Short Run: 'The Great Wager' | Episode I

14:16

February 23, 2023

Jane Perlez
Grace Tatter

President Richard Nixon told his national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, that he had an urgent imperative: make friends with China. (Photo illustration/Special to WBUR)

Find the original episode and a full transcript here.

President Richard Nixon has a plan: He wants to go to China. The only problem? The U.S. and China have had zero contact since the Communist Party took over China two decades before. In the first part of Here & Now's "The Great Wager," host Jane Perlez digs into the beginning of Nixon’s improbable diplomatic mission.