Undesign: A Social Change Podcast DrawHistory

With world leaders responding to climate emergencies, and unprecedented threats such as the pandemic and global conflict, we seem to be running headlong into a future where our learnings from the past are both too slow and too small. Have we been too attentive and attached to the wrong things, are we suffering from problems of our own unenlightened making? 

We speak with Four Arrows and Darcia Narvaez, who introduce us to the limitations of the dominant worldview which has propelled a world concerned with commerce and progress, often at the expense of principles closely linked to our ability to thrive and survive as human beings. They offer us an insight into how indigenous world views can be incorporated into our ability to adjust to the challenges we face as diverse people, trying to survive and ultimately thrive in a world which demands more reflection and adaptation than ever.

In a world of rapidly evolving expectations on citizens due to COVID, environmental pressures, and the very public role playing of morality and ethics on social media, people face a dizzying space in which to set and attune their own moral compass. 

Unpicking this challenge, Dr Tim Dean, Senior Philosopher at The Ethics Centre, discusses how morality and ethics came to exist for humans and what roles they play in our modern lives today. The contagious nature of outrage on social media is uncovered, providing solutions for understanding the addictively engaging nature of cancel culture and the limitations of social media in converting outrage into positive action.

Dr Tim Dean is a philosopher and an expert in the evolution of morality, specialising in ethics, critical thinking, the philosophy of science and education. He is also the author of How We Became Human and Why We Need to Change.

In 2022, as public institutions continue to grapple with implementing more inclusive structures to curb historical marginalization of people, experts such as Dr Benjamin Hanckel (Senior Research Fellow, Digital Health and Youth) and Dr Shiva Chandra (Research Officer) are exploring ways to make social media platforms safer for marginalized youth—both of whom are researchers from Western Sydney University's Institute for Culture and Society and the Young and Resilient Research Centre. 

In this wide ranging discussion, we examine the complexity of community, what risks are inherent in some social media interactions, and how platforms can foster diversity and feelings of safety for marginalized young people.

The expectations and variety of roles that social media influencers play have increased exponentially, mirrored by increasing scrutiny and policing of how their behaviour plays out amongst their communities and followers. The shifting expectations of followers on influencers has prompted a reappraisal of the status quo by those such as Lillian Ahenkan, also known as FlexMami. FlexMami is a DJ, TV presenter on MTV, model, and multidisciplinary millennial making waves in the Australian entertainment industry.

We speak with her about how she grew into becoming a social media influencer, as well as about her drive to shift the goalposts through the creation of follower funded curated communities. We unpick how the popularity and abundance of social media content has led to this situation and how some influencers are evolving by leaving existing social media platforms in pursuit of more flexible and transparent approaches.

The world of gaming has long been highlighted as a hotbed of cultivation of extremist actors and activities, but more recently it's also started to be recognised as a platform where early intervention of extremism and encouragement of democracy and tolerance can be fostered. 

Alongside Galen Lamphere-Englund, Senior Advisor, Preventing Violent Extremism and Conflict at Love Frankie, we examine the complexities of gaming, uncovering the distinction between figures of influence, the role of violence, and how powerful gaming narratives can be harnessed as a force for positive change.

Our host, Kosta Lucas speaks with Dr Katie Attwell, Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at The University of Western Australia (UWA). Dr Attwell leads the large interdisciplinary research project “Coronavax: Preparing Community and Government” with colleagues from UWA and Telethon Kids Institute.

‘Vax’ was the Oxford word of the year in 2021, with ‘Strollout’ being the word of the year in Australia according to the Macquarie Dictionary. The beginning of 2022 then became all about mandates, vaccine mandates being the main flashpoint of public contention. But do any of us actually really know what the term “mandate’ really means? We’ve seen the terms “mask mandate”, “vaccine mandate” and even policy mandate, applied to different COVID responses and settings. But what is a mandate really designed to do, how has it been implemented and is it actually effective as a lever of social policy implementation?