Wo Men Podcast

Two Women. One Country. Modern China from the Inside.

Behind the Lines of China's Zero Covid Strategy 03/29/2022

Behind the Lines of China's Zero Covid Strategy The latest mass outbreak of COVID-19 in China has impacted people's lives, with over 5000 new cases reported each day this week. While the numbers are small compared with what other countries have experienced during the pandemic, the most recent outbreak is the largest in China since 2020. Many residents in major cities like Shanghai and the tech hub of Shenzhen have been told to remain in their homes, and officials in several jurisdictions have given orders for full or partial lockdowns. After feeling safe and protected for the past two years by China's Zero Covid Policy, Chinese people have, for the first time, started to question whether this policy is effectively dealing with the new omicron variant. Our Co-Host Yajun is now on her 16th day of being forced to stay inside her apartment complex due to a case of COVID being reported in the same compound. Co-Host Karoline was just released from mandatory quarantine after returning to China from a trip overseas. In this episode, Yajun and Karoline shared their personal experiences and observations of how public opinion has started to shift regarding China's Zero COVID strategy. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/22606214

Spiritual Journey: One woman's experience with shamanism 03/09/2022

Spiritual Journey: One woman's experience with shamanism When people feel confused or uncertain about their lives, some turn to fortune-tellers or psychics for guidance and advice. China has a long tradition of fortune-telling, soothsaying, and even exorcisms and shamanism. Those living in the Northeastern part of the country consult people known as Daxian (大仙), which can be translated as “spirit mediums” or “spirit possessors”). Daxian are the representatives of a local religion, combining shamanism and animal worship (including weasels, foxes, mice, snakes, and hedgehogs). According to legend, once these animal spirits possess their bodies, the daxian can cure disease or predict the future. We talk to Vicky, a native of Northeastern China. She describes her personal experiences of consulting a daxian for help when she had difficulties maintaining a long-term relationship. She also shares her recent discovery about the extent her family was involved with this local religion. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/22388999

The Wo Men Podcast 2021 Year in Review Episode 01/05/2022

The Wo Men Podcast 2021 Year in Review Episode It's an annual tradition. Yajun, Jingjing, and Karoline, the three cohosts of the Wo Men Podcast, got together virtually to discuss their experiences in 2021 and share their memories of the year that was. They also talked about what they were looking forward to most in 2022. Spoiler Alert: They would like to see each other and are hopeful that China will open its borders soon so that family and friends can finally be reunited. Fingers crossed! /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/21680423

The Future is Lying Flat 12/08/2021

The Future is Lying Flat In China, there have been generations that “stood up” and generations that “jumped into the sea," but many young people in China today are choosing instead to just “lie down and chill.” /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/21414893

20 Years Later: How did Chinese students react to the News of 9/11? 09/13/2021

20 Years Later: How did Chinese students react to the News of 9/11? In this episode, Karoline and Yajun share their personal stories of hearing about 9/11 and how those experiences have affected their later careers as cultural intermediaries between the world and China. They also reflect on how their careers have been affected by the complicated US-China relationship and consider how they can contribute to improving mutual understanding between the world’s two largest economies. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/20454089

Gombo's Prayers on the Plateau 07/19/2021

Gombo's Prayers on the Plateau When most people think about China, they picture the big coastal megacities. For this episode, we travel out west to a very different China. We talk to Gombo, who was raised in a Mongolian nomadic family and went on to be the first in his area to graduate from college. Gombo describes his life growing up in a nomad camp, how Tibetan Buddhism continues to be a major part of his life, and how he pursued his education and a career in modern China. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/19853696

Downsizing in Dali 06/21/2021

Downsizing in Dali For many young people in China, work means 12-hour days, six days a week, with a long and crowded commute to and from work. No wonder so many people are considering trading urban living for a rural lifestyle. In recent years, Dali has become a magnet for writers, musicians, artists, painters, and people looking to simplify their lives. In this episode, Karoline Kan talks to Feather, who moved to Dali from Beijing, about her lifestyle change. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/19546976

The cost of beauty: Why is cosmetic surgery so popular in China? 05/24/2021

The cost of beauty: Why is cosmetic surgery so popular in China? Why are Chinese women -- and men -- so crazy about beauty treatments? Don’t they worry about the risks and possible side effects? Today we talked to Guli Ai, a consumer with ten years of experience using aesthetics treatment. Guli explains her journey in pursuit of beauty and why she’s not afraid to take advantage of the benefits of medical science in her quest for perfection. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/19214309

Buzzing and Bubbling Business Start-ups for the Covid-19 Era 04/23/2021

Buzzing and Bubbling Business Start-ups for the Covid-19 Era Our guest today, Lysa Wei, is a female entrepreneur who started her own company bringing hard seltzer to the China market. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/18830477

Promoting LGBTQ rights in today's China 03/30/2021

Promoting LGBTQ rights in today's China Ying, who calls herself Iron, is director of the Beijing LGBT Center. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/18530072

Traveling for Change 03/04/2021

Traveling for Change How one couple journeyed to Africa and found their purpose and new direction. Karoline Kan sits down with Faye and Celyn, founders of Celu Studio, to learn more about their travels to Africa and their platform for tackling the effects of climate change around the world. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/18184397

Davos Dads 01/28/2021

Davos Dads You wouldn’t think that the high-wattage conclave of World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos would provide that kind of cozy safe space, but that’s exactly where a group of “Davos Dads” gathers to share their family struggles and swap parenting tips. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/17723165

Study, Study, Now What? 01/11/2021

Study, Study, Now What? In China, the educational system is built around the college entrance exams. Students sacrifice their childhood and freedom for hours and hours of homework and after-school programs to “win the game at the starting point” and secure a promising future. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/17497514

The Women Podcast "2021 can't possibly be worse, right?" Year in Review Episode 12/28/2020

The Women Podcast "2021 can't possibly be worse, right?" Year in Review Episode It seems like every email we have received recently begins with “In this challenging year…” Well 2020, your time is almost up. You only have a few days left before we turn the page to 2021. Every year at this time, we look back on the year that was and talk about our plans for the future. In this episode, Yajun, Jingjing, and Karoline discuss surviving a global pandemic, their thoughts on a new global order while also talking about their personal highlights (and low-lights) of 2020, including new babies, family health emergencies, lockdown blues, and the challenge of staying motivated while the world seems to be falling apart. Finally, the ladies share their new year resolutions because 2021 has got to be an improvement over 2020, right? Right!?!?!? /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/17342873

I'm from China and I support Donald Trump 12/01/2020

I'm from China and I support Donald Trump Despite harsh rhetoric and aggressive policies directed at China, Trump still has supporters in China. Today we ask the question: Why is Donald Trump popular here? /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/17014487

Ok, Now What? Young professionals in China wonder about their life after Covid 11/16/2020

Ok, Now What? Young professionals in China wonder about their life after Covid What will life be like for China's young professionals after Covid? /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/16824839

One Couple, Two Systems? 10/26/2020

One Couple, Two Systems? For many people worldwide, the protests in Hong Kong have been a news story in a year full of news. But the demonstrations and political crisis have deeply affected Hong Kongers dividing the city and even families. Michelle is from Hong Kong but living in Japan and has been arguing with her girlfriend – who is from mainland China – about the protests. What happens when different backgrounds, viewpoints, and media consumption starts to come between a couple? /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/16544420

Giving Birth in a time of Covid-19 10/12/2020

Giving Birth in a time of Covid-19 Our co-host, Jingjing, and our close friend, Annie, gave birth to two boys this year and it was not easy. They suffered from both physical and psychological challenges that a new mother would not face in a typical year, including labor without an epidural due to a shortage of maternity staff in the hospital and risking exposure to the COVID-19 virus. In this episode, Annie and Jingjing share their personal experience of giving birth in the year of COVID-19. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/16365371

How Porn Helped Me Through Lockdown 06/30/2020

How Porn Helped Me Through Lockdown Even though porn is legally prohibited in China, such restrictions don’t stop many people from looking for adult content, most of the time by using a VPN to bypass the country’s internet censorship. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/15020912

How Covid-19 has Changed Chinese People’s Attitudes to Personal Finance 06/22/2020

How Covid-19 has Changed Chinese People’s Attitudes to Personal Finance As a part of the generation that had taken supercharged economic development for granted and had never worried about financial stability, the potential impact of Covid-19 on the economy also requires us to rethink our finances. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/14912969

The Unsung Heroes of International Media’s China Coverage 05/27/2020

The Unsung Heroes of International Media’s China Coverage News assistants’ responsibilities can include research, looking for interviewees, arranging interviews, translating, and some “researchers” even interview and write the stories independently — but with no byline. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/14585048

Has Covid-19 Ended China’s Consumption Boom? 05/12/2020

Has Covid-19 Ended China’s Consumption Boom? As China continues to recover from the Covid-19 crisis, some experts expected to see a strong consumption rebound in recent weeks. However, it didn’t happen. Instead, the amount of saving in the first quarter of 2020 surged in China. Many Chinese, including the post-’90 and post-’00 generations who are used to living paycheck to paycheck, have started to save money. Seemingly, the global pandemic has changed many families’ and individuals’ consumption habits and lifestyles — at least in the sho /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/14384447

Life Under Lockdown for a Chinese Student in the UK 04/23/2020

Life Under Lockdown for a Chinese Student in the UK While the world is suffering from the global pandemic of novel coronavirus Covid-19, Jingjing talks to Donna, a Chinese student studying in the UK. In this episode, Donna shares her perspectives on life under lockdown overseas, including how she ended up getting military food and her experience with racism in the UK. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/14108474

Journalist Yuli Yang on Her #GoWuhan Campaign 03/23/2020

Journalist Yuli Yang on Her #GoWuhan Campaign When her hometown went into lockdown, Yuli Wang decided to help send messages of hope and support from around the world to Wuhan citizens. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/13659764

One Man’s Beijing Business Struggles in the Face of Covid-19 03/09/2020

One Man’s Beijing Business Struggles in the Face of Covid-19 For this episode, we talked to Benjamin Devos, the owner and CEO of the first French bakery in Beijing, Comptoirs de France Bakery. He shared with us the perilous challenges his business is now facing with the Coronavirus/Covid-19 outbreak and some of the tough decisions he has had to make after 15 years of running a business in China. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/13465655

Life Under Quarantine 02/25/2020

Life Under Quarantine The novel coronavirus Covid-19 has taken hundreds of lives and caused disruption and psychological damage throughout China and — increasingly — across the world. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/13287026

The View From Davos 2020 01/27/2020

The View From Davos 2020 Last week, before the break out of the coronavirus, much of the world’s attention focused on Davos, a little European ski resort town in Switzerland where this year the World Economic Forum celebrated its 50 year anniversary and welcomed more than 3,000 political, business and other leaders. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/12909455

Wǒ Men Podcast: 2020 Vision 01/06/2020

Wǒ Men Podcast: 2020 Vision Podcast hosts Yajun Zhang and Jingjing Zhang come together at the start of 2020 to discuss their hopes, aspirations, and resolutions for the New Year. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/12630167

Being an LGBTQ+ Ally in China 12/23/2019

Being an LGBTQ+ Ally in China This year more than 220,000 Chinese people sent online endorsements of gay marriage to China’s top legislative body, arguing for a same-sex marriage amendment to be made to China’s marriage laws. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/12514718

The China Fear? 12/11/2019

The China Fear? China dominates global headlines right now — and few of those headlines are positive. But is fear of the country justified? How to separate the people, the government, and the Party? And what impact is the breakdown in dialogue between China and the English-speaking world having on Chinese living and travelling abroad? Hosts Jingjing, Karoline, and Yajun share their perspectives from around the world. /episode/index/show/womenpodcast/id/12358349

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