Yascha Mounk on China and Western Liberalism
Sinica Podcast
Kaiser Kuo
4.7 • 710 Ratings
🗓️ 17 September 2025
⏱️ 82 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week on the Sinica Podcast, I chat with well-known author and public intellectual Yascha Mounk about his recent fascination with China, his approach to learning about the country and learning Chinese, and his thoughts on how China fits into the current crisis of Western liberal democracy.
7:15 – Yascha’s experience of living in China and learning Chinese
12:18 – Yascha’s perspective on China’s strengths and weaknesses
20:12 – China in a global comparative perspective: Generational aspirations and demographic decline
29:45 – China’s Soft Power vs. Japan, Korea, and the U.S.
45:30 – Media narratives on China: have they shifted?
54:20 – Western Liberalism confronts China
01:07:07 – Backlash & criticism
01:11:35 - Polarization and “China as enemy” narratives
Recommendations:
Yascha: The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (book), The Leopard (1963) (movie)
Kaiser: A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism by Adam Gopnik (book)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Cynica Podcast, the week's discussion of current affairs in China. |
| 0:13.0 | In this program, we'll look at books, ideas, new research, intellectual currents, and cultural trends that can help us better understand what's happening |
| 0:20.8 | in China's politics, foreign relations, economics, and society. |
| 0:25.6 | Join me each week for in-depth conversations that shed more light and bring less heat to |
| 0:30.2 | how we think and talk about China. |
| 0:32.9 | I'm Kaiser Guo, coming to you this week from Beijing, where I will be throughout September |
| 0:36.9 | if you are around. |
| 0:38.2 | Drop me a note and say hi. |
| 0:40.2 | Cynica is supported this year by the SETCHFER East Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, |
| 0:45.2 | a National Resource Center for the Study of East Asia. |
| 0:48.3 | The Cynica podcast will remain free as always, but if you work for an organization that believes |
| 0:52.9 | in what I am doing with the show |
| 0:54.3 | and with the newsletter, please consider lending your support. I need you more than ever. You can get me |
| 0:59.8 | at Cinecapod at gmail.com. And listeners, do your part by becoming a paying subscriber at |
| 1:06.3 | Cinecapodcast.com. You will enjoy, in addition to the podcast itself, the transcript of the show, |
| 1:12.3 | essays from me, as well as writings and podcasts from some of your favorite China-focused columnists |
| 1:17.5 | and commentators. And of course, you will rest easy in the knowledge you are helping me do |
| 1:22.0 | what I honestly believe is pretty important work. So help out, check out the page, |
| 1:26.5 | see you all it's all on offer, |
| 1:27.8 | and see you there. I've developed a really keen interest in trying to understand the |
| 1:32.9 | perspectives of smart people, especially public intellectuals who have reach and influence |
| 1:38.3 | and who are only recently starting to really grapple with understanding China and all that it means. |
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