Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

---

Dan Wang at long last makes his solo ChinaTalk debut! We’re here to discuss and celebrate his first book, Breakneck.

We get into…

Engineering states vs lawyerly societies,

The competing legacies of the 1980s in China, the decade which saw brutal repression via the One Child Policy and Tiananmen alongside intellectual debate, cultural vibrancy, and rock and roll,

Methods of knowing China, from the People’s Daily and Seeking Truth to on-the-ground research,

How to compare the values of China’s convenient yet repressive society with the chaotic pluralism of the USA,

What Li Qiang’s career post-Shanghai lockdowns can tell us about the value of loyalty vs competence in Xi’s China.

YOU SHOULD SIGN UP TO MY WEEKLY NEWSLETTER!
chinatalk.substack.com
The podcast is also available in your favorite app, just search ChinaTalk!