Podcast episodes, transcripts, interviews, and related content.
What springs to mind when you think of agriculture students? The best university cafeterias? Drinking coffee like it’s soup? Or perhaps viral quotes like “The machinery over there is far too loud, mind turning it down?” or “I have no idea, but my strawberries are looking rather graceful”?…
Monitoring data from the National Climate Centre of the China Meteorological Administration shows that since the start of the flood season this year, the national average rainfall has reached 110.1 mm – 18.6% higher than the average for the same period in a typical year. The frequent…
20 May marks World Bee Day. Silkworms and bees are the only two insects domesticated by humans, yet when drones fly overhead, their dead bodies litter the fields. Having covered silkworms, we now turn our attention back to bees, an essential pollinator. China’s agriculture depends on pollinators…
This March, news of pollinating bees being “accidentally harmed” by drones in rapeseed fields caught the public eye. Yet beyond the spotlight, another insect that has coexisted with human civilisation for millennia—the domestic silkworm—is facing a far more insidious and severe survival crisis. “Once the drones take…
What is it like raising a fussy eater? When a child won’t eat properly, what exactly are mothers so anxious about? In this Mother’s Day special, we start with fussy eaters, but our conversation quickly moves beyond pickiness, feeding routines, and menu planning to explore intergenerational memories,…
Although we frequently talk about being “trapped in the algorithm,” it hardly slows algorithms from embedding themselves ever more deeply into daily life. But do internet creators, delivery couriers, e-commerce hosts, media professionals, and ride-hailing drivers—those who work with algorithms on a daily basis—truly lack their own perceptions and understanding…
Grain Rain ( guyu 谷雨 ) has arrived; the showers nurture the fields as the countryside enters the busiest and most vibrant season of the year. After a fortnight of quietude, Foodthink is also taking this solar term as a moment to begin anew. Riding on the season’s rains, we…
How did an organisation focused on insect ecology start caring about farmers’ livelihoods? And how did an organisation focused on livelihoods end up writing a “Song of the Fly“? How did a man from Shanxi become a “male Women’s Director” in a Yunnan village? Why is a top genetic engineering…
Each year, 315 sees a concentrated public focus on food safety. Yet, the impact of “digital pickled mustard greens” – this form of virtual sustenance – on dietary wellbeing has yet to command adequate attention. Short videos, television dramas, variety shows, podcasts… content collectively dubbed “digital pickled mustard greens” has…
When you step into a McDonald’s and take your place at the counter for your usual meal deal, can you sense it: behind that open kitchen, a highly orchestrated “production battle” is underway. In the lore of the fast-food empire, everything is standardised: a strict 90-second service window, fryers held…
