Ep. 29: Islamic China with Rian Thum

You may know of the “DeepSeek moment,” China’s arrival at the frontier of artificial intelligence in 2025. But have you heard of “Akeso”, the biotech company that heralds China’s rise to the top of global medical research? It might be more significant. On this episode of the China Books Podcast, we discuss the health care revolution in China with the help of Dr. Ruby Wang, a London-based physician and author of China Cure: The Rise of Biotech, AI Medicine and a Global Health Superpower. Ruby joined from London to discuss AI-driven breakthroughs in diagnostics, China’s public health policy making, the experience of Chinese physicians, the lessons China can share with the globe and Ruby’s experience serving in the British Embassy in Beijing during the pandemic.The China Books Podcast is a companion of China Books Review, a project of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and The Wire China. For any queries or comments, please write to [email protected].

Sally Rooney’s Chinese translator and our own “What China’s Reading” columnist talks to us about Chinese tastes in literature and her own debut novella.The China Books Podcast is a companion of China Books Review, a project of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and The Wire China. For any queries or comments, please write to [email protected].

The author of a new book of postpartum recovery recipes tells us what to eat while “sitting the month,” and how Taiwanese food is distinct from Chinese cuisine.The China Books Podcast is a companion of China Books Review, a project of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and The Wire China. For any queries or comments, please write to [email protected].

The author and historian discusses a dramatic Soviet espionage case in interwar Shanghai that rocked the international community and presaged the Cold War.The China Books Podcast is a companion of China Books Review, a project of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and The Wire China. For any queries or comments, please write to [email protected].

Over the last quarter century, the countryside of southwest China has been transformed. The author of two memoirs reflects on what is lost, and what is gained.The China Books Podcast is a companion of China Books Review, a project of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and The Wire China. For any queries or comments, please write to [email protected].

The Hong Kong-born novelist and journalist talks us through his new novel "City on Fire," a whodunnit thriller set against the 2019 protests.The China Books Podcast is a companion of China Books Review, a project of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and The Wire China. For any queries or comments, please write to [email protected].

The Legalists and Confucians still run the show in today’s China, argues a scholar of classical Chinese thought — but the Mohists and Daoists still have a voice in the debate.The China Books Podcast is a companion of China Books Review, a project of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and The Wire China. For any queries or comments, please write to [email protected].

Misogyny and patriarchy are a later misreading of The Analects, argues the author of a new translation of the Confucian classic.The China Books Podcast is a companion of China Books Review, a project of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and The Wire China. For any queries or comments, please write to [email protected].

The bilingual comedian talks us through the traditional “xiangsheng” form of Chinese comic repartee, and explains whether Beijing can take a joke.The China Books Podcast is a companion of China Books Review, a project of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and The Wire China. For any queries or comments, please write to [email protected].

Islam has been part of China’s religious and cultural fabric for over a millennium, yet often it is seen as a foreign element. The author of a new study explains just how wrong that is.The China Books Podcast is a companion of China Books Review, a project of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and The Wire China. For any queries or comments, please write to [email protected].