This week’s post is a special deep dive interview with Anna Chen. Our conversation covered:
Anna’s account of world politics as a Three Body Problem (as in Cixin Liu’s novel)
The USA as a Death Star, including that threat, your “civilization will die tonight”
How social media became a “mostly white male land-grab,” fell into the colonial, old boys trap, and erased original Chinese and women’s voices like hers
Her Shakedown Timeline of America’s 21st century war on China, and
Her first-hand memories and histories of China’s Cultural Revolution.
Anna is a writer, presenter, broadcaster, poet, first Chinese Brit punk, wearer of Vivienne Westwood couture, and cultural outrider.
Anna’s political analysis, cultural critique and original insights have appeared o the BBC and Guardian (before the pivot to China), Asia Times, Tribune, Morning Star, New Internationalist, South China Morning Post.
And, of course, at at annachen.co.uk and, since 2025, on her Substack, which I recommend.
Anna’s Bio, from annachen.co.uk
Anna Chen is a pioneering writer, historian, poet and broadcaster, born and raised in Hackney, east London. The child of a Chinese father and an English mother, she grew up in the heart of two major civilisations at a historic crossroads. So it was hardly surprising that she would end up as a cultural outrider.
Born into the belly of the imperial beast, she had to navigate a maze of contradictions and false messaging in a society that prided itself on fair treatment, equality and the rules of cricket. She noted at a young age how no Chinese were positively reflected in the culture. Aware that it was only supposed to be vampires, not humans, who cast no reflection, she kicked up against the invisibility imposed from childhood.
WOMAN ON A MISSION
It was simple, really. All I had to do was complete three missions in the 21st century.
1) Make sure the left didn’t bury the anti-Iraq War campaign the way they’d done all the others.
2) Make visible the invisible and humanise the Chinese in the culture, on the BBC and in the rest of the media.
3) Stop World War 3. Still working on it.Anna Chen annachen.co.uk
Towards the end of the conversation, Anna recommends two other women writers on Substack. If you haven’t already done so, subscribe or follow them now.
You can also watch this video at the Burning Archive Youtube channel - give it a like there. And before too long at Anna’s YouTube channel - subscribe there too.
Thanks for reading and enjoy this special interview, before normal Burning Archive programming resumes next week.
Jeff
