Jack Yan: the Persuader podcast: Recent Episodes
Jack Yan
A farewell to Paul O’Grady, who passed away at 67; a response to a racist Auckland builder; and being up for a Business Book Award in London in May.
Let’s start putting things right among the cacophony of Mandarin being promoted by Chinese McLanguage Week. All in Cantonese this episode, so if this isn’t your language, feel free to skip this one!
New Zealand Chinese Language Week isn’t being honest to the people it’s aimed at. For a start, it ignores the history of New Zealand Chinese, dating back 180 years, and the languages they spoke. By promoting only Mandarin, it’s pushing Beijing’s agenda.
Taking some of the themes today on RNZ’s The Panel with Wallace Chapman, I offer a bit more commentary. Today’s topics: the COVID-19 mandate for schools; quitting drinking; Finland planning to let people see others’ salaries; the level of spending above New Zealand Superannuation; Countdown’s toy gifts; and the multi-modal commuter.
Note: the majority of this episode is in Cantonese. It’s directed at the Lai family, who were featured in the Reuters report on émigrés departing Hong Kong after the passing of the national security law, and sharing my experiences of being a child whose family made the same choice out of fear of the 1997 handover.
On the good fortune of living in a country largely free from COVID-19, and how Scotland has been on my mind, from A. G. Barr to Richard Madden to Sir Sean Connery.
I have friends who voted for Trump in 2016, and friends who voted for Clinton in 2016. They all had a lot in common, but there are forces stoking divisions between them. What are they? And where is the centre in US politics?
What a privilege to be asked on RNZ’s The Panel on Tuesday. Here’s a little bit behind the scenes, and ‘I’ve Been Thinking’ delivered at a less frantic pace.
Personal thoughts in solidarity with my black friends in the US. Yes, I posted a blackout image on my Instagram but it didn’t seem to be enough. This is my small contribution, inspired by a Facebook post written by my white American friend Eddie Uken where he reflects on his perspective and privilege.
Life at Level 3 in Aotearoa; why I pronounce COVID the way I do; the stupidity of racism against people of Chinese extraction; what red and blue Americans have in common; a lack of imagination in politics; and having a bit of faith in the Kiwi way in a post-COVID-19 society.
Steve McQueen once said, ‘I’m not an actor, I’m a reactor.’ Olivia St Redfern kindly featured me on her podcast (listen to https://anchor.fm/queenoliviastr/episodes/Day-2-ebvucc) and here is my reply—for now this is how I’m finding my inspiration. Today I talk about Logan’s Run (the TV series, not the film), reminisce about the Wellington suburb of Thorndon, and the national ‘Bear Hunt’, a community initiative where people are putting teddy bears in windows for children to spot while on their walks during the coronacation.
Leisure Lounge, set up by my friend Olivia St Redfern, has a long history stretching back to the early 2010s. It was resurrected as a Podcast here on Anchor when New Zealand went into the national lockdown to combat COVID-19. Check out Leisure Lounge at https://anchor.fm/queenoliviastr/. I felt her second episode warranted a reply, and here it is—just me speaking, and no clever sound effects.