Location:
United States
Description:
Round Table is a premier English radio/podcast show, straight from Beijing. Hear what's buzzing on the Internet and the main streets, see the latest lifestyle trends, and feel the pulse of life in China, Round Table is your golden ticket. With dynamic cultural exchanges between hosts from diverse backgrounds, we take you on a journey deep into modern China. We invite you to join our conversation! Shoot us an email or a voice memo at roundtablepodcast@qq.com. Let the fun begin!
Language:
English
Episodes
China Finds: A zoo before zoos were zoos
3/19/2026
There's a lot happening beneath the surface, literally. New sites are emerging, long-studied relics are revealing fresh secrets, and the questions we're asking don't have tidy answers yet. We share our first installment of China Finds. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan
Duración:00:21:31
We need to talk about these trees
3/19/2026
Spring has arrived, and so have your allergies. That yellow dust covering everything looks like nature's confetti and the trees themselves might be the problem. We look at how city planners accidentally turned pollen season into a full-blown sneezefest and whether there's any hope for breathing easy again. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan
Duración:00:30:52
Pindou: the offline hobby sweeping China
3/18/2026
In offices and bedrooms across China, a new kind of downtime has taken hold. People are hunched over trays of tiny plastic beads, arranging them one by one with tweezers. It is called Pindou, and it has become an unlikely escape from the noise of screens and notifications. / With everyone worried about the environment, why are we still covering our textbooks in plastic (15:17)? On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushun
Duración:00:22:46
The great wall of wildlife coexistence
3/18/2026
Brown bears are breaking into homes. Wild boars are stopping subway trains. In 2026, the wild isn't staying in the wild anymore. China's conservation efforts are working so well that animals are showing up where they don't belong. We look at what happens when success creates conflict and explore a new law trying to make coexistence possible. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushun
Duración:00:29:55
Don't like the movie? Here's your refund
3/17/2026
What if you could walk out of a bad movie 20 minutes in and get your money back? A theater in Hangzhou is trying exactly that, and China's film industry is taking notice. The experiment pits audience satisfaction against artistic vision in a billion-dollar market. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan
Duración:00:19:22
The return of open-air shopping
3/17/2026
Young people in China are walking away from their screens and heading to the market. We explore the revival of Ganji and why an old-fashioned way of shopping, full of noise, street food, and human connection, is resonating with a new generation. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan
Duración:00:32:10
The Soapbox: Fast food's new AI is listening to you
3/16/2026
A major fast food chain is putting artificial intelligence in its employees' ears. Burger King is testing AI-powered headsets that do more than take orders. The devices coach workers on their performance, track inventory, and monitor customer conversations. The technology raises an uncomfortable question about whether this is helpful assistance or employee surveillance. On the show: Niu Honglin, Steve & Yushan
Duración:00:21:19
From premium malls to pre-owned treasures
3/16/2026
Step into a Chinese mall today and you might be surprised. Crowds are back, but many younger shoppers are opting for a different retail experience. They are heading to flea markets and second-hand shops, where the thrill lies in the hunt. While middle-aged consumers fuel mall spending, youth culture increasingly revolves around pre-owned treasures. On the show: Niu Honglin, Steve & Yushan
Duración:00:31:07
The Full Circle: Degree rethinking, comedic dating, theatrical arts
3/13/2026
Different stories, different angles, no obvious reason they belong together. But hang tight, there's a link hiding in plain sight. Beneath the surface of China's digital landscape, a single thread connects them all, waiting to be pulled. Follow it closely enough, and the bigger picture begins to emerge. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushun.
Duración:00:17:57
The OpenClaw craze
3/13/2026
A digital crustacean is scuttling across China's internet, and the race is on to catch it. Known as the “lobster,” OpenClaw is an open-source AI agent that has developers, startups, and even municipal governments hooked. But just as the excitement reaches a fever pitch, regulators have issued a sharp warning over potential data leaks. Why is that? On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushun.
Duración:00:34:33
When an economy runs on AI
3/12/2026
Many think of artificial intelligence as merely playing a supporting role, automating the routine and optimizing the everyday. But China's latest move rewrites that script entirely. Enter the "smart economy," a full-scale fusion of industrial might and machine intelligence. Here, AI doesn't assist. It drives. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan
Duración:00:19:43
Curtains up on China's new era of theater
3/12/2026
China just unveiled an ambitious plan to shake up theater. It's probably not what you think. Forget dusty relics. This is ancient art meeting the algorithm, with vertical screen dramas, a youth surge, and serious momentum building. Can any of it turn traditional performance into the next big cultural wave? On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan
Duración:00:32:35
Redefining the 9-to-5
3/11/2026
For many young people, the nine-to-five job is no longer the only or preferred option. Flexible schedules, multiple income streams, and digital entrepreneurship are increasingly part of the career landscape. In China, this has fueled the rapid rise of new forms of employment, from delivery services to livestream commerce. As lawmakers and political advisers gather at the Two Sessions, the country is taking a closer look at how this new generation of workers is reshaping the labor market. On the show: Niu Honglin, Steve & Yushan
Duración:00:14:17
Generation Global: Navigating a Changing World, Ep. 3
3/11/2026
International relations aren't just shaped at summits. The real exchanges happen in classrooms and everyday conversations. In this episode of Generation Global, Round Table's Yushan talks with three young scholars from the US, the UK, and Indonesia living in Beijing. They arrived with expectations, but their time in China has reshaped how they see the country.
Duración:00:39:26
When love takes the stage
3/10/2026
Forget awkward dinner dates. In China, singles are finding love through laughter at stand-up comedy matchmaking shows. With improv icebreakers and instant audience feedback, dating has turned into a live performance. But is this booming trend about real connection, or just comic relief from modern dating anxiety? On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Xingyu
Duración:00:20:47
The great degree rethinking
3/10/2026
While university enrollment numbers are dipping, vocational schools are opening to bachelor's degree holders eager to learn hands-on trades. Some call it“upgrading to vocational college.”Others call it common sense. We explore why China's Gen Z is rethinking the value of another degree and what happens when the old formulas stop adding up. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Xingyu
Duración:00:31:32
Generation Global: Navigating a Changing World, Ep. 2
3/9/2026
How can a country transform vast industries while maintaining economic momentum? And how do green ambitions translate into change for communities and households? In this episode of Generation Global, Round Table's Fei Fei brings together a Chinese expert and a UK scholar. From policy signals at the Two Sessions to international insights, they explore how China's green transition is understood at home and abroad, and what it means for the future of development.
Duración:00:54:35
The Full Circle: First meetings, silver-haired students，time-honored brands
3/6/2026
Each week, we take a step back to re-examine three stories from the news cycle. Stories that, at first glance, appear to have no logical connection. Different sectors. Different stakes. No obvious overlap. And yet, beneath the surface, a single, unexpected thread ties them all together. On the show: Niu Honglin, Steve & Yushan
Duración:00:16:55
Can we fix doctor burnout?
3/6/2026
Healthcare systems around the world are grappling with a familiar challenge: delivering high-quality care while safeguarding the well-being of the medical workforce. During this year's Two Sessions, lawmakers and political advisers are actively debating how to address the long shifts, rising patient demand, and intense emotional pressure that are pushing medical professionals to a breaking point. On the show: Niu Honglin, Steve & Yushan
Duración:00:35:48
Generation Global: Navigating a Changing World, Ep. 1
3/5/2026
Welcome to RoundTable new special series: Generation Global: Navigating a Changing World! In this debut episode, Steve and Yushun sit down with Ace Asim, a researcher focused on AI and ethics at Peking University, to explore how China's rapid technological advancement looks through the eyes of international youth. With the Two Sessions underway marking the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, artificial intelligence has taken center stage in the national conversation.
Duración:00:53:12