Reader's Fave

I recently interviewed Ian Brandon for our 19th installment of Reader's Fave, a casual interview with someone who shares their favorite book. Ian lives out on Puget Island and is the business manager for The Wahkiakum County Eagle.

We took a turn on Reader's Fave, as Ian asked if he could share about his favorite podcast. He listens to many, but Ian said his clear favorite is "The China History Podcast", hosted by Laszlo Montgomery. This podcast covers historical topics from antiquity to modern times of China.

"I'm a fan of any news about China," said Ian, who particularly enjoys Chinese history from the 1840s to present times and finds The China History podcast really hits the spot. Most of the podcasts average under an hour, so Ian can get the info he's looking for in a relatively short amount of time, and the host does an excellent job of holding his attention. Whether he's mowing, doing laundry, whatever it is, Ian finds the ease of listening to podcasts very appealing.

But why China? Ian shared that while at college, he needed to change classes at the beginning of a semester. He was waiting in a long line for French class. He looked over and noticed a class table with no one in line; so, he walked over and signed-up for a Chinese 101 language class. This opened the door, but, as Ian shared, it was the next follow-on class on comparative Asian religion that grabbed his attention and fascination. Prior to this class, he had no idea about all this fascinating ancient history of Asia and its religions.

All of this resulted in Ian earning his degree at UW Jackson School of International Studies in 1987. "All of my classes there were about China, except two," he said. Afterwards, Ian travelled to Asia, including China and Taiwan, where he continued to find the land, people, and history attracting his attention.

"I try to get a balanced array, a spectrum of views regarding average Chinese, or government individuals .. both the left and right perspective .. the whole spectrum of ideas about China," Ian said. "I listen to BBC radio and their podcasts a lot, but I'm always gleaning for China stuff." He shared that he collects books and National Geographics about China. "I have National Geographics from the entire decade of the 1930s," he said. China has a firm grip on Ian, as he finds their history, religions, people, and culture deeply fascinating.

As we talked, Ian shared other political, historical, economic, and comedic podcasts he enjoys, such as "American History Tellers," "Are You Garbage?," "Freakonomics," "History Unplugged," "Real Dictators," "Smartless," "This American Life," and "Offbeat Oregon History."

Ian showed on his phone many other podcasts he listens to and clearly enjoys. He simply plugs in his ear buds. "When I get home from work, I need to de-couple from work," he said. "I get a clean slate after half an hour of podcasts."

May you wonderful Wahkiakum book readers, audio bibliophiles, or podcast listeners enjoy whatever grabs your attention and fascinates you as you go on your journey.