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The Spark Podcast 火花

by Amy Tianyi Zhao & Meg Dowaliby

The Spark is a podcast that explores what it means to traverse cultures and share stories that intersect Chinese and American culture to interrupt barriers and create connections. The Spark is a cultural haven - A space held by a friendship between two women from two different countries, meeting at the point where their cultures, identities and stories intersect. Their conversations are grounded in transparency as they move beyond previous perceptions and ideas of the other to form deep connections as human beings first.这是一个由两个来自不同文化背景的女生创造的广播平台。Amy Tianyi Zhao (微博：赵枣儿Amy）虽然来自中国，但她的教育背景和生活履历让她与西方文化产生了强烈的共鸣。Megan Dowaliby 虽然来自美国，但来自中国的老公让她对中国产生了浓厚的兴趣。两个完全不同的女生在一张传统中国餐桌上相遇。语言的交流引发了思想的碰撞。在那次晚餐两年后的今天，火花电台诞生。我们相信，一个人的国籍，以及其居住地并不能代表TA的文化身份。在一个全球化的时代，我们在不同文化中看到自己的影子，每个人都可能是很多文化交流和互动的产物。我们希望通过她们的对话和讨论，加深人们对“跨文化”身份的认同，赋予人们了解世界的激情和力量，最终达到促进世界，尤其是中美两国互相理解的进程。 thesparkpodcast.substack.com

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Episodes

  1. Ep. 63: Your Turn | 轮到你了

    This episode begins with a deck of questions cards, and ends as one of Meg and Amy Tianyi’s most honest and vulnerable conversations. Would they have been friends in high school? Amy doesn’t think so because she believes their worlds were too different and their social circles would have been too...

  2. Ep. 62: The Odyssey Years | 奥德赛岁月

    Everyone knows the story of Odysseus. The hero who spent ten years trying to find his way home after the Trojan War — fighting monsters, resisting temptation, navigating the impossible. The journey is the myth. The journey is the point. But what about Penelope? The one who stayed. Who held...

  3. Ep. 61: She Got the Job | 她得到了那份工作

    She got the job. After three to four months of searching, 400 applications, and three responses, Amy Tianyi has accepted a position as Academic Director at NYU Stern Business School. This episode is the conversation that follows. But this isn’t just a celebration episode. It’s a debrief. An…

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  4. Ep. 60: What Are You Wearing? | 你穿的是什么？

    What are you wearing — and who are you wearing it for? In this episode, Meg and Amy get into one of the most personal and overlooked conversations of your thirties: the evolution of style. Not fashion — style. The difference between dressing to fit in and dressing to show up. Between clothes that...

  5. Ep. 59: The Jacket | 那件夹克

    It started with a jacket. A Chinese-inspired Adidas jacket with frog buttons, released around Lunar New Year, flying off the shelves. Meg’s husband suggested it could be an entry point into Chinese culture — like Mulan, he said. They went to the store. It was sold out. And somehow, that jacket...

  6. Ep. 58: What We Carried | 我们带走的声音

    Last episode, you heard the trip. This episode is what stayed. Meg is back from China.The recordings are finished—but not resolved. So Meg and Amy sit down again—not to retell what happened, but to ask what it meant to capture it while it was happening. To record in the margins of a day.To press...

  7. Ep. 57: Hello From China | 来自中国的“你好”

    This one is a little different. Last episode, Meg and Amy sat down to talk about what it means to travel into someone else’s ancestry—to bury a grandfather, to carry a daughter into roots that are only half her own. That conversation was recorded before the trip. This episode was recorded during...

  8. Ep. 56: The Ones Who Came Before | 我们的先辈们

    Published during Qingming Festival—China’s annual tomb-sweeping holiday when families gather to honor their ancestors. What do we inherit from the people who came before us—and what do we pass on? This episode, Meg and Amy follow death across three continents. By the time you hear this, Meg will…

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  9. Ep. 55: What Enough Looks Like | “知足”到底是什么样？

    What does it mean to build a life that actually feels like yours? In this episode, Meg and Amy get into a more personal conversation—touching on daily rituals, career transitions, the pressure to become a mother, and what it really means to find joy outside of achievement. Meg opens up about the...

  10. Ep. 54: Becoming Someone New | 蜕变成另一个自己

    Language shapes the way we understand ourselves. And sometimes, not having the right word for what you’re going through is the loneliest part of going through it. In this episode, Meg introduces a term she’s been sitting with: matrescence—the profound physical, psychological, and emotional...

  11. Ep. 53: The Party Amy Didn’t Go To | 那场Amy选择缺席的派对

    A farewell party invitation from Amy’s former office becomes the starting point for a wider conversation between Amy and Meg about the boundaries between personal and professional relationships. As they reflect on Amy’s decision whether to attend, they examine how different cultures interpret...

  12. Ep. 52: The Next Best Thing | 眼前最好的一步

    As the Western New Year and the Chinese New Year pass, the two hosts take a moment to look back on the moments from 2025 that they are proud of. For Meg, the year was defined by becoming a mother and navigating the physical, emotional, and mental shifts that came with it—and reconsidering what...

  13. Ep. 51: Amy’s Eight-Year Career Reset｜Amy 的职业重启

    After receiving the unexpected news that this chapter in her career was closing, the only promise Amy made to herself was that she would show up for herself every day until the day her badge no longer worked. This is what she looked like the very next day, immediately after receiving the news....

  14. Ep. 50: Meg’s First Trip to China as a Mother | Meg作为母亲的首次中国之行

    In this episode, Meg and Amy continue to document life as it unfolds. They sit down to catch up on everything that’s changed—most notably, Meg’s transition into motherhood and her first trip back to China with her baby, alongside other major personal shifts happening quietly but profoundly in the...

  15. Ep. 49: Amy's 3-Day Wedding Celebration in Beijing | Amy的北京婚礼

    In this episode, Meg and Amy dive deep into Amy’s journey to love, commitment, and celebration — from her engagement story to her beautifully unconventional 3-day wedding in Beijing. Amy shares how she met her husband while studying abroad in Tel Aviv, their years navigating long-distance...

  16. Ep. 48: Since We Last Talked 久别重逢

    After an eight-month pause, Amy and Meg are back behind the mic—this time with a lot of life to catch up on. In this episode, they share personal updates, swap stories, and reflect on what it means to grow and redefine success in the middle of big life transitions. Amy opens up about her recent...

  17. Ep.47: One More Before I Go

    在我们上一次面对面录制的节目中（在Amy离开蒙大拿之前），我们回顾了在山中共度的时光，以及我们各自的2024年。此外，我们还讨论了创作障碍，Meg分享了她克服这些障碍的方法。Amy讲述了她在面对遴选困难时的叛逆精神，以及她挑选书籍影音的过程，这引发了我们对大大小小的决策进行了更广泛的讨论。点击听取更多内容！ In our last episode recorded in-person before Amy left Montana, we reflect on our time together in the mountains and 2024. Plus, we also talk...

  18. Ep.46: Letting Go - A Winter Solstice & NYE Ritual

    We’re back behind the mic after quite a hiatus (we’ve both had A LOT going on since May)! This first episode back marks a particularly special one though, because it’s the first episode we’ve EVER recorded in person. So, we ceremoniously recorded this one on Winter Solstice, around a campfire in...

  19. Ep.45: Alex Kim Heads to South Korea

    We first had Alex Kim on The Spark in July of 2022 - go back and listen to episode 31 if you haven’t already. Last time we talked, we delved into the incredible work he’s doing to get the BIPOC community outside with Here Montana. To this day, it is one of our most listened-to and engaged-with...

  20. Ep.44: Amy's Big Promotion

    Disclaimer: On April 16th, Amy had the opportunity to finally have lunch with her mentor, the former president of NYU. On the night of the Year of the Dragon New Year’s Eve, Amy found herself in tears while FaceTiming her parents. In this episode, she continues the conversation from our previous...

  21. Ep.43: To China and Back

    Meg is back from her first trip to China in five years. We said we’d be back in three weeks, but that quickly turned into eight. For Meg, jet-leg, getting back into routine, and processing this trip so that she can share her experience took a little longer. This is one of the most precise and...

  22. Ep.42: Home for the Chinese New Year

    By the time you read this, Meg will be on a plane to China for the first time in five years and you won’t hear from us for about a month. In this episode, Meg shares her thoughts as she finally gets to go back to China. Amy shares what she’ll be up to while Meg’s gone. 当你读到这条消息时，Meg...

  23. Ep.41: When is a Risk Worth Taking?

    We all take risks, big and small, every day - especially those of us who are leading unconventional lives that span across multiple countries and cultures. In this episode we ponder the question, “When is a risk worth taking?” 无论大小，我们每天都在冒险——尤其当我们是过着跨越多个国家和文化的非传统生活的人。在这一集中，我们思考一个问题，“何时冒险是值得的呢？”...

  24. Ep.40: New Year, More Us

    We’re baaaackkk! Did you miss us? In our 40th episode and first of 2024, we take some time to reflect on 2023 and share what we’re most looking forward to in 2024. Our first episode of each new year has become a ritual of sorts - a way for us to take inventory of where we’ve been and where we’re...

  25. Ep.39: AI - The Future or the Foe?

    In this episode, Meg and Amy deep dive into AI, their experiences exploring its capabilities, where they think it will be adapted and where they think it won’t, and more. Both Amy and Meg share how it is or isn’t being used in their respective fields, and Meg shares the fun ways she’s been using…

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  26. Ep.38: Field Notes - Observations, Interpretations, and Reflections of a Life Lived Wholeheartedly

    What you might not know is that when Meg is not behind the mic for The Spark Podcast, she’s writing. Surveyor of life, midwife of stories - the truest thing Meg knows about herself is that she’s a writer. In May of 2022, she started a personal newsletter called Field Notes where she shares her...

  27. Ep.37: We're All Just Barbies Living in an Oppenheimer World

    In this episode, Amy and Meg sit down to talk about the Barbie movie - because it’s a MUST. IYKYK. They talk about their experiences going to see both Barbie and Oppenheimer, how the Barbie movie was received in both America and China, the stark contrast between Barbie and Oppenheimer, and their...

  28. Ep.36: Summer Check-In

    Meg and Amy sit down for a mid-summer check-in. They talk about what they’ve been up to since the last episode, visiting past versions of themselves, work, Amy’s trip home, and more as they look forward to what fall holds for The Spark. Meg 和...

  29. Ep.35: One Life, Multiple Cities

    Meg and Amy revisited their past episode "Two Cities, Multiple Lives” after three years of turbulence, travel bans, and growth. The world may seem and feel different after the pandemic. However, upon re-listening to the episode and reexamining their lives over the past three years, they realized...

  30. Ep.34: Two Things Can Be True

    Meg and Amy reflect on episode 3: Scared But Brave, and episode 4: Hello 2020 - the two episodes recorded before the world as we knew it fell apart. Hello 2020 right? And when they look back they talk about how coincidental it was that the motto they went into to 2020 with, “Scared But Brave,”...

  31. Ep.33: Let's Start at the Beginning

    Every great story starts at the beginning. Now that The Spark is almost four years old, Meg and Amy wanted to take a look back on how it all started. They reflect on their first two episodes and from it emerges a the topic of growth. Amy shares how she’s learned to less-critical of herself and…

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  32. Ep.32: We're Back!

    Meg and Amy are back behind the mic again for their first episode of 2023! They share where they’ve been, where they’re going, and what they’ve been up to since the last episode. Plus, what’s new for The Spark and the exciting new way to connect with Meg and Amy and others in The Spark community!...

  33. Ep.31: You Belong Here - A Conversation with Alex Kim

    If you look at the outdoor industry, you usually see one type of person - white men. Alex Kim has set out to change that. Alex Kim is a first generation Korean American. Originally from Maryland, he’s the founder and director of Here Montana. Here Montana, is an outdoor program in Missoula…

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  34. Ep.30:回到梦开始的地方——再次对话楼佳凯

    然这并不是火花电台第一次采访楼佳凯，但这是我们第一次用中文与佳凯对话。佳凯是怎样从一个中国留学生，成长为一位拎着相机设备，义无反顾地深入丛林，牧场，和高山的纪录者？除了腾讯纪录片里收纳的情节，《一次远行》镜头后到底还发生了什么故事？在异国他乡学习生活多年后，如今，佳凯终于回到了老家义乌。他最近在忙什么？生活如何？ 摘下相机的佳凯，是一个什么样的人？希望通过这集，我们都可以更加了解我们的老朋友，故事叙述人，纪录片摄影人楼佳凯。...

  35. Ep.29: A One-Way Ticket Home - Catching up with Jiakai Lou

    You may have seen the recent Tencent Documentary Series, Bon Voyage, that follows five Chinese students living abroad during the pandemic. In the last episode, they follow past Spark guest, Jiakai Lou. When we first talked with Jiakai, he was in Missoula, Montana at the height of the pandemic...

  36. Ep.28: Full Circle Moment - A Conversation with Diane Schäfer-Surén

    In this solo episode, Meg caught up with the first foreign exchange student she knew who subsequently became one of her oldest and closest friends. Meg met Diane Schäfer-Surén in highschool on the Oregon Coast. The two take a walk down the memory lane, talking about all the instrumental moments...

  37. Ep.27: 从电脑前到讲台前 - 对话网络工程师李泽尧

    Amy终于在去年年底，采访到了一位她非常佩服的好朋友——李泽尧。目前，他的全职工作是一名在PINT任职的网络工程师。业余时间，他是纽约市立大学亨特学院的客座教授。从屏幕前到讲台后，作为一名年轻的外国教授，泽尧在美国公立大学教课的过程中经历了非常多有意思的身份转换和奇异故事。在这集中，我们均娓娓道来。 李泽尧是一名生长在北京，如今长居在纽约的网络工程师，设计师，以及教育者。他本科毕业于上海纽约大学，研究生毕业于纽约大学帝势艺术学院互动电子媒体学位。 感谢聆听！我们希望你能加入和我们的对话。你的评论和评分对这档播客至关重要，我们提前感谢你的参与。 你也可以和我们在以下社交平台直接对话：...

  38. Ep.26: Developing Webs and Minds - A Conversation with Zeyao Li

    In this episode, Amy had a casual conversation about careers, lifestyles, and the meaning of being a global citizen in today’s context with one of her friends, Zeyao Li. Zeyao is a web engineer at PINT, an adjunct professor at the Hunter College Film and Media Department, and a fellow Bejinger /...

  39. Ep.25: You Are Here. Happy New Year

    Amy and Meg are back with a brand new episode of The Spark in the New Year, kicking things off how it all began - in conversation, just the two of them. As they embrace the Year of the Tiger wholeheartedly, Chinese New Year brings the concept of home to mind. They realized that the concept of…

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  40. Ep.24: Our Mothers

    In this episode, Amy and Meg sit down for one final conversation of The Spark’s Motherhood Series which organically stemmed from a single episode and turned into a beautiful, sensitive, and powerful series featuring three inspiring mothers. For Amy and Meg, it only felt fitting that the last…

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  41. Ep.23: Jenny Zheng

    Raised in Shanghai, China, Jenny Zheng is a fellow millennial, entrepreneur, influencer, and a new mom in Manhattan. She is the founder of Velvet.Co, an international public relations and marketing agency and living her life to the fullest countering challenges with instinct. In this…

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  42. Ep.22: Dr. Wednesday Martin

    Dr. Wednesday Martin is a social scientist, storyteller, and #1 New York Times Bestselling Author. Her book, Primates of Park Avenue (translated into “I Am a Mother, I Need the Hermes Birkin Bag” in Chinese), stirred up a heated debate across oceans and sparked an greater awareness around...

  43. Ep.21: 酷妈黛安娜

    赞了：在母亲节之际，我们决定发布与一位实实在在的超能女性的对话。她是“酷妈黛安娜”。曾经的她是一位投行人士，一位时尚设计师，以及竞技拉丁舞舞者。现在，她是两个男孩的妈妈（认真的，她简直是全能）正巧录制于国际妇女节，黛安娜和Meg还有Amy分享了作为一位在不同文化和不同国家之间，养育具有世界观的小朋友的经历和故事。当黛安娜成为妈妈的时候，她必须学习如何重塑自己的崩塌的个人身份。内容创作和录制视频帮助她找回了内心的平静。在创作的世界中，她想利用自己的平台，讲述那些值得被听见的伟大和充满力量的女性和母亲的故事。 This is a public episode. If you would…

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  44. Ep.20: Cool Mum Dianna

    We're celebrating Mother's Day by kicking off a Motherhood Series in conversation with a true wonder woman and "cool mum," Dianna Lee. She's a former investment banker turned fashion designer, a Latin ballroom dancer and mother to two boys (Seriously, she does it all). Recorded by happenstance on...

  45. Ep.19: Unlocking Creativity - A Conversation with Pelayo Alvarez

    Pelayo Alvarez is the host, founder, and producer of The Forbidden Apple Podcast, a space to reclaim your spirituality. He’s also been one of Amy’s best friends for the past three years after she moved to New York City. Pelayo grew up in the Catholic Church in Gijon, a northwestern city in Spain....

  46. Ep.18: The Latitudes of 2020 - A Conversation with Shihui Zhou

    The third installment of the “Artist Series,” Meg and Amy dive deep into conversation with, founder of Latitude Gallery in New York City, Shihui Zhou. In this episode, Shihui Zhou shares her story and invites us all to come along with the adventure that is opening an art gallery in 2020, that...

  47. Ep.17: From the Outside Looking In - A Conversation with Jiakai Lou

    You may have heard about Ting Zhao, the documentary filmmaker who recently became the first Asian Woman to win a Golden Globe for her film 'Nomad Land' - a film observing U.S. culture. Our guest on this episode of The Spark Podcast is an aspiring documentary filmmaker and visual journalist...

  48. 第十六集: 睁开双眼，敞开心扉 - 和Ariel Ziyi Cui的对话

    生长在北京的 Ariel Ziyi Cui从小就知道自己长大后想成为一个艺术家。从五岁拿起画笔的那一刻起，她就再也没有将笔放下。三年前，她来到纽约学习设计。今天，她在纽约的一家精品住宅建筑事务所做与室内整修相关的工作。她终于实现梦想，并且成为了一位展览和室内设计师。作为火花电台“艺术家系列”的第一位嘉宾，在访谈和交流中我们深入探索了在他想寻找灵感，追随创作热情的过程。对于Ariel而言，在不同文化间穿梭的生活方式让她终于可以睁开双眼，敞开心扉地生活。 Born and raised in Beijing, Ariel Ziyi Cui always knew she wanted to…

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  49. Ep.15: Open Eyes, Open Heart - A Conversation with Ariel Ziyi Cui

    Born and raised in Beijing, Ariel Ziyi Cui always knew she wanted to be an artist. She began painting at five years old and never stopped. Three years ago, she came to New York to study design. Today, she’s an exhibition and interior designer, and working for a boutique residential architecture...

  50. Ep.14: The Journey Here - A Conversation with Haocheng Wang

    The second guest on The Spark podcast is someone who Amy’s heard about most of her life, but Meg met him first. The Spark literally wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for this guest. Because of him, Amy and Meg met in the first place. Haocheng Wang is a prosecutor for the State of Montana and Meg’s...

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

The Spark is a podcast that explores what it means to traverse cultures and share stories that intersect Chinese and American culture to interrupt barriers and create connections. The Spark is a cultural haven - A space held by a friendship between two women from two different countries, meeting at the point where their cultures, identities and stories intersect. Their conversations are grounded in transparency as they move beyond previous perceptions and ideas of the other to form deep connections as human beings first.这是一个由两个来自不同文化背景的女生创造的广播平台。Amy Tianyi Zhao (微博：赵枣儿Amy）虽然来自中国，但她的教育背景和生活履历让她与西方文化产生了强烈的共鸣。Megan Dowaliby 虽然来自美国，但来自中国的老公让她对中国产生了浓厚的兴趣。两个完全不同的女生在一张传统中国餐桌上相遇。语言的交流引发了思想的碰撞。在那次晚餐两年后的今天，火花电台诞生。我们相信，一个人的国籍，以及其居住地并不能代表TA的文化身份。在一个全球化的时代，我们在不同文化中看到自己的影子，每个人都可能是很多文化交流和互动的产物。我们希望通过她们的对话和讨论，加深人们对“跨文化”身份的认同，赋予人们了解世界的激情和力量，最终达到促进世界，尤其是中美两国互相理解的进程。

thesparkpodcast.substack.com

HOSTED BY

Amy Tianyi Zhao & Meg Dowaliby

CATEGORIES

society culture arts

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does The Spark Podcast 火花 have?

The Spark Podcast 火花 currently has 63 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is The Spark Podcast 火花 about?

The Spark is a podcast that explores what it means to traverse cultures and share stories that intersect Chinese and American culture to interrupt barriers and create connections. The Spark is a cultural haven - A space held by a friendship between two women from two different countries, meeting at...

How often does The Spark Podcast 火花 release new episodes?

The Spark Podcast 火花 has 63 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

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Who hosts The Spark Podcast 火花?

The Spark Podcast 火花 is created and hosted by Amy Tianyi Zhao & Meg Dowaliby.
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