Justice Matters
89 episodes - English - Latest episode: 19 days ago - ★★★★★ - 22 ratingsInvestigating matters of human rights at home and abroad. Listen to the podcast by the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, hosted by Executive Director Maggie Gates and a team of Harvard faculty members acting as co-hosts, including Mathias Risse, Aminta Ossom, Rob Wilkinson, Kathryn Sikkink, and Yanilda Gonzalez.
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Episodes
A Human Rights-Based Approach to Mental Health
April 01, 2024 07:00 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MBOn today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates is joined by Bevin Croft and Ebony Flint from the Human Services Research Institute for a conversation about the intersections of mental health and human rights in the wake of new guidance on mental health issued in October 2023 by the World Health Organization and the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights. They discuss the guidance and the Human Services Research Institute, a rights based approach to mental health system,...
Human Rights and Indigenous Rights in New Zealand
March 15, 2024 08:00 - 31 minutes - 29 MBOn today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse talks with Claire Charters who was recently named in the role of Rongomau Taketake to lead work on the Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Charters is a Professor at the University of Auckland Faculty of Law specializing in indigenous peoples’ rights in international and constitutional law. Together they discuss her new position on the commission, the status of Māori representation in government, ...
The Human Rights Violations of Abortion Bans
March 01, 2024 08:00 - 37 minutes - 34.1 MBOn today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates talks with Karla Torres and Catalina Martinez Coral from the Center for Reproductive Rights. On November 8, 2023, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) held a landmark hearing on the human rights violations caused by the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the move to ban abortion in the United States. The IACHR is a principle and autonomous body of the organization of American States that monitors human rights across the A...
The UN Business & Human Rights Forum: Twelve Years and Counting
February 15, 2024 09:00 - 51 minutes - 47.6 MBToday on Justice Matters we take a deep dive into the UN Business Human Rights Forum, which just wrapped up its 12th iteration at the end of 2023. Co-host Aminta Ossom attended the forum and interviewed working group member Robert McCorquodale to get some background on the inner workings of the Forum. Ossom also spoke with long-time attendee of the Forum, Corinne Lewis, a legal consultant who has worked on business and human rights with organizations of all types, to get her perspective on h...
A New Civil Rights Movement
February 01, 2024 09:00 - 43 minutes - 39.7 MBOn today's episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates talks with Jill Collen Jefferson, a civil and human rights lawyer and the founder of Julian, a national organization based in Mississippi that works to attack discrimination in all forms through legal advocacy, organizing, policy, and innovation. With experience on Capitol Hill, at think-tanks, Organizing for Action, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Public International Law and Policy Group, and big law, Jill brings a tremendous de...
Just Hierarchy
January 15, 2024 09:00 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBOn today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Daniel A. Bell, Chair of Political Theory with the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong. They discuss topics from Professor Bell’s most recent book, “Just Hierarchy: Why Social Hierarchies Matter in China and the Rest of the World” which include: academic freedoms in mainland China vs. Hong Kong, what constitutes a morally justified hierarchy, what benefits might be found in a just hierarchy, perceptions of hi...
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
December 15, 2023 10:00 - 55 minutes - 50.5 MBOn today's episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Shoshana Zuboff, author of the acclaimed book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. They discuss a number of topics from her landmark book including: the idea of surveillance capitalism, the harm of disinformation, the future of democracy in the digital era, the implications of AI and the likes of chat GPT, the status and expectations of government regulation, and...
Your Holiday Gift Guide with Human Rights in Mind
December 01, 2023 10:00 - 32 minutes - 30 MBOn this episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates, Executive Director of the Carr Center, talks with Sarah Zoen, Associate Director at Pillar Two — an organization that advises businesses on human rights due diligence — about how to navigate shopping for the holidays while keeping human rights and ethical business practices in mind. Together, they offer online resources, best practices, and other tips to help with your holiday shopping. Here's a list of the resources mentioned in thi...
The Birth of US Human Rights Policy
November 15, 2023 10:00 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBOn this episode of Justice Matters, co-host Kathryn Sikkink, the Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, speaks with two veterans of the human rights movement, John Salzberg and Joe Eldridge. John Salzberg was the key staff member working with Representative Don Fraser to hold the first set of hearings about the US and human rights in 1973, and later went on to work at the Human Rights Bureau at the US State Department. Prior to 1973, human rights were no...
"Hot Labor Summer" and the State of International Labor Rights
November 01, 2023 09:00 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBOn this episode of Justice Matters, host Aminta Ossom interviews Jeff Vogt, Director of the Rule of Law Program at the Solidarity Center. Vogt is also the co-founder of the International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network, which brings together over 700 worker rights lawyers from around the globe. In 2022, he was appointed to the International Labor Organization (ILO) Governing Body and serves on the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association. Our host, Ossom, is a Lecturer on Law and Clinical In...
Do Human Rights Still Hold Power in the World?
October 02, 2023 07:00 - 37 minutes - 34 MBOn this episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Kenneth Roth, who led Human Rights Watch as its Executive Director for almost 30 years. Together they discuss the history of Human Rights Watch and Roth's reflections on his tenure, whether human rights still hold power in the world, how to bring about change in countries with abusive governments, difficult case countries, the future of human rights and democracy, and a preview of Ken's new book, Righting Wrongs. Roth is a ...
Introducing Strength & Solidarity - A show exploring the tools and tactics of human rights movements
September 19, 2023 08:00 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBJustice Matters will return this October. In the meantime, we'd like to share with you a podcast we think you will enjoy by our friends over at Strength & Solidarity. Strength & Solidarity is a podcast about the tools, tactics, and ideas driving and disrupting the human rights movement around the world. Host Akwe Amosu has over 30 episodes of interviews with human rights defenders form around the globe discussing ideas about how we use the language of human rights, how we build sustainable a...
Justice Matters returns this October
September 12, 2023 08:00 - 1 minute - 1.38 MBThe human rights podcast Justice Matters returns this October with host Maggie Gates, Executive Director of the Carr Center, and a team of Harvard faculty members acting as rotating co-hosts, including Mathias Risse, Aminta Ossom, Rob Wilkinson, and Yanilda Gonzalez.
Haiti and the Origins of Black Internationalism
December 15, 2022 20:05 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBOn this episode of Justice Matters, host Sushma Raman speaks with Dr. Leslie Alexander about the history of Black Internationalism and its ties to today’s global Black Lives Matter movement. Her newest book, Fear of a Black Republic: Haiti and the Birth of Black Internationalism in the United States, examines how the Haitian Revolution and the emergence of Haiti as a sovereign Black nation inspired the birth of Black internationalist consciousness in the United States. Alexander is the Dr. Ma...
The Rise of Human Rights Cities
November 28, 2022 14:51 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBWhere do universal human rights begin? On this episode of Justice Matters, host Sushma Raman speaks with Professor Martha Davis about local movements and human rights cities. Davis teaches constitutional law, US human rights advocacy, and professional responsibility at Northeastern Law School, where she is a Faculty Director for the Program for Human Rights and the Global Economy. A Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden,...
Understanding Critical Race Theory
October 28, 2022 14:00 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBWhat is critical race theory and why is it under attack? On this episode of Justice Matters, host Sushma Raman discusses critical race theory with Dr. Victor Ray, Carr Center Fellow and F. Wendell Miller Associate Professor at the University of Iowa. Together they explore the related topics of structural racism and intersectionality, and how race shapes social processes typically considered race neutral. Dr. Ray is also a Nonresident Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution....
Black Witnessing, Smartphones, and the New Protest Journalism
September 23, 2022 18:15 - 37 minutes - 34.6 MBWhat is black witnessing, and how does it connect to movements for racial equity and justice? Can capturing a moment shape a movement? On this episode of Justice Matters, host Sushma Raman speaks with Dr. Allissa Richardson about the power of communication on social and racial justice. Dr. Richardson is an Associate Professor of Journalism at USC Annenberg School. She researches how African Americans use social and mobile media to produce innovative forms of journalism, especially in times of...
Corporate Accountability for Human Rights
July 29, 2022 18:00 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MBWhat is the responsibility of businesses to uphold human rights? What is the role of civil society to hold businesses accountable? And how well is the human rights movement equipped to deal with the emerging challenges of the digital age? In this episode of Justice Matters, host Sushma Raman discusses these questions with Mike Posner, Professor at the Stern School of Business and director for the Center for Business and Human Rights at NYU. Posner served in the Obama Administration from 2009-...
Gender and Violence
June 30, 2022 04:00 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBThis month on Justice Matters, host Sushma Raman talks with Dara Kay Cohen, a Ford Foundation Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her research spans the field of international relations including: international security, civil war and the dynamics of violence, and gender and conflict. On this episode they discuss rape during contemporary civil wars, research methods for collecting qualitative data about sexual violence and the ethics of research, her findings a...
Police Reform in the Americas
May 31, 2022 20:24 - 25 minutes - 40.4 MBThis month on Justice Matters, host Sushma Raman talks with Dr. Yanilda María González, an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School who researches police violence and how it relates to democracy and citizenship, with a focus on Latin America. In this conversation they discuss how to facilitate having dialogue around police reform with people from different backgrounds, authoritarianism and policing, civil society’s role in holding politicians and police accountable, ...
Education and Gender Equality in South Africa and Beyond
April 29, 2022 15:50 - 29 minutes - 40.1 MBHow does a leader strive for social justice for their community and country? Join us this month on Justice Matters as host Sushma Raman talks with Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women from 2013-2021, and the first woman to hold the position of Deputy President of South Africa. From her background as a teacher in South Africa and as an active part of the anti-aparteid struggle, through to her positions in the first dem...
Accountability, Justice, and Human Rights in Afghanistan
March 21, 2022 14:20 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MBThis month on Justice Matters, host Sushma Raman talks with Dr. Sima Samar about the situation in Afghanistan, the status of women and girls in the country, and the role and responsibility of the international community. Dr. Samar is a member of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement and has held the positions of Special Envoy for the President of Afghanistan, State Minister for Human Rights and International Affairs, Chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Hu...
Black History Month: Progress, Promise, and the Future
February 22, 2022 17:09 - 24 minutes - 22.7 MBFor this month’s episode of Justice Matters, we’re digging into our archives to present a special episode for Black History Month. Featuring excerpts from three conversations with a range of speakers from academia and activism, our guests discuss the historical legacy of enslavement, the periods of progress followed by rollbacks, the promise and peril of the current moment, and how we build more inclusive and just societies for the future. Join our host Sushma Raman as she speaks with Wade He...
Race and the Making of Modern Urban America
January 27, 2022 12:00 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBHow does the country’s history affect the present — and how can we envision a more just future for everyone? Join us this month on Justice Matters as host Sushma Raman talks with Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad, a noted historian and professor at Harvard Kennedy School, as they discuss the legacy of slavery; the intersection of racism, economic inequality, and criminal justice; and the importance of creating anti-racist institutions. Dr. Muhammad directs the Institutional Anti-Racism and Account...
The Algorithmic is Political
December 16, 2021 22:10 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBHow do the values being built into AI affect our public and private lives now and into the future? What is the importance of a global human rights framework in driving discussions around the democratization of AI? Join us this month on Justice Matters as host Sushma Raman talks with Dr. Annette Zimmermann, political philosopher at the University of York, and Technology and Human RIghts fellow at the Carr Center. They discuss many of the ideas in Dr. Zimmermann’s forthcoming book, The Algorith...
Defending Human Rights in Uganda
November 29, 2021 15:00 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MBHuman rights defenders are increasingly the targets of repression by states and private organizations. Join us this month on the Justice Matters podcast as host Sushma Raman talks with Nicholas Opiyo, Ugandan human rights lawyer and fellow at the Carr Center, about campaigning for civil rights and political freedoms in Uganda, and the clampdown on freedom of speech and freedom of press, as well as the rights of LGBTQ+ communities in the country.
Disinformation and the Digital Public Sphere
October 29, 2021 12:00 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBHow are new information technologies used in both civic engagement and social control in countries around the world? What do human rights have to do with the global information environment? Join us this month on Justice Matters as host Sushma Raman talks with Phil Howard, Professor of Internet Studies at Oxford University and a Fellow at the Carr Center, about his research on how digital media impacts political life around the world.
Democracy and Authoritarianism
September 30, 2021 13:41 - 28 minutes - 26 MBHow do democracies die? What lessons can we learn from the past as we seek to build more democratic societies and participatory public spheres? Join us this month on Justice Matters as host Sushma Raman talks with Steve Levitsky, Professor of Government at Harvard University, Director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, and co-author with Daniel Ziblatt of the bestselling book “How Democracies Die”. They discuss the state of democracy in the world today, weak and infor...
Holding Global Leaders to Account
September 01, 2021 00:06 - 22 minutes - 20.6 MBHow can we ensure accountability when international criminal law is violated? How do we approach seeking justice for past atrocities? And in an era of widespread disinformation, what happens when people lack trust in the very purveyors of justice? Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji, former President of the ICC, joins host Sushma Raman to discuss accountability and justice in the global arena.
The Impact of Media on Racial Hate
July 30, 2021 23:43 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MBCan one movie make a difference in a nation's trajectory? Released in 1915, The Birth of a Nation was the first film to be screened in the White House. Mired in racists stereotypes, the film is credited with the resurgence of the KKK. In this month's episode of Justice Matters, Economist Desmond Ang joins host Sushma Raman to discuss the impact of media on racial hate.
Technologies of Humility
June 29, 2021 21:14 - 31 minutes - 28.4 MBHow do science and technology affect rights, equity, and justice? When are techno-solutions inadequate in addressing societal problems? In this month's episode of Justice Matters, host Sushma Raman talks with Professor Sheila Jasanoff, a pioneer in the social sciences exploring the role of science and technology in the law, politics, and policy of modern democracies. Join them as they discuss "technologies of humility," and how we might build more participatory methods of public policy proble...
Fighting the Hate
May 28, 2021 22:55 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MBPresident and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Margaret Huang, joins host Sushma Raman to discuss the Center's tremendous growth, along with its challenges in the road ahead.
Leadership, Support, and Activism in the Human Rights Arena
April 30, 2021 20:51 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBRegan Ralph, President and CEO for the Fund for Global Human Rights, joins host Sushma Raman to discuss the challenges, triumphs, and complexities of leading an international human rights organization.
The Quest for a More Just Society
March 26, 2021 19:20 - 30 minutes - 28 MBJoin host Sushma Raman and co-author William Schulz as they reflect on past, present, and future human rights frameworks, and discuss their latest book, "The Coming Good Society."
Building an America as Good as its Ideals
February 26, 2021 21:37 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBWade Henderson, interim president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund, joins host Sushma Raman to discuss the multigenerational and multiracial fight against systemic racism in the Unites States.
Our Fragile Information Ecosystem
January 29, 2021 21:13 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBJoan Donovan–Research Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy—joins host Sushma Raman to discuss disinformation amidst the current political, public health, and human rights landscapes.
Integrating Forgiveness into the Justice System
December 11, 2020 22:54 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBWhen should the law forgive? In this episode, Martha Minow, 300th Anniversary University Professor and former dean of Harvard Law School joins our host, Sushma Raman, to discuss the shortcomings of the current justice system in the U.S., and the importance of forgiveness as we think about reform.
On Justice
November 23, 2020 15:45 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBCarr Center Faculty Director, Mathias Risse, joins host Sushma Raman in a discussion on distributive justice, political philosophy, and human rights.
Philanthropy, Money, and Power
October 14, 2020 19:09 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBDr. Megan Ming Francis and host Sushma Raman discuss how—for better or worse— philanthropic organizations have historically influenced the human rights agenda on a national and global scale.
Situating Black Internationalism at Home and Abroad
August 31, 2020 15:18 - 22 minutes - 20.4 MBDr. Keisha N. Blain joins host Sushma Raman to discuss the historic context of Black internationalist movements both domestically and around the world.
Explaining the Dream
July 25, 2020 23:22 - 26 minutes - 24.7 MBAlan Jenkins, Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School, joins host Sushma Raman to discuss the importance of communication as it intersects with matters of race, the law, and social justice.
Imagining Radical Solutions
June 30, 2020 21:25 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBTeaming up with the Radical Imaginations podcast, we're thrilled to host Angela Glover Blackwell on this episode of Justice Matters. Join Angela and host Sushma Raman as they discuss perhaps not-so-radical solutions to systemic racial and economic inequity.
Kerry Kennedy, Human Rights, and Speaking Truth to Power
May 29, 2020 01:26 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBKerry Kennedy joins host Sushma Raman to discuss how her nonprofit organization is addressing some of the most pressing human rights concerns of our time. Between transforming agricultural labor laws to promoting freedom of the press, Kennedy discusses the amazing work of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.
Immigration Rights, Tech, and the Prison Industrial Complex
April 30, 2020 18:33 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBJonathan Ryan, CEO and President of RAICES (the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services), joins our host, Sushma Raman, to discuss the intersection of immigration rights, the weaponization of technology, and the private prison system.
Immigrants' Rights, Tech, and the Prison Industrial Complex
April 30, 2020 18:33 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBJonathan Ryan, CEO and President of RAICES (the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services), joins our host, Sushma Raman, to discuss the intersection of immigrants' rights, the weaponization of technology, and the private prison system.
Justice Matters with Victor Madrigal-Borloz
February 28, 2020 13:00 - 20 minutes - 18.7 MBVictor Madrigal-Borloz, UN Independent Expert on Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, discusses the ramifications of systemic discrimination against LGBTQ+ communities.
Systemic Discrimination and the LGBTQ+ Community
February 28, 2020 13:00 - 20 minutes - 18.7 MBVictor Madrigal-Borloz, UN Independent Expert on Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, discusses the ramifications of systemic discrimination against LGBTQ+ communities.
Talking Progress and Challenges with UN High Commissioner Bachelet
December 30, 2019 14:00 - 24 minutes - 22.9 MBIn celebrating the 71st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, discusses the progress and challenges of the movement, both in her home country of Chile and around the world.
Justice Matters with United Nations High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet
December 30, 2019 14:00 - 24 minutes - 22.9 MBIn celebrating the 71st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, discusses the progress and challenges of the movement, both in her home country of Chile and around the world.
Justice Matters with Shannon Watts
November 26, 2019 11:30 - 20 minutes - 19.2 MBShannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, discusses gun violence and policy with Executive Director of the Carr Center, Sushma Raman.