Whose Century Is It?
Ideas, Trends & Twists Shaping the 21st Century.
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Are young Chinese liberalizing as China’s political leaders crack down?
Young Chinese have grown up in a time of epic change, as China has become more prosperous and powerful, more urban, more educated, more connected with the world through technology, travel, television and more. Chinese have also become more connected with each other, with some 800 million of them online. And despite an ongoing government crackdown on free speech, especially dissent, and even the discussion of Western ideas such as democracy, human rights and rule of law, attitudes and expectations are radically different among young Chinese than for many previous generations in China, in ways that could affect not just China, but the world, in this century.
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Why China’s embrace of renewable energy matters, and is more complicated than you think
China’s former leader Deng Xiaoping once said that it doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice. A new twist on the theme might be, it doesn’t matter if China’s leaders are committed environmentalists, or acting in pragmatic self-interest, if China’s rapid ramping-up of renewable energy and easing away from coal yields a net benefit of reducing climate change-causing emissions, and helping to slow the rate of climate change. A look at what China is doing and why, as President Donald Trump declares an American retreat from global leadership on climate change
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Bringing the world into focus for some of the 2 billion people globally who need glasses but don’t have them
If you wear glasses, you’re in a majority in most developed countries. In developing countries, few have them, but many need them. By some estimates, two billion people in developing countries need eyeglasses, but don’t have access to them. One of the groups working to bridge the gap is VisionSpring, a social enterprise that has already sold 3.7 million pairs of glasses, at affordable prices, to people in Africa and Asia making $4 or less per day, helping improve learning, work productivity, and quality of life.
How a shortwave radio network is helping to counter Boko Haram
Boko Haram hasn’t given up, but it’s on the ropes after a push by the Nigerian military last year, and vigilance by regional peacekeepers. Also countering their influence is a regional shortwave radio network, Dandal Kura Radio International, started just over a year ago, as the world’s first network to broadcast in Kanuri — the language spoken by 10 million people in the region, and by most members of Boko Haram. Anyone with a cellphone can call in and share information and ideas. This plus news, current affairs, radio dramas and other programming has started to help counter Boko Haram’s power to attract, and is helping a bruised and fractured region move toward a less fraught future.
If money can’t buy happiness, many Chinese now seek spiritiual meaning
A search for meaning is underway in China, after generations grew up with the Communist Party destroying temples and churches, persecuting the religious, and telling the young that religion was the opiate of the masses, and counter-revolutionary to boot. Now, with many Chinese feeling that a moral and ethical center is missing from their increasingly materially comfortable lives, a growing number are seeking meaning in religion and spiritual practice. Host Mary Kay Magistad explores why, in conversation with fellow former China correspondents Ian Johnson, author of “The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao,” and Jennifer Lin, author of “Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family.”
Disrupting the Kleptocrat’s Playbook, one investigative report at a time
After decades when democracy was on the rise, the current trend seems to be of aspiring autocrats riding populist waves to power, and then misusing that power to amass wealth for themselves and their families. Forget what President Donald Trump says about journalists being the “Enemy of the People,” says Drew Sullivan, head of the Organized Crime & Corruption Reporting Project — investigative reporting has never been more important.