A new U.S.-China podcast

Jane Perlez, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who served as The Times Beijing bureau chief, has spent much of her career writing about China. She covered the rise of Xi Jinping, China’s leader, and how the U.S. has struggled to respond to China’s growth.

Now, Jane is exploring the origins of the rivalry and conflict between the two superpowers in her new podcast, “Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China.” In the eight-episode series, Jane and her co-host, Rana Mitter, a historian at Harvard, talk to diplomats, spies and even Yo-Yo Ma.

They focus on key parts of the unraveling relationship — including near-misses between U.S. spy planes and Chinese fighter jets and Apple’s compromises as it courts China — to dig into how the two countries, which used to be friends, have become adversaries.

“We try to provide some rationality and some ways to think about going forward without the hysteria,” Jane told me. “We are trying to see China for what it is, which is a challenge, but it’s something that the U.S. is immensely capable of dealing with.”

Check out the first three episodes here.