Round Table China
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Round Table China
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 ba...
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The Soapbox: when AI lies
We have all asked AI for a recommendation, to polish an email, or to diagnose a strange symptom. It is useful and fast, and lately it has become our f...
The clay that conquered the world
For over a thousand years, one Chinese city transformed clay into treasures so coveted that kings demanded them, empires tried to copy them, and the m...
IN VIDEO: What stays when the postcard fades?
We plan trips around monuments, museums, and must-see sights, and they're incredible for a reason. But years later, what actually sticks? A new report...
What stays when the postcard fades?
We plan trips around monuments, museums, and must-see sights, and they're incredible for a reason. But years later, what actually sticks? A new report...
The big buffet comeback
China's buffet restaurants used to be the pinnacle of dining out. Then they lost their shine and nearly disappeared from the dining scene. But now the...
The red light delivery revolution
For years, China's delivery riders have been trapped in a cruel dynamic. Their apps track every second, but algorithms have no idea when riders are st...
Quick update
Hello listeners, no new episode of Round Table in your feed today. We're pausing briefly because we're cooking up something special behind the scenes,...
Are we done with binge watching?
Binge-watching once reigned supreme. Entire seasons consumed before the weekend was through. But the landscape is shifting. Streamers are pacing relea...
City students, rural lessons
Every summer, heaps of university students trade campus life for rural communities, arriving with laptops, lesson plans, and big ideas. They teach chi...
Soapbox: The 5 AM hospital wake-up call debate
It's 5 AM. You've finally dozed off after a night of beeping monitors and creaky gurneys, only to be shaken awake for vitals. Infuriating? Or lifesavi...
The delicate balance of governing AI
Robots filling prescriptions. AI assistants planning your day. Machines accelerating scientific discovery. This year's World Artificial Intelligence C...
Encore: Milk tea shops turn mini mart
Walk into a milk tea shop these days, and you may leave carrying more than just a drink. Crisps, cakes, and even surprise snack packs now line the she...
Encore: Closing the care gap with AI
Getting a child the right care sometimes meant a long trip to a big city hospital. Local clinics just did not inspire enough trust. But now, doctors a...
The ice cream identity crisis
China's ice cream market has gone cold, but not in the way you might think. Warehouses are quiet. Distributors are on edge. The familiar summer frenzy...
Hainan bans gas car sales
Hainan just pulled the plug on gasoline cars. By 2030, no new sales, period. For some, it's a bold leap forward. For others, it raises hard questions....
The $50 million throwaway problem
A rocket booster costs tens of millions of dollars. For decades, the industry has been throwing them away after a single launch. China just proved the...
Digital friend or digital file?
You tell it your secrets. It knows your routines, your worries, and your bad days. Then one morning, it's gone because a company decided to pull the s...
One traveler, one taxi ride, 21 million likes
One traveler, one taxi ride, and 21 million likes later, a viral video earned its creator a life-changing payday from Xizang's tourism officials. But...
Did the social media crackdown work?
Every generation worries about what young people do with their time, but today's screens are designed to never let go. As a result, governments steppe...
Tick tock goes the checkout clock
For decades, hotels worldwide have followed the same rule. Check in after two in the afternoon, check out before noon the next day. Most travelers nev...
China's road tax debate heats up
Gasoline drivers have long funded roads through fuel taxes, while electric vehicles have contributed nothing. But with six in ten new cars in China no...
Lights, camera... football?
What happens when the movies are no longer the main attraction? Across China, cinemas are reinventing themselves as all-in-one entertainment destinati...
Is your car more than a car?
Forget traffic jams and parking headaches. In China, the car is becoming more than transportation. From RV campsites and smart mobility hubs to a boom...
The joint degree reputation reversal
For years, Chinese-foreign cooperative programs were seen as backup options for students who missed their top choice universities. Inflated tuition fe...
New rules for China's "flying" doctors
For years, China's "Fei Dao" system let rural hospitals fly in top city surgeons for a few thousand yuan extra. It saved lives, but it was a legal gra...
Do you need a 3D printer?
Chinese malls are rolling out something new: 3D printing stations that let anyone design and print a custom object in under ten minutes. It's easy to...
Robo-students are off to school
We send kids to school for reading, math, and the occasional history class snooze. But what if the students are made of circuits and steel? In Hangzho...
Can ancient hacks beat modern heat?
We are in the thick of summer, cranking the AC and reaching for anything cold. But for thousands of years, people survived blazing heat without a sing...
China's bid to electrify trucks
China reshaped the global auto industry with electric cars. Now it is targeting the heavy-duty trucks that move the world's goods. But truckers respon...
Are we meeting ourselves to death?
The average worker spends more than an entire workday each week in meetings. Calendars are overflowing, focus is fractured, and meaningful work keeps...
Eldercare Is now a recognized profession
China is turning eldercare into a licensed occupation. A new national certification is formalizing the workforce that will shape how millions of senio...
How to change your mood in 60 seconds
You know that nagging feeling that follows you through the day: what if a sixty-second mental move could dissolve it? Behavioral scientists have uncov...
How to keep history's hangouts cool
Older cities are facing a new question, where preserving buildings and streets is no longer enough. Across China, historic neighborhoods are becoming...
Europe's AC dilemma
Temperatures have soared past forty degrees across Europe. Schools have sent children home. Outdoor work has been banned. A famous landmark closed its...
The future factory points up
When it comes to how cities use land, what is the right formula? China is reimagining urban land use by looking inward, not outward. We are talking ab...
Your life, their data, your job
You have heard of gig work, but this is different. There are no apps and no ratings. There is just a camera strapped to your head while you fold laund...
The track that changed everything
Two decades after the Qinghai–Xizang Railway first sliced across the plateau, the tracks tell a story bigger than engineering. At 4,000 meters, they'v...
Why all your screens just got pricier
Prices are rising across the entire consumer electronics sector, yet this surge does not follow the usual pattern. The driving force is neither a raw...
Your block, rebuilt from within
We tend to picture Chinese cities as endless expansion machines. But the next five years are about retrofitting, not rebuilding. The national strategy...