The pod team took a trip to the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Brussels, and what we found there was both fascinating and disappointing - from an impressive collection of taxidermied specimens to discovering the darker, whitewashed undertones of Belgium's history. Hilary, Elliot, Gabriel & Leon go over their trip, and at the end of the episode offer some recommendations for African restaurants for if you ever find yourself in Brussels. 

Discussion: Hilary Atayi, Elliot Knight, Gabriel Carrasquillo, Leon Downs

Production/Editing: Leon Downs

Intro & Outro: Umoja by Alexander Nakarada | https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com

Gabriel and Leon weigh in on the recent Iowa and New Hampshire elections, and give some thoughts on the upcoming Nevada caucus. 

 

Discussion: Gabriel Carrasquillo, Leon Downs

Music Credits: Intro: Pinky by Blue Dot Sessions

Outro: Synthetic by | e s c p | https://escp-music.bandcamp.com

What are the consequences of participating in an online mob? What happens when clickbait encourages a killer? Hilary, Leon and Gabriel review a documentary about a viral murderer, the series titled 'Don't F* With Cats,' available on Netflix. 

Discussion: Hilary Atayi, Gabriel Carrasquillo, Leon Downs

Music Credits: Intro: Pinky by Blue Dot Sessions

Outro: Synthetic by | e s c p | https://escp-music.bandcamp.com

Can protests be effective if they aren’t disruptive? What are legitimate forms of protest? Who, or what is endangered during a protest? 

 

In this episode we discuss the politics of non-violent and violent resistance - how they are received, what makes them work, and the identities involved. The second half of the episode guest features our wonderfully refreshing lecturer Dr. Bojan Savić, who specializes in postcolonial and critical security studies. Him and Elliot go over power and political resistance from his upcoming book, Afghanistan Under Siege: The Afghan Body and the Postcolonial Border, which is set to publish early in the new year. 

 

 

Special Guest: Dr. Bojan Savić

 

Hosts: Hilary Atayi & Elliot Knight

Roundtable: Mia Veal & Grigoris Neofytou

Executive Producer: Justin Cruz

Chief Editor/Post-Production: Leondra (Leon) Downs

 

 

Music Credits: 

 

Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com 

 

Intro: bedtime after a coffee by Barradeen | https://soundcloud.com/barradeen

 

Outro: Synthetic by | e s c p | https://escp-music.bandcamp.com

When did our consumption habits become so destructive? Can there be ethical consumption under globalized capitalism? In this episode we discuss the limits of sustainability and corporate hijacking of eco-friendly trends. Hosts: Elliot Knight, Hilary AtayiRoundtable Discussion: Mia Veal, Grigoris Neofytou, Kiana Baker-SohnMusic Credits: Intro: Pinky by Blue Dot Sessions

Outro: Synthetic by | e s c p | https://escp-music.bandcamp.comMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

While the European Parliament elections have come and gone, eternal questions regarding voter participation linger on. Why don't people vote? How do we incentivize people to vote? What does the lack of voter participation say about the democratic system? In this Roundtable episode, Justin Cruz, Lèon Downs, Marissa Diaz, Zoheb Mashiur, Niki Papadogiannakis, and Hattie Schofield discuss all of these questions and more in a recording completed just before the beginning of the EP election.

Recently, the Royal Museum for Central Africa reopened its doors after tens of millions of euros were spent on renovations. With the goal of "modernizing" the museum for today's audience, certain statues and exhibitions were re-worked or removed entirely in order to convey the brutality of the Belgian occupation of Congo But what does the renovation mean for Belgium and its attitude/relationship to colonialism?

For insight, we spoke to Frank De Coninck, former Belgian Ambassador and former Marshal of the Royal Household of the Royal Court of Belgium. We also spoke with Ange Nsanzineza, a member of the VUB African Society.

Moderator: Marta Kotwas - Doctoral Student at UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies

Panelists: Dr. Hans-Georg Betz - Author and leading expert on populism and the radical right in affluent liberal democracies

Renate Schroeder - Director of the European Federation of Journalists

Michael Kay - Filmmaker and journalist

**Part of the special edition of the podcast featuring some of the events at this year's BSIS International Conference: “Nationalism & Populism: The Future of Europe?”

This conference focused on the possible challenges and scenarios Europe may be faced with regarding issues of Migration, Security and Defense and (social) media.***

In the age of social media in political movements, discussions revolving around nationalism and populism have become increasingly important. Current events demonstrate some of the disruptive effects of nationalism and populism, both of which have been portrayed negatively in the media. Scholars have begun to address this emerging topic by asking questions like: What role does the media play in creating populist movements today? How have political movements transformed in the age of social media? This panel will consider these questions and promote further discussion on the importance of the media as an actor in nationalist and populist movements.

Moderator: Dr. Daniel Fiott - Defence Analyst at the EU Institute for Security Studies

Panelists: Dr. Jamie Shea - Former Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges at NATO

Dr. Jordan Becker - Institute for European Studies at the VUB's Senior Transatlantic Fellow

Dr. Andras Szalai - PhD Researcher at the Central European University's Center for European Neighborhood Studies 

Col. Darryl A. Rupp - Assigned to NATO Headquarters in the Joint Intelligence and Security Division.

**Part of the special edition of the podcast featuring some of the events at this year's BSIS International Conference: “Nationalism & Populism: The Future of Europe?”

This conference focused on the possible challenges and scenarios Europe may be faced with regarding issues of Migration, Security and Defense and (social) media.***

In today‘s world, issues of security both at national and international level are of major concern to civil societies and governments. Military missions and defense cooperation between the EU and NATO are growing, giving floor to new debates and questions. Are populism and nationalism undermining international security issues? How can armed forces be protected of potential radical populist influences or are these only of minor concern? This panel will touch upon several of these pressing questions, considering the changes political sentiments bear and may allow for a discussion of populist governments and their (possible) threat to military cooperation.

Moderator: Marianna Karakoulaki - Journalist, Campaign Manager at ANTIGONE

Panelists: Thomas Huddleston - Research Director at Migration Policy Group

Kumut Imesh - Filmmaker, Co-Director of “Revenir”

Pia Klemp - Captain of IUVENTA Ship

Gulwali Passarlay - Activist and Author of "The Endless Sky"

**Part of the special edition of the podcast featuring some of the events at this year's BSIS International Conference: “Nationalism & Populism: The Future of Europe?”

This conference focused on the possible challenges and scenarios Europe may be faced with regarding issues of Migration, Security and Defense and (social) media.***

While issues of nationalism-security nexus of migration management are at the forefront of politics and policy, how does the rise of these kinds of sentiments affect migrants living in Europe? The securitization of migration and its link to increasing xenophobia has tangible results in policy related to citizenship, asylum and inclusion; how are these reproduced in the lives of forced migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees? The panel touched on issues related to the securitization of migration in Europe. The panelists discussed the role of the media, the effects of populism, Europe's borders, as well as the EU's migration policies. Policy experts, practitioners and activists gave a first hand account and they will discuss the way they navigate around these themes.