Many of us–who maybe aren’t historians–have an image of the Silk Road: merchants who carried silk from China to as far as ancient Rome, in one of the first global trading networks. Historians have since challenged the idea that there really was such an organized network, instead seeing it as a nineteenth-century metaphor that obscures as much as it explains.
But Xin Wen, the author of The King’s Road: Diplomacy and the Remaking of the Silk Road(Princeton University Press, 2023), tries to revive the idea that there really was a “Silk Road,” at least for the people of Dunhuang, in what is now China’s Gansu Province. His book explains that there really were convoys traveling back-and-forth along an established route–though they likely saw themselves as diplomats more than merchants.
“People in Dunhuang, of course, did not not exactly call the road that connected them with their neighbors the “Silk Road.” Nevertheless, had they been asked about it, they likely would have found the phrase entirely intelligible, even meaningful,” he writes.
Xin Wen is assistant professor of East Asian studies and history at Princeton University. His research interests in medieval China also include manuscript culture, urban history, and digital humanities.
Today, Xin Wen and I talk about the Silk Road, the Dunhuang Archive, and the risks of orienting too much of the history of Central and East Asia around China.
Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon.
With new legislation being advanced in Congress that's ostensibly designed to address the regulatory failures that led to two Norfolk Southern train derailments in Ohio this year, it's important to understand the causes of that accident and what would authentically help. Glenn Kessler's Washington Post fact check along with some other mainstream coverage suggest that a narrative is emerging that limits the cause of the accident to just one issue -- overheating wheel bearings. Is there a risk that defining the cause narrowly will curb legislation that addresses more systemic problems, like meager staffing lax regulations for hazardous materials? David Sirota and The Lever have done the most comprehensive reporting to date re who is responsible for the crash. Together, we walk though Kessler's fact check, fact check it in return, and discuss the mainstream media disinformation campaign to punt blame.
What to know about a new kind of storm coming to parts of the country that already dealt with rounds of heavy snow.
Also, what the Justice Department says needs to change at a big city police department and why.
Plus, the reason California is cutting ties with Walgreens, what's behind an earlier and longer allergy season this year, and how ChatGPT did as a comedy writer.
Those stories and more news to know in around 10 minutes!
A fresh round of public anger is growing in Iran, and the focus is now on a series of suspected school poisonings, which may be targeting girls and young women. Suzanne Kianpour, a foreign affairs correspondent for BBC News, explains why Iranians fear it could be “retaliation” for the women-led protests over the death of Mahsa Amini.
And in headlines: Israeli military forces killed at least six Palestinians during a raid in the occupied West Bank, the Justice Department found widespread racist abuse by the Louisville police department, and a recent study shows there are more single women than ever before.
Crooked Coffee is officially here. Our first blend, What A Morning, is available in medium and dark roasts. Wake up with your own bag at crooked.com/coffee
A new book exposes the "lie" of transgender identity, the damage it does to children and families, and the money trail propping it up, the authors say.
"The transgender movement is actually an industry," Jeff Myers, president of Summit Ministries and one of the book's co-authors, told The Daily Signal in an interview Wednesday. Pharmaceutical companies and activists use it "to elevate themselves into positions of political power and to earn obscene profits."
The book, "Exposing the Gender Lie: How to Protect Children and Teens from the Transgender Industry's False Ideology," went live Wednesday and is available in a free ebook version on Summit's website. Myers co-wrote the book with Brandon Showalter, a reporter at The Christian Post.
Myers and Showalter join "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss their new book and expose the transgender lie.
Paris Marx is joined by Dan McQuillan to discuss how AI systems encourage ranking populations and austerity policies, and why understanding their politics is essential to opposing them.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Dan mentions TWIML as a podcast that has conversations with industry players that’s informative for how these technologies work (though you’re not likely to get a critical perspective on them), and Achille Mbembe’s book Necropolitics.
Imagine if the members of your group chat shared more than memes but also shared a bank account, or if the early users of a social media app helped decide how that app grew, made money, and moderated content. How does the group make decisions and make sure everyone is heard? Who decides how the money is spent? These are some of the questions Friends with Benefits (FWB), a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) has had to answer. Baratunde talks with FWB Mayor Alex Zhang about DAOs, online community-building, and Web3 to find out if the way we citizen online can positively affect how we citizen IRL.
SHOW ACTIONS
Internally Reflect - How we shape the spaces we inhabit
Take a moment and think about your relationship to the digital spaces you spend time in. This could be social media, gaming, or a group chat. Where do you feel like an active participant, where you set the terms and tone of the environment? Where do you feel passive, like someone else is in charge? How might you change that relationship?
Become more informed - Web3, squads, and digital public spaces
We can create a healthier culture of democracy through web3 beyond starting and joining DAOs. If you’re new to this world, the New York Times’ has a great primer on Web3.
Once you’ve read that, take a deep dive into the history of “Squads”— a form of social and economic organizing that is shifting power and social dynamics away from an individualistic society.
If our conversation with Alex made you curious, check out our episode with Eli Pariser from New_Public. We go deep on how to better design digital public spaces.
Publicly participate -Sharing power and setting culture in groups
You’re likely a part of a group, a tenants or homeowners association, a parent group, a committee at work. The next time you’re at one of your meetings, take note of how the group makes decisions. Who speaks? Who is silent? What areas are open to input? What is considered off-the-table? Is there even an agenda!? Over time see if you can identify the kind of culture the group has: chaotic? Deferential?
Can you find any opportunities for the group to make that culture more small-d democratic, by rotating speaking or leadership roles, or openly acknowledging how decisions are made and how that might shift? We don’t need to find new groups and spaces to practice this democracy thing—let’s start where we are.
SHOW NOTES
Check out our episode with Taiwan's Digital Minister, Audrey Tang for more on quadratic voting, and our episode with Pia Mancini, cofounder of Open Collective, a platform empowering collectives and mutual aid groups with new transparent, decentralized financial tools.
Find How To Citizen on Instagram or visit howtocitizen.com to join our mailing list and find ways to citizen besides listening to this podcast!
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How To Citizen is hosted by Baratunde Thurston. He’s also host and executive producer of the PBS series, America Outdoors as well as a founding partner and writer at Puck. You can find him all over the internet.
CREDITS
How To Citizen with Baratunde is a production of iHeartRadio Podcasts and Rowhome Productions. Our Executive Producers are Baratunde Thurston and Elizabeth Stewart. Allie Graham is our Lead Producer and Danya AbdelHameid is our Associate Producer. Alex Lewis is our Managing Producer. John Myers is our Executive Editor. Original Music by Andrew Eapen and Blue Dot Sessions. Our Audience Engagement Fellows are Jasmine Lewis and Gabby Rodriguez. Special thanks to Joelle Smith from iHeartRadio and Layla Bina.
Special thanks to our citizen voices Tania F., Ned K., Sara H., and Janine D.
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In this week’s episodes, we dig into an excellent (and very long) new law article, which is crucial for understanding the history, mechanics, constraints, and consequences of venture capitalism. How did this very particular model of investment, which is guided by its own idiosyncratic interests and structural imperatives, come to hold the reins of our global innovation system? And what does that mean for how key decisions are made about technological development?
Article we discuss:
••• Enhancing the Innovative Capacity of Venture Capital | Peter Lee https://yjolt.org/enhancing-innovative-capacity-venture-capital
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Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)
Today, Liz and Andrew break down how the Democrats are playing offense with respect to Republican efforts to gaslight America and whitewash the findings of the January 6th Committee.
Specifically, they tell you about the 316-page report on GOP Witnesses that Jim Jordan is trying (and failing) to call whistleblowers. You won't want to miss this breakdown! But first, Andrew has to update you on the latest right-wing lies about that dingus Raland Brunson and his nonsense pleadings in the Supreme Court.
