Gain a deeper understanding of China with Jeremy Page and Sarah Wu. The Economist’s China correspondents report from across the country and the places it influences beyond its borders. Jiehao Chen joins the discussion from London. This award-winning podcast takes on everything from the CCP to EVs and from ageing to AI. Published every Tuesday.
If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription.
For more information about Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page here https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts (https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts).
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The Economist's John Prideaux retraces Alexis de Tocqueville's 1831 journey to assess the enduring vitality of American democracy today.
23 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT
Trailer: Boss Class Season 3
Andrew Palmer previews the third season of Boss Class, exploring how AI transforms work and turns everyone into managers, offering insights on mastering management in the age of AI in this trailer.
26 Nov 2025TRANSCRIPT
Trailer: Drum Tower
China correspondents Jeremy Page and Sarah Wu, joined by Jiehao Chen, explore China's influence and key issues in this interview episode.
29 Apr 2025TRANSCRIPT
Trailer: Boss Class Season 2
Andrew Palmer interviews top leaders from global companies, revealing how essential management skills are learned and applied for success.
28 Jan 2025TRANSCRIPT
Trailer: Scam Inc
The Economist's Sue-Lin Wong investigates a vast, predatory scam industry, revealing its connections to human trafficking and corruption.
8 Oct 2024TRANSCRIPT
Climbers (part one): A way out of China
Alice Su, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, interviews Chinese migrants in Colombia about their perilous journey to the United States.
5 Jun 2024TRANSCRIPT
Trailer: The Modi Raj
The Economist's Avantika Chilkoti interviews guests to explore Prime Minister Narendra Modi's complex legacy and India's future as a superpower.
14 May 2024TRANSCRIPT
Run part one: Why are Chinese people running to Japan?
Alice Su and David Rennie interview educated, urban Chinese individuals in Japan about their decision to emigrate, exploring what this choice reveals about China.
9 Apr 2024TRANSCRIPT
Drum Tower: Xi’s doomed economic plan
The Economist's Zanny Minton Beddoes and David Rennie discuss Xi Jinping's economic plan and China's relationship with America in this interview.
26 Mar 2024TRANSCRIPT
Drum Tower: Tick tock for TikTok
Alice Su, David Rennie, and Don Weinland discuss whether Chinese ownership of TikTok threatens America in this interview.
13 Feb 2024TRANSCRIPT
Drum Tower: The sounds of old Beijing
David Rennie interviews sound artist Colin Chinnery about Beijing's historical soundscape and its enduring spirit.
30 Jan 2024TRANSCRIPT
Drum Tower: Competing for kids
China’s decades-long economic boom was powered by workers who migrated from the countryside to cities to find jobs. But to do so, many of them had to leave their children behind. Now some cities are vying to attract migrant workers' children (https://www.economist.com/china/2023/12/14/chinas-cities-compete-for-kids?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=drumtower&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners).
Zhejiang province is piloting an experimental policy which should make it easier for migrants to bring their children with them to cities and send them to school. David Rennie, our Beijing bureau chief, and Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, examine Yiwu, a city in Zhejiang that has enacted this policy.
Sign up for a free trial (https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus?purchaseRedirect=economist.com/audio/podcasts/onboarding?podcast=babbage) of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page (https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts) or watch our video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48TlDbL-4vU) explaining how to link your account.
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9 Jan 2024TRANSCRIPT
Drum Tower: Taiwan goes to the polls
China is watching Taiwan’s next presidential (https://www.economist.com/interactive/2024-taiwan-election?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=drumtower&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) race closely. The results will influence Xi Jinping’s (https://www.economist.com/china/2024/01/04/for-china-taiwans-elections-are-a-looming-crisishttps://www.economist.com/china/2023/11/16/xi-jinping-repeats-imperial-chinas-mistakes?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=drumtower&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) next steps when it comes to resolving the “Taiwan question”.
Ahead of the vote on January 13th, Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, goes to campaign rallies of the 3 parties in the race. We meet voters, young and old, who each have a different idea of who should win and why. Together with David Rennie, our Beijing bureau chief, they ask: is the election of Taiwan’s next President really a choice between war or peace, as some candidates are saying?
If you’re interested in Taiwan, listen to our four-part series on the future of the island.
1. What does Taiwan want? (https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2023/10/24/what-does-taiwan-want?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=drumtower&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners)
2. How strong is Taiwan’s silicon shield? (https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2023/10/31/how-strong-is-taiwans-silicon-shield?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=drumtower&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners)
3. Is Taiwan ready for war? (https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2023/11/07/is-taiwan-ready-for-war?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=drumtower&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners)
4. Could China take over Taiwan without force? (https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2023/11/14/could-china-take-over-taiwan-without-force?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=drumtower&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners)
Sign up for a free trial (https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus?purchaseRedirect=economist.com/audio/podcasts/onboarding?podcast=babbage) of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page (https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts) or watch our video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48TlDbL-4vU) explaining how to link your account.
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5 Dec 2023
Drum Tower: Stand-up feminists
Tickets for “Nvzizhuyi”—a monthly stand-up comedy show in New York City— often sell out in less than a minute. The show (https://www.economist.com/china/2023/10/19/chinese-feminists-are-rebuilding-their-movement-abroad?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=drumtower&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) invites Chinese citizens, mostly women, to tell jokes, perform skits and recount the absurd challenges they’ve encountered as feminist activists in China—things they could never utter in public back home.
This week, Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, reports from the dark basement of a comedy club. Together with David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, they ask: Why are some of China’s exiled feminists doing stand-up comedy abroad? And can their performances have any impact back home?
Sign up for a free trial (https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus?purchaseRedirect=economist.com/audio/podcasts/onboarding?podcast=babbage) of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page (https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts) or watch our video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48TlDbL-4vU) explaining how to link your account.
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24 Oct 2023
Drum Tower: What does it mean to be Taiwanese?
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many have worried: is Taiwan next? China is giving Taiwan a terrifying choice: unify with China, or face war. People in Taiwan want neither of these.
For this special four-part series, David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, and Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, ask whether Taiwan can preserve its freedoms and decide its own future (https://www.economist.com/special-report/2023-03-11?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=drumtower&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners).
In this first episode, they explore how Taiwan’s divided and changing identity (https://www.economist.com/special-report/2023/03/06/how-taiwan-is-shaped-by-its-history-and-identity?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=drumtower&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) impacts how close Taiwanese people want to be to China. They meet Chen Yao-chang, a doctor turned novelist, whose idea of what it means to be Taiwanese has changed in recent years.
Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. (https://www.economist.com/podcastsplus-drumtower) If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription.
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7 Nov 2022
Introducing Drum Tower
Two of The Economist's China correspondents, Alice Su and David Rennie, analyse the stories at the heart of this vast country and examine its influence beyond its borders.
They’ll be joined by our global network of correspondents and expert guests to examine how everything from party politics to business, technology and culture is reshaping China and the world.
For almost seven centuries the beats of China’s most famous drum tower, or gulou, kept people in Beijing to time. The Economist’s latest podcast keeps you up to date every Monday.
Sign up to our weekly newsletter here (http://economist.com/drumnewsletter) and for full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/drumoffer (http://www.economist.com/drumoffer).
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Who has been a guest on Drum Tower
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Jeremy Page
Sarah Wu
Jiehao Chen
Sue-Lin Wong
Alice Su
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.7 / 5
378 ratings
Spotify
4.8 / 5
1,151 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 28 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
17
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
99
Contact Drum Tower
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
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