Episode 40a: The coronavirus outbreak and the nature of the Chinese state

We sit down to chat about the coronavirus outbreak, its social and cultural implications, and we use the opportunity to highlight some aspects of the Chinese state — especially the capacity of the central state to retain legitimacy even when Chinese citizens lose trust in local and regional layers of the state.

The personal account (of a woman from Wuhan) that we reference during the episode can be accessed here: https://www.reddit.com/r/China_Flu/comments/evjzso/my_mom_passed_away_in_an_isolated_ward_in_wuhan_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x