Who Defends the Defenders? UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders MICHEL FORST

Who Defends the Defenders? UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders MICHEL FORST

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UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders MICHEL FORST on Protecting Environmental Activists

My mandate focuses on the protection of those trying to protect the planet. Protection of defenders is my main topic. When I'm speaking to states or companies, it's always related to cases of defenders facing threats, attacks, or penalization by companies or governments, like the recent case of Paul Watson (founder of Sea Shepherd) in Denmark… When I travel to places like Peru, Colombia, or Honduras and meet Indigenous people, I realize they have a relationship with nature that we don't have anymore. They express that the food they eat, the water they drink, and the air they breathe goes beyond just air and food; it represents what they call Pachamama or Mother Earth. This is a cosmovision shared across various communities, not only in Latin America but globally.

Why is it a Crime to Protest the Destruction of Our Planet? with MICHEL FORST

Why is it a Crime to Protest the Destruction of Our Planet? with MICHEL FORST

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UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders MICHEL FORST on Protecting Environmental Activists

My mandate focuses on the protection of those trying to protect the planet. Protection of defenders is my main topic. When I'm speaking to states or companies, it's always related to cases of defenders facing threats, attacks, or penalization by companies or governments, like the recent case of Paul Watson (founder of Sea Shepherd) in Denmark… When I travel to places like Peru, Colombia, or Honduras and meet Indigenous people, I realize they have a relationship with nature that we don't have anymore. They express that the food they eat, the water they drink, and the air they breathe goes beyond just air and food; it represents what they call Pachamama or Mother Earth. This is a cosmovision shared across various communities, not only in Latin America but globally.

How to change our extractive mindset to a regenerative mindset? PAUL SHRIVASTAVA - Highlights

How to change our extractive mindset to a regenerative mindset? PAUL SHRIVASTAVA - Highlights

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& The Limits to Growth with Co-President PAUL SHRIVASTAVA

Less than two weeks into the new year and the world’s wealthiest 1% have already used their fair share of the global carbon budget allocated for 2025. Climate change is here. It's already causing devastation to the most vulnerable populations. We are living with an extractive mindset, where we are extracting one way out of the life system of the Earth. We need to change from that extractive mindset to a regenerative mindset. And we need to change from the North Star of economic growth to a vision of eco civilizations. Those are the two main principles that I want to propose and that the Club of Rome suggests that we try to transform our current organization towards regenerative living and eco civilization.

The Club of Rome & The Limits to Growth w/ Co-President PAUL SHRIVASTAVA

The Club of Rome & The Limits to Growth w/ Co-President PAUL SHRIVASTAVA

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& The Limits to Growth with Co-President PAUL SHRIVASTAVA

Less than two weeks into the new year and the world’s wealthiest 1% have already used their fair share of the global carbon budget allocated for 2025. Climate change is here. It's already causing devastation to the most vulnerable populations. We are living with an extractive mindset, where we are extracting one way out of the life system of the Earth. We need to change from that extractive mindset to a regenerative mindset. And we need to change from the North Star of economic growth to a vision of eco civilizations. Those are the two main principles that I want to propose and that the Club of Rome suggests that we try to transform our current organization towards regenerative living and eco civilization.

Building Worlds Beyond Modernity’s Double Fracture: A Discussion with Azucena Castro & Malcom Ferdinand

Building Worlds Beyond Modernity’s Double Fracture: A Discussion with Azucena Castro & Malcom Ferdinand

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A Discussion with Azucena Castro & Malcom Ferdinand

Ferdinand discusses the “double fracture”—the environmental division of humans from their connection to the biosphere, and the colonial division instantiated by white supremacism and patriarchy. He insists that we not see these two phenomena as separate, rather as intimately connected. This double fracture makes any attempts to solve either environmental violence or colonial violence ineffective. In her foreword to Ferdinand’s Decolonial Ecologies, Angela Y. Davis writes that as she read the book, she “recognized how perfectly his conceptualizations illuminate the frameworks we need for both philosophical and popular understandings of our planetary conditions today.” The conversation covers how art, film, and poetry can manifest some of those frameworks, and Azucena takes us into a deep discussion of this and reads two poems in Spanish and then in English translation and has Malcom gloss them for us.

Can We Redefine Our Relationship with Nature? Scientists, Writers & Activists Share Solutions

Can We Redefine Our Relationship with Nature? Scientists, Writers & Activists Share Solutions

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Scientists, Writers & Activists Share Solutions

What can we learn from whales, the ways they communicate, and how their life cycle affects whole ecosystems, absorbing carbon and helping cool the planet? How have we contributed to the ecological degradation of the environment? How does language influence perception and our relationship to the more than human world?

Voices for the Planet: Scientists, Activists, Farmers & Filmmakers Speak Out

Voices for the Planet: Scientists, Activists, Farmers & Filmmakers Speak Out

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Scientists, Activists, Farmers & Filmmakers Speak Out

PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk, Cave Diver Jill Heinerth, IPCC Lead Author Joëlle Gergis, Director of the European Commission’s DG for Energy Paula Pinho, Co-Founder of The Best Bees Company Noah Wilson-Rich, Ecologist Carl Safina, Founder of The Ocean Agency Richard Vevers, Founding Father of the Circular Economy Walter Stahel, Founder of Advocacy Group F Minus, CEO of Legacy Agripartners Colin Steen, President of Source Global Neil Grimmer

Examining Technology’s Impact on the Environment, Art & Society - Philosophers, Scientists & Artists discuss the Future

Examining Technology’s Impact on the Environment, Art & Society - Philosophers, Scientists & Artists discuss the Future

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Artists, Philosophers, Economists & Scientists discuss the Future

How can we shape technology’s impact on society? How do social media algorithms influence our democratic processes and personal well-being? Can AI truly emulate human creativity? And how will its pursuit of perfection change the art we create?

Climate Change, Creativity & The Power of Storytelling to Shape Our World w/ Neil Gaiman, Ada Limón, Jericho Brown, E.J. Koh, Marge Piercy & Max Stossel

Climate Change, Creativity & The Power of Storytelling to Shape Our World w/ Neil Gaiman, Ada Limón, Jericho Brown, E.J. Koh, Marge Piercy & Max Stossel

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This episode explores the enduring power of storytelling to shape our world and illuminate the human experience. Writers Neil Gaiman, Ada Limón, Jericho Brown, E.J. Koh, Marge Piercy, and Max Stossel discuss creativity, resilience, and the power of words to heal and bring people together.

JULIAN LENNON on Art, Empathy, Creativity & Mother Earth - Highlights

JULIAN LENNON on Art, Empathy, Creativity & Mother Earth - Highlights

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Singer-songwriter · Documentary Filmmaker · Founder of The White Feather Foundation
Photographer/Author of Life’s Fragile Moments
I think a lot of joy comes from helping others. One of the things that I've been really focusing on is finding that balance in life, what’s real and what’s true and what makes you happy. How can you help other people feel the same and have a happier life? I think whatever that takes. So if that's charity, if that's photography, if that's documentary, if that's music, and I can do it, then I'm going to do it.

Life’s Fragile Moments with JULIAN LENNON - Photographer, Environmentalist, Musician, Filmmaker

Life’s Fragile Moments with JULIAN LENNON - Photographer, Environmentalist, Musician, Filmmaker

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Singer-songwriter · Documentary Filmmaker · Founder of The White Feather Foundation
Photographer/Author of Life’s Fragile Moments
I think a lot of joy comes from helping others. One of the things that I've been really focusing on is finding that balance in life, what’s real and what’s true and what makes you happy. How can you help other people feel the same and have a happier life? I think whatever that takes. So if that's charity, if that's photography, if that's documentary, if that's music, and I can do it, then I'm going to do it.

Voices for Change: Activists, Scientists, Writers & Educators on Regenerating Earth’s Ecosystems

Voices for Change: Activists, Scientists, Writers & Educators on Regenerating Earth’s Ecosystems

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How and when will we transition to a clean energy future? How have wetlands become both crucial carbon sinks and colossal methane emitters in a warming world? What lessons can we learn from non-human animals about living in greater harmony with nature?

Harnessing Creativity to Heal & Unwind the Body & Mind w/ DR. JULIA CHRISTENSEN - Highlights

Harnessing Creativity to Heal & Unwind the Body & Mind w/ DR. JULIA CHRISTENSEN - Highlights

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Neuroscientist · Fmr. Dancer
Author of The Pathway to Flow: The New Science of Harnessing Creativity to Heal and Unwind the Body & Mind

The state of being in flow and seeking out that state, sort of disappearing from the here and now... it must have been something that has been part of human cultures for many millennia. We know that, for example, dancing can bring you into these states. And we know from many anthropological works that people dance themselves into trance, a type of flow. So, there is that flow in this scientific sense of a state of well-being. And we will speak about what that does to our brain and our broader wellbeing, but also the flow in what cues enter into our senses. So that would be a scientific field that looks at brain synchrony, physiology synchrony, these waves that we see that sort of connect with us.

The Pathway to Flow with Neuroscientist, Fmr. Dancer DR. JULIA CHRISTENSEN

The Pathway to Flow with Neuroscientist, Fmr. Dancer DR. JULIA CHRISTENSEN

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Neuroscientist · Fmr. Dancer
Author of The Pathway to Flow: The New Science of Harnessing Creativity to Heal and Unwind the Body & Mind

The state of being in flow and seeking out that state, sort of disappearing from the here and now... it must have been something that has been part of human cultures for many millennia. We know that, for example, dancing can bring you into these states. And we know from many anthropological works that people dance themselves into trance, a type of flow. So, there is that flow in this scientific sense of a state of well-being. And we will speak about what that does to our brain and our broader wellbeing, but also the flow in what cues enter into our senses. So that would be a scientific field that looks at brain synchrony, physiology synchrony, these waves that we see that sort of connect with us.

Environmental Warfare in Gaza: A Conversation with Shourideh Molavi

Environmental Warfare in Gaza: A Conversation with Shourideh Molavi

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A Conversation with Shourideh Molavi

In this episode on Speaking Out of Place podcast Professor David Palumbo-Liu talks with Shourideh Molavi, who discusses the ways in which Israel has waged a protracted war on both the people and environment of Gaza. Linking this war to its colonial precedents, Molavi explains that, as a researcher for the Forensic Architecture project, she combines technologies like satellite imaging with on-the-ground stories from Palestinian farmers to produce a powerful form of witnessing and testimony to Israel’s war.  She connects the trauma felt by the environment and the trauma felt by the people. She also tells of the new and powerful forms of resistance and resilience that take place at the nexus of nature, landscape, and the Palestinian people.

What Does It Mean to Live a Good Life? Artists, Writers, Visionaries & Educators Share their Stories

What Does It Mean to Live a Good Life? Artists, Writers, Visionaries & Educators Share their Stories

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Artists, Writers, Visionaries & Educators Share their Stories

How can the arts help us learn to speak the language of the Earth and cultivate our intuitive intelligence? What is the power of mentorship for forging character and creative vision? How can we hold onto our cultural heritage and traditions, while preparing students for the needs of the 21st century?

The New Indonesian Regime & Revitalizing the Decolonial Critique

The New Indonesian Regime & Revitalizing the Decolonial Critique

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A Conversation with Intan Paramaditha and Michael Vann

Today, Sunday morning, October 20, former general Prabowo Subianto is being sworn in as Indonesia’s new president. In this episode on Speaking Out of Place podcast Professor David Palumbo-Liu and Azeezah Kanji talk with Intan Paramaditha and Michael Vann about the road leading up to this inauguration, beginning in the 1960s with the Suharto regime.  Prabowo is a strong-arm authoritarian figure with a bloody record of human rights violations, yet he has remade his image as a cuddly, elder populist figure.  We spend some time talking about how his regime is likely to continue, if not accelerate, aggressive and brutal economic development policies that have wrecked the environment and displaced Indigenous peoples.  We talk a lot about how both the Indonesian media and some of its art world has been enlisted to promote this regime, and how decolonial feminists and others have taken on the task to both resist and present, and embody, other ways of being through listening to and engaging with voices from outside Jakarta and the liberal elites.

Navigating Our Environmental Future From Climate Crisis to Urban Revolution

Navigating Our Environmental Future From Climate Crisis to Urban Revolution

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Have we entered what Earth scientists call a “termination event,” and what can we do to avoid the worst outcomes? How can we look beyond GDP and develop new metrics that balance growth with human flourishing and environmental well-being? How can the 15-minute city model revolutionize urban living, enhance health, and reduce our carbon footprint?

Climate Change, Social Justice & the Rights of Nature w/ Philosopher ARASH ABIZADEH

Climate Change, Social Justice & the Rights of Nature w/ Philosopher ARASH ABIZADEH

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Professor of Political Science · McGill University
Author of Hobbes and the Two Faces of Ethics · Assoc. Editor · Free & Equal

There is a tremendous tension between healthy democracy and deep economic inequalities. I don't think that, in the long run, democracies can survive in a healthy way unless we address the problem of economic inequalities. If we have individuals who are living day to day, on the one hand, and we have other individuals who are billionaires in our societies, on the other hand, it will be very difficult for us to have a genuine democracy.

COSTS OF WAR: One Year Later—The True Cost of Israel’s War on Gaza & the West Bank

COSTS OF WAR: One Year Later—The True Cost of Israel’s War on Gaza & the West Bank

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One Year Later—The True Cost of Israel’s War on Gaza & the West Bank
A Conversation with Prof. Sophia Stamatopoulou-Robbins & Dr. Jess Ghannam

In this episode on Speaking Out of Place podcast Professor David Palumbo-Liu talks with Sophia Stamatopoulou-Robbins and Jess Ghannam, who comment on a devastating new report authored by Stamatopoulou-Robbins. This report, “Costs of War,” reviews data gathered in Palestine since October 7, 2023. In that year alone, the report finds that the US has spent at least $22.76 billion on military aid to Israel and related US operations in the region. The number of direct deaths, but also so-called “indirect deaths” (and such a term forces us to project such deaths well into the future due to Israel’s massive destruction of the infrastructure and environment necessary to sustain even the barest forms of life), leads this report to claim that “the scale and rapidity of Gaza’s destruction … is unprecedented, not only in Palestinian history, but in recent global history.”  Today we review but a small portion of the information that supports this terrible claim.