ChinesePod - Intermediate

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the corrupt judges, scandalous rumor mills, trashy tabloids, and catty girls that made this lesson series possible. If it weren’t for the support of the listening audience, we never would have been able to bring this story to it’s tragic, albeit long-winded conclusion. Listen to this finale, and say goodbye to the blogs and the beautiful, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0901

In today's lesson we'll explore the controversial issue of eating dog meat in China. In today's podcast, learn how to hold your ground using Mandarin in a discussion on the topic of animal rights - at the dinner table. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1119

When is a beauty pageant not a mess? All those bikinis, blow-dries, manicures, bleached teeth, body part enhancements. Ew. Our blogger finds out that the pageants of the computer world are no better. In this installment, join us as we see just how bad it can get. Life's tough when you're beautiful. Learn about it in this podcast, in Mandarin. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0881

Who's that with the blank stare, shuffling feet, and unholy moan of frustration? Is it someone trying to learn Chinese without ChinesePod? Or is it a zombie? Listen to today's Mandarin podcast and find out-- if you dare. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1116

Back on the beat of the Blogger's Beauty Pageant and the Edison Chen story is looking more and more banal by the day. This time, ironically, it may be the internet that brings our techie contestant down. Listen to this podcast and follow along in the drama of photoshopped pictures and the seedy underworld of typing for a living, in Mandarin. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0837

In these troubled times, purchasing a Guided membership at ChinesePod is the best thing you can do with your money. Next best is stuffing a big wad of Chinese RMB into your mattress. But if you ever go totally nuts and want to invest in stocks, today's podcast will teach you how to talk in Mandarin about the market everyone loves to hate. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1102

After a loooong sabbatical during which some of the contestants were convalescing from some much-needed plastic surgical procedures, we welcome back our blogger beauties in this episode of the beauty pageant series. Listen in to this podcast as we go behind the scenes and try to find out if Liu Jia is really willing to sell herself for fame and dubious fortune, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0797

What's up, doc? Today's Chinese lesson brings you to everyone's favorite hang-out: the doctor's office! You'll learn to use Chinese to say your favorite phrase: "You need to lose weight and stop drinking." Who says you can't have fun with Mandarin? Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1092

A room full of beautiful, brainy bloggers. It was only a matter of time. Romance hits the runways in this edition of our beauty pageant serial. Is it true love? You be the judge. Listen to this podcast as little miss blogger meets big time player, and he chats her up, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0697

If horse racing is the Sport of Kings, gambling on horses must be the Sport of Emperors! Whether you come for the geldings, or just for the gin and cigars, there's nothing like a day at the races. Today's Chinese podcast will teach you all about playing the ponies in Mandarin. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1089

Today we revisit the intrigue of the Chinese beauty pageant world... Do we detect a whiff of corruption, bribery, and scandal brewing? Of course! What would a ChinesePod lesson be without all of these? Join us in this podcast, as we follow along with our drama queens in this next round of beauty pageant, a la China. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0677

You figured your Chinese stocks were your ticket to riches, until they sank like stones. Speaking of stones, have you ever considered investing in jade? Tune in for today's Upper Intermediate podcast for a lesson about buying jade. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1072

So you signed up for that beauty pageant and naively thought that swimsuit competitions had been outlawed due to sexist issues? Not so... Listen to this podcast and get the Mandarin Chinese terminology you're going to need for that boob job. Heck, you might as well get a nose job too while you're at it -- you'll swing a better price here when you operate in bulk. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0656

Have you ever wandered through a desert of suffering, with your tongue so dry that you could barely speak? Have you ever wished that some kind soul would show you the way out? If you've tried to learn Chinese without CPod, the answer is: yes! Now that you've found us, the rest will be easy. Listen to today's podcast to find learn how to talk about sandy desolation in Mandarin! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1069

Since gracing China with your presence you may be starting to suspect you’re getting better looking by the day: those double-eyelids, that great skin-tone, and ‘you’re beautiful’ catcalls from street vendors. This podcast just might put some ideas in your head. As you learn in Mandarin Chinese about registering for a beauty pageant, we can only hope you have some honest friends to prevent you from prancing around a shopping mall stage flaunting your wares. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0641

Nothing is certain but death and taxes. And also, the power of learning Mandarin with ChinesePod. For all the other uncertainties, take out some insurance. Learn how to do it, in Chinese, in today's podcast. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1065

Beauty' and 'bloggers' may not seem a likely recipe for an eye-pleasing swimsuit competition. But in the new internet age, worlds meld. In this podcast, learn in Mandarin Chinese about a blogger who has got it all: nerdiness and avatar-appeal. Makes you wonder what the talent competition will be like... Fastest typing speed? Mouse-click interpretive-percussion musical renditions...? Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0628

You look like a Tang beauty, but your ideal is more like Bruce Lee. Time to hit the gym with a personal trainer. Today's podcast will teach you the ins and outs of physical training, in Mandarin Chinese. ChinesePod wants to PUMP...you UP! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1056

Studying abroad: glamorous, exciting, and culturally stimulating, all wrapped up in one ball. That is, till you found yourself living in the backwaters of Arkansas, picking up a drawl and eating grits pretending they were rice porridge. In this lesson, listen as our excited yet possibly naïve student prepares for the trip of a lifetime (or not), in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0790

It's not easy to be the rice-winner. The boss is always after you. Even when you get home, the pressure never lets up. In today's podcast, learn to talk in Chinese about the pressures of balancing work, family, and fun. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1050

In the realm of dating, men's ruses to get women into their arms are universal. Oh yes... don't fall for the 'arms around you to shield you from the cold', the 'tandem bike ride home', the 'friendly shoulder rub', or the most transparent of all... the 'DVD ploy.' In this podcast, find out how to ask someone upstairs to watch a movie, and how to gracefully escape in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0776

Almost as fun as the argument itself is the post-mortem. Can those maniacs be serious? What were they thinking? What will we do if we bump into them again? With this podcast, you'll learn to pick over the bones of your latest squabble in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1038

There's a little busybody in all of us. Now is your chance... all those questions you always wanted to ask but didn't have the guts to. In this podcast, get past your western conservative-ism and learn to be nosy with the best of 'em, in Mandarin. You've graduated to using a Chinese squat toilet stall with no door... might as well have a conversation about income to pass the time while you're there. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0770

You haven't lived until you've had a shouting match with your neighbors at 8:00 in the morning. Listen to this practical Chinese lesson and learn how to stand up for yourself, in Mandarin. Tell 'em to take that trash out to the curb, where it belongs! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1034

Inspired by actual events: a young woman's twenty-seven traumatic breakdowns after China hair salon debacles. This Chinese lesson is your hair intervention. In this podcast, save yourself from becoming just another casualty of the dreaded over-zealous scissors... avert the blight of bad hairdos, in Mandarin. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0761

Plenty of foreigners come East in pursuit of the finer things in life: tailored clothes, chauffeurs, and pretentious villas. But if you don't have any special skills, you may find job-hunting in China is like panning for gold in the Yellow River-- more silt than gilt. Listen to this podcast, learn Mandarin, and start your job-hunt today! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1042

There's nothing more traumatic than losing your cell phone. That is, until some good Samaritan dials the 'home' number and calls your wife, and lets her know he's found your phone in the back of a taxi outside of a nightclub in Shanghai… especially after you told her you were 'just working late at the office.' In this podcast learn how to handle the trauma of losing your cell phone in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0757

Going to the moon is soooo passe. Not so! Listen to this podcast and learn more about China's grand plans for outer space. Want to study Mandarin in zero-G? Take your protein pills and put your earphones on! This lesson will teach you in Chinese all about China's plans to be the next ones to take a 'giant leap' for mankind. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1031

Manicured landscape, clean streets, not a piece of trash in sight, humidity... no, you're not at Disneyworld, but you might as well be... it's the most sterile city in the world, Singapore. Cliches aside, it's another cool place you can go and try out your Mandarin skills. Listen to this podcast, and get practicing-la. Or just go to Disneyworld... there's Chinese people there too--they love Minnie. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0753

You've gotten drunk on the baijiu, put in your time at KTV, and now is your chance to finally close the deal. Do you have the Chinese to do it? In this podcast, learn how to secure an exclusive super-duper excellent deal, and all the exciting details that come with the territory. Word of the wise: negotiating drunk is not recommended. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1026

It’s slightly reminiscent of your friendly neighborhood ‘Oriental Palace’, but where is the General Tsao’s Chicken and florescent pink sweet and sour pork? Though the smells and greasy tables feel strangely familiar, this isn’t the Chinese take-out of your memory. This podcast is a Mandarin lesson to reacquaint you with Chinese food, Chinese-style. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0747

Some addictions are better than others. Internet addiction, for example, is bad. Bad, unless of course, the addiction revolves around being on the internet compulsively reloading chinesepod.com every five minutes. Replaying each link of each podcast until slumped over in a heap. Pinning up pictures of the most active users on your wall. This good. Other addictions bad. Learn more in this podcast, in Chinese. 500 times. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1021

They were the best of times, they were the worst of times. Let's go back to your student days. Oh, the days of the camaraderie of communal showers, burning midnight oil, and abiding the delicate snores of your insufferable four roommates. Of course, all this fun had its consequences. Listen to this podcast and hear about them, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0741

Ali vs. Foreman... Skywalker vs. Vader... Donahue vs. Oprah... There was always a winner and a loser. This may not be any rumble in the jungle, but the results are just as hard to bet on... and the odds, well, just odd. Listen to this podcast, where Google takes on Baidu. May the best Chinese search engine win. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1013

You survived the bike ride home on the handlebars of your friend's bike who was too drunk to walk. You made it to your apartment. You should drink water, and you should certainly shower off the baijiu that's seeping through your pores, but that bed is calling. As the room spins, you realize it will all be for naught if you can't brag about your exploits. Learn how to in this podcast, in Mandarin. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0734

Zooming cars, screeching tires. The only thing missing is a helmet and seatbelt to strap you in. You heard Formula One racing was coming to China. You thought it was already here. Listen to this podcast and learn in Chinese about the noise and speed of this race that is the big brother of your Shanghai morning commute. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0991

Thank you for calling, for directions in English press 1 now: *1*... for directions in Mandarin press 2 now: *1*, *1*... for directions in Cantonese, press 3 now: *1*, *1*, *1*, if you know your party's extension press 4 now, *11111111*, if you'd like to speak to the operator, press 0 now, *0*. I'm sorry that extension is invalid, please hang up and try again. Circumnavigate automated phone hell--in this podcast, learn your *'s and #'s in Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0731

With traditional Chinese money values (hiding piles of cash in a sock in the closet) changing, so is the world of debt in China. While you still won't find your card as welcome as a nice brick of not-so-crisp 100 notes, join in the debate of cash versus credit in this podcast. You will learn about the good, the bad, and the ugly of applying for a Chinese credit card, in Mandarin. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0986

Does it seem a little conceited to do a lesson about 'ourselves?' Hey, we waited two years and 3 months to do it. It's about time for a little tooting of the horn. In this podcast, learn about how to talk about 'us', in Mandarin Chinese. (Just 'cause Aric's gone, doesn't mean there isn't any more room for shameless self-promotion, people.) Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0725

You've always secretly envied those lovers in the park. Laying across a mossy bank, in a blue tuxedo / pink taffeta rented wedding dress pinned up at the back to fit. Well, now you don't need to hire any two-bit wedding photographer, nor do you need a gal willing to marry you. You can study this podcast lesson, and learn in Chinese how to get a misty, touched-up cheesy photo of your own. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0977

Of course, we know you're doing it for the sheer love of imparting knowledge, and the personal rewards of being mauled day in and day out by 45 snotty-nosed kids. However, we want you to be practical. In this podcast, a Chinese lesson to give you the scoop on the other stuff you're going to need to know about getting a teaching job in China. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0720

The 80/20 rule, if applied to Chinese learning, could very possibly mean that 20 percent of what you study will be what you use 80 percent of the time. So hit the podcasts, and learn here how the 80/20 rule applies to profits, spending, and placating your boss, in Mandarin. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0975

We all know the clichés... kangaroos koalas beaches sun g'day mate shiny happy people... and though we roll our eyes it's just 'cause we're jealous, let's face it. In this podcast, learn a little more about the great Australian city of Sydney, in Mandarin Chinese... (writer dropping discreet hints in hopes of gifts of Penfold's Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet being showered China-way). Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0705

Based on actual events, in this podcast we hear the story of four friends, a nearly doomed weekend sojourn, and perhaps the only safe driver in the land. Now, normally the story would be that you had a safe driver... however, today not so. Today the story is one of circuitous routes, backseat drivers, and red lights not run. Learn how to get the pedal to the metal, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0971

Learning a language also involves learning the art of conversation. Weather talk makes great small talk. Not like the boring 'it's hot', 'it's cold' bellyaching. We're talking wowing them with 'cold fronts' and 'scattered showers.' So listen to this podcast and get ready to blow them all away at the next party with your own personal weather report. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0701

There are love gurus, spiritual gurus, self-help gurus. These are all good. But what the world has been missing, up until now, is an e-commerce guru. No longer. The e-commerce guru has arrived, and he is going to teach you to live, love and self-actualize through online buying and selling. Listen to his wisdom, in Mandarin Chinese, in this podcast. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0965

It seems your Chinese book left out the the units on '886' and 'PMP.' That text message you just received mentioned something about vomiting congee. Is '520' an area code or the lucky number for this week's lottery? You need the hip kids of ChinesePod to swim you through this sea of lingo. Listen to this podcast and find out the slang that the dictionary forgot to mention. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0692

It may not quite be the internet as you knew it, but something is better than nothing, right? Learn here how to get yourself wired and online in China. Learn in this podcast how to get internet installed, and how to get which connection speed you want, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0957

When you can get take out draft beer poured into a plastic bag for pennies, it's easy to get incensed over the price of pijiu. In this podcast, learn how to use your Mandarin Chinese to get picky about your brew. But no Bob and Doug hoser jokes please. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0673

It's a bird... it's a plane... no. It's the biggest thing to hit China since ping pong. Meet another sport beloved by the Chinese. In this podcast, listen in to a badminton game as it was meant to be played... in Mandarin. Next time you hit the court, you'll be able to smash that birdie with the best of 'em. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0951