Podcst

The Chinafication of Walmart

Throughline

NPR

July 21, 2026

Show Notes

We think of Walmart as ultra-American, but its business relationship with China has fundamentally changed how American retail operates.

In this episode, how one retailer helped turn China into the world’s factory, eventually becoming the single largest U.S. importer of Chinese consumer goods.

Guest:

Eileen Otis, Associate Professor of Sociology at Northeastern University and author of Walmart: Made in China

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The Chinafication of Walmart — Podcst