Posted on · Kim Jong Un's moves have succeeded in putting the rest of the world in a tough spot. Possible responses include further isolating North Korea, military moves or greater engagement. None are ideal.
Posted on · (Above: Sandy Phan-Gillis is shown with her husband, Jeff, after spending more than two years detained in China. Photo Courtesy Jeff Gillis/Facebook) Houstonian Sandy Phan-Gillis is back in the United States after spending more than two years detained in China. Last month (April 2017), Phan-Gillis was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison but was deported after […]
Posted on · (Above: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is shown on a TV at the Seoul Railway Station in South Korea on Sunday, May 14, 2017. Photo: Ahn Young-joon |AP) North Korea and the U.S. have been antagonistic since the 1950s and the Korean War — and it’s never really seemed to cool down in the past […]
Posted on · It’s been 45 years since President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972, ending decades of isolation from the West. Thirty years ago, Houston Grand Opera turned the story into an opera called, simply, Nixon in China. The piece broke new ground with a portrayal of recent world events and in its mix of […]
Posted on · The US Department of Housing and Urban Development recently found the city’s decision to nix an affordable housing project on Fountain View Drive was motivated at least in part by the race, color or national origin of the likely tenants. HUD says that’s a violation of the Civil Rights Act. The ruling is the latest […]
Posted on · Episode: 1226 In which Matteo Ricci tries to convert the Chinese by building a memory palace Today, a memory palace in an odd place and the wrong time.
Posted on · Rob Schmitz is a veteran public radio reporter who’s spent most of his career living and working in China. Near where he lives in Shanghai is a street with an interesting name – and with many interesting people who illustrate a lot about the changing face of the Chinese culture and economy in recent years. […]
Posted on · Starting next month (Sept. 1, 2016), CenterPoint Energy customers will begin seeing a change on their bill. The energy company recently raised the price it charges for transporting electricity from the provider to customers’ homes by about 65 cents per month. As Houston Public Media reported back in May, CenterPoint wanted to charge more — about […]
Posted on · About a year ago, Houstonian Sandy Phan-Gillis was detained in China, accused by officials there of stealing state secrets. She’s remained there ever since. Last week (July 14, 2016), Newsweek reported China will, in fact, charge Phan-Gillis with violating its national security. We discuss the situation with John Kamm, a human rights campaigner from the Dui Hua […]
Posted on · Episode: 3065 Victor and Eva Saxl Today, love, war and insulin.
Posted on · The Greater Houston Partnership has developed it as part of the Global Cities Initiative.
Posted on · Episode: 1082 The last shall be first: steam turbines and cuneiform Today, we finally get back to where we started.
Posted on · From Texas being the top destination to move to from out of state; to a Houstonian being jailed in China; to free opera subscription renewals for laid-off oil and gas employees: we discuss The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of this week’s news. Our panel of non-experts this week includes: Wayne Ashley, the author of […]
Posted on · China’s demand for industrial raw materials is falling as the country’s economic engine sputters. But food is another story.
Posted on · China is the world’s second-largest consumer of oil. As its economy slows, that consumption could easily fall, threatening Houston with a one-two punch.