Lea Ypi grew up through the collapse of communist Albania. Now, as liberal democracy begins to fray, she examines what freedom means.  | Subscribe to Futurology! https://linkin.bio/futurology/

Is the collapse of liberal democracy already here? Political philosopher Lea Ypi grew up in communist Albania and watched an entire political system disintegrate overnight. Now she sees a familiar undermining of the institutions the West takes for granted, fueled by Big Tech’s ubiquitous surveillance practices.

In this episode, Ypi draws on her extraordinary life story and rigorous political philosophy to interrogate what freedom means in a political landscape where old assumptions have vanished and personal autonomy is under closer watch than ever before.

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Free — Lea Ypi (Memoir)

Indignity — Lea Ypi (Book)

“The Anthropologist as Inquisitor” — Carlo Ginzburg (Essay)

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism — Shoshana Zuboff (Book, 2019)

Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More — Alexei Yurchak (Book, 2005)

The Gift — Marcel Mauss (Essay/Book, 1925)

Where to find Lea Ypi:

Website: https://leaypi.com/

Instagram: @lea.ypi

Bluesky: @leaypi.bsky.social

X: @lea_ypi

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Credits 

Executive Producers: Nicolas Berggruen, Nathan Gardels, Nils Gilman, Dawn Nakagawa, & Jason Hoch

Producers: Grant Slater, Alex Gardels, & Nathalia Ramos

Associate Producer: Elissa Mardiney

Theme Music: Marcus Bagala

Audio Engineer: Aaron Bastinelli & Kyle Scott Wilson

Futurology is a production of Studio B and Wavland for the Berggruen Institute in Los Angeles, California.