Coping with Dystopia Dare to be Grey

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 you don't agree with.

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.

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. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) forecasts that sea levels could be 1 to 2 meters higher by the end of the century. According to the same panel, we need to cut global emissions by 2030. However, governments seem to take little action in response to the current global crisis. A study says that 1% of companies is responsible for 71% of greenhouse emissions since 1988.

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.

In this episode we’re joined by American-British financier Bill Browder, author of the Magnitsky act. Browder lobbied for the legislation after his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was tortured for almost a year in a Russian prison, resulting in his death. This act has named and shamed many corrupt Russian officials, and made them persona non grata all over the world, effectively banning them from entering the 35 countries that have signed the act. As a result however, Russian forces launched a disinformation and defamation campaign against Browder trying to convince the world he was a criminal, so he has had to watch his back every day since.

In the fourth episode, we are coping with falling back to the ‘50s. The Freedom House has measured a steady decline in democracy and human rights since 2006. The USA is one of the countries that suffered the most significant decline between 2010 and 2020. Authoritarianism seems to be on the rise everywhere, and human rights are definitely under pressure. This does not concern abortion rights only, with the overturn of Roe v. Wade in the USA, but also LGTBQ+ rights.  

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. In 2021 Dorottya was listed among the world’s 100 most influential people for her publication of ‘Fairyland is for Everyone’, an LGTBQ+ friendly book for children. The publication set a backlash in Hungary, ruled by anti-gay, anti-freedom of speech, and authoritarian rule of Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party.

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.