Journalist Kevin Peraino examines the events of 1949 through the eyes of its most influential figures.

Peraino draws on everything from telegrams between Chiang Kai-Shek and his wife to declassified CIA documents to interviews with participants from that year to understand the forces that influenced each actor’s decisions and how and why events unfolded the way that they did.

In 1949, Mao’s Communist army swept across the country, defeating the Nationalists and establishing the People’s Republic of China.

The aftermath of the Communist Revolution transformed American policy towards Asia—laying the groundwork for subsequent wars and forcing U.S. statesmen to respond to threats both at home and abroad.

Council on Foreign Relations

> Asia Unbound

This podcast provides the listeners with a deep dive into the outcomes of the Chinese Communist Party’s 19th Party Congress and the implications for China’s economic planning, PLA reform, foreign policy, anti-corruption effort, and censorship.

Dr. Oriana Skylar Mastro, assistant professor of security studies at Georgetown University, and Christopher Johnson, chair of the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies are assessing the takeaways across Chinese politics.

Center for Strategic and International Studies

> CogitAsia

Asia Pacific Strategist Michael Every assesses the wash-up for food companies and farmers in Australia and New Zealand.