In the final episode of this podcast series, we cope with the topic of cancel culture. But what exactly is cancel culture? For some, it may signify holding others accountable for their action, while to others it may imply censorship of speech. To help us unpack this all we are joined by Loretta J. Ross, an activist, public intellectual, and professor at Smith Colledge in Massachusetts, who has an interesting take on this topic. In her work, Loretta came up with the concept of ‘calling in’ culture, which she believes is an antidote to people being called out, or canceled. She doesn’t believe in the public shaming that has become so widespread in Western society. Instead of promoting a culture defined by anger, blaming, and lack of mutual understanding, she strives to turn these moments into teachable opportunities.  Even for people who you don't agree with.

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In our seventh episode we are joined by Thaeer Muhreez, a Syrian filmmaker, and one of the countless individuals whose life took an unexpected turn in the wake of the Syrian civil war. His story is one of resilience and survival. Thaeer was on the brink of a major career breakthrough, securing funding for a new film project when the civil war erupted. He found himself in the eye of a storm, which forced him to abandon his dreams and confront the harsh reality of conflict. With rebel groups marking him for death, Thaeer realised that he was not just leaving Damascus; he was leaving Syria. He embarked on a challenging journey to reach the Netherlands, where he had friends. In his quest for safety, he sold his belongings, left his family with his mother, and set out with a group of Syrians. The path was fraught with danger, including treacherous boat rides, smugglers, and life-threatening moments. Thaeer's determination to reach safety fuelled his journey, despite exhaustion, sickness, and the constant fear of death.

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In our sixth episode, we are coping with climate change. As we all know, the data display a grim picture of the extent of the emergency. Grassroots, small-scale and local solutions like the one created by Peter van Wingerden, might prove to be the solution. Peter is Dutch and he got concerned about the sea level rise that will impact his country. That’s why he came up with the idea of the Floating farm, the first farm in the world built on the water, in the harbour of Rotterdam. The farm offers space for 40 cows and is a great example of a sustainable and circular economy. 

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In our fifth episode, we’re coping with fascist dictatorships. Fascism can be described as a political philosophy or regime that exalts nation, and often race, above the individual, and that stands for a centralised autocratic government with one dictatorial leader. And almost one year into Putin’s war on Ukraine, his regime comes dangerously close to being a fascist one. With worrying developments across the world, there are a number of other countries, such as Hungary, the Philippines, and more recently, Italy, that seem to come close to a fascist dictatorship as well.

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In the fourth episode, we are coping with falling back to the ‘50s. Authoritarianism seems to be on the rise everywhere, and human rights are definitely under pressure. In this episode, we are joined by Dorottya Redai, a Hungarian academic at the Central European University Democracy Institute and LGTBQ+ activist part of the Labrisz Lesbian Association.

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In our third episode, we deal with the death of press freedom. Press freedom can be defined as the right of newspapers and magazines to report the news without government control. The World Press Freedom Index ranks each country according to how free it is. The 2022 report shows a decreasing trend worldwide, due to increased polarisation and disinformation narratives. To help us cope, we are joined by Monica Baro Sanchez, an independent investigative Cuban journalist. In 2019 the State Security Department of the Cuban government began a harassment campaign and jail threats that forced her to leave the country and move to Spain.

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In our second episode, we are coping with right-wing extremism. According to the 2019 Global Terrorism Index, far-right terrorism has surged by 320% over the last 5 years. Far-right movements often originate and grow in the online world, most likely on fringe platforms where restrictions are much more blurred than on mainstream platforms. To help us cope, we met with Fabian Wichmann, from EXIT Deutschland in Berlin. EXIT provides support to people who want to leave extreme far-right movements.

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In the first episode of this new podcast series we are coping with online trolling. Online trolling can be defined as malicious online behaviour actively put in action to provoke, upset, and harm people through hate speech, violent messages, and death threats. We were joined by Ginger Gorman, an Australian investigative journalist, and author of ‘Troll Hunting’. Ginger Gorman has experienced online hate first-hand as a victim of online trolling.

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