The historian Stephen Platt has written an excellent book on Carlson and the inspiration he took from Communist guerrilla fighters in China as well as his deep bond with them. A great read in times of tense US-China relations www.umass.edu/news/article...

Sad to hear of the passing of Lam Wing Kee, who I interviewed several times over the years when I lived in China and Taiwan. www.npr.org/2019/11/26/7...

Heading back to work and my regularly scheduled programming after a month in Syria…

Great to see some media coverage of China that isn't about imminent tech breakthroughs, economic doom or warfare, but about a country where actual people live and engage in a lot of cultural activities. www.npr.org/2026/06/27/n... (kudos to @emilyzfeng.bsky.social)

A belated piece on China - on the wonderful, colorful, humorous culture of the northeast (or Dongbei, in Mandarin) and why it’s taken off across the country www.npr.org/2026/06/27/n...

“US private spending on manufacturing construction fell in April to $15.2bn, down about 16 per cent since Trump’s second term began, while factory employment has fallen by 77,000 jobs over the same period, according to official data.” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

“Chinese buyers have been quietly stockpiling tungsten from scrap yards across the US, driving up prices of a crucial defence industry metal amid an escalating global race for critical minerals, US sellers told the FT.” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

This is indeed a big change, and a long overdue one, if Chinese municipalities can find the resources to pay for services in places of residence and not household registration. www.reuters.com/world/china/...

We are writing a book! globalreports.columbia.edu/books/our-he... Drops October 2026 with @abduwelia.bsky.social Reporting this book was such an adventure. This is a story I never thought I’d have access to, and I’m thrilled to share it w readers who watch either the Syria and/or China space.

We are writing a book! globalreports.columbia.edu/books/our-he... Drops October 2026 with @abduwelia.bsky.social Reporting this book was such an adventure. This is a story I never thought I’d have access to, and I’m thrilled to share it w readers who watch either the Syria and/or China space.

“We hear the story of thousands of Uyghurs who travelled to Syria to gain battlefield experience fighting in the Syrian civil war. Are these people freedom fighters? Or are they the now battle-hardened militants China always feared?” one.npr.org/i/nx-s1-5831...

“the group appears to be applying lessons picked up from an Islamist triumph on a distant battlefield: Syria, where militant leader-turned-president Ahmed al-Sharaa swept to power in 2024 after breaking with al-Qaeda and recasting himself as a more moderate Islamist.” www.ft.com/content/c19f...

NPR: The foreign fighters who helped topple Assad — and why China worries about them www.npr.org/2026/05/17/g... @npr.org @emilyzfeng.bsky.social #photojournalism #journalism #photography

A very interesting piece by @emilyzfeng.bsky.social on how Uyghurs became the biggest group of foreign fighters in Syria fighting against the Assad regime. For now, at least, they are making a new home in the country.

"“My family was whole, and suddenly, in an instant, I am searching refrigerators in morgues for my sister,” he said. “May God spare everyone this experience.”" www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...

“Has there ever been an episode of presidential corruption so blatant and threatening to constitutional order? Certainly not in modern times.” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/o...

A GOVERNMENT OF LAWS NOT MEN -- JOHN ADAMS (projected tonight on Donald Trump's large face outside the Department of Justice)

Absolutely not surprising but a limited leak of a Chinese local surveillance platform drawing off an apparently large national one has a special drop down for tracking for tracking foreign journalists in China… including me. @netaskari.bsky.social found the data open.substack.com/pub/netaskar...

”It is the latest, and by far the most sweeping, tool the president has aimed at financially rewarding supporters and political allies” www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Survivor's had 50 seasons??? I interviewed a 2x contestant on what it takes to win these days. www.npr.org/2026/05/16/n...

Here's what the US National Science Board wanted to say about competing with China before its members were fired www.science.org/content/arti...

A massive lift from @npr.org - we go to the National Mall to interview speakers, attendees, at a prayer festival that wants to see American history more grounded in religion and what that looks like www.npr.org/2026/05/17/n...

When the Assad regime crumbled and I went to Syria for the first time, I immediately noticed some Uyghur fighters among the rebels. I wanted to know more. www.npr.org/2026/05/17/g...

Very moving interview with Scott Tong on the hidden and painful family history he has been unearthing in Shanghai www.npr.org/2026/05/16/n...

Listen, don't read: "AmirReza lights a cigarette before he records a voice message. It’s like he’s gathering his thoughts..." www.npr.org/2026/05/16/n...

Gorgeous soundscape piece that took me directly to lush, volcano land in Indonesia's Java island www.npr.org/2026/05/16/n...

A very therapeutic (and meta) conversation with NPR Wild Card's podcast producers and editors on how they get celebrities to open up www.npr.org/2026/05/16/n...

Putting the finishing touches on a very big project from Syria I’m excited about and that will go live soon.

Hundreds of Iranians in and outside the country have had their property confiscated for even mildly dissenting against the Iranian government. My story from my weeks at the Iranian border earlier this year: www.npr.org/2026/05/15/n...

Some days I wish I were back in Southeast Asia giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Philippines drug war ‘enforcer’ turns fugitive as ICC case expands

Listen (don't read): @wbur.org Here and Now has a story from host Scott Tong, who was just in China reporting on the US-China meetings, and a hidden, painful piece of family history of his grandfather, who died in a labor camp in Shanghai www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

Wild story

I always say China and the US- despite their real differences - have many substantial similarities. This essay from @yilingliu95.bsky.social highlights on of them. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/o...

A @npr.org Ipsos and Chicago Council pol finds China largely sees China as an economic rival, not a security one - and have greater suspicions of Russia still www.npr.org/2026/05/12/n...

When Trump sits down with Xi in Beijing this week one of the things they’ll likely talk about is nuclear arms control. In this episode of Consider This, I dive deep into why China started expanding its nuclear program in the first place one.npr.org/i/nx-s1-5817...

Super fun convo with my fellow Nippers on women action stars and our favorite stars www.npr.org/2026/05/10/n...

On CBC's Sunday program this morning to talk about the US, China, and Iran in the lead-up to Trump's China trip www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

Firefighters are bracing for a bad wildfire season: "We're dry and we're expecting the pace to pick up significantly here any time," said the recently appointed head of that service, Brian Fennessy, in an interview with NPR's All Things Considered host Emily Feng. www.npr.org/2026/05/09/n...

I am really loving these Reporters' Notebook series @npr.org does, peeling back how we do the reporting we do, across the NPR newsroom. This week's is with a senior political reporter on covering the midterms. www.npr.org/2026/05/09/n...

Opening Weekend All Things Considered today with this sound-rich two-way with @npr.org's Charles Maynes from Moscow on Russia downsizing its Victory Day parade: www.npr.org/2026/05/09/n...

Smart piece flipping on its head the usual analysis of Beijing’s military confidence, arguing instead this means an invasion is incredibly unlikely, bc China “it currently believes that unification will become easier and less costly as time passes.” www.foreignaffairs.com/taiwan/why-c...

NPR's @bobbyallyn.bsky.social tracked down Polymarket's "headquarters" in Panama City. Why is Polymarket in Panama? "If you're someone trying to enforce a judgement, good luck getting a Panamanian court to do that," one lawyer told him. www.npr.org/2026/05/05/n...

“Less than 30 seconds later came the shriek of the two missiles that lanced through Turmus’ car.” www.latimes.com/world-nation...

How does diplomacy work during a military deadlock? one.npr.org/i/nx-s1-5809...

Interesting blog post analyzing a new academic journal article in China on the cold, hard mechanics proposed for 'soul-casting' and forging a national identity jamesleibold.substack.com/p/chinas-sou...

I am the weekend afternoon show All Things Considered this weekend and for the next two weeks. Tune in 5 pm wherever you are!

In 2024, I saw Sheng Wang trial his stand up in a dark comedy club in Taipei. Today we had really fun conversation about his newest comedy special "Purple," which I loved, and how he finds such everyday, specific life moments and turns them into jokes www.npr.org/2026/05/02/n...

I loved this conversation with two other NPR reporters who are reporting on the war in Iran and Israel's invasion in Lebanon...talking how we report on war and lonely life on the road and holding all that pain during reporting really hit home for me www.npr.org/2026/05/02/n...

I speak to the head of the ICRC who just came back from Tehran last night and who speaks to the fear and uncertainty among the Iranian people about whether the ceasefire will hold. npr.org/2026/05/02/nx-s1-5807914/icrc-president-mirjana-spoljaric-warns-of-the-wars-impact-on-civilians