This is a re-release of Season 01 Episode 28: The Pain Whisperer (Lissanthea Taylor, Pain Management Practitioner) Chapters 00:00 - Intro 02:20 - Part 1 17:52 - Part 2 Subscribe to the PREMIUM version,...

This is a re-release of Season 01 Episode 14: The Aquarium Queen (Emily Madge, Asia Head of Conservation, Sea Life). Chapters 00:00 - Intro 02:20 - Part 1 18:28 - Part 2 Subscribe to the PREMIUM version,...

This is a re-release of Season 02 Episode 17: The Swedish Clown (Björn DAHLMAN, Clowns Without Borders). This is the full version, including content that was previously only available on the PREMIUM...

Around the same time as launching Mosaic of China, I also embarked on a period of study at Shanghai Jiaotong University, starting with a course in Mandarin language followed by a Masters in Modern Chinese...

In three seasons of the Mosaic of China podcast, we've already covered a large chunk of the A-Z of life in China. In today's episode, we're fast-forwarding to the end, not just because Zhou Yan's name starts...

To many, the image of an airline pilot conjures up thoughts of confident commanders in crisp tailored uniforms, living a life of excitement, romance and adventure. But what about the life of an airline...

There's a field of academic study that sits at the intersection of geology and fashion, and that's gemology: the study of gemstones. Identifying, categorising and grading gemstones is a specific skillset, but...

In the 1840s, French missionaries attempted to enter Tibet, and kept getting pushed back to an area at the Northwestern tip of modern-day 云南 [Yúnnán] Province. Today, this region preserves an astonishing and...

Things are finally looking up for international sportswear brands in China in 2023. For the previous few years, almost all brands were suffering due to instability of the market during COVID and the rise in...

In 1996, China acquired a decommissioned Soviet aircraft carrier, with the express intention of using it as the centrepiece of a theme park in the city of 天津 [Tiānjīn]. Today, the 濱海 [Bīnhǎi] Aircraft Carrier...

By now you've probably heard about Burning Man, the festival that in recent years attracts over 80,000 participants to the deserts of Nevada. But did you know that there's an equivalent event in China called...

I don't often talk about my career before podcasting. But in today's special bonus episode, I had the excuse to do just that with Francis Kremer from the China Flexpat podcast. In our chat, recorded back in...

We've reached the halfway point of Season 03. And following in the tradition from previous seasons, we're marking the occasion with a special bonus episode, and an extra special bonus guest. This particular...

Yes, today's episode is all about what it's like to live in China with Tourette syndrome (妥瑞症). But what it's really about is neurodiversity. Some people still have a defensive attitude towards those of us...

The environment is one of those topics that we all know we need to talk about, but at the same time desperately want to avoid. None of us want to be lectured on all the things we're doing wrong, and none of...

There are two themes of today’s show: the first is location, and the second is queer identity. There exist derogatory stereotypes about both, which could be described as either xenophobic or homophobic....

Is there anything more pathetically banal than talking about sleep? We all do it, so… who cares? Until recent years, that's what many of us would have said. But these days there's a growing recognition that...

There are some people who view video gaming at best as a time-wasting distraction, and at worst as a vice. But in listening to today's episode with the game designer Simon Chapuis, even detractors will...

The country of Mongolia is sandwiched between Russia and China, and there are ethnic Mongolian areas in all three countries. So when talking about Mongolian people in China, it's not always clear whether...

Sometimes big themes can be tackled through the guise of performance art. In previous episodes of the podcast, we have explored how drag performers can teach us to embrace our own weirdness, and how clowns...

Sometimes big themes can be tackled through the guise of performance art. In previous episodes of the Mosaic of China podcast, we have explored how drag performers can teach us to embrace our own weirdness,...

The economic developments of the last three decades in China have propelled forward an entire generation. But when we strive for opportunity and prosperity, are we prepared for the knock-on effects on the...

Some people still have the outdated image in their heads of China as a country of grim sweatshops and cheap manual labour. In fact, China is the country which boasts the largest number of robots deployed in...

They say it takes a village to raise a child. That doesn't just include parents, teachers and care-givers, in China it often also includes grandparents and domestic helpers. Indeed, the raising of kids...

China is a country of cities, and mega-cities... and mega-mega-cities. But guess what folks, in between these cities is a whole bunch of countryside. And as we question whether our modern urban lifestyles are...

I would wager that all of us have stepped foot into a gym or a fitness studio, even if it was to immediately step out again. But that's the point of today's episode with Siri Nordhejm, Co-Founder of Z&B...

When you think of an alcoholic drink that’s made out of traditional Chinese ingredients, you might not immediately think of… gin. But that’s exactly what came to the mind of Fergus Woodward six years ago when...

You don't need to be a fan of comic books to understand their galactic-superhero-sized impact on the Zeitgeist. But what about in China? Are there fans of comic books here? And if so, who are they and what do...

We may not understand it yet, but at this point we’ve all heard about the Metaverse. Some of us can’t wait to embrace it; others are already bitterly opposed to it. But it’s coming, whether we like it or not....

Hello, I’m Oscar. In this trailer, I introduce the new features of Season 03 of the Mosaic of China podcast, including the PREMIUM version of the show that's available on: Apple Podcasts Subscriptions...

Being locked into our compounds hasn't been a fun experience for the residents of Shanghai over the last month. But we will survive this inconvenience, and we will hopefully be all the more grateful for the...

If language is one of the most important keys to unlocking a culture, then today's tenth and final compilation episode from Season 02 of the show perhaps represents the epitome of what I’m trying to achieve...

In today’s penultimate compilation episode from Season 02, we’re talking about the favourite places people like to frequent in China. Whether you’re looking for recommendations of street food, high-end...

We're coming up to the Spring Festival in China, so please consider this to be your Chinese New Year gift. It's the compilation episode of the favourite WeChat stickers from the guest of Season 02. With...

In today's special compilation episode from Season 02 of the show, we listen to how 30 people answered the question: “If you left China, what would you miss the most, and what would you miss the...

To mark the final episode of 2021, we're switching away from our usual programming to include an edited version of the discussion that Oscar had on The Honest Drink podcast. Recorded a few weeks ago, the...

Today’s special compilation from Season 02 is all about where people get their news and information from about China. Around the world, news and journalism continues to get more consolidated, more...

It's that time of year where our thoughts turn to... buying stuff we don't really need. In China, we've just had the annual Singles' Day online shopping bonanza. And the U.S. equivalent of Cyber Monday is...

Do you know why Chinese politicians have lustrous black hair? Do you know why you wouldn’t write '1,000,000' in China? And do you know why pandas do handstands? If the answer to any of those question is...

This week's compilation episode from Season 02 is about the things which surprise people the most about life in China. No matter whether you're a China outsider or someone who's been living here for decades,...

These days you don't *need* to be a fan of KTV (karaoke) to thrive in China. But it certainly helps to have a favourite song prepared, just in case your friends, colleagues or clients force you to join them...

As we come up to the October ‘Golden Week’ holidays in China, wouldn’t you like to hear the opinions of 30 people on their favourite travel destinations within Mainland China? Your wish is my command! In...

It's time to reflect on Season 02 of Mosaic of China. So for today's special Wrap-Up episode, I invited Logan Brouse from Tacolicious to interview me, and to share his thoughts on podcasting in China, in the...

One of the themes that comes up a lot in Mosaic of China is the idea that people who can span different cultures can often gain a certain superpower when it comes to analysing their own culture. It's that...

Murray King is one of those people who took an early bet on China, and applied for a Beijing posting with the Canadian diplomatic service in the 1990s. Fast forward two decades, and he was part of the team...

Zhao Huiling was born in Shanghai, and spent the formative years of her life in West Africa. The experience changed her life, and still informs her work - and her world view - to this day. So it's useful for...

We all know the old stories about fake goods in China. But the parallel worlds of intellectual property infringement and anti-counterfeit regulation have changed a great deal over the last decade. In today's...

Crystyl Mo has been reporting on the world of restaurants in China for over twenty years, so she has borne witness to the phenomenal growth of the modern Chinese fine dining experience. Now, as an Academy...

Hot off the press, today’s episode is with the Fire Engineer, Michael Kinsey. Like a moth to a flame, I was fascinated to learn what his job entails. It was a slow burn, but I was soon fired up, and all guns...

Coinciding with the 100-year anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, it's fitting that today's episode includes a family history that spans a similar historical timeframe. Salome Chen is...

What can anyone learn from a DJ? It turns out… a helluva lot, especially when the DJ in question is DJ BO. Based in China for the last decade, DJ BO has led a peripatetic life which has taken him on countless...

We started off Season 02 of the podcast with a chat with the Chief Consumer Officer of L'Oréal China. And now that we've reached Episode 22 of the season, it's time to revisit the Chinese consumer from a...

China is the world's largest vehicle market, both by manufacturing output and by annual sales. And at the heart of that business is the strategic car designer, someone who can not only plot a future design...

To make friends with other people, it helps if you share the same sense of humour. So it can sometimes be a challenge to make meaningful friendships with people from other cultures, with whom you don't share...

The image of the foreigner teacher in China stands for two things. Firstly, it represents one of the most popular ways that someone seeking experience overseas can find their first footing, especially in a...

Most of us are guilty of putting items in our shopping trolleys without giving one moment's thought as to where they came from. Jo McFarland doesn't have that luxury, because she's the one in charge of...

Any speechwriter will corroborate that you can use the art of self-deprecation to engage an audience in ways that cannot be achieved through other rhetorical tricks. But if you adopt the wrong tone, it can...

We can all be guilty of making sweeping generalisations about nationalities and cultures. But not all Dutch are liberal; not all Brazilians can dance, and not all New Zealanders like rugby. So it should come...

Sometimes you don't know quite what you're doing and why you're doing it, until you sit down one day and take the time to evaluate it. And that's the day you might realise that the meaning of your work has...

Some say that young people are impatient, and are only on the look-out for short-term gratification. Not so with Douglon Tse, who spent his formative years pursuing a long-term vision for his life. This...

There is a lot being said around the world these days about racism and discrimination. Quite rightly. But pointing fingers and throwing accusations often achieves nothing. The thing that changes attitudes, at...

When you live overseas, in some ways you take a leap into a new identity. You need to figure out how to fit into a new culture, while remaining true to your authentic self. Well, it's exactly the same story...

Buildings, buildings, buildings. There has been a decades-long construction boom in China, and behind every building is an architect. Wendy Saunders has witnessed this boom, and as Co-Owner and Principal...

Personally coming from a business background where my main tools of trade have just been a laptop and a phone, I’m always impressed with people with complex and audacious business ideas. And Alex Shoer is one...

If there's one animal that is synonymous with the Tibetan Plateau, it's the yak. It has historically played a huge role in the diet, culture, and livelihood of the nomadic people of Tibet, and this symbiotic...

China is the largest market in the world for beer in terms of volume. And Belgium is a country with a long history of brewing, dating back to the 12th Century. So what better guest to have on the podcast than...

In China, craftsmen are not always venerated as artisans. Instead, they are often denigrated as low-status workers. But there is a design team based in the Zhejiang countryside that is doing its best to turn...

We all know what to expect in a theatre. We all know what to expect in an art gallery. But in which of these worlds does Performance Art belong? One answer is the Ming Contemporary Art Museum (McaM) in...

Pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding should be things that are universally understood around the world. But guess what... they're not. Societal conventions and traditions have created a disassociation...

The art of drag, with its emphasis on exaggerated costumes and makeup, has gained mainstream popularity around the world, particularly over the last decade. And China is no exception. While drag in the West...

Shanghai is one of those magical places where people can somehow become who they were always supposed to be. This is what happened to Katherine Wong, who decided one day to quit her corporate job, and start...

There are some professors who can justifiably be accused of living in their own little academic bubbles, but Professor Chang Chihyun is not one of them.   In today's episode, Chihyun talks about his...

Food can be a window into a culture. But it can also be a barrier, especially when it comes to street food. Many can be intimidated to communicate with hawkers who often speak with strong dialects. And many...

With thirty years at L'Oréal, and fifteen of those in leadership roles in mainland China, Stéphane has made a career of anticipating trends in China, and catering to the needs of the powerful and illusive...

Hello, I’m Oscar. In this trailer, I introduce the new features of Season 2 of the Mosaic of China podcast, including the PREMIUM version of the show that is now available on Patreon...

If you were asked to name your favourite phrase in Chinese, would you choose something you hear every day in China like 差不多, 哎哟, and 没有? Or would you choose something deeper which reveals layers of meaning...

In today’s penultimate compilation episode from Season 1, we’re talking about the favourite places people like to frequent in China. And since this first season has focused on resident of Shanghai, the...

The Mosaic of China podcast has been designed to have visual elements that can be enjoyed alongside its audio episodes. Today’s show is the biggest test of that theory, since it’s a compilation from Season 1...

This episode will touch a nerve with a lot of people. It’s a compilation of the things that the guests from Season 1 would miss the most and miss the least if they were to leave China. It was designed as a...

The topic of where we get our information has been in centre stage across the world, as societies debate the ideals of press freedom versus the dangers of fake news. So when I asked the 30 guests from Season...

Today marks the halfway point of these ten special compilation episodes that showcase the guests from Season 1 of the show, and I hope you've been persuaded to go back and take a listen to some of the...

If you're an annoying person like me, you will love to share little pieces of trivia to unsuspecting listeners. You will think it makes you look clever to those around you, and you will accept their polite...

If there's one thing on which almost everyone can agree, it's on China's capacity to surprise. No matter whether you're a China outsider or someone who's been living here for decades, there will always be...

Today's compilation episode is all about the podcast guests’ favourite songs to sing at KTV, the Chinese version of karaoke. Out of all the questions asked on Mosaic of China, this one elicited the biggest...

In the first of 10 compilation episodes from Season 1, we listen to the guests's answers to the question: "What is your favourite travel destination within Mainland China". The answers range from cities with...

For this special end of season wrap-up episode, I asked my friend and fellow podcaster Josh Ogden-Davis to join me for a chat. We talk about things like interview techniques, the editing process, and some...

The final episode of the season is with the fashion designer Octo Cheung, who epitomises the phrase “East Meets West”. Raised in Hong Kong, trained in Europe, and employed in China, Octo explains how her own...

We’re almost at the end of Season 1, so I’m very happy to squeeze in an episode with a scientist before the end of the series. Sanford Browne has a background in microbiology and, at the time of recording,...

My guest today is Lissanthea Taylor, who specialises in rehabilitation and pain management. We have a fascinating conversation about the different ways in which China and the West handle the natural ageing...

Spending over a decade being a Tour Manager in China for international bands has taken this week's guest, Abe Deyo, to many destinations. In our discussion, we discuss some of his favourites, as well as his...

As Programme Director of China's first and only theatre complex specifically dedicated to dance, Sabrina Chen knows a thing or two about reading the China arts scene. In our chat, she compares the audiences...

International diplomacy can deal with matters of global consequence such as trade and the environment. It can deal with the deeply personal aspects of helping nationals in distress overseas. And it can also...

We all take translation and translators for granted these days. There are now apps on your phone that can translate inputted text, can magically convert text within photos, and can even simultaneously...

Greg Nance’s business is in China, but his story will resonate with anyone around the world who is addicted to their life pursuits. For Greg, his addictions include ultramarathon racing, and his education...

At the time of recording, Roz Coleman was the International Company Manager of the immersive theatre experience “Sleep No More” in Shanghai. This has given Roz a unique appreciation of audience responses in...

Yang Yi is a Chinese editor, a broadcaster, and one of the trailblazers in the new world of podcasting in China. He is the host of two podcasts, a culture-themed show called "Left-Right", and a show called...

Lexie Comstock is the Founder of Strictly Cookies, and we’ve known each other now for over four years. I thought I knew all about her when we sat down for our conversation. But just like an unexpectedly...

Stephane de Montgros first came to China as an engineering graduate, and today is the Director of an events and hospitality company. In our conversation, we trace this circuitous career path, and make...

I didn't know I was interested in the art of jewellery design until I met Angie. Maybe that's because I didn't think about the precision of the tool-work; maybe it's because I didn't pay attention to the...

It's time to relect on the end of the year, and the end of the decade. So as you’re listening to Simon Manetti reflect on his last 10 years of choices and chances in China, take a moment to think about the...

Today’s interview is with the artist Nini Sum. We talk about her life and work as the co-founder of IdleBeats, the first independent screen print studio in China, as well as her take on artistic expression...

We're marking the halfway point of Season 1 by releasing a special episode in which Oscar is interviewed by Shannon Martin, Director of Communications at Podbean, to discuss the topic of "Community".   Since...

Srinivas Yanamandra ("Srini") is the Chief Compliance Officer at the New Development Bank (NDB), the only multilateral organisation based in Shanghai. Comprised of the BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia,...

In case you ever feel like complaining about logistics, bureaucracy and red tape in China, spare a thought for Emily Madge, who was part of the team in charge of transporting two beluga whales from Shanghai...

This week’s guest is the award-winning Chinese playwright Nick Yu, 喻荣军, who juggles his work as a writer alongside his role as Creative Director at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre. In our conversation, we...

In 2010, Yael Farjun had a chance encounter with someone at the Shanghai Expo, which led her to undertake an amazing research project. We discuss the heroism and humanity of one Chinese man in Vienna, which...

When I first met today's guest, Sebastien Denes, I liked him immediately. But I did question what kind of content he would be able to bring to this recording. Here was another privileged white male in an...

“Keep it Quiet” is the name of the semi-public bar at Yongfoo Elite, the private members club located in the diplomatic quarter of Shanghai. So I’m especially grateful that its GM, Lori Li, broke her own...

This week’s episode is with Noah Sheldon, who has been making photos and films of workers in China over the last decade or so. We discuss some of the factory conditions that aren’t covered in much of the...

Today I’m speaking with Vy Vu. Apart from how much I love the economy of her name, I also love the story of how someone who was feeling lost in Shanghai can ultimately become part of a fitness movement that’s...

Today’s episode is a special one, I’m usually trying to introduce aspects of the lives people lead in China without going over too much familiar territory to China experts. But with today’s episode, my role...

“Failure is three meals a day”. You may have heard other tech entrepreneurs talk about how they embrace the idea of failure. But it has never sounded as genuine as when uttered by today’s guest, Gina Li. In...

Today’s guest is Jorge Luzio, who works for Coca-Cola as the Greater China Marketing Director for Sprite and Fanta. He’s originally from Venezuela, and has had an international marketing career with Coca-Cola...

Today’s interview is with Astrid Poghosyan, an Armenian violinist and the first non-Chinese management employee in the 140-year history of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Astrid is the youngest guest in...

My guest this week is Eric Olander, who has been a journalist in China off and on since 1989. His most recent incarnation has been with the China Africa Project, in which he reports on China’s huge and...

This week’s recording is with Maple Zuo, an up-and-coming comedian based in Shanghai. Maple has amazing energy, which I hope you can hear in this conversation. We start off by talking about her comedy set,...

At the time of recording, Philippe Gas was the President & General Manager of the Shanghai Disney Resort. Philippe is one of the most charming business leaders I’ve met, and in this interview, we talk about...

Hello, I’m Oscar. In this trailer, I introduce the podcast: why I’m doing it, it’s limitations, the guests lined up for Season 1, the interview format, the visual element and it’s integration with social...