The rise of Chinese SF

One of the podcasts that I listen to frequently is On The Media from WNYC Studios. If you haven't listened to it, it's a great weekly program that dissects the state of the media and journalism, covering everything from the plight of imprisoned journalists to presidential memoirs to the story of alt-weeklies. They do a short, mid-week podcast and a longer episode on Fridays. It's one of the podcasts that I turn to first when it comes up on my feed.

A couple of weeks ago, the show broadcast an excellent segment about the rise of Chinese science fiction, which you can listen to here:

‘The Three Body Problem’ And the Rise of Chinese Science Fiction | On the Media | WNYC Studios

The evolution of science fiction in China, from accusations of “spiritual pollution” to the spotlight.

WNYC Studios

This is something that I've been keenly interested in for a number of years. I wrote a piece for Barnes & Noble that covers a lot of the same ground a number of years ago, and one of the stories that eluded me was a deep dive into Chinese SF and its role as a sort of political soft power tool.

I appreciated the angle that this segment covers: a look at how China is using science fiction as not only an entertainment industry, but how it figures into the much larger story of where China's at these days, and how the genre has fallen in and out of favor over the years.