55 Voices for Democracy – The Podcast
63 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 months ago - ★★★★ - 7 ratingsHow can democracy be renewed and defended today?
A collaboration of the Thomas Mann House, the Goethe Institute, Wunderbar Together, and the Los Angeles Review of Books.
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Episodes
Clint Smith on Cultures of Remembrance in the U.S. & Germany
December 14, 2023 08:30 - 1 hour - 85.4 MB“Physically putting your body in a place where history happened gives you a different sense of intimacy, a different sense of proximity to that history.” In the final episode of our podcast, author, poet, and scholar Clint Smith speaks about the importance of collectively reckoning with history, the legacy of slavery in U.S.-American identity, and cultures of remembrance in the U.S. and Germany. He is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning With the Hi...
Marina Weisband on What Gets us Through the Crisis
November 30, 2023 15:30 - 56 minutes - 77.2 MB“Going through a crisis and having a positive vision of the future are not the same thing. You need to have a positive vision of the future to get through the crisis.” Our hosts, Aida Baghernejad and Tom Zoellner, interview politician and publicist Marina Weisband for this special episode, recorded live at the international literatur festival berlin. After an introduction by political scientist and Thomas Mann Fellow Christine Landfried, they discuss the digital revolution and the ongoing wa...
Lynne Thompson on the Role of Poetry in Democracies
October 19, 2023 07:30 - 26 minutes - 37 MB“There is an understanding that between humans we have this one thing called language and it brings us - or can bring us - together.” Writer and poet Lynne Thompson talks with hosts Aida Baghernejad and Tom Zoellner about her journey to becoming a poet, the role of “truth“ in poetry and its meaning for democracy. Lynne Thompson is the 2021-2022 Poet Laureate for the City of Los Angeles, and her poetry collections include Beg No Pardon (2007), Start With A Small Guitar (2013), and Fretwork (2...
Bill Wiggins on African-American History & Historically Black Colleges and Universities
March 23, 2023 07:30 - 32 minutes - 44.1 MBHost Tom Zoellner sat down with professor William Wiggins to discuss the ongoing importance of African-American history within the larger context of US history. Professor Wiggins has written on numerous subjects dealing with revolutionary figures and movements in U.S. history. He has taught at the University of Connecticut, St. Olaf and Allegheny Colleges, Hampton University and Columbia University, where he also served as an Assistant Dean.
Teresa Bücker on Time as a Political Resource
March 02, 2023 08:30 - 31 minutes - 43 MB“Time is a political resource. How time is distributed is a question of structures we find within a society. It’s structured by the economic system we have; it’s structured by gender, by race,” states journalist and author Teresa Bücker. In this conversation, Bücker describes her vision for a feminist and just approach to time. Her book on the topic, "Alle_Zeit. Eine Frage von Macht und Freiheit" was published in German in 2022. Bücker has been a regular contributor to Süddeutsche Zeitung, a...
Roberto Lovato on the Tenderness that Survives the Terror
February 16, 2023 08:30 - 38 minutes - 52.4 MB“I’ve been through war. I’ve witnessed the workings of genocide. I have gone to mass graves across the entire continent (…) We have to un-forget to get past the present fear.” In this episode, writer and journalist Roberto Lovato speaks about overcoming personal and collective trauma. Lovato's work has been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, Der Spiegel, and other national and international media outlets. In 2020, he published his first book, Unforgetting: A Memoi...
Antonia Juhasz on the Impact of Fossil Fuels on Democracy
January 05, 2023 08:30 - 34 minutes - 47 MB“Part of what has led the movement against fossil fuels is the increased number of people being confronted with the effects of oil drilling and fracking,” argues energy analyst and investigative journalist Antonia Juhasz. The Senior Researcher in the Environment and Human Rights Division at Human Rights Watch talks about how our dependency on fossil fuels impacts the environment, politics, social justice and human rights worldwide. What can be done to bring about a just transition to renewab...
Raul Krauthausen on Inclusion and Accessibility
December 08, 2022 08:30 - 32 minutes - 45.2 MB“I realized that everything I learned in terms of communication, creativity, strategy and planning at university can also be used for good...for the rights of people with disabilities,” states Raul Krauthausen. The inclusion activist and podcaster compares inclusion and accessibility laws in the US and Germany, and explains how Germany's reckoning with its fascist past still affects institutional structures today. Raul Krauthausen is the founder of a series of initiatives focusing on diversi...
Sarah Jaffe on Working Conditions & Labor Movements
November 22, 2022 08:30 - 48 minutes - 66.7 MB“Until we start thinking about what people’s lives are really like and not just shame them for how they vote, we’re not going to have a healthy democracy,” argues Sarah Jaffe. The labor journalist talks about working people's disillusionment with politics, and why seemingly incoherent protest movements shouldn't be disregarded. Does today’s labor shortage give workers bargaining power? Sarah Jaffe's book Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted and Alo...
Geraldo Cadava on the 2022 Midterm Elections & 'the Latino Vote'
November 10, 2022 08:30 - 42 minutes - 58.1 MB"One of the things that is so fascinating about last night‘s midterm elections is how young people really showed up,” states Geraldo Cadava, professor of history and Latina and Latino studies at Northwestern University. In this episode, he gives his fresh take on the 2022 midterm elections and discusses the diversity of the Latino community in the U.S. along with the influence religion, race, and identity have on Latino voters. Geraldo Cadava is the author of The Hispanic Republican: The Sha...
Boris Dralyuk on Poetry, Translation and Émigrés
October 20, 2022 07:30 - 32 minutes - 44.1 MBWhile politics can involve seemingly abstract decisions, “literature can remind us of the stakes at human level,” argues Boris Dralyuk. In this episode, the translator, author and editor-in-chief of Los Angeles Review of Books talks about translators giving voice to the voiceless, and the raison d’etre of literary criticism in today's fragmented cultural landscape. Boris Dralyuk’s debut poetry collection My Hollywood and Other Poems came out in April 2022 on Paul Dry Books.
LaTosha Brown on Fighting Voter Suppression
October 06, 2022 07:30 - 46 minutes - 64.3 MB“Some of the tension and voter suppression we are experiencing right now is not a result of us losing, it is a result of us winning,” states LaTosha Brown, community organizer and co-founder of Black Voters Matter. In this episode, she talks about the specific mechanics that suppress Black votes, the importance of activating Black voters, particularly in rural areas, and the power marginalized groups and young voters hold to change democracies. LaTosha Brown and Black Voters Matter have been...
Doris Kleilein on Changing Definitions of Urban Architecture
September 22, 2022 07:30 - 35 minutes - 49.2 MBWhat makes a city a home for people with different backgrounds? How has the pandemic impacted city planning and urban architecture? In this episode, the 2022 Thomas Mann Fellow, architect and author Doris Kleilein looks at the benefits of L.A.’s ‘laissez-faire urbanism’ compared to more regulated approaches in Europe. She argues that “the built visibility of a culture or minority is key to becoming part of society.” Kleilein’s research focuses on how city planning can propose new forms of li...
Christoph Bieber on Hate Speech, Deep Fakes and Other Challenges of the Internet
August 25, 2022 07:30 - 27 minutes - 38.3 MBWhat can be done against online hate speech and deep fakes? Host Tom Zoellner talks to the political scientist & 2022 Thomas Mann Fellow Dr. Christoph Bieber about internet regulation in Europe and the U.S. Is there reason to be optimistic when it comes to our digital present and future? Bieber is professor of Political Science at the Center for Advanced Internet Studies in Bochum, Germany, where he among other things researches the effect of online communication on political actors.
Veronika Fuechtner on Thomas Mann's construction of "Germanness"
August 11, 2022 07:30 - 26 minutes - 36.3 MBThe Brazilian origins of his mother Júlia were initially a source of shame for Thomas Mann, but that changed in the 1920s “as his understanding of his role in society and democracy changed,” claims Dr. Veronika Fuechtner. The Professor of German Studies at Dartmouth talks about the role of racial and sexual ambiguity in Mann’s writing and why he emigrated to the U.S. rather than to Brazil. Fuechtner has co-authored A Global History of Sexual Science 1880-1960 (2017) and is currently completi...
Ulrich J. Schneider on Libraries as Democratic Spaces
July 28, 2022 07:30 - 34 minutes - 47.5 MB“Today, when politicians think you can close down libraries because everything is available online, you have to remind them that libraries are not only for books; they are for people,” says Thomas Mann Fellow and former director of the Leipzig University Library, Ulrich J. Schneider. In his research, he examines the importance of public libraries in different social contexts. In this episode, Schneider explains how public libraries came to be places where people, regardless of their social s...
Rosecrans Baldwin on Los Angeles as a City-State
July 14, 2022 07:30 - 36 minutes - 50.7 MBThis episode focuses on what novelist and writer Rosecrans Baldwin calls "the city state Los Angeles.” In his recent best-selling book Everything Now: Lessons From the City-State of Los Angeles, the award-winning author shares his thoughts on one of the United States’ most confounding metropolises – "not just a great city, but a full-blown modern city-state.” Together with our hosts, Baldwin addresses issues such as the housing crisis, city planning and what can be learned from comparing L.A...
Christine Landfried on the Democratic Potential of Citizens' Assemblies
June 30, 2022 07:30 - 33 minutes - 45.9 MBWhen it comes to politics, “distrust is a very healthy thing,” says Dr. Christine Landfried. But Dr. Landfried warns that a complete loss of trust in democratic processes lead people to disconnect from politics entirely. In this episode, the professor of political science talks about how citizens’ assemblies, a new form of participation, strengthen democracy and rebuild trust in its institutions. Landfried has observed citizens’ assemblies and prominently reported about them in a variety of ...
Matthew Continetti on Populism and Conservatism in the American Right
June 15, 2022 18:14 - 42 minutes - 58.3 MBIn this episode, author and intellectual historian of the right, Matthew Continetti talks about the past and current strains of American Conservatism. Continetti notes that the territory on which politics is conducted has moved from the size and scope of the State to arguments over the "nature of America“ itself. His most recent book "The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism" was published in 2022. Mr. Continetti is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
Diana Garvin on the Political Implications of Food
June 02, 2022 07:30 - 34 minutes - 46.8 MBThe fascist regime in Italy attempted early on to create a culinary nationalism by “re-writing ‘la cucina povera’ (the cooking of the poor) as national greatness” and to evoke a sense of pride in local produce that would ultimately support the fascist economy, argues historian Diana Garvin. Garvin is Assistant Professor of Italian at the University of Oregon, and has done extensive research on the role of food and coffee in fascism. In this episode, she talks about how food remains central t...
Craig Calhoun on Nationalism & Protest Movements
May 19, 2022 07:30 - 38 minutes - 52.5 MBCan we reframe the concept of nationalism to use it as a resource for change? Social scientist Craig Calhoun argues for a more complex understanding of nationalism. With our hosts, Calhoun also talks about the importance of social movements: they are central to give citizens a voice, which is crucial for a functioning democracy. Craig Calhoun is Professor of Social Sciences at Arizona State University and the author of many books, most recently, Degenerations of Democracy, co-authored with Di...
Ruben Neugebauer on Sea Rescue and the Crisis on the Mediterranean Sea
May 05, 2022 07:30 - 43 minutes - 59.5 MBCivil sea rescue by organizations such as Sea-Watch saves lives, but the fundamental problem that Europe is sealed off to many who seek refuge remains, argues Ruben Neugebauer. Neugebauer is a co-founder of Sea-Watch, a non-profit organization committed to doing search and rescue missions on the Mediterranean Sea as well as advocating safe passage for refugees. In this episode, he talks with Aida Baghernejad about ways to reform European migration policies and how the situation on the Medite...
Lawrence Douglas on Fixing the Electoral System
April 21, 2022 07:30 - 47 minutes - 64.9 MBHow can we restore trust in democratic elections and what are the problems electoral systems are facing today? With his book Will He Go? Trump and the Looming Electoral Meltdown in 2020, Lawrence Douglas predicted with shocking clarity how Trump planned to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He talks with Aida Baghernejad about ways to strengthen the electoral system and restore trust in transparent and reliable elections. Lawrence Douglas is professor of law, jurisprudence and social th...
Mohamed Amjahid on the Protection of Minorities
March 10, 2022 08:30 - 34 minutes - 47 MBWhat is negotiable in our societies? Mohamed Amjahid talks with host Aida Baghernejad about the dangers of majority rule and why, for him, protecting minorities is at the core of democracy. Amjahid is a political journalist, author and presenter. He was an editor at ZEITmagazin and was awarded the Alexander Rhomberg Prize and the Henri Nannen Prize, among others. Amjahid received wide attention for his bestsellers Unter Weißen and Der Weisse Fleck. Amjahid is a 2022 Fellow at the Thomas Mann...
Aurora Almendral on the Political Situation in the Philippines
February 24, 2022 08:30 - 34 minutes - 47.1 MBIn this episode, Tom Zoellner and fellow journalist Aurora Almendral analyze the political situation in the Philippines: How does President Rodrigo Duterte, who many criticize for his autocratic governance, endanger democratic structures in the country? How does this affect the vibrant press and journalism culture, which is under attack by Duterte? Almendral is a Philippine-born award-winning journalist who writes for The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, and National Geographic M...
David Kipen on the Renewal of the Federal Writers' Project
February 10, 2022 09:30 - 34 minutes - 47 MBIn 1935, the Federal Writers' Project was launched by President Roosevelt to create jobs for out-of-work writers during the Great Depression and to provide a vivid literary climate in the U.S. David Kipen, an L.A.-based author, critic, broadcaster, UCLA Writing Faculty member and the founder of the nonprofit bilingual lending library Libros Schmibros in Boyle Heights, is a driving force behind the renewal of the initiative. In this episode, he talks about how a project like this can help t...
Birte Meier on Equal Pay
January 27, 2022 08:30 - 24 minutes - 34 MBWhat can Germany learn from California in terms of Equal Pay? Award-winning journalist Birte Meier explored this question during her Fellowship at the Thomas Mann House in Los Angeles. In this episode of 55 Voices for Democracy, she talks about how California's Equal Pay Act effectively protects against discrimination by, for example, allowing workers to speak openly about their salaries. Meier has worked as a ZDF editor, doing investigative business stories and in-depth political reports si...
Sonia Faleiro on Political Oppression in India
January 06, 2022 08:30 - 35 minutes - 49.2 MBIn this episode, award-winning journalist Sonia Faleiro talks about dangerous developments in Indian democracy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The repression of the Muslim minority and restrictions on the democratic public sphere have taken on dramatic proportions, she says. Faleiro believes that only a democracy movement on the scale of India's freedom struggle can bring real change. Sonia Faleiro grew up in India and lives in London. Her most recent book The Good Girls (Penguin, 2021),...
Daniel Ziblatt on Resilient Democracies | A Collaboration with the German American Conference at Harvard
December 16, 2021 08:30 - 44 minutes - 61.5 MBIn this collaboration with the German American Conference at Harvard, Dr. Daniel Ziblatt talks about the decline of democracies. Ziblatt encourages us not to "be afraid to reform our constitution and our institutions." In conversation with hosts Anne McElvoy and Tom Zoellner, he argues that vibrant civil societies, a robust media, and strong opposition are key to resilient democracies. Daniel Ziblatt is professor of government at Harvard University and director of Transformations of Democrac...
Tobias Boes on Thomas Mann’s War
December 02, 2021 08:30 - 28 minutes - 39.7 MBHow did Thomas Mann use the then still young medium of radio in his fight against fascism? How did he channel repressed energies into political activism? Literary scholar Tobias Boes, author of the book Thomas Mann’s War: Literature, Politics, and the World Republic of Letters (Cornell University Press, 2019), discusses Thomas Mann’s role as a political figure in the United States and how he addressed political issues through the eyes of a novelist. In his book, Boes traces how the acclaimed...
Anniversary Episode: One Year of "55 Voices for Democracy"
November 18, 2021 08:30 - 23 minutes - 32.2 MBThe 55 Voices for Democracy podcast celebrates it's first birthday this month! Time to look back on the first 25 episodes and reflect on what happened so far: Hosts Tom Zoellner and Aida Baghernejad discuss the highlights and their favorite moments of the podcast against the backdrop of their own biographies. How do their individual political and professional backgrounds shape the way they approach the podcast and interview the guests? What can we learn from having a German and a U.S. standp...
Emilia Roig on Intersectionality
November 04, 2021 07:30 - 24 minutes - 34 MB"We have to think of the entire fabric of our society, and we have to be courageous!“ French political scientist Emilia Roig talks about the intersection and simultaneity of different categories of discrimination against certain minorities. Underlying societal hierarchies play an important role in maintaining these injustices. Emilia Roig is the founder of the Berlin-based organization Center for Intersectional Justice. In 2021, she published the best-selling book Why We Matter - The End ...
Timothy Snyder on Resisting Authoritarianism
October 21, 2021 07:30 - 30 minutes - 42.2 MB"The problem is ourselves." Timothy Snyder describes why the challenges of our democracies are not so much political figures like Trump, but ourselves as citizens. Snyder says it's about breaking down social barriers while addressing structural political problems like voter suppression and the manipulation of the electoral college. "A failed coup attempt is a rehearsal for a later coup." Timothy Snyder teaches history at Yale University. His book, "On Tyranny," has been translated into more ...
Samuel Moyn on the idea of humane wars
October 07, 2021 07:30 - 34 minutes - 47.8 MBIn this episode, legal historian Samuel Moyn critically reflects on the pursuit of 'humane wars.' "We fight war crimes, but we have forgotten the crime of war," Moyn says. Thus, he says, the wars of recent decades have led to a fixation on the means of war, rather than a discussion of how to end them sustainably. Samuel Moyn is professor of law at Yale Law School and professor of history at Yale University. He is the author of "Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World" and "Humane. How...
Stephanie Kelton on Democracy and the Deficit Myth
September 16, 2021 16:02 - 24 minutes - 34.2 MBProfessor Stephanie Kelton explains how deficits can strengthen economies and be healthy for democracies. She argues that there are no budgetary constraints on government spending and makes the case for challenging our view of public debt. Stephanie Kelton is a professor of economics and public policy at Stony Brook University and a former Chief Economist on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee. She was named by POLITICO as one of the 50 people most influencing the policy debate in America. Dr. ...
Susan Bernofsky on Translation and the Plurality of Language
August 19, 2021 07:30 - 22 minutes - 31.2 MBSusan Bernofsky's new translation of Thomas Mann's novel "The Magic Mountain" is eagerly awaited. In conversation with Tom Zoellner, Bernofsky talks about Thomas Mann's multiculturalism and the challenges of translating between languages and cultures. In this episode, the renowned translator also shares her personal experiences as a Jewish American in Europe and talks about the rise of the global, increasingly plural English language. Susan Bernofsky is the prizewinning translator of seven w...
Mithu Sanyal on 'Transracialism' and Identity
July 15, 2021 07:30 - 33 minutes - 45.5 MBAs more and more Americans self-identify as multiracial, transgressing categories of race still raise questions. Most prominently in the case of Rachel Dolezal, a former college professor and activist who identified as Black despite being born to white parents. Dolezal's story inspired German author, journalist and cultural critic Mithu Sanyal to write Identitti, a novel about the powerful role of internet culture in discourses of sexuality and race. In today's episode, Sanyal discusses her...
David Himbara on Threatening Developments in Rwanda
July 01, 2021 07:30 - 27 minutes - 37.2 MBWhile his government has long been a promise for reconciliation and development, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame is facing increasing international criticism. Human Rights Watch and other institutions accuse his government of mistreating opposition members or making them disappear. At the center of the criticism is, among other things, the kidnapping of Paul Rusesabagina, a central figure in the film Hotel Rwanda and recipient of the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom. In this episode, hosts ...
Colm Toíbín on Thomas Mann & Democracy
June 17, 2021 07:30 - 34 minutes - 48 MBIrish novelist, journalist and scholar Colm Toíbín talks about Thomas Mann’s formation as a democrat and the historic circumstances that formed his political thinking. Toíbín’s highly anticipated upcoming novel "The Magician“ (Simon & Schuster, 2021) tells the life of Thomas Mann, an epic family saga set across a half-century spanning World War I, the rise of Hitler, World War II, and the Cold War. Toíbín discusses Mann’s relationship to the United States, his admiration for Franklin D. Roos...
Joyce Marie Mushaben on Post-Merkel Germany
June 03, 2021 07:30 - 32 minutes - 44.1 MBWhat is a post-Merkel Germany going to look like? How did Germany change in the 16 years of Merkel’s administration and should Germans be afraid of a political backlash? Political scientist Joyce Marie Mushaben discusses ongoing disparities between former East and West Germany, issues of gender equality, and the rise of a new right in Germany. Mushaben is an Affiliated Faculty member in the BMW Center for German & European Studies at Georgetown University and works with the European femin...
Max Czollek on Diversity and the New German Nationalist Culture
May 20, 2021 07:30 - 37 minutes - 51.4 MBPoet and writer Max Czollek talks about why German remembrance culture seems staged to him, and what a radically diverse society might look like. Czollek's recent books "Gegenwartsbewältigung“ (Coping with the Present) and "Desintigriert Euch!“ (De-Integrate Yourselves!) have been widely discussed in Germany. Through his books and daily tweets, Max Czollek has become one of Germany's most important voices on issues such as contemporary Jewish identity in Germany, racism and integration. Cz...
Andreas Reckwitz on the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Effect on Late Modern Societies
May 06, 2021 07:30 - 30 minutes - 42.5 MBHow can societies and states reinvent themselves after the pandemic? Andreas Reckwitz, sociologist, cultural theorist and one of Germany’s most eminent contemporary scholars, talks about what the COVID-19 pandemic means for late modern society from a sociological point of view. While the pandemic highlighted structural problems such as inequality, can it also bear hope for societal transformation? With our hosts Tom Zoellner and Aida Baghernejad, he discusses the emergence of a new middle cl...
Nora Krug on Notions of Belonging and Historical Memory
April 22, 2021 07:30 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBIn this episode, illustrator and author Nora Krug talks about notions of belonging, nationalism, and the power of images. In conversation with our hosts Tom Zoellner and Aida Baghernejad, she reflects on issues of historical memory and responsibility, and how they can be tackled in the form of a graphic novel. Krug's graphic novel "Belonging: A German Reckons With History and Home" was honored with a 2018 National Book Critics Circle Award. It investigates her own family's WWII history in im...
Keisha N. Blain on African American History and Selective Memory
April 08, 2021 07:30 - 32 minutes - 44.5 MBHistorian Keisha N. Blain, Professor at the University of Pittsburgh and President of the African American Intellectual History Society, recently co-edited the acclaimed book Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America 1619-2019 with her colleague Ibram X. Kendi. In this episode, Blain talks about how to commemorate the 400 year anniversary of the pivotal moment in 1619, when the first group of twenty African captives arrived on "The White Lion" in Jamestown, Virginia. In her ...
55 Voices for Democracy – Trailer
March 29, 2021 07:30 - 30 seconds - 937 KB55 Voices for Democracy is modeled after the BBC radio speeches, through which Thomas Mann in the mid 1940s pleaded to thousands of listeners to resist the Nazi regime. In this podcast series, intellectuals, artists, and activists engage in conversations about how to renew democracy today.
Luisa Neubauer on Dreaming as a Tool for Change
March 25, 2021 07:30 - 37 minutes - 51.8 MBThe societal state as a crisis of imagination? German climate activist Luisa Neubauer is one of the main organizers of Fridays for Future in Germany, an international student movement demanding political action against climate change. In this episode, Neubauer talks about her activism and the momentum of the movement, climate awareness in the U.S. and Germany, and dreaming as a tool for change. "On the one side, we have to accept the catastrophes that are going to unravel. But on the other...
Deborah Feldman on Religion, Integration and Political Participation
March 11, 2021 08:30 - 39 minutes - 54.2 MBIn this episode, U.S.-German writer Deborah Feldman engages in a conversation with hosts Tom Zoellner and Aida Baghernejad about contemporary Jewish culture in Berlin, political participation by religious communities and the meaning of trust in democracies: “We need to establish the kind of personal trust we have as individuals with each other in the public sphere.” Feldman is the author of Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots (2012), in which she tells the story of her e...
John S. Adams on Donations as Threats for Democracies (Special Episode)
March 04, 2021 08:30 - 38 minutes - 52.4 MBIn this special episode of our podcast, the award-winning investigative and political reporter John S. Adams talks about money, politics and its effect on democracy. While there was always "money in politics," the practice of political donations has become a substantial threat to liberal democracies. "In the last several years, the flood gates have really opened," states Adams in his conversation with hosts Tom Zoellner and Aida Baghernejad. What are the real motivations behind these donatio...
Brad Smith on the Role of Digital Technology in the World of Politics
February 25, 2021 08:30 - 35 minutes - 48.6 MBWe have to step up and accept our responsibility for all of the implications that technology has created.” Brad Smith, President of Microsoft and author of the book Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age (2019), makes a strong argument for the political and moral accountability of big tech companies. Smith discusses “the role of digital technology in the world of politics” and draws attention to how and why “technology inequality” has become a source of social injust...
Igor Levit on Music and Politics
January 12, 2021 08:30 - 29 minutes - 40 MBPianist Igor Levit talks with our hosts about the persistence of the arts in the face of political threats and why Europeans should work against their feelings of cultural superiority. While Igor Levit’s music focuses on the works of Bach, Beethoven and Liszt, he is also known for being a politically engaged artist: he has publicly spoken out several times against issues such antisemitism and racism. In this conversation, Levit appeals to music’s ability to make us remember and understand. H...