Todd Mundt
@toddmundt.bsky.social
Senior Managing Editor, Here & Now from NPR News and WBUR. Hardcore reader - interests: 🇨🇳 China, Taiwan and Russia/USSR; arms control/nuclear security; français. Montréal 🇨🇦 / Lives in Boston. 🏳️🌈 Views mine.
Reposted by Todd Mundt
Excited to be part of the team with @goldkorn.bsky.social!
I am delighted to announce that @mariarepnikova.bsky.social is going to join me as cohost on the Ryming Chaos podcast!
www.rhymingchaos.com
www.rhymingchaos.com
May 8, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Excited to be part of the team with @goldkorn.bsky.social!
Best China Books of 2024: @chinabooksreview.bsky.social offers this collection of fiction and nonfiction books to end the year… and a reminder that the site is a go-to for new and classic writing about China.
Best China Books of 2024 | China Books Review
Party luminaries. TV chefs. Poetry. Scandal. Our annual round-up of notable titles on or from China, split across nonfiction and translated literature, nominated by a roster of experts.
chinabooksreview.com
December 20, 2024 at 5:09 PM
Best China Books of 2024: @chinabooksreview.bsky.social offers this collection of fiction and nonfiction books to end the year… and a reminder that the site is a go-to for new and classic writing about China.
I love checking out other people’s top book lists: here’s Andrew Batson, with his annual list, full of important and interesting books about China’s history… and some Willa Cather, too.
The best books I read in 2024
The blog has been on hiatus for a bit due to a press of other responsibilities, but of course I haven’t stopped reading. These were the most memorable books I read this year, listed in the or…
andrewbatson.com
December 20, 2024 at 5:03 PM
I love checking out other people’s top book lists: here’s Andrew Batson, with his annual list, full of important and interesting books about China’s history… and some Willa Cather, too.
I learned a lot from this conversation with Ian Johnson, reflecting on his long career of reporting and writing about China.
Ian Johnson on China Correspondence, from 1984 to Now | China Books Review
The Pulitzer-winning journalist tells the story of his first trip to China in 1984, and how it changed his views on foreign reporting.
chinabooksreview.com
December 15, 2024 at 1:10 PM
I learned a lot from this conversation with Ian Johnson, reflecting on his long career of reporting and writing about China.
Reposted by Todd Mundt
NEW: On Thanksgiving morning, I learned the Biden administration had carried out a secret plan to get 3 Uyghurs trapped in China to the US on a plane with freed American prisoners. Two sons in VA saw their mom for the first time in 20 years. Here's the story: www.nytimes.com/2024/12/02/u...
Inside a Secret Plan to Bring Uyghurs Trapped in China to the United States
On Thanksgiving eve, U.S. diplomats reunited family members who had not seen each other in years because of China’s harsh policies on the ethnic group.
www.nytimes.com
December 2, 2024 at 12:50 PM
NEW: On Thanksgiving morning, I learned the Biden administration had carried out a secret plan to get 3 Uyghurs trapped in China to the US on a plane with freed American prisoners. Two sons in VA saw their mom for the first time in 20 years. Here's the story: www.nytimes.com/2024/12/02/u...
Reposted by Todd Mundt
This is a very good piece indeed by @gideonrachman.bsky.social. “Sobering”
is indeed the word
is indeed the word
Really excellent and sobering interview by @gideonrachman.bsky.social with former 🇺🇦 Foreign Minister Kuleba.
A clear warning on Putin’s intentions, and on risks about Trumps likely view on Article 5.
(Also yet another confirmation that lunch with the FT is the best interview format out there)
A clear warning on Putin’s intentions, and on risks about Trumps likely view on Article 5.
(Also yet another confirmation that lunch with the FT is the best interview format out there)
Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba: ‘If it continues like this, we will lose the war’
[FREE TO READ] The former foreign minister on recent military setbacks — and why Zelenskyy and Putin both see Trump as an opportunity
on.ft.com
November 30, 2024 at 7:32 PM
This is a very good piece indeed by @gideonrachman.bsky.social. “Sobering”
is indeed the word
is indeed the word
Cal Peterson’s interesting essay is worth a read: “LLM makers have only one true supplier: NVIDIA… NVIDIA make the chips that all models are trained on - regardless of cloud vendor. And that gives NVIDIA colossal, near total pricing power.”
Building LLMs is probably not going be a brilliant business
The Netscapes of AI
calpaterson.com
November 30, 2024 at 12:41 PM
Cal Peterson’s interesting essay is worth a read: “LLM makers have only one true supplier: NVIDIA… NVIDIA make the chips that all models are trained on - regardless of cloud vendor. And that gives NVIDIA colossal, near total pricing power.”
Reposted by Todd Mundt
Xi Jinping’s instructions on Chinese Marxism quoted below should be read together with Kevin Rudd’s explanation of the Two Integrations 两个结合 in the last chapter of his excellent ‘On Xi Jinping’.
November 29, 2024 at 12:35 PM
Xi Jinping’s instructions on Chinese Marxism quoted below should be read together with Kevin Rudd’s explanation of the Two Integrations 两个结合 in the last chapter of his excellent ‘On Xi Jinping’.
Reposted by Todd Mundt
Reposted by Todd Mundt
Unbelievable that #China's new defense minister, #DongJun, has been placed under investigation for corruption after replacing his still-missing predecessor, #LiShangfu (the third consecutive serving or former defence minister to be investigated for alleged corruption) www.ft.com/content/6414...
China’s defence minister placed under investigation for corruption
US officials say probe is part of wider operation to uncover graft in People’s Liberation Army
www.ft.com
November 27, 2024 at 8:01 AM
Unbelievable that #China's new defense minister, #DongJun, has been placed under investigation for corruption after replacing his still-missing predecessor, #LiShangfu (the third consecutive serving or former defence minister to be investigated for alleged corruption) www.ft.com/content/6414...
Since I’m wading into Hal Brands’ “New Makers of Modern Strategy” - here’s an interesting interview with Michael Finch, who wrote “Making Makers: The Past, The Present, and the Study of War.” It’s about the first edition of “Makers” and editor Edward Mead Earle.
Edward Mead Earle and “Makers of Modern Strategy” with Michael Finch
Podcast Episode · The Strategy Bridge · 11/24/2024 · 57m
podcasts.apple.com
November 26, 2024 at 4:44 PM
Since I’m wading into Hal Brands’ “New Makers of Modern Strategy” - here’s an interesting interview with Michael Finch, who wrote “Making Makers: The Past, The Present, and the Study of War.” It’s about the first edition of “Makers” and editor Edward Mead Earle.
The more details about the Salt Typhoon, the more disturbing it gets: “The hackers were not able to listen to conversations on encrypted applications… Nor could they read encrypted messages… But they could read regular text messages… or listen to phone calls over the ordinary telephone networks…”
China’s Hacking Reached Deep Into U.S. Telecoms
The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said hackers listened to phone calls and read texts by exploiting aging equipment and seams in the networks that connect systems.
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2024 at 12:24 PM
The more details about the Salt Typhoon, the more disturbing it gets: “The hackers were not able to listen to conversations on encrypted applications… Nor could they read encrypted messages… But they could read regular text messages… or listen to phone calls over the ordinary telephone networks…”
In Foreign Affairs, Kyle Balzer and Dan Blumenthal argue: “China has initiated a short-of-war coercion campaign to dissolve the U.S. alliance system in the Pacific, and its increasingly sophisticated nuclear arsenal gives it more leverage to achieve this objective.”
The True Aims of China’s Nuclear Buildup
Beijing’s growing arsenal is meant to dissolve America’s alliance system in Asia.
www.foreignaffairs.com
November 25, 2024 at 6:57 PM
In Foreign Affairs, Kyle Balzer and Dan Blumenthal argue: “China has initiated a short-of-war coercion campaign to dissolve the U.S. alliance system in the Pacific, and its increasingly sophisticated nuclear arsenal gives it more leverage to achieve this objective.”
Jordan Schneider talks to Hal Brands about “The New Makers of Modern Strategy”
Makers of Modern Strategy with Hal Brands
Podcast Episode · ChinaTalk · 11/18/2024 · 1h 9m
podcasts.apple.com
November 25, 2024 at 4:31 PM
Jordan Schneider talks to Hal Brands about “The New Makers of Modern Strategy”
First book of 2024 is the Alexander Norman biography of the Dalaï Lama.
January 2, 2024 at 7:22 PM
First book of 2024 is the Alexander Norman biography of the Dalaï Lama.
This list of the top books about China for the year from China Books Review is filled with good recommendations across a wide spectrum. I read a lot books about China this year, but only one on this list - which give me a lot more to explore:
Best China Books of 2023 | China Books Review
Our round-up of recommended titles (and one anti-recommendation) from the past year, selected by our editors and various guests.
chinabooksreview.com
December 17, 2023 at 12:02 PM
This list of the top books about China for the year from China Books Review is filled with good recommendations across a wide spectrum. I read a lot books about China this year, but only one on this list - which give me a lot more to explore:
My last photo with iPhone 14 Pro Max is this beautiful pesto flatbread at Giulia in Cambridge.
September 21, 2023 at 10:11 PM
My last photo with iPhone 14 Pro Max is this beautiful pesto flatbread at Giulia in Cambridge.
I post a lot about China it’s true - but everyone should have a moment to relax!
September 13, 2023 at 10:10 PM
I post a lot about China it’s true - but everyone should have a moment to relax!
I wouldn’t be upset to see the end of this cool yet swampy weather
September 10, 2023 at 5:47 PM
I wouldn’t be upset to see the end of this cool yet swampy weather
Bostonians would understand this: every Wednesday night at Giulia, I toast myself for having survived the Red Line another week.
September 6, 2023 at 10:20 PM
Bostonians would understand this: every Wednesday night at Giulia, I toast myself for having survived the Red Line another week.
After I finished Ian Johnson’s new book « Sparks » I felt compelled to read Yang Jisheng’s book about the Great Famine. I gained a lot from his history of the Cultural Revolution but I’ve felt the weight of this work in a different way - his scholarship of the famine era is unparalleled.
September 3, 2023 at 10:14 PM
After I finished Ian Johnson’s new book « Sparks » I felt compelled to read Yang Jisheng’s book about the Great Famine. I gained a lot from his history of the Cultural Revolution but I’ve felt the weight of this work in a different way - his scholarship of the famine era is unparalleled.
Moving through the tasting menu at Mooncusser Fish House in Boston!
September 2, 2023 at 10:45 PM
Moving through the tasting menu at Mooncusser Fish House in Boston!
Ian Johnson’s new book about the underground historians who have tried to preserve China’s history is a fantastic read and actually - inspiring.
September 2, 2023 at 8:18 PM
Ian Johnson’s new book about the underground historians who have tried to preserve China’s history is a fantastic read and actually - inspiring.