Adelstein introduces the people behind Mt. Gox, one of the world's largest Bitcoin exchanges, based in Tokyo and run by Frenchman Mark Karpeles. As a reporter for The Daily Beast, Japan-based Adelstein starts researching Mt. Gox, to figure out how it got hacked, and how it collapsed i 2014 with over 650,000 Bitcoins gone missing. He covers the laws, customs and quirks of Japan's hostage-justice system and how the entire investigation into Karpeles and Mt. Gox played out. And yes, it includes cats!

The Devil Takes Bitcoin: Cryptocurrency Crimes and the Japanese Connection will be published by Scribe, Oct. 14, 2025.

Jake is an book junkie who reads across a variety of genres. He is currently reading:

1. The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto by Benjamin Wallace about the founder of Bitcoin.
2. The Sweet Spot by Paul Bloom
3. 大阪府警暴力団担当刑事
4. Yellow Face by R.F. Kuang

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

In this episode we cover traditional Japanese gardens and how ancient gardens were related to nature, geomancy, literature and Japanese concepts of wabi-sabi, yugen, and mono no aware. but how garden design shifted from symbolism and representation to a more naturalistic style as seen in Murin-an, a garden in kyoto. Essays on garden design include entries by Ogawa Jihei (1860-1933), Kengo Kuma, Mira Locher, Japanese monk & garden designer Masuno Shunmyo, and garden historian, critic, and author Tim Richardson.

Some of the gardens discussed are: Kagawa Prefectural Office in Takamatsu city, Kengo Kuma and Nezu Museum, Osaka Station Roof Garden, Hyakudanen on Awajishima Island in Hyogo (designed by Tadao Ando), the Carbon Fibre Garden in Tokyo, and the pop-art garden at Teshima Yokoo House.

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

Books discussed include:

Korean Wilds and Villages (1938) by Swedish zoologist Sten Bergman

The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why it Matters, by BR Meyers

Absurdistan, by (2006) by Gary Shteyngart

Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

The Cuttlefish (2005) by Chris Tharp

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.