Explore the full journey of Let Me Explain California Rolls—chapter by chapter—before its release.

See how the book unpacks soft power, cultural influence, and the forces shaping our world.

    • Culture Export

    • Culture Production and Conservation

    • Calculating Culture Surplus

    • Quantifying Soft Power

    • Exporting Culture, Importing Trust

    • Culture as Long-Term Leverage

    • The Risk of Cultural Deficit

    • Identity That Is Rooted, Not Rigid

    • How Language Projects Emotion and Identity

    • Aesthetic Systems and Sensory Codes

    • Traditions as Living Memory

    • Innovation Within Continuity

    • Institutional Support and Cultural Infrastructure

    • Domestic Fluency Before Global Influence

    • U.S. vs. China: From Dominance to Disruption

    • Japan vs. South Korea: From Prestige to Participation

    • Saudi Arabia vs. Saudi Arabia: From Reliance to Reinvention

    • The Myth of Branding Without Culture

    • African-American Culture: A Subculture That Reframed a Nation

    • North African identity in France: Invisible in Policy, Vivid in Sound

    • Maori in New Zealand: Re-entering the Center

    • Cultural Surplus in Practice: A Comparative Summary

    • Diasporas as Cultural Superconductors

    • Watchlist: Subcultures With Surplus Potential

    • The Geometry of Coercion: Twelve Scenarios of Power Dynamics

    • The Power Patterns of Coercion

    • How Soft Power Becomes an Agent of Peace

    • Part 1: Growing Culture Production

    • Part 2: Strengthening Domestic Cultural Consumption

    • Part 3: Generating Cultural Demand and Facilitate Exports

    • Part 4: Facilitating Culture Imports and Striking the Right Balance between Protectionism and Absorbation

    • Multipolar Culture: The End of Monopoly, The Rise of Micro-Hybrid-Powers

    • Micro-Platforms, Micro-Protocols, and Micro-Cultural Sovereignty

    • AI, Replication, and the Ethics of Cultural Creation