Podcast

This is the transcript of episode 06 of my podcast Reasoned Talk (议正言辞). Listen on Xiaoyuzhou or Apple Podcast . The episode is in Chinese; this transcript has been translated into English. On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its final, substantive judgment on the question of birthright citizenship. By a 6-3 vote, the nine justices struck down the Trump administration’s Executive Order No. 14160, further cementing the birthright citizenship guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. This is a judgment worthy of a place in the annals of American constitutional history. ...

This is the transcript of episode 05 of my podcast Reasoned Talk (议正言辞). Listen on Xiaoyuzhou or Apple Podcast . The episode is in Chinese; this transcript has been translated into English. On February 26, 2026, the renowned jurist Gao Mingxuan, often called a grand master of Chinese criminal law, died of illness at the age of ninety-eight. As one of the first generation of legal scholars trained after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Gao’s life was almost a living history of Chinese criminal law. He was the only scholar who participated throughout the drafting of the PRC’s first Criminal Law. He was China’s first doctoral supervisor in criminal law. He wrote the first legal monograph published after reform and opening up, and co-edited the first nationally unified criminal law textbook. ...

This is the transcript of Episode 04 of my podcast Reasoned Talk . You can listen on Xiaoyuzhou or Apple Podcasts . The episode itself is in Chinese. Three Ways of Remembering Defeat Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, enjoys strong domestic support, while her hard-right statements have once again sent Sino-Japanese relations toward a low point. This is not entirely new. Far-right forces were never completely uprooted after the Second World War, and Japan has long struggled to reach a consensus on war and history. Irreconcilable currents coexist within the country, while the government’s position shifts with public opinion. As a result, relations with China and South Korea periodically become tense. ...

This is the transcript of episode 03 of my podcast Reasoned Talk (议正言辞). Listen on Xiaoyuzhou or Apple Podcasts . The episode is in Chinese; this transcript has been translated into English. Timing note: This episode was released on July 4, 2025. The body preserves the state of the litigation and the analysis at the time of publication. For later developments in the merits of the birthright-citizenship dispute, see the transcript of episode 06 . ...

This is the transcript of episode 02 of my podcast Reasoned Talk (议正言辞). Listen on Xiaoyuzhou or Apple Podcasts . The episode is in Chinese; this transcript has been translated into English. The Revenge of Xu Yuanqing In the late seventh century, during the reign of Wu Zetian, a controversial act of revenge took place. The central figure was Xu Yuanqing, a resident of Xiagui County in Tongzhou, around today’s Weinan in Shaanxi. His father, Xu Shuang, had once been a local official. Years earlier, he had been put to death by the county commandant Zhao Shiyun. The historical record does not explain in detail why Xu Shuang was executed. ...