Are You Listening?
New Thinking for a New World - a Tallberg Foundation Podcast
06/02/22
•44m
About
Comments
Featured In
One of the ironies of the 21st century is that even though, everyone on the planet seems to have a cell phone and to be actively connected to social media, too many people seem voiceless or, at least, don’t think their voices are heard by those whose decisions shape their lives. The result is a huge gap between citizens and their putative leaders almost everywhere that breeds corrosive anger, frustration and distrust.
What’s going on? Who is voiceless, and why? Is the problem that too many are voiceless or that too many are not listening? Is the solution to speak louder, to scream perhaps, or do we need to think differently about how we engage people in the important conversations that define their reality?
Maybe unanswerable, but we asked some people to try. Please listen to the conversation among Baiqu Gonkar, a Tibetan activist working at the intersection of technology, art and social good; Francis Hildebrand, a Colombian environmentalist working to sustain the Amazon; and Mike Niconchuk, an applied neuroscientist working with conflict-affected populations particularly in the Middle East. Diane Osgood, social impact strategist, moderated the discussion, which was hosted by Vamvakou Revival and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. What do you think?
Previous Episode
Don’t Fool with Mother Nature!
May 26, 2022
•40m
We live in an era of accelerating, disruptive climate change. This isn’t about the random bad storm, but about systemic, dramatic shifts in climate that manifest as extreme weather of all sorts: wet bulb temperatures that threaten life, droughts destroying crops, floods of Biblical proportions, shrinking ice caps, etc. Change is everywhere, with catastrophic consequences that every credible forecast says will worsen.
But how can we understand the reality of those changes? What’s actually happening in the Arctic and in the boreal forests, in the Amazon and in Africa? How do changes in those disparate ecosystems relate to each other and to places where most of us live? What’s likely to happen next, and what can we do about it?
To look for answers we recently organized a conversation among Ugandan veterinarian Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Colombian Amazon expert and a friend of its indigenous people Francisco Hildebrand, and Finnish fisherman, scientist and village head man Tero Mustonen. All are deeply knowledgeable about the realities of their ecosystems, and even more deeply committed to finding solutions to the challenges thrown up by the changing climate. Our discussion was moderated by Maarten Koets, and hosted by Vamvakou Revival and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).
Next Episode
Worth Repeating - Them vs Us: What Ukraine Is Really About
June 9, 2022
•35m
As Russia's war on Ukraine grinds on with no end in sight, what's at stake may be changing. At first, President Putin's demands seemed aimed at creating a buffer between Russia and NATO, even if some of his wildest rhetoric envisioned the possibility of kicking the United States out of Europe. But as Blitzkrieg turned into a war of attrition, arguably the confrontation is becoming about something much bigger than European security arrangements. **It's becoming about how the world works, about democracy versus autocracy, about free versus not free. ** Western media caricatures Russia's international support network as thin and vulnerable. In fact, a surprising list of countries, big and small, are either actively or passively supporting Putin's war. China, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, Belarus are obvious, but a number of others are at least hedging their bets. Why?
Our guest on this week's New Thinking for a New World podcast has a theory; indeed, more than a theory, he has lived experience. Leopoldo López is a Venezuelan patriot, who has been imprisoned for his efforts to resurrect democracy in his country, and who, it's safe to say, is high on the list of people whom President Maduro wishes would just go away. Listen as Leopoldo explains how the fight to save Ukraine reflects a much bigger, existential fight for freedom everywhere.
If you like this episode you’ll love
Promoted