The Raider: China and the Life of Evans Carlson, with Historian Stephen Platt

Sinica Podcast

Kaiser Kuo

Culture, China News, Hangzhou, Chinese, International Relations, Chongqing, Beijing, Sichuan, Currentaffairs, China, Politics, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, China Economy, News, China Politics, Business, Film, Shenzhen

4.8 • 676 Ratings

🗓️ 11 June 2025

⏱️ 83 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on Sinica, I chat with Stephen Platt, historian at UMass Amherst and author, most recently, of the book The Raider: The Untold Story of a Renegade Marine and the Birth of U.S. Special Forces in World War II. Like his previous works, Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom and Imperial Twilight, it offers a compelling narrative history of an overlooked chapter through a deeply empathetic and well-researched examination of individual lives. Please make sure to listen to the excerpt from the audiobook at the end of this podcast.

04:21 - Evans Carlson: A forgotten hero

07:49 - The Real Carlson vs. the constructed Carlson

10:04 - The book's origin

12:20 - Carlson's ideological transformation

16:50 - Carlson's religious beliefs and public perception

20:04 - Emerson's influence on Carlson's thinking

23:46 - Inner conflicts: Soul-searching or regret?

27:15 - Carlson's relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt

30:39 - Gung Ho Meetings: meaning, practice, and legacy

33:34 - Zhu De’s influence on Carlson

40:28 - Carlson’s relationships with Agnes Smedley and Edgar Snow

47:49 - Hopes for U.S.-China alliance

51:57 - Carlson’s death and his legacy

58:01 - Lessons from Carlson

Paying it Forward: Peter Thilly, Emily Mokros

Recommendations:

Stephen: 11.22.63 by Stephen King; Ted Chiang (author); Otoboke Beaver (band); Book of Mormon (musical)

Kaiser: Wobbler (band); The Religion by Tim Willocks; Zappa (2020)

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Transcript

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0:40.8	Start your free 30-day trial at audible.com slash Wondery, UK.
0:45.6	That's audible.com slash Wondery, UK.
0:49.6	Hey, cynical listeners, be sure to stick around after the podcast to listen to an excerpt from
0:54.9	the audiobook of my guest today, Stephen Platt's latest book, The Raider. Check it out.
1:09.7	Welcome to the cynical podcast, the weekly discussion of current affairs in China.
1:14.0	In this program, we'll look at books, ideas, new research, intellectual currents,
1:18.0	and cultural trends that can help us better understand what's happening in China's politics,
1:22.5	foreign relations, economics, and society.
1:25.3	Join me each week for in-depth conversations that shed more light and bring
1:29.5	less heat to how we think and talk about China. I'm Kaiser Guo, coming to you from my home in Chapel
1:35.7	Hill, North Carolina. Cynica is supported this year by the Center for East Asian Studies at the
1:40.6	University of Wisconsin-Madison, a national resource center for the study of East Asia.
1:45.3	The Cynica podcast itself will remain free, but if you work for an organization that believes
	...

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