You are listening to Curiosity Curated Shorts. I am Zong.

Today, we're breaking from our usual book curation. Instead, I want to share an interesting personal story from this past weekend that opened up deeper questions about perception, reality, and the often underestimated gaps between our individual experiences. I'll also briefly reflect on recent public divisions surrounding a tragedy and a cultural debate. Let’s start with the story.

00:23 Episode Intro

00:55 The Cat That Wasn’t

05:35 Perception and Expectation

07:30 Aldous Huxley’s “Island Universes”

10:05 Today’s Echoes: Charlie Kirk's Assassination & Chinese Pre-Made Dishes

13:33 Technology: A Bridge or a Wedge

17:30 Closing Reflection

Music:

“Moon (and it went like)” by Kid Francescoli

“Who Am I” by Dario Lupo

For any feedback, please contact: [email protected]

您正在收听的是 Curiosity Curated Shorts。我是Zong.

今天，我们将短暂地打破以往节目的形式。我想和大家分享我刚经历的一个有趣的故事，这个故事引发了我对感知、现实以及我们个人经历之间常被低估的差距的更深层次的思考。此外，我还将简要反思最近围绕一场悲剧和文化争议所引发的公众分歧。那我们先从故事开始说起。

00:26 本集介绍

00:55 不存在的猫

04:58 感知与预期

06:45 奥尔德斯-赫胥黎的 "孤岛宇宙“

09:02 当下的回响：查理·柯克遇刺案与中国预制菜的争论

11:58 科技：架桥还是横楔

15:23 结语思考

Music:

“Moon (and it went like)” by Kid Francescoli

“Who Am I” by Dario Lupo

For any feedback, please contact: [email protected]

You are listening to Curiosity Curated Shorts. I am Zong.

Here in Shanghai, we've been experiencing a record-long heat wave this summer. The temperatures, which have been climbing relentlessly, are a stark reminder of our changing climate. Across the globe, from London to Washington to Tokyo, similar extreme heat waves are putting urban populations to the test, making us question how we adapt to this warmer world.

For many of us, or at least some part of the world, the answer is simple and so commonplace that we barely notice it: air conditioning. This technology, which once seemed like a fantastical luxury, has become an essential, almost invisible part of our daily lives. In today's warming world, air conditioning provides critical relief during extreme heat events, potentially saving countless lives.

So today, we're going to explore the fascinating history of air conditioning. Drawing from Salvatore Basile’s illuminating book, "Cool: How Air Conditioning Changed Everything", we will trace its evolution from an unusual novelty to a necessity that has fundamentally transformed how we live, work, and build our environments.

00:30 Episode Intro

02:00 Life Before Air Conditioning

05:00 The First Attempts at Mechanical Cooling

07:25 Willis Carrier and the Birth of Modern A/C

09:28 From a "Toy" to a Necessity: The Long and Winding Road

10:39 Early Public Buildings and Theaters

12:25 Hotels and Department Stores

14:23 Architecture & Workplaces

17:10 Transportation & Homes

21:12 The Paradox of A/C

23:35 Closing

Sources:

Cool: How Air Conditioning Changed Everything by Salvatore Basile

Music:

“Heatstroke” by Khalid

“Who Am I” by Dario Lupo

For any feedback, please contact: [email protected]

您正在收听的是 Curiosity Curated Shorts。我是Zong.

自今年夏天以来，尤其8月，上海正在经历着一场创纪录的高温热浪，预计8月高温天数和夏季持续高温天数可能双双破纪录。持续攀升的气温鲜明地提醒人们，我们的气候正在发生变化。在全球各地，从伦敦到华盛顿再到东京，类似的极端热浪正在给全球人口带来考验，让我们不得不思考如何适应这个更加炎热的世界。

对于我们中的许多人来说，或者至少对于世界上的一部分地方来说，答案很简单，而且我们几乎不会注意到它的存在：吹空调。这项技术曾经似乎是天方夜谭般的奢侈品，如今已成为我们日常生活中不可或缺、几乎看不见的一部分。在当今这个气候变暖的世界里，空调在极端炎热的情况下提供了重要的缓解作用，可能挽救无数人的生命。

因此，今天我们将探讨空调“冷”而有趣的历史。我们将从萨尔瓦多-巴西尔（Salvatore Basile）富有启发性的著作《空调如何改变一切》中，追溯空调从一个不寻常的新奇事物到从根本上改变了我们的生活、工作和环境建设方式的必需品的演变过程。

00:30 本集介绍

02:07 空调之前的生活

04:45 机械制冷的最初尝试

06:50 威利斯-开利和现代空调的诞生

08:36 从 "玩具 "到必需品：漫长而曲折的道路

09:36 早期的公共建筑和剧院

11:11 酒店和百货公司

12:49 建筑与工作场所

15:10 交通和住宅

18:32 空调的矛盾

20:37 结语

Sources:

Cool: How Air Conditioning Changed Everything by Salvatore Basile

Music:

“Heatstroke” by Khalid

“Who Am I” by Dario Lupo

For any feedback, please contact: [email protected]

You are listening to Curiosity Curated. I am Zong.

In our rapidly changing world, energy and geopolitics have become deeply intertwined. Nations now view energy not just as a resource but as a critical component of power and security. This interconnection manifests in three key trends: the resurgence of great power competition, the global shift toward clean energy, and the increasing electricity demands of artificial intelligence. Throughout this season, we'll examine how both established and emerging powers navigate these evolving dynamics, highlighting how energy resources fundamentally shape the emerging global order.

Our journey is guided by Daniel Yergin, a Pulitzer Prize winner and leading authority on energy and geopolitics. His book, "The New Map," along with his co-authored seminal Foreign Affairs article on energy realism, meticulously analyzes the monumental shifts shaping our modern existence—revealing a compelling narrative of power, innovation, and disruption.

In our first episode, we plunge into the most fundamental disruption of all: an unexpected American energy revolution that utterly changed the global balance of power.

00:35 Episode Intro

02:12 Vulnerability: America’s Energy Psychology in the Late 20th Century

04:46 The Unlikely Hero: George Mitchell

07:38 The Shale Revolution: A Technological Breakthrough

10:05 The Discovery of Shale Oil

11:57 Economic Impact: A Manufacturing Renaissance

14:48 Environment Considerations

18:07 The US as a New Energy Exporter

21:19 Geopolitical Rebalancing

27:25 The Big Three (US, Russia, and Saudi Arabia)

29:36 Conclusion

Sources:

The New Map by Daniel Yergin

The Troubled Energy Transition: How to Find a Pragmatic Path Forward, Daniel Yergin et al, www.foreignaffairs.com

Music:

“Hold On” by Alabama Shakes

“Who Am I” by Dario Lupo

For any feedback, please contact: [email protected]

You are listening to Curiosity Curated. I am Zong.

In our rapidly changing world, energy and geopolitics have become deeply intertwined. Nations now view energy not just as a resource but as a critical component of power and security. This interconnection manifests in three key trends: the resurgence of great power competition, the global shift toward clean energy, and the increasing electricity demands of artificial intelligence. Throughout this season, we'll examine how both established and emerging powers navigate these evolving dynamics, highlighting how energy resources fundamentally shape the emerging global order.

In our previous episode, we explored America's energy revolution and how it transformed the country from a position of vulnerability to one of renewed global influence.

Now, guided by Daniel Yergin's insights, we turn our attention to Russia. This episode will examine the intricate relationship between Russia's energy resources, its geopolitical aspirations, and its efforts to reclaim Great Power status following the Soviet Union's collapse.

00:35 Episode Intro

02:13 Russia’s Energy Foundation and Dependence

06:11 Historical Context and the Reassertion of State Control

11:14 The Core Geopolitical Clash: Gas and Ukraine

13:08 Gas Cutoffs, Differing Concepts of Energy Security, and Pipeline Politics

16:58 Nord Stream 2 Controversy & US Pushback

18:33 Russia’s Strategic Adjustments & Pivoting to the East

22:32 Central Asia: The New Heartland of Geopolitics

27:19 Conclusion

Sources:

The New Map by Daniel Yergin

The Troubled Energy Transition: How to Find a Pragmatic Path Forward, Daniel Yergin et al, www.foreignaffairs.com

Music:

“Hold On” by Alabama Shakes

“Who Am I” by Dario Lupo

For any feedback, please contact: [email protected]

You are listening to Curiosity Curated. I am Zong.

In our rapidly changing world, energy and geopolitics have become deeply intertwined. Nations now view energy not just as a resource but as a critical component of power and security. This interconnection manifests in three key trends: the resurgence of great power competition, the global shift toward clean energy, and the increasing electricity demands of artificial intelligence. Throughout this season, we'll examine how both established and emerging powers navigate these evolving dynamics, highlighting how energy resources fundamentally shape the emerging global order.

In the previous two episodes, we saw how the U.S. shale revolution transformed its global standing and how Russia’s energy-driven geopolitical strategy has evolved significantly over the past two decades.

As we continue to unravel those historical dynamics as told by Daniel Yergin, in this episode, we shift our focus to a region whose fate has been more intertwined with energy than any other: the Middle East. From ancient empires to modern-day conflicts, this episode will explore how oil, history, and a clash of ambitions have continually redrawn the map of the Middle East, leading us to a new and uncertain future.

00:35 Episode Intro

02:23 The Genesis of the Modern Middle East Map

04:43 Complicating Factors: The Arab Revolt & Balfour Declaration

06:51 The Rise of Oil & Its Impact on the Middle East Mapmaking

10:31 Challenges to the Sykes-Picot Map & the Established Order

12:51 The Iranian Revolution (1979)

16:09 Shockwaves & Saudi-Iran Rivalry

20:12 Gulf Wars, Iran’s Nuclear Program & JCPOA

23:24 21st Century Tensions & The Rise of “Eastern Med”

25:41 The Future of the Middle East

Sources:

The New Map by Daniel Yergin

The Troubled Energy Transition: How to Find a Pragmatic Path Forward, Daniel Yergin et al, www.foreignaffairs.com

Music:

“Hold On” by Alabama Shakes

“Who Am I” by Dario Lupo

For any feedback, please contact: [email protected]

You are listening to Curiosity Curated. I am Zong.

In our previous episodes, we journeyed through the dramatic geopolitical shifts powered by energy. We saw how the American shale revolution transformed the U.S. from an importer to a dominant producer, and how Russia has used its energy wealth to reassert global influence. We explored the Middle East, where ancient conflicts are intertwined with the world's most critical oil reserves.

Now, we will wrap up this series by turning to the next great challenge all nations face: the current energy transition. The world is in a race against time to address climate change, but the path forward is anything but simple. It’s a story of ambition versus reality, of technological breakthroughs, and of starkly different priorities between nations.

This episode is about understanding the hard truths of the energy transition. Again, we’ll be guided by the insights of Daniel Yergin's book The New Map and his co-authored Foreign Affairs article on energy realism.

00:35 Episode Intro

02:07 The Dual Challenge: Climate Emergency and Energy Poverty

05:14 The Hard Truths of the Energy Transition

09:25 Climate Policy and Money

16:32 Renewables: Wins and Limits

19:17 The Technology Gaps: Energy Storage/Battery, Nuclear, Hydrogen, Carbon Capture

25:15 Geopolitics

28:13 The Path Forward

Sources:

The New Map by Daniel Yergin

The Troubled Energy Transition: How to Find a Pragmatic Path Forward, Daniel Yergin et al, www.foreignaffairs.com

Music:

“Hold On” by Alabama Shakes

“Who Am I” by Dario Lupo

For any feedback, please contact: [email protected]

您正在收听的是Curiosity Curated。我是Zong。

在我们这个瞬息万变的世界里，能源和地缘政治已深深地交织在一起。各国不仅将能源视为一种资源，还将其视为权力和安全的重要组成部分。这种相互联系体现在三个关键趋势上：大国竞争的重新抬头、全球向清洁能源的转变以及人工智能对电力需求的不断增长。在本季节目中，我们将探讨老牌大国和新兴大国如何驾驭这些不断变化的动态，突出能源资源如何从根本上塑造新兴的全球秩序。

我们探究的向导是普利策奖获得者、能源和地缘政治权威丹尼尔-耶金（Daniel Yergin）。他的著作《新地图》（The New Map）以及他与他人合著的《外交事务》（Foreign Affairs）中关于能源现实主义的开创性文章，细致入微地分析了影响我们现代生存的巨大转变--揭示了一个关于权力、创新和颠覆的引人入胜的故事。

在第一集中，我们将深入探讨最根本的颠覆：一场出人意料的美国能源革命彻底改变了全球力量平衡。

00:35 本集介绍

02:13 脆弱性：20世纪末美国的能源心态

04:38 那位不太可能的英雄：乔治·米切尔

07:32 页岩革命：一个技术上的突破

09:55 页岩油的发现

11:39 经济影响：制造业的复兴

14:05 环境考量

16:55 美国作为新能源出口国

19:44 地缘政治再平衡

24:57 石油三巨头（美国、俄罗斯和沙特阿拉伯）

26:51 结语

Sources:

The New Map by Daniel Yergin

The Troubled Energy Transition: How to Find a Pragmatic Path Forward, Daniel Yergin et al, www.foreignaffairs.com

Music:

“Hold On” by Alabama Shakes

“Who Am I” by Dario Lupo

For any feedback, please contact: [email protected]

您正在收听的是Curiosity Curated。我是Zong。

在我们这个瞬息万变的世界里，能源和地缘政治已深深地交织在一起。各国不仅将能源视为一种资源，还将其视为权力和安全的重要组成部分。这种相互联系体现在三个关键趋势上：大国竞争的重新抬头、全球向清洁能源的转变以及人工智能对电力需求的不断增长。在本季节目中，我们将探讨老牌大国和新兴大国如何驾驭这些不断变化的动态，突出能源资源如何从根本上塑造新兴的全球秩序。

在上一集中，我们探讨了美国的能源革命，以及它如何将这个国家从一个脆弱的地位转变为一个具有新的全球影响力的国家。

在本集中，我们将继续在丹尼尔·耶金的见解指导下，将目光转向俄罗斯，探讨俄罗斯的能源资源、其地缘政治抱负以及其在苏联解体后为恢复大国地位所做的努力之间错综复杂的关系。

00:35 本集介绍

02:08 俄罗斯的能源基础和依赖

05:35 历史背景与国家对石油工业控制权的重新确立

10:03 核心地缘政治冲突：天然气与乌克兰

11:44 天然气断供、能源安全概念分歧和管道政治

15:14 北溪 2 号 争议与美国的反对

16:33 俄罗斯战略支点转向亚洲

19:58 中亚：地缘政治的新中心地带

24:03 结语

Sources:

The New Map by Daniel Yergin

The Troubled Energy Transition: How to Find a Pragmatic Path Forward, Daniel Yergin et al, www.foreignaffairs.com

Music:

“Hold On” by Alabama Shakes

“Who Am I” by Dario Lupo

For any feedback, please contact: [email protected]