This photo taken on May 22, 2021 shows hosts of Chinese podcast “The Weirdo” Meng Chang (R) and Xie Ruohan laughing during recording an episode in a studio in Beijing. AFP
BEIJING — A lesbian coming to terms with her sexuality, a village covering up abuses and a dissection of the three-child policy — an explosion of Chinese podcasts are wrestling with social issues considered taboo under the country’s strict media controls.
More than 7,000 new podcasts came online last year with an audience tipped at nearly 10 million — a small but fast-growing group in the world’s largest market for web audio content.
While podcasting has long been part of western media appetites, it has just started gaining ground in China’s tightly managed media ecosystem, serving up counter-narratives and critical social analysis.
For student Cheng Yifan, who listens every night, they are a breath of fresh air.
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“Podcasts conform less to societal norms than traditional media platforms,” Cheng, 19, told AFP.
“The media may be more supportive and complimentary of topics like ‘positive energy’, for example, but that lacks an element of critique,” he said.
