This week on Rough Translation, we check in with NPR international correspondents in China, Germany and Greece about the ways that culture shapes—and is reshaped by—responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rough Translation

How Covid-19 Is Challenging Cultures

A young Chinese exchange student in Taiwan with no history of activism posts a video criticizing China's president Xi Jinping on Twitter, then asks for asylum. His request for protection fuels a larger discussion about Taiwan's role as a haven for Chinese dissidents, and also raises questions about who he is as an individual and his motivations. Who is he, and can he be trusted?

The Original Sin Of Li Jiabao

This week, we present the latest episode of NPR's Throughline, a look at the life and complicated legacy of the assassinated Iranian military leader, Qassem Soleimani.

Rough Translation Presents: Throughline

Please, take our <a href="https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/5326603/Rough-Translation-2019">survey</a>! At a Ukrainian comedy competition founded by President Volodymyr Zelensky, can humor unite a divided country?

Please, take our survey! At a Ukrainian comedy competition founded by President Volodymyr Zelensky, can humor unite a divided country?

Whose Ukraine Is It Anyway?

In the country on the other side of the impeachment hearings... A comedian runs for president of Ukraine and wins in a landslide, with a parliamentary majority to pass any law he wants. So now what? Our host, Gregory Warner, reports from Kyiv.

Ukraine: Race Against The Machine

Listen to hear a preview of a special two-part episode about Ukraine, reported by Gregory Warner.

Preview: Rough Translation In Ukraine

For our season finale, a listener's story: When a six-year-old boy adopts Tokyo as his new home, his American mom has to figure out where she belongs in her son's new life. If you want to share your story, email roughtranslation@npr.org <a href="https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510324/rough-translation"> </a>

For our season finale, a listener's story: When a six-year-old boy adopts Tokyo as his new home, his American mom has to figure out where she belongs in her son's new life.If you want to share your story, email roughtranslation@npr.org 

Mom In Translation

What happens when the employees of a French McDonald's take the corporate philosophy so deeply to heart, that it actually becomes a problem for the company? To listen to more Rough Translation, check out our <a href="https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510324/rough-translation">previous episodes</a>.

What happens when the employees of a French McDonald's take the corporate philosophy so deeply to heart, that it actually becomes a problem for the company? To listen to more Rough Translation, check out our previous episodes.

Liberté, Égalité and French Fries

We visit a storytelling podcast from China that slips under the radar of China's government censors, and other international podcast stories about the search for love.

When We Talk About Love

Two radically different ways of seeing race come into conflict in Brazil, provoking a national conversation about who is Black? And who is not Black enough? We revisit our first ever Rough Translation episode, with an update on how the election of an anti-affirmative action president is affecting the debate. If you want to see a photo of the medical school students: npr.org/roughtranslation

Two radically different ways of seeing race come into conflict in Brazil, provoking a national conversation about who is Black? And who is not Black enough? We revisit our first ever Rough Translation episode, with an update on how the election of an anti-affirmative action president is affecting the debate. If you want to see a photo of the medical school students: npr.org/roughtranslation

Brazil In Black And White: Update

If you're the kind of person who thinks you can't be conned, that assumption may make it harder for you to recognize when you actually are being scammed. We speak with professional poker player and author Maria Konnikova about how con-artists get inside the stories we all tell ourselves, about ourselves. Then we go to an international multimillion dollar scam in Costa Rica, where a master of the con meets his match... the IT guy.

The Mind Of The Mark

What if more evangelical Christians in the United States fought climate change with the same spirit they bring to the issue of abortion? In this episode, we go back to a surprisingly recent period when that nearly happened. We meet two evangelicals who made it their mission to bridge the divide between Christians and environmentalists. What happened, and why they say the best way to start conversations about the planet is with readings of the bible. For photos and links: www.npr.org/roughtranslation Follow us: twitter.com/roughly

What if more evangelical Christians in the United States fought climate change with the same spirit they bring to the issue of abortion? In this episode, we go back to a surprisingly recent period when that nearly happened. We meet two evangelicals who made it their mission to bridge the divide between Christians and environmentalists. What happened, and why they say the best way to start conversations about the planet is with readings of the bible.For photos and links: www.npr.org/roughtranslationFollow us: twitter.com/roughly

What Would Jesus Drive?

On today's episode, entrepreneurs around the world are trying to redefine how their societies perceive failure, by doing the scariest thing possible: standing up in public and admitting their mistakes. Links to more stories: http://npr.org/roughtranslation Tell us your story: #ShareYourFailure (http://bit.ly/ShareYourFailure)

On today's episode, entrepreneurs around the world are trying to redefine how their societies perceive failure, by doing the scariest thing possible: standing up in public and admitting their mistakes. Links to more stories: http://npr.org/roughtranslationTell us your story: #ShareYourFailure (http://bit.ly/ShareYourFailure)

When Failure Is A 4-Letter Word

A fragile alliance begins to fracture, as a romantic photo of Kamaran resurfaces. Ahmed confronts his family. And Sebastian meets with ISIS. * Note: This story contains strong language and sounds of war.

A fragile alliance begins to fracture, as a romantic photo of Kamaran resurfaces. Ahmed confronts his family. And Sebastian meets with ISIS. * Note: This story contains strong language and sounds of war.

The Search: Part 2

When a journalist goes missing in Iraq, his friends and family have to figure out a rescue plan. * Note: This story contains strong language and sounds of war.

When a journalist goes missing in Iraq, his friends and family have to figure out a rescue plan. * Note: This story contains strong language and sounds of war. 

The Search: Part 1

How are the things we're talking about being talked about somewhere else in the world? Gregory Warner tells stories that follow familiar conversations into unfamiliar territory. At a time when the world seems small but it's as hard as ever to escape our echo chambers, Rough Translation takes you places.

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Rough Translation

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