Barbarians at the Gate
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Today’s combined position on our country charts.
Ranking history
About the show
Latest episodes
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Chairmen, China, and the Tricky Translations of Political Terms in the PRC
September 24, 2026 · 28 minTwo older gentlemen with expanding waistlines, staggering daddy issues, and a shared love of firing military brass meet in DC this week. And right on cue, the pundits leap forward to pontificate on the most important issues facing Sino-US…
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Mao More Than Ever
September 11, 2026 · 31 minMao Zedong died on September 9, 1976. Fifty years later, Jeremiah and David compare notes on a mostly quiet anniversary. Jeremiah reports that there were enough tributes to beat the over/under, but David argues that the Party would still…
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The Last Emperor of China with author Paul French
August 27, 2026 · 42 minChina’s last emperor (Puyi), his empress (Wanrong), and concubine (Wenxiu) spent two years sequestered in the Forbidden City before their expulsion in 1924. Around them were holdover dowagers, scheming eunuchs, corrupt officials, and two…
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Somerset Maugham's On a Chinese Screen
July 29, 2026 · 35 minIn this Barbarians at the Gate x China Books Review crossover, Jeremiah Jenne is joined by CBR Associate Editor Alexander Boyd to discuss the latest addition to the China Archives: W. Somerset Maugham's On a Chinese Screen (1922), a…
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Barbarian Remix: The Secrets and History behind Beijing's Forbidden City
July 16, 2026 · 41 minIt’s the summer travel season, and one of the most popular sites here in Beijing is the Palace Museum at the Forbidden City. To talk about China’s most famous imperial palace, we are joined by Matthew Hu Xinyu, Trustee of the Beijing…
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Neysun Mahboubi on the past, present, and future of US-China Academic Exchanges
July 2, 2026 · 1 hr 2 minWe are honored to have Professor Neysun Mahboubi, Director of the Penn Project on the Future of U.S.-China Relations, a program that provides a platform for talented U.S.-based China scholars to contribute academically informed analysis on…
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AI Slop, AI Detectors, and Authentic Voice: A China-Tech Insider on Writing and Working With AI
June 18, 2026 · 40 minShould we view today’s powerful AI language tools as intellectual crutches or as incredibly useful assets? Can they be safely integrated into our existing toolkit for business and academia, or should we approach them with justified…
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China Books Review x Barbarians at the Gate: The Private Life of Chairman Mao
June 4, 2026 · 27 minThe Politburo had given Mao Zedong’s personal physician Li Zhisui a direct order: prepare the Chairman’s body so that he can be on permanent display. Li was aghast. It was not what Mao had wanted, and besides, “How to pickle your country’s…