Formosa Files: The History of Taiwan Podcast
1) War Against Wuxia: Jin Yong, Banned Books, and Taiwan’s “Rainstorm Project” – S5-E42
Wuxia (武俠) novels are martial-arts stories full of swordsmen and swordplay, secret techniques, and chivalrous outlaws. Think Robin Hood crossed with Taoist mysticism and Chinese history. John talks wi...Show More
2) Opium Paste and Stamped Silver: Early Japanese Rule in Taiwan – S5-E41
When Japan took control of Taiwan in 1895, it inherited a financial mess: a chaotic mix of chopped silver, copper cash, and foreign coins. The new colony also cost far more to subdue and administer th...Show More
3) AUDIO ONLY - Taiwan’s Funeral Strippers: “Dancing for the Dead” – S5-E40
THIS IS AUDIO-ONLY. A LONGER VIDEO VERISON IS AVAILABLE. This episode may not be suitable for minors. Yes, funeral strippers are real, and their story is far more complicated than the headlines. With...Show More
4) Taiwan’s Funeral Strippers: “Dancing for the Dead” – S5-E40
Note: This episode may not be suitable for minors. Yes, funeral strippers are real, and their story is far more complicated than the headlines. With anthropologist Marc L. Moskowitz as our guide, we c...Show More
5) Shulinkou Air Station – Part 3: Taiwan and the Gulf of Tonkin – S5-E39
We end our Shulinkou trilogy by tying together the surprisingly interconnected Taiwan–U.S.–Vietnam story. It’s July 1964, and two U.S. Navy destroyers are in Taiwan preparing for an intelligence-gathe...Show More
6) Shulinkou Air Station – Part 2 – S5-E38
We continue the story of the Shulinkou Air Station and the American military in the early 1960s. We tackle Taiwan’s infamous gravel-truck killers (urban legend or fact?), get slapped by Typhoon Gloria...Show More
7) Shulinkou Air Station – Part 1 of 3 (early 1960s) – S5-E37
It was one of Taiwan’s most secretive Cold War outposts: Shulinkou Air Station (樹林口空軍情報站), a joint-service U.S. intelligence base perched on a misty plateau west of Taipei. Built in 1955, it was a hub...Show More
8) Special Episode: A Farewell to Dr. Chen Yao-chang, and a Look at His Novel “Three Tribes”
Pioneering researcher, physician and historical novelist Dr Chen Yao-chang passed away at the age of 76 on November 17. He will be deeply missed by family and friends. John and Eryk had the pleasure o...Show More
9) Unfinished Projects – unbuilt buildings, unfilmed films, unrealized dreams – S5-E36
Ever taken Kaohsiung’s cable car across the harbor, had fun at Chiayi’s Universal Studios theme park, marveled at Taiwan’s Statue-of-Liberty-style gift to the US (a giant Moon Goddess monument)? Well,...Show More
10) Altars and Outlaws: Ben Sando on Taiwan’s Underworld – Gangs, Temples, and Political Influence – S5-E35
We’ll let Benjamin Sando, research fellow at the Global Taiwan Institute, and our guest for this week’s episode, describe the topic: “From the early days of Han Taiwanese society, through the period o...Show More