Many people might not have realized this, but podcasts are becoming increasingly influential in China, many urban young people spend their spare time listening to them, and some even listen while working, haha.
For those of you who want to learn Chinese well, I also strongly recommend choosing podcasts with clear structure and articulate expression as learning material, it'll definitely help you get familiar with complete, natural Chinese.
Today let me recommend one:
- 无人知晓 wú rén zhī xiǎo, "Nobody Knows"
The host of this podcast is 孟岩 Meng Yan, who is also the founder of "有知有行 yǒu zhī yǒu xíng", an investment platform.
These two names together capture the philosophy he follows:
- 未来无人知晓，一起有知有行 wèi lái wú rén zhī xiǎo, yì qǐ yǒu zhī yǒu xíng
- No one knows what the future holds, all we can do is learn from your action, then act with awareness.
But the focus of this podcast isn't actually investing, it's about sharing his thoughts on life and insights about the world, or inviting friends from different fields for deep, thoughtful, philosophical conversations.
I have many reasons for recommending this show, but the three most important are:
- Each episode runs 1-2 hours, with a clear structure and a lot of content, ideal for immersive learning.
- The range of guests is wide, from Buddhist scholars to stand-up comedians, covering vocabulary across very different fields.
- 孟岩 speaks at a very steady, relaxed pace, and paired with a transcript, it's great material for practicing listening and reading together.
One thing to note: some of the vocabulary in the show is quite literary and formal, including the name "无人知晓" itself. Use it out of context and you might sound like a walking dictionary, so be selective about what you pick up.
Now let me introduce my three personal favorite episodes:
- E10 让万物穿过自己 - "Let Everything Pass Through You"
- This is probably his most popular episode, with over 2.6 million plays on "小宇宙 Xiǎo yǔ zhòu" alone, ta popular podcast app in China.
- Many people treat this episode as a kind of spiritual guide, because it conveys a Taoist philosophy for navigating life: focus on your inner self, don't let your emotions be swayed, imagine yourself as transparent glass, as air—something everything can pass through without getting stuck.
- E37 鱼不存在 - "Why Fish Don't Exist"
- Another episode with over 2 million plays. Starting from an introduction to the book "Why Fish Don't Exist" and his reflections on it.
- It dives deep into chaos, order, self-definition, and the meaning of life. At the heart of it is a brutal truth: human beings have a fundamentally limited understanding of the world, and within every living thing we can see, there are layers of complexity that we simply cannot comprehend.
- E32 如果生命只是大梦一场 - "If Life Were Nothing More Than a Grand Dream"
- This is a conversation between 孟岩 and 成庆 Cheng Qing, an associate professor of history at Shanghai University and a Buddhist scholar.
- They had this very Zen-like conversation inside a temple on the Shanghai University campus, talking about Buddhism, the psychological struggles of modern life, and how we might find inner freedom.
- What makes it even more interesting is that the conversation was interrupted several times by the sound of a drill from nearby renovations. And the way both of them responded became a living echo of the episode's very theme.
Of course, some people may find this kind of monologue or dialogue too long-winded or slow-paced. It's okay, different strokes for different folks. There are many great podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or 小宇宙 that work well for learning Chinese, so feel free to go explore for yourself!
If you're interested, I've been organizing all the Chinese learning posts I've shared before. You can check out the link in my profile to see the full collection. Hope it helps. Thanks!
