Live｜Zhaoze "In Snow Storm, Yet Not Back Home" in Wenzhou Dalü On the last night of 2025, in addition to the over-30-minute rendition of "Birds Contending," Zhaoze also performed their latest EP: "Wind Rising Before Storm Coming " + "In Snow Storm, Yet Not Back Home" . youtu.be/SOBsq9nZ-ak

"The exam will be compulsory for recipients of Chinese government scholarships starting this year and later phased in more widely, becoming mandatory for all international undergraduate applicants by 2028." www.insidehighered.com/news/admissi...

this is all to say that should democrats win the house and senate this november, they should hold similarly dramatic — which is to say televised and highly publicized — hearings on the conduct of ICE and CBP, with testimony from victims. we want as much of *this* as possible in the record. (3/?)

Looking forward to this new collection on Wittgenstein & Epistemology of Religion (edited by Duncan Pritchard & Nuno Venturinha) coming out next month. It grew out of a couple of conferences held in Lisbon. Looking forward to reading the finished volume! www.wiley.com/en-us/Wittge...

On Renee; www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...

Tell your elected officials to do everything in their power to stand up to Trump and prevent war with Venezuela. Email your Members of Congress: act.indivisible.org/sign/stop-tr... Call your senators: indivisible.org/resource/cal... And call your representative: indivisible.org/resource/cal...

Semiotic paradox alert!

I went to Shanghai this weekend & saw the Biennale at the Power Station of Art. Here are a few images of a painting by Shao Fan of Kun from the opening chapter of the Zhuangzi.

Today I made it to the Cao'an Temple, a old Manichean site just outside of Quanzhou. It's a really fascinating example of the depths and complexities of Chinese history and the capaciousness of categories like "Buddhism" or "Manichaeism"

I'm visiting Quanzhou this weekend, and I've gotten to see quite a few temples. Highlights were the Tian Hou Temple, the Tonghuai Guanyue Temple (impressive how popular Guanyu and Yue Fei are), and the Qingjing Mosque.

I wrote a short blog post about two articles I wrote that were published earlier this year. While the topics are quite different--atheism and communicative reticence & religious diversity--my interest in Wittgenstein and hermeneutics links the two pieces. thomasdcarroll.blogspot.com/2025/11/two-...

I'm at the Chinese Wittgenstein Society's conference in Hangzhou. Heard many great papers today & got to meet scholars whose work I know. Was great to meet up with my former dissertation director, Juliet Floyd. Even got to road-test a new project I'm working on. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Looking forward to the Seventh International Wittgenstein Symposium at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou this weekend. I'll be giving a short paper: "AI, Ethics, and Forms of Life."

I went to the Jazz Festival at OCT-Loft in Shenzhen yesterday. Got to see two amazing groups: Joe Fonda and Satoko Fujii & Ken Vandermark Edition Redux

Lewis Gordon on Frantz Fanon - our latest Philosophy Bites interview philosophybites.com/podcast/lewi...

You know what rules? Wayne Shorter’s solo on “The Chess Players” youtu.be/fI0S6ioserI?...

Late jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal enjoyed playing ballads believing it took years of lived experience to truly master them. Jamal’s popular 1958 version of the Gershwin tune “But Not for Me” from the Live at the Pershing Lounge album. #Jazz #JazzMusic m.youtube.com/watch?v=jsC2...

“This city is a complicated place, but I’ve found two truths: The Golden Age is a myth and San Francisco is never “over.”” Great read from @peterhartlaub.bsky.social, San Francisco’s historian/hype-man extraordinaire. www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/m...

In the latest episode in our series on belief, we’re exploring the surprising revival of shamanism in China, which has made a comeback despite Mao's best efforts at eradication. Ritual healers and spirit mediums are tapping into online believers and a public thirst for authentic spirituality. (1/3)

"Helen de Cruz (1978–2025): an academic and personal tribute" *Religious Studies* Published online 2025:1-4. doi.org/10.1017/S003... @helendecruz.net

Typhoon Ragasa is bringing some intense rain and wind to Shenzhen. Not clear when the rain will end, if ever...

I have a new open access article out today in AGATHEOS: European Journal for Philosophy of Religion -- "Wittgenstein, Religious Diversity, and Communicative Reticence" publicera.kb.se/aejpr/articl...

Here's a view of the CUHK-Shenzhen campus right after sunset (and after several days of intense rain brought by a tropical storm)

Officials deport a student from China who had a full scholarship to study philosophy at the University of Houston, 36 hours after he lands in Texas.

“Let’s begin by saying that we are living through a very dangerous time.” So opens “A Talk to Teachers,” which James Baldwin delivered to a group of educators in October, 1963.

Very curious about this new translation... www.wiley.com/en-us/On+Cer...

Jen Lin-Liu thinks we're going about Chinese cookbooks all wrong... read this tour de force essay on everyone's favorite China book: their cookbook. chinabooksreview.com/2025/08/21/c...

As a past contributor I join the chorus of concern about the problems the Shanghai Literary Review is having with its institutonal partner, Duke Kunshan University’s Humanities Research Centre. A poor show that will hopefully be resolved by Duke Kunshan HRC sooner rather than later….

This beautiful book is now out! It's freely available as an open-access ebook (thanks to funding from @templetonrelig.bsky.social): www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?do...

On the sensitivity of "magic," "supernatural," & "tradition": 'The ghosts became illusions created by feng shui. It’s a commonly used trick, where the blatantly supernatural is thinly disguised as an element of “traditional Chinese medicine” or qigong, both of which have official approval.'

The NMAAHC is an incredible museum. Here are a few photos from a visit to the museum a couple of years ago. And here's a link to the change.org petition to defend it: chng.it/ypcqxPNdjq

Please share Petition for museum www.change.org/p/defend-the...

Ever since watching this great Max Roach documentary on PBS, I've been exploring parts of Roach's career. Lately, I've been listening to his work from the mid 50s with Clifford Brown, and I can't believe I'm only discovering it now. So good! youtu.be/D--TjUPKat4?...

it's a dexter gordon morning in the bouie household www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_p0...

Abbey Lincoln, "Africa" (1973) I recently came across Lincoln while exploring Max Roach. Wow, she's amazing. youtu.be/g3cReo2Dc9s?...

My book, Rethinking Philosophy of Religion with Wittgenstein, arrived today. I'm grateful to Bloomsbury (‪@bloomsburyacad.bsky.social‬) for publishing it & to J. Aaron Simmons and Kevin Schilbrack for including it in the Expanding Philosophy of Religion series. www.bloomsbury.com/us/rethinkin...

I just wrote a blog post on my new book, Rethinking Philosophy of Religion with Wittgenstein, and the two themes that drive the book: Chinese religious diversities & the intertwining of religion and racism in the United States. thomasdcarroll.blogspot.com/2025/07/reth...

Listen to Michael Luo talk about his book "Strangers in the Land" on the new episode of the China Books Podcast: chinabooksreview.com/2025/07/01/e...

I’m co-hosting an online conference: Wittgenstein, On Certainty and Religion, July 28th and 29th. For more info, including schedule & book of abstracts: philevents.org/event/show/1... (to join, email me, [email protected] for a link) #conference #philosophy #religion #Wittgenstein

"Fleurette Africaine" Duke Ellington, Max Roach, and Charles Mingus (1962) Apparently, it was a very difficult recording session, but you wouldn't know it from this quiet and pensive song. youtu.be/6HFQy9_rY58?...