Freedom and its Discontents, a politics and culture podcast with author & journalist Michael Scott Moore
michaelscottmoore.substack.com (https://michaelscottmoore.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit michaelscottmoore.substack.com (https://michaelscottmoore.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7)
Charles Hawley is a journalist, editor, and former colleague of mine at Spiegel Online in Berlin. He was born in Seattle, but in the meantime he’s run into trouble bringing his family back to the States. His teenage daughter is trans, she has two passports, and — well, I’ll let him explain the legal problem under President Trump. We also talk about the …
17 Sept 2026
042 Taran Khan: Shadow City
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit michaelscottmoore.substack.com (https://michaelscottmoore.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7)
Taran Khan is an Indian writer who lives in London. She’s the author of Shadow City: A Woman Walks Kabul, an appreciation of Kabul drawn from her years there from 2006 to 2013. The book peels back layers of Afghanistan’s history, from the Mughal empire, the British colonial period, the two phases of Taliban rule, and U.S. and NATO occupation after 9/11. We talk about Kabul’s fragile public library as well as the “Bush Bazaar,” and an American spy blimp that hung in the sky over the city for years.
Upgrade (https://michaelscottmoore.substack.com/) to a paid subscription to Radio Free Mike. Platforms: Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-mike/id1788416382), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/6cCR2gO3JVisYIqnuBPvS5), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOPN_8T0B4IQMHBmqeM3i8bcDbVTPEBfB), Pocketcasts (https://pca.st/6fy31t7x)
Resources:
Shadow City (https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/240534/taran-khan), by Taran Khan
Taran’s Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/_tarankhan/?hl=en) page
“The Dam,” (https://granta.com/the-dam-taran-n-khan/) an essay by Taran at Granta
radio free mike is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
2 Sept 2026
041 Vanessa Fabiano: Chinese on the Beach
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit michaelscottmoore.substack.com (https://michaelscottmoore.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7)
Vanessa Fabiano is a writer and businesswoman who lived and worked in China, off and on, over nine years from 1994. Her debut collection of stories, Chinese on the Beach, is a remarkably vivid series of portraits of Chinese as well as expatriate life in Shanghai and Beijing during the boom decade of the ’90s, when the government loosened its economic controls and set a huge number of cultural changes in motion — toward high fashion, international glamor, and beach life in a coastal town.
Upgrade (https://michaelscottmoore.substack.com/) to a paid subscription to Radio Free Mike. Platforms: Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-mike/id1788416382), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/6cCR2gO3JVisYIqnuBPvS5), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOPN_8T0B4IQMHBmqeM3i8bcDbVTPEBfB), Pocketcasts (https://pca.st/6fy31t7x)
Resources:
Chinese on the Beach (https://www.ybernia.com/shop/p/chinese-on-the-beach), by Vanessa Fabiano
Vanessa’s website (https://vanessafabiano.substack.com/) on Substack
Other featured books (https://bookshop.org/lists/radio-free-mike-featured-books) on Radio Free Mike
radio free mike is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Who has been a guest on Radio Free Mike
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Kenneth R Rosen
Mo Ogrodnik
Jonathan Lethem
Ben Weissenbach
Francisco Cantú
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.7 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 11 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
10
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
Host of Radio Free Mike?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
