The Bridge

Animal stories abound as Super Producer Cimcie makes her weekly appearance on The Bridge. BeiBei shares the story of a house-pig that has learned to use the indoor facilities, and wears human clothes, and watches television on a regular basis. John talks about a video he watched, wherein a group of chimps that were released into the wild after being used in experiments, and reconnected with the woman that freed them. Cimcie adds the story of a dachshund that has millions of followers on social media, and had learned to balance everything from pizza, to donuts to baseballs. Finally, BeiBei has evidence that fish watch television, probably reruns of "Flipper."

Another musical adventure with Heyang bringing songs with a "coming of age" theme from Pu Shu, Linkin Park, Evanescence and The Calling. John mostly stays in his usual lane with some of his favorites, including country music from The Chicks and John Berry, as well as Martina McBride and wraps the show with Luther Vandross. The Bridge-bringing the world together, one song at a time.

While they are 7,000 miles apart, John & Liu Yan close the gap between them talking about their fathers, and the lessons they've learned from them. John shares thoughts about his dad who passed away in 2004, and Liu Yan talks about how much of an influence his dad has been, and continues to be, in his life. A powerful episode about those men who have the title of "Dad." John adds a couple songs to underscore the message, including "Leader of the Band" by the late, great Dan Fogelberg.

The show starts out with John sharing a story about an extremely large flying squirrel thought to have been extinct in the Himalayas, which then leads to conversation with Liu Yan about other animals that have been assumed extinct, only to be found alive in some remote location. John manages to work his impressions of John Wayne and broadcaster Harry Caray into this episode, as well as a couple of songs from The Four Tops and Playing For Change, to keep things moving along.

Summer is heating things up in both Chicago and Beijing, and it has John & BeiBei comparing notes on dealing with the heat, not just today, but also back when they were kids. John shares a story about a rat being honored for saving hundreds of human lives, to which BeiBei responds with the current mouse infestation in Australia. Then it's a conversation about a piece of artwork that sold for over $18,000 that is invisible, which brings up the concept of what is one person's art, is another person's blank slate. John drops the needle on a rare performance from Diana Ross and The Supremes from 1969, and BeiBei likens the music to making her morning cup of coffee and shares more thoughts from the book "Deep Work" by Cal Newport.

As Brood X of the 17-year cicada saga continues, John shares a story from the headlines as President Biden had to brush off a bug before taking off to the UK, and the press plane was delayed for hours while crews cleared the insects from the aircraft engines so it was safe to fly. Once again John & BeiBei compare notes, on how important it is, to focus more on the lifelines, than the headlines.

As the major educational testing continues in China, the big news is that some kid thought he could outsmart the system and cheat on the national exam. BeiBei offers up her questions about how this could even happen, and John is still wondering why someone would take such a risk, considering the consequences. Conversation turns to the many ways people can create a great life, without ever having stepped foot in a university.

Super-producer Cimcie makes her weekly appearance on The Bridge, and the conversation ranges from how people in both the USA and China are being lured to get the Covid vaccine with everything from getting free eggs to a million-dollar lottery, as incentives to get people vaccinated. John wonders if he can get retro-pay for getting vaccinated early and the ongoing experiment in human behavior modification continues. Cicadas become the main topic of discussion, as the insects have taken over the eastern half of the United States, and BeiBei shares about a recipe for the bugs her aunt has, which leads to all sorts of ways to prepare the cicadas for consumption.

A small-town girl from Crystal Lake, Illinois, McDonough wrote her first song at age 11 and had her first record deal by the time she was 14, securing the deal after winning a local "Big Break" talent contest sponsored by local radio station WLS. The label was Wooden Nickel, and she released four albums between 1972 and 1974. By age 17, she was the opening act for John Denver at Carnegie Hall, and she also opened for acts such as Steve Martin and Harry Chapin. Megon joins The Bridge to share her journey and music. John surprises her with a rare audio interview from 1972 (when she was just 18) with her and John Denver, McDonough played Patsy Cline in the musical Always...Patsy Cline-and her rendition of "Crazy" brings rave reviews from Heyang.

BeiBei is sitting in and continues the conversation from a previous episode, about the great efforts being made by students and parents when it comes to spending years getting ready for the college entrance exams, that has become a national effort, in hopes that it evens the playing field for those who are heading towards secondary education. BeiBei shares that she produced a documentary film as part of her college experience, and John shares his perspective from his days at college, where the emphasis was more on athletics.