The Wubi Effect

2025-11-07 · 57 min · episode 667 · 12 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

→ discusses Society & Culture concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Society & Culture
→ discusses Science concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Science
→ discusses History concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: History
→ discusses Documentary concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Documentary
→ hosted by WNYC Studios company

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Feed author/publisher: WNYC Studios
→ discusses Natural Sciences concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Natural Sciences

Entities found in this episode

concepts 10

mentioned Society & Culture concept

0.50

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Society & Culture
mentioned Science concept

0.50

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Science
mentioned History concept

0.50

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: History
mentioned Documentary concept

0.50

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Documentary
mentioned Natural Sciences concept

0.50

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Natural Sciences
discusses Society & Culture concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Society & Culture
discusses Science concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Science
discusses History concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: History
discusses Documentary concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Documentary
discusses Natural Sciences concept

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Natural Sciences

companys 2

mentioned WNYC Studios company

0.70

evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: WNYC Studios
hosted by WNYC Studios company

0.40

evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: WNYC Studios

Episode description as stored

When we think of China today, we think of a technological superpower. From Huawei and 5G to TikTok and viral social media, China is stride for stride with the United States in the world of computing. However, China’s technological renaissance almost didn’t happen. And for one very basic reason: the Chinese language, with its 70,000 plus characters, couldn’t fit on a keyboard. Today, we tell the story of Professor Wang Yongmin, a hard-headed computer programmer who solved this puzzle and laid the foundation for the China we know today. Special thanks to Martin Howard. You can view his renowned collection of typewriters at: antiquetypewriters.com . EPISODE CREDITS: Reported by - Simon Adler Produced by - Simon Adler Sign up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Signup (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)! Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today. Follow our show on Instagram , Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org . Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.