EPISODE · Mar 5, 2026 · 33 MIN
The Lie That Built Modern China - Frank Dikötter
from Open Book with Anthony Scaramucci · host SALT & Goalhanger
I've spent a lot of time studying China — the culture, the power, the politics — and I thought I knew the story, but my guest today, historian Frank Dikötter, absolutely blew my mind, because the founding myth of the world's most powerful authoritarian state is built on a lie. Stick around, because this conversation is going to change the way you see China forever. 📚Books mentioned in the episode: Red Star Over China by Edgar Snow https://amzn.to/4raPPIy The China Mission by Daniel Kurtz-Phelan https://amzn.to/4u9GD9S Red Dawn Over China by Frank Dikötter https://amzn.to/4slHr9Y Frank Dikötter lives in Palo Alto, California, where he is the Milias Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is also Chair Professor of Humanities at the University of Hong Kong. His books have changed the way historians view China, from the classic The Discourse of Race in Modern China to his award-winning People's Trilogy documenting the lives of ordinary people under Mao. Get his brilliant new book, which was a Barnes & Noble Reads Best Book of February 2026, Red Dawn Over China: How Communism Conquered a Quarter of Humanity here: https://amzn.to/4slHr9Y Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out on the 17th of September in the UK and the 22nd of September in the US: https://linktr.ee/anthonyscaramucci Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What this episode covers
I've spent a lot of time studying China — the culture, the power, the politics — and I thought I knew the story, but my guest today, historian Frank Dikötter, absolutely blew my mind, because the founding myth of the world's most powerful authoritarian state is built on a lie. Stick around, because this conversation is going to change the way you see China forever. 📚Books mentioned in the episode: Red Star Over China by Edgar Snow https://amzn.to/4raPPIy The China Mission by Daniel Kurtz-Phelan https://amzn.to/4u9GD9S Red Dawn Over China by Frank Dikötter https://amzn.to/4slHr9Y Frank Dikötter lives in Palo Alto, California, where he is the Milias Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is also Chair Professor of Humanities at the University of Hong Kong. His books have changed the way historians view China, from the classic The Discourse of Race in Modern China to his award-winning People's Trilogy documenting the lives of ordinary people under Mao. Get his brilliant new book, which was a Barnes & Noble Reads Best Book of February 2026, Red Dawn Over China: How Communism Conquered a Quarter of Humanity here: https://amzn.to/4slHr9Y Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Pre-order my next book, All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump, out on the 17th of September in the UK and the 22nd of September in the US: https://linktr.ee/anthonyscaramucci Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Lie That Built Modern China - Frank Dikötter
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