China Decode: Microsoft's China Retreat, Remembering Zhu Rongji, and Typhoon Dolphin's Aftermath

China Decode: Microsoft's China Retreat, Remembering Zhu Rongji, and Typhoon Dolphin's Aftermath

Alice Han and James Kynge break down Microsoft's five-year retreat from China — shuttered offices, closed retail stores, and thousands of jobs wound down — while the company quietly keeps selling Azure and AI services to Chinese giants like ByteDance and Shein. They dig into what's driving the pullback, whether this is the decoupling everyone's been warning about, and the irony that Microsoft's Beijing R&D center helped train alumni now leading rivals like DeepSeek and SenseTime. Then: former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji — the man who steered China into the WTO in 2001 and became known as "China's Thatcher" — has died at 97. Alice and James look at his legacy, from a 12x increase in China's global trade to the tens of millions of state-enterprise workers laid off along the way, and what the surprisingly unscripted outpouring of grief on Weibo says about China today. Finally: Typhoon Dolphin has weakened to a tropical storm, but not before forcing over a million evacuations, grounding 40% of Shanghai's flights, and pushing Hong Kong to its hottest day on record. Subscribe to China Decode on Substack for weekly analysis, livestreams, and deep dives into the biggest story shaping the global economy: chinadecode.profgmedia.com [http://chinadecode.profgmedia.com]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Is SpaceX Overvalued? + What to Do When You're Not Getting Promoted

Scott Galloway breaks down whether SpaceX's blockbuster IPO makes Elon Musk a financial genius, then advises a listener on handling a peer's promotion and weighs in on raising a family in a big city. Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to officehours@profgmedia.com, or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/ScottGalloway/comments/1vdrsoz/got_a_question_for_scott_ask_here_august_thread/?share_id=PotgDlGOO42KpEq8O83OI&utm_content=share_button&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1]. Plus, you can now call or text Scott a question at our new Office Hours hotline: ‪(201) 472-3656‬. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

No Mercy / No Malice: The Prof G Storytelling Playbook

Written by Mia Silverio. As read by George Hahn. https://www.profgmedia.com/p/see-what-others-miss-the-prof-g-storytelling Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

The Week: The Half-Trillion-Dollar AI Loop

George Hahn connects the dots across the week’s biggest stories: why Nvidia is helping finance the customers buying its chips, what a weak jobs report reveals about the American economy, and how technology is reshaping our relationships. Plus, Scott and Jess discuss America’s declining power and what it takes to build a capitalism that works for the middle class. We’d love your feedback as we build this show! Let us know what you think: info@profgmedia.com [info@profgmedia.com]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Why We’re Having Less Sex — and Why It Matters (ft. Dr. Debra Soh)

Scott Galloway speaks with neuroscientist and author Debra Soh about why young people are having less sex, and what that decline reveals about intimacy, loneliness, and human connection. They also discuss how dating apps have turned romance into a winner-take-all market, how pornography and AI offer frictionless substitutes for relationships, and why growing resentment between men and women is making it harder to find lasting love. Follow Dr. Soh, @DrDebraSoh [https://x.com/DrDebraSoh?lang=en]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]