Shows / The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
Formosa Files is the world's biggest and highest-rated Taiwan history podcast. We use an engaging storytelling format and are non-chronological, meaning every week is a new adventure - and, you can just find a topic that interests you and check out that episode...skip stuff that isn't your thing. The hosts are John Ross, an author and publisher of works on Taiwan and China, and Eryk Michael Smith, a journalist for local and global media outlets. Both Ross and Smith have lived in Taiwan for over…
Episodes
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa FilesFORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH13-引領風潮的速食餐廳—麥當勞與臺灣速食的故事
今年（2024）年是麥當勞來臺40週年（1984-2024）。當初麥當勞準備要進來臺灣時，並不如預想般順遂，甚至對臺灣的農業造成衝擊。然而繼麥當勞之後，臺灣的速食餐廳開始蔚為風潮，各家連鎖品牌開始湧現，甚至還出現了臺灣本土品牌的速食。究竟麥當勞與速食，在臺灣有些什麼故事呢？就讓Formosa…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
Murder of an American Teenager by TAS Students in 1985 Leads to the Creation of the Community Services Center: Eryk Chats With Director Adam McMillan - S4-E15
A horrific murder of an American teenager by two other American teenagers in 1985 led to some serious soul-searching: How could the international community in…
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa FilesFORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH12-有借有還（？）的外來語—貿易、殖民與語言「借用」
LISTEN TO THE STORY OF LOCAL LANGUAGE LOANWORDS IN CHINESE! 若要說到全世界最知名的外來語，那大概就是「茶」這個字，無論「Cha」或「Tea」，都是隨著陸海貿易流傳世界。而臺灣以及鄰近的中國東南沿海，也因為頻繁的與外國商人貿易或甚至被殖民，而借用、借出了…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4 - [ENCORE] The Qing Dynasty Doesn't Really Want Taiwan (1683)
The current Beijing authorities make bombastic claims as silly as “Taiwan has been part of China since the dawn of the universe!!” The reality, however, is…
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa FilesFORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH11-經濟起飛下的動物悲歌—臺灣野生動物保育的不光彩過去
LISTEN TO THE STORY OF THE ORANGUTAN CRAZE IN CHINESE! 你相信在1980年代，也就是民國70幾年，在臺灣居然還能看到公然展示殺虎販售嗎？經濟起飛之後，人民變得富裕了，但也開始追求各種稀奇的「補品」或玩賞的動物。雖然今日的臺灣已經不再有這麼誇張的狀況，但就讓我們來聊聊…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4-E14 - PACIFIC STORY–Formosa: Prize of the China Sea (NBC Radio, 1944)
It’s January 1944 and the tide of WWII has changed. Though it will be a long hard grind, victory is on the horizon. To “better inform the American public,”…
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa FilesFORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH10-CIA vs. 臺灣核彈—臺灣核武與張憲義事件
LISTEN TO THE STORY OF CIA VS. MADE IN TAIWAN NUKES IN CHINESE! 1945年，美國在日本廣島、長崎投下兩顆原子彈，雖然結束了戰爭，卻為全世界帶來核武的衝突與創傷。而在中華民國，蔣介石也迫不及待的想要加入核武俱樂部。尤其在國府於1949年撤退來臺、196…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
BONUS Episode: Martial Arts Legend Hong Yixiang 洪懿祥
John talks with Chris Bates about one of Taiwan’s greatest ever martial artists, Hong Yixiang 洪懿祥 (1925–1993). Hong was Taiwan’s foremost master of the Chinese…
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa FilesFORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH09-在臺灣成神的飛行員—臺南海尾寮飛虎將軍
LISTEN TO THE STORY OF GHOST PLANES AND THE JAPANESE FIGHTER PILOT WHO BECAME A GOD IN CHINESE!…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4-E13 - China Airlines Survives Three Major Tragedies
Three devastating crashes over an eight-year span, 1994 to 2002, with a combined 685 fatalities; a record that could easily bankrupt an airline. However, China…
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa FilesFORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH08-中華民國海軍封鎖中國（？）—領海封閉政策與海盜傳奇
LISTEN TO THE STORY OF WHEN TAIWAN (ROC) BLOCKADED CHINA (PRC) IN CHINESE!…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
[ENCORE] S4 - The Inn of the EIGHT Happinesses 八福客栈 vs. The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
Gladys Aylward and Ingrid Bergman: The former, a British-born Christian missionary to China and Taiwan, the latter a three-time Academy Award winner. However…
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa FilesFORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH07-被刻意遺忘的暴動事件—524美國大使館暴動
LISTEN TO THE STORY OF THE RIOTERS RANSACK THE TAIPEI US EMBASSY IN CHINESE!…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
BONUS episode: The Adventures of Frank Bessac
During the Mao Zedong years, China was off-limits to Western researchers. Some came to Taiwan as a substitute, among them American anthropologist Frank Bessac…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4-E12 - The Dalai Lama Visits Taiwan (1997)
John chats with Michael Aldrich, author of “Old Lhasa: A Biography,” about relations between Taiwan and Tibet (specifically the Tibetan government-in-exile in…
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa FilesFORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH06-最低調沉默的第一夫人—前第一夫人蔣方良女士
LISTEN TO THE STORY OF FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE IN CHINESE! 臺灣，或說中華民國史上的第一夫人（以及想成為第一夫人的人），大多都是新聞報導關注的焦點，甚至如蔣宋美齡般成為世界知名的人物。然而在第一夫人的行列中，卻有一位稍顯黯淡無聲的夫人－蔣方良女士，即前總統蔣經國先生…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4-E11 - Bird Droppings on Rocks: the surprising history of hotly contested South China Sea islands
On Saturday May 18th, 2024, a group of local lawmakers will visit Taiping Island 太平島, a tiny strip of coral and sand in the Spratly Islands more than 1,500 km…
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa FilesFORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH05-經濟奇蹟背後的重大事故—高雄港高中六號事故
LISTEN TO THE STORY OF THE 1973 QIJIN FERRY TRAGEDY IN CHINESE! 1973年（民國62年）9月3日早上，在高雄港發生了一起嚴重的沉船事故。總共有25位乘客罹難，而且這25位乘客全部都是13至30歲的未婚女性。究竟為什麼會有這麼多的年輕女性罹難？事件的後…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4-E10 - Radio Wars
John recently visited the National Radio Museum in Minxiong Township, Chiayi County. This led to some research on the use of radio for propaganda. Whether…
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa FilesFORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH04-芭比娃娃 M.I.T.—臺灣製造的世界傳奇
LISTEN TO THE STORY OF BARBIE: MADE IN TAIWAN IN CHINESE! 芭比娃娃是陪伴許多人童年的娃娃，2023年甚至還有一部以芭比娃娃為題材的電影發行，也再一次讓這個世界級的娃娃成為熱門話題。然而有許多人不知道，從1960年代起一直到1980年代，全世界有超過一半以上…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
Chen Shui-bian 陳水扁: The Middle Years – From Law School to First Prison Term – S4-E9
When Chen Shui-bian 陳水扁 began his university studies in 1969, gifted student though he was, few could have imagined he would become Taiwan’s first non-KMT…
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa FilesFORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH03-臺灣街頭巷口的洗腦名曲—臺灣垃圾車音樂文化
LISTEN TO THE STORY OF TAIWAN'S MUSICAL GARBAGE TRUCKS IN CHINESE! 說到臺灣日常中最特別的聲音，莫過於幾乎每天都在大街小巷裡響起的〈少女的祈禱〉與〈給愛麗絲〉。臺灣垃圾車播放音樂，其實遠自1968年（民國57年）就已經開始。一路發展到現在，垃圾車…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4-E8 - The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA): talking to a member of a former “terrorist” pro-Taiwan-independence group
Not so long ago, talking about Taiwan independence could earn you a lengthy prison term. That changed in the late 1990s as Taiwan embraced democracy. Taiwan…
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa FilesFORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH02-臺灣養豬業的最慘一「疫」—1997年豬口蹄疫
LISTEN TO THE STORY OF TAIWAN'S GREAT PORK APOCALYPSE (1997) IN CHINESE! 你知道嗎？臺灣曾經是全球第二大的豬肉出口國，更是日本最重要的豬肉來源地。然而在1997年，豬口蹄疫情在新竹被發現，爆發性地席捲全臺，使得臺灣養豬產業蒙受極為重大的打擊。一直…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4-E8 - The U.S. Breaks Up With Taipei for Beijing (Dec. 1978)
Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter only served one term, but those four years were rough: oil embargos, inflation, the Iran hostage crisis, and the decision to…
The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa FilesFORMOSA FILES IN CHINESE! CH01-史上「最好」的劫機事件？—華航334航班劫機事件
LISTEN TO THE STORY OF THE HIJACKING OF CHINA AIRLINES FLIGHT 334 IN CHINESE! 「僵局」一詞定義了 1970 年代和 1980…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4-E7 - Travel and Tremors – the 1906 Meishan Earthquake 梅山地震
Drawing on an account never before told in English, we visit Taiwan in the company of French war correspondent Reginald Kann. Upon his arrival in Taihoku…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
Remembering the 921 Earthquake - Special Episode - S4
Taiwan is in mourning for those lost or injured by the huge earthquake that happened on the morning of April 3rd, 2024. In this short special episode, we hear…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4-E6 – Taipei’s Architectural Trilogy Part Two: Witnessing History and Changing with the Times
In the previous episode, we told you how these three rather stunning neo-classical Chinese buildings came to exist. This week, we’re looking at them through a…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4-E6 – Taipei’s Architectural Trilogy: The CKS Memorial Hall, the National Theater and the National Concert Hall
China-born architect Yang Cho-cheng 楊卓成 (1914-2006) left his magnificent mark on Taiwan with the CKS Memorial Hall, and the National Theater and Concert Hall…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
Ghost Brides - S4-E5
People do indeed marry ghosts in Taiwan! Formosa Files does not mean to mock or in any way be disrespectful to local traditions. Instead, we hope this…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4 - A Formosa Files INTERVIEW: CNN China Legend Mike Chinoy
In the summer of 1973, a young Mike Chinoy finagled his way onto one of the earliest trips of civilian Americans to “Red China.” He would later become CNN’s…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4-E4 - The Interesting Tale of When the Dalai Lama’s Brother Came to Taiwan
Gyalo Thondup རྒྱལ་ལོ་དོན་འགྲུབ has had a very interesting life. Born in 1927, he’s the second-eldest brother of the current (and 14th) Dalai Lama. Brother…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4-E3 - The 1973 Qijin Ferry Tragedy - 旗津渡輪
Twenty-five young women and girls drowned after a severely overloaded ferry capsized in 1973. The deaths spurred changes in public transport safety in…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4-E2 - Taiwan (the ROC) and Israel - Surprising Shared Histories
Did you know: In 1920, ROC founder Sun Yat-sen wrote a letter in support of Israel’s nationhood aspirations? And, the ROC govt in Nanjing was the first Asian…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
Death, Misery, and Cannibalism... Happy Holidays? [ENCORE] - S4
Welcome in the Year of the Dragon with this encore of a classic episode from Season Two. Eryk claims all Taiwanese/Chinese holidays are based on sad stories…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S4-E1 - The Lugang Rebellion (鹿港 1986)
In the left corner, mega-multinational corporation DuPont. In the right corner, farmers from central Taiwan’s Lugang 鹿港. Ready? Fight!! To open Season Four, we…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S3-E42 - Taiwan in 1958
1958. Just 66 years ago, yet Taiwan back then was like a completely different country. There was no television, but there were Russian-language radio…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
BONUS Episode: Linda Gail Arrigo's Verdict on Shih Ming-teh 施明德
Linda Arrigo has been in Taiwan for many years, working as a human rights activist, as an important member of the early team of fighters who risked life and…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S3-E41 - Shih Ming-teh 施明德 – “TAIWAN’S MANDELA”
Shih Ming-teh 施明德 died on the morning of his 83rd birthday, January 15th, 2024. This Taiwan democracy champion spent a combined 25.5 years in Taiwanese prisons…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
Sold to a Bargirl at the Age of Five (1955) – The Nancy Chen Baldwin Story - S3-E40
Nancy Chen Baldwin's early life – when she was sold by her parents to a bargirl for US$100 – might sound like something out of a novel set in the Middle Ages…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
Taiwan’s Most Famous Red Light District: Taipei’s Combat Zone - S3-E39
“Blatant sex capital of Asia, where vice is legal and the price is right,” was how one book described Taipei in 1969. Listen as Taipei-based journalist David…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
A Formosa Files INTERVIEW: Making History in Space, Taiwan Uni Team Puts Nanosatellites into Orbit - With Angel Menéndez
National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) PhD candidate Angel B. Menéndez came to Taiwan from his native Guatemala on a full scholarship provided by the Taiwan…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S3-E38 - Merry Constitution Day! (and a Happy New Year)
December 25th. A special day celebrating the birth of... the Constitution of the Republic of China. Once a holiday that rather conveniently overlapped with…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S3-E37 - Wu Li-pei (吳澧培): A Taiwanese-American Immigrant Story, Part Two
In the 1960s and 1970s, many tens of thousands of Taiwanese went into self-exile; most of them headed to the United States. The people who became…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
Bonus Episode: SAVE THE BIRDS! ~ The origin story of the Kaohsiung Wild Bird Society
Frank C. Chen was the mayor of Kaohsiung from 1960 to 1968. The foundation that bears his name is the reason we have Formosa Files. Paul Chen is one of Frank…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S3-E36 - Wu Li-pei (吳澧培): A Taiwanese-American Immigrant Story, Part One
A generation of Taiwanese left (or you might say “fled”) Taiwan in the 1960s and 70s, with most going to the United States. Some went to school there and…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
[ENCORE] Henry Kissinger (and president Nixon) Go to China, and Everything Changes for the Republic of China (Taiwan)
Henry Alfred Kissinger died on November 29, 2023 at the age of 100. This incredibly controversial figure was a massive player in US politics and policies…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S3-E35 - Bits and Pieces (of Stinky Tofu 臭豆腐) and a Pre-Announcement Announcement
Although Eryk is as sick as a dog, both he and John are in very high spirits, and not just because, once again, they get to chat about stinky tofu. In this…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S3-E34 - Fabulous Foods of Formosa (and Stinky Tofu 臭豆腐)
Taiwan is a food-lover's paradise, with tasty treats, delicious dishes, scrumptious suppers, marvelous morsels... a versatile, vast variety of fabulous foods…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S3-E33 - Tales of Tokyo and Taiwan
This week we're looking at Tokyo, and telling a few tales that connect events in that major world city to people, places, and things in Taiwan…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S3-E32 - Hakka Author Wu Zhuoliu (吳濁流), Part 2 - Japan’s Surrender and 2/28
Writer Wu Zhuoliu 吳濁流 (1900-1976), sadly, never saw Taiwan blossom into a democracy. But he left us with some of the most important works ever written about…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
WELCOME TO THE PODCAST! - The "White Formosan" - S1-E1
Formosa Files has gained a lot of new listeners of late, and many seem to begin listening from where they first encounter the program. But there are lots of…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
A Formosa Files INTERVIEW: Manga Artist Mark Crilley Talks About His New Book - LOST IN TAIWAN
Mark Crilley is one of the top 10 American manga artists, and he has a new graphic novel out called LOST IN TAIWAN (2023). Formosa Files caught up with Mark…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
[ENCORE] Golf in Taiwan: A Surprisingly Long History
Hear the tale of Japanese colonial officials discovering golf as the "new cool thing for elites" -- and ordering a course built in just a few hours. Plus, the…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S3-E31 - The “Tea Thief” - Robert Fortune's Very Brief Trip to Taiwan (1854)
Tea was domesticated in China, and the knowledge of how to grow it, harvest it, and process it was a closely guarded secret. After basically becoming addicted…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
[ENCORE] The 4,300-Kilometer Chase of an Illegal Taiwanese Fishing Boat (1989)
Taiwan loves seafood, and boats from this island trawl for yummy ocean offerings thousands of kilometers away from our shores. Taiwanese fishing vessels are…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
[Bonus] Photographing Taiwan – Interview with Chris Stowers
John chats with photographer Chris Stowers. In 1988, Chris sailed a traditional Indonesian boat on an epic sea voyage (a trip described alongside the…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S3-E30 - When the Russians Bombed Taipei (and other aviation stories)
Here's something we bet you didn't know: in 1938, Soviet pilots in Soviet planes (disguised to look like ROC Air Force planes) bombed the main airfield in…
- The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files
S3-E29 - Taiwan's Great Pork Apocalypse (1997)
Not gonna lie folks: this episode gets dark; the story of a super swine slaughter. But, there's also some tasty morsels of info on Taiwan's favorite meat, and…