After a few weeks grousing about the state of Chinese humor, sex and Bill Bishop, we turn our gaze to the plight of the nation's children, and the stories of child abuse and maltreatment which have filled the mainland press for the last several weeks. And with the news today of child abuse protester Ye Haiyan's own detention and corporal punishment our core question could not be more timely: is there something about Chinese culture that has encouraged society to sweep this problem under the rug?

With Kaiser Kuo in Italy this week, Jeremy Goldkorn is hosting this episode solo, joined by two excellent guests: the incomparable Tania Branigan who writes for The Guardian, and Leta Hong Fincher, an American academic with a research interest in women's issues in China. We're delighted to have both guests back on the show, and hope you enjoy our discussion.

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