Podcasts offer lessons in Chinese history - and American slang
American businessman Laszlo Montgomery's passion for China goes beyond perfecting his command of the language, both simplified and traditional. He is eager to narrate China's 5,000-year history and culture to a worldwide audience.
I'm coaxing you to believe this stuff is interesting ... Hey, isn't China cool?
Now, three years and 122 episodes later, his listeners span 60 countries across the globe.
Adopting an informal and engaging style, Laszlo began telling the story of China in 2,000BC through the Four Great Inventions; the Silk Road; Emperor Qin Shihuang, who built the Great Wall; China's first empress, Wu Zetian; all the way to the rise of modern China in the turbulent times of the Opium War and Cultural Revolution. In addition to the historical narrative, he would do a special report on any topic he fancied - the Kaifeng Jews, oracle bones or Hong Kong triads.
"That's the thing with my listeners. They're anxious to learn about China, but would rather not have to read a book or listen to a lecture to know more," Laszlo says.
It's a one-man operation to research, write and produce the podcasts. Laszlo would plough through dense volumes by China historian John Fairbank and writers such as Edgar Snow and simplify the material, making it interesting and accessible to his listeners while presenting the facts.