Beyond Huaxia: A College History of China and Japan

Justin Jacobs, a professor of history at American University, delivers what amounts to a full semester of East Asian history in podcast form, minus the tuition bill. The 61 episodes cover both China and Japan, tracing the parallel and intersecting histories of these two civilizations from their earliest origins through the modern era. Episodes on Confucius and the Analects, the steppe empires that shaped both nations, and the cultural exchanges along trade routes give Japanese history the broader Asian context it often lacks in English-language media. The lecture format runs long, with episodes frequently exceeding 90 minutes, but Jacobs brings a conversational energy that keeps the material engaging. Rated 4.8 stars from 92 reviews, the podcast has drawn praise for its passionate delivery and willingness to tackle big historiographical questions about how we understand East Asian civilizations. Some listeners note the show favors broad interpretation over granular detail, but that is partly by design. Jacobs is teaching you how to think about East Asian history, not just memorize dates. The comparative approach is particularly valuable for understanding how Japan and China influenced each other over centuries, and how their divergent paths in the modern era created the geopolitical landscape we know today. If you want the kind of wide-angle view that a good college survey course provides, Beyond Huaxia delivers it for free.