Political Bark

In this week's episode of Political Bark we discuss the personality trait grit and body pressure.  We look at what grit is, where it might come from and how it affects our ability to succeed. Moreover, what negative traits might come with grit when it is applied to the world of sports and body-pressure. We raise the question of whether we are training to be gritty or skinny? To help us answer these questions, we speak with Cecilia Brækhus, world renown boxer and only female boxer to hold all five world championship titles simultaneously. Photo: Terje Bendiksby

Gangs are unique, and so are their raison d'être. If we want to help young people out of gangs, we need to also come up with tailored and suitable ways to do so.

In this episode of Political Bark we discuss criminal gangs. We explore the reasons people, and especially youth decided to join gangs, what they gain from such a membership, and what can lead them to commit both petty but also atrocious acts of violence. Senior Lecturer at King´s College London, Dr. Kieran Mitton, who specializes in field research on violence and marginalized youth, with extensive field research from Sierra Leon, Brazil and South Africa is our guest today. He reflects on the psychology of gangs, the different reasons individuals choose gang membership, and highlights which public policies are effective and which are counterproductive in addressing gang related issues.

As mentioned at the end of this episode, everyone needs to check out this great initiative and important NGO: WAYout that helps young gang members in Sierra Leona leave gangs and gang milieus, aiding them in transferring their skills to other things - such as music, film and writing. 

"WAYout changes the lives of street, vulnerable and conflict affected young people through the arts. We offer training and shelter, make films that can effect change and record music that enables the excluded to re-engage. We promote artistic freedom, education and empowerment".

In this episode of Political Bark, we discuss the debate culture in Norway. We look at a major survey conducted by the Norwegian Media Authority (medietilsynet) in 2019 on "critical media understanding" which concludes that 7 out 10 Norwegians have never participated in debates in media channels, be it on facebook or in the press.  We also delve into what characterizes the Norwegian debate culture, and what consequences this might have. To help us shed light on this topic with talk with novelist, Ole Asbjørn Ness who has a background in economics, philosophy and takes an active part in Norwegian public discourse. He reflects on how Norway's a consensus-driven culture, "Jante-loven", and generational differences might play into our debate culture - and what consequences this might have.

Photo credit: Niklas Lello

In this episode of Political Bark, we analyze the possible positive consequences of the corona pandemic and ask Riiber Knudsen about the tech environment and tech eco-system in Norway: where is it at today, what model does it belong to, and will it experience growth in a time of crisis? We are especially interested in analyzing the Norwegian tech environment compared to that of established start up nations, such as the US and Israel.

This first episode of Political Bark was created in the midst of the Corona pandemic. It features Sophie Matlary and Professor Haaland Matlary, (Political science, University of Oslo) as she answers questions about the pandemic and different international organizations but also nation states´reactions. 

Some of the questions that are covered in the episode: 

In what way is the world working together, or separate, in fighting the pandemic? What are different nations doing, where do they cooperate, and what is the role of the EU? Is this a common effort, requiring that we put aside political and historical differences? what can we predict after the pandemic? will we all act unified in order new pandemics?

#EU #Russia #China #Coronapandemic