Best Guy Batchelor Podcasts (2026)

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S8 Ep270: THE FACTORY GUY Colleague Mark Clifford, The Troublemaker. By 1975, Jimmy Lai had risen from a child laborer to a factory owner, purchasing a bankrupt garment facility using stock market profits ... 7:33

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19m ago7:33

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THE FACTORY GUY Colleague Mark Clifford, The Troublemaker. By 1975, Jimmy Lai had risen from a child laborer to a factory owner, purchasing a bankrupt garment facility using stock market profits. Despite being a primary school dropout who learned English from a dictionary, Lai succeeded through relentless work and charm. He capitalized on the boom …

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S8 Ep271: SHOW 12-2-2026 THE SHOW BEGIJS WITH DOUBTS ABOUT AI -- a useful invetion that can match the excitement of the first decades of Photography. November 1955 NADAR'S BALLOON AND THE BIRTH OF PHOTOGRAPHY ... 6:22

34m ago6:22

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SHOW 12-2-2026 THE SHOW BEGIJS WITH DOUBTS ABOUT AI -- a useful invetion that can match the excitement of the first decades of Photography. November 1955 NADAR'S BALLOON AND THE BIRTH OF PHOTOGRAPHY Colleague Anika Burgess, Flashes of Brilliance. In 1863, the photographer Nadar undertook a perilous ascent in a giant balloon to fund experiments for …

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S8 Ep270: THE BLIP AND THE FUTURE Colleague Keach Hagey, The Optimist. The viral success of ChatGPT shifted OpenAI's focus from safety to commercialization, despite early internal warnings about the existential ... 5:09

32m ago5:09

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THE BLIP AND THE FUTURE Colleague Keach Hagey, The Optimist. The viral success of ChatGPT shifted OpenAI's focus from safety to commercialization, despite early internal warnings about the existential risks of AGI. Tensions over safety and Altman's management style led to a "blip" where the nonprofit board fired him, only for him to be quickly rein…

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S8 Ep270: SILICON VALLEY KINGMAKER Colleague Keach Hagey, The Optimist. At Stanford, Altman co-founded Loopt, a location-sharing app that won him a meeting with Steve Jobs and a spot in the App Store launch ... 14:36

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SILICON VALLEY KINGMAKER Colleague Keach Hagey, The Optimist. At Stanford, Altman co-founded Loopt, a location-sharing app that won him a meeting with Steve Jobs and a spot in the App Store launch. While Loopt was not a commercial success, the experience taught Altman that his true talent lay in investing and spotting future trends rather than codi…

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S8 Ep270: THE ROOTS OF AMBITION Colleague Keach Hagey, The Optimist. Sam Altman grew up in St. Louis, the son of an idealistic developer and a driven dermatologist mother who instilled ambition and resilience ... 7:25

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THE ROOTS OF AMBITION Colleague Keach Hagey, The Optimist. Sam Altman grew up in St. Louis, the son of an idealistic developer and a driven dermatologist mother who instilled ambition and resilience in her children. Altmanattended the progressive John Burroughs School, where his intellect and charisma flourished, allowing him to connect with people…

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S8 Ep270: FOUNDING OPENAI Colleague Keach Hagey, The Optimist. In 2016, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and Ilya Sutskever founded OpenAI as a nonprofit research lab to develop safe artificial general intelligence ... 10:30

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FOUNDING OPENAI Colleague Keach Hagey, The Optimist. In 2016, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and Ilya Sutskever founded OpenAI as a nonprofit research lab to develop safe artificial general intelligence (AGI). Backed by investors like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, the organization aimed to be a counterweight to Google's DeepMind, which was driven by profi…

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S8 Ep270: PRISON AND LAWFARE Colleague Mark Clifford, The Troublemaker. Following the 2020 National Security Law, authorities raided Apple Daily, froze its assets, and arrested Lai, forcing the newspaper ... 9:17

14m ago9:17

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PRISON AND LAWFARE Colleague Mark Clifford, The Troublemaker. Following the 2020 National Security Law, authorities raided Apple Daily, froze its assets, and arrested Lai, forcing the newspaper to close. Despite having the means to flee, Lai chose to stay and face imprisonment as a testament to his principles. Now held in solitary confinement, he i…

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S8 Ep270: CONSCIENCE AND CONVERSION Colleague Mark Clifford, The Troublemaker. The 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre radicalized Lai, who transitioned from textiles to media, founding Next magazine and Apple ... 10:28

17m ago10:28

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CONSCIENCE AND CONVERSION Colleague Mark Clifford, The Troublemaker. The 1989 Tiananmen Squaremassacre radicalized Lai, who transitioned from textiles to media, founding Next magazine and Apple Daily to champion democracy. Realizing the brutality of the Chinese Communist Party, he used his wealth to support the student movement and expose regime co…

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S8 Ep270: FAMINE AND FLIGHT TO FREEDOM Colleague Mark Clifford, The Troublemaker. Jimmy Lai was born into a wealthy family that lost everything to the Communist revolution, forcing his father to flee to ... 10:22

21m ago10:22

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FAMINE AND FLIGHT TO FREEDOM Colleague Mark Clifford, The Troublemaker. Jimmy Lai was born into a wealthy family that lost everything to the Communist revolution, forcing his father to flee to Hong Kong while his mother endured labor camps. Left behind, Lai survived as a child laborer during a devastating famine where he was perpetually hungry. A c…

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S8 Ep270: STAGNATION UNDER SURVEILLANCE Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang, Wild Ride. The severe lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic shattered consumer confidence, leaving citizens insecure and unwilling to ... 5:53

23m ago5:53

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STAGNATION UNDER SURVEILLANCE Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang, Wild Ride. The severe lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic shattered consumer confidence, leaving citizens insecure and unwilling to spend, which stalled economic recovery. Local governments, cut off from credit and burdened by debt, struggle to provide basic services. Faced with economic s…

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S8 Ep270: GHOST CITIES AND THE STIMULUS TRAP Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang, Wild Ride. China's growth model shifted toward massive infrastructure spending, resulting in "ghost cities" and replica Western ... 13:52

3h ago13:52

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GHOST CITIES AND THE STIMULUS TRAP Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang, Wild Ride. China's growth model shifted toward massive infrastructure spending, resulting in "ghost cities" and replica Western towns built to inflate GDP rather than house people. This "Potemkin culture" peaked during the 2008 Olympics, where facades were painted to impress foreigne…

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S8 Ep270: RED CAPITALISTS AND SMUGGLERS Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang, Wild Ride. Following the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, China reopened to investment in 1992, giving rise to "red capitalists"—often the ... 7:59

34m ago7:59

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RED CAPITALISTS AND SMUGGLERS Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang, Wild Ride. Following the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, China reopened to investment in 1992, giving rise to "red capitalists"—often the children of party officials who traded political access for equity. As the central government lost control over local corruption and smuggling rings, it laun…

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S8 Ep270: THE AWAKENING OF CHINA'S ECONOMY Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang, Wild Ride. Returning to China in 1994, the author witnessed a transformation from the destitute, Maoist uniformity of 1985 to a ... 9:56

38m ago9:56

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THE AWAKENING OF CHINA'S ECONOMY Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang, Wild Ride. Returning to China in 1994, the author witnessed a transformation from the destitute, Maoist uniformity of 1985 to a budding export economy. In the earlier era, workers slept on desks and lacked basic goods, but Deng Xiaoping's realization that the state needed hard currency…

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S8 Ep270: X-RAYS, SURVEILLANCE, AND MOTION Colleague Anika Burgess, Flashes of Brilliance. The discovery of X-rays in 1895 sparked a "new photography" craze, though the radiation caused severe injuries ... 8:03

12m ago8:03

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X-RAYS, SURVEILLANCE, AND MOTION Colleague Anika Burgess, Flashes of Brilliance. The discovery of X-rays in 1895 sparked a "new photography" craze, though the radiation caused severe injuries to early practitioners and subjects. Photography also entered the realm of surveillance; British authorities used hidden cameras to photograph suffragettes, w…

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S8 Ep270: X-RAYS, SURVEILLANCE, AND MOTION Colleague Anika Burgess, Flashes of Brilliance. The discovery of X-rays in 1895 sparked a "new photography" craze, though the radiation caused severe injuries ... 11:47

44m ago11:47

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X-RAYS, SURVEILLANCE, AND MOTION Colleague Anika Burgess, Flashes of Brilliance. The discovery of X-rays in 1895 sparked a "new photography" craze, though the radiation caused severe injuries to early practitioners and subjects. Photography also entered the realm of surveillance; British authorities used hidden cameras to photograph suffragettes, w…

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S8 Ep270: PHOTOGRAPHING THE MOON AND SEA Colleague Anika Burgess, Flashes of Brilliance. Early photography expanded scientific understanding, allowing humanity to visualize the inaccessible. James Nasmyth ... 5:52

1h ago5:52

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PHOTOGRAPHING THE MOON AND SEA Colleague Anika Burgess, Flashes of Brilliance. Early photography expanded scientific understanding, allowing humanity to visualize the inaccessible. James Nasmyth produced realistic images of the moon by photographing plaster models based on telescope observations, aiming to prove its volcanic nature. Simultaneously,…

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S8 Ep270: NADAR'S BALLOON AND THE BIRTH OF PHOTOGRAPHY Colleague Anika Burgess, Flashes of Brilliance. In 1863, the photographer Nadar undertook a perilous ascent in a giant balloon to fund experiments ... 12:03

1h ago12:03

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NADAR'S BALLOON AND THE BIRTH OF PHOTOGRAPHY Colleague Anika Burgess, Flashes of Brilliance. In 1863, the photographer Nadar undertook a perilous ascent in a giant balloon to fund experiments for heavier-than-air flight, illustrating the adventurous spirit required of early photographers. This era began with Daguerre's 1839 introduction of the dagu…

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S8 Ep269: PREVIEW THE ORIGINS OF THE DAGUERREOTYPE Colleague Anika Burgess. Author Anika Burgess discusses the 1839 unveiling of the daguerreotype by Louis Daguerre. Originally a scene painter, Daguerre ... 2:57

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PREVIEW THE ORIGINS OF THE DAGUERREOTYPE Colleague Anika Burgess. Author Anika Burgessdiscusses the 1839 unveiling of the daguerreotype by Louis Daguerre. Originally a scene painter, Daguerre negotiated with the French government while the public marveled at the "baffle belief" realism of this early photographic method, created in partnership with …

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S8 Ep269: PREVIEW JIMMY LAI: THE TROUBLEMAKER VS. BEIJING Colleague Mark Clifford. Mark Clifford details the history of Jimmy Lai, a billionaire who risked his fortune to challenge the Chinese regime ... 1:42

18m ago1:42

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PREVIEW JIMMY LAI: THE TROUBLEMAKER VS. BEIJING Colleague Mark Clifford. Mark Clifford details the history of Jimmy Lai, a billionaire who risked his fortune to challenge the Chinese regime. Despite Beijing closing his stores in 1994, Lai funded Apple Daily and knowingly faced imprisonment to advocate for freedom, characterizing himself as a persis…

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S8 Ep269: PREVIEW THE PREDETERMINED VERDICT FOR JIMMY LAI Colleague Mark Clifford. Clifford reports that Jimmy Lai's conviction is inevitable due to instructions from Beijing, despite a lack of evidence ... 1:36

1h ago1:36

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PREVIEW THE PREDETERMINED VERDICT FOR JIMMY LAI Colleague Mark Clifford. Clifford reports that Jimmy Lai's conviction is inevitable due to instructions from Beijing, despite a lack of evidence beyond his journalism. With the trial concluding, Clifford anticipates the 77-year-old will receive a sentence tantamount to life imprisonment, cementing his…

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S8 Ep269: PREVIEW APPLE DAILY COLLEAGUES IN LIMBO Colleague Mark Clifford. Clifford highlights the cruelty facing six Apple Daily colleagues who pled guilty yet remain unsentenced. Describing them as ... 1:41

24m ago1:41

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PREVIEW APPLE DAILY COLLEAGUES IN LIMBO Colleague Mark Clifford. Clifford highlights the cruelty facing six Apple Daily colleagues who pled guilty yet remain unsentenced. Describing them as "hostages" to Jimmy Lai's trial, Clifford criticizes the Hong Kong government for denying them basic legal closure and subjecting them to indefinite uncertainty…

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S8 Ep269: PREVIEW SAM ALTMAN'S SHIFTING STANCE ON AI REGULATION Colleague Keach Hagey. Keach Hagey observes that while Sam Altman initially warned Congress that AI could potentially "kill us all," his ... 1:38

2h ago1:38

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PREVIEW SAM ALTMAN'S SHIFTING STANCE ON AI REGULATION Colleague Keach Hagey. Keach Hageyobserves that while Sam Altman initially warned Congress that AI could potentially "kill us all," his focus shifted after ChatGPT's viral success. Hagey notes that as Altman's goals became more commercial, he became significantly less enthusiastic about strict g…

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S8 Ep269: PREVIEW CHINA'S ECONOMIC DESCENT AND TRADE WAR UNCERTAINTY Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang. Discussing the "lose-lose proposition" of the current trade war, Anne Stevenson-Yang analyzes the Chinese ... 1:16

7m ago1:16

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PREVIEW CHINA'S ECONOMIC DESCENT AND TRADE WAR UNCERTAINTY Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang. Discussing the "lose-lose proposition" of the current trade war, Anne Stevenson-Yang analyzes the Chineseeconomy's decline. She points to erratic signals regarding tariff exemptions and the difficulty of predicting market outcomes, noting the massive challenge…

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S8 Ep269: PREVIEW THE COMPLEXITY OF US-CHINA TRADE NEGOTIATIONS Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang. Stevenson-Yang argues against a trade embargo, citing US dependence on Chinese supply chains and fears of ... 1:28

17m ago1:28

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PREVIEW THE COMPLEXITY OF US-CHINA TRADE NEGOTIATIONS Colleague Anne Stevenson-Yang. Stevenson-Yang argues against a trade embargo, citing US dependence on Chinese supply chains and fears of inflation. She highlights a major diplomatic hurdle: China is willing to offer concessions but remains unsure of the specific "ask" required by the US administ…

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S8 Ep268: TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY AND DELAYED REHABILITATION Colleague Joseph Torigian. Torigian outlines Xi Jinping's entry into Tsinghua University via political recommendation and his navigation of "princeling ... 13:05

21h ago13:05

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TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY AND DELAYED REHABILITATION Colleague Joseph Torigian. Torigian outlines Xi Jinping's entry into Tsinghua University via political recommendation and his navigation of "princeling" stigma by working at the grassroots level. The segment covers his marriage to singer Peng Liyuan, noting their shared history of persecution. It also …

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S8 Ep268: FAMILY TRAUMA AND XI JINPING'S EXILE TO THE NORTHWEST Colleague Joseph Torigian. The narrative shifts to the family's trauma, describing a teenage Xi Jinping escaping detention only to be denounced ... 7:20

21h ago7:20

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FAMILY TRAUMA AND XI JINPING'S EXILE TO THE NORTHWEST Colleague Joseph Torigian. The narrative shifts to the family's trauma, describing a teenage Xi Jinping escaping detention only to be denounced by his starving mother for the family's safety. Torigian discusses Xi Jinping's exile to the "sacred" but impoverished Northwest, which exposed him to p…

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S8 Ep268: THE DANGEROUS NOVEL AND RED GUARD TORTURE Colleague Joseph Torigian. Torigian deepens the analysis of the "dangerous" novel Liu Zhidan, which Mao claimed was a counter-revolutionary plot indicative ... 10:35

21h ago10:35

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THE DANGEROUS NOVEL AND RED GUARD TORTURE Colleague Joseph Torigian. Torigian deepens the analysis of the "dangerous" novel Liu Zhidan, which Mao claimed was a counter-revolutionary plot indicative of "revisionism." This fear of losing revolutionary zeal, similar to the Soviet Union's path, drove Mao to utilize the Red Guards. The summary covers Xi…

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S8 Ep268: THE MOVE TO BEIJING AND XI ZHONGXUN'S 1962 PURGE Colleague Joseph Torigian. This segment explains that the book title comes from Mao's praise of Xi Zhongxun for prioritizing the party despite ... 9:04

21h ago9:04

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THE MOVE TO BEIJING AND XI ZHONGXUN'S 1962 PURGE Colleague Joseph Torigian. This segment explains that the book title comes from Mao's praise of Xi Zhongxun for prioritizing the party despite suffering. It traces the family's move to Beijing, the birth of "favorite son" Xi Jinping, and the father's complex loyalty to Mao. Torigiandetails Xi Zhongxu…

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S8 Ep268: XI ZHONGXUN'S 1935 IMPRISONMENT AND EARLY CCP INFIGHTING Colleague Joseph Torigian. Torigian discusses his book, The Party Interests Come First, focusing on Xi Zhongxun, Xi Jinping's father ... 10:41

1d ago10:41

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XI ZHONGXUN'S 1935 IMPRISONMENT AND EARLY CCP INFIGHTING Colleague Joseph Torigian. Torigiandiscusses his book, The Party Interests Come First, focusing on Xi Zhongxun, Xi Jinping's father. The segment details Xi's 1935 imprisonment by rival communists who accused him of "mountainism" and "rightism," only to be saved by Mao Zedong's arrival. It exp…

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S8 Ep268: THE EARLY LIFE OF XI ZHONGXUN Colleague Joseph Torigian. Joseph Torigian introduces the early life of Xi Zhongxun, father of Xi Jinping. Born in 1913 in poverty-stricken Shaanxi province, Xi ... 7:55

21h ago7:55

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THE EARLY LIFE OF XI ZHONGXUN Colleague Joseph Torigian. Joseph Torigian introduces the early life of Xi Zhongxun, father of Xi Jinping. Born in 1913 in poverty-stricken Shaanxi province, Xi grew up surrounded by famine and warlord violence. Torigian recounts a pivotal incident where a teenage Xi attempted to poison a school administrator during a …

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S8 Ep268: THE EARLY LIFE OF XI ZHONGXUN Colleague Joseph Torigian. Joseph Torigian introduces the early life of Xi Zhongxun, father of Xi Jinping. Born in 1913 in poverty-stricken Shaanxi province, Xi ... 9:59

21h ago9:59

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THE EARLY LIFE OF XI ZHONGXUN Colleague Joseph Torigian. Joseph Torigian introduces the early life of Xi Zhongxun, father of Xi Jinping. Born in 1913 in poverty-stricken Shaanxi province, Xi grew up surrounded by famine and warlord violence. Torigian recounts a pivotal incident where a teenage Xi attempted to poison a school administrator during a …

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S8 Ep270: PEARL HARBOR AND LINDBERGH'S BLOCKED MILITARY SERVICE Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brands recounts the immediate aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack. The Japanese strike and Hitler's subsequent ... 6:36

1d ago6:36

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PEARL HARBOR AND LINDBERGH'S BLOCKED MILITARY SERVICE Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brandsrecounts the immediate aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack. The Japanese strike and Hitler's subsequent declaration of war united the European and Asian theaters, resolving FDR's political dilemmas. Lindbergh attempted to volunteer for the Army Air Corps but wa…

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S8 Ep270: THE GREER INCIDENT AND THE DISASTROUS DES MOINES SPEECH Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brands details the escalation of tensions in 1941, starting with FDR's declaration of an "unlimited national ... 13:09

21h ago13:09

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THE GREER INCIDENT AND THE DISASTROUS DES MOINES SPEECH Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brands details the escalation of tensions in 1941, starting with FDR's declaration of an "unlimited national emergency." The segment covers the Greer incident, which FDR misrepresented to provoke hostility, and culminates in Lindbergh'sdisastrous Des Moines speech. …

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S8 Ep270: CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY AND THE AIR POWER DEBATE Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brands describes Lindbergh's testimony before Congress and his popularity at massive rallies. A key debate emerges ... 7:19

21h ago7:19

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CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY AND THE AIR POWER DEBATE Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brandsdescribes Lindbergh's testimony before Congress and his popularity at massive rallies. A key debate emerges regarding air power: Roosevelt argues it makes America vulnerable to attack, whereas Lindbergh insists it enhances hemispheric defense, making invasion impossi…

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S8 Ep270: LEND-LEASE AND BRITISH PROPAGANDA Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brands explains the passage of the Lend-Lease Act (HR 1776), which effectively ended American neutrality by committing industrial ... 10:36

21h ago10:36

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LEND-LEASE AND BRITISH PROPAGANDA Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brands explains the passage of the Lend-Lease Act (HR 1776), which effectively ended American neutrality by committing industrial resources to Britain. The segment reveals the covert British propaganda campaign led by William Stephenson to manipulate US opinion. Brands also describes how…

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S8 Ep270: FDR'S THIRD TERM AND THE RISE OF AMERICA FIRST Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brands discusses the political landscape of 1940, where FDR maneuvers for an unprecedented third term, which Lindbergh ... 8:36

21h ago8:36

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FDR'S THIRD TERM AND THE RISE OF AMERICA FIRST Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brands discusses the political landscape of 1940, where FDR maneuvers for an unprecedented third term, which Lindbergh views as a move toward dictatorship. The segment covers the rise of the America First Committee, with Lindbergh as its star speaker. Brands highlights Roose…

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S8 Ep270: THE EROSION OF NEUTRALITY AFTER POLAND AND FRANCE Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brands outlines the erosion of neutrality following the fall of Poland and France. Roosevelt maneuvers to adjust ... 11:13

21h ago11:13

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THE EROSION OF NEUTRALITY AFTER POLAND AND FRANCE Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brandsoutlines the erosion of neutrality following the fall of Poland and France. Roosevelt maneuvers to adjust neutrality laws and aids Britain via the destroyers-for-bases deal, despite isolationist skepticism. Lindbergh and his allies fear these steps are a trap leadin…

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S8 Ep270: LINDBERGH'S TRANSITION TO PUBLIC ANTI-INTERVENTIONIST Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brands details Lindbergh's transition into a public anti-interventionist figure. Motivated by his father's persecution ... 6:56

21h ago6:56

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LINDBERGH'S TRANSITION TO PUBLIC ANTI-INTERVENTIONIST Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brandsdetails Lindbergh's transition into a public anti-interventionist figure. Motivated by his father's persecution during WWIand a desire to avoid another European quagmire, Lindbergh utilizes his celebrity to broadcast isolationist views on the radio. Brands notes…

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S8 Ep270: LINDBERGH'S 1939 RETURN AND FDR'S FAILED RECRUITMENT Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brands discusses Charles Lindbergh's 1939 return to America amidst rising European tensions. Lindbergh, world ... 10:59

21h ago10:59

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LINDBERGH'S 1939 RETURN AND FDR'S FAILED RECRUITMENT Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brandsdiscusses Charles Lindbergh's 1939 return to America amidst rising European tensions. Lindbergh, world-famous for his 1927 transatlantic flight and the tragic kidnapping of his son, is greeted by paparazzi and invited to meet FDR. Brands explains that while Roose…

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S8 Ep276: PREVIEW FOR LATER TONIGHT THE SLOW REHABILITATION OF XI ZHONGXUN Colleague Joseph Torigian. Torigian details the slow rehabilitation of Xi Zhongxun, noting it took years after his release to ... 1:50

7m ago1:50

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PREVIEW FOR LATER TONIGHT THE SLOW REHABILITATION OF XI ZHONGXUN Colleague Joseph Torigian. Torigian details the slow rehabilitation of Xi Zhongxun, noting it took years after his release to fully return to work. He explains this delay occurred because Xi was persecuted by Mao personally. The Party moved cautiously to avoid signaling a sudden direc…

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S8 Ep276: PREVIEW FOR LATER TONIGHT MAO'S SINICIZATION OF MARXISM AND THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD Colleague Joseph Torigian. Torigian discusses how Mao "sinicized" Marxism, rejecting Soviet dogmatism to interpret ... 2:17

1d ago2:17

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PREVIEW FOR LATER TONIGHT MAO'S SINICIZATION OF MARXISM AND THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD Colleague Joseph Torigian. Torigian discusses how Mao "sinicized" Marxism, rejecting Sovietdogmatism to interpret ideology flexibly. While Xi Zhongxun respected Mao's practical application of Leninism to China, Torigian notes that abandoning the Soviet model—viewed a…

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S8 Ep276: PREVIEW FOR LATER TONIGHT PARTY PERSECUTION AND THE MINDSET OF PURGED OFFICIALS Colleague Joseph Torigian. Joseph Torigian explains the mindset of purged officials like Xi Zhongxun, comparing ... 2:57

1d ago2:57

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PREVIEW FOR LATER TONIGHT PARTY PERSECUTION AND THE MINDSET OF PURGED OFFICIALSColleague Joseph Torigian. Joseph Torigian explains the mindset of purged officials like Xi Zhongxun, comparing them to characters in Darkness at Noon. He notes that loyal revolutionaries believed the Party represented a "world historical force." Consequently, enduring p…

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S8 Ep275: PREVIEW FOR LATER TONIGHT: LINDBERGH'S DISMAY AT BRITISH COMPLACENCY AND GERMAN POWER Colleague H.W. Brands. Professor Brands details Charles Lindbergh's complex worldview, combining a stubborn ... 2:28

1d ago2:28

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PREVIEW FOR LATER TONIGHT: LINDBERGH'S DISMAY AT BRITISH COMPLACENCY AND GERMAN POWER Colleague H.W. Brands. Professor Brands details Charles Lindbergh's complex worldview, combining a stubborn admiration for German efficiency with confusion regarding Nazi politics. Lindbergh viewed Britain as a declining empire that would inevitably drag the Unite…

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S8 Ep275: PREVIEW FOR LATER TONIGHT: FDR'S NATIONAL EMERGENCY AND THE SHIFT TO A WARTIME FOOTING Colleague H.W. Brands. The segment examines Franklin Roosevelt's May 1941 declaration of a national emergency ... 3:22

1d ago3:22

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PREVIEW FOR LATER TONIGHT: FDR'S NATIONAL EMERGENCY AND THE SHIFT TO A WARTIME FOOTING Colleague H.W. Brands. The segment examines Franklin Roosevelt's May 1941 declaration of a national emergency, which halted daily activities like baseball and movies as Americans listened via loudspeakers. Professor Brands explains how FDR used this moment to pre…

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S8 Ep275: PREVIEW FOR LATER TONIGHT: A PRIVATE HERO GOES PUBLIC TO OPPOSE INTERVENTION Colleague H.W. Brands. The discussion focuses on Charles Lindbergh's decision to leverage his fame for radio airtime ... 2:50

1d ago2:50

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PREVIEW FOR LATER TONIGHT: A PRIVATE HERO GOES PUBLIC TO OPPOSE INTERVENTION Colleague H.W. Brands. The discussion focuses on Charles Lindbergh's decision to leverage his fame for radio airtime upon returning to the United States in 1939. Despite his deep distrust of politics, Lindbergh felt compelled to speak out to prevent America from repeating …

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S8 Ep274: THE LEGACY OF THE AMATEUR SPIES Colleague Charles Spicer. Graham Christie and Philip Conwell-Evans compiled a rare book titled None So Blind, printing only 100 copies to document their warnings ... 8:00

2h ago8:00

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THE LEGACY OF THE AMATEUR SPIES Colleague Charles Spicer. Graham Christie and Philip Conwell-Evanscompiled a rare book titled None So Blind, printing only 100 copies to document their warnings to the Britishgovernment about the Nazi threat. Their efforts went largely unrecognized until historian Martin Gilbert began to correct the record, moving be…

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S8 Ep274: NUREMBERG AND THE POST-WAR SILENCE Colleague Charles Spicer. At the Nuremberg trials, Ribbentrop appeared a broken man, attempting to call amateur spies like Conwell-Evans as witnesses to prove ... 11:40

22m ago11:40

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NUREMBERG AND THE POST-WAR SILENCE Colleague Charles Spicer. At the Nuremberg trials, Ribbentropappeared a broken man, attempting to call amateur spies like Conwell-Evans as witnesses to prove his pre-war desire for peace, a defense that ultimately failed to excuse his war crimes. His widow, Anneliese, later wrote memoirs obsessing over social slig…

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S8 Ep274: THE FALL OF FRANCE AND THE FLIGHT OF HESS Colleague Charles Spicer. As the German army overran France and the Low Countries in May 1940, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and began utilizing ... 8:10

23m ago8:10

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THE FALL OF FRANCE AND THE FLIGHT OF HESS Colleague Charles Spicer. As the German army overran France and the Low Countries in May 1940, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and began utilizing the intelligence Christie had provided through Vansittart. The summer of 1940 also saw the publication of Guilty Men, a polemic that unfairly blamed appe…

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S8 Ep274: THE PHONY WAR AND CONTINUED CONSPIRACIES Colleague Charles Spicer. Following the outbreak of war in September 1939, the amateur spies remained active during the "Phony War," engaging with renewed ... 9:40

25m ago9:40

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THE PHONY WAR AND CONTINUED CONSPIRACIES Colleague Charles Spicer. Following the outbreak of war in September 1939, the amateur spies remained active during the "Phony War," engaging with renewed efforts by the German opposition to replace the government. While the Oster Conspiracy remained a theoretical possibility, an independent assassination at…

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S8 Ep274: THE TENNANT MISSION AND THE SUMMER OF 1939 Colleague Charles Spicer. In the summer of 1939, Ernest Tennant undertook a secret mission to Austria to meet his former friend Ribbentrop, acting with ... 9:25

1h ago9:25

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THE TENNANT MISSION AND THE SUMMER OF 1939 Colleague Charles Spicer. In the summer of 1939, Ernest Tennant undertook a secret mission to Austria to meet his former friend Ribbentrop, acting with the plausible deniability of 10 Downing Street. At a confiscated castle, Tennant learned that Hitler was mirroring Ribbentrop'saggressive stance, planning …