Superpower Showdown: Jane Perlez

March 12th, 2026

”Will the United States still be the primary power in the world?”

We discuss  the influence of the U.S.-China relationship on American democracy, on issues ranging from “garbage time” to soft power to geopolitical dominance of the South China Sea.

Jane Perlez is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, former New York Times Beijing bureau chief, and fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center. She's also the podcast host of Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China.

Your civic action toolkit recommendations from Jane are:

  1. Visit China!

  1. Read To Change China by Jonathan Spence and/or Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick

Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: 

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Discover new ways to #BetheSpark: 

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Follow Mila on X: 

https://x.com/milaatmos

Follow Jane Perlez on X: 

https://x.com/JanePerlez

Sponsor: 

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Early episodes for Patreon supporters:

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight

Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos 

Guest: Jane Perlez

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

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The Politics of Corruption: Tiffany Muller