016 - Chris Stewart - The History of China

Christ Stewart of The History of China --- SUMMARY Chris Stewart is the creator and host of The History of China podcast, a show he launched in 2013 while living in Shanghai that now spans over 330 episodes covering 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. In this conversation, Chris talks about how seventeen years living and teaching in China shaped his approach to the podcast, the challenges of working with ancient and often contradictory historical sources, and how his background as an educator informs the way he scaffolds complex history for new listeners. He also discusses joining the Airwave Media network while staying fully independent creatively, his low-key approach to Patreon monetization, and his thoughts on the democratization of history podcasting and the risks of misinformation in the space. The episode wraps with his podcast recommendations and where to find his show. --- IN THIS EPISODE 00:19 — Introduction to Chris Stewart and The History of China podcast 01:15 — Chris's background, seventeen years living in China, and the show's origin story 02:07 — How his understanding of China evolved over 330+ episodes 06:05 — Living in China while podcasting: technical hurdles and internet censorship 08:15 — Navigating historical sources and deciding what to trust 13:19 — Chinese pride in 5,000 years of continuous civilization, and its nuances 15:23 — Balancing academic rigor with entertaining storytelling 21:50 — Episodes Chris would recommend for understanding modern China (the Opium War and Taiping Rebellion) 25:13 — Joining the Airwave Media network and staying creatively independent 27:37 — Collaborating with other history podcasters and the Intelligent Speech event 28:20 — Bringing new listeners into a 330-episode back catalog 31:55 — Using "scaffolding" techniques from his teaching background to make episodes accessible 34:00 — Tracking audience growth and the early lucky break that boosted listenership 37:25 — Patreon, listener support, and his philosophy on monetization 42:39 — What makes podcasting uniquely suited for teaching history 47:05 — The democratization of podcasting and the risk of misinformation 56:31 — Chris's three podcast recommendations 58:03 — Where to find Chris and The History of China online --- RESOURCES & LINKS The History of China podcast. Show email: [email protected] Airwave Media Network Revolutions podcast (Mike Duncan) - other podcasts like Revolutions PseudoPod The NoSleep Podcast - best episodes of The NoSleep Podcast Ctext.org (Chinese Text Project) Internet Archive --- TALK THAT POD Are you a podcaster or podcast industry figure and you want to be on this podcast? Fill out this form. Watch or listen to Talk That Pod on YouTube. Follow us: Twitter / X Facebook YouTube Instagram TikTok Threads --- FIND THAT POD Discover the best podcasts in the world. - A podcast discovery newsletter bringing you 5 great podcasts to discover every week. Subscribe today.