Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China
Face-Off is an award-winning podcast about how China and the United States, once friends, are now foes. Hosted by Jane Perlez, Fellow at the Belfer Center and former New York Times Beijing Bureau Chief, along with Rana Mitter, Professor of Modern China History at the Harvard Kennedy School.
The New York Times noted the hosts "discuss everything from Apple's remarkable rise in China and the future of Taiwan to Chinese espionage."
Season 4, Nuclear Anarchy?, marks a bold pivot: eight episodes tracing the arc of nuclear danger from the Manhattan Project to the shattering of the nonproliferation order today. Episodes of Face-Off: Nuclear Anarchy? drop every Tuesday in October and November 2026.
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About
Face-Off is hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jane Perlez, former New York Times Beijing bureau chief and current Belfer Center fellow.
Each episode also features Professor of Modern China and Belfer Center Board Member Rana Mitter. Together they talk about what's at stake as the two superpowers compete for world leadership.
Featured by The New York Times, recommended by Sinica, The World, Night Owls, China Global South and many more.
Season One and Two received critical acclaim, including a Gracie Award as a top education podcast , and twice Signal Awarded as a top documentary podcast.
The third season of the podcast will recount numerous topics, including: a deep-dive into the psychology of China’s disillusioned generation and what they have in common with American Gen’Zers; China’s dramatic arms build up; an analysis of Xi's ego, tactics, and how a relationship that started with cautious optimism turned into open hostility, and how China is winning the global robot race. Other topics include an underreported story on sports diplomacy; Chinese warships in a fight on the high seas; why an American influencer is going viral in China, and the power broker playing both sides of the AI revolution.
Produced in partnership with Rowhome Productions, distributed by Airwave Media, and funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
A bold new pivot: Introducing a special season 4 with Face-Off: Nuclear Anarchy
The nuclear age began in secrecy and scientific ambition. The story is familiar, but its implications have never left us. A bomb created in a moment of wartime urgency became the foundation of a global order defined by terror and deterrence. But what happens when that global order breaks down?
Face-Off is an award-winning podcast originally focused on US-China geopolitical competition. Season 4, Nuclear Anarchy?, marks a bold pivot: eight episodes tracing the arc of nuclear danger from the Manhattan Project to the shattering of the nonproliferation order today. Episodes of Face-Off: Nuclear Anarchy? drop every Tuesday in October and November 2026.