So grateful to @fgodement.bsky.social dement for this long and very thoughtful review of my book The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping (en français) www.institutmontaigne.org/expressions/...

Over the next few weeks I’ll be giving a handful of talks in the UK (thread). On Friday September 26 I’ll give a talk at Oxford at noon. talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/person...

Michael Easson reviews Linda Jaivin's "BOMBARD THE HEADQUARTERS! THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION IN CHINA" and my "THE PARTY’S INTERESTS COME FIRST. THE LIFE OF XI ZHONGXUN, FATHER OF XI JINPING" for The Sydney Institute thesydneyinstitute.com.au/blog/worlds-...

Cool to see my book on sale at the Gilded Acorn in London

I have had a few chats with @josephtorigian.bsky.social on his book but this one really turned out well and we addressed some core issues about the party and its history www.ncuscr.org/video/the-pa...

Thanks so much @billbishop.bsky.social for speaking to me today about my biography of Xi Jinping’s father Zhongxun, the recent parade in Beijing, the looming succession, the role of history in Chinese politics, and other topics sinocism.com/p/joseph-tor...

Thanks Het Financieele Dagblad for reviewing my biography of Xi Zhongxun, father of Jinping: "Enlivened with meeting minutes and memoirs of politicians, reads smoothly like the Chinese version of the Netflix series House of Cards." fd.nl/samenleving/...

"For both Xi and Putin, victory then was costly, but incomplete. Although the war concluded before they were born, it resonates with them differently from other contemporary world leaders." @josephtorigian.bsky.social on today's military parade in Beijing.

I'll be on the BBC Newshour with Shaun Ley at around 9:12 am EST to talk about the military parade in Beijing bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live/bbc_world_service

In June 1983, Xi Zhongxun, the father of Xi Jinping, hosted Kim Jong-il, the father of Kim Jong-un, in Beijing. They watched a performance by Peng Liyuan, who years later would marry Xi Jinping.

Spoke to @dhpierson.bsky.social @nytimes.com about the military parade in Beijing to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII that will start in a few hours www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/w...

New from me: an op-ed on what the Sept 3 military parade to commemorate the end of WWII means for Xi and Putin. Thanks to Jordan Schneider for running it at ChinaTalk. www.chinatalk.media/p/parading-t...

At around 11 am EST today, I'll be on @cnnipr.bsky.social One World to speak with Zain Asher and @biannagolodryga.bsky.social about the military parade in Beijing to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII

Shared some thoughts with Christian Shepherd @washingtonpost.com on the recent purges in the People's Liberation Army www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Kim Jong Un will attend the military parade in Beijing next week. Good timing for my brand new podcast with @nknewsorg.bsky.social on the remarkable role of Xi Jinping's father in navigating DPRK succession politics and nudging Pyongyang toward reform in the 80s. www.nknews.org/category/nor...

#histbookchat #sinology This is a great deal!! Paid a small fortune for mine but was worth it. Great book and a fascinating insight to a man I knew very little about. My only caveat is that, for the general reader, a little background on China & CCP history might be useful - but get it anyway!😂

The Party’s Interests Come 50% off! From now through September 8, you can get my biography of Xi Zhongxun, the father of Xi Jinping, for only $25 on the Stanford University Press website. www.sup.org/books/histor...

Today in the ARB: @jmchatwin.bsky.social reviews “The Party’s Interests Come First” by Joseph Torigian @stanfordpress.bsky.social asianreviewofbooks.com/the-partys-i...

I love a doorstop CCP biog, and Joseph Torigian’s new book on Xi Zhongxun is a fascinating addition to the genre that offers insight into the party, his life - and of course, his son. asianreviewofbooks.com/the-partys-i...

Shared some thoughts with @reuters.com on the upcoming World War II military parade in Beijing www.reuters.com/world/china/...

American University is currently hiring two faculty positions in international affairs! Assistant Professor, International Security: www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/deta... Assistant Professor, Economic Security jobs.chronicle.com/job/37868709...

‪In a new podcast, I talk to David Lawrence for ‪Rane Insights about authoritarian regimes and geopolitics raneseries.podbean.com/e/rane-insig...

Professor Gunjan Singh reviews my book for @bsindia.bsky.social: ""Meticulously written and displaying thorough archival work... a detailed and nuanced portrait of Xi Zhongxun's life." www.business-standard.com/book/the-par...

It was very interesting for me to read this review of my biography of Xi Zhongxun, Xi Jinping's father, as it tries to explore my book's relevance for Mexican politics, especially the question of succession after Andrés Manuel López Obrador www.sdpnoticias.com/opinion/here...

强强强烈推荐这期节目。我是Kotkin教授的铁粉，特别喜欢听他的采访。不夸张地说，听了应该有100小时。他对于列宁主义政权、独裁者和地缘政治的认识深刻透彻。这次很难得请他来播客回答了很多中国人感到困惑的问题，希望大家都去听一听，一定也会路转粉。虽然是英文，但油管上有团队精心制作的中文字幕。

Come for the anecdote about bath time, stay for the discussion of Xi Jinping and Faust

Paul Mariani's brand new @harvardpress.bsky.social book "China's Church Divided: Bishop Louis Jin and the Post-Mao Catholic Revival" is spectacular. Essential reading for understanding the Chinese Communist Party's policies towards Catholics and the United Front more broadly.

Thanks @codieckmann.bsky.social for asking such insightful questions for this new @spiegel.de interview about my biography of Xi Zhongxun, father of Xi Jinping (German) www.spiegel.de/ausland/chin...

1993-2016: Party Ideologue Wang Huning Led Book on Chinese Communist Orthodoxy 正在閲讀 《政治的逻辑 马克思主义政治学原理》 gaodawei.wordpress.com/2025/08/13/1...

Happy to be recognized as a finalist for the @washingtonmonthly.com's Kukula Ward for my review of @ewong.bsky.social's At the Edge of Empire. Sincere thanks @jwassers.bsky.social, @bspivey.bsky.social, and @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social Read the Review 👇 lareviewofbooks.org/article/stra...

New @denisstaunton.bsky.social @irishtimes.com review of my book on Xi's dad: "magisterial...uses memoirs, letters, interviews and archival sources inside and outside China to explore the details of [Xi's] life but it is the biographer’s radical empathy and subtlety of mind that illuminates it."

Shared some thoughts for this new Chris Buckley @nytimes.com article: "Xi Looks to Tighten Grip After Scandals Shake China’s Military Elite" www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/w...

Well worth a listen. Many insights. Struck me that among many misunderstandings that hold back a better east/west relationship is poor translation of language and phrases and therefore ideologies.

Such an honor to go on the latest Odd Lots podcast to talk about my new book on Xi Zhongxun, father of Xi Jinping www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Thanks @samolsen.bsky.social for interviewing me for a new episode of the States of Play podcast: How Xi Jinping's Father Helped Shape China samolsen.substack.com/p/states-of-...

Great to have Joseph on this episode of the show.

New "Keen on America" podcast released this Sunday morning with @ajkeen.bsky.social on my new biography of Xi Zhongxun, father of Xi Jinping keenon.substack.com/p/the-chines...

Thanks @ispionline.bsky.social for including my biography of Xi Zhongxun, father of Xi Jinping, on your "ten books to read about geopolitics" list, along with new work by @edwardfishman.bsky.social Kerry Brown, Vali Nasr, Will Dalrymple, and others www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicaz...

It's FRUS Friday! NEW: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981–1988, Volume XLIV, Part 1, National Security Policy, 1985–1988 history.state.gov/historicaldo...

Li Nanyang, the daughter of Li Rui, shares some thoughts about my new biography of Xi Zhongxun, father of Xi Jinping (in Chinese) (中文) ipkmedia.com/286528/

China book recommendations for summer and fall according to Table.Briefings: new work by @evadou.bsky.social, @patrickmcgee.bsky.social, my own "The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping," and others table.media/en/china/fea...

This is a really thoughtful @bloomberg.com article about China's giant new dam project. I shared some thoughts about what it means for Tibetans.

New podcast: @hooverinstitution.bsky.social Bill Whalen talks to me about my book "The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping" for Matters of Policy and Politics www.hoover.org/research/fat...

Really enjoyed chatting with Lingling Wei about the role of rumors in Chinese politics for the @wsj.com China Newsletter wsjchina.cmail20.com/t/d-e-suuthh...

Thanks @mazmhussain.bsky.social for hosting me on the @dropsitenews.com podcast to talk about my new biography of Xi Zhongxun, father of Xi Jinping! www.dropsitenews.com/p/china-xi-j...

Thanks Liberal Patriot for putting my biography of Xi Jinping's father and my ChinaTalk podcast about it with Jordan Schneider and @jonathonpsine.bsky.social on the "what we're reading and checking out" list for Weekend Edition www.liberalpatriot.com/p/tlp-weeken...

Thanks Jens Sorensen for this thoughtful review of my biography of Xi Zhongxun, father of Xi Jinping, for the Geopolitics Report medium.com/the-geopolit...

Both parts of this ChinaTalk interview are well worth listening to - deep insights on the nature of the system that remains very relevant today. My own thoughts from April on the latest purges: markparkeryoung.net/posts/turmoi...

considerations that are only fully understood by the top leader." Xi Jinping was masterful at calibrating the scope and scale of purges between 2012-17 as he consolidated power. The latest round of purges has seemed more haphazard, although less dangerous for Xi than those of his first five years.

This two part interview about Xi Zhongxun is a fantastic vantage point on elite politics in China. One point by Joseph that is as true today as ever: "...how far a purge goes, who’s included in the purge, [and] how the purge is characterized, is an art form that is shaped by a myriad of different