The Economist - USA (2020-08-29)

TheEconomistAugust 29th 2020 29

1

M

uxi makescables that charge smart-

phones in a factory near Shanghai.

The work is boring, he says, but at least his

boss lets him wear Bluetooth earphones.

That way, for six days a week, 11 hours a day,

as his hands fly across the assembly line,

his mind fills. First, the 24-year-old lis-

tened to audiobooks. Then, online classes.

Now, he prefers podcasts. As the Commu-

nist Party has tightened control over me-

dia, and China’s vapid pop culture has be-

come ever more shallow in response,

podcasts have become a niche where

thinking people can find unexpected, and

sometimes controversial, content.

The tone can be gauged from the pod-

casts’ names, the perennial dark humour of

Chinese intellectuals seeping through.

“The Weirdo” is one of Muxi’s favourites.

Hosted by three former journalists, it

strives to cater to those who live up to its ti-

tle. Recent episodes have discussed the

challenges that Chinese men face if they

identify as feminists, and the problem of

racism in China towards black people, both

topics that are considered quite alterna-

tive. Muxi (not his real name) also enjoys

“The Unemployable”, which tells stories

about people who rebel against the pres-

sures of modern life by becoming freelan-

cers, taking gap years and travelling—ac-

tions rarely encouraged in a country where

bosses extol a “996” working culture (9am

to 9pm, six days a week).

China’s internet users have long relied

on creativity to produce and consume the

content they want. Twitter, Facebook, You-

Tube and Instagram are blocked, though

the inquisitive use virtual private networks

(vpns) to reach them. China’s home-grown

social-media giants, Weibo and WeChat,

which both allowed relatively free discus-

sion when first launched, are now strictly

monitored by censors, as are the country’s

other thriving platforms.

The podcasts provide something differ-

ent, and deeper. A high-school student ex-

plains why she became a climate-change

activist. A woman recalls being abused as a

child by her father in rural China as the

neighbours watched. A feminist grapples

with her traditional Chinese wedding.

The shows are mostly popular with two

different groups of people. The first is

young urban intellectuals. More than 85%

are graduates, and almost 90% of listeners

are under 35, according to a survey con-

ducted by PodFest China. “The hosts genu-

inely want to have discussions and are not

obsessed with sensationalism,” says Eva

Lin, a college student in the eastern city of

Yantai, who loves the companionship pod-

casts provide to help her cope with depres-

sion. The second group is more diverse, but

includes many from the other end of the

social spectrum, like Muxi, who first trav-

elled to the coast five years ago from a poor

village 2,000km inland. “Sometimes I find

the hosts’ views a bit elitist but most of the

time I find myself agreeing,” he says.

Podcast content is usually less sensa-

tionalist than what is commonly found on

Chinese social-media platforms. There are

far better options for content creators in

search of traffic and money, says Fang Ke-

cheng of the Chinese University of Hong

Podcasting

Listening in

Amid a broader media clampdown, there are still pockets of

independent thinking

China

30 Matronymics

31 Chaguan: System, heal thyself

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