Independent Podcasting, Feminist Awakening, and Collective Feeling in a Changing China
February 10 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Speaker: Qing Wang, co-founder and co-host of The Weirdo Podcast (不合时宜),
Fellow at Asia Society
Moderator: Qin Gao, Maurice V. Russell Professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice; Acting Director of the Asian American Initiative; Associate Dean for Doctoral Education; Director of China Center for Social Policy, Columbia School of Social Work
Over the past decade, podcasts have emerged as an important form of alternative media, offering intimate yet public spaces for storytelling, emotional exchange, and shared reflection, particularly for young women navigating rapid social change. Qing Wang is the co-founder and co-host of The Weirdo Podcast (不合时宜), a leading independent Chinese-language podcast with over one million followers, dedicated to amplifying progressive and non-conformist voices. This event will be a dialogue between Qing Wang and the faculty host Qin Gao to explore the rise of independent podcasting in China and its convergence with feminist awakening and collective feeling among a younger generation.
Speaker Bio: Qing Wang is an award-winning journalist from China. She has spent over a decade in the field reporting on global political and economic stories, with a cross-border, human-centered perspective. She is the co-founder and co-host of The Weirdo Podcast (不合时宜), a leading independent Chinese-language podcast with over one million followers, dedicated to amplifying progressive and non-conformist voices. Previously, she served as Chief International Correspondent at Jiemian News and as a Senior Reporter at Radio Netherlands Worldwide. She also taught at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2023, after being selected for its Media Professionals Residency Program. Her work has appeared on the BBC, Caixin Media, Initium Media, among others. She holds a BA in Literature from Peking University and an MA in Area Studies from Leiden University. Currently she is a “China and the World Fellow” at Asia Society Switzerland, and a Non-Resident Honorary Fellow on Chinese Society at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. Her current work explores the cultural and emotional transformations shaping contemporary China, at both the personal and collective levels, in a global context.
This event is part of the 2025-2026 Asia in Action event series. This event is hosted by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and co-sponsored by the China Center for Social Policy.
Non-Columbia guests are required to register in order to access the Morningside campus. Registered guests will receive an email from Columbia University Guest Access containing a QR code prior to, or on the day of, the event. Please note: QR codes generated through Eventbrite cannot be used for campus access. Upon arrival, guests must present both their QR code and a government-issued photo ID. The name on the ID must exactly match the name used during registration.
Please register using a unique email address (one email address per registrant) by 4:00 PM on February 9, 2026.
Registration:
