Olivier Krischer and Shuxia Chen, "Wayfaring: Photography in Taiwan, 1950s-1980s" (Australian Centre on China in the World, 2025)

Olivier Krischer and Shuxia Chen, "Wayfaring: Photography in Taiwan, 1950s-1980s" (Australian Centre on China in the World, 2025)

Wayfaring: Photography in Taiwan, 1950s–1980s  [https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/entities/publication/1be5fd2e-f89c-422f-82ab-efa48ae9ceb2](Australian Centre on China in the World, 2025) explores four transformative decades of photography in Taiwan, tracing its evolution amid the island’s emergence from Japanese colonialism and integration into Nationalist China, largely under martial law (1949–87). Through a dozen richly illustrated essays and interviews, the book bridges the gap between vigorous Chinese-language scholarship on photography in Taiwan and its limited representation in English. Essays on photographers in the 1950s–60s, including Long Chin-San (Lang Jingshan) (1892-1995), Deng Nan-Guang (1907-1971), Chang Chao-Tang (1943-2024), Liu An-Ming (1928-2022), Hwang Pai-Chi (b. 1931), Hsu Yuan-Fu (1932-2018) and Tsai Hui-Feng (1928-2005), reveal photography’s pivotal role in documenting ‘local’ culture and shaping cultural identity, while challenging ideas of ‘amateur’ and ‘realist’ practices and recognising the importance of transnational connections. Meanwhile, essays on Hsu Jen-Shiu (b.1946), Lin Bo-Liang (b. 1952), Kao Chung-Li (b. 1958), Lien Hui-Ling (b. 1961) and Hou Tsung-Hui (b. 1960), along with interviews sharing the firsthand experiences of Liu Chen-Hsiang (b.1963), Lulu Shur-tzy Hou (1962-2023) and Yao Jui-Chung (b.1969), highlight the experience of photography in 1970s–80s Taiwan, as both witness and agent of social transformation, addressing issues such as environmental protection, mental health and gender politics, as well as being a crucial vehicle for the transdisciplinary nature of contemporary art, theatre, cinema and performance in Taiwan at that time. Chen Shuxia [https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/shuxia-chen] is a historian and curator of Chinese art. Her research concerns art collectives, diasporic artistic practice, and reciprocal relations between people and objects. Her most recent books include Wayfaring: Photography in Taiwan, 1950s–1980s (2025), Chinese Toggles: Culture in Miniature (2024) and A Home for Photography Learning: the Friday Salon, 1977-1980 (2024). Her most recent curated exhibitions include “Merchants of Haymarket: the Making of Sydney’s Chinatown” (2026), “The trace is not a presence…” (2025), “Chinese Toggles: Culture in Miniature” (2024). Chen is the inaugural curator of the Chau Chak Wing Museum’s China Gallery, and a Senior lecturer in the Master’s degree programme in Curating and Cultural Leadership, at the University of New South Wales School of Art & Design. Olivier Krischer [https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/olivier-krischer] is a historian and curator of art from East Asia and the Asian Australian diaspora, whose research concerns modern and contemporary transcultural art, photography and intermedia practices. His curatorial projects include “Assembly” (2023), featuring eight Hong Kong-born artists, “Wayfaring: Photography in 1970s-80s Taiwan” (2021) and “Between: Picturing 1950-1960s Taiwan” (2016). His publications include John Young: The History Projects (2025), Zhang Peili: From Painting to Video (2019) and Asia through Art and Anthropology: Cultural Translation Across Borders (with F. Nakamura and M. Perkins, 2013). Krischer is currently a lecturer and program convenor for the Master’s degree programe in Curating and Cultural Leadership, at the University of New South Wales School of Art & Design. Li-Ping Chen [https://lipingchen.com/] is a visiting scholar in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts. Li-Ping’s NBN episodes on Taiwan Studies are supported by the Chun and Jane Chiu Family Foundation Taiwan Studies Program at Oregon State University. Relevant Links: * Open Access for Wayfaring: Photography in Taiwan 1950s−1980s [https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/entities/publication/1be5fd2e-f89c-422f-82ab-efa48ae9ceb2] * Wayfaring 找路: Photography in 1970s–80s Taiwan Exhibition Webpage [https://ciw.anu.edu.au/event/wayfaring-zhaolu-photography-1970s-80s-taiwan] * Wayfaring Exhibition Pamphlet [https://ciw.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/2024-03/Wayfaring_A5_Web_0.pdf] * Wayfaring Exhibition Video Tour | Part 1 — Overview [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gM_Q3Bo3N0] * “Between: Picturing 1950s-60s Taiwan / 間：臺灣五六十年代面影” [https://ciw.anu.edu.au/event/between-picturing-1950-1960s-taiwan-jiantaiwanwuliushiniandaimianying] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

AI, Algocracy, and Democracy's Challenging Road Ahead with Andrew Sorota

Like many people, I've been following the developments of AI, testing out new models and following the deluge of news stories about the fight for supremacy. Much has been written about the existential and economic risks posed by AI, but the political implications of superintelligent systems have often been sidelined. In the United States and elsewhere, AI companies steam ahead with little regulation or oversight. Meanwhile, politicians appear flatfooted and unsure about the best way to integrate AI into the government to make democracies stronger and more responsive to the needs and will of the people. AI will undeniably change how governments work, but how can we ensure that democracy and individual rights are safeguarded amidst the most transformative technological revolution in more than a century? Today I'm speaking with Andrew Sorota, Head of Research for the Office of Eric Schmidt. Andrew has written extensively about the relationship between democracy and artificial intelligence. His writing has appeared in outlets like the New York Times and Noema magazine. Andrew will dispel many myths about AI, where he looks to call bullshit on the idea that democracy is a system heading fast into the dustbin of history. Follow Andrew Sorota on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-sorota-490320179/] "This Is No Way to Rule a Country" [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/opinion/ai-democracy-government-authoritarianism.html] in the New York Times "Rescuing Democracy From The Quiet Rule Of AI" [https://www.noemamag.com/rescuing-democracy-from-the-quiet-rule-of-ai/?utm_source=noemalinkedin&utm_medium=noemasocial] in Noema Andrew Sorota is currently Head of Research for the Office of Eric Schmidt. Caleb Zakarin is CEO and Publisher of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Terao Tetsuya and translated by Kevin Wang, "Spent Bullets" (HarperVia, 2025)

With Taiwan Travelogue winning the 2026 International Booker Prize, Taiwanese literature in translation has achieved new heights of visibility in the Anglosphere. In this episode of the New Books Network, we chat with writer and translator Kevin Wang about his English language rendition of Spent Bullets (HarperCollins, 2025), another Taiwanese novel that Taiwan Travelogue’s translator Lin King herself recommended to English-language readers. Written by a former Google engineer using the pen name Terao Tetsuya, Spent Bullets contains nine interconnected stories about a group of Taiwanese men as they journey through Taiwan’s most prestigious schools to Silicon Valley’s hottest tech companies. Despite being the “elite”, these characters find themselves mired in a swamp of nihilism, resorting to suicide attempts and sadomasochism as outlets for their constantly oppressed psyches. The novel represents a darkly humorous take on Taiwan’s omnipresent achievement culture, as well as another critically celebrated example of the island’s burgeoning body of queer literature. Other works that Kevin mentions in the podcast: 1. Kink: Stories [https://ro-kwon.com/kink] — by R.O. Kwan and Garth Greenwell 2. Overfitting  [https://booksfromtaiwan.moc.gov.tw/images/books_img/68fa21a85639c3.54951551.pdf]— by Terao Tetsuya, still pending translation 3. Mobu’s Diary [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Mobus-Diary/Kathy-Lam/9798881610456] —by Kathy Lam, translated by Kevin Wang and Cindy Ko 4. Kevin's recent interview [https://ampleroad.substack.com/p/an-interview-with-translator-kevin] by Michelle Kuo and Albert Wu, in which he discusses communities in Taipei in greater detail Anthony Kao [https://www.anthonykao.org/] is a writer who intersects international affairs and cultural criticism. He founded/edits Cinema Escapist [https://www.cinemaescapist.com/]—a publication exploring the sociopolitical context behind global film and television—and also writes for outlets like The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Diplomat, and Eater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Evan N. Dawley, "Taiwan: A People′s History" (Reaktion Books, 2026)

While most English-language histories of Taiwan focus on its geopolitical role, Taiwan: A People’s History [https://bookshop.org/a/12343/9781836391784] (Reaktion, 2026) by Dr. Evan N. Dawley centres on the people of Taiwan themselves and explores how they have formed a unique polity, telling the story of the Indigenous Taiwanese, the Hoklo and Hakka who came from China before the twentieth century, Japanese colonialism and the Chinese who arrived after 1945. Dr. Dawley describes how successive waves of immigration changed Taiwan and how these diverse groups of Indigenous tribes and settlers interacted economically and culturally, creating new Taiwanese identities in the process. Over the last century Taiwan has developed from an authoritarian state to one of the world’s most vibrant democracies and advanced economies. It is a successful independent society, albeit one whose existence remains under a shadow. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book [https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/securing-peace-in-angola-and-mozambique-9781350407930/] focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher [https://newbooksnetwork.com/category/special-series/new-books-with-miranda-melcher], wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

J. Michael Cole, "The Taiwan Tinderbox: The Island-Nation at the Centre of the New Cold War" (Polity, 2025)

J. Michael Cole is a Taipei-based security analyst and writer who has spent over two decades documenting Taiwan’s political and security landscape. A former analyst with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), he is a Research Fellow and Executive Editor with the Prospect Foundation in Taiwan, and advises various private and governmental actors. He is also a Senior Non-Resident Fellow with the Global Taiwan Institute in Washington, D.C., the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in Ottawa, and the University of Nottingham’s Taiwan Hub. In this episode of the New Books Network, we chat with Cole about his latest book, The Taiwan Tinderbox: The Island-Nation at the Centre of the New Cold War  [https://bookshop.org/a/12343/9781509568062](Polity, 2025). Starting with the Sunflower Student Movement and rise of Xi Jinping, the book explores why the Taiwan Strait has become such a “tinderbox”, and surveys various tactics that the People’s Republic of China has used to destabilize Taiwan. With the Ukraine War’s shadow looming, Cole also examines the prospects of conflict between Taiwan and China, and discusses various means through which Taiwan and its liberal democratic allies can build resilience and interconnection. Anthony Kao [https://www.anthonykao.org/] is a writer who intersects international affairs and cultural criticism. He founded/edits Cinema Escapist [https://www.cinemaescapist.com/]—a publication exploring the sociopolitical context behind global film and television—and also writes for outlets like The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Diplomat, and Eater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]