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The Gaokao And A Tree

2026-02-28 · 16:00 UTC ·The Browser ·3 min read

Brief

The Browser’s 28 February 2026 newsletter “The Gaokao And A Tree” curates short cultural picks alongside a longer audio dive into education. Its featured podcast, “The Highest Exam” (New Books In Economics, 52m 57s), examines China’s gaokao and the exam’s systemic effects on schooling and student life. The complementary video, “Funeral For A Tree” (Steve Parker, YouTube, 2m 56s), documents an artist’s exhibition for a 65‑year‑old oak whose trunk slices were made into wooden “records” that play the birdsong of species that roosted there. The issue also promotes a daily five‑item recommend service (under $1/week), lists key staff — including Editor‑In‑Chief Caroline Crampton and Editor Kaamya Sharma — and points readers to a daily word puzzle, Nomido.

Cleaned source text

Writing of lasting value

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The Gaokao And A Tree

By Caroline Crampton & Kaamya Sharma • 28 Feb 2026 | View in browser

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The full Browser recommends five articles, a video and a podcast. Today, enjoy our audio and video picks.Podcast : The Highest Exam | New Books In Economics. About the gaokao, China’s high-stakes college entrance exam and how it shapes the schooling system from the bottom up (52m 57s)

Video : Funeral For A Tree | YouTube | Steve Parker | 2m 56s

Virtual tour of an exhibition that celebrates the life of a 65-year-old oak tree. When the tree died, the artist turned slices of its trunk into wooden "records" that play the calls of birds that roosted in the tree.

Puzzle: Play Nomido, the Browser’s daily word game.

Want more? The full Browser recommends five outstanding articles, a video and a podcast daily, for less than $1 a week.

Get The Full Browser Experience

Caroline Crampton , Editor-In-Chief; Robert Cottrell , Founding Editor; Kaamya Sharma , Editor; Sylvia Bishop , Assistant Publisher; Jodi Ettenberg , Associate Editor; Uri Bram , CEO & Publisher; Al Breach , Founding Director

Editorial comments and letters to the editor: editor@thebrowser.com‌‌ | Technical issues and support requests: support@thebrowser.com‌‌ | Or write at any time to the publisher: uri@thebrowser.com

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