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Weekly Wanderings: June 24, 2025
June is almost over, and I have no idea where the month went. Well, that’s not entirely true. June has been a morass of worrying about the world. Of enduring a violent heat wave. Of feeling like I should be taking advantage of the Michigan summer—but ugh, I have so much else to do. Of…
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Wall Street Journal: “Twins Torn Apart”
I’ve just published a new book review at the Wall Street Journal, about Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins, by journalist Barbara Demick: “You’re not allowed to keep this child,” a Family Planning official informed Xiuhua. Another man held her wailing 21-month-old niece,…
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Weekly Wanderings: June 15, 2025
Thanks for joining me this week. New Goodreads Review Recommendations China Stories Christopher Beam, “How I Accidentally Inspired a Major Chinese Motion Picture” Rachel Cheung, “The Hunt for an Heir” Over the past decade, applicants across the continent have traded prestigious academic institutions in countries like Britain and the United States for Chinese alternatives, attracted…
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Weekly Wanderings: June 8, 2025
Last week I wrote about Marco Rubio’s announcement that the United States would curtail the number of Chinese student studying at American universities. Since then, there has been no further information from Rubio about what he meant, but Donald Trump appears to be walking back his Secretary of State’s message. In speaking with General Secretary…
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The Party’s Interests Come First: Five Takeaways
Today is publication day for The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping, by Joseph Torigian. Those of us who occupy nerdy China circles have long been anticipating this book, which is a comprehensive examination of Xi Zhongxun’s life and his work in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). A…
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Weekly Wanderings: June 1, 2025
On Wednesday, May 28, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the government would “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students” and “revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications” from mainland China or Hong Kong. While what that means, exactly, is pretty vague, the overall message is clear: the Trump Administration…
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Weekly Wanderings: May 25, 2025
In the Michigan running community, Memorial Day weekend means one thing: Bayshore. It’s a shorthand, an in-the-know reference to the start-of-summer event officially called “Traverse City Track Club Bayshore™️ Presented by Munson Healthcare.” There’s a full marathon, a half marathon, and a 10K, and all three usually sell out. This year, that meant a total…
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Weekly Wanderings: May 18, 2025
Thanks for joining me this week. Recommendations China Stories Juliana Yat Shun Kei, “Do you know this place used to be a camp?” Fred Pearce, “China’s Mega Dam Project Poses Big Risks for Asia’s Grand Canyon” Stella Robertson, “Has the Milk Tea Alliance Spoiled?” “Whipling”, “China’s army launches media hiring spree” Xinrui Zhuang, “Africa and…
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Bookshelf: Hurricane Katrina
Today’s post is the second of two on books I’ve read about New Orleans over the past few months. To read part one, on the city’s history, please click here. Thin, sketchy lines and muted colors fill the pages of Drowned City, a graphic history of Hurricane Katrina by writer and artist Don Brown. Written…
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Bookshelf: New Orleans and Its History
I went to New Orleans for the first time earlier this year. I’ve been to plenty of places that I visit once and then leave behind—glad I went, but not determined to return. New Orleans was different. I’m certainly not the first person to say this: the city is famous for drawing people in and…
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Maura Elizabeth Cunningham 