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Society & Culture

Round Table China

China Plus

Round Table is a premier English radio/podcast show, straight from Beijing. Hear what's buzzing on the Internet and the main streets, see the latest lifestyle trends, and feel the pulse of life in China, Round Table is your golden ticket. With dynamic cultural exchanges between hosts from diverse backgrounds, we take you on a journey deep into modern China.We invite you to join our conversation! Shoot us an email or a voice memo at ezfmroundtable@foxmail.com. Let the fun begin!

108 episodes
Avg 27 min
English

Episodes 108

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September 22 · 20 min
He delivered food, then made history
Deep in the Italian Alps lies a course so punishing that it has broken some of the world's best athletes. This year, it was conquered by Zhao Jiaju, a Chinese runner who once delivered takeout for a living. A year earlier, the same mountains handed...
September 22 · 31 min
Behind schools' phone bans
China is pushing harder to remove phones from classrooms, and a new Chongqing regulation marks a notable escalation. Schools there can now ban smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches, but this measure sits inside a juvenile crime prevention law rather...
September 21 · 20 min
The Why: big tech's battle for keyboards
Every text you send, every search you run, every question you ask an AI passes through the same quiet piece of software beneath your fingertips, and it is watching all of it. In 2026, China's biggest tech companies are fighting to control that...
September 21 · 31 min
China's first AI-BCI medical standard
China has now approved the world's first national standard for BCI medical devices that use AI to interpret brainwaves, setting rules for how brain data is collected and accessed. The question now is whether that standard makes the technology safer...
September 20 · 26 min
Bonus: Cooling vests
In 45-degree heat, air conditioning is a luxury millions can't reach, so researchers at the Beijing Institute of Technology are building something you wear instead. Round Table's Yushan sits down with Ji Wenjie and Fu Ying, from the team behind a...
September 18 · 38 min
Nineteen new rules for home care
Bringing someone into your home to clean or care for your family feels like a private arrangement. In China, it is also a thirty-million-person industry, one that has long run on informal deals, unclear hours, and unanswered questions about who is...
September 18 · 19 min
When presentations become a party game
You walk into a room and find a stage waiting for you. Someone hands you a presentation you have never seen before. The slides make no sense, the crowd is waiting, and your only job is to keep talking. In Beijing, Shanghai, and a handful of other...
September 17 · 24 min
The Hyrox Beijing incident
A competitor at HYROX Beijing left a bowel accident across the sleds, mats, and rowers, forcing the other athletes onto contaminated equipment. She still finished first. With no clear rule to handle it, the incident sparked a global debate about where...
September 17 · 25 min
China's new canal: the Pinglu Canal
China has just opened its first major canal since 1949. The Pinglu Canal stretches 134 kilometers and represents one of the most significant infrastructure projects in the country's modern history. What could this waterway actually mean for the way we...
September 15 · 21 min
Where do we draw the AI music line?
It sounded like a hit, it charted like a hit, and radio played it like a hit. There was just one catch. No human made it. Now Australia has become the first country to shut fully AI-generated music out of its official charts and its biggest awards....
September 15 · 31 min
China's new standards on kids' cosmetics
A little girl opens a treasure box and finds a tiny eyeshadow palette, a lipstick, and a blush. To her, it's a toy. To her parents, it's a question mark. China is about to tighten the rules on makeup made for kids aged 12 and under, with tougher...
September 14 · 23 min
Seven gourds, one grandpa, and the price of going viral
It begins in a quiet corner of Shaoxing, on a balcony full of gourds, with an old man happy to wave at whoever shows up. It starts as the kind of story that makes you smile. Then the crowds get bigger, the cameras get closer, and the smile gets harder...
September 14 · 29 min
Generation Global EP8: Cooling Vests
In 45-degree heat, air conditioning is a luxury millions can't reach, so researchers at the Beijing Institute of Technology are building something you wear instead. Round Table's Yushan sits down with Ji Wenjie and Fu Ying, two members of the team...
September 11 · 17 min
When being heard becomes a business
Across China, people are paying strangers for what friends used to give for free — a listener to vent to, or someone to offer custom compliments and rebuild confidence. Maybe connection isn't the problem. Maybe trust is. Today, we're asking what...
September 11 · 36 min
From disaster simulation to real-life preparedness
Paying to get knocked around by fake hurricane winds. Wading through a flooded garage that's dry on the other side. Getting swept up in a man-made torrent. It sounds like something to avoid — until you realize people are doing it to learn. Across...
September 10 · 25 min
CIFTIS 2026: when services and technology meet the city
The most interesting developments at this year's China International Fair for Trade in Services may be happening outside the venue. Beijing's western districts now have new waterfront spaces, routes and transport, all backed by AI, digital platforms...
September 10 · 26 min
Generation Global EP7: What BRICS means for you
BRICS is meeting in India this week, and the group has grown well beyond its original five economies. Trade, technology, climate and jobs keep expanding the agenda, but a simpler question lingers: does any of it reach ordinary people? Fei Fei asks Li...
September 8 · 19 min
The Soapbox: the ninety-minute lunch uproar
A bank in Hubei decided to close for ninety minutes each afternoon so staff could take a proper break. The public response was anything but calm. Office workers scrambled, elderly customers voiced frustration, and local media fanned the flames. What...
September 8 · 32 min
Shenzhen's school uniforms back in focus
The back-to-school season has long meant overpriced uniforms and endless waiting, but Shenzhen offers a different model. Parents buy standard school shirts at corner stores, supermarkets, or through delivery apps for the price of a meal. The city set...
September 7 · 19 min
Freshmen, friends, and the fear of fitting in
A new generation just arrived on campus, and they are rewriting the rules of friendship. They scroll with confidence but clam up in person. They crave connection, yet keep everyone at arm's length. From social anxiety as an identity to the rise of...

Showing 41–60 of 108 episodes