08/31/2025: China Spies, St. Mary’s, Sounds of Cajun Country

Chinese hackers have infiltrated U.S. government systems, the private sector and critical infrastructure, but hacking has not replaced Beijing’s pursuit of old-fashioned human intelligence, aka: spying. Norah O’Donnell reports on Chinese covert agents who monitor and influence events outside their own borders and surveil and intimidate Chinese dissidents right here in America. Correspondent Bill Whitaker visits New Orleans, where two high school seniors solved a mathematical puzzle that was thought to be impossible for 2,000 years. Whitaker speaks to the students, their families and the teachers at their school, St. Mary’s Academy, which has been fostering academic excellence and boundless possibilities for its student body of African American girls since the end of the Civil War. Correspondent Jon Wertheim visits southwest Louisiana, where the sounds of Cajun and zydeco music – long the soundtrack in this singular pocket of America – are experiencing a remarkable revival. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices