The Bridge

As the mom of a six-year-old, BeiBei is always on the lookout for books that speak to the best parenting skills available. She and John welcome Prof. Erin Cline to the show. Dr. Cline specializes in Chinese philosophy, Chinese religions, and comparative philosophy and theology.  The author of four books, she is especially interested in how the virtues, values, and rituals that classical Chinese philosophers emphasized can help us to live better lives today.  Her latest book, Little Sprouts and the Dao of Parenting: Ancient Chinese Philosophy and the Art of Raising Mindful, Resilient, and Compassionate Kids 

As e-commerce has changed the way people shop, Heyang reveals that she's been stockpiling goods in a virtual shopping cart for a year, waiting for the big Single's Day aka "Double Eleven" which is a Chinese unofficial holiday and shopping season that celebrates people who are not in relationships. 70 rolls of toilet paper (and one sake glass) along with other many other items later,  Heyang is hyped up, over-the-top and over-spent (no pun intended). Then the discussion turns to the many different platforms that retailers use reach consumers, and how brick and mortar stores are becoming a thing of the past.

16,000 restaurants have gone out of business in the USA, attributed to the ongoing ripple effect of Cyrus The Virus. There are, however, some survivors. John & Heyang discuss the ups and downs of the restaurant business, the big chains vs. the local places and how long it might take to make Heyang feel "normal" again. John was pressed into service for a very rare early morning live radio shift in Chicago, and they share some trade secrets and stories from the world of radio, in both Chicago and Beijing.

For millions of people that have to go to work, they often dream of being their own boss. Heyang has always worked for major organizations, but wants to know from John, who has been the CEO of his own production company for the majority of his 23 years in radio/media, what the pros and cons are to make the move from employee to owner. John shares many lessons he's learned, including the value of discipline and the ongoing effort it takes to find your purpose in life.

The American voters have elected a new president, former Vice President Joe Biden will become the 46th president in January of 2021. John & Heyang discuss the many ups and downs of the political process, the incredible amount of money spent securing the independent vote and the seeming endless tug of war between both parties that leave people scattered, tattered and battered-until the next election cycle.

John & Heyang welcome country-blues rocker Heidi Newfield to the show. Heidi was the lead singer of Trick Pony that charted in the 2000s and has a formidable solo career. Heidi shares her thoughts on the difficulty of being a woman in the often-male dominated world of Nashville, tees up one of her current songs "The Blues is My Business" and makes a serious connection with Heyang over shoes and handbags. 

Back home in Beijing, BeiBei and John take a serious look at the risky side of big business, from a massive IPO in China that was put on hold by regulators to the endless push to extract cash from people in so many different ways, to the importance of being vigilant when it comes to self-perseveration of our personal resources.

BeiBei has the food train back on track and shares her thoughts on the roots of the food culture of China, and John shares his thoughts about his German/Swedish background as it pertains to food, and then the  talk turns in a more serious direction about the future for children, and John shares a poem he wrote in 1993, "The Human Family."

What really drives our money habits? Best-selling author and financial consultant Julie Murphy joins John & Heyang to talk about how some of our earliest beliefs about money become the rudder that steers our course in financial matters, for better or for worse. 

When did the canned meat product spam, become the new name for unwanted email? Or what about the lowly catfish, that is now also the name of someone who lurks online, pretending to be someone they are not? John & Heyang also talk about the biggest IPO in history that is coming out of China from tech giant, Alibaba, even as late breaking word has the IPO on hold for the near future. However, John insists that maybe life was better when Ali Baba was the main character in one of the most familiar of the "Arabian Nights" tales.