China has one of the world’s most restrictive media environments, relying on censorship to control information in the news, online, and on social media. But how does internet censorship in China actually function?

Chris Cash is joined by Molly Roberts, a political scientist at UC San Diego and author of the groundbreaking book ‘Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China's Great Firewall’, to discuss China's censorship apparatus. Molly explains how censorship in China has evolved, how it impacts those who experience it and why certain narratives about censorship can be misleading. The conversation extends to censorship in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak and the disappearance of tennis player Peng Shuai.

The KPR study: How Censorship in China Allows Government Criticism but Silences Collective Expression

Molly's book: Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China's Great Firewall