikanische Kunden wollen früh eine grobe Einschätzung – Skizze und Preisgefühl reichen als ersten Orientierungspunkt. Deutsche Ingenieure neigen dazu, erst vollständige Konzepte zu erstellen, bevor sie antworten. Dazu kommt: In den USA entscheidet der erste Call. Wer dort nicht überzeugt, bekommt keine zweite Chance. Was ist die unbekannte Einkäufergruppe im B2B Vertrieb? Die unbekannte Einkäufergruppe bezeichnet alle Stakeholder, die Einfluss auf eine Kaufentscheidung haben, aber im Verlauf des Vertriebsprozesses nicht sichtbar sind. Das können Produktionsleiter, Qualitätsverantwortliche, CFOs oder andere interne Entscheider sein, die im Hintergrund agieren und eine Entscheidung kippen können – auch wenn alle sichtbaren Gesprächspartner bereits zugestimmt haben. Discovery Call, Kultur und Führung – die wichtigsten Praxisfragen Wie bereite ich einen Discovery Call im internationalen B2B Vertrieb richtig vor? Recherchiere vorab alle bekannten Stakeholder, erstelle eine Stakeholder-Map und identifiziere weiße Flecken. Plane, was du in 30 bis 45 Minuten wirklich erreichen willst. Definiere, welche Informationen du brauchst – und welche Fragen dich dorthin führen. Überlege, welche Mitarbeiter mit unterschiedlichen Fähigkeiten du mitbringen kannst, um flexibel auf verschiedene Gesprächspartner reagieren zu können. Warum ist Kulturkompetenz im internationalen B2B Vertrieb so wichtig? Weil Kaufsignale, Kommunikationsstile und Entscheidungsprozesse in verschiedenen Kulturen völlig unterschiedlich funktionieren. Was in Deutschland als Zustimmung gilt, kann in China höfliche Zurückhaltung bedeuten. Was in Amerika als freundlich wahrgenommen wird, ist nicht zwangsläufig Verbindlichkeit. Wer diese Unterschiede nicht kennt, interpretiert Signale falsch – und verliert Deals, ohne zu verstehen, warum. Wie kann ich als Vertriebsleiter im Mittelstand eine echte Veränderungskultur aufbauen? Nicht durch Anordnung, sondern durch Vorbildwirkung und Sog. Mach selbst mit – sei angreifbar, gib zu, wenn du etwas nicht weißt, und zeige deinem Team, dass du Teil der Veränderung bist und nicht ihr Auftraggeber. Begrenze den Zugang zu neuen Formaten und Gruppen, um natürliche Neugierde zu wecken. Und: Schaffe ein Klima ohne Angst, damit echte Fragen gestellt werden können. Fazit: Internationaler B2B Vertrieb als Spiegel für den deutschen Mittelstand Was ich an diesem Gespräch mit Olaf so wertvoll finde: Er spricht nicht über Theorie. Er spricht über das, was er selbst falsch gemacht hat, daraus gelernt hat – und was er jetzt anders macht. Und die meisten dieser Lektionen haben nichts mit China oder Amerika zu tun. Sie haben mit gutem Vertrieb zu tun: mit Vorbereitung, mit echtem Zuhören und außerdem mit dem Mut, Dinge zu hinterfragen, auch wenn die Antwort unbequem ist. Der internationale B2B Vertrieb hält einen Spiegel vor den deutschen Mittelstand. Und was wir darin sehen, sollte uns antreiben – nicht entmutigen. Denn die Grundlagen sind da. Das Fachwissen, die Ingenieurskultur, die Qualität der Produkte – das ist alles vorhanden. Was fehlt, sind die richtigen Fragen, das richtige Timing und die Bereitschaft, sich zu verändern. Und genau das lässt sich lernen. Wie seht ihr das? Was sind eure Erfahrungen mit internationalem Vertrieb – oder mit kulturellen Unterschieden in deutschen Kundengesprächen? Schreibt es in die Kommentare. Ich bin gespannt.

Home to 25 million people, Shanghai is the most populous and wealthiest city in China. A meeting point between China and the wider world, the city has become the beating heart of Chinese capitalism, a place of initiative, confidence, and forward thinking. It is a city of stark contradictions, suffused with both extreme wealth and poverty, luxury living, and a highly organised criminal underworld. In Shanghai: The Story of China's Most Dynamic City (Yale University Press, 2026), Professor Michael Dillon explores the full history of Shanghai, from its origins as a small fishing village to the bustling financial hub of today. The city has been central to some of the most turbulent events in China's modern history, from the British and French colonial concessions of the nineteenth century, to the birth of the Chinese Communist Party and its vital role in Chinese economics and politics today. Shanghai is a fascinating portrait of China's most dynamic city—and explores its future role in the country's development. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

North Korea hosted a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the first in nearly seven years. Though the two neighboring countries have had an alliance for decades, the meeting comes as North Korea has been prioritizing its relationship with Russia. We hear from our correspondents in Shanghai and Seoul about what this meeting means.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Home to 25 million people, Shanghai is the most populous and wealthiest city in China. A meeting point between China and the wider world, the city has become the beating heart of Chinese capitalism, a place of initiative, confidence, and forward thinking. It is a city of stark contradictions, suffused with both extreme wealth and poverty, luxury living, and a highly organised criminal underworld. In Shanghai: The Story of China's Most Dynamic City (Yale University Press, 2026), Professor Michael Dillon explores the full history of Shanghai, from its origins as a small fishing village to the bustling financial hub of today. The city has been central to some of the most turbulent events in China's modern history, from the British and French colonial concessions of the nineteenth century, to the birth of the Chinese Communist Party and its vital role in Chinese economics and politics today. Shanghai is a fascinating portrait of China's most dynamic city—and explores its future role in the country's development. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

American Clean Power’s Q1 report shows the weakest quarter since 2023, China plugs an undersea data center into offshore wind, and thermal imaging spots hidden blade damage. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly newsletter on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on YouTube, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Allen Hall: The Uptime Wind Energy podcast, brought to you by StrikeTape. Protecting thousands of wind turbines from lightning damage worldwide. Visit StrikeTape.com. And now your hosts Welcome to the Uptime Wind Energy podcast. I’m your host, Allen Hall. I’m here with Rosemary Barnes, Matthew Stead, and Yolanda Padron. And three out of the four of us, everyone except Rosie, went to Houston this past week. Matthew, you were on the floor. Yolanda, you were on the floor this week. What did you think? Matthew Stead: I think there was a few sort of common themes that I picked up. One, the obvious one which keeps coming up every time is insurance and lightning, and insurance, and all those sort of things. probably the other point that I observed was really strong supply chain. they had everyone, all the people, e- even people, building boxes. And [00:01:00] so they had boxes, transportation, cranes, really strong, supply chain. also really strong on the batteries, like the CATL batteries, et cetera, et cetera, and solar. I think that seems to be getting a bit more, a bit more, mature and more obvious. obviously blades, lots of people talk to us about blades, maybe ’cause we talk about blades. But, lightning root issues, blade bolts, those sorts of things, leading edge erosion, robotic repair, et cetera, et cetera. a bit about, add-ons like PowerCurve, were fairly visible, so that was good. but there was a lot of secret meetings in rooms away from the actual event. so that was one observation. and the other observation was perhaps not so many operators that actually [00:02:00] work on a day-to-day basis. That was my subjective impression  Rosemary Barnes: Speaking of secret meetings in rooms, what were you guys doing around the time of ACP?  Matthew Stead: So the Australian American Chamber of Commerce organized a special event, with two Australian companies to launch a new product, which monitors lightning and then transmits the results using satellite communications. So it was very open, but invitation only, Rose.  Rosemary Barnes: I, actually, I- the comments, ’cause people are always, after our first go organizing wind O&M event in Australia, I would hear about it from people who didn’t, just chatting at, on, different wind farm sites. They didn’t know I was involved, and they’re like, “Oh, yeah, there’s a secret event now.” And it’s we did our very best to publicize this, the most that we could. It was not intended to be secret. So yeah, I’m just wondering if, people are gonna think the same if [00:03:00] they, they missed out on, your event. But how was it re- received? Do, we need more events in the US?  Matthew Stead: Yes, absolutely. And I, I don’t have my pin on here, but, yeah, I do have a pin from the Australian American Chamber of Commerce Texas division,  Rosemary Barnes: How was the event for you, Yolanda?  Yolanda Padron: It was good. It was good. the showroom was the, or the exhibit floor was a little bit em- more empty than I thought it would be, but it was good. It was good to, to see people, to catch up with everybody. There were some really good chats happening everywhere. and I got … I don’t know about you guys, but I saw a lot more people not from the US that wanted to come in and understand the market better than I did other years, which was nice to see. Matthew Stead: Was there any new technology on the floor this year? I thought there was a new robot company, but it was actually solar cleaning.  Yolanda Padron: I saw some rebranding from some companies, moving from former ties to [00:04:00] OEMs just m- moving into their own little companies and stuff. in a very interesting, PR move, a, an insurance company was raffling a motorcycle, which was really, funny for us to see. Allen Hall: Not very safe, is it?  Yolanda Padron: Was  Rosemary Barnes: it at least an l- an electric  Yolanda Padron: motorbike?  Allen Hall: Rosemary, you’re in America.  Yolanda Padron: I don’t know very much about bikes, but it was big and scary for me. did I put my name in there? Yes. We’ll see how that turns out, but  Rosemary Barnes: I’m always trying to win Lego sets at, events and, try to sweet talk the, the stall managers or s- stall minders into “Oh, if somebody wins and they don’t show up, could I have it?” yeah, so far unsuccessfully. Although I do have, actually you can see I’ve, I’ve got a Le- a L- Lego, in inverted commas, not Lego TM, wind turbine that we’ve just started making. So that’s a, [00:05:00] or a tower for a… that we have created. I have succeeded in getting some sort of Lego for my podcast background. Allen Hall: Are you gonna buy the Sagrada Família Lego set that just appeared?  Rosemary Barnes: I haven’t. I’m not like the hugest Lego fan. I wouldn’t call myself an, what is it? AF- AFOL, adult fan of Lego? Is that what, There’s a, there’s an acronym. I’m not one. None of us are apparently.  Allen Hall: Oh, I don’t know. I think we’ll buy that one. Allen, does it take 200 years to make? Probably. I think there’s around 10,000 pieces. that’s what I re- recall. It, there’s a lot of pieces. It’s built in sections. I watched had a little discussion about it. It is really complex, but we may purchase one and put it in the lobby of our shop because that cathedral is protected by strike tape, some of the ornamental features at the top. So we’ll, probably build one, but it’ll, it will take a year [00:06:00] Delamination and bondline failures in blades are difficult problems to detect early. These hidden issues can cost you millions in repairs and lost energy production. CIC NDT are specialists to detect these critical flaws before they become expensive burdens. Their nondestructive test technology penetrates deep into blade materials to find voids and cracks traditional inspections completely miss. CIC NDT maps every critical defect, delivers actionable reports, and provides support to get your blades back in service. So visit cicndt.com because catching blade problems early will save you millions Let’s talk about American Clean Power’s, first quarter 2026 market report. So the American Clean Power Association’s first quarter 2026 market report shows United States developers brought 6.4 gigawatts [00:07:00] of new clean power online in Q1, but overall capacity was down 17% year over year, the weakest quarter since 2023. Onshore wind took the hardest hit with less than 500 megawatts installed, the slowest pace since about 2018. the Department of Defense delayed approximately, 165 projects totaling 30 gigawatts and $54 billion of investment. Ken Young, the CEO of Apex Clean Energy, put it plainly, quote, “This DoD thing is real. They found a button to hit, and we got punched in the face.” Unquote. Developers won a preliminary injunction in Massachusetts federal court, but the Interior Department has pledged to appeal in regards to offshore wind. Is this gonna be a permanent setback, Matthew? You think this is gonna continue on, or will this eventually get wrapped up and wind will be back on track? Matthew Stead: If I wanted cheap power, I would be building wind, [00:08:00]battery, and solar. So I think, if people want cheap power, it, will definitely come back. That’s my view.  Allen Hall: Yolanda, you see some of the development. You’re close to it in Austin, Texas. What are you seeing on the ground there? I think there’s repowering going on, but is there much in terms of new development? Yolanda Padron: There’s repowering. I think new development slowed down a little bit than this time last year, but it’s still going on, both for wind, solar, and battery, which is good. on the ground level in some of these very rural towns, this is a very important source of income for a lot of those people, regardless of political affiliation. so it’s important for some of these people to get these on their, in their land.  Allen Hall: Does American Clean Power have a plan to try to address this situation? Are there any lawsuits in place or any legal action on the docket?  Yolanda Padron: Not that I know of. I, know there was a, there was that lawsuit end of last year, for offshore.[00:09:00] but from American Clean Power itself, I don’t know of anything off the top of my head. Do you guys know?  Allen Hall: I haven’t seen much of a roadmap from American Clean Power on this particular issue on the onshore wind. I haven’t seen much e-except but for a couple of summary pieces explaining what is happening on the ground, but n-no action to push back. And maybe there’s some lobbying going on with Congress people and, senators, but you think we would hear about some of it. I haven’t heard anything, and I’m watching pretty close. it is a little confounding because it does seem like this could be broken with one court case. Maybe not. Maybe it’s more difficult than that. Yolanda Padron: I don’t know. There’s always a lot of, yeah, there’s always a lot of lobbying going on by, not just by American Clean Power, but by a lot of these larger owners, right? A lot of them have some sort of office in DC and people coming in and out and going to meetings [00:10:00] with everybody, So I don’t know. I’m also very curious to see what goes behind the scenes for that political side of things.  Allen Hall: just as a quick aside, one of the discussions I was having during the week was about AI data centers and the push for power. If gas turbines aren’t available for a couple of years and they’re gonna… the administration’s gonna push back on renewables, AI data centers are gonna have a hard time getting the power they need. I know the administration wants them to, be powered by natural gas, but that’s not possible right now. I don’t see how this ends easily. Rosemary Barnes: It seems like e- everybody’s looking into any single way that you can power a data center. There are people making serious plans to do it. There’s obviously, we’ve talked about space-based data centers before. then there was a podcast I listened to this week. Allen, you actually suggested it to me, but it’s one that comes up for me anyway, Catalyst podcast about, [00:11:00] data centers on ships. It, actually isn’t just purely about data centers on ships. It’s about, this company, and they have a ship that’s designed to fairly passively capture energy from waves of a ship out on the o- open ocean. They’ve actually designed the shape of the hull so that it is, will actually capture energy. They choose the location of their factories very carefully, put it in the ocean where there’s already enough energy, and it just, phew, off it goes, just powers itself off to the, I think it was somewhere in the South Pacific, where there’s nice big fetches of, of water and power whatever, including data centers. But I think each ship was about a megawatt or something like that, so you’ll need a lot of them. And then wasn’t there one that you were, you wanted to bring up today, Allen, an, underwater data center?  Allen Hall: The one that I think you’re talking about is Penthalassa, which has recently come out of the dark mode, and they have been working on this, in at least a couple of years from far as I can tell, [00:12:00] trying to develop data centers that… using a, system driven by not necessarily the waves. It’s not the waves, Rosemary. I think it’s more to do with the pressure, of the ocean. It’s, something to that effect, which is really interesting. but, China has, like in many things, working offshore and trying to get data centers up and running. they’ve commissioned the first undersea data center powered directly by offshore wind. The Shanghai Lingang project, built by a subsidiary of China Communications Construction, CCC, began operations off Shanghai’s eastern coast in May. Planned capacity is 24 megawatts, and the core design transmits offshore wind power directly to submerged data modules via subsea photoelectric composite cables. I’m not sure what that is, but I’ll have to dig into that deeper. And by bypassing grid routing entirely. Seawater obviously will serve as the cooling medium [00:13:00] through circulating pipes in the heat exchangers, reducing electricity consumption by about 20%. one of the local v- university professors estimates that this kind of data center model could save about 50 billion kilowatt hours annually across China’s data center fleet, equivaling, equivalent to not burning 15 million metric tons of coal per year, and that would be nice. Is there a future in offshore data centers that use the ocean to cool themselves and Plug ’em into wind turbines offshore, just get the electricity straight from the wind. Does this have growth futures,  Matthew Stead: particularly in China? I love it. I think it’s absolutely fantastic, and it just means you don’t have to send them into space, because that’s a silly idea. The other point, do you remember a couple of years ago they were going to build, hydrogen electrolyzers, offshore n- next to wind turbines? So all they do is [00:14:00] just scrap the electrolyzer and then put in the data center. It’s just perfect.  Rosemary Barnes: But that’s what this, ship one that I was, I listened to the podcast of, that’s their, thing. It’s just power for whatever. whatever, obviously it has to be something that’s capable of, operating on a ship environment. You’re not gonna be doing probably precision manufacturing or anything out there. But, apparently failure rates for, data center stuff is not… They’re not expecting it to be higher. Higher in some types of failures will be higher, and some will be lower, but, they think that overall it’s so much, so much cheaper. But yeah, they did also talk about doing, yeah, I don’t know, hydrogen. Is anybody, is anyone still talking about hydrogen anymore? I feel like we’re finally, not n- not doing that.  Allen Hall: Rosie, I think you killed it. I’ve seen more news reports about it, where they’re not proceeding and there’s been some funding challenges, and those things are happening. Like any new technology, it’s, hard. The beginning is hard.  Rosemary Barnes: But, you know that, already hyd- making [00:15:00]hydrogen the way that we make it today is something like 2% of the world’s, emissions. So it’s okay, we do need heaps of clean hydrogen for that 2%. So I’m definitely not against, some hydrogen projects happening, ’cause we’ve gotta… That’s the, same size as y- you know, nearly as much as aviation, for example. so not insignificant.  Matthew Stead: Yeah, someone actually came up to us and s- I had a bit of a discussion about that, Rosie. We’ve got a bit of information to share with you about that-  Rosemary Barnes: Oh, yeah …  Matthew Stead: that will dispute some of your claims. we’ll share that with you  Rosemary Barnes: offline. They’re not my claims. I’m merely reporting what people who are working on it say. But I, was saying to Allen, ’cause we had a big chat offline about contrails and how challenging it is to just alter an aircraft’s path to reduce them, I need to, Engineering with Rosie video on this and get an expert on and ask them all of Allen’s very informed questions. maybe I’ll get you on as a co- co-interviewer. I’m actually keen on viewer input, listener input. we’ve got a, Pardalote actually has a training course [00:16:00]coming up. I’ve been trying to organize this training so that I and my employees can learn more about blade repairs. So we have a course coming up, organizing it in collaboration with Direct Wind Services. We’ve got a great, blade repair guy who’s gonna be taking the course- It’s gonna start out with an optional day that I’ll be running about blade design, manufacturing, certification, those sorts of things. And then three days on blade repair. So we’ll go through the theory, also, hands-on stuff. So we’ll be doing grinding, we’ll be doing layups, infusions, all that sort of thing for three days in Ballarat. but the extra cool part is that I’m gonna be using this opportunity to make a video about wind turbine blade repairs, ’cause, one, I’ve been si- trying, I’ve wanted to make a video on this ever since I started my YouTube channel, six years ago. So this is the opportunity that I can take to, talk about what kinds of repairs are actually done. I think people will be really surprised to see, even in, when they’re brand new out of the factory, they still gotta do, dozens of repairs on a [00:17:00] blade before it’s ready to go out. And people will also probably be surprised at, the extent of, repair that you can do and get a blade back up to its original design intent. So I would ask, anyone listening to this that has questions about those sorts of topics, let me know, and I’ll try my best to include that in the video. ‘Cause I think it’s a topic that’s not, super well understood.  Matthew Stead: Can I come along as well?  Rosemary Barnes: Nice, nice segue into me advertising. So this is our first one. We’ve got, we’ve got a few spots. I think that they’re gonna very easily fill, but we are planning to run them periodically. So yeah, you can get in touch and, let me know. yeah. Anybody. You, Matt, I’ll send you over the, the information.  Yolanda Padron: That’s a really good idea, Rosie, ’cause I feel like a lot of people, you either have, a really robust, understanding of blades and a really good background on it, or you’re starting fresh. And when you’re starting fresh, it’s really difficult to know what exactly you’re [00:18:00] doing. Or you know in theory, not until you go into the nitty-gritty or until you watch Rosie’s videos, do you then get a better understanding of everything that’s going on.  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah. It’s, a fascinating topic. obviously that’s what I spend 90, 90%-plus of my time working on. yeah. Blade damage and blade repairs. But there’s so much, there’s so much information that would be better off if it was shared, if everybody, knew a bit more about what, what was possible, what was normal, what’s best practice. Then I think that the, O&M for blades would go a lot more smoothly. Allen Hall: We had Matt Sagala on the podcast this past week, and one of the items he was talking about, some of the basic fundamentals of repairs, the little checkpoints that need to be in place when you’re looking at a repair, and the photographs that come in a repair report and some of the details, how they get skipped. And there should be more emphasis on some of the basics, and making sure that the photos show the different layers that have been ground, where each of the plies are. [00:19:00] Something simple like that, which in a lot of good blade reports. You don’t necessarily see in all of them and Rosie, if you’re training people up and showing them what the fundamentals are, that’d be really helpful in getting that information out where you can access- where it’s accessible, like on YouTube. Rosemary Barnes: I’m always giving that, that feedback back, “Can you please at least show, an image of what it looked like before you started repairing?” Nobody ever does that, and it’s y- we have the inspection, the drone image, but, you don’t have… you had, you were right there. You had the opportunity to take the , photo from every, angle, because you wanna be able to recognize what does this damage look like the next time that we see it. What’s it gonna look like in a drone image? And, yeah, be able to… sometimes you get in there and you think that you’re just gonna be repairing a couple of layers, and it turns out to a huge, thing. like I’ve seen repair , repairs come in that, hundreds of thousands or more, to do just one repair that was totally unexpected by the person who was paying the bill.[00:20:00] the more information that you take about that repair, then the more possible it is for engineers like me to be able to, a- at least predict, okay, you’ve, you’re likely to have a big repair here, and plan for it.  Allen Hall: Trying to find someone doing blade repair correctly on YouTube is hard to find. It really is. I s- you see people with grinders and things, and yeah, they’re working hard and they’re doing a job. But someone to actually walk through from beginning to end, and made it, and explained it as they did it, would be helpful to the industry. Tremendously helpful.  Yolanda Padron: Just to make sure that your budget’s right, for the year. if you’re on the owner’s side, and then you think, “Oh, okay. Sure. this AI-based drone inspection told me that I need to tackle all of these, and I know that these are gonna cost me, I don’t know, X amount of dollars,” you can, take a, human pass through those images and make sure that, your expectations and your reality is, closer, just by [00:21:00] looking at Rosie’s videos. So that’ll be, really exciting.  Allen Hall: Rosemary, how do people join in on your blade repair fun?  Rosemary Barnes: for, first of all, get in touch if you wanna do the course, especially in Australia. we could definitely organize one. In, the US coming up, piggyback off a- another event or somewhere else. But also get in touch with me at pardaloteconsulting.com, and you can, yeah, send me a message through the contact form and let me know that you’re interested. Maybe spell pardalote,  Yolanda Padron: though, for people.  Rosemary Barnes: Pardaloteconsulting.com. P-A-R-D-A-L-O-T-E and then consulting.  Allen Hall: As wind energy professionals, staying informed is crucial, and let’s face it, difficult. That’s why the Uptime Podcast recommends PES Wind Magazine. PES Wind offers a diverse range of in-depth articles and expert insights that dive into the most pressing issues facing our energy future. Whether you’re an industry veteran or new to wind, PES Wind has the high-quality [00:22:00] content you need. Don’t miss out. Visit peswind.com today. in this quarter’s PES Wind magazine, which you can get at peswind.com, there’s an article from Minerva Energy, ABJ Renewables, and Concept X where they have developed a product called WindView, which is an advanced inspection system using high-res optical capture with thermographic analysis for a full subsurface, inspection from rotor to tip. the system detects defects as small as three to four millimeters, which is quite small, and a- analyzes the blade structures up to about 15 centimeters, which is quite deep, so that it does seem like a pretty useful inspection tool. as we all know, just the generic, visual drone inspection can give you an idea of what’s happening on the surface, but a lot of the structural issues are deeper [00:23:00]inside the blade, so thermal inspection combined with optical inspection can give insights into some places that otherwise go unseen. And Rosemary, as a blade expert, and Yolanda too, there’s a lot that happens inside of blades, and having a- an additional tool to inspect blades and to get more understanding of what’s happening underneath the paint service could be really useful.  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah, I’m always trying to recommend th- this. I haven’t got any clients that have actually used thermal imaging, to look for damages, but especially in, areas where you suspect that there are r- some repairs that haven’t been done correctly or you’re looking for early signs of a serial defect. Y- like one of the weird things with the full service agreement, actually it’s probably true with, yeah, any kind of turbine sale, is there’s this serial defect liability period, and you’ve got to hit usually, a crazy high, stupid high number, like 20%, 30% of all your blades have to have the [00:24:00] same damage within it might be a two or three-year period, not, very long. It’s better when it’s more like 20% in five years. That’s, enough time to actually catch things. But so one of the things that you’ve got to do is like you really want to catch things early in order to be able to, y- make a claim on that. And so this is one of the tools that people would have to catch things earlier, like it’s not yet visible, with a crack on the surface that– Or even, like even small cracks on the surface will fly under the radar as well because, they won’t be flagged in the inspection reports. So if you’ve got a few of something that’s looks like it might be the same, it, and you’re still within your defect, your serial defect liability period, it’s definitely worth doing something, the, some kind of NDT, and this, is one of the good options it’s actually worth spending a whole lot of money to, to try and get that in because, like the numbers are, millions and millions of dollars, maybe tens, maybe hundreds, depending on, the extent of the problem. So yeah, it’s always good [00:25:00] to be well aware of what your deadlines are and what tools are available, and this is one of the good ones.  Allen Hall: Yolanda, you think it’ll open up access to carbon pultrusion inspections on blades without actually cracking the blade open?  Yolanda Padron: Hopefully, yeah. in, internal inspections you can only go so far, right? And Rosie, you have a lot more experience with this in action than I do. but yeah, so I, I think it’d be really interesting to see just what, what people can get done without actually happing- having to go and carving everything out, and without having to already start a s- a, a repair that maybe you don’t have the budget to do. Allen Hall: If its speed is fast enough, I- thermal imaging can be slow at times, but from what I’ve seen, the, cameras have really improved over the last couple of years. If they have this down where you could really inspect blades quickly, it would be a tremendous help to have insights into [00:26:00] depth of damage, especially with c- I think carbon pultrusions are the one that we just don’t have a lot of oversight with, and it’s very difficult to inspect. And so if you could actually see damage to the pultrusion ahead of time, that would be a, major advantage. I, can’t imagine the insurance companies wouldn’t love this system. S-  Matthew Stead: it’s interesting. Yeah, I’ve got a question. GE Vernova has a patent around some of this, technology. They’ve had it obviously for many years. But, I know one of the challenges with the GE Vernova approach was that through the day, if you’ve got ambient temperatures, it was a bit hard to pick up, the actual damage. So at least for the GE, solution, it had to be done at dusk or, when the sun wasn’t out. So I don’t know the answer to that, but is that one of the technical challenges around, when it can actually be taken? Do you need to take it when the sun’s not out?  Allen Hall: Yeah, I wonder that too I’ve– The way I’ve seen it is they try to catch it at sunrise or sunset where there’s [00:27:00] a thermal gradient on the blade. However, the thermal imaging cameras is, are, cameras are so much better than they used to be. it may be possible to just do it during the daytime. Rosemary Barnes: I think the different companies are approaching it in different ways and, I’m sure that some of them can do it, like especially under direct sunlight, then that can be actually a really good way to get some, some heating. And then g- it relies– Mostly it’s relying on the fact that different materials heat up at different rates. So as long as you’ve got some sort of change in, in temperature happening, then you should be able to see. Yeah, like obviously if there’s a big, crack or a delamination, there’s some air there that’s gonna heat up differently than the composite around it.  Allen Hall: Oh, sure. Yeah.  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah. I think also like when cracks propagate, they are actually generating some heat at that site and you, can catch that too. But, I’m, actually not on top of it enough to know how much it’s one or the other. I think it’s mostly about, when a blade heats up, air will heat up differently to, to composite and you’ll be able to see it. that’s my limited [00:28:00] understanding anyway. Something worth more of a deep dive. I’m actually looking forward to some, hopefully some clients getting over the line to, doing some more of the, taking advantage of some of the NDT tests that are, available because it can just help you do such a better job of, management and huge risk redus- reductions too.  Allen Hall: So if you haven’t seen this quarter’s PES Wind, you can download it now at peswind.com. That wraps up another episode of the Uptime Wind Energy podcast. If today’s discussion sparked any questions or ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us on LinkedIn, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. If you found value in today’s conversation, please leave us a review. It really helps other wind energy professionals discover the show. For Rosie, Yolanda, and Matthew, I am Allen Hall, and we’ll see you here next week on the Uptime Wind Energy [00:29:00] podcast.

"The recording of YongNian Rd. reminds me of living in China a number of years ago, and visiting Shanghai and walking down streets like this. What I love about this sample are its many layers - the traffic on the street, the bird chirping - likely in a bamboo cage -- but especially the lively sounds of people talking. Many streets are busy with folks enjoying each others' company - reflecting a common phrase for wishing someone well in China - that they walk slowly."Yong Nian road, Shanghai reimagined by Wayne DeFehr.

Yongnian Road and Shunchang Road are packed with “72 tenants” style lilong buildings, teeming with residents who speak softly to avoid stares. Street-level homes, often shops or card rooms, hum a bit louder. On summer nights, Shanghai uncles (yeshu), shirtless, sit on bamboo chairs, sipping cold beer, eating, and ga sanhu (chatting). In the 80s and 90s, with rising incomes, this lively scene lasted past midnight, marking the end of an era when voices drowned out traffic. During the recording, mostly locals remain; though distant words are faint, the Shanghai dialect's cadence still rings clear.Recorded in Shanghai by Digimonk.

Home to 25 million people, Shanghai is the most populous and wealthiest city in China. A meeting point between China and the wider world, the city has become the beating heart of Chinese capitalism, a place of initiative, confidence, and forward thinking. It is a city of stark contradictions, suffused with both extreme wealth and poverty, luxury living, and a highly organised criminal underworld. In Shanghai: The Story of China's Most Dynamic City (Yale University Press, 2026), Professor Michael Dillon explores the full history of Shanghai, from its origins as a small fishing village to the bustling financial hub of today. The city has been central to some of the most turbulent events in China's modern history, from the British and French colonial concessions of the nineteenth century, to the birth of the Chinese Communist Party and its vital role in Chinese economics and politics today. Shanghai is a fascinating portrait of China's most dynamic city—and explores its future role in the country's development. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim Hill and Len Testa are joined by veteran Imagineer Jim Shull for a globe-trotting look at how Toy Story became one of Disney's most reusable theme park ideas. First, they cover the latest from Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Universal Orlando, and Disney Cruise Line, including Magic of Disney Animation details, Villains Land rumors, Oogie Boogie Bash logistics, and possible Universal expansion plans. Then Jim Shull shares how Toy Story Playland, Toy Story Hotel, and multiple international Pixar projects moved from clever pitch to built reality. Along the way, there is Godzilla, synergy, Stanley cups, and at least one very laminated airline milestone. NEWS • Bluey's Wild World shifts to standby as opening-day crowds settle down. • Victoria & Albert's retains its Michelin star, while Kappa at Four Seasons does not. • Disney reveals new activity areas for The Magic of Disney Animation at Hollywood Studios. • Jim, Len, and Jim Shull discuss the latest Villains Land rumors, including Maleficent, Hades, and possible dark ride concepts. • Universal updates include Universal United Kingdom Resort, Lost Continent demolition, Back to the Future speculation, and Epic Universe expansion pads. FEATURE • Jim Shull recalls seeing the original Toy Story before release at a SIGGRAPH screening in Los Angeles. • The team traces how Pixar's growing relationship with Disney led to Toy Story Playland in Paris and later Toy Story Lands in Hong Kong and Shanghai. • Shull explains the “Andy's backyard” conceit and how guests were meant to feel toy-sized inside the land. • The discussion turns to Toy Story Hotel in Shanghai and Tokyo, including how Pixar collaboration changed the way Disney handled character design. For this episode's full show notes, click here. HOSTS • Jim Hill - X/Twitter: @JimHillMedia, Instagram: @JimHillMedia, Website: jimhillmedia.com • Len Testa - Bluesky: @lentesta.bsky.social, Instagram: @len.testa, Website: touringplans.com GUEST • Jim Shull - X/Twitter: @JimShull, YouTube: @jimhshull, Website: jimhshull.com FOLLOW • Jim Hill Media Podcast Network - Facebook: @JimHillMediaNews, YouTube: @jimhillmedia, TikTok: @jimhillmedia SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - https://strongmindedagency.com SPONSOR The Disney Dish News is sponsored by UnlockedMagic.com, from our friends at DVCRentalStore.com. Visit UnlockedMagic.com for discounts that make your next Disney trip cheaper than ever. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ ⁠https://nordvpn.com/DISNEYDISH⁠ Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. https://www.jimhillmedia.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim Hill and Len Testa are joined by veteran Imagineer Jim Shull for a globe-trotting look at how Toy Story became one of Disney's most reusable theme park ideas. First, they cover the latest from Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Universal Orlando, and Disney Cruise Line, including Magic of Disney Animation details, Villains Land rumors, Oogie Boogie Bash logistics, and possible Universal expansion plans. Then Jim Shull shares how Toy Story Playland, Toy Story Hotel, and multiple international Pixar projects moved from clever pitch to built reality. Along the way, there is Godzilla, synergy, Stanley cups, and at least one very laminated airline milestone. NEWS • Bluey's Wild World shifts to standby as opening-day crowds settle down. • Victoria & Albert's retains its Michelin star, while Kappa at Four Seasons does not. • Disney reveals new activity areas for The Magic of Disney Animation at Hollywood Studios. • Jim, Len, and Jim Shull discuss the latest Villains Land rumors, including Maleficent, Hades, and possible dark ride concepts. • Universal updates include Universal United Kingdom Resort, Lost Continent demolition, Back to the Future speculation, and Epic Universe expansion pads. FEATURE • Jim Shull recalls seeing the original Toy Story before release at a SIGGRAPH screening in Los Angeles. • The team traces how Pixar's growing relationship with Disney led to Toy Story Playland in Paris and later Toy Story Lands in Hong Kong and Shanghai. • Shull explains the “Andy's backyard” conceit and how guests were meant to feel toy-sized inside the land. • The discussion turns to Toy Story Hotel in Shanghai and Tokyo, including how Pixar collaboration changed the way Disney handled character design. For this episode's full show notes, click here. HOSTS • Jim Hill - X/Twitter: @JimHillMedia, Instagram: @JimHillMedia, Website: jimhillmedia.com • Len Testa - Bluesky: @lentesta.bsky.social, Instagram: @len.testa, Website: touringplans.com GUEST • Jim Shull - X/Twitter: @JimShull, YouTube: @jimhshull, Website: jimhshull.com FOLLOW • Jim Hill Media Podcast Network - Facebook: @JimHillMediaNews, YouTube: @jimhillmedia, TikTok: @jimhillmedia SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - https://strongmindedagency.com SPONSOR The Disney Dish News is sponsored by UnlockedMagic.com, from our friends at DVCRentalStore.com. Visit UnlockedMagic.com for discounts that make your next Disney trip cheaper than ever. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ ⁠https://nordvpn.com/DISNEYDISH⁠ Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. https://www.jimhillmedia.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the Crazy Wisdom Podcast, host Stewart Alsop sits down with software engineer and entrepreneur Arowolo Muritadhor for a wide-ranging conversation that moves from agriculture and manufacturing in Nigeria to the evolving role of crypto in the country's economy. They touch on how hyperinflation, particularly the naira's dramatic drop in 2023, pushed Nigerians toward stablecoins as a practical savings tool, and how informal kiosk networks have stepped in where traditional banking infrastructure falls short. The conversation also covers the tension between government regulation and the permissionless nature of blockchain technology, comparisons between the decline of the Roman Empire and current shifts in US economic dominance, the role of mobile payments in Africa, language learning, and whether AI agents have any real utility in crypto infrastructure yet. You can connect with Arowolo on LinkedIn and X at @armolas_06.Timestamps00:00 - Host welcomes Arowolo Muritadhor, introducing topics of software engineering and animal food production in Nigeria.05:00 - Discussion shifts to manufacturing, components assembly, and China's dominance in low-cost production globally.10:00 - Conversation explores crypto adoption in Nigeria as a network state phenomenon, separating informed users from mainstream population.15:00 - Mobile payments and kiosk ATM replacements emerge as critical financial infrastructure bridging unbanked Nigerians.20:00 - Roman Empire parallels drawn to modern crypto taxation, government control, and inevitable death-and-taxes reality.25:00 - Bitcoin and Ethereum permissionless nature debated against government wallet-level censorship vulnerabilities.30:00 - AI agents examined as crypto infrastructure tools, revealing mostly trading bots rather than foundational builders.35:00 - Nigeria's 2023 naira collapse compared to Argentina's hyperinflation, driving citizens toward stablecoin dollar savings.40:00 - US Treasury history unpacked through FDR gold confiscation and Nixon ending convertibility, paralleling empire decline.45:00 - Crypto reframed as anti-bank rather than purely anti-government, enabling freedom through immutable accountability.50:00 - Transparent blockchain ledgers discussed as potential government accountability tools across democracy, republic, and oligarchy structures.Key Insights1. Nigeria has a significant divide between its northern and southern regions in terms of economic activity. The north, centered around Abuja, is more agricultural with substantial cattle production, while Lagos in the south functions as a dense urban and commercial hub. This geographic and economic split shapes how different financial tools and technologies are adopted across the country.2. China's dominance in low-cost manufacturing has made it nearly impossible for countries like Nigeria, the United States, or Argentina to compete on price alone. The more realistic path for developing economies is to import components and focus on local assembly and creativity, which is where meaningful economic participation becomes possible.3. Crypto adoption in Nigeria accelerated dramatically around 2023 when the naira experienced a sharp devaluation against the US dollar. Before that point, saving in dollars was difficult for many Nigerians, especially those without formal bank accounts, making stablecoins like USDT an attractive and practical alternative for preserving wealth.4. Informal kiosk operators in Nigeria have organically become a substitute for ATMs, giving communities access to basic financial services where traditional banking infrastructure does not reach. This grassroots financial layer is now a key entry point for integrating crypto and stablecoin payments into everyday commerce.5. Governments are increasingly trying to regulate crypto at the wallet and centralized exchange level, using tax compliance as a primary mechanism. While Bitcoin and Ethereum remain largely permissionless, the practical chokepoints for most users remain centralized platforms where identity and transactions can be monitored.6. The historical parallel between the fall of the Roman Empire and current shifts in US economic and geopolitical power offers a useful frame for understanding why crypto matters. Just as Rome debased its currency and struggled to sustain imperial costs, the US faces mounting debt and a financialized economy that may accelerate dollar instability and push more people toward alternative stores of value.7. One genuinely constructive use case for blockchain beyond speculation is immutable accountability, particularly for public institutions and prediction markets. A transparent ledger that governments or officials voluntarily adopt could create verifiable records of decisions and promises, reducing corruption and increasing trust in ways that traditional governance structures have struggled to achieve.

We interview Ryan Milton, a business researcher, who recently went on an insightful two-week trip across China, visiting Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Yichang, and Guangzhou. Ryan brings fresh, firsthand perspectives on what he saw and experienced. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When someone tells you "research says you should be doing this," what should you actually do with that? Andrew Watson, educator, author, and founder of Translate the Brain, has spent fifteen years studying how cognitive psychology research does and doesn't apply inside real classrooms, and his answer might surprise you. In this conversation, Shane and Andrew tackle one of the most persistent tensions in school leadership: how to take research seriously without letting it override your professional judgement, your school's context, or your teachers' expertise. Andrew draws on everything from retrieval practice to the thoroughly debunked learning styles debate to show why "research-based" is a starting point for a conversation, not the end of one. You'll learn the single question to ask whenever someone cites a study (and why it's more useful than pushback), why phrases like "all the research shows" are actually a red flag rather than a reassurance, and how to help a teacher who brings you exciting new evidence think it through rigorously without dismissing their enthusiasm. Andrew also shares his core mantra for working with schools: don't just do this thing, think this way. If you're a leader trying to build a healthier relationship between evidence and practice in your school, this conversation gives you a practical framework for doing exactly that. Resources & links mentioned Andrew Watson's Translate the BrainAndrew Watson on LinkedInAndrew Watson's Learning and the Brain blogEpisode PartnersInternational Curriculum AssociationSisiJoin Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensiveShane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

❌César Vidal expone la extraordinaria transformación de Jacob y las lecciones que Dios sigue enseñando hoy. Toda la música del podcast es de Pippo y Banda IA. Pippo y Banda IA ya tiene su propio canal en Telegram, ahí podes escuchar y bajar su música. https://t.me/+Nr8mhrQJZFpjNzdh Unite a nuestro canal de difusión en Telegram https:/t.me/radioshanghai. También podés escucharnos en Youtube, Applepodcast, Ivoox y muchos lugares más.Recordá que podés seguirnos en Facebook e Instagram, dejanos tus comentarios y si te gusta compartilo…Si queres colaborar con nosotros podés hacerlo a través de Cafecito https://cafecito.app/radioshanghai Soli DEO Gloria

China's first homegrown large cruise ship, Adora Magic City, set sail Saturday from Shanghai on a three-day, two-night "cruise-to-nowhere," offering onboard entertainment including comedy, magic shows, and theme parties.

Andy Roddick breaks down results from Day 13 of the 2026 Roland Garros. Roddick discusses Alexander Zverev's dominant semifinal win over Jakub Menšík, why Menšík's tactics never allowed him to settle into the match, and how Zverev has handled the pressure of becoming the clear tournament favorite. Plus, Roddick reacts to Matteo Arnaldi's heartbreaking withdrawal due to illness after one of the most physically demanding runs in Grand Slam history, what it means for the men's final for Flavio Cobolli, and a quick look ahead to Mirra Andreeva vs. Maja Chwalińska in the women's final match. COMMENT BELOW: Who do you have winning the men's final? Sign up for the Newsletter & Live Chat w/ us during matches! https://servedmedia.substack.com/ Follow Served with Andy Roddick: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/servedpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@served_podcast Learn more about ServiceNow here: https://www.servicenow.com/?campid=271869&cid=pc:brd:brnd:served:26q1:paitwfp_audioredirect_PAITW2_GAI_PAITWFP_HostRead_:none:br_ams:awa&utm_medium=podcasts&utm_source=served  --- --- --- Served with Andy Roddick is your home for all the ATP and WTA Tours Tennis Breaking News, Draw Previews, Match Recaps, Player Interviews, Match Previews and more. We cover the largest tournaments throughout the season including the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open, Shanghai and talk about the best players including Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Rafael Nadal, Coco Gauff, Iga Świątek, Naomi Osaka, Aryna Sabalenka, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Emma Raducanu, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Roger Federer, Jack Draper. --- --- --- #RolandGarros #RolandGarros2026 #Arnaldi #Zverev #Mensik #Cobolli #FrenchOpen #FrenchOpen2026 #Tennis #GrandSlam #ATP #WTATennis #QuickServed Thank you to our sponsors: ServiceNow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andy Roddick breaks down results from Day 12 of 2026 Roland Garros. Roddick talks through Maja Chwalińska's shocking run to the Roland Garros final — only the second women's qualifier in Open Era history to reach a Grand Slam final — breaking down her elite anticipation, subtle court positioning, and how she dismantled Diana Shnaider without overpowering her. Plus, why Mirra Andreeva has been the best player at the tournament from start to finish, how her serve and ability to play through wind gives her the edge in Saturday's final, and a preview of the men's semifinals. COMMENT BELOW:  Who do you have winning the women's final? Sign up for the Newsletter & Live Chat w/ us during matches! https://servedmedia.substack.com/ Follow Served with Andy Roddick: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/servedpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@served_podcast Learn more about ServiceNow here: https://www.servicenow.com/?campid=271869&cid=pc:brd:brnd:served:26q1:paitwfp_audioredirect_PAITW2_GAI_PAITWFP_HostRead_:none:br_ams:awa&utm_medium=podcasts&utm_source=served  --- --- --- Served with Andy Roddick is your home for all the ATP and WTA Tours Tennis Breaking News, Draw Previews, Match Recaps, Player Interviews, Match Previews and more. We cover the largest tournaments throughout the season including the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open, Shanghai and talk about the best players including Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Rafael Nadal, Coco Gauff, Iga Świątek, Naomi Osaka, Aryna Sabalenka, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Emma Raducanu, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Roger Federer, Jack Draper. --- --- --- #RolandGarros #RolandGarros2026 #Chwalinska #Andreeva #FrenchOpen #FrenchOpen2026 #Tennis #GrandSlam #WTA #WTATennis #QuickServed Thank you to our sponsors: ServiceNow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Japan has repeatedly hyped up the so-called "China threat" narrative in recent years in an attempt to justify its expanding military agenda, experts said, warning that portraying neighboring countries as "threats" has historically been a recurring tactic of Japanese militarism.专家称，近年来日本频频炒作所谓“中国威胁论”，以此为自身扩充军备的计划找借口。专家提醒，把邻国塑造成威胁，向来是日本军国主义屡用的手段。They said the latest round of alarmist rhetoric once again reveals the ambitions of Japan's right-wing forces to loosen postwar constraints, expand military capabilities and advance a broader transformation of the country's security posture.专家表示，这一轮危言耸听的论调，再次暴露日本右翼势力想要挣脱战后束缚、扩充军力、全面转变安保体制的野心。Japanese media outlets on Wednesday disclosed an outline of the government's 2026 defense white paper, which continues to portray the regional security environment as "increasingly severe" while introducing a new section on "emerging modes of warfare", calling for enhanced development in unmanned systems and artificial intelligence.日本多家媒体于周三披露日本政府2026年度防卫白皮书纲要。白皮书依旧渲染地区安全环境日趋严峻，新增新型作战形态相关内容，主张加大无人装备与人工智能的研发力度。According to the Asahi Shimbun, the upcoming annual defense report largely follows the narrative of the 2025 edition, arguing that the international community has entered a "new era of crisis", characterizing the security environment in the "Indo-Pacific region" as "increasingly severe", and hyping up the so-called "China threat" theory.据《朝日新闻》报道，这份即将发布的防卫白皮书论调大体沿袭2025年版本，宣称世界步入危机新时代，渲染印太地区安全局势恶化，大肆鼓吹所谓中国威胁论。The white paper states that defense production and technological capabilities are directly linked to defense strength. It advocates creating an "environment of mutual support" by deploying the same defense equipment as allies and other "like-minded" countries, the newspaper said.报道称，白皮书提出军工生产与技术水平直接关乎国防实力，提议与盟友及理念相近国家统一列装武器，构建防务互助环境。Liu Shuliang, an associate researcher at the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, said Japan is moving beyond the bounds of its postwar defense posture and accelerating a broader remilitarization process associated with "new militarism", through measures such as revising its national security framework, enhancing offensive combat capabilities and integrating intelligence systems.天津社科院副研究员刘树良指出，日本通过修订安保体系、强化进攻性战力、整合情报系统等方式，突破战后防卫定位限制，加速迈向新军国主义的再军事化进程。Through sustained lobbying by defense-related companies and capital groups, Japan's military-industrial complex has pushed for higher defense spending and fewer restrictions on arms exports, he said.他表示，在军工企业与资本集团不断游说下，日本军工联合体持续推动防卫预算上涨、放宽武器出口管控。"These developments are contributing to the country's accelerating remilitarization and reinforcing concerns over its shift toward a 'new militarism'," Liu said.刘树良称，上述变化加快了日本再军事化步伐，各界愈发担忧日本滑向新军国主义。He said that in early May, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi outlined Japan's revamped "free and open Indo-Pacific" vision during her visit to Vietnam. The policy line was later reaffirmed by Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue, a major defense forum held in Singapore.他介绍，五月上旬日本首相高市早苗访越期间，推出改版后的自由开放印太构想，防卫大臣小泉进次郎随后在新加坡香格里拉对话会上重申了这一方针。Geopolitical ambitions地缘政治图谋"By advancing a revised 'free and open Indo-Pacific' vision and redefining its regional role, Japan is moving to expand its military reach while enhancing its influence in regional affairs. The strategy reflects Tokyo's growing ambition to play a larger role in shaping the regional security order, a move that carries clear geopolitical implications and has raised concerns over its impact on regional stability," he added.他补充道，日本借新版印太战略重新定位自身地区角色，向外拓展军事辐射范围、提升地区事务话语权，谋求主导区域安全秩序，地缘图谋明显，不利于地区安稳。Chen Hong, director of the Asia-Pacific Studies Centre at East China Normal University in Shanghai, said Japan's continued hype surrounding tensions in the so-called "Indo-Pacific region" is aimed at fueling bloc confrontation and creating exclusive groupings that run counter to the region's need for openness, cooperation and stability.华东师范大学亚太研究中心主任陈弘表示，日本不断渲染印太紧张氛围，意在制造阵营对立、组建排他性小圈子，违背地区开放合作、谋求稳定的发展需求。By deepening economic and security ties with Quad members, the Philippines and other so-called allies or "quasi-allies", Japan has increasingly pushed regional countries to choose sides, aggravating bloc confrontation and adding to tensions in the region, he said.他表示，日本不断深化同四边机制成员国、菲律宾等盟友及准盟友的经贸与防务合作，逼迫周边国家选边站队，加剧阵营对立与区域紧张。Chen said Japan's strategy is centered on the "security" agenda. Through intensified military drills and closer defense cooperation with Quad members, the Philippines and other partners, Tokyo is accelerating efforts to enhance its overseas military projection capabilities and expand its regional military presence.陈弘表示，日本整体布局围绕安全议题展开，通过高频军演、深化防务合作，加紧提升远洋兵力投送能力，扩充在亚太的军事部署。Liu from Tianjin also said Japan and the Philippines — a victim of Japanese militarism and invasion during World War II — have stepped up military collaborations in early May, exploring the transfer of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels, including used destroyer escorts.刘树良提到，菲律宾在二战曾遭日本军国主义入侵，今年五月初，日菲加紧军事合作，日方商议向菲转让老旧护航驱逐舰等海自舰艇。"Through intensified military cooperation and joint defense activities with regional partners, Japan is increasing its military presence across the Asia-Pacific region, raising concerns that such actions could aggravate tensions and undermine regional stability," he said.他称，日本借助和地区伙伴深化防务合作、联合军演，持续扩张亚太军力部署，极易激化矛盾、破坏地区稳定。"The provision of secondhand escorts to the Philippines reflects Japan's deepening involvement in regional security affairs and signals a further loosening of its long-standing postwar defense constraints," Chen said.陈弘表示，向日方交付二手护航舰，标志着日本更深介入地区安全事务，进一步突破战后长期以来的防务限制。He said the move could heighten tensions in the South China Sea, contribute to regional military competition and place additional pressure on the region's security environment.该做法或将加剧南海紧张局势，催生地区军备竞赛，恶化区域安全环境。Japan's shift toward remilitarization is likely to prompt heightened vigilance and potential countermeasures from other countries in the region, Liu said.刘树良认为，日本持续推进再军事化，势必引发周边国家高度警惕并出台相应反制举措。aggravate /ˈæɡrəveɪt/ 加剧，激化（紧张局势）undermine /ˌʌndəˈmaɪn/ 破坏，损害（地区稳定）vigilance /ˈvɪdʒɪləns/ 警惕，警觉countermeasure /ˈkaʊntəmeʒə(r)/ 反制措施，对策exclusive /ɪkˈskluːsɪv/ 排他性的projection /prəˈdʒekʃn/ （兵力）投送

This week, we're digging into The B1M's recent video "This Will Be the Second Tallest Building Ever". Together, we're asking if Dubai's 'Burj Azizi' will ever become the world's second tallest building.This episode is sponsored by Trimble. Learn more about Trimble's ProjectSight 360 Capture here

The summit in Beijing produced a "constructive strategic stability" framework and a warming of tone between the two presidents. But heads of state can announce a multi-year horizon; somebody else has to operationalize it. Does the United States have the people — the linguists, the regional experts, the long-haul institution-builders — to do that work?This week, I chatted with two Texans answering that question from very different directions. David Firestein is the inaugural president and CEO of the George H.W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations in Houston. A career State Department officer who served four administrations and spent five years in Beijing, he's one of the few Americans concurrently affiliated with both a Republican and a Democratic presidential legacy institution. Eddie Conger is a retired Marine major and the founder and superintendent of International Leadership of Texas (IL Texas) — a public charter network of 26 campuses serving 26,000 K-12 students and now the largest K-12 Chinese language program in the country. In January, IL Texas became the first-ever K-12 recipient of the Bush China Foundation's George H.W. Bush Award for Educational Excellence in U.S.-China Relations, joining past honorees including Jimmy Carter and Henry Kissinger.The conversation tackles what David calls the Texas paradox: the same state that just forced its cities to dissolve their sister-city ties with China, that pioneered the closure of Confucius Institutes, and that has restricted Chinese land purchases is also where the country's deepest K-12 Mandarin pipeline is taking root — and where the most institutionally Texan China foundation has chosen to plant its flag. David and Eddie talk through engagement honestly (no straw-man Jeffersonian-democracy fantasies), the erroneous strategic assumptions undergirding U.S. China policy, what real national-language capacity would look like operationally, what they each saw in the Trump–Xi summit, and what 5,000 IL Texas graduates are already doing in the world.05:40 — Eddie's path: Marine infantryman to fifth-grade math teacher to the country's largest K-12 Mandarin program09:12 — David on when the Nixon-through-Obama engagement consensus broke (fall 2017) and how the lexicon shifted13:30 — Engagement honestly defined: what its architects actually believed vs. the Jeffersonian-democracy straw man18:30 — The Texas paradox: HB 128, sister cities, Confucius Institutes — and the country's biggest Mandarin program in the same state31:26 — Texas business, Tim Dunn, faith, and the gap between political rhetoric and where Texans actually are41:54 — The Defense Department safety/security story: when one Chinese word ate an entire bilateral agreement46:16 — David's six (or seven) erroneous strategic assumptions: China doesn't want to be us, and it has benefited more than anyone from the current order52:28 — What real national-language capacity would actually look like: NSLI, WALARA, and why the pipeline still runs through one Marine major in Texas01:06:07 — Reading the Beijing summit: the warmth, the "constructive strategic stability" framing, and whether Trump's Taiwan call could blow it all up01:17:10 — Where 5,000 IL Texas graduates are now — White House interns, service academies, doctors, entrepreneurs, and one high-schooler who pulled a stranger out of the surfPaying it ForwardEddie: Carlos Carrasco; Emily, who is heading to Taiwan this fall on a one-year high-school program; and another student bound for the University of Texas at Austin who will be sent to South Korea for a semester as a freshman — a rarity at UT. And he closes with Miles, a high-school senior and Marine scholarship recipient who, just weeks ago at a national competition in Florida, heard someone screaming for help in the ocean, called for a boogie board, and swam out to save a drowning swimmer while a crowd of adults stood on the beach. "Others before self," as Eddie puts it — the IL Texas mission statement made flesh.David:Frank Zhou, who just graduated from Harvard and chaired the Harvard College China Forum; Selina Gong, a recent graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School involved in its annual China conference; and Dean Dai, a recent graduate of Columbia's SIPA who has been deeply involved in many of the most significant student-run China conferences in the country — and who, as it turns out, was one of the organizers of the University of Chicago U.S.-China Economy and Business Summit where Kaiser spoke earlier this month.Recommendations:Eddie: John Pomfret, The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: America and China, 1776 to the Present (Henry Holt, 2016)David: Stephen Roach, Accidental Conflict: America, China, and the Clash of False Narratives (Yale, 2022)Kaiser: David Grann, The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder (Doubleday, 2023)Also mentioned: Stephen R. Platt, The Raider: The Untold Story of a Renegade Marine and the Birth of U.S. Special Forces in World War II (Knopf, 2024) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Get my new book: https://bronsonequity.com/fireyourselfDownload my new special report - How to Use Inflation to Your Advantage - www.bronsonequity.com/inflationIn this special webinar replay on the Mailbox Money Show, host Bronson Hill moderates an expert panel on inflation-proof asset strategies during times of volatility. The discussion covers rising oil prices, geopolitical tensions, precious metals demand, central bank buying, COMEX/LBMA dynamics, currency debasement, and why hard assets like gold and silver serve as critical stores of value and portfolio hedges. The panel shares insights on market manipulation, physical supply strains, productivity vs. financialization, and practical advice for building resilience in uncertain times.Panelists:David Morgan — Publisher of The Morgan Report and longtime silver market analyst.Russell Gray — Host of The Main Street Capitalist and economic commentator.Dana Samuelson — President of American Gold Exchange.Andy Schectman — President of Miles Franklin Precious Metals Investments.A timely, high-level conversation for investors seeking to protect and grow wealth amid economic uncertainty.TIMESTAMPS0:39 - Introduction to the Webinar & Panel on Inflation-Proof Strategies1:23 - Bronson Equity Overview & Investor Club3:32 - Panel Introduction: David Morgan, Russell Gray, Dana Samuelson, Andy Schectman3:47 - Oil Price Spike, Geopolitical Tensions & Economic Impact5:53 - Inflation Acceleration, Supply Chain Effects & Central Bank Challenges8:58 - COMEX Deliveries, Glitches & Market Manipulation Concerns11:54 - LBMA, Shanghai & Physical Silver Supply Strains16:37 - COMEX Inventories, Registered vs Eligible Silver & Historical Context19:22 - Global Demand, Central Bank Buying & Repatriation Trends24:09 - Silver Deficits, Investment Demand & Tight Physical Supply28:19 - Gold as Money, Currency Debasement & Portfolio Role32:41 - Bank of America & Morgan Stanley Shifting to Higher Gold/Silver Allocations35:43 - Precious Metals Consolidation, Volatility & Outlook39:33 - Productivity, Main Street Recovery & Monetary System Reform42:47 - Real Estate Opportunities in Weaker Economy & Precious Metals Outlook45:10 - Closing Thoughts & How to Connect with PanelistsJoint the Wealth Forum: bronsonequity.com/wealthConnect with the Guests:David Morgan:Website - themorganreport.comRussell Gray:Email - follow@russellgray.comDana Samuelson:Website - https://www.amergold.com/Email - dana@amergold.comAndy Schectman:Youtube - Miles Franklin MediaWebsite - milesfranklin.comEmail - info@milesfranklin.com#PreciousMetals#GoldSilverInvesting#InflationHedge#EconomicVolatility#OilPrices#CentralBanks#WealthPreservation

Kongjia Nong Lane may be the last patch of lilong old district in Shanghai's city center, with its iconic passageway buildings—a classic snapshot of the city's past—recently demolished. One resident returned to their old home to gather final belongings, murmuring to themselves. In summers past, they might have set out small tables and bamboo chairs at the doorstep for cooling off, dining, or ga sanhu (chatting). Without the muffled clamour of neighbours, their murmurs grow clear, the room's reverberation spilling into the alley, amplified again. This hollow, resonant echo is etched into the temporal lobes of the residents—a soundscape shared across generations. After moving to new homes, will it take them long to adjust?Recorded in Shanghai, China by Digimonk.

When SLAM Skater of the Year Nixen Osborne hit Shanghai, he found a piece of family history: his uncle Lee Ralph's legendary Vision pro deck!Backed by DFAT and the Australia China Foundation, Big hArt brought an Aussie skater crew to Shanghai for two weeks of pure connection. They ripped up street spots, hosted heavy cash jams, ran kid-friendly demos, and bonded deeply with the Chinese skate community.In this episode, Nixen and Ben Currie join us to share their Shanghai adventures and personal skate journeys. Enjoy!

This summary was brought to you by NVIDIA Nemotron 3 super. What's that, you ask? I don't really know. It sounds a lot like the other models. It's just another dumb clanker serving you the slop you crave. The timeline is bizarrely detailed. You could probably just read that and skip the show. This model is stupid as it does the thing dumb models do and assume that Jack is me because of the way the transcript goes DESPITE MY PROMPTING anyway I am leaving it in there to show clankers are not going to replace us yet. SORRY I FORGOT TO UPLOAD THIS - BETTER LATE THAN NEVER? ---------------------------In this episode of The Two Jacks, Jack the Insider (Joel Hill) and Hong Kong Jack tear into the Albanese government's deeply unpopular budget, the polling fallout, and Labor's failure to sell hard tax changes on housing, trusts and capital gains. They dig into intergenerational equity, how negative gearing and CGT discounts have locked younger Australians out of home ownership, and why the government refuses to “own the lie” on broken tax promises.The Jacks then turn to the NDIS blowout and ask whether the scheme now needs to be torn down and rebuilt from first principles to define who is genuinely eligible and where scarce disability money should go. The main course is the Royal Commission into Anti‑Semitism and Social Cohesion: what its narrow terms of reference miss, why Jewish kids still need security to go to school, how campus politics and parts of the progressive left have turned openly hostile to Jews, and why universities and the ABC are failing basic tests of impartiality and safety. They round things out with a postponed look at Keir Starmer's woes in the UK, Arsenal's title, State of Origin squads, an AFL reset at Carlton, the Tasmanian Devils project, and why pokies – not punters on the nags – are still the real engine of problem gambling in Australia.Timeline (with +25 seconds added for theme music)I've shifted each timestamp forward by 25 seconds to allow for your theme.00:00 – Two Jacks back on deck, Hong Kong plansJack the Insider (Joel Hill) opens the show, checks in with Hong Kong Jack, and talks about heading to Hong Kong in December to speak at a Carbine Club lunch and maybe record from Jack's pub.00:50 – What's on today's menuOutline of the episode: the federal budget and polling, the Royal Commission into Anti‑Semitism and Social Cohesion, plus (time permitting) Keir Starmer's woes in the UK and, as always, a serve of sport.01:20 – Budget reception and grim pollingThe Jacks walk through Morgan, Newspoll and Demos numbers: Labor's primary stuck in the high 20s–low 30s, One Nation uncomfortably high, and more than half of Australians expecting to be personally worse off under the budget.02:20 – What really matters in a budget: hurt vs “right thing to do”Hong Kong Jack argues the key test isn't whether people feel worse off, but whether they think the budget is the right thing to do, and how that plays into the “battle of ideas” between Labor/Greens and the Coalition/One Nation.03:10 – Intergenerational pitch that never landedJack the Insider dissects Labor's attempt to sell long‑term intergenerational reforms on housing, negative gearing and CGT to millennials and Gen X/Y, and why measures that don't bite until the late 2020s mean nothing to a renter trying to scrape a deposit together now.04:20 – Media honeymoon over and Labor's messaging shamblesDiscussion of how the government misread the media mood, looked stunned when formerly friendly outlets turned on the budget, and why you must expect pushback whenever you hurt someone with fiscal reforms.05:20 – Housing as the core fracture in Australian societyThe Jacks talk about the structural divide between asset‑rich home owners and shut‑out younger cohorts, with home ownership among 30‑ and 40‑somethings collapsing while overall ownership rates barely move.06:20 – Trusts, capital vs labour and the “death duty” scareThey go into the new tax treatment of trusts, how few people actually have family trusts, exemptions for farms and small business, and Tanya Plibersek's bungled breakfast TV defence that let the “death duties” scare run wild.07:20 – Keating rides again: capital too lightly taxedPaul Keating's intervention is unpacked: the argument that the Howard‑era 50% CGT discount helped push house prices from nine times income to 16, and that income is over‑taxed while capital is under‑taxed.08:20 – You can't sell reform if you won't own the lieThe Jacks compare Albanese's handling of broken tax promises with the Hockey/Abbott 2014 “horror budget”, arguing the only way through is to admit circumstances changed, own the lie and explain why you're breaking it.09:25 – Lessons from the 2014 Hockey–Abbott fiascoThey revisit how that budget enraged almost every demographic, how badly it diverged from public opinion despite elite commentary cheer‑squads, and how it helped end both Tony Abbott's and Joe Hockey's careers.10:40 – Can this government reset its pitch?Talk turns to what Labor must do now: scrap the ill‑judged intergenerational “marketing”, articulate clearly that the aim is to rebalance tax from workers to asset holders, and craft a story that can actually be sold.11:25 – NDIS: who's in, who's out and can it be saved?With the NDIS projected to save tens of billions over the forward estimates, Jack the Insider worries about vulnerable people being turfed off the scheme and the political heat that will follow.12:15 – Defining disability and rationing scarce careThey debate whether the scheme should prioritise those with severe physical or cognitive impairments, the difficulty of diagnosing conditions like ME/CFS and long COVID, and the unfairness of some mildly affected participants getting full supports while bedridden patients miss out.13:20 – “Chuck it out and start again?”Hong Kong Jack argues that the only way to fix the NDIS may be to go back to first principles: clearly define eligibility, decide what taxpayers can afford, and accept that these are inherently political choices, not just technocratic ones.14:00 – Enter the Royal Commission into Anti‑Semitism and Social CohesionThe show moves to the new Royal Commission: why the Albanese government was dragged into it, public misconceptions about royal commissions as hanging courts, and what they realistically can and can't fix.14:45 – Royal commissions: shining a light, not magic wandsThe Jacks compare this inquiry with past ones on institutional child abuse and banking, noting how many victims and consumers were left dissatisfied even as some important truths were dragged into the open.15:30 – Terms of reference and an immediate blind spotThey read through the Royal Commission's focus areas – antisemitism drivers, law enforcement and security responses, the Bondi attack, social cohesion – and point out that live criminal proceedings severely limit any examination of the Bondi killer and his father.16:30 – ASIO, counter‑terror cuts and missed warningsJack the Insider notes reports that ASIO cut counter‑terrorism to its lowest level since 9/11 and questions how that could be justified given far‑right activity, Islamist threats and general extremism.17:25 – From “terror hotlines” to BondiHe recounts his own experiences calling the National Security Hotline: indifference before the Old Parliament House fire versus a swift response after the Wieambilla police killings, and what that says about how inconsistent the system can be.18:30 – Private Jewish security and a ball dropped by NSW PoliceThe Jacks highlight reports that Jewish community security raised concerns with police about the Hanukkah festival at Bondi being a vulnerable target, yet only a handful of officers were rostered locally on the day of the attack.19:30 – What should the Commission actually deliver?Discussion of how much of this will be buried in redacted security recommendations versus visible cultural change, and whether the measure of success is Jewish kids being able to attend school or synagogue without armed guards or harassment at university.20:25 – Is anti‑Semitism worse than any time in the last 50 years?Both Jacks agree that anti‑Semitism has surged, then tease out what's driving it on the hard right and increasingly in progressive circles.21:00 – From neo‑Nazis to “global puppeteer” tropesThey explain how anti‑Jewish conspiracy theories about control of banking and politics have spread far beyond small neo‑Nazi cells into broader right‑wing ecosystems, amplified by US media figures who frame Benjamin Netanyahu as a world puppeteer.21:55 – The progressive left's turn against JewsHong Kong Jack describes how the most progressive parts of parties like UK Labour were once full of Jewish members and staff, and how those same spaces are now inhospitable or openly hostile.22:40 – Being Jewish does not equal supporting NetanyahuJack the Insider tells the story of a Jewish oncologist friend in Sydney being accused on social media of “supporting killing babies” simply for trying to explain that many Jews detest Netanyahu and don't back the war in Gaza.23:35 – Progressive Jews feel politically homelessThe Jacks talk about liberal Jews who marched for every progressive cause now finding their neighbours tearing down hostage posters and abusing them, and how emotionally disorienting that break has been.24:30 – Campus culture: free thought or intimidation?They turn to universities, where Jewish academics and students are hiding kippot and Star of David jewellery as staff and student activists target them under the banner of Palestine solidarity.25:15 – Universities failed the basic test: safetyReferencing Greg Craven, they argue universities like Melbourne have utterly failed to keep Jewish students and staff safe and that Education Minister Jason Clare is right to tie some funding to universities' performance on this.26:05 – Writers' festivals, awards and performative politicsThe Jacks briefly digress into Miles Franklin and writers' festivals, mocking the inflated status of “scribblers” and the way literary events have become echo‑chambers for fashionable political positions, including a strong anti‑Israel tilt.27:05 – ABC bias, diversity bureaucracy and the West as villainThey discuss claims that the ABC has an institutional bias against Israel, the way its culture tilts anti‑Western generally, and how a hyper‑bureaucratic diversity regime has replaced clear editorial judgement.28:15 – Diversity box‑ticking and absurd examplesFrom Danish filmmakers being grilled about casting in a 1750 Denmark period piece to arguments about race in a new Odyssey adaptation, they skewer shallow diversity policing that obsesses over skin colour while missing substance.29:05 – Jewish history: persecution on repeatJack the Insider places today's situation in a long arc – from pogroms to Poland–Lithuania's historic tolerance, to the near‑eradication of Polish Jewry in the Holocaust and the emptying out of Jewish communities across the Arab world.30:15 – The modern diaspora: Middle East to ShanghaiThey note surviving Jewish communities in Iran and the historic Jewish community in Shanghai, including refugees from the Russian Revolution and how some of those families later ended up in Sydney.31:00 – What the Royal Commission can't fixThe Jacks stress that the inquiry will not “solve” anti‑Semitism, racism or Islamophobia, and that debates over immigration – often weaponised by racists and opportunists like Pauline Hanson – will continue regardless.31:50 – Treat people equally, drop loaded labels?Hong Kong Jack argues terms like “anti‑Semitism” and “Islamophobia” can bog debate down in definitions and that the better approach is to apply one standard of treatment for all minorities and majorities.32:30 – Immigration, xenophobia and political opportunismThey revisit African “crime gangs” rhetoric under Dutton and Morrison as an example of immigration concerns being used as a vehicle for xenophobic politics, while acknowledging there are legitimate policy questions about migration levels.33:20 – The ABC and fear of making decisionsThe Jacks see the ABC's huge manuals and committees as a symptom of executives who won't make hard editorial calls and instead hide behind process, leaving real bias and safety issues unresolved.34:15 – Royal Commission yardstick: kids and campusesThey circle back to the Commission's ultimate test: whether Jewish kids can attend school and university without harassment or needing a private army of guards, even if that goal is a long way off.35:10 – UK politics teaser: Keir Starmer on the rackThe promised Starmer and UK Labour segment is postponed to next week, with a quick note on how unpopular he's become and how leadership polling improves when pollsters insert alternative names like Andy Burnham.36:05 – Sport: Arsenal's title and Man City's stumbleSport segment begins. The Jacks celebrate Arsenal wrapping up the Premier League after Manchester City's draw with Bournemouth and talk up Arsenal's chances in the Champions League final.36:55 – Aston Villa's big year and the money gapAston Villa's Europa League win over Freiburg is praised, with a note on the massive wage‑bill gulf between the clubs and the broader point that money helps but doesn't always guarantee silverware.37:50 – Relegation scrap and wage‑bill madnessThey look at West Ham, Spurs and Everton in the relegation battle, and at Liverpool's huge salary spend versus their likely fifth‑place finish to show that cheque‑book football has its limits.38:40 – NRL: Origin squads and surprise omissionsOver to rugby league: New South Wales debutants, James Tedesco's recall, Queensland's squad, and the notable omission of Rhys Walsh despite his past Origin heroics.39:25 – Penrith cruising, Broncos smashed and the Dolphins riseThey run through club form – Penrith purring, Warriors flogging the Broncos, the Dolphins and Knights impressing – and how that shapes the season.40:05 – “Magic Round” and marketing guffThe Jacks puzzle over the “Magic Round” concept, comparing it to the AFL's Gather Round and questioning who actually wants to sit through four games at a ground in one day.40:45 – AFL: Hawthorn's Launceston fortress and the coming DevilsDiscussion of Hawthorn's strong record in Launceston, the economic benefits to northern Tasmania, and the AFL's decision to clear the decks for the new Tassie Devils to represent the whole state.41:35 – Carlton's first‑up win after sacking VossThey unpack Carlton's win under interim coach Josh Fraser, the myth of the “new coach bounce”, and how much was actually driven by younger players stepping up and Patrick Cripps taking over late.42:30 – New kids, Parkside hard men and a trip to PortPraise for Ollie Hollands, Jack Ison and other young Blues, a nostalgic nod to brutal Parkside days in the Ammos, and a realistic assessment of Carlton's next test away to Port Adelaide.43:25 – Richmond v Essendon: spoon bowlPreview and framing of Richmond–Essendon as a likely wooden‑spoon decider, with both clubs in different stages of rebuild and pain.44:00 – Geelong v Sydney and reinventing on the runThe Jacks preview the big game at GMHBA, note Geelong's outstanding home record and ability to regenerate with pacey youngsters, and talk about Tyson Stengle's return and Geelong's track record with troubled players.45:05 – Racing, sports betting and the real gambling scourgeThey read and agree with a listener comment that the problem‑gambling spotlight has been cleverly shifted onto racing and sports betting, while pokies – the main driver of harm – skate by.46:00 – WA vs NSW: two natural experiments in pokiesUsing WA's “casino only” pokies model versus NSW pubs and clubs, they highlight data showing problem gambling rates under 1% in WA versus around 5% in NSW.46:45 – Why pokies wreck people faster than the puntThey explain how continuous‑play machines let you burn through cash in seconds, whereas racing forces a pause between bets and makes you consciously choose the next wager.47:25 – JFK gag and conspiracy cultureHong Kong Jack closes with a joke about a JFK conspiracy theorist meeting God and still believing “it goes higher than I thought”, segueing briefly into Jack the Insider's view that Lee Harvey Oswald was indeed the gunman.48:15 – Wrap‑up and call for listener topicsThe episode finishes with thanks, a reminder that Jack the Insider is Jack and Hong Kong Jack is Jack, a promise to tackle Keir Starmer properly next week, and an invite for listeners to send in topics via Twitter and email.

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Love Blossoms: Bridging Hearts from Shanghai to Paris Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2026-06-01-22-34-01-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 阳光透过窗帘洒在莲的书桌上，他的公寓位于上海一个繁华的街区。En: Sunlight filtered through the curtains and onto Lian's desk.Zh: 窗外是一片生意盎然的景象，樱花在凉爽的春风中摇曳。En: His apartment was located in a bustling neighborhood in Shanghai.Zh: 莲慢慢放下手机，长长地叹了口气，心中思绪万千。En: Outside the window was a lively scene with cherry blossoms swaying in the cool spring breeze.Zh: 他的心被两座城市分割，一部分留在这里，和明一起。En: Lian slowly put down his phone, let out a long sigh, and his mind was filled with countless thoughts.Zh: 明是他的儿时玩伴，如今正在与慢性病抗争。En: His heart was divided between two cities, with one part staying here, with Ming.Zh: 莲经常去看望他，为他带去食物和希望。En: Ming was his childhood friend and was currently battling a chronic illness.Zh: 另一部分心则飞向遥远的巴黎，那里有他的爱人蕊。En: Lian would often visit him, bringing food and hope.Zh: 距离让他们的爱情如同长江与塞纳河般遥远，但蕊的存在总是在心中给予莲勇气。En: The other part of his heart flew to distant Paris, where his lover Rui was.Zh: 莲望着桌上那封刚收到的邮件，是蕊发来的新画。En: The distance made their love as far apart as the Yangtze River and the Seine River, but Rui's presence always gave Lian courage.Zh: 画上是一个身形模糊的人，站在樱花树下，满天的粉红色花瓣在风中飞舞。En: Lian looked at the email he had just received on the table; it was a new painting sent by Rui.Zh: 画中人低头凝视着地面，嘴角带着微笑，身旁是一个虚幻的影子，象征着未到的爱。En: The painting depicted a blurred figure standing under a cherry blossom tree, with pink petals flying in the wind.Zh: 莲感受到一种深深的理解和支持，从巴黎传来绵长的温暖。En: The figure in the painting was looking down at the ground, a faint smile on their lips, and beside them was an illusory shadow, symbolizing love yet to arrive.Zh: 心中某个角落轻轻一动，莲明白了。En: Lian felt a deep sense of understanding and support, a long-lasting warmth coming from Paris.Zh: 他决不能失去这段感情，也决不能对明掉以轻心。En: A gentle stir in a corner of his heart made Lian realize he could not lose this relationship, nor could he neglect Ming.Zh: 于是他想到了一个办法——将他们的生活连结在一起。En: So he thought of a way—to connect their lives together.Zh: 他与蕊商量，决定邀请明在网上与蕊合作艺术创作。En: He discussed with Rui and decided to invite Ming to collaborate on art projects online.Zh: 这样，蕊就仿佛来到了上海，能为明带来些许快乐。En: In this way, it would be as if Rui had come to Shanghai, bringing some joy to Ming.Zh: 明非常高兴，他在病痛间隙，砚边涂抹，笑意越来越多。En: Ming was very happy and would paint during the moments when he felt less pain, with more and more smiles appearing on his face.Zh: 每一次莲到医院探望明，都会带去他们的新创作。En: Every time Lian visited Ming in the hospital, he would bring their new creations.Zh: 看见明脸上逐渐恢复的神采，莲心中充满了温暖。En: Seeing Ming's gradually recovering spirit filled Lian's heart with warmth.Zh: 尽管他不能在物理上同时分身，但心灵却能跨越万里。En: Although he could not physically be in two places at once, his soul could traverse thousands of miles.Zh: 这个春天，樱花开得特别美。En: This spring, the cherry blossoms bloomed beautifully.Zh: 莲在落地窗前坐下，手中捧着从巴黎寄来的画，感受到这座城市的生命力以及自己内心的宁静。En: Lian sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, holding a painting sent from Paris, and felt the vitality of the city and the peace within himself.Zh: 他知道，只要心在，距离就不会是阻碍。En: He knew that as long as the heart is present, distance would not be an obstacle.Zh: 从那以后，莲不再感到夹在两者之间的无奈。En: From then on, Lian no longer felt helpless being caught between the two.Zh: 他学会了如何去寻找和谐，明白到有爱就能创造出无数可能，而人的生命也因此更加完整。En: He learned how to find harmony and understood that love could create countless possibilities, making one's life more complete because of it. Vocabulary Words:filtered: 透过curtains: 窗帘bustling: 繁华swaying: 摇曳countless: 思绪万千battling: 抗争chronic: 慢性visit: 看望distant: 遥远depicted: 描绘blurred: 模糊illusory: 虚幻harmony: 和谐collaborate: 合作creations: 创作recovery: 恢复vitality: 生命力obstacle: 阻碍helpless: 无奈possibilities: 可能complete: 完整apartment: 公寓neighborhood: 街区presence: 存在courage: 勇气scene: 景象support: 支持neglect: 掉以轻心intervals: 间隙traverse: 跨越

Amazon Worker Intifada brings ‘sad hour’ drinks to Seattle’s socialists. It’s sad, indeed. Guest: Brady Minneman is a Bothell High School Senior that organized a school walkout and petition to restore their school resource officer program. // Producer Jackson had a horrible flight experience on Alaska over the weekend, but at least it wasn’t as bad as a Delta flight heading to Shanghai. // Rep. Pramila Jayapal is the boss from Hell.

China's remarkable journey from poverty to becoming the world's second-largest economic power is marked by extraordinary urban growth and consumption capacity of its urban population. Central to this development fervor are multifunctional commercial complexes and shopping malls, now key features of modern urban districts. The concept of shopping malls, originally introduced to China by American architects in the 1980s, has since flourished on an even larger scale than their American counterparts. American-Designed Shopping Malls in China (Hong Kong University Press, 2026) by Dr. Charlie Qiuli Xue and Dr. Arwen Yingting Chen delves into the origins of shopping mall development in the United States after World War II, tracing how American architects exported this building type into China's rapidly evolving urban landscapes, particularly in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Kunming, and Guangzhou. Using primary sources, statistical analyses, and illustrated case studies, the book explores the evolution of shopping malls as a consequence of China's profound economic, social, and cultural change over the past four decades. The book also highlights the impact of American consumerism on the everyday lives of Chinese people, altering not only consumer patterns but also local architectural practices. This tale of transformation is essential reading for anyone interested in China's rapid urban development. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Episode 528 / Marina AdamsMarina Adams is a painter based in New York, NY, Bridgehampton, New York, and Parma, Italy. She earned degrees from Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA and Columbia University, New York, NY. Her solo exhibitions include Cosmic Repair at Timothy Taylor, The Art of Living Slowly and Mother Tongue at Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin,  Devals x Salon 94, Paris, France, To a World Full of Others, von Bartha, Basel, Switzerland; Flower Power at Copenhagen and Deep Breathing at S-Chanf, Switzerland, Stephen Friedman Galleryin London,  FOCUS: Marina Adams at The Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, Anemones and Soft Power at Salon 94 and many others.She is in the public collection of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, the Longlati Foundation in Shanghai, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, among others. She is a 2016 recipient of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship and received the 2018 Award of Merit Medal for Painting from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.Adams has collaborated with poets Norma Cole, Charles Bernstein, Vincent Katz, Leslie Scalapino and Christian Prigent and has published prints with TwoPalms NY, ULAE, Niels Borch Jensen Copenhagen and VanDeb Editions.

For our latest “site-specific” episode of Time Sensitive, Spencer meets Sheila Hicks inside her courtyard in Paris's Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood, where she has called home for more than 60 years. The 91-year-old Nebraska-born artist—widely known for her vibrant, sculptural textile and fiber works—resists any firm classification of what she does, as her multifarious output reflects. Currently, Hicks's work is on view in a solo exhibition at SFMOMA through Aug. 9, and a two-person exhibition, “Material Matters: Sheila Hicks & Shi Hui,” at Shanghai's West Bund Museum through Aug. 2. Last year, Knoll Textiles reissued her classic Altiplano collection from 1966 in an updated palette, and a major Milan retrospective, her first in Italy, will open on Nov. 16 at the Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea. On the episode, Hicks discusses her lifelong relationship with textiles, weaving, and perception through materials and environments; her formative travels in South America, Morocco, India, and Japan; and how chance encounters can shape one's life. Show notes:  Sheila Hicks [0:44] Cour de Rohan [3:05] Altiplano (1966) for Knoll Textiles [10:02] Edward Steichen [16:36] Josef Albers [15:03] Yohji Yamamoto [18:57] George Kubler [19:10] Trevor Paglen [28:00] Ford Foundation [28:00] Darren Walker [33:20] Raoul d'Harcourt [37:50] Rue de Seine [38:43] May Day [41:56] Jantar Mantar [55:48] Florence Knoll [58:44] Cristobal Zañartu [58:44] Opening the Archives [58:44] Hanging by a Thread [1:02:57] “Calder: Rêver en équilibre” [1:04:14] Monique Lévi-Strauss [1:05:15] Thaddeus Mosley Pierre Horay

Eric Olander on how the Global South is reading the Beijing summitsThis week I'm joined again by Eric Olander, founder of the China Global South Project, which runs the most indispensable English-language operation going for understanding China's engagement with Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.I came in with a plan: map, region by region, how the capitals of the Global South were reading the back-to-back Trump and Putin visits to Beijing — relief at a steadier U.S.-China modus vivendi, or foreboding at a G2 condominium squeezing shut their room to maneuver. Eric dismantled the premise within ten minutes. The honest answer, he warned me, is that most of the Global South simply isn't watching the way we are — and the disappointment turned out to be the most interesting thing in the room. What looked like the absence of a story was the story. I'd built my questions around one assumption about what mattered; Eric had built his answers around another, and I cop to being schooled.Once you set the summit framing aside, what Eric's contributors are actually seeing comes into focus: Japan racing to recenter an Asia-Pacific security architecture, a region quietly de-risking from an unreliable United States, fresh cracks in the BRICS, Justin Yifu Lin's “three moves” for Chinese manufacturing, Latin America's “find out” phase, and a Gulf where the Chinese setback so many in Washington insist must exist simply isn't there. We get into all of it — and close on the summit as a remarkable piece of theater, the first since 1945 at which no one quite knew who the most powerful person in the room was.04:27 — The dominant mood: pro forma coverage, exhaustion, and bigger problems at home08:15 — Breaking news: the paused $14B Taiwan arms package and the canceled Colby trip11:15 — The dog that caught the truck: China and the costs of a receding U.S. umbrella13:00 — "Constructive strategic stability" — new equilibrium or just choreography?28:23 — The snub: Beijing sends only an ambassador to the BRICS meeting in New Delhi37:56 — Africa: tariff-free access, the trade imbalance, and Kenya's "collapsed" exports44:34 — Justin Yifu Lin's "three moves": move up-market, localize, move south51:00 — Latin America's "find out" phase in Panama, and very low China literacy57:35 — The Gulf after the war on Iran: who really won?Paying it Forward:Boston University's Global Development Policy (GDP) Research CenterRecommendationsEric: A “rabbit hole” of books on Xi Jinping, currently Party of One by Chun Han Wong (after Kevin Rudd's On Xi Jinping).Kaiser: Angine de Poitrine, a “microtonal math rock” duo from Quebec — think Frank Zappa meets King Crimson — possibly the thing to breathe new life into progressive rock.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.