3a:T4b7,In October 1860, railroad engineer Theodore Judah looked out across California’s Sierra Nevada range, dreaming of a railroad that would connect the United States from coast to coast. It was the start of a decade-long endeavor to build the world’s first transcontinental railroad.Two competing railroad companies would eventually begin construction, but laying nearly 2,000 miles of iron track across America’s expanse would require vast sums of money – and unimaginable feats of engineering.Order your copy of the new American History Tellers book, The Hidden History of the White House, for behind-the-scenes stories of some of the most dramatic events in American history—set right inside the house where it happened.Listen to American History Tellers on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting wondery.com/links/american-history-tellers/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.3b:T522,

On air October 28th, 2019. Recorded October 20th, 2019.

Gio Esposito joins Patricia to recap their experiences debuting a choral work in Chinese at Carnegie Hall earlier in the month. Written by Pulitzer-prize winning composer Zhou Long, Men of Steel and the Golden Spike commemorates the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, and tells the unrecorded stories of the first Chinese immigrants to the United States. Gio and Patricia sit down to talk about how it felt to perform (for the second time!) at Carnegie Hall, their thoughts on choral music in western vs. Chinese culture, the politics of singing, and how art informs people’s perceptions of the other.

Show notes for this episode and all other episodes of the Bad Chinese Teacher Podcast can be found at badchineseteacher.com.

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3c:T406,Today, China is a global superpower. But less than two hundred years ago, the nation was in a state of decline. After what became known as the 'century of humiliation' at the hands of Western imperialist powers, its very survival was in question. A movement arose to fight off foreign interference and preserve Chinese culture in the face of intense pressure from a rapidly-changing world. And the key to that movement was language. In this episode, we follow three key reformers who worked to modernize written and spoken Chinese, sometimes risking their lives to do so. Their work simplified Chinese, standardized it, and took it from an inaccessible language built for the elite to a modern language for the masses. It was a struggle that spanned generations, changed the fate of millions of people, and helped create the powerful modern nation-state of China.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy3d:T405,Today, China is a global superpower. But less than two hundred years ago, the nation was in a state of decline. After what became known as the 'century of humiliation' at the hands of Western imperialist powers, its very survival was in question. A movement arose to fight off foreign interference and preserve Chinese culture in the face of intense pressure from a rapidly-changing world. And the key to that movement was language.In this episode, we follow three key reformers who worked to modernize written an

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