Best Rob Kaiser Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 282: How TAK Started and Where It’s Going with Ralph Kohler 27:46

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21h ago27:46

27:46

How did TAK become a widespread, indispensable tool for military and civilian first responders? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: How…

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Episode 281: Action Demonstrates Priority in the Fire Service with Erin McGruder 44:33

8d ago44:33

44:33

Let’s talk about practical, hands-on firefighter training: Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: What is durable learning, and why is it …

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Episode 280: The Hottest Issue in Firefighting with Ryan Darley 27:35

15d ago27:35

27:35

What kind of fires burn hotter and faster than anything firefighters have faced before? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: Why battery…

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Carnegie's Tong Zhao on the Expansion of China's Nuclear Arsenal 1:10:21

16d ago1:10:21

1:10:21

This week on Sinica, in a show taped in early June in Washington, Kaiser chats with Tong Zhao (赵通) of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a leading expert on Chinese nuclear doctrine, about why the PRC has, in recent years, significantly increased the size of its nuclear arsenal. Zhao offers a master class in the practice of strategic e…

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Episode 279: Law Enforcement Embraces Tech-Driven Drone Support with Zach Finfrock 26:50

22d ago26:50

26:50

Is technology a part of the job now? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: How drones are a low-cost, high-impact alternative to traditio…

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The Strange Afterlife of an American Football Story from China 45:20

23d ago45:20

45:20

In 2014, the writer Christopher Beam published a humorous, heartwarming story in The New Republic about an unlikely team of American football enthusiasts in Chongqing who went on to defeat their archrivals in Shanghai to win a championship. The piece was optioned by Sony Pictures, and had some big names attached, but was ultimately never made — not…

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Episode 278: Harnessing Tech for Real-World Firefighting Challenges with Kevin Swat 49:42

28d ago49:42

49:42

Tech isn’t just a toy. Tech helps save lives. Here’s how: Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: Why drones and ROVs are critical tools th…

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The Raider: China and the Life of Evans Carlson, with Historian Stephen Platt 1:22:06

1M ago1:22:06

1:22:06

This week on Sinica, I chat with Stephen Platt, historian at UMass Amherst and author, most recently, of the book The Raider: The Untold Story of a Renegade Marine and the Birth of U.S. Special Forces in World War II. Like his previous works, Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom and Imperial Twilight, it offers a compelling narrative history of an overlo…

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Industrial Policy, "Overcapacity," and U.S.-China Trade: A Conversation with Cambridge's Jostein Hauge 1:08:02

1M ago1:08:02

1:08:02

This week on Sinica, I chat with Jostein Hauge, political economist and an Assistant Professor in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge, based at the Centre of Development Studies and the Department of Politics and International Studies, and author of the book The Future of the Factory: How Megatrends are Changing Industrialization. 3:…

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Episode 277: Space-Based Forest Fire Monitoring with OroraTech with Thomas Grübler 13:21

1M ago13:21

13:21

How is forest fire monitoring changing for the better? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: How space-based technology is changing fores…

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Seeking the Next DeepSeek: the Chinese Generative AI Algorithm Registry, with Kendra Schaefer 1:03:57

1M ago1:03:57

1:03:57

This week on Sinica, I speak with Kendra Schaefer, the partner at Trivium China who heads their tech practice. She recently published a fascinating paper looking at the Cyberspace Administration of China's comprehensive database of generative AI tools released in China, and she shares the insights and big takeaways from her research on that databas…

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Bonus Ep: Rubio's Visa Revocations, with Jeremy Goldkorn [Explicit] 49:42

1M ago49:42

49:42

Jeremy Goldkorn joins for this largely unedited throwback to the early, sweary days of the show. We talk about the announcement made on Wednesday, 28 May 2025, on the "aggressive" revocation of Chinese student visas for students with Party "connections" or who study "critical fields." You've been warned! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv…

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Episode 276: Utilizing Technology in Fire Service Training with Steve Kaiser 16:20

1M ago16:20

16:20

Here’s why you gotta be more curious: Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: The value of training in the fire service How technology like…

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Episode 275: Using IoT and AI for Fire Detection with Rob Vernon 10:20

2M ago10:20

10:20

Let’s talk about the importance of measuring what matters in the fight against climate change… Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: Leve…

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Ukraine, China, and the Emerging Geopolitics of Resource Security 1:28:57

2M ago1:28:57

1:28:57

A bonus episode this week. On May 22, I moderated a panel organized by Vita Golod and the UNC Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies. The focus was on the U.S.-Ukraine Mineral Security Partnership, and it features Ivan Us, Chief Consultant at the Center for Foreign Policy at the National Institute for Strategic Studies; Jim Mullinax…

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House of Huawei: Eva Dou of the Washington Post on Her New "Secret History" of Huawei 1:08:40

2M ago1:08:40

1:08:40

This week on Sinica, I chat with Eva Dou, technology reporter for the Washington Post, about her terrific new book about Huawei. From its prehistory to its fight for its life under tremendous U.S. pressure, she tells its story in a way that's both deeply engaging and very evenhanded. 04:53 – Meng Wanzhou’s case and its impact on media interest in H…

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Episode 274: Striving to Be 1% Better Every Day with Sirena Allen-de Guzman 13:55

2M ago13:55

13:55

A new firefighter’s journey into the fire service: Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: Why diversity and inclusivity matter in serving …

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NEW! China Talking Points Ep. 1: Trade Truce, J-10C Dogfight, and What Comes Next 1:04:49

2M ago1:04:49

1:04:49

The Sinica Network proudly presents a new podcast: China Talking Points, featuring Kaiser Kuo (host of the Sinica Podcast), Eric Olander (host of the China-Global South Podcast and China In Africa Podcast) and Andrew Polk, co-founder of Trivium China and host of its podcast. We'll be joined regularly by Lizzi Lee, Fellow on Chinese Economy at the A…

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China's DeepSeek Moment — a talk given April 17 2025 at Carnegie Mellon 30:45

2M ago30:45

30:45

I had scheduled a show to record while I was in Providence last week, but it fell through and had to be rescheduled, so please give this talk I delivered at Carnegie Mellon last month a listen! Hope you enjoy. Kaiser See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.…

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Episode 273: Accelerating Technologies for Global Problems with Satellites with Preetham Akula 13:14

2M ago13:14

13:14

How are intelligent satellites revolutionizing wildfire response? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: How Akula Tech’s use of 3D printi…

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Broken Engagement: Veteran China reporter Bob Davis on his new collection of interviews 1:15:47

2M ago1:15:47

1:15:47

This week on Sinica, I chat with veteran Wall Street Journal reporter Bob Davis, who has covered the U.S.-China relationship for decades. He recently published a new book called Broken Engagement, which consists of interviews with U.S. policymakers who were instrumental in shaping American policy toward China from the George H.W. Bush administratio…

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Episode 272: Creating Safer and More Inclusive Organizations with Quinn Cramer 18:04

2M ago18:04

18:04

How can we increase diversity in the fire service? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: Why equal opportunities and gender balance are k…

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The EU-China Relationship in the Age of Trumpian Disruption, with Finbarr Bermingham of the SCMP 1:06:46

2M ago1:06:46

1:06:46

This week on Sinica, I chat with SCMP Senior Europe Correspondent Finbarr Bermingham, who joins from Brussels where he's been covering the EU-China relationship in fantastic depth and with great insight. 3:17 – EU-China relations in early 2025: the effect of the 2021 sanctions, who advocated for engagement versus confrontation with China, and the i…

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Episode 271: The Role of Drones in Emergency Response with Russell Turner 28:08

3M ago28:08

28:08

What are the benefits of using drones for emergency response? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: How drones are being used for situati…

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Live at Pitt: CMU's Benno Weiner on the Evolution of China's Minzu Policy 52:07

3M ago52:07

52:07

This week on Sinica, in a show recorded at the University of Pittsburgh, I speak with Benno Weiner, Associate Professor of History at Carnegie Mellon University, about how China's policy toward its minority nationalities (or minzu) have shifted from their older, Soviet-inspired form to the policies of assimilation we now see. 2:29 – How the so-call…

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Episode 270: Providing Global Fire Capability and Data Equity with Karen O’Connor 12:29

3M ago12:29

12:29

Here’s how Earth Fire Alliance is enhancing global fire monitoring: Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: How Earth Fire Alliance provide…

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Sinica Live at Columbia University, with Yawei Liu and Yukon Huang 58:15

3M ago58:15

58:15

This week on the Sinica Podcast, I chat with Yawei Liu, Senior Advisor for China at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, and Yukon Huang, former China country head of the World Bank and now Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The show was taped live at the 2025 Columbia China Summit at Columbia University, put on by t…

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Episode 269: The Importance of Interoperability in Rail Fire with Nicholas Coney and Brett Richardson 16:56

3M ago16:56

16:56

What are the challenges (and solutions) of emergency response in the rail corridor? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: The specialized…

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Episode 268: The Fire Service: A Sense of Family and Common Goal with Eric Combs and Kelly Richardson 14:12

3M ago14:12

14:12

What are the 3 keys to effective fire service products? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: How technology can make firefighters safer …

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Life, Love, and Loss in China: Hazza Harding's story of resilience 1:19:20

3M ago1:19:20

1:19:20

This week on Sinica, I chat with Hazza Harding, a young Australian who began learning Chinese and made his way to China where he became a pop singer with hits on Chinese pop charts and a state media newscaster — and also lost his husband tragically, suffered through the COVID lockdowns while grieving for his loss. Yet he remains committed to furthe…

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Is China Gaining Ground in Technology Diffusion? A Conversation with Jeffrey Ding 45:52

4M ago45:52

45:52

This week on Sinica, I chat with Jeffrey Ding, author of Technology and the Rise of Great Powers, a book that argues that a nation's ability to invent foundational technologies matters ultimately less in its overall national power than its ability to diffuse those "general purpose technologies," like electricity, digital technology, the internet, a…

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Evolutionary Psychology and International Relations, with Jeremy Garlick 1:26:24

4M ago1:26:24

1:26:24

This week on the Sinica Podcast, I chat with Jeremy Garlick, Director of the Jan Masaryk Centre for International Studies, Prague University, and a scholar of China’s international relations. Jeremy is the author of the book Advantage China: Agent of Change in an Era of Global Disruption, but the book we're talking about this week is his new Cambri…

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Episode 267: Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in the Fire Service with Dr. Sabrina Cohen-Hatton and Michael Morgan 30:42

4M ago30:42

30:42

Here’s how diversity and inclusion contribute to a more effective fire service workforce: Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: The impor…

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Episode 266: Promoting Competency and Building Safety within Fire Engineering with Hayley Burgess 14:25

4M ago14:25

14:25

Here’s how to promote competency and safety in the fire sector: Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: How the IFE supports fire professio…

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Episode 265: Making Solar Energy Safe for First Responders with Jim Foran 24:01

4M ago24:01

24:01

How is PVStop training first responders and electrical technicians to safely handle solar panels? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: A…

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Live in Berkeley: Jessica Chen Weiss and Ryan Hass on the U.S. and China in 2025 1:02:08

4M ago1:02:08

1:02:08

This week, a special episode taped live at the University of California, Berkeley — my alma mater — on March 6 and featuring Jessica Chen Weiss of Johns Hopkins SAIS and Ryan Hass of the Brookings Institution, both well-known to people who follow U.S.-China relations. This episode was made possible by the Center for Chinese Studies at UC Berkeley's…

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Episode 264: Challenges and Fire Safety Risks Faced by Tunnels with Craig Hiscock 10:45

4M ago10:45

10:45

What are the unique challenges that tunnels face in terms of fire safety and ventilation? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: The impac…

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Introducing the Trivium Podcast, now on the Sinica Network 1:18:29

4M ago1:18:29

1:18:29

This week, I'm proud to announce a new collaboration with Trivium, a China-focused strategic advisory firm you've probably heard of. They've got offices in DC, London, Shanghai, and Beijing, and they focus on analyzing and forecasting Chinese policy developments for multinational companies and institutional investors across a range of verticals -- …

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Episode 263: Enhanced Regulations and Tools for All People During Disasters in Evacuation with Daniel Nilsson and Kevin Frank 13:42

4M ago13:42

13:42

How can we improve evacuation systems for people with movement disabilities? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: The challenges of desi…

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Studying China in the Absence of Access: Rediscovering a Lost Art — Part 2, with Alice Miller and Joseph Fewsmith 1:23:23

4M ago1:23:23

1:23:23

This week: Part 2 in a series of podcasts in conjunction with the China Research Center at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The series, titled "Studying China in the Absence of Access: Rediscovering a Lost Art," ran from September to November 2021, and featured four eminent "Pekingologists," or specialists in Chine…

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China’s Strategy in Global Power Transitions: Challenges in a Turbulent World — A panel discussion 1:10:01

5M ago1:10:01

1:10:01

This week on Sinica: February 24 marks the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and as I’ve done for the last two years, I moderated a panel organized by Vita Golod, a Ukrainian China scholar who happens to be here in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at UNC as a visiting scholar. She’s worked tirelessly to promote awareness of …

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The War for Chinese Talent in America, with David Zweig 1:14:00

5M ago1:14:00

1:14:00

This week on Sinica, I chat with David Zweig, a veteran China scholar who is Professor Emeritus from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. We discuss Davis'd latest book, The War for Chinese Talent in America, which looks at Chinese efforts to harness the intellectual firepower of Chinese scientists and engineers who studied abroad, e…

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Episode 262: The Importance of Community Connection and the Role of Governance in Resilience with Beck Dawson 13:19

5M ago13:19

13:19

Here’s how to build community resilience: Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: Why resilience is a community effort How to shape decisio…

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Getting China Right: Senator Andy Kim at the Hopkins SAIS Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs 1:10:16

5M ago1:10:16

1:10:16

I’m delighted to bring you today the first in a series of conversations from a remarkable day-long session put on by the Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs, or ACF, at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The session was held on Monday, February 3, and was called “Getting China Right.” On today’…

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Episode 261: Addressing Climate Change and Natural Hazard Risks with Andrew Gissing 13:08

5M ago13:08

13:08

The big question that we all want the answer to: how should we tackle climate change? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: How the 'Be A…

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Back to the 80s: For Trump, is China the New Japan? with Andy Liu 1:05:14

5M ago1:05:14

1:05:14

This week on Sinica, I chat with economic historian Andrew B. Liu of Villanova University about how to understand Trump's thinking on China and tariffs. Andy wrote about this in an excellent piece on N+1 called "Back to the 80s? Trump, Xi Jinping, and Tariffs." Check it out and then listen to the show! 3:59 – How the U.S.’s current trade anxieties …

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Episode 260: The Science of Fire: James Braidwood's Insights with David Dow 15:48

5M ago15:48

15:48

Who is James Braidwood and how did he transform the fire service? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: What “finding the seat of the fir…

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Is the U.S. Experiencing a Narrative Shift on China? 1:02:12

5M ago1:02:12

1:02:12

This week as we enter the Year of the Snake, Sinica co-founder Jeremy Goldkorn makes a re-appearance on the show. It's been a year since his last, and much has changed — and indeed, if Jeremy is right, we may be at an inflection point in American attitudes toward China. With the "TikTok Refugees" on Xiaohongshu or "RedNote" taking in a view of Chin…

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Episode 259: The Importance of Training and Sense-Making in Firefighting Decision-Making with Dr. Greg Penney 21:55

5M ago21:55

21:55

What is sense-making, and how can it transform firefighters’ decision-making? Hello Smart Firefighting Community! Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy! In this episode: The importance of tra…

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The State of China, with Adam Tooze, Qing Wang, and Zichen Wang — Moderated by Finbarr Bermingham of SCMP 48:49

5M ago48:49

48:49

Happy Chinese New Year! This week, while I'm decompressing from 10 days in the Alps, my friends at the Asia Society of Switzerland have graciously offered to let me share a podcast recorded just after the U.S. presidential election in November at their annual State of Asia event. "The State of China" features three terrific guests: Wang Qing (王卿), …