The Bridge

Clear, concise communication is a powerful tool, and no one teaches that better than best-selling author, Sam Horn. She's consulted with top companies, and is a veteran of three TEDx talks. In a day and age when we seem to be shouting louder and louder at each other, Sam shares with John & Heyang tips to regain your power of expression when it comes to communicating .

As Americans go to the polls in record numbers, John, Heyang & Cimcie take a look at the political process of the 2020 presidential race. As the official stegosaurus on staff, John's been around long enough to remember past campaigns and also brings some historical perspective as it pertains to the negative, insulting verbal tug of war between candidates that is part of the negative narrative since the early days of America. But, there's also time in this episode to discuss cheeseburgers and the importance of being self-reliant, no matter where you live.

He is a former member of the rock band Tang Dynasty, and has further enlivened contemporary Chinese music culture with the formation of another ethnically oriented heavy metal rock group, Spring and Autumn. But that's just one chapter in the life and times of Kaiser Kuo, who has become a leading voice of common ground between East and West with his podcasting and op-ed pieces. This episode was the idea of our guy Chris, who is the tech guru for "The Bridge" in Washington D.C. and is a heavy metal fan. Chris talks metal with Kaiser, John & Heyang talk with Kuo about how he's used his status as a legendary artist to bring about positive change between the USA and China.

BeiBei is the resident foodie on "The Bridge." It's a wide-ranging conversation about everything from the time she smuggled cheese, (even though cheese isn't considered a part of the Chinese diet) to the finer aspects of real butter, to the benefits of eating pigs' feet, to the "1,000-year egg" and the one thing John will never, ever eat.

BeiBei has been on the road for nearly a month, and while she's been able to check in from various points of interest in China, she's back home again-her favorite place in the world. She shares her memories from her adventures, most especially her food intake, and it quickly becomes clear that John isn't buying much of what BeiBei is selling as to changing his diet.

Arica Hilton is a world-renowned art exhibitor and poet, storyteller and businesswoman, and joins John & Heyang for an in-depth discussion on the importance of art in the world, her connections to using her gifts and talents in the preservation of habitat and endangered species, the ancient practice of Feng shui, as well as her work in Beijing with Chinese artists.

Even though a guest didn't work out last minute, John & Heyang once again walk the radio tightrope without a net, digging into the world of apps, and then it's a retro rewind to everything from transistor radios, to CD's to The Walkman and a myriad of other fodder from "back in the day" when Amazon was just a river. Then the conversation goes to the difficulty humans have discerning reality from produced reality.

It's an impromptu retrospective of the path that lead to The Bridge being built, the synchronistic events that put John and Heyang on the air together, and the powerful ripple effect that has taken place with conversation that leads to transformation. Then the gears shift to who decides the value of something, in particular paper money that originated in China, and how the global economy was created. Finally, the ongoing lesson of perspective comes into play, around all the current chaos in the world both with Covid and other social upheaval.

Super producer Cimcie joins John & Heyang to talk about her favorite holiday-Halloween. As it turns out, it's John's as well, as he shares stories from "back in the day" when his dad transformed from a respected banker into-Dracula-for over 20 years. As it turns out, Halloween is also celebrated in China, but in a very different way. But, before all that, with Covid looming over trick or treating, John, Heyang and Cimcie have a serious discussion about the differences between the response to the pandemic in America and China.

After a week-long trip to Yellow Mountain, Heyang is back to business with John, sharing her experiences of the adventure. They also talk about the importance of taking breaks from the hectic pace of life, on how nature is very nurturing and that technology isn't always the answer.