logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2025
51m 37s

America's lawyers vs. China's engineers

Vox
About this episode
America has a hard time building stuff. Roads. Trains. Bridges. Housing. Everything takes seemingly forever. Meanwhile, China seems to have no trouble at all: high-speed rails, solar panels, electric cars, bridges, ports, all churned out at breakneck speed. Why is that? Sean's guest is Dan Wang, author of the new book Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer ... Show More
Up next
Jan 12
How we built a government that can’t build anything
Why is it so hard for America to build things? Bridges take years to construct. Housing costs are soaring. Transit systems are crumbling. And we’re struggling to update our infrastructure to prepare for the climate crisis. Even when there’s broad agreement that something needs to ... Show More
45m 46s
Dec 22
It’s okay to not be okay
It’s not always the most wonderful time of the year. Every December, we’re told to be merry and stay positive. But a lot of us don’t feel that way. And when we don’t, the pressure to be happy makes everything worse. Sadness feels like failure. Grief feels like a personal mistake. ... Show More
58m 35s
Dec 15
Forgiveness is optional
You have to forgive people who wrong you…right? The world is filled with injustice and wrongdoing, and to live in the world — to not be consumed by anger — forgiveness is necessary. At least that’s what we’re told over and over again: By forgiving, we can set ourselves free.But i ... Show More
1h 4m
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2025
If Americans Are Lawyers and Chinese Are Engineers, Who Is Going to Win?
The United States and China are constantly looking for a leg up in their rivalry for geopolitical primacy. But what if the real advantage lies in adopting a bit of the other’s culture? A new book makes the case that while China has become an engineering state obsessed with buildi ... Show More
44m 58s
Sep 2025
Does the Future Belong to China?
<p>Is the United States still a worthy opponent for China? In this episode, Ross Douthat talks to Dan Wang, the author of “Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future,” about the alarming speed at which China is able to build and could blow America out of the water.</p><ul><l ... Show More
1h 5m
Sep 2025
647. China Is Run by Engineers. America Is Run by Lawyers.
tail spinning
1h 1m
Sep 2025
China and the limits of its ‘engineering state’. With Dan Wang
China has become a superpower because of its ability to build bridges, cars and electronics at an astonishing pace. But breakneck growth comes with problems. The country is grappling with overproduction and deflation, and policymakers in Beijing are attempting to jumpstart consum ... Show More
28m 24s
Sep 2025
China’s Quest to Engineer the Future: A Conversation with Dan Wang
In this joint episode of Pekingology and the ChinaPower Podcast, CSIS Freeman Chair Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin and co-host CSIS China Power Project Deputy Director and Fellow Brian Hart are joined by Dan Wang to discuss his new book, Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Fu ... Show More
34m 34s
Oct 3
Who’s Going To Win The Future? Dan Wang on China’s Engineers vs. America’s Lawyers | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution
<p>One great power (China) has a relentless thirst to build that comes with a terrible human cost, while its main rival (America) is a more lawyerly and free society that’s prone to stifling ideas both good and bad. On the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic ... Show More
1h 7m
Oct 6
Can the US Beat China’s Engineering State?
<p>From high-speed rail to electric cars to batteries to AI, it’s clear that China can operate with incredible speed at massive scale. Can the US still compete?</p><p>We sat down with Dan Wang, a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution and the author of “Breakneck: China’s Ques ... Show More
1h 3m
May 2024
Coming soon: China, the new tech superpower
<p>In a new season of Tech Tonic, longtime FT China reporter Jame Kynge travels around the world to see how China is pushing towards tech supremacy. Will China be able to get an edge in crucial technological areas? What does China’s attempt to leapfrog the west look like on the g ... Show More
1m 7s
Oct 16
Dan Wang - The US vs China In The 21st Century - [Invest Like the Best, EP.444]
My guest today is Dan Wang. Dan is a technology analyst and author who spent six years living in China studying its manufacturing ecosystem and tech development, best known for his new book Breakneck. Dan offers the most nuanced framework I've encountered for understanding US-Chi ... Show More
1h 36m
May 2024
China's race to tech supremacy: Shenzhen speed
<p>How did China go from tech imitator to innovator? The FT’s James Kynge reports from Shenzhen, known as China’s Silicon Valley, where he explores the city’s vast electronics markets with inventor Noah Zerkin, an American who’s based himself in China, visits robot start-up Youib ... Show More
26m 16s