See here for a full list of transcripts

OF: Hello, this is Oscar Fuchs. And welcome to Season 2 of the Mosaic of China podcast. Just like Season 1, over the next 30 episodes we will be hearing from a diverse group of 30 people who are making their mark in China. I don’t want to ruin any surprises, so let me just say that there are some great stories from both Chinese and non-Chinese guests on their way over the coming weeks. 

If you’re a new listener, welcome, and here’s a quick recap of how the show works. There are three parts to each interview. The first part is a straightforward two-way conversation, which starts with the guest introducing an object that in some way describes their life in China. In the second part, I ask every guest the same 10 China-related questions, all on the theme of their personal experiences, tastes and opinions. And the final part is just one extra question, where I ask each guest to nominate someone for the next Season of Mosaic of China. And this is how the tiles of this Mosaic will connect, and continue to build out in future seasons.

There are also a few things that are new in Season 2, one of them being that this is the first time that we can link new guests back to the people who nominated them from the previous season of the show. So you’ll hear how that works in the first episode coming next week. Secondly, there will be transcripts available now on https://mosaicofchina.com/transcripts. These have been designed for anyone whose first language isn’t English, or of course for listeners with hearing impairments, or for any English speakers who want to follow the words spoken in Chinese. Thirdly, if you’d like to join the community and track all the images alongside each episode on WeChat, I’ve finally been able to rename the WeChat account to ID: mosaicofchina, all one word, so please add me there from now on, and I’ll add you to the group. That’s consistent now with the accounts that already exist at @mosaicofchina_* on Instagram and @mosaicofchina on Facebook, if you would still prefer to follow there. 

And finally, the biggest difference for Season 2 is that there will now be TWO versions of the show. The normal version will be exactly the same as last season. But I’m also releasing an extended version of the show, where there will be an average of 10-20 minutes of extra content for every episode. These will accumulate to up to 10 hours of extra content over the course of the entire season, and they can be accessed for the tiny cost of US$2 per month at https://patreon.com/mosaicofchina.com, all one word. This is the way I came up with to keep the show free from advertising, to still allow you to listen to the series for free, while at the same time create a a way to accept donations towards the cost of putting this all together. So if you have anything to spare, and you want to help fund this independent project as an early Christmas present, please head over to patreon.com/mosaicofchina, and you can look forward to getting some great extra content too.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support, and I hope to see you back here next week for Episode 1 of the Season. 

*A different Instagram handled was mentioned in the original recording. That handle is now obsolete, and the updated one has been substituted.

See here for a full list of transcripts