Josh Cotterill is the force behind Axis Neptune. He released his new album, Reasons, earlier this year after five solid months of being locked away in his room.
He talks to The Beijing Sessions about how the pandemic affected his relationships, his catchy new single Cherry Red, why how the Red Hot Chilli Peppers have influenced his own music making.
You even hear me put my Armenian pronunciation skills to work.

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If you enjoy The Beijing Sessions, please consider sharing it with friends, rating it, or leaving a comment.
Follow me on Facebook.com/thebeijingsessions or Twitter at twitter.com/haigbalian

Josh Cotterill is the force behind Axis Neptune. He released his new album, Reasons, earlier this year after five solid months of being locked away in his room.
He talks to The Beijing Sessions about how the pandemic affected his relationships, his catchy new single Cherry Red, why how the Red Hot Chilli Peppers have influenced his own music making.
You even hear me put my Armenian pronunciation skills to work.

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If you enjoy The Beijing Sessions, please consider sharing it with friends, rating it, or leaving a comment.
Follow me on Facebook.com/thebeijingsessions or Twitter at twitter.com/haigbalian

Mike Fox is the anchor of Sportscene, China’s only English Sports TV show.  It airs on CGTN. He covers the Chinese Soccer League, the Chinese Basketball Association, and everything in between.
We spoke about the difference between his real voice and his broadcasting voice (5:46), what explains his style of broadcasting (7:49), why he upset Maradona fans  (11:09), covering Kobe Bryant's death (13:28), Mike's sports diet growing up (17:12), prospects for a return of professional tennis to China (19:51), the most nervous he ever got interviewing an athlete (20:45), interviewing Novak Djokovic (22:30), and covering the Beijing Winter Olympics (24:05).
I also spoke with Connie Mei Pickart (25:48). She’s a writer in Shanghai and wrote a piece in SUP China called China’s ‘subtitling communities’ didn’t just pirate, they helped a generation learn English.

This episode also marks the debut of WeChat Corner, which will be a regular segment where I highlight some of the absurd, funny, or interesting things people share on WeChat.
This week's entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MObkIsrpDEU
Have an idea for a WeChat corner? Let me know. Find me on WeChat at haigbalian or Twitter at twitter.com/haigbalian

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As always, if you haven't already please follow the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Rate it, review it, share it. 

Thanks for listening. 

Mike Fox is the anchor of Sportscene, China’s only English Sports TV show.  It airs on CGTN. He covers the Chinese Soccer League, the Chinese Basketball Association, and everything in between.
We spoke about the difference between his real voice and his broadcasting voice (5:46), what explains his style of broadcasting (7:49), why he upset Maradona fans  (11:09), covering Kobe Bryant's death (13:28), Mike's sports diet growing up (17:12), prospects for a return of professional tennis to China (19:51), the most nervous he ever got interviewing an athlete (20:45), interviewing Novak Djokovic (22:30), and covering the Beijing Winter Olympics (24:05).
I also spoke with Connie Mei Pickart (25:48). She’s a writer in Shanghai and wrote a piece in SUP China called China’s ‘subtitling communities’ didn’t just pirate, they helped a generation learn English.

This episode also marks the debut of WeChat Corner, which will be a regular segment where I highlight some of the absurd, funny, or interesting things people share on WeChat.
This week's entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MObkIsrpDEU
Have an idea for a WeChat corner? Let me know. Find me on WeChat at haigbalian or Twitter at twitter.com/haigbalian

***
As always, if you haven't already please follow the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Rate it, review it, share it. 

Thanks for listening. 

Claire is the impresario behind Jing & Tonic, a monthly variety show that's become a fixture in Beijing’s nightlife over the last ten months.

Last month Claire launched What the Folk, a showcase for the city’s folk acts. She’s also a member of a folk trio called Juniper. And that is on top of her day job as a green screen actor. 

She comes to the Point to talk about launching a variety show in the middle of the pandemic, what it was like having her first five shows shut down by the police, and why she loves to take risks.

You'll want to follow Jing and Tonic on Instagram. You can find them at https://www.instagram.com/jing.andtonic

Also: I have a new website. It's great! Find me at thepointwithhaigbalian.com

Claire is the impresario behind Jing & Tonic, a monthly variety show that's become a fixture in Beijing’s nightlife over the last ten months.

Last month Claire launched What the Folk, a showcase for the city’s folk acts. She’s also a member of a folk trio called Juniper. And that is on top of her day job as a green screen actor. 

She comes to the Point to talk about launching a variety show in the middle of the pandemic, what it was like having her first five shows shut down by the police, and why she loves to take risks.

You'll want to follow Jing and Tonic on Instagram. You can find them at https://www.instagram.com/jing.andtonic

Also: I have a new website. It's great! Find me at thepointwithhaigbalian.com

This week's guest is William Lou, lead Toronto Raptors reporter for Yahoo Sports Canada.
I’m a massive Raptors fan, and I listen to Will all the time, but this is the first time I've, well, ever spoken back to him. 
Will’s great. He was born  in Tianjin, about an hour by train from Beijing. He talked to me from his home in Toronto.
In the first half of the interview we get into his story, and his place in the huge Raptors media ecosystem.
In the second half the conversation veers toward basketball as an anchor for immigrant communities and the significance of Asian representation in the NBA.
You can find Will on Twitter at twitter.com/william_lou. His work at Yahoo Sports is at https://www.yahoo.com/author/will-lou/.
If you want to hear three and a half minutes of Will’s analogies, metaphors, and similes (and who wouldn't?), head to my twitter page at twitter.com/haigbalian. Twitter is also the best way to get in touch with me. 

If you enjoy the show, please subscribe, rate, and review! It will help people discover the show. 

This week's guest is William Lou, lead Toronto Raptors reporter for Yahoo Sports Canada.
I’m a massive Raptors fan, and I listen to Will all the time, but this is the first time I've, well, ever spoken back to him. 
Will’s great. He was born  in Tianjin, about an hour by train from Beijing. He talked to me from his home in Toronto.
In the first half of the interview we get into his story, and his place in the huge Raptors media ecosystem.
In the second half the conversation veers toward basketball as an anchor for immigrant communities and the significance of Asian representation in the NBA.
You can find Will on Twitter at twitter.com/william_lou. His work at Yahoo Sports is at https://www.yahoo.com/author/will-lou/.
If you want to hear three and a half minutes of Will’s analogies, metaphors, and similes (and who wouldn't?), head to my twitter page at twitter.com/haigbalian. Twitter is also the best way to get in touch with me. 

If you enjoy the show, please subscribe, rate, and review! It will help people discover the show. 

When her first documentary, The Lucky One, reached 100,000 views on YouTube and won prizes at international film festivals, He Xiaopei came to a realization.
"From that moment, I said I'm only making films now because each time we have meetings, twenty people at most come, talking about their sexy stories. And [anyone] who knows the story after, stays in this room."
She followed The Lucky One up with films like Polyamorous Family and Our Marriages: When Lesbians Marry Gay Men.
Xiaopei came on the Point to talk about her films, her inspiration, and what comes next.
You can watch The Lucky One on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/talIgb09mfk

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If you enjoy The Point, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It won’t take long and it’ll make a difference when it comes to booking guests.
You can follow me on twitter at twitter.com/haigbalian. I’m balianh on Instagram.