Episodes

S3-E6 - Gladys Aylward, Ingrid Bergman, and the Inn of the Eight Happinesses (八福客栈)

March 23, 2023

Eight happinesses? If you’ve heard of or seen the famous movie about the remarkable British missionary Gladys Aylward, you'll know that the film (which was originally set to be shot in Taiwan) was called “The Inn of the Sixt…

S3-E5 - Local Language Loanwords: A Lovely Hot Pot of Fujianese, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, English, and More

March 16, 2023

All languages borrow words from other languages. These “loanwords” often come with fascinating historical backstories, their adoption the result of encounters by traders, scholars, and adventurers; and the result of colonial…

S3-E4 - Madou, Tainan 麻豆: Pomelos and Priestesses

March 9, 2023

Today, the district of Madou (麻豆區) in Tainan City is home to about 43,000 people. It has a pleasant small-town feel, an economy mainly based on agriculture, in particular, a citrus fruit called the pomelo ( 柚子). Back in the …

S3-E3 - Chen Shui-bian 陳水扁: The Early Years

March 2, 2023

Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was a highly controversial two-term ROC president (2000–2008). How “A-Bian” studied and fought his way out of rural poverty to the highest office, thus bringing 55 years of continuous KMT rule to an end,…

S3-E2 - Mel Gibson Makes a Movie in Taiwan (1979)

Feb. 23, 2023

Ever heard of the film "Attack Force Z"? No? Don't worry... almost no one has. Filmed in Taiwan, this WWII story featured both Mel Gibson and Sam Neill, long before they became major Hollywood stars. Gibson later called the …

S3-E1 - Storm Stories: Tales of Typhoons in Taiwan

Feb. 16, 2023

With their fearsome winds and dramatic downpours, typhoons have long been a part of Taiwan's history. Join Formosa Files for a look at a few notable typhoons that have hit Taiwan in more recent times, as well as some interes…

Rage Against the Machine – Formosa Files VS. ChatGPT

Feb. 9, 2023

In this fun Season Two finale, John Ross and Eryk Michael Smith battle with the AI phenomenon ChatGPT. Who knows more about Taiwanese history, John or the scarily omnipotent AI chatbot which may soon render humans obsolete? …

S2-E40 - The Two Generalissimos - Francisco Franco and Chiang Kai-shek

Feb. 2, 2023

Relations between the R.O.C. (Taiwan) and Spain have never been as close as Taiwan's ties to, for example, the United States. But back in the days when Taiwan was ruled as a one-party state, there were more connections than …

[Encore] Japan Puts Paiwan Indigenous Taiwanese on Display at London Expo (1910)

Jan. 26, 2023

At the turn of the 20th century, Japan was on a roll. After taking Formosa and Penghu from Qing China in 1895, Japan beat mighty Russia in 1905. Eager to show the world its newfound economic strength – and to highlight the s…

S2-E39 - Kaohsiung to Kenting Road Trip (1875)

Jan. 19, 2023

The southern peninsula of Taiwan was a "ship graveyard" for a very long time as unseen rocks and reefs gashed holes in the sides of vessels and left them stranded, or on the seafloor. The Western powers and Qing authorities …

[Encore] Taiwan's Orangutan Craze and the Terrors of the Tiger Trade

Jan. 12, 2023

You're hiking in the hills of Taichung in the early 1990s and suddenly come across ... an orangutan? What's more, this massive great ape is um ... in need of some, um ... "affection," and gets handsy. An unlikely scenario, r…

Bonus Episode: Among the Headhunters of Formosa - From Taiwan in 100 Books, by John Ross

Jan. 5, 2023

This week we have another snippet from the audiobook of John's 2020 book, Taiwan in 100 Books. This extract tells the tale of Janet Montgomery McGovern, a feisty anthropologist who managed to cut through the red tape and off…

S2-E38 - Dating in Taiwan

Dec. 29, 2022

No, we're not talking about romantic adventures; in this episode, the "dating" we're discussing is the days, months, and years kind. Why is it about to become the year 112 in Taiwan? Why is 2023 not just the year of the rabb…

Bonus Episode: The Forgotten President 嚴家淦

Dec. 22, 2022

Eryk calls John for a chat about Yen Chia-kan (嚴家淦, Yan Jiagan) the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) for three years following the death of Chiang Kai-shek in 1975. Who was C.K. Yen, and why isn’t he better known?…

A Formosa Files INTERVIEW: Dr. Dafydd Fell from SOAS takes us on a Mini-Deep Dive into Taiwan's Alternative Political Parties

Dec. 20, 2022

We generally don't discuss politics very much on this podcast, but, when one of the world's most well-established international experts on politics in Taiwan is gracious enough to be willing to chat – we're gonna talk politi…

S2-E37 - A Cunning Count Contemplates Colonizing Formosa

Dec. 15, 2022

Ever heard of Count Maurice Benyovszky? He's not well known in Taiwan, but after this Polish-Slovakian-Hungarian semi-nobleman had a chance encounter with this island in 1771, he wrote a travel account that remained influent…

S2-E36 - Annette Lu – from Prison to the Presidential Office

Dec. 8, 2022

A fighter for women's rights, human rights, freedom of speech, and democracy, you can disagree with Annette Lu's politics (or with some of her very controversial comments) ...but you can't deny the impact this outspoken woma…

S2-E35 - Colonial Tourism: Japanese Visit their Model Colony, While Tokyo Brings Indigenous Taiwanese to “The Motherland” to Show Off “Civilization”

Dec. 1, 2022

We travel back to 1920s Taiwan, first in the company of Terry’s Guide to the Japanese Empire and then follow a Tokyo travel bureau itinerary for Japanese tourists to the island. Ride the rails with us as we visit Shinto shri…