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Bloomberg World View
Shanghai correspondent and columnist for many publications, including Bloomberg World View; blogger at ShanghaiScrap.com and author of Junkyard Planet: Inside the Multibillion-Dollar Trade in American Trash
PROFILE
Adam Minter
Guest
FROM Adam Minter
Design and Architecture
Is Recycling Rubbish? New York Times science writer John Tierney says recycling is a form of "atonement" that makes no economic sense and does little to save carbon emissions. But Junkyard Planet author Adam Minter says it’s good for business and the environment. Bales of recyclables at Santa Monica Recycling Center Photo by Frances Anderton
Which Way, L.A.?
Where Recycled Stuff Goes: Inside the Global Trash Trade Last month, we spoke to Adam Minter, Shanghai correspondent for Bloomberg World View and a familiar voice on this program. He's also the author of Junkyard Planet , a book about an industry that supported generations of his own family: the recycling business.
To the Point
Where Recycled Stuff Goes: Inside the Global Trash Trade Last month, we spoke to Adam Minter, Shanghai correspondent for Bloomberg World View and a familiar voice on this program. He's also the author of Junkyard Planet , a book about an industry that supported generations of his own family: the recycling business.
To the Point
Where Recycled Stuff Goes: Inside the Global Trash Trade "In an age of conspicuous consumption, the global recycling business has taken on the burden of cleaning up what you don't want and turning it into something you can't wait to buy." That's from a new book about an essential aspect of globalization that's mostly hidden from view. Adam Minter, Shanghai correspondent for Bloomberg World View and a familiar voice on this program, is author of Junkyard Planet : Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade, about an industry that supported generations of his own family.
To the Point
Is China's Communist Party Putting Itself on Trial? China's trial of the century is not following the political script that was widely predicted. On Day One, former Communist Party honcho Bo Xilai vigorously defended himself, and claimed his bribery confessions had been coerced. It's a crucial event for new Party Chief, Xi Jinping, against a background of public outrage over corruption and demands to restore the era of Mao Tse Dung. Will a trial that dramatizes graft and economic inequality lead to reform? Will it make any difference in China's relations with the US and the rest of the world?
To the Point
The US and China Try Personal Diplomacy The President came to California for fundraisers, a review of the state's implementation of the Affordable Care Act — and for his first meeting with China's new President, Xi Jing-ping. What's described as an "informal," "shirt-sleeve" summit will be held in Rancho Mirage, California. Sunnylands, the desert estate of the late Walter Annenberg, now provides a luxurious venue for elite convocations.
To the Point
Is China's New 'Charm Offensive' Doomed to Fail? For the second time in 20 years, the leaders of China have just completed a peaceful transition of power. Xi Jinping has become the Communist Party Chairman, Commander in Chief of the Army and—yesterday--President of the Country. All that took place, as usual, behind closed doors. Xi will be running an economic powerhouse with an inferiority complex about its lack of cultural influence. He says, "Just as China needs to learn more about the world, so does the world need to learn more about China." But, can he develop China's "soft-power" in the face of political censorship, limits on foreign tourism and military saber rattling? We hear about the contradictions that make the world's second most powerful nation harder to understand — and more frightening — than it wants to be.
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Shijiao, China: Where Broken Christmas Lights Go to Die Americans buy millions of Christmas tree lights every year -- and throw them away as soon as one burns out. For companies in China, that's creating an opportunity that’s almost like panning for gold. A single strand of burned-out Christmas lights weighs almost nothing. So imagine how many strands make up the 20 million pounds of American Christmas lights China recycles every year. That’s the subject of a recent article by Adam Minter in the Atlantic magazine.
To the Point
Shijiao, China: Where Broken Christmas Lights Go to Die Americans buy millions of Christmas tree lights every year -- and throw them away as soon as one burns out. For companies in China, that’s creating an opportunity that's almost like panning for gold. A single strand of burned-out Christmas lights weighs almost nothing. So imagine how many strands make up the 20 million pounds of American Christmas lights China recycles every year. That’s the subject of a recent article by Adam Minter in the Atlantic magazine.
To the Point
Politics in the Other Superpower While the world waits to see if there will be leadership change in Washington, in China it's guaranteed, but nothing is out in the open. The Communist Party is about to start meeting behind closed doors to endorse the tiny group who will run the number two superpower for the next ten years. The biggest turnover since the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 -- and only its fifth generation of leaders since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 -- will have worldwide consequences, though nobody knows just what to expect. We hear about murder, corruption, public unrest and the uncertain future of the "economic miracle."
To the Point
US Foreign Policy Seen from Foreign Shores For tonight's final debate , President Obama and Governor Romney will be seated tonight at a small table with Bob Schieffer of CBS News. It's a lax format, and although Schieffer just might let them pivot to the economy, women's issues or unemployment, the major topic is foreign affairs. Does China care about economic threats? Has Israel's Netanyahu tried to swing the election? Is Iran anxious about an attack? What about Syria and the Arab Spring? We hear voices from around the world and update one subject that's almost guaranteed to arise: the deadly attack in Benghazi.
To the Point
The London Olympics Begin The US women’s team has won its first soccer game, but the official opening of the London Olympic Games won’t be until Friday. The world is beginning to focus on London as the Torch has been carried through the streets of the city. Celebrities and politicians are turning up, including Mitt Romney, who caused a minor stir with these comments about security preparations. Romney backpedaled a bit later. He’s visiting London as part of his presidential campaign, and as the man who saved the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
To the Point
Bo Xilai’s Wife Charged with Intentional Homicide in Briton’s Death China’s most dramatic political upheaval in decades continued today with murder charges against the wife of Bo Xilai—who was deposed in March as the party boss of Chongquing. His wife, Gu Kailai, is accused along with an aide of murdering British businessman Neil Heywood.
To the Point
A Blind Man, International Diplomacy and China's Political Struggles As we begin this program, there are more questions than answers about the blind Chinese dissident who escaped house arrest in Shandong Province and was smuggled into the US Embassy in Beijing. Chen Guangcheng says he's grateful to the US, but that China reneged on agreements that led him to leave the embassy after six days. Is he being treated well at a Chinese hospital? Will he, his wife, two children and relatives back home be subject to retaliation? Will Chen be allowed to come to the US, where he has reportedly been offered a fellowship? As she wrapped up two days of high-level trade and security talks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was cautiously optimistic. But likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney called reports of the embassy's mishandling of the case, a "day of shame" for the Obama Administration. We hear from a reporter who's talked to Chen and get the latest on the Obama Administration's handling of the affair.
Which Way, L.A.?
Is Apple Facing the Music? Last year it was Wired magazine, reporting on allegedly inhumane working conditions at Foxconn, which makes iPads and iPhones for Apple at two factories in China. But it was two stories last month in the New York Times, and a broadcast on public radio's This American Life that apparently led 250,000 customers to turn in complaints last week to the world's most valuable company. Today, Apple stock reached an all-time high of more than $500 a share as the company announced an independent audit of working conditions at Chinese subcontractors that make 90 percent of its products. How bad are working conditions? Do consumers care enough to change their buying habits? NOTE: After this To the Point discussion aired, This American Life discovered that its program, Mr. Daisey Goes to the Apple Factory, was partially fabricated, and has since dedicated an entire program to detailing the errors Daisey's story about visiting Foxconn. You can listen to TAL's program Retraction to learn more.
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To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
To the Point
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?