Listen "Sonic Soft Power: China’s Podcast Diplomacy (Mukhopadhyay 2025) | 18th AICCS"
Episode Synopsis
Hindi Podcast Starts at 00:00:00Chinese (Simplified) Podcast Starts at 00:23:02English Podcast starts at 00:52:19Bengali Podcast starts at 01:10:11--- Update notes on 12-December 2025---The Mira Sinha Bhattacharjea Award, instituted by the ICS for the best paper presented by a young scholar under 40, was awarded to Mayukh Mukhopadhyay, Executive Doctoral Scholar, IIM Indore. He received this honour for his paper titled "Sonic Soft Power: China’s Podcast Diplomacy," presented at the 18th All India Conference of China Studies. Official Website Post of ICS Delhihttps://icsin.org/activity/show/18th-all-india-conference-of-china-studies-aiccsLinkedin Post by ICS Delhihttps://www.linkedin.com/posts/icsdelhi_18thaiccs-conference2025-18thaiccs-activity-7405277204143792128-pwetTwitter/X Post by ICS Delhihttps://x.com/ics_delhi/status/1999516086908408304---Book of Abstracthttps://iimidr.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/BookOfAbstract.pdf#page=37https://icsin.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Book%20of%20Abstracts.pdf#page=38Programme Schedulehttps://icsin.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Programme%20Schedule.pdf18th AICCS, Flagship event of ICS, organized by IIM Indorehttps://iimidr.ac.in/research-publications/conferences/call-for-papers-the-18th-all-india-conference-on-china-studies-hosted-at-iim-indore-with-ics-delhi/Today we step into a world where voices do more than tell stories. They persuade. They brand. They cross borders without passports. Our journey begins with a single sound—China’s podcast diplomacy.In his paper Sonic Soft Power: China’s Podcast Diplomacy, presented at the 18th All India Conference of China Studies in October 2025, Mayukh Mukhopadhyay takes us behind the microphone. He shows us how, in a media landscape bound by regulation, podcasts become tools of entrepreneurship, storytelling, and soft power.He lays out how technology, platforms, and culture weave together to create a Chinese podcasting model that is not just about entertainment but about influence. About teaching and selling. About intimacy and control. About telling the world a story—and deciding who gets to listen, and how.But here is the question that lingers: when a podcast becomes a diplomat, who is really speaking—the storyteller, or the state?We thank the hosts and moderators of the 18th All India Conference of China Studies, organized by the Institute of Chinese Studies Delhi and IIM Indore.This episode is available on Amazon Prime and Apple Podcast. Subscribe now and keep listening.
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.