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The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files

The Taiwan History Podcast: Formosa Files

By: John Ross and Eryk Michael Smith
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About this listen

Now streaming season five, the world's biggest and highest-rated Taiwan history podcast, Formosa Files, releases ENGLISH episodes every THURSDAY, as well as one short CHINESE episode on WEDNESDAYS. Formosa Files: The Taiwan History Podcast uses an engaging storytelling format and is non-chronological, meaning every week is a new adventure. John Ross is an author and publisher of works on Taiwan and China, while Eryk Michael Smith is a writer and journalist for local and global media outlets. Both hosts have lived in Taiwan for decades and call the island home. Email: formosafiles@gmail.comJohn Ross and Eryk Michael Smith World
Episodes
  • 1962: Taiwan’s Bloody Year You’ve Never Heard Of -S5-E13
    May 15 2025

    PLEASE NOTE: Formosa Files 中文版 has a new, separate feed. Hear it HERE, or on our website. Thanks!


    This week, Formosa Files digs into two wild and almost totally forgotten killings from Taiwan’s Cold War years. First up: a soldier named Li Wei, a former POW, sets his army barracks on fire in the middle of the night and opens fire on his fellow soldiers. The whole thing gets swept under the rug. No local news coverage. It’s been basically erased from memory.


    Then there’s Taiwan’s deadliest school shooting: the Lixing High School Massacre. A fired sports coach shows up at school with a pistol and a grudge. He kills the principal, teachers, and even goes after the principal’s family. This one made the headlines at the time, but somehow, almost nobody talks about it today.


    Both happened in 1962, when Taiwan was still under martial law and the government kept a very tight lid on the media. With help from researcher and Formosa Files Chinese version co-host Eric Hsu, we dug through old court records and tracked down as much truth as we could find.



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    28 mins
  • S5-E12 – Names… Too Many Names!
    May 8 2025

    Your name carries history, identity, and sometimes in Taiwan, salmon? In this episode, we explore Taiwanese/Chinese naming traditions: family names, generational names, courtesy names, and how colonization, politics, and even sushi promotions have shaped them. From the chaos of post-war name changes to the viral “Salmon Naming Incident” of 2021, join Formosa Files for a fascinating and funny audio journey into what our names say about us.


    It's worth checking out our WEBSITE as that's where you'll find show notes, transcripts, photos, images, info, links and more.

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    31 mins
  • IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! 重要公告
    May 8 2025

    The Chinese podcast hasn’t disappeared; it’s now got its own feed.

    FORMOSA FILES中文版的節目沒有消失!我們成立了新的頻道(SPOTIFYAPPLE),並將所有的中文版 podcast 章節移動過去。之後FORMOSA FILES中文版將以新的頻道繼續為各位聽眾朋友帶來有趣的臺灣歷史故事。

    Those who wish to keep listening to Eryk speak bad Chinese to Eric… migrate over to the new feed HERE, or find it on all major podcast platforms. Thanks!

    如果您喜歡我們的中文版節目,敬請繼續支持我們喔!


    New feed: click HERE, or visit our website.

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    2 mins

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