647. China Is Run by Engineers. America Is Run by Lawyers.
In his new book “Breakneck,” Dan Wang argues that the U.S. has a lot to learn from China. He also says that “no two peoples are more alike.” We have questions.
Episode 647 of the Freakonomics Radio podcast, hosted by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher, titled "647. China Is Run by Engineers. America Is Run by Lawyers." was published on September 19, 2025 and runs 61 minutes.
September 19, 2025 ·61m · Freakonomics Radio
Summary
In his new book “Breakneck,” Dan Wang argues that the U.S. has a lot to learn from China. He also says that “no two peoples are more alike.” We have questions.
Episode Description
In his new book “Breakneck,” Dan Wang argues that the U.S. has a lot to learn from China. He also says that “no two peoples are more alike.” We have questions.
- SOURCES:
- Dan Wang, research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, author of Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future.
- RESOURCES:
- Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future, by Dan Wang (2025).
- The Anaconda in the Chandelier: Writings on China, by Perry Link (2025).
- "Is the U.S. Ready for the Next War?" by Dexter Filkins (The New Yorker, 2025).
- "How smartphones made Shenzhen China’s innovation capital," by Dan Wang (2016).
- How China Escaped the Poverty Trap, by Yuen Yuen Ang (2016).
- The Art of Not Being Governed, by Jame Scott (2009).
- EXTRAS:
- "The Engineering State and the Lawyerly Society: Dan Wang on his new book 'Breakneck,'" by the Sinica Podcast (2025).
- "Is the U.S. Really Less Corrupt Than China?" by Freakonomics Radio (2021).
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