China
64 episodes
#6143: Propaganda Bait: Testing 7 Models in 5 Languages
Five prompts, seven models, five languages — a first look at a benchmark that doesn't exist yet, testing what LLMs do with government talking points.
#6137: Two Ways a Chinese Open Model Gets Censored
Same weights, different landlord: how to tell a serving-time filter from censorship baked into the model itself.
#6092: 到底是谁在塑造中国的人工智能思想？
不只是实验室的老板：那些定义中国如何打造、又如何争论人工智能的研究者和思想。
#6068: Chinese AI Models: Refusing vs. Reframing
New studies show Chinese AI models have shifted from refusing sensitive questions to answering them — in the Party's voice.
#6062: Who Actually Shapes Chinese AI Thinking?
Beyond the lab CEOs: the researchers and ideas defining how China builds — and argues about — artificial intelligence.
Also available in:中文
#5787: Inside the Two Steel Industries
Steel is really two industries wearing one word — and the health and carbon ledgers land in different places.
#5647: Can Any Country Actually Go It Alone?
Ninety percent of rare earth processing runs through one country. So what happens when a nation tries to trade with nobody at all?
#5576: Lying Flat as a Tactic: The Quiet Opt-Out
Tang ping, quiet quitting, and the N-po generation — what happens when people stop donating effort they were never paid for?
#5310: Who's Actually Allowed Into North Korea?
North Korea keeps no public visitor statistics — so who actually gets in, and why have the diplomats who lived there said almost nothing?
#5293: Air Koryo and the ICAO Alignment Problem
What flying North Korea's flag carrier actually feels like — and why a cut-off state still shows up to ICAO meetings.
#5043: Stargate's $500B Question: Policy or Profit?
Why is the US treating frontier AI as a national security issue—and why is its flagship project a private LLC with foreign money?
#4968: North Korea Today: Life Beyond the Famine Era
What does ordinary life actually look like in North Korea right now? Smartphones, markets, and K-dramas in Pyongyang vs. survival in the provinces.
#4618: Hong Kong vs Mainland China: The Real Mechanics
What's actually separate, what's converged, and how the border really works between Hong Kong and mainland China.
#4409: The Port Concession Trap: Dependency vs. Malware
Why letting a foreign state-run your port for 25 years is worse than any Trojan horse.
#3415: What a UN Security Council Seat Actually Buys You
No army, no police — so why do countries spend billions for a seat at the table?
#3412: What Would the UN’s Architects Think of It Today?
Was the UN designed to work—or just to survive? A look at its original purpose vs. today’s reality.
#3162: Sovereign SATCOM: Inside the Military's Orbital Arms Race
Why the US, Russia, and China each build their own military satellite networks — and how WGS, Blagovest, and Tiantong compare.
#3133: How China Built 350+ Nuclear Silos in 5 Years
Satellite imagery reveals China's rapid nuclear buildup—350+ silos since 2021 and a fivefold warhead increase in 16 years.
#2986: China and Russia's High-Speed Pipeline to Iran
How China and Russia resupplied Iran in weeks, not months — and what it means for US power.
#2879: Are Most Chinese People Actually Atheist?
Only 14% of Chinese adults identify as atheists. The reality of belief in China is far more complex.
#2878: How China Controls Foreign Critics and Domestic Media
China blocks foreign critics at the border while running a sophisticated domestic media control system. Here's how both work.
#2869: China's Special Puzzle Pieces: Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan
How "one country, two systems" works differently for Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan — and what's changed.
#2819: Did China's Wildlife Wet Market Ban Actually Stick?
The COVID origin investigation stalled. But what about China's wildlife wet market ban — did it actually work?
#2769: The Legal Limbo of Partially Recognized States
North Korea has 46 embassies. Palestine has 80. Neither is fully recognized. How does their diplomacy actually work?