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Q: Anyone interested in co-hosting a weekly China podcast?
Hello!
my name is Adam, from the U.K.
I've been in China since 2012, coming here shortly after my 19th birthday and have recently been playing with the idea of creating a weekly podcast about all things China!
I have never lived in a big city (I'm based in zhejiang province, Jinhua city) and feel that light chat about differences in big / small cities, culture, life, friends, hardships, as well as answering questions etc here in China would be a great little weekly project.
looking for someone to have a lively and lighthearted chat about their views.
not sure if anyone would be interested or if this is even posted in the right place (if not please forgive) but I welcome anyone who is interested to get in touch.
4 years 1 day ago in Arts & Entertainment - China
That sounds like it could be a cool podcast.
I'm not putting my hand up here to volunteer, I'd be a terrible podcaster... I have a voice that sounds like geese honking and I'm terrible at small talk but I do listen to podcasts a lot so in my mind that makes me an expert. 
One thing I've seen happen with podcasts is they start off great, one or two people telling their audience everything they know about... whatever the theme of the pod is. But then they run out of material and the podcast dies. You can see / hear it happen, they start off with a weekly pod where they're enthusiastic and putting out interesting stuff then they hit the wall - what do we talk about now, we pretty much covered everything we can think of - and the weekly pod goes to monthly, six weekly, getting lamer and lamer, then just stops.
I would suggest, if you get it off the ground obviously, regular interviews with some of the characters you meet in China telling their story, both foreign and Chinese. Older Chinese people especially would have some really interesting stories assuming you could get them to talk about them and you didn't cross any lines with the government but even the average teacher with about 20 years in the country under his belt has some pretty cool stories.
Stiggs:
Hell, thinking about it now, if you did it right it could turn into a decent business.
When I started in the teaching game Daves ESL Cafe was THE place everyone went to for information, advice, feedback from other teachers about the school you just applied to etc and now that website is pretty much dead, or at least the forums are.
People are still going to be out there looking to learn as much as they can before they jump into teaching in China (assuming we get past the covid bullsh*t), websites like Dave's are a thing of the past, maybe you could fill the void with a useful, informative podcast. Adam's ESL Podcast. 
sorrel:
sounds like a great idea,
but if it is too 'realistic' about life in China, there will be 'hurt feelings'
Stiggs:
I pretty much assume most podcast platforms are blocked in China anyway, just like YouTube, Reddit, Google etc where people go to learn about stuff, potential China newbies wouldn't he affected though. And the people in China who might listen to it use VPNs. As long as the podcaster didn't get too political it would probably be ok, and hurt feelings would just need to be dealt with.
diverdude1:
point which is good sorrel. I still drop my jaw when I hear people talk about 'seeing/vacation' in china..... haha,,,, not exactly the 'vacation' place...... imho.
I don't know merde' about podcassts,, but does that mean sell the approved boring line, the ' Frommer's Guide to China'* or does it mean telling them how things are once u get out of the tourist loop of Forbidden City, Xian, SHG, & Wall?
One mode would be 'Boooring',, the other would definitely be 'hurt feelings'.
Stiggs:
@ Divedude I think OP's idea was more aimed at people living / working in China, or thinking about it, rather than tourists. Pretty much like ECC and all the other China expat sites once were.
That sounds like it could be a cool podcast.
I'm not putting my hand up here to volunteer, I'd be a terrible podcaster... I have a voice that sounds like geese honking and I'm terrible at small talk but I do listen to podcasts a lot so in my mind that makes me an expert.
One thing I've seen happen with podcasts is they start off great, one or two people telling their audience everything they know about... whatever the theme of the pod is. But then they run out of material and the podcast dies. You can see / hear it happen, they start off with a weekly pod where they're enthusiastic and putting out interesting stuff then they hit the wall - what do we talk about now, we pretty much covered everything we can think of - and the weekly pod goes to monthly, six weekly, getting lamer and lamer, then just stops.
I would suggest, if you get it off the ground obviously, regular interviews with some of the characters you meet in China telling their story, both foreign and Chinese. Older Chinese people especially would have some really interesting stories assuming you could get them to talk about them and you didn't cross any lines with the government but even the average teacher with about 20 years in the country under his belt has some pretty cool stories.
Stiggs:
Hell, thinking about it now, if you did it right it could turn into a decent business.
When I started in the teaching game Daves ESL Cafe was THE place everyone went to for information, advice, feedback from other teachers about the school you just applied to etc and now that website is pretty much dead, or at least the forums are.
People are still going to be out there looking to learn as much as they can before they jump into teaching in China (assuming we get past the covid bullsh*t), websites like Dave's are a thing of the past, maybe you could fill the void with a useful, informative podcast. Adam's ESL Podcast.
sorrel:
sounds like a great idea,
but if it is too 'realistic' about life in China, there will be 'hurt feelings'
Stiggs:
I pretty much assume most podcast platforms are blocked in China anyway, just like YouTube, Reddit, Google etc where people go to learn about stuff, potential China newbies wouldn't he affected though. And the people in China who might listen to it use VPNs. As long as the podcaster didn't get too political it would probably be ok, and hurt feelings would just need to be dealt with.
diverdude1:
point which is good sorrel. I still drop my jaw when I hear people talk about 'seeing/vacation' in china..... haha,,,, not exactly the 'vacation' place...... imho.
I don't know merde' about podcassts,, but does that mean sell the approved boring line, the ' Frommer's Guide to China'* or does it mean telling them how things are once u get out of the tourist loop of Forbidden City, Xian, SHG, & Wall?
One mode would be 'Boooring',, the other would definitely be 'hurt feelings'.
Stiggs:
@ Divedude I think OP's idea was more aimed at people living / working in China, or thinking about it, rather than tourists. Pretty much like ECC and all the other China expat sites once were.
May I suggest you hit up Walkabout Rojo on Youtube.
He has been running a moderately successful blog about all things China without getting into 'sensitive' issues. He has been running some livestreams of late and is considering brancing out into a podcast.
Nice guy who I think would be happy to have a chat about it at least. Someone to share the workload may be welcome. He's not the shill style or the china basher style. More good info in a relaxed style.
Hmm hi êvèryøñë I'm sabatan I'm actually new in all this stuff so wat is going on can someone gist me please ????
icnif77:
Gist no. 1:
"I don't think, you can find this website useful if you're unable to read and understand English." 
Hi Adam, since you're in Jinhua you may probably join our weekly Toastmasters club meeting to talk about your plan. We do regular face-to-face or Tencent online meetings. Sometimes we got English speaking guests join online meetings from the Ningbo or Shanghai club. Someone might be interested to work with you.
I'm Wangnan currently in Yiwu. Your idea sounds great. Hope this helps.
I would surmise that one of the reasons that some 'China' podcasters 'fail' is due to the fact that they discuss topics only related to their own experiences within China. Or, similarly, they seek out others in China to speak with about topics that they can relate to. This is of limited scope. We are all familiar with the expression, 'to think outside of the box' and we should do just that. Even when in China we might all do well to remember that life exists outwith the middle kingdom. By extension external events, not limited to America-China might also be discussed on planet podcast.
I personally would be interested in talking with other podcasters as well as starting my own. Hit me up!
I think it would also be a good idea to hire/employ a competent translator so as to interview Chinese citizens without English competency. Everyone is potentially interesting and many stories have not yet been told.
