Calling all China Nerds episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 14, 2025 · 32 MIN

Calling all China Nerds

from Barbarians at the Gate · host Barbarians at the Gate

Where are our nerds at? David Moser is on summer holiday, and stepping into David's seat for this episode is literary translator Brendan O'Kane. It takes about two minutes for Jeremiah and Brendan to go off the rails, over the edge, and back to the Amilal Courtyard in Beijing ca. 2010 (if you know, you know). In this wide-ranging conversation, Brendan and Jeremiah rate different levels of dynastic decline on the "fuckery" scale, Brendan reads a translation from Chinese philosopher Mencius, there's discussion of how to best gloss "laowai," if Xi Jinping is "president," "chairman," or something else entirely, a quick debate on whether Matteo Ricci had an eidetic memory or was just really, really smart, and Brendan's adventures battling ICE. Come with us for a wild ride of Sinological geekdom and summer-style freeflow scholarship.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 14, 2025

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

Calling all China Nerds

0:00 32:33

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Barbarians at the Gate?

This episode is 32 minutes long.

When was this Barbarians at the Gate episode published?

This episode was published on August 14, 2025.

Is there a transcript available for this episode?

Yes, a full transcript is available for this episode. You can read the complete transcript on the episode page.

Can I download this Barbarians at the Gate episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!