The Bridge

The show starts out with John & BeiBei sharing a couple of their most awkward moments from their radio careers, then BeiBei takes an extensive and intensive look back over the past year, when it was apparent that the Covid-19 virus was not going to be contained, and how many lives have been changed over the past 12 months. John brings up the fact that while the numbers are starting to drop in the USA, things could have been a bit different had a much more mature approach been taken on many levels.

Starting out with massive college debt is a major hurdle to overcome. While both John & Heyang have college degrees, they both point out the challenges that face college graduates today, and the question of cost, in the USA. Heyang shares some of the educational landscape of China, including the fact that nearly 9 million young people will graduate college in China, and will there be jobs enough to go around. The conversation shifts gears to the importance of the skilled trades, that are often overlooked as a viable career path. John talks about his hands-on experience putting wrenches on cars to construction, to home renovation. Heyang claims that it's her experience that most of the men she's familiar with are able to screw in a light bulb and that's about it. Finally, on a more serious note, Heyang shares the dangers of being a scooter delivery driver in Beijing, that are trying to beat the clock to earn a living.

John gives credit up front to a former high school friend who provides the voice-over work for The Bridge, which sets off a conversation about Heyang's memories from high school, and John adds to the conversation with his current activities on behalf of his alma mater. Then, they switch gears and the discussion becomes a pro vs. con talk around the concept of "universal basic income" and the viability of the idea. John points to the Alaska Permanent Fund that was created in 1982, that has delivered some kind of basic income, financed from the state's oil and gas revenues, ever since. Heyang sheds light on the fact that many human jobs are being replaced by automation, and that perhaps those who are displaced by machinery, should be compensated. John shares a story about turning down a monthly payment that would have labeled his daughter as disabled, which leaves Heyang nearly speechless.

In a world filled with negative news headlines, John & BeiBei focus on the good news life lines that uplift and inspire. BeiBei shares her experience working on Wall Street, and the physical problems related to the stress of the work. Switching gears, John shares stories from The Good News Network including China banning plastic straws and shopping bags and how villagers banded together to battle life-threatening wasps with a flame throwing drone. BeiBei shares the story of a 94-year-old man who is being shown great kindness and John also talks about working with Dr. Oz, and the idea that prevention is all important in both our personal health and environmental stewardship.

BeiBei introduces Cimcie and John to a new tea that she's currently sipping-Duck Poop Aroma flavor. After much discussion on the various types of tea, the conversation movies on to some of Cimcie's Covid-19 lockdown inspired cooking experiments. Cimcie also recalls how she came to learn Mandarin, and her two trips to China. John points out the "connect-a-dots" that brought all the pieces of the puzzle together, when creating an international radio show. Then, it's back to food, and what are the strangest things each of them has eaten, from meal worms to crickets. Finally, John & Cimcie talk about what's it like being the older sibling and how rank has its privileges. 

The universal language of music is once again front and center, as John & Heyang exchange more of their favorites, creating a cross-current of song. Heyang shares the music of the late, great Teresa Teng. With a career spanning 30 years, Teng remained widely popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s; she remained popular even up to the first half of the 1990s, up until her death in 1995. Teng was known as a patriotic entertainer whose powerful romantic ballads and performances revolutionized Chinese popular culture during the 1970s and 1980s. She is often credited for bridging the cultural barrier across Chinese-speaking nations, and first artist to connect Japan to much of East and Southeast Asia, by singing Japanese pop songs, many of which were later translated to Mandarin. John brings a few of his favorites to the show, and drops the needle on an eclectic group of artists including Stevie Wonder, Bonnie Raitt and The Four Tops.

For more than 18 years, two brothers have been planting thousands of trees in Northern China. What makes their efforts even more incredible, is that one of them is blind, and the other has no arms, but working in unison, they help each other, and in doing so, have made an incredible difference in the area they live in-that was mostly devoid of trees. BeiBei shares their incredible story, and this episode has another edition of "Earth Matters with Bill Kurtis" that connects the importance of trees when it comes to keeping the air in the biosphere of earth as clean as possible. 

In typical fashion, BeiBei is highly entertaining right at the start, and then pointing out a video she sent John about turtles wearing sweaters in China, which brings to John to recall a chapter from his second book "Teachings of the Turtle." Then, it's a wide-ranging conversation as always, including a deep discussion on the lingering effects of Cyrus the Virus, hot spots popping up near Beijing and how with all tech know-how, humans are still at the mercy of the unseen disease.

Most of us are overwhelmed by stuff that is not essential to our lives and is out of alignment with our true spiritual nature. Although our souls are inherently free, we also have an ego mind that orients us toward fear, scarcity, self-preservation, and holding on. With the ego mind in the driver’s seat of our lives, we accumulate clutter. Best-selling author Peggy Fitzsimmons Ph.D. joins John & Heyang to take a deep dive into the stuff of life, what is essential and what might not be. The art of letting go and staying in the flow is the focus of her new book- Release: Create a Clutter Free and Soul Driven Life.

In China, it's nearly time for year-end bonuses to roll out, a fairly large chunk of change. Heyang shares that nearly 70% of a study group said that the husband who earned the money, should be handing over the money to his wife for disbursement. John compares some of his experiences from decades ago, when he knew of women who were given an allowance from their husbands, and how his upbringing by his parents, both of whom were in finance, solidified his money blueprint. Heyang shares her thoughts on the deeper issues of getting into a relationship, and sharing finances with a partner.