To Capture Contemporary China, an American Journalist Became a Taxi Driver

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Scott Shafer

Jun 18, 2019 at

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Frank Langfitt, author of "The Shanghai Free Taxi: Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China." (Photo: Julie Langfitt)

When NPR reporter Frank Langfitt returned to China in 2011, he says he struggled with how “to penetrate an authoritarian nation where people are leery of talking with foreign journalists.” His solution: offer free taxi rides to locals in exchange for conversation. Langfitt joins Forum to talk about his new book, “The Shanghai Free Taxi: Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China,” and what he learned from his passengers about Chinese censorship, the impact of the election of Donald Trump on the country, John Denver, prostitution and more.

Guests:

Frank Langfitt, London correspondent, NPR; author, "The Shanghai Free Taxi: Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China"

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