The Bridge

Twas the night before Christmas... on The Bridge. John & Heyang share a few Christmas memories, and they get a head start on the celebration with a great selection of music from some of the great artists and songs of the season.

She started building tube amplifiers while still in college at Columbia University. EveAnna quickly escalated through the first company as a design assistant and quality control tech, while also creating new analog systems for the young company that helped organize its nascent business structure. By the time she and David Manley branched out and formed Manley Laboratories, Inc. in 1993, EveAnna was managing the entire factory, and by the late 1990's with David Manley's departure, EveAnna took over engineering management and new product creation. You can see her flair for artistic visual expression start with her first two solo projects, The Manley VOXBOX® and Manley STINGRAY which are still in production today having sold thousands worldwide.  Manley Labs does extensive business with China, and in this episode not only do we get a real-life tutorial on how tariffs actually affect business, she shares with John & Heyang her favorite Tom Jones song.

As John & Heyang discuss the advancements of technology that allows The Bridge to exist with them 7,000 miles apart, Cimcie chimes in with some incredible memories of the audio inventions of her father, the late, great Roger "The Immortal" Nichols that included creating a drum machine called "Wendel." Then it's off to the races about the influence of technology in the 21st century, for better and for worse. Tech Tuesday closes with "Hey 19" by Steely Dan-for which "Wendel" (the only machine in the history of music to win a platinum album) made his...uh...its debut on.

She's the first returning guest on The Bridge. Lisa Bradshaw is back with John & Heyang, to share another piece of her incredible journey. In her first episode Lisa shared her thoughts about overcoming cancer,  the loss of her young husband and the life she's built with their son as a widowed single mom. This visit, she is sharing the song "This Beautiful Life" that she began writing on a napkin in 1992. The song took 28 years to find its way to the recording studio, with some of the finest musicians in Nashville. Lisa also shares on why she partnered with Donate Life in raising awareness for organ donation with the song.

After a rousing conversation about peanut butter and it's many uses to kick off the show, it's an impromptu Christas concert with seasonal favorites from Michael Bublé, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Andy Willams, Julie Andrews, John Denver and Percy Faith & His Orchestra & Chorus. John shares some of his early Christmas memories and BeiBei learns a new English word: "Crooner."

Another episode of bridge building, as BeiBei and John go wall to wall and cover everything from the differences in how weather affects them to the concept of daycare for very young children (not common in China) to elder care (becoming more common in China) and John's experiences while visiting a friend in one of the largest retirement villages in the United States. BeiBei shares how much the "grandmothers" are really the center of the family in Chinese culture. BeiBei attempts to explain the subtle differences between stinky Tofu, she and John find common ground again in how they grew up, 7,000 miles and decades apart.

Is it possible that the DNA of our Neanderthal ancestors might hold some keys to immunity from Cyrus the Virus? John introduces a news story that claims that because early humans hooked up with Neanderthals, that strain of DNA remains in a percentage of the modern-day population. A genetic analysis reveals that some people who have severe reactions to the SARS-CoV-2 virus inherited certain sections of their DNA from Neanderthals. Heyang shifts gears with a story about an "AI girlfriend" that is bringing various forms of comfort to millions of lonely hearted men in China, and they discuss the pros and cons of a virtual partner, who never ages or argues.

Social media is often more like unsocial media, as Heyang and John discuss the current lawsuit against Facebook that alleges "misconduct has resulted in consumers being harmed." Internet users have fewer choices among social media platforms and poorer experiences, the complaint said, while the tech industry has suffered from "reduced investment in potentially competing services." The conversation reveals that at one time, Heyang was addicted to Facebook and finally broke the grip of the emotional connection to the platform, as well as the possibility of breaking up the social media giant.

Heyang starts the show with encouraging news that the Reindeer population in China has rebounded from just 39 animals in the 1980s-to a record 6,000 in 2020. The conversation heads to the challenges that have cropped up during Covid-19, and John vents his anger and frustration that 3,000 Americans died in one day from Cyrus The Virus, more than were killed on September 11th 2001. A raw, unplanned, rant from John, who insists that we should be about "earning our Americanism" every day.

The holiday season is filled with peace, joy and...shopping. Producer Cimcie is back on The Bridge sharing her thoughts about shopping in China and learning how to haggle. Heyang admits that she bought her dad 60 pairs of socks from her "dealer" and John shares that he spent 20 years as Santa Claus, bringing the joy of the season to multitudes of children from all walks of life, and one magical Christmas Eve.