The Bridge

A rousing rendition of "On The Road Again" opens of the show as Super Producer Cimcie checks in, and John shares that Willie Nelson wrote the iconic song on a barf bag on a flight. The conversation goes to road trips, both in the USA and China, and the ladies share notes on their different experiences. Cimcie talks about her travels to Shanghai, and that prompts John to drop the needle on "Shanghai Breezes" a song by John Denver, and the discussion goes to the learning opportunity that the ongoing conversation between countries is of utmost importance. Finally, BeiBei shifts gears and poses a question to John & Cimcie that she's been wanting to ask for weeks, about the spending habits of Americans, in the wake of the disbursement of the stimulus checks.

Born in 2002 as a shared vision between co-founders, Mark Johnson and Whitney Kroenke, the idea was to hit the streets of America with a mobile recording studio and cameras in search of inspiration and the heartbeat of the people. This musical journey resulted in the award-winning documentary, “A Cinematic Discovery of Street Music.” The documentary inspired them to unite many of the greatest musicians we met throughout our journey and form Playing For Change. John has been waiting a decade to have a conversation with Mark Johnson about the incredible impact PFC has made, and Heyang shares her thoughts after hearing the re-worked versions of classics like "Take Me Home, Country Roads" "LaBamba" "Love Train" and "The Weight."

The show starts in Australia (from a listener comment) and Liu Yan talks about when he visited Tasmania to interview the legendary rock group the Eagles, then it's off to Dubai, as John shares an article from CNN that points out how Dubai is becoming a hot spot for remote working, with zero taxes, year-round summer and 5-star lifestyle-and Liu Yan shares his thoughts about his visit to Dubai. Then the conversation goes to an exchange about where John would like to visit in China, and Liu Yan in the USA. John shifts gears, asking Liu Yan's opinion about the "textology" (a word John invented) wave that has celebrities in constant apology mode after tweeting their inner most thoughts to the world. Finally, Liu Yan asks John about his thoughts on the "cancel culture" that has been recently grabbing headlines.

At least one day a week John is able to connect with Liu Yan in the same day-even though Beijing is 13 hours ahead of Chicago. So while John is up at 5 a.m. to connect on The Bridge, its 6 p.m. for Liu Yan-but this time, John's already been up since 2 a.m. spending a couple of hours not as a host, but as a guest on an overnight radio show, talking about his latest book "Phenomena." They discuss the ups and downs of the overnights, how radio has an important place for those who either work or simply listen when most of the world is sleeping. Gears shift to the ongoing challenge of the pandemic, the growing impatience that has people longing for something normal, which could lead to extending the virus even further. Finally, John & Liu Yan talk about how lucky and unlucky numbers that are revered in China, are in some cases the exact opposite in the USA.

After a crash-course on the origin of the term "Windy City" as it applies to Chicago, John and BeiBei share some lighter, good news stories after a long week of tackling more serious subjects. John drops the needle on a musical interlude from Julie Andrews, and BeiBei is wondering if John has some music from Fergie in his vast music vault. John shares his experience in a bodybuilding contest, and BeiBei is looking for pictures to back up the story. Then, John offers up the story of a chef who travels over 500 miles to cook dinner for a long-time customer that is entering the final stage of her life. BeiBei shares a story of a "street kitchen" that is based on serving those who have cancer from a nearby hospital. Finally, John recalls his very long "walk for change" in 1996, and the lessons that came from that experience.  A little good news... goes a very long way.

The show begins with some comparing of radio notes when it comes to studio etiquette, John then shares a few thoughts about his studio time at Oprah Radio and then introduces an email sent by a friend with a writing about the meaning of life. Since the writing was originally written in Chinese, BeiBei delivers a powerful reading of the message, that then kicks off a fairly deep conversation about the meaning of life... and death.

The early conversation is about how BeiBei has a crash course in English for every episode of The Bridge-as she speaks Chinese for the most part and John inquires as to how she became fluent in the English language.  John talks about how the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" gave him serious appreciation for the film and story, and then the discussion runs to documentaries, that connects to Ernest Hemingway, that in turn ends up with BeiBei surprising John with a conversation about his 2nd book "Every Moment Matters" that finally showed up in the mail, after a very long wait.

Super Producer Cimcie makes her weekly appearance, setting the tone right from the start, as she shares her thoughts about Easter candy, that turns into a full-blown back and forth about everyone favorite sweet treats-with the most intense dialogue focused on the many different aspects of Oreo cookies. John shares some history on how chocolate Easter eggs originated in Germany, Cimcie admits her weakness for Marshmallow Peeps, and then it's off to breakfast cereals, and finally BeiBei rescues the show, with her thoughts on how the ongoing effects of the pandemic play out over time.

In 1992 Michael Leonhart was honored with the first Grammy Award for outstanding high school musician in the US at the age of 17. He was the youngest Grammy recipient to date. In February of the same year ABC World News named him Person of the Week. Leonhart has performed with Steely Dan since 1996, recording two albums with them, including 2000's Grammy winning Album of the Year Two Against Nature on which he was a featured soloist, arranger, and conductor. He co-produced Donald Fagen's fourth solo album, Sunken Condos and played trumpet on the world wide hit song "Uptown Funk." Super Producer Cimcie introduces Michael to the show, as her father the late, great Roger "The Immortal" Nichols, engineered for Steely Dan.

John recalls the first time a guest dropped a swear word on his live show, and the conversation goes to what is allowed and what isn't-and why. Liu Yan recalls Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" and how mainstream media is still the only place that is devoid of "The Seven Dirty Words" while with the flick of button, you can jump headlong into curse word central on one of a hundred channels. John recalls a few guests from his many years in radio, including a woman who literally spent six months living in her bed, to the most impressive and unforgettable guest-Capt. Jerry Coffee-who was one of the longest held POWS in Vietnam, and how one show with Capt. Coffee changed a listener's life. Finally, John and Liu Yan talk about their first real jobs-and how certain habits can last a lifetime.