Your Local Anthropologist with Elina

YLA
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  • Philosophy
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The workplace. The classroom. The body. These are sites of power - but we're rarely taught to see them that way. Your Local Anthropologist is an essay podcast that uses anthropology to examine the invisible structures shaping how we live, learn, and resist. Combining personal testimony, cultural analysis, and critical theory made genuinely accessible, it's for listeners who want more than takes - who want tools.

  1. May 25

    Practice of Freedom - bodied intelligence

    What does a body know that a textbook can't hold? This episode is about the knowledge that lives in female bodies: in hormones, pain, pregnancy, in the monthly encounter with your own limits - and why that knowledge keeps getting left out of what we call intelligence. We move from the doctor's office to the server farm, and ask what it means that the people who built our most powerful AI systems were overwhelmingly shaped by a script that taught them the interior is not a source of authority. Part of the Practice of Freedom series on learning, education, and what genuine transformation actually requires. Takeaways The body's role in knowledge production is significantExtractive knowledge systems have limitations Chapters 00:00 — The filing system we inherited06:26 — What the contracted body knows10:56 — The knowledge capitalism cannot extract18:40 — Library of the told27:15 — The blind man's cane33:50 — Imagining a different social order

    40 min

  2. Apr 30

    Practice of Freedom - bodies, bodies, bodies

    The conversation delves into the impact of the masculine script on individuals and society, exploring the silence around male pain and the consequences of the armored body. It also examines the role of colonial violence in shaping masculine identity and the influence of the Manosphere on perpetuating silence and performance of masculinity. All references and books can be found on the corresponding post for this episode at YourLocalAnthropologist.com Takeaways Masculine script and its impactThe silence around male pain Chapters 00:00 The Masculine Script05:54 The Manosphere and Silence

    39 min
  3. Practice of Freedom - what's the default?

    Apr 21

    Practice of Freedom - what's the default?

    The conversation delves into the power dynamics of language and the impact of institutional structures on learning. It explores the inscriptions of power and belonging within educational and social spaces, and asks what intelligence means if it takes place outside a body. Takeaways Language as a tool of powerThe impact of institutional structures on learning Chapters 00:00 The Power of Language05:28 The Unspoken Rules of the Room

    40 min
  4. Practice of Freedom - transforming minds and bodies

    Mar 21

    Practice of Freedom - transforming minds and bodies

    The conversation explores the relationship between movement, learning, and education, highlighting the significance of the body in genuine learning. It delves into the impact of traditional pedagogy on movement, the role of the body in learning, and the systemic outcomes of formal education. Takeaways Body's role in genuine learningImpact of traditional pedagogy on movement Chapters 00:00 The Body in Genuine Learning06:37 Transformation in Learning

    34 min
  5. Utopia of Play: after the dream

    12/17/2025

    Utopia of Play: after the dream

    In this season finale, we summarise all the ideas and themes explored throughout the season and land on the question: what is the power we are fighting for?

    38 min
  6. Utopia of Play: a history of the commons - the new enclosures (part 2)

    12/10/2025

    Utopia of Play: a history of the commons - the new enclosures (part 2)

    In this episode of "Utopia of Play," Elina continues the history of the commons into present day and examines the new enclosures in the digital age. From the commons to cloud servers, explore how capitalism's relentless drive to privatise continues to shape our work and lives under the watchful eyes of platform algorithms. Keywords:techno-feudalism, digital panopticon, capitalism, enclosures, digital economy, algorithmic surveillance, privatization, dependency, digital estates, historical dynamics

    36 min
  7. Utopia of Play: a history of the commons - the theft of the world (part 1)

    12/03/2025

    Utopia of Play: a history of the commons - the theft of the world (part 1)

    This episode delves into the intricate history of the commons and its enclosure, a pivotal transformation that reshaped social relations and laid the groundwork for modern industrial capitalism. This first part of a two-part series traces the global impact of these changes through British colonialism, highlighting the enduring legacy of enclosure in today's economy.

    44 min
  8. BONUS Utopia of Play - we got union busting before GTA6 (Part 2)

    11/26/2025 ·  Bonus

    BONUS Utopia of Play - we got union busting before GTA6 (Part 2)

    Elina explores the dynamics of the gift economy in the workplace, the challenges of union busting, and the nature of authority and solidarity within corporate structures. The stark contrast between reciprocal relationships and extractive practices, emphasises the importance of collective action and the need for workers to reclaim their power against oppressive systems. Keywords gift economy, union busting, workplace dynamics, power relations, solidarity, corporate culture, collective action, social bonds, reciprocity, labor rights

    23 min
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About

The workplace. The classroom. The body. These are sites of power - but we're rarely taught to see them that way. Your Local Anthropologist is an essay podcast that uses anthropology to examine the invisible structures shaping how we live, learn, and resist. Combining personal testimony, cultural analysis, and critical theory made genuinely accessible, it's for listeners who want more than takes - who want tools.

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