If ‘Changes’ are good enough for the likes of David Bowie & Shannon Hoon, then they’re good enough for us: CPod Youtube Video
What’s changed?
- We’re now recording from another studio…except that you can’t see that…because (change #2):
- Aric bought a new HD camera (JVC HD, but can’t get his Mac to convert the files and is offering up a ChinesePod T-shirt to whomever helps him), but can’t use the files he shot, meaning (#3 comin’ up):
- He’s recording from his home…but the audio podcast is still there, which Jenny talks about:
- Not changing her clothes…while Aric talks about:
- Changing the entire structure/layout/location/direction of the Greatest Saturday Show In The World…but we need your help
…and loads of other things that have to do with change.
But the biggie is #5 – while the move to V3 was good from a language acquisition perspective, it didn’t do much in terms for getting the word out about our little show; so please, offer up any advice you might have…it’s not often we admit we can’t do things on our own, enjoy it.
LINK TO DOWNLOAD THIS EPISODE (right-click, save as):
chinesepod_I50_20070519.mp3(9.07mb)
I’m confused. Why is that a standard feed for Cpod can’t be created? In betwixt Aric’s ramblings I’ve managed to learn a few things about China and Shangai in perfect forum. I miss Colleen but the sow must go on. I’ve not missed a single saturday show because it’s the perfect blend of after-school hanging out with a little knowledge thrown. Love the strong words….
Maybe if we all chanted “we want the feed in our cpod accounts.” Please explain why…..
correction in the above I meant show and not sow - sorry for any potential miscommunciation….
Yeah, I second RhodyRed.
There are two places where a simple “Extras” banner banner with an html link would be perfect; unobtrusive and relevant.
On the initial http://chinesepod.com - an “Extras” banner, maybe highlighting/advertising the current Extra site shows. Your guys are great at making banners anyway, and my guess is it that they are quick and easy to do.
Secondly, on our “Connect” pages - say on the right hand side below our bio’s. That’s what “Connect” means, doesn’t it? Boil it down and it implies “Community” and the Saturday Show is about pandering to the Chinesepod Community. Alternatively, or maybe as well as, the Study/”Welcome” page, that appears if you’re logged in automatically - a banner either in the page “footer”, or among the links - alongside “Connect”, just above the footer.
There are lots of suitable places on the main site, where a notice wouldn’t be out of place. I don’t think it takes any real genius to work out where they belong.
Content: - A return of the videos showing life and times in the streets of Shanghai - with amusing dialogue/commentary - they used to be quite a highlight.
I don’t know where I fit in terms of the average ChinesePod subscriber, but I started listening to the Saturday Show, THEN I started listening to the podcasts, and FINALLY I subscribed. So for me, no Saturday Show, no subscription. Seems to me a prominent link to the Extras on the ChinesePod home page would represent at least a potential hook for some percentage of new subscribers. After all, you guys are cute and edgy–and that’s hard to pull off.
So Aric stood up the Sydney meet up poddies because he was upset about the treatment of TSS during the V3 switchover? Does this mean that if the Big Bosses at HQ don’t come up with a solution to the TSS problems he will stand up the New York City podddies as well?
Some information seems to be missing here…
TSS has been a good community building tool for CP and took a big hit with V3.
I feel today’s show has regained a little of whatever made it special before. It is a step up from the recent past. A little more China life focused instead of expat focused. Today’s sarcasm topic was interesting. I’ve found it doesn’t usually go over well, if at all, with Chinese. TSS is a better audio show than video. I liked the
The feed (extra.chinesepod.com/feed) still has some bug in it. It loads OK in safari, but not iTunes. This week’s and last do not show up in iTunes. Only TSS #45-#47, all post V3, show up in iTunes on this feed. Regardless of where TSS lands, it should be about as visible as a lesson level from the main site and available on a feed.
Once logged on, I like the V3 interface. However, I personally don’t like the V3 main page (chinesepod.com). In V2, TSS was prominent on the main home page on Friday night my timezone. In V3, TSS is 2 clicks from the home page and that is if you know where to find it. This is too much. One click to the login page is also too much.
nee-how Aric and Jenny,
Love the show, been listening for a LONG time and even visited Hong Kong and HK Disneyland in Dec. 2005, what a wonderful time. I loved HK at Christmas time.
I hopefully have an answer for your HD question. Without knowing the model of the camera, just looking at it on Aric’s video, I did a bit of googling and may have found the answer. If you are able, “just convert the video into a standard uncompressed AVI, and then edit using Premiere, Final Cut, or others. In this way there is no loss whatsoever!”
I found this quote at this link:
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/jvc_grhd1_fi_camcorder_review.htm
I hope that helps!
shea-shea
“I like the…” I’d like my train of thought back!
Instead of a link that says “extras” that is very hard to find. There should be a more prominent link that says “The Saturday Show” on the homepage. .. seems simple enough. I’m assuming most listeners use Chinesepod (i’m an exception) so a seperate website might not work so well for attracting new listeners . .. . actually I’m not sure why the numbers have dropped so much after V3. .. It wasn’t THAT hard to find where you moved to.
D
Hey, gang!
Aric, you know how I feel about the SS extraction from the main site. I won’t go into it again here. But, hey, while I’m here, do we have any plans for an Orlando meet-up, since both of us will be there? I know it’s not an Aric & Jenny team-up, but you and I aren’t exactly slouches, bro.
I agree with James. Please get the feed working with iTunes. TSS doesn’t seem to be on the iTunes podcast store; that might help get new listeners. TSS makes us feel connected to Chinesepod and get to know the hosts better. Kind of like the extras on a DVD help you understand the movie better. Maybe you need to invite the bosses to the show once in awhile so they can talk about what’s in development at Cpod and maybe then they’ll put a button on the Cpod homepage for “The Saturday Show”!
As a longtime subscriber, I’ve also become hooked on TSS. The atmosphere is like what happens when you get your teacher to come to the pub - same insight but different discussions. It might not do much for my formal learning, but it helps me to stay engaged.
However, the current arrangement is not good. I have to google the bloody thing every time I want to find it, then download separately. If that’s what Aric is beefing about, then I’m with him 100%. Yeah!
Gosh, it’s terrible that the fall-off of listeners to TSS is so large since the switch. While the lessons are, indeed, extremely good and an invaluable learning tool - as various people have said above, TSS makes the site much more friendly and enhances the sense of community, not to mention how informative the show is about current culture and society in Shanghai and China.
The homepage on the main site appears rather sparse and corporate, I have to say. There is hardly any information and structured in such a way that the user is so ‘led’, that it’s quite unappealing. As Chinesepod is such a keen proponent of cognitive learning and thinking, the way the site is structured seems to be at odds to this philosophy. It seems more appealing to me to have a page with lots of different links, that you can follow down lots of different cross-connecting paths.
Where the link for Chinesepod-Extras is placed is really obscure - almost as though the Chinesepod management is ashamed of the extras. Surely, Chinesepod should be trying to use all the means available to promote the listenership and enjoyment of the learning process - TSS is very much one of these means.
As mentioned above, there are any number of ways that the site could promote the blogs and TSS and the forums in a more prominent, yet not overpowering way - it really all boils down to volition, whether this is a choice that Chinesepod wants to make.
The Saturday Show has been a part of my Saturday morning routine since its inception. Chinesepod is a business and Ken is such a savvy businessman he surely understands the marketing value. Billboard it on the opening page. It will bring business, certainly not hurt it. I do wish sometimes it was more about China and the people and culture than about Aric - like the wonderful singer who was featured last week. She did not even get her name mentioned. If Aric is upset that his show is not given the visibility it deserves, imagine how she felt, getting that kind of publicity, but her name does not get mentioned. That said, the personalities in the Saturday Show and the interplay make Chinesepod more of a community and converted me into a paying customer after a year of listening for free.
There are two issues here:
1) Those of that are already aware of The Saturday Show and listen regularly.
The Satuday Show needs its own RSS feed. It doesn’t have to be part of my general Chinese Pod feed as long as there is a feed available. In some ways, keeping them separate is a good idea as it allows for greater flexibility in organising the podcasts.
I’m going to stick my neck out here and say that the move to video is partly to blame. Whilst it’s great to be able to see you guys, it seems as if the priority has shifted towards video. I would suggest focussing on getting the regular audio feed back up and running. Video should be an extra, not the main focus.
For me, V3 is a bit of a dichotomy. One the one hand I like the changes. A number of aspects of CPod have significantly improved. On the other, my Chinese learning has tailed off to next to nothing since the switch. I have some ideas, but can’t quite put my finger on why this is. But I’ve still managed to keep up with The Saturday Show.
2) CPod (or other) users that are new to The Saturday Show.
Getting new listeners is a different matter and for this I’d agree with the suggestions above. Listing the podcast in iTunes is a must. I like the idea of linking (or integrating into) the CPod “Connect” page. The Saturday Show is an integral part of the CPod community and should be treated as such.
As for making The Saturday Show a separate site. I would hate to see this happen. But, if it does, it needs to make a complete break. A more structured approach to bringing Chinese culture to the rest of the world without loosing the humour, personality, and fun of The Saturday Show could prove to be quite popular. I’d certainly subscribe.
Good luck Jenny and Aric.
The links cross-promoting between chinesepod.com and spanishsense.com aren’t strong either (so that subscribers to one might not know about the other, is there a case for a website that ties in these two (and future?) language learning websites that leaves the V3 layouts untouched, that can also host all the community links in a much more immediate and accessable way?
Actually I’d like a discounted Access All Areas subscription that allows access to both chinesepod.com and spanishsense.com without having to subscribe to both individually. By having a top level website that simultaneously links to and cross-promotes both sites and offering the subscription service at that level, users may well take out a discounted subscription to both sites (generating more revenue in the process) as well as being made aware of all the community links. The only issue I see right now is that the chinesepod.com brand has become very strong, and you’d have to find some way of redirecting people to this top level site without annoying them, or creating a new dotcom brand for this top level site. I don’t know tie-up between chinesepod.com, spanishsense.com and Praxis (e.g. did Praxis buy into CPod?), but right now I suspect that chinesepod.com is a more recognised brand than Praxis.
Personally I’m not a fan of the new V3 layouts, the previous version was much easier to navigate, it’s not just the Saturday Show links that are hard to find, I’d say that a large amount of the CPod site is hard to get to, and I feel that the ’streamlined’ user interface on V3 has taken away the immediacy of the previous version).
Firstly, I will say that the mention of TSS problems resulting in Aric not attending the Sydney meetup has left a bad taste in my mouth.
Secondly, the links to TSS were mentioned over and over again in various posts in the Connect section and in the forum. Whoever can’t find it now is seriously lazy.
Thirdly, 2 clicks vs. 1 click to navigate is kind of petty. I could understand 10 clicks vs. 1 click. Think of it as ‘exercise’.
I think I might be in a bit of a mood right now.
The Saturday Show had really been popular because of JENNY and NOT ARIC, but Aric has got it in his head that its all about ARIC!
People found Chinesepod because they wanted to learn the Chinese language, hear about Jenny, and what it is like living in China…. Aric came to believe that people wanted to know what ARIC was doing or what ARIC thought about music and western music no less… Most of the people that were coming to the site were already living in the west and they could careless what ARIC thought about western music or movies….
If I’m wrong, than change the name of the show to the Aric show and see how many people visit the site.. Or better yet see what happens if Jenny does not come on the show for a few weeks!
Got it Aric!!!
你好，大家！
Yes, hello everyone. So, the still don’t get it. Disassociating 周六 from chinese pod is like having a University without extra curricular activities as I see it.
周六 is inextricably bound to chinesepod.com, and not to have a link on the greeting page on Fridays is inappropriate and ill conceived. Time for a little fun, levity, meet some the the staff, watch someone make 小笼包, etc.. etc ..
What more can I say? It’s 7:57 AM in Menlo, Park, CA, I’ve watched the video (nice poster Aric!), and listened to the audio. 我得起床.
也 I just bought a very cool 北京2008 T-Shirt. Almost feel like one of the gang (-:
再见，
Bill
In this Saturday Show #50, Aric dropped a remake of Dreams (The Cranberries).
It was the cantonese version from Wang Fei (王菲) called 梦中人.
I’ve got nothing against cantonese but there’s also a Wang Fei version of the same song in PTH. The lyrics are different from the cantonese version but it may be easier to understand by Poddies who learn with ChinesePod.
For the good of the Saturday-Show listeners, I’ve just put this videos on the ChinesePod Forum :
http://forum.chinesepod.com/viewtopic.php?p=15220#15220
You will find there the original version, the cantonese and mandarin 演唱会 versions, and some other famous 王菲 songs. For practical reasons, all chinese videos have subtitles in simplified chinese.
Some dude named Bob made a great point; he stated that it was The Saturday Show which led him to fork over the few g’s it takes to buy the subscription for Chinesepod. Follow me on this one: Commentary on film, music, the social scene in China, and news of As(s)Queen’s drunken stupors all create strong interest in the culture and LANGUAGE of China. Chinesepod is a great learning tool, but it alone can’t generate the enthusiasm one needs to truly delve into a language. There needs to exist a real excitement for a language. An excitement produced by real people, discussing real topics (full of political incorrectness) while living, breathing, eating, and drink’n China. The Chinesepod ‘language learning, suit and tie, site’ alone can’t produce that. So in my opinion Chinesepod is a great learning tool, but The Saturday Show is Chinesepod’s greatest marketing tool. And if the suits at V3 don’t realize this, then there just tools.
Some dude named Bob made a great point; he stated that it was The Saturday Show which led him to fork over the few g’s it takes to buy the subscription for Chinesepod. Follow me on this one: Commentary on film, music, the social scene in China, and news of As(s)Queen’s drunken stupors all create strong interest in the culture and LANGUAGE of China. Chinesepod is a great learning tool, but it alone can’t generate the enthusiasm one needs to truly delve into a language. There needs to exist a real excitement for a language. An excitement produced by real people, discussing real topics (full of political incorrectness) while living, breathing, eating, and drink’n China. The Chinesepod ‘language learning, suit and tie, site’ alone can’t produce that. So in my opinion Chinesepod is a great learning tool, but The Saturday Show is Chinesepod’s greatest marketing tool. And if the suits at V3 don’t realize this, then there just tools.
A few observations:
The old chinesepod home page layout was very intuitive, as compared to the new version. I had read about chinesepod in an article and was quickly able to check out the lessons and shortly thereafter, the first TSS came into being. I felt and still feel that TSS gives listeners a reason to stop by the website on a weekly basis and after listening, check out the rest of the site. Moving it to another page hurts both chinesepod and TSS, affecting the repeated visits of regular visitors and making TSS harder to find. Per Bob’s point, I really believe it would suit chinesepod’s business model to move it back to the home page. If this isn’t in the works, then you can take advantage of the suggestions offered from various listeners.
Regarding the video format, it might be best to do it occasionally rather than weekly if there is a good visual reason to broadcast it that way. For instance, the appearance of Cold Fairyland was much better with the visuals but for the rest of the shows, it didn’t add much, though personally I like it.
As far the show itself, I think the initial shows had a regular format, with the Top 5 list, bad word of the week, observations about daily life in Shanghai, etc. that created a known quantity for the listeners. The format was very successful in attracting new listeners and keeping old ones. When Colleen joined the cast, the format changed into something more freewheeling but though different, it was effective and the three personalities blended well. Since Colleen left, I think the show is still trying to find it’s new “legs” and hasn’t developed a consistent format. I believe this will come together over the next few weeks but combined with the website change, it’s been a double whammy.
Per the comments by Disgruntled, I believe the success of the show is in the combination of Aric and Jenny’s personalities, not either one by him/herself. All two host shows work that way, and this one is no exception.
I won a chinesepod T-shirt awhile ago for a Top 5 list and have been stopped a couple of times while traveling by people wanting to know if I worked there or how I got it. I was surprised at the name recognition but it says a lot about your site being noticed in the States.
Unlike most listeners, I’ve spent a lot of time in Shanghai over the past 7 years and I’m always hearing little tidbits on the show that bring back old memories or put a smile on my face. I would think TSS, by getting listeners interested in China and Chinese culture, has a direct bearing on new subscriber sign ups since languages are typically learned as a tool to explore culture. The more popular Chinese culture becomes, the greater the interest in learning Chinese. TSS is first and foremost a show about Chinese culture, and directly influences the desire of non-Chinese to learn the language.
Did I miss this week’s Top 5 list? Are there still any CPod T-shirts to be won??
f1b1,
Having to bypass one or two pages that I never use to get the info I want, especially when it was zero clicks before, is indeed too much. 1-click to get to the login page (where I must enter my password again despite selecting the save info option the previous time) is also too much. Still, if the navigation made more sense, I wouldn’t mind as much. I do need the exercise.
Been listening to Chinesepod as a freeloader for a while, though due to some various factors I’ve had to devote my attention to learning Japanese and have had to temporarily drop learning Chinese at the same time just to keep my sanity. However, I stuck with The Saturday Show, and (much like The Saturday Show is recorded on a wednesday but put out on a Sat) I listen to it on Mondays and it helps make my monday bearable.
All that said, I think the number one thing you guys can do to get TSS back on the map is to set up a TSS feed on the iTunes podcast directory. I can only account for my own preferences, but since I listen to a select few podcasts every day or every week, I certainly don’t hunt down each one on websites to manually download the MP3.
Second, like others have said earlier, the video format is a nice idea, but I don’t think it should be regular at all. I listen to TSS on buses, trains, or sitting at my desk (an animation desk if anyone cares), audio is the perfect format for the show. Video is okay, but demands far more involvement to consume if you know what I mean. Not so much more attention, because of course TSS deserves and rewards attention, but it kind of narrows how one can consume TSS. Also, being that the videos are youtube, the time has become much more limited. If that’s how you guys prefer it, that’s totally understandable, it’s far tougher for you guys to make the show than it is to listen to it, but if the effort of doing longer shows isn’t an issue, my opnion is longer = better. Plus, on top of all that, Youtube locks your consumption of TSS to a computer screen.
As someone who doesn’t really use the ChinesePod website itself, I’ll defer to those opinions, a direct link to TSS on the main site couldn’t hurt, simple as that.
I hope you guys get your mojo back and perhaps find a way to return to the 3 host format. Also, I consider TSS to be a vital part of Chinesepod and things like TSS are vital to learning a language. Language is part of the human experience and the human culture, and part of experiencing human culture is the lighter, more pop culture side of things. Without this, Chinesepod risks becoming simply a portable audio analogue to dry humorless textbooks from which it originally wanted to be a departure.
Good luck guys…
Guys.
Thanks for the feedback…
RobAnt - I agree…but even then, a small “Extra” icon, or one for the SS might not be enough for me - I’ll see what they have to say next week when we sit down. Also, yes - the new SS will have more street scenes.
Bob - we think you’re cute too.
Andrew - as stated, it was never a case of me knowing there was a Sydney meetup actually planned (we had mentioned it on the show and kicked it around, but I didn’t get the details until I came back. When I said “it left a bad taste in my mouth”, it was going on the previous London Meetup where a) the show blog was easy to find and b) the community was at it’s highest). I dropped it because I, a member of the CPod staff, couldn’t even find a blog about it. Despite my shortcomings, I would never had pulled a no-show.
James - I agree. One click is too much…especially from the show that gets the most traffic.
Mickey - will try it out, but have yet to find any software that can do that (erm…free software, that is). Will be in touch if it does, and if not, thanks anyway. Keep Oregon weird.
Daniel - you’d be surprised to see how bad of a hit we took…as well as our bloggers.
Frank - why not have it at my friend’s concert (opening up for Leanne Rimes)? Any listeners in the greater Orlando area?
Gordon - see what you mean, but would much rather prefer the ’suits’ to pass on what they want said and we make it cool, hip and edgy…except for Ken, who’s cooler than all of us.
Conrad - exactly what I mean; thanks for the support.
Bobbie - some very good points, and yes, it was shocking to have their greatest marketing tool pushed to the back. But hey, their numbers are still going up, which is why I can’t say it was a bad business decision…I just always thought it was a bit more than about revenue.
Mike in Albany - she asked not to be mentioned. You’re a bit out of line with that one, mate.
Bill - thanks for that…and you’re right, if a break does happen, it will be a clean one. Of course, no matter what happens, ChinesePod is the best way to learn Mandarin, and I’ll always say that on any show.
Al - an ‘All-Access’ is a good idea, actually. Will pass that on.
fibi - don’t think it’s a mood, some good points. Per the Sydney meet-up, see above. Per the 1 vs 2 clicks, I disagree - the home page used to change daily, with each day’s show being showcased as soon as you visit. Now, for the average consumer, once then ‘log in’, have a peek around, the chances of finding TSS would be minute.
Disgruntled - Had you left your real name, I would have shared my thoughts with you; but you can’t even do that, so I’ll leave it at ’stop listening’…Jenny can be found almost daily on the regular shows.
Bill - glad you liked the poster. Try freezing the frame and translating it; quite funny, actually. Send us a pic with your T!
kmk - last time we spoke, she asked me to play her Canto version
Scott from so cal - thanks for that.
SD Steve - great post. I agree that the vid in the studio has become a bit mundane…which is why I’m seriously thinking about taking the show on as it’s own entity. More street scenes, interviews with locals, more color (not to say I won’t have it in contract that I get at least 3 minutes of screen time a week, as I’m very good-looking). We shall see…very soon.
Daniel - also a good post. In all honesty, I’m hoping that this week’s talks will go well and we can all walk away happy…but this is too good (okay, could be loads better with a few more resources) to simply keep on the back of the main site. If, in the end, they don’t want to disrupt the language focus of the site, I completely understand and will, as mentioned, take the show to it’s own site, with no bad feelings between the 2. However, if we are to ’stay together for the kids’, I’ll expect a lot more in the support of our show.
…so there y’are - thanks again for the suggestions, critique, etc. This show, as I’ve said, was built by, with and for the community, which is why I’ll be 100% honest about how the meetings go with them.
Aric
Will, are you gonna stop by and be on t1he Saturday show?
hahaha interesting parallel.. mahua “麻花? I started chatting with the waitress in a restaurant the other day and foudn out she was from Tianjin. So I asked her what specialty does tianjin have and she said, “麻花”
Just before dinner the same day, we had a disucssion about 川劇, Sichuan opera vs. Beijing oepera 京劇
what a coincidence Cpod!!
I certainly hope that the Saturday Show will go on in some form. It is absolutely beyond my kin why it was “demoted”. It goes beyond merely learning Chinese to forming a kind of Chinese learner community. It would seem to me that such a thing is highly desirable in any business sense. Sometimes, business types just don’t get it and the adage “they know the price of everything but the value of nothing” comes to mind. Bean counters rarely see beyond the bottom line while more creative types see way beyond the horizon, which explains why I work for myself and for bean counters.
Perhaps the Saturday Show could even have its own website, saturdayshow.tv or saturdayshow.cn or something to that effect.
The very best of luck to Aric and Jenny
I think that even being called an extra is an insult. The link Ken posted in his blog to the new TSS wasn’t even correct, and the bloggers are only now linked from deep down in the boring as hell praxis blog. Anyways, good luck.
inconvenience is a big hassle on websites in general .. and moving a popular part of cpod into a seperate section equals cutting out the SS.
I would appreciate you guys reconsidering to include the SS into the main site. I take as much info out of the SS as from any other chinese lesson on the site. Why not offer the option to add the audio show into the study schedule? It would then pop up every sat. on my main page..
w.
The Saturday Show was a nice break at the end of a 5-day studying work week. With lessons now offered 7 days a week, this “break” is needed as much now as ever. Just as early issues of the Prague Post serve as somewhat of a capsule of an exciting time and place in history (i.e, a newly-democratic country immediately after the fall of the Wall), so too can The Saturday Show. Many people are interested in the Chinese language because they are first and foremost interested in China’s growth and culture and place in the world, not always the other way around.
The Saturday Show is at its best when it conveys the sense of what it’s like to live, love, work and study in one of the most happening places on Earth. The content is already there - Aric’s experiences at the bathhouse, Jenny’s explanation of the use of sarcasm, level of local audience recognition of acts like Sonic Youth and Eric Clapton, stereotypes of Xinjiang whether fair or unfair, Starbucks at the Forbidden City, reports back from short holiday getaways to places in China off the beaten path, examples of culture shock and culture clashes, quirky news items like the adult diapers at train stations, who is and what motivates the “listener of the week”, etc. Plenty of material to make up 20 minutes per week.
Admittedly, The Saturday Show is less successful when it references material that could just as easily be found in Pitchfork magazine or on U.S. college radio or in a hostel the morning after a bunch of foreigners went out on a binge on the town. But at most, that type of “filler” has been a few minutes every other week or so, so it’s prevalence has been overstated by some of TSS’ few but vocal (in the Comments section) critics.
Some thoughts:
1. No need to look for a 3rd host - there’s only one Colleen, and now that she’s gone two is just fine. In American terms, it’s what made the Madden & Summerall duo in the booth more pleasing than the 3-ring circus of MNF.
2. The pairing doesn’t necessarily need to be Jenny and Aric. Although I do like the idea of the show being hosted by one native and one relatively newcoming foreigner, with quality content and just a little bit of structure the show could thrive with other combinations.
3. No need for in-studio video. It was interesting that one time, to see what a taping looked like, but why watch what is essentially a radio show.
4. There must be reasons why TSS is no longer directly accessible; a focus on language acquisition does make sense. Although I do not know them, I doubt very much (given Ken’s blog, the community culture) that ChinesePod mgmt is comprised of “beancounters” who lack vision (not Aric’s words, words of a commenter). So maybe a direct link from the mainpage, with the list of 3 or so other most recent lessons, for at least the 24 hours between 9am Sat and 9am Sun Beijing time?
The Cranberries seem to be more popular in HK and on the mainland than I would have expected, on my last trip just before Christmas my colleagues and I were having a little celebratory meal with our Cantonese friends on our last night before flying back to the UK. We were having a Tapas meal on the top level of the Langham Place Mall in Mongkok (highly recommended, if you don’t mind heights!) and there was an acoustic duo playing a mix of Cantonese and Western songs just in front of the waterfall thing and they did an amazing version of Zombie - just one of those special moments that I think I’ll always remember just because I love Christmas time in Hong Kong, I was with friends having a great time and the song just added to the occasion.
I’m back out to China this coming Wednesday, first to Guangdong, but I’m in Shanghai for the nights of June 5th & 6th (my first time visiting the city although it’s my ninth trip to China in three years), is there anything going on those nights that the Saturday Show team (or anyone else) can recommend please? it would be cool to check out some of the things that have been mentioned in the episodes of the show.
I have to say that thanks to Jenny, Aric and Coleen, I have a far better idea about Shanghai before going there than any other city I’ve visited - or indeed my first time to China when I had no idea what to expect!!
Al,
Zombie is famous in everywhere China because of the “spectacular” interpretation of 李宇春 few years ago in 超级女声 :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHADk72qQs8
Hmmm… There’s a year’s worth of Simon Cowell-type strong words on TSS for that performance :o)
I’m one of the many who completely lost track of TSS when the new site started up - I thought you’d gone off air (it may only be two clicks, but it’s in a hell of a hard place to find!).
Glad to have found you again. CP felt like it had lost half its soul without you. Please let’s have an easier-to-find link to bring those 1000s of listeners back in.
BTW, I second those who miss the ‘chinese life’ videos (wasn’t Aric talking at one point about doing a ‘my journey from home’ video - that sounded like a great idea). For those of us learning from abroad these are a great window in (I’d definitely take these over the studio videos - lovely as you all are).
The thing that confuses me is that there WAS a feed for the entire Extras site:
http://extra.chinesepod.com/feed
But there’s nothing on it any longer. It doesn’t error, but I’m using the Primetime Podcast Receiver, and I haven’t received anything recently.
The subject of why there seem to be more male than female fans of TSS has come up on the show a couple of times in the past. I happen to be female and a steady listener to the show for about a year. Recently, however, I’ve become a bit disenchanted. Here are my thoughts, for what it’s worth:
- My biggest complaint is that the RSS feed has stopped working in iTunes. The last show that downloaded was the April 28 show.
- I really liked when the show had a more regular structure and included features like the “top 5″ and “Ask Jenny” in addition to the “strong word of the week.” I liked when you could actually learn something about Chinese culture and a few linguistic tidbits. In the past few months (especially after you added a 3rd presenter), the show seems to have become more and more about the personalities of the presenters. I liked Colleen, but the focus of the show seemed to shift more towards banter and less about actual content.
I haven’t heard the last couple of shows, due to the first problem mentioned above. Downloading them manually is kind of a pain, especially since iTunes won’t recognized them as podcasts if I do it that way.
By the way, I am also a paying ChinesePod subscriber and have been for about a year now.
Forgot to mention: I also agree with those who feel that the video is a distraction. Focus on the audio content. I like the video content when it is a meaningful supplement to the audio, but I don’t need to see you guys sitting in the studio talking. I’d much rather have a functioning RSS feed.
Let’s face it, the Saturday Show is gone. New users will never even know about it. Unless you put the link prominently in the main page, the growing numbers of Chinesepod listeners will never know why I signed up for Chinesepod in the first place, and why I go to the trouble to download it manually each weekend.
I think it is short-sighted of Praxis to remove the Saturday Show without trying to understand how important it has been to the success of Chinesepod,(who is Praxis anyway?). Those of us who have been listening since close to the beginning of Chinesepod have seen it grow, and have watched and laughed as Ken and Jenny figured out how to organize the lessons, tried and failed with hosts and cohosts, and finally found a formula that works. We laughed at the personal stories, listened to Ken belittle his pronunciation, and really were encouraged to keep at it, because they made Chinese accessible to average folks. What was there then, and what seems to be missing in the new V3 is much of the fun and community spirit of the original broadcasts. The Saturday Show was, as someone said earlier, the break at the end of the week, the “day in the life” of the edgy expat as he delves into all sorts of modern day China issues, spurred on by Jenny, the link to reality, and the real connection to Chinesepod.
I am sorry to see it go. I am a cynical person, and I see the changes in Chinesepod as a concession to making it a more profitable business. Is that bad? Of course not, but it means that the focus becomes much more academic, much less interesting, and much less fun - more like other Chinese language learning programs. I am not saying it is bad, it has just lost much of its character and substance, its “soul”; and has made it a much easier target of the copycats who will surely spring up. To be fair, if I were Ken, I would be doing the same thing. If I could find a way to finally see the way to making some money on my many years of language education, and see my efforts rewarded in public media (ala NBC), then I would do it too. But the suits need to understand that what makes Chinesepod different is the personalities involved. Love him or hate him, Aric has attracted a huge following. You owe him more than you give him credit for. As one who has been through similar corporate shakeups in the past, I know what he feels like. You have not been fair to him.
I noticed that the new Saturday Show is being produced at another location, and that Jenny and Aric are also involved in another business together. If Aric disappears, will Jenny follow? I hope the folks at Chinesepod (Praxis), realize how vulnerable they are. Jenny’s is ever present in the lessons. You could say Chinesepod IS Jenny. Her voice, her teaching style, her personality, all make the program what it is at all levels.
Maybe Jenny and Aric could get together and start “Mandarinpod”
I would sign up!
DV,
Great note - thanks for that.
In Ken’s defense, he’s been the one hit the hardest with all of this; I met privately with him before ever going on the show to tell him how I felt and what I wanted to do. In all honesty, it was his coming to me a year and a half ago, asking to get involved with this monster we created, so I owe everything to him and, in turn, would never do anything to jeopardize that relationship.
That being said, this tiny show we’ve created was what separated CPod from all the others…and it seemed right as we were onto something new & exciting (vid) that the site changed over. In the end, CPod is a business, and, as I’ve always stated, I understand why the site move was necessary - I didn’t like it, but I understood.
So - since we’ve been 100% honest with you, I’ll let you know the 3 ideas I have…and one’s that will be discussed this week:
1. TSS, as every other lesson, having the front page billing, so that when new listeners log in (ugh), they’ll see it.
2. A separate url altogether, powered by ChinesePod, with cross-promotion between the 2.
3. A separate url, having nothing to do with ChinesePod.
…I can’t think of anything else. I, personally, would like #2, as with the new V3, there’s no room for the front billing.
These are the same points I’ll bring up with the powers that be on Thursday, so keep your fingers crossed.
Per Jenny - she will always be “Miss ChinesePod” and I would never try and steal her…as much as I would want to.
The most ironic part of this entire thing was that it was the ‘big guys’ that had this idea for TSS in the first place, I really wasn’t that keen.
Aric
V3 added some very good features for subscribers but if I’m not logged in as a subscriber, it’s hell to navigate Chinesepod.
I just noticed after scrolling down the learnchinese page that the navigation menu items now include ‘Chinesepod - Extra’. I’d like to know how many people actually know about the bottom menu.
I think it would be better if the top menu items (Home | Learn More | Sign Up | Explore) include Community, Culture Watch and Help. The Culture Watch would link to the Saturday Show and Word on the Street. Chinesepod does a terrific job of teaching Mandarin and bringing together a worldwide community of students. The Saturday Show and Word on the Street enhance the Chinesepod lessons by giving us a unique, quirky and fun look at today’s China. In addition, TSS has been known to add some spice to Chinesepod with Aric’s occasional controversial statements.
That’s my two cents.
By the way Aric, I have to disagree about the question everyone is asking. It’s not “Is Jenny single?” I think the question should be: “Is Jenny seeing anybody?” And if the answer is no, I am pretty sure that next most popular question among single Cpod male listeners is: “Will she go out with me?” I don’t mean to embarrass you Jenny, but commenting on Chinesepod lessons and the TSS is a fun activity for me.
Aric’s voice, rythm, sense of humour are great.
Jenny is just …irresistible
The problem that I see as an outsider is:
Cpod doesn’t need TSS as much TSS needs Cpod
It’s just business, value proposition, win-win, etc.
I am sorry but Disgruntled, as rude as it may be seem, points to the right solution:
“People found Chinesepod because they wanted to learn the Chinese language, hear about Jenny, and what it is like living in China…. Aric came to believe that people wanted to know what ARIC was doing or what ARIC thought about music and western music no less… Most of the people that were coming to the site were already living in the west and they could careless what ARIC thought about western music or movies…”
I would speak more about China, provide more language tips and link more to Chinesepod.
For example, why didn’t you invite today an expert on Chinese Opera who could have given some interesting insight on that subject?
If you have a quick look around the internet you will find lots of web based chinese courses, plus some clone v1 and v2 cpod formats for other languages (a big hint to people on what works is when people copy it)
What attracted my to chinesepod was not the language courses. For the lower levels there is not alot you can do with prucing up how to say hello etc. Boring with a big capital B. However what set cpod apart of interesting additions such as “word on the street”, “buzzwords” and TSS which gave valuable everyday insight on what “real” chinese people do and say. Not the politically correct mumbo jumbo you get from the bean counter training sites. Have they ever tried to use the “standard training” phrases in real life and wonder why the Chinese politely smile? Language is alot more than the words. Why do people want to visit the chinesepod HQ? To have a chance to be on the TSS. What an awesome PR tool for cpod. You are not going to have cpodders on cpod courses, but what better way to encourage people to visit and promote cpod. Word of month/viral marketing is so cool, edgy and builds such a strong following.
I live in Sydney and not annoyed at Aric for screwing things up as I assume he is human? and life can a bit like that. I am interested to know what happenned at the MTV event he went to. I am hoping that Jenny can come to Sydney at the end of the year as it would be great to meet her. A bit worried that she has been working with too many American’s as her Aussie accent is starting to disappear and she is starting to sound like Ken.
If TSS to survive it needs to be on iTunes. You got to remember that it is the most popular music/podcast software out there. If it ain’t easy nobody will listen to TSS. Because of this I don’t think it will make a difference if there is a TSS link on the front page or whatever if you cannot get TSS on iTunes. Even if on the NBC gig Jenny etc do plug TSS, the average person will have no chance working out how to navigate the website if they are not familiar with it and give up. But if you say its on iTunes the glow of their face with “I know what that is and how to use it like many ipod users in the world” means TSS has a chance to live on.
TSS is a bit like a reality show of the intermixing of western and chinese culture and how the two struggle to cope. Will the series end soon? Will the actors find their true love - waiting for the wedding episode. Is Aric really an alien from outer space and the real reason he missed the Sydney meet-up was because he was planing the invasion of Earth - first Shanghai and then the world and imbedded in TSS is a subliminal message to subjugate the masses and Ken is a member of MIB who has discoverd that Aric is an alien who is covetly trying to save the world? What devilish plans do the scriptwriters have in mind to kill off the actors? or will like some series end in a whimper like NYPD Blue, late on Saturday night - no promotion and only the diehard follows mourning its loss?
Hello,
I have been using ChinesePod as a premium subscriber since Jan 2006. I must say that I really like V3 of the website. Especially now that most of the bugs and odd features have been ironed out. Two exceptions however:
1. Links for the last 3 lessons are are now shown on the home page, but frankly, without the graphics and promotional text there is very little incentive for me to click these links. I tend not to use the feeds anyway, nowadays I do most of my studying online with the occasional download of a few mp3’s to my PDA. The explore function is great, I use it a lot and bookmark and schedule lessons that interest me, but it is harder to hook into the latest lessons and therefor I feel less involved with the community and with ChinesePod staff.
2. Looks to me that CP is slowly killing off the community involvement. The wiki is dead. The Saturday Show has become nearly invisible and except for a few die-hard listeners newcomers are definitely NOT going to find it. There are less active participants in the forum. Comments on the blogs are heading south.
What is happening here? I can live with the idea that corporate logic dictated a model where users would be gently led to registering, paying, etc. But why avoid clear pointers to community related content. When I was still into webdesign a bottom menu was for repeating and regrouping links (text-based) that were more prominently somewhere else on the page. On the V3 website the bottom menu’s are the only way to reach part of the content. And having these links in light grey doesn’t help either. I don’t know who decides these things, who has the stronger hand in this but surely someone who has a say in this must realize that the community, something to be proud, is slowly withering away. IMO this will lead to less commitment and less repeat business.
So I plead for a less dogmatic approach and more pragmatism. I think that 2 simple changes to the home page (for registered users, as registering is free I see no problem with that) could make all the difference.
1. Add the promotional text and the picture to the 3 lesson links.
2. Add 3 menu items.
- Community (the page already exists)
- Blogs (New page to be created with references to all the CP blogs)
- After Hours or Extra or something else. (TSS, Video Hotpot, Other stuff)
These could come right before Help
Marc in Belgium
Sarcasm breeds sarcasm.
Don’t go there jenny.
Make the show a bit more about the culture and not so about the expat community. Have a link to it as another lesson category. Bring back the 5 best submissions. Things that are in the Chinese news. Answers to questions that are brought up by listeners. Let’s hear about current chinese attitudes about homosexuality, official and unofficial, on your gay and lesbian week.
Do add a link that specifically says Saturday Show on the Cpod site. That will help people find you again.
Instead of ChinesePod - extra, change the wording to Ken’s Blog and The saturday show a weekly culture podcast. Let visitors know what is there up front.
Have fun,
Siyi, Cambridge MA
As my comments have dropped off recently, it’s no coincidence that my use of the website has as well. I haven’t missed a Saturday Show, but my learning has been limited to downloading the podcasts and saving them for later when I “get back into” ChinesePod. Has my Chinese learning stopped? No not at all, it’s actually gotten better and more intense.
So why have I stopped with ChinesePod? It’s all related to the community. I liked going to the frontpage, clicking the lesson, listening while reading comments. I learned almost as much FROM OTHER LEARNERS AS I DID FROM THE LESSONS. This is still there of course, but as many hundreds have already said in various places, the new site is just too corporate for me. I am a social person and I succeed in group settings. The old site gave me that environment. In some comment somewhere, someone compared V3 to a Mac, it’s unfamiliar at first, but once you learn it, you love it much more. Well I’ve got to say that for me, the new V3 just didn’t take. Then again, I realize that nobody cares about my opinion since I don’t pay or subscribe.
Regarding TSS, I’ve been an avid listener for quite a while, and have even had my Peace Corps activities promoted on it. I agree with the many posters above that TSS was such a welcomed respite on a Saturday morning (or Friday afternoon for us mainland listeners). Do I make any sense when I say that I preferred having 5 lessons on M-F and a fun TSS on Saturday to a new Chinese lesson everyday?? The old format just made it feel like a human designed the system and it fit in with my life. The new system just feels like a robot churning out Chinese lessons. This might make no sense to you, but for me, it’s all about that human touch. Jenny, you certainly provide it on the lessons, and I am all for more John Pasden participating in any lessons at all. But still, it’s just different in a way that is quite hard to explain.
Future ideas for TSS? Nobody has mentioned this, and it would certainly be a large change for TSS, but Aric, have you looked into affiliating with any of the large expat-managed China websites? Danwei and Shanghaiist are two that immediately come to mind as possible good fits. Danwei TV was just featured on CNN.com’s frontpage, no better time for them to expand their video offerings. Shanghaiist would certainly tailor the videos more to the local expat crowd than an overseas community (as the majority of listeners are now). However, the question remains, that if TSS were to go on its own, can Aric, and others, produce enough comment to justify an individual website? Once a week video podcasts make a “thin” website. Although, I do admit it would allow for a lot more possibilities, like you already suggested Aric.
Best,
Matt
Matt In Chongqing,
Thanks for helping me to put a finger on the what I do not like about the new site. I said in my earlier post that it had lost it’s “soul”, but I think you said it better when you note, “The old format just made it feel like a human designed the system and it fit in with my life”. The weekend is a celebration of life and a reward for the rest of the week, The SS fit into that context too, a bit of fun at the end of the a long hard 5 days; or in my case, we work 6 days, (my boss in Taiwanese) and I breaks up the monotony of my Saturdays.
I realize I am spending entirely too much time with and earwig in my ear listening to Chinesepod, when I should be living life and talking and listening to real people. After all, that is why I moved here in the first place. I think it probably makes more sense to chat with others about what they did last weekend than for me to listen to that UFO lesson for the 25th time.
For what it’s worth, I am a paid subscriber, and I don’t think they care about my opinion either. I don’t, however, want to stand in the way of progress.
What made Chinespod different and appealing was the people - We got to know them, we got to see them, we got to see the office, we got to hear everyone’s crazy stories and comments. It made the site what was. It is much harder to create a community than it is to create a curriculum. There are many, many language learning systems out there, and the choice of which to use often comes down to a personal reference - a comment from classmates or coworkers. I used to be quick to recommend Chinesepod, especially to expats just arriving with little language experience. But the release of the V3 and the resulting loss of community has sent me searching for alternatives sites and curricula. In so doing, I have discovered a lot of resources I had not found a year ago. Chinesepod is still one of the best, but it has lots of competition.
When you were in school, did you ever join a club - chess club, Spanish club, whatever. Why did you do that? To learn a skill - surely that was one reason, but one of the bigger reasons was to participate in the social activity of like-minded people. People who shared a common interest in something. You had a faculty adviser or two, officers, and star student members who stood out to inspire others. You had the cutup, who was lousy at whatever the discipline, but everyone liked them because they made the activity more fun.
Chinesepod used to be like that.
V3 reminds me of the Chinese school curriculum. Listen, memorize, repeat - and do it EVERY DAY or YOU WILL NOT MEASURE UP. The old Chinesepod was more like my experience in USA schools, where we were encouraged to have an opinion, state it, and ask questions if we did not understand. I turned out okay, (or at least so say my mom and dad).
School does not always have to be fun, but it can be. And optional on-line learning doesn’t have to be fun, but it ought to be. Nobody likes to pay money to be miserable.
I just renewed my subscription for a second year, and will continue to listen and learn, but it is not the same as it was. I wish Aric all the best in his new capacity, whatever that may be. And Jenny, thanks for trying to keep the spirit alive.
I just tried to send a comment about Matt’s insightful observations, and got some strange code message that said something about a blacklist, and that my letter would not be posted. What’s that about? Am I banned from further comment?
Best,
DV
Matt, I tend to disagree here.
Some of the shows after the switch are among the all time best - on all 6 levels. You should definately check them out.
The community is alive as ever. It even seems to have grown - which might be a result of the more intense care of lesson comments and questions by Amber, Jenny and John.
Besides there have been just as many lessons per week before the switch, although 2-3 of them where buried in the ZH-site. Now the advanced shows eventually get their well-deserved attention [But isn’t there an interesting correlation here: The advanced shows lost any attention after they moved to a subdomain, just as the Saturday Show does now].
I agree that there could be some tweaking on the navigation. The new look is “corporate”? It is more professional which is actually a step forward. The lessons are as vivid and interesting as ever - and that is the beating heart of CPod.
Regarding the Saturday Show I am reluctant to comment here because I prefer to write positive posts. I still like the show (including its hosts and, yes, the more “edgy” parts) but I am not as enthusiastic as I used to be. It surely has been an important linking pin for the community and it has the potential to become that again. But I got the impression it is not only a matter of links and navigation (which surely aggrevates the stituation).
For me the contents just have worn of a bit. And that started well before the switch to V3. This applies especially to the “I visited a [concert of a western band] yesterday”, “I visited [a laowai] [bar or party] the other day” and “this is my favourite [western pop/rock] song” stuff. It somehow became a bit boring after a while to listen to “What I did yesterday” type of content, especially if it focuses so strongly on the laowai perspective.
As I said I still see lots of potential in the Saturday Show. You just might consider injecting new content. And yes, content much more dedicated to China.
Content that I personally would like to see:
- Sinosplice-like observations of daily Chinese life. Optimum would be you would “hire” the respective author as a third host.
- Background on Chinese culture and history. More on traditional Chinese Folk and Classical music. I bet there are others besides me interested in this, if it is not presented to dry (won’t happen when Aric is there).
- More pop and rock music with “Chinese characteristics”. I loved the Cold Fairyland performance. Less fillers with Cranberries or Prince songs.
- Language and Learning related insights - let Ken give more input. I do not think his blog is boring. It is highly relevant.
- Insights into Chinesepod. How are lessons produced? How do the mechanics behind a lesson work?
- What are the current developments regarding the further development of the site? Which academic and technology related topics are discussed?
- Chinesepod personalities. Once there was the idea to get “Zhangliang” and “Lili” in the SatShow. Great idea! That Advanced lesson on Chinese New Year was outstanding, because it featured those “unknown yet familiar” voices. Perfect Saturday Show content.
- Community developments. Insights from the Forum, the user blogs, and the lesson discussions.
I agree that this is a “fun” thing that should not turn into “culture lessons”. But I do not see that as a contradiction to the above.
You should definately not move further away from CPod! The SatShow is CPod. You should move closer, much much closer.
Just my 2 irrelvant €-cents.
A -
Have you figured out how to convert the HD material yet? If not, I can help (I make videos and use Macs exclusively). Basically it depends on which versions of iMovie or FCP you’re using. I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now but feel free to email me if not. You won’t need any special equipment, btw - HD plays well with standard Firewire.
How come no one told us about the Cheung Chau Bun Festival.
I’d like to see more content on such events during the Saturday Show.
The Festival seems like a good chuckle to me. I really NEED a Lucky Bun!!!
http://www.chinavista.com/experience/bun/festival.html
Oh, and who knew that China is where they are building giant model Lancasters (British 2nd World War Bombers) for use in the new Stephen Fry penned remake of “The Dambusters”?
The new movie will be directed by the Peter Jackson, the guy responsible for the massive Lord of the Rings Trilogy?
Stephen Fry is generally regarded in Great Britain as being a “National Treasure”, not unlike China’s “Terracotta Army”!!
Americans, etc., may remember him as “Jeeves” in the “Jeeves & Wooster” television series with Hugh Laurie (currently in the title role as “House”) playing Wooster.
If the Saturday Show has become a little less interesting lately, I would guess that to be due to it being gradually more and more separated from the main business of what cpod is doing, internally, weeks before we knew about it. If my guess is right, big big mistake.
I preferred it when it had two host, because then when a guest joined in that was wonderful. Three is a party, and one more makes little difference, I don’t think they can get the attention needed for us to enjoy their visit fully.
If it ever becomes “the what Aric and Jenny did show with thanks to our generous sponsor cpod”, which thankfully it has not so far, then you’d lose me too.
If TSS is not going to remain the part of our course which gives us the cultural reflections that any language student needs, then what will be provided for that purpose, how traditionally boring will it be, and how long will it take to develop and debug? People with money want to know.
Do a google search for “Saturday Show” while restricting the output to mentions on chinesepod.com only, and you get about two thousand five hundred results. How can you think we come here only for the lessons?
Don’t kick a gift horse in the guts. If copd doesn’t want TSS, I can think of one or two others whose accountants would be hammering at Aric’s door. Ostracise TSS at your peril, cpod. There’s no half measures.
Off topic but I am temporarily in Beijing. Does anyone have the phone number that was mentioned on the Saturday Show sometime back to get information about current events and where things are?
thanks
I just want to say that I too liked the V2 site, and loved listening everyday, including the Saturday Show on Friday night here in Canada. With the new main page, I seemed to have lost a lot of my direction, including TSS. I actually had to email Chinesepod for help on where TSS had disappeared to. I couldn’t find a single link to it or this site even though I poked around the V3, and been learning from it for several months now. First as a freebie, then a free premium and now a yearly subscription premium. It is interesting that Aric was bringing up how hard it is to find, that they were losing listeners etc. They certianly lost me in the switch from V2 to V3. So, I think it is a bummer the Saturday Show is gone, but I certainly sympathise with Aric and his take on things. Note, I know NOTHING about itunes, ipod etc. I listen with cable modem on the web from my computer daily.
Anyways, Aric, if you ever lurk here, I loved the show. To the chinesepod admin people, I think it is a great loss to the feel of the site/chinesepod program. I am sorry that it was over by the time I refound it.
I’m sorry i dont quite understand whats happened, i used to listen to chinese pod and the saturday show through itunes, but then suddenly the saturday show just dissapeared without any explanation; and only now after much searching have i found access to the saturday through this website. I only really became interested in chinesepod after listening to the saturday show, and without it on my itunes subscription, it’s absence has taken most of the fun out of the whole podcast. is there no way for the saturday show to be put back onto the mainstream chinesepod itunes subsription?
WE WANT THE SATURDAY SHOW BACK ON ITUNES!