Wo Men Podcast

China has transformed greatly over the last few decades, and Chinese New Year has also come to mean very different things from generation to generation.

When our parents were children in the 1960s, their pleasure at this time of year was being able to finally enjoy vegetable balls fried with the oil that the whole family had been saving for the entire year. By contrast, when we were kids in the 1980s, meat dishes, sweets, new clothes and endless playtime with our cousins made the Chinese New Year the happiest time of the whole year.

Today, we can purchase imported food and new clothes on e-commerce platforms every day. Material pleasure doesn't thrill us anymore. Instead, the New Year has become an obligatory time to face relatives' constant questions about why we don't have boyfriends/girlfriends, or if we do, why we don't have babies yet.

On this episode of the podcast, we recall our memories and discuss all of the interesting and weird (and superstitious) customs and traditions that surround Chinese New Year in our own families, particularly in the old days.

Do you know when is the proper time to eat dumplings on New Year's Eve? Do you know why you are supposed to wear red during the New Year? Do you know what tricks there are to make sure you'll stay out of trouble in the coming year (at least, the ones that Yajun's grandma believed in)? You can answer all of the above questions in this episode.

We hope our listeners will have a wonderful and prosperous Year of the Dog!

Previous episodes of the Wǒ Men podcast can be found here, and you can find Wǒ Men on iTunes here.

Have thoughts or feedback to share? Want to join the discussion? Write to Yajun and Jingjing at [email protected].

A young British man tries to introduce 3D printing and hackathon teaching methods to the notoriously exam-heavy Chinese education system. Can he succeed?

Our guest for this episode says the fact that he went to an "unconventional, edgy" school that doesn't give homework and sends students off to build dens in the woods has fundamentally shaped his perception about children's education. Now 30 years old, Kit Harford, an educator and serial entrepreneur, has spent the majority of his adulthood in China exploring innovative ways to teach Chinese children the skills they need to thrive in today's world.

As a fresh graduate, Kit went to a little-known city called Dongying (东营) deep in Shandong province to teach English. It wasn't long before his keen business sense told him that the demand for quality English instruction in China's "lower-tier" cities was not being met. At 24, he opened his first English teaching school. Before long, he had a hugely successful business, running six schools around Shandong and Anhui provinces.

But like many businesses in China, the schools were hit by a sudden change in regulations when the government decided to de-emphasize English in the country's university entrance exam or gaokao.

But that didn't stop Kit. In fact, it pushed him to think harder — specifically, about what skills would be genuinely critical to the future success of his students. He began to focus on developing and delivering a fun, skills-focused tech course for young children and founded a new company: Tech Trek.

"How to link teaching with experience is the key," Kit says.

Today, Kit Harford, founder and CEO of Tech Trek, sits down with Jingjing and Yajun to candidly talk about his journey of being a foreign entrepreneur in China, why he loves education so much, and his unique approach to teaching children about technology.

Previous episodes of the Wǒ Men podcast can be found here, and you can find Wǒ Men on iTunes here.

Have thoughts or feedback to share? Want to join the discussion? Write to Yajun and Jingjing at [email protected].

Mu Lan, an ancient Chinese heroine, became globally famous thanks to Disney's awesome animated film. Arguably, she is one of the most popular Asian figures in global cinema, besides Kung Fu Panda, Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan.

For most women in China, Mu Lan probably lives only as an on-screen character. But our guest today, Lila Stange, feels related to this figure in a very personal way.

Mu Lan pretended to be a man in order to become a soldier and take her father's place on the battlefield, later becoming a general and finding a completely different life. Lila's life shifted in a similarly dramatic way — from being abandoned as a baby in the small town of Fuzhou in China's Jiangxi province to being adopted by a lovely American couple and a happy family in Boise, Idaho, in the early '90s.

Unlike many adopted children, Lila knew growing up that she was adopted, and where she was born — it was never an issue for her. On the contrary, she directly embraced her Chinese identity. She is one of very few Asian people living in Boise, Lila's parents made an effort for their daughter to keep in touch with her Chinese traditions: they celebrated Chinese New Year and other festivals. Lila has been curious about her Chinese identity, and bravely exploring it — she came to China to study Chinese, and later returned for work. It's been a special journey, she says, though not always a rosy one.

Today, Lila joins us to tell her story and share her amazing life adventures. As she says: she wants to be her own Mu Lan.

Previous episodes of the Wǒ Men podcast can be found here, and you can find Wǒ Men on iTunes here.

2017 was an amazing year. With so much support from our family, editors (Josh and Anthony, we mean you) and friends, we finally launched our Wǒ Men Podcast, a program that we have been thinking about doing for years.

It has been a magical journey. Every single guest was so generous and kind to open up and share their thoughts and lives with us. In that small studio, we had many deep conversations, touching the part of our hearts that we usually only keep it to ourselves. We feel we know each us so much better, even though many of the guests have been long-term friends.

We also really appreciate all the feedback and support we honorably received from our audience. Whenever we heard how our program helped them to know China better or inspired by the thoughts from the guest speakers, we just feel so happy and encouraged. This is what keeps us going!

Our editors Anthony and Josh are so amazing. Anthony introduced our program to the platform Radii and Josh gave us helpful feedback and provided all the support that we needed.

We also want to thank our lovely husbands who have been our biggest supporters behind the scene since day one. Yajun's husband Jeremiah came up with the brilliant name of the podcast and also was our CTO and IT advisor (unpaid). Jingjing's husband Nick contributed many great ideas on titles and was the source of ideas for many discussion topics. More importantly, both of them bore the noise during the editing on many days and nights. Nick once mentioned that he could only handle our loud laughter so many times on each night.:)

Last but not least, despite being friends for years, we have never been so close ever since we started planning for this podcast. We continuously brainstorm and feed ideas to each other, we discover similarities and differences between each other and keep each other encouraged and inspired.

God, this blurb turns into a long list of appreciation and becomes so cliché. However, if you don't show your gratitude to the people you care during such a warm holiday season, when is a better time?

So to celebrate this wonderful time of the year, we issued our special Christmas episode of the Wǒ Men Podcast and shared our personal Christmas experiences. Hope this installment will bring some joy and laugh on this beautiful Christmas Eve.

Happy holidays and see you in 2018!

Along our career paths, we face so many challenges and choices.

How can I make the best decisions for myself? This is a question that bothers us for the majority of our youth. Growing up in the '70s, '80s or even '90s, we don't have role models for career development.

Looking back, our parents' generation — who received professional training under China's planned economy — was very much used to the idea of going to work from 8 am to 5 pm, and believed in doing the assigned job diligently. They were not aware of the difference between a job and a career.

In addition to that, working overtime was an alien idea to them: why should one work so hard for their employers, as it is the employer who benefits, not each individual?

Our generation grew up in a reformed China, where more job opportunities had been created, new industries were developing, and Western values like "career development" had flooded in. However, we are pretty much on our own to navigate these changes, and learn how to build our careers.

Jackie You

Without realizing it, we've stepped on a career development treadmill, where we believe the only direction to go is forward. As we march ahead and grow older, we accumulate more and more baggage — families, mortgages, and children's tuition all become factors dominating our career choices. Is that the only path we're destined to take? Is there another option?

Jackie You's response to this questions is clear and sound: No, don't let these factors affect your choices. You should follow your heart!

Jackie is an ex-investment banker, former CFO of a US publicly listed company, and an entrepreneur. On our latest episode, Jackie uses her personal experience to explain why your heart knows better than your mind when it comes to certain life choices — according to her, when your heart points you in one direction, you should just go with it.

Previous episodes of the Wǒ Men podcast can be found here, and you can find Wǒ Men on iTunes here.

Have thoughts or feedback to share? Want to join the discussion? Write to Yajun and Jingjing at [email protected].

Over the last few months, many sexual harassment cases in the US have come out one by one. Many women have stepped out from the dark to speak about what has happened to them, bravely challenging the powerful figures that they used to be afraid of. It is time to say "NO."

On the other side of the world, some Chinese women who have more exposure to international affairs have started to raise awareness of this issue, and look at what's happening to themselves. China's society as a whole, however, remains quiet. In fact, there is rarely any public discussion about sexual harassment here. An op-ed published shortly after the Weinstein scandal broke by China Daily, the government's mouthpiece, argued that sexual harassment is a Western issue, one that doesn't exist in China due to "Chinese traditional values and conservative attitudes." (That op-ed has since been removed from China Daily's website.)

We disagree! There IS sexual harassment in China, and it is quite common.

We talked with our friends, and share some of their personal stories on today's podcast. We also argue that there are several reasons why, when compared with the US on the issue of sexual harassment, Chinese society still has a long way to go:

• Severe lack of sex and gender education

• No legal and regulatory execution or environment to protect women who speak out

• Government control of the media limiting open discussion of the issue

So, as girls in the US enjoy newfound support, here in China we need to stand by each other, share our stories, raise awareness, and, most importantly, bravely say "No."

Any self-respecting beer drinker who has lived in Beijing has heard of Great Leap Brewing.

As northern China's first ever craft brewery, Great Leap Brewing consigned to history the days when beer in Beijing meant Tsingtao, Yanjing, or nothing. Sourcing about 80% of its ingredients from China, Great Leap aims to make world-class beer that showcases the finest aspects of Chinese culture. Arguably the institution that brought true pub culture to Beijing, it is now the go-to place for beer-loving Chinese and expats alike.

Today, we have the honor of speaking to Liu Fang, perhaps the lesser known half of the husband-wife duo that founded GLB. She shares what inspired her and her husband, Carl, to build what has become one of Beijing's best-known small businesses.

Previous episodes of the Wǒ Men podcast can be found here, and you can find Wǒ Men on iTunes here.

Dating is hard for a Chinese girl. Not only because it's difficult to find Mr. Right, but also because the window for you to date is short.

Before college, parents and teachers forbid you to date lest it distracts from your studies. Right after college, if you're still single, parents and relatives start to become anxious. God forbid you turn 25 and are still single, and get labeled a "leftover woman." At that point, finding a so-called "perfect husband" suddenly becomes the top priority not only for you but the whole extended family. Seriously.

You will find yourself overwhelmed by blind dates set up by your parents, your third auntie, your fourth uncle. Even your grandma's random friend, who hasn't talked to her for years, will worry about you and provide all kinds of dating tips.

Swamped with blind dates, we realize that we don't actually know what kind of person we want. Some of us have decided to turn a blind eye to the whole process and just carry on, while others have started to ask questions: What is a healthy relationship? How to love? Where can we learn this?

Our parents are not good examples. They either never show their emotions or use arguments to express their frustration rather than having a calm discussion. Our peers are having the same problems, so there is no way to count on them either.

Maybe turn to TV and film? It sounds ridiculous, but it works. Friends and the Sex and the City became the relationship textbook for many of us.

So we grow up and teach ourselves how to navigate relationships. Sometimes, if we're lucky, the relationship works out, but other times we hit the wall badly.

Today we invite Jia Hailan, a single girl in Beijing, to chat with us. The three of us shared our dating experiences and discussed how we've learned to love, and the impact our families have had on our relationships.

Previous episodes of the Wǒ Men podcast can be found here, and you can find Wǒ Men on iTunes here.

Have thoughts or feedback to share? Want to join the discussion? Write to Yajun and Jingjing at [email protected].

Not long ago, "going to the gym" was not very common among working Chinese — traditional gyms, which tended to be overcrowded and lacking in modern, functional equipment, were pretty much the only option for exercising in China. In recent years, however, "getting fit" has suddenly become popular, and many boutique fitness centers seem to have mushroomed in China overnight. There are many options now, including spin class, HIIT, yoga, boxing, and dancing. Today, many of us are motivated and encouraged by one another to embrace this new fitness craze.

What's even more interesting is that "getting fit" is no longer just a topic, but rather an entire lifestyle. You can pick up on the change by gauging the conversations people have after coming back to work on Monday: instead of asking What did you do over the weekend?, people are asking Did you go to the gym? If you don't do any kind of exercise, you might feel a little bit left out.

How popular has the fitness trend become in China? Apparently, it's become popular enough to attract Michelle Obama's spin instructor to come to China to teach.

Durell E Brown, known as "Edward" to members of the Gucycle spin club in Beijing and Shanghai, shared his experiences teaching America's former First Lady, as well as his observations of China's emerging fitness trends.

Durell E Brown, known as "Edward" to members of the Gucycle spin club in Beijing and Shanghai, shared his experiences teaching America's former First Lady, as well as his observations of China's emerging fitness trends.

We are re-releasing the early episodes of the Wǒ Men podcast on iTunes. This was our third podcast (and we were still trying to figure out the technical aspects). In this episode, we talk to Ailin Guo, a young, intelligent and passionate woman who describes herself as a serial entrepreneur. This episode originally aired on the Radii China network on August 11, 2017.

People used to call China the copycat nation, but now China is known for its innovation and entrepreneurship — from e-commerce to the sharing economy, from Alibaba to Mobike.

Unlike their parents, who followed the orthodox path of holding an "iron rice bowl" (铁饭碗; a phrase meaning guaranteed employment) in a State-owned company for their entire life, the aspirational generation of young Chinese people today are chasing the exciting "startup" culture, and trying to build something of their own. They keep challenging themselves and are driven to create products and services that will "make the world a better place" (as they say in the TV show Silicon Valley).

Six years ago, as a rising star in a multinational company, Ailin left her job and started her adventure with her then-boyfriend as entrepreneurs. Many people were surprised by her decision, as it doesn't seem to be a path that a straight-A student with a bright future in the corporate world would take.

Ailin shared why she chose this path and her stories on what it takes to be an entrepreneur in China.

Ailin has now emigrated to the United States but continues to pursue her entrepreneurial dream. Supported by her work and life partner, William, she is in talks with venture capital firms to fund their next big idea.