Wo Men Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

The latest mass outbreak of COVID-19 in China has impacted people's lives, with over 5000 new cases reported each day this week. While the numbers are small compared with what other countries have experienced during the pandemic, the most recent outbreak is the largest in China since 2020. Many residents in major cities like Shanghai and the tech hub of Shenzhen have been told to remain in their homes, and officials in several jurisdictions have given orders for full or partial lockdowns. After feeling safe and protected for the past two years by China's Zero Covid Policy, Chinese people have, for the first time, started to question whether this policy is effectively dealing with the new omicron variant.

Our Co-Host Yajun is now on her 16th day of being forced to stay inside her apartment complex due to a case of COVID being reported in the same compound. Co-Host Karoline was just released from mandatory quarantine after returning to China from a trip overseas. In this episode, Yajun and Karoline shared their personal experiences and observations of how public opinion has started to shift regarding China's  Zero COVID strategy. 

When people feel confused or uncertain about their lives, some turn to fortune-tellers or psychics for guidance and advice. China has a long tradition of fortune-telling, soothsaying, and even exorcisms and shamanism.

Those living in the Northeastern part of the country consult people known as Daxian (大仙), which can be translated as "spirit mediums" or "spirit possessors"). Daxian are the representatives of a local religion, combining shamanism and animal worship (including weasels, foxes, mice, snakes, and hedgehogs). According to legend, once these animal spirits possess their bodies, the daxian can cure disease or predict the future.  

We talk to Vicky, a native of Northeastern China. She describes her personal experiences of consulting a daxian for help when she had difficulties maintaining a long-term relationship. She also shares her recent discovery about the extent her family was involved with this local religion.  

Many people have thought about quitting their 9-to-5 job to travel around the world, but few people carry out their plan. One couple made it happen and found a new career inspiration and life direction along the way.

Faye and Celyn live in Beijing. Faye worked at a Chinese agricultural company. Celyn (celynbricker.com) was an artist who had always been interested in using art as a lens to look at social issues. They quit their jobs, left Beijing with just two backpacks, and arrived in Africa as the first stop. They planned to travel along the human migration route and record the highlights of their journey as a documentary. They didn't have a clear agenda in terms of what stories they were going to collect, but it did not take them long before they found that climate change was a term that frequently appeared in conversations with local communities.

Climate change interrupted people's agricultural routines, caused conflicts between different groups of people, and threatened local religions' survival. It even contributed to the rise of the HIV infection rate in certain areas as climate change affected the kinds of economic opportunities that had previously been empowering women.

Along the way, they also learned the wisdom to live harmoniously with nature.

After returning to China, the couple decided to focus on climate-related art projects and founded Celu Studio to provide a public platform to learn more and take positive action.

In this episode, Karoline Kan sits down with Faye and Celyn to learn more about their journey and their new platform for tackling one of the world's most important and pressing issues.

How do you do it? Where do you find the time? Women in leadership positions are frequently asked how they balance family life and their career. Which makes us wonder: why don't we ask the same questions of male executives? Is it less of an issue for men, or are they just more reluctant to talk about work-life balance, fearing that it might not conform to the expectations of a strong boss focused on his work and leading his team? Perhaps what is needed is a safe space for male leaders to challenge these stereotypes and talk about their challenges juggling family, marriage, and a successful career.

You wouldn't think that the high-wattage conclave of World Economic Forum's (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos would provide that kind of cozy safe space, but that's exactly where a group of "Davos Dads" gathers to share their family struggles and swap parenting tips.

In this episode, we talked to David Aikman. David is the Chief Representative Officer of Greater China for WEF. This year, the annual meeting is hosted virtually, but David talks about organizing the "Dads group" at past meetings. David also shares with us his views on leadership and the experiences he has learned from nearly two decades working with some of the world's top leaders.

Schools all over China have signs and banners exhorting students to hao hao xuexi, tiantian shang shang ("Study hard and make progress every day"). Being a kid -- or a parent! -- in China means a lot of pressure to compete and succeed and the educational system is built around the college entrance exams. Students sacrifice their childhood and freedom for hours and hours of homework and after-school programs to "win the game at the starting point" and secure a promising future.

But are exams and homework the purpose of education?

Quite a few people in China have been exploring alternative solutions and approaches. In this episode, we talked to Chen Zishu, a Harvard-educated student who brought her ideas and actions back to China. She tells us about her academic and professional journey and shares her observations about China's education-industrial complex.

It seems like every email we have received recently begins with "In this challenging year…" Well 2020, your time is almost up. You only have a few days left before we turn the page to 2021.

Every year at this time, we look back on the year that was and talk about our plans for the future. In this episode, Yajun, Jingjing, and Karoline discuss surviving a global pandemic, their thoughts on a new global order while also talking about their personal highlights (and low-lights) of 2020, including new babies, family health emergencies, lockdown blues, and the challenge of staying motivated while the world seems to be falling apart. Finally, the ladies share their new year resolutions because 2021 has got to be an improvement over 2020, right? Right!?!?!?

Over the past few weeks, the US election has dominated the news worldwide, even in China. Chinese people have been fascinated to watch an odd political soap opera unfold in the United States beginning with the election of Donald Trump back in 2016. Four years later, despite harsh rhetoric and aggressive policies directed at China, Trump still has supporters here. Today we ask the question: Why is Donald Trump still so popular in China?

Joining us for this episode is Patricia, a Chinese lawyer who works in a multinational tech company. She Chinese. She is a woman. And she is a Trump supporter. If you're wondering why, well…so are we. So we invited Patricia on our show to tell us her views about how she came to support Donald Trump and why she is still a fan.

China's economy is getting back to normal. However, the outbreak of Covid-19 still changed many people's lives forever. Some of them were fired while others spent months job hunting, and many more used the crisis to re-value the things they used to take for granted.

Life almost one year after the first case of coronavirus is permanently different for many people. How has this changed their view of the world and their future?

Karoline Kan speaks with Song, a 29-year-old man who used to work at some top international financial consulting firms and never met a challenge in his career. Song quit his job a few years ago to enroll in an international MBA program, hoping that experience would help him further develop his career. He was always confident in his educational background and working experience. Song never imagined an unprecedented public crisis would change his career path and how he feels about so many things in life and career.

What to do now? Join a multi-national company or China's state-owned system? Should he prioritize ambition or stability?

In this episode, we look at the fragility of life for China's middle class. How has the Covid-19 crisis changed people's hopes, fears, ambitions, and worries?

For many people worldwide, the protests in Hong Kong have been a news story in a year full of news. But the demonstrations and political crisis have deeply affected Hong Kongers dividing the city and even families. Michelle is from Hong Kong but living in Japan and has been arguing with her girlfriend – who is from mainland China – about the protests. What happens when different backgrounds, viewpoints, and media consumption starts to come between a couple?

In our latest episode, Michelle explains to us why the Hong Kong issue is so complicated. Even in her own family, her parents, brothers, and Michelle all have different takes on the situation. Meanwhile, Michelle and her girlfriend try to communicate their different beliefs with patience, open minds, and open hearts. Michelle also shares the challenges a same-sex couple faces in Hong Kong and on the mainland and how she and her girlfriend have used persistence and wisdom to navigate a range of family obstacles as they build a future together.

2020 has been a challenging year. Many families experienced an incredible sense of loss, sadness, and desperation as they lost family members to Covid-19. Meanwhile, other families welcomed new life who brought love and hope during a difficult time.

Our co-host, Jingjing, and our close friend, Annie, each gave birth this year and it was not easy. They suffered from both physical and psychological challenges that a new mother would not face in a typical year, including labor without an epidural due to a shortage of maternity staff in the hospital and risking exposure to the COVID-19 virus. They worried about how to ensure the safety of their new babies during a global pandemic. In this episode, Annie and Jingjing share their personal experience of giving birth in the year of COVID-19.