Silk and Steel

In this Silk and Steel Podcast, host Carl Zha sits down with Angelica Ong, a pro-nuclear activist and political commentator based in Taiwan. They discuss her dramatic political shift as well as her pragmatic analysis of Taiwan's energy crisis and precarious geopolitical position between the US and China.

Diego Sequera, A Venezuelan journalist, discusses US aggression against Venezuela, "Narco-Terrorism" accusations, and political influence and gamesmanship in the region.

Carl Zha speaks with Danny "Showtime," an African American who has spent over 26 years in Shanghai and worked in its music industry.

We dive deep into why China is pulling ahead in the global AI race, the shocking reality of America's hardware disadvantage, and how Chinese models like DeepSeek, Qwen, and Kimi are setting the new global standard.

Jerry Grey shares his first-hand account of bicycling through western China's vast, beautiful, and sometimes harsh landscape.

Professor Guillen shares amazing stories of his early travels to "wild" parts of Indonesia and being among the first Westerners in post-1979 China, including an unforgettable archaeological discovery in Xinjiang.

In this explosive episode of the Silk and Steel Podcast, host Carl Zha is joined by returning expert TP Huang to break down the stunning array of new weapons systems China recently unveiled. From hypersonic missiles that can be launched from submarines to J-20-sized stealth fighter drones, the parade showcased technologies that are years, if not decades, ahead of what other nations are developing.

We break down the recent Trump-Xi summit, the second round of the U.S.-China trade war, and the surprising outcomes that signal a major walk-back by the Trump administration.

In this episode, Pepe contrasts his travels in Xinjiang from 25 years ago with the reality on the ground today. We discuss the mind-boggling modernization, the seamless integration of ethnic groups, the truth behind the "redevelopment" of Kashgar's old city, and the shocking scale of the Belt and Road Initiative's infrastructure. This is a firsthand, on-the-ground account you won't get anywhere else.