Advertise on podcast: Drum Tower from The Economist

As China ramps up military drills around Taiwan and American support for the island appears to be wavering, Taiwan’s opposition leader is arguing for closer ties with the mainland. Cheng Li-wun sits down with Drum Tower to explain why. Hosts: Jeremy Page, The Economist’s China chief correspondent and Sarah Wu, our China correspondent. Guest: Cheng Li-wun, chair of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan's largest opposition party. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Go, one of the world’s oldest board games, is played across China, Japan, and Korea. But a dramatic row over the rules is inflaming age-old tensions between the three countries. Hosts: Jiehao Chen, our China researcher and Jeremy Page, The Economist’s chief China correspondent Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

AI is changing how we work. It's turning us all into managers. Be a good one. The Economist’s management columnist, Andrew Palmer, takes on the bots in the third season of Boss Class. From cloning to coding, agents to entry-level jobs, he tackles the threat head on and figures out how to turn anxiety into opportunity. Along the way he meets bulls and bears and the people who can help you to master management in the age of AI. Full Season 3 out 29th January 2026. To listen, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since his arrest on charges of financial crime in 2019, one of Hebei’s richest businessmen has been held without trial. Now, he’s penning scalding criticism of local officials, and appealing to Xi Jinping from behind bars. Hosts: Sarah Wu, The Economist’s China correspondent and Don Weinland, our China business and finance editor. Guest: James Zimmerman, Beijing-based lawyer and writer. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

China’s leaders were swift to denounce America’s dramatic night-time extraction of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. But the country’s nationalist commentators are asking if the US assault could offer lessons for a future attack on Taiwan. Hosts: Jeremy Page, our chief China correspondent and Sarah Wu, The Economist’s China correspondent Guest: Drew Thompson, former Pentagon official and senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Beneath a ridge in Guinea’s southern highlands lies one of the world's largest deposits of iron ore. Chinese investment has got it out of the ground after decades of delays. But will the Simandou mining project give China the upper hand it hopes? Hosts: Jiehao Chen, The Economist’s China researcher, and Corbin Duncan, our global correspondent. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Nushu emerged from the isolated villages of southern China and is the only language created and used exclusively by women. Today it is celebrated across China as a symbol of female empowerment, but the last natural inheritor saw a different meaning. Host: Jiehao Chen, The Economist’s China researcher. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Once a favourite drink of middle-class Brits, Lapsang Souchong is now disappearing from supermarket shelves. We traveled to the remote tea farms of Fujian to find out why. Host: James Miles, The Economist’s China writer-at-large. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Media mogul and vocal pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of conspiring to commit sedition and foreign collusion in a Hong Kong court. Why did the self-made billionaire give up his comfortable life for one of protest—and what does his conviction mean for Hong Kong? Host: Alice Su, The Economist’s senior international correspondent. Guest: Sebastien Lai, democracy activist and the son of Jimmy Lai. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Start later, leave earlier, bring your kids to work. These are some of the perks being offered via “mum jobs”. Local government officials hope they will boost China’s declining birthrates and productivity. So why are they causing uproar among the women they’re supposed to be helping? Hosts: Sarah Wu, The Economist’s China correspondent and our China researcher, Jiehao Chen. You can find The Weekend Intelligence’s Make Babies Great Again episode in their new feed. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

China says it doesn’t interfere with the affairs of its neighbours, but a leaked transcript suggests that, behind closed doors, diplomats are more than willing to apply the country’s considerable leverage to get what they want. Hosts: Jeremy Page, The Economist’s chief China correspondent and Sue-Lin Wong, our Asia correspondent. You can find out more about Myanmar’s scam compounds by listening to our Scam Inc podcast series. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Gain a deeper understanding of China with Jeremy Page and Sarah Wu. The Economist’s China correspondents report from across the country and the places it influences beyond its borders. Jiehao Chen joins the discussion from London. This award-winning podcast takes on everything from the CCP to EVs and from ageing to AI. Published every Tuesday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a country better known for Baijiu than Burgundy, the rising popularity of homegrown wine has come as a surprise to some. But production costs are high, while many overseas markets are saturated. Can Chinese wine reach its potential? Hosts: Sarah Wu, The Economist’s China correspondent and Jeremy Page, our chief China correspondent. You can also listen to previous episodes of “Drum Tower” on China’s luxury industries and the decline of alcohol. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

As Chinese AI surges ahead, the country’s stranglehold on rare earths tightens and its exports boom, European governments are bracing for a new China shock. Germany is particularly exposed. Is it too late to change its approach? Hosts: Jeremy Page, The Economist’s chief China correspondent, and geopolitics editor David Rennie. Guest: Johannes Volkmann, Christian Democratic Union politician and member of the German Bundestag. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

China’s green technology is reshaping landscapes, markets and geopolitics across much of the world—but perhaps nowhere more so than in Pakistan. How has the rapid adoption of cheap Chinese solar panels reshaped the energy landscape there, and what lessons can China’s business and political leaders draw from it? Hosts: Jeremy Page, The Economist’s chief China correspondent, and China researcher Jiehao Chen. Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.