PUSHBACK Talks

Zimbabwe has a long and complex history of forced eviction, displacement, and demolition. Operation Move the Rubbish, a large-scale Zimbabwean government campaign to forcibly clear slum areas across the country, saw an estimated 700,000 people displaced, with millions more indirectly impacted. The country also struggles with land corruption; Zimbabwe scored 24 out of 100 on the 2020 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, with public officials in the country being considered among the most corrupt.  

But the people are working hard to change that. This year the federal government passed the Zimbabwe National Human Settlement Policy, a massively comprehensive policy aiming to address housing inadequacy, informal settlements, forced evictions, affordability, corruption, and more. This groundbreaking policy that is more than two years in the making identifies housing as a human right in Zimbabwe and sets big housing goals for the government.

Fredrik and Leilani have a conversation with Francis Mukora, the Research, Advocacy & Communications Coordinator at Community Alliance for Human Settlements in Zimbabwe (CAHSZ) about the work it took to create such a sweeping policy, what it will take for proper implementation, and the work that remains to be done.

Produced by WG Film
Edited by Alexander Jemtrell & Aune Nuyttens
Music by Florencia Di Concilio
Social Media & Support - Kirsten McRae, Maja Moberg & Aune Nuyttens

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Housing in the Netherlands is under a lot of pressure. Housing costs are rapidly increasing and homelessness is on the rise. Residents of Rotterdam, the country’s second-largest city, are pushing back. More than 7,000 people took to the streets to protest unaffordable rents and real estate costs, and the shortage of affordable housing, particularly in Afrikaanderpark. The protest was one of many taking place across the Netherlands, signifying growing support for the human right to housing throughout the country. 

The Filmmaker and the Advocate speak with one of the central organizers of the protest, Dr. Gwen van Eijk, Assistant Professor of Criminology at Erasmus School of Law, & Jan de Vries, human rights lawyer and representative of The Shift – Netherlands on how the housing conversation has shifted in recent years and why the right to housing movement is growing in the Netherlands.

Produced by WG Film 
Edited by Alexander Jemtrell & Aune Nuyttens
Music by Florencia Di Concilio
Social Media & Support - Kirsten McRae, Maja Moberg & Aune Nuyttens 

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On 3 October 2021, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) published the Pandora Papers, a roster of almost 12 million confidential files that had been leaked to the organization detailing the offshore financial dealings of hundreds of politicians, public officials, and celebrities. This type of controversial uncovering of finances is nothing new; similar leaks to the ICIJ happened in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2020. Despite this, outrage over the reveal that many politicians and public officials have secret offshore dealings worth billions has been surprisingly low. The Filmmaker and the Advocate sit down with Dr. Anna Minton, writer, journalist, academic, and author of Big Capital, to discuss the complexities of finance that keep the public from understanding the problems unfolding at a global level. Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of taxes go missing each year – how do offshore holdings deteriorate the social contract we agree to, and contribute to a lack of available government resources that could change lives? 

Anna, Leilani, and Fredrik consider how we can reframe the language we use to better galvanize the people, and move us closer to the peaceful, equitable, socially inclusive world we want to live in.

Produced by WG Film 
Edited by Alexander Jemtrell
Music by Florencia Di Concilio
Social Media & Support - Kirsten McRae, Maja Moberg & Aune Nuyttens 

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In the span of just one year, Turkey has seen sharp increases in the cost of housing across the country, especially in neighborhoods near major universities. With the government’s neo-liberal policies inviting in huge amounts of foreign capital and the building of luxury housing to satisfy investor interests, the cost of rental accommodation has soared – increasing by 31% to as much as 290% depending on the region. As in-person classes resume for the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, many students have nowhere to live. There are just 720,000 or so public and private dormitory options combined, and private apartment rentals are simply too costly. The students are pushing back. They are sleeping in the streets in dozens of cities across the country, demanding their right to housing and refusing to move unless their requests are met.  

Fredrik & Leilani meet with Dilan İpek, a Turkish student, activist, and member of the Libertarian Youth Organization in Turkey. Together they discuss how the movement is growing, how it's planning to face off with faceless capitalism, and how being outside of the system makes young people better positioned to push back.

Produced by WG Film 
Edited by Aune Nuyttens
Music by Florencia Di Concilio
Social Media & Support - Kirsten McRae, Maja Moberg &  Alexander Jemtrell

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In a landmark vote, 56.4% of Berliners backed a referendum for city government to take over ownership of approximately 240,000 apartments from corporate landlords. A groundbreaking referendum with incredible results has put all politicians in Germany at all levels on notice: the corporatization of housing is no longer acceptable. The question now - what happens next? Will the Mayor of Berlin develop legislation to implement the spirit of the referendum? Fredrik & Leilani sit down with Joanna Kusiak, Cambridge University researcher and spokesperson of the DWE campaign, to discuss how they deployed Constitutional law to bring about radical change and what role imaginations play in bringing about revolution.

Produced by WG Film 
Edited by Alexander Jemtrell
Music by Florencia Di Concilio
Social Media & Support - Kirsten McRae, Maja Moberg & Aune Nuyttens 

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Canada and Germany are having general elections later this month and the issue at the forefront of both is affordable housing. With growing movements around affordable housing in both countries, how are the parties’ housing platforms stacking up? The Filmmaker and the Advocate discuss the Berlin referendum that could have the government buying back property from large corporate landlords, before breaking down the housing platforms of Canada’s four major parties. In the last thirty years, the cost of housing has increased more in Canada than in any other OECD country. How have monetary and fiscal policy impacted the Canadian housing market and how do the party platforms miss the mark?

Produced by WG Film 
Recorded & Edited by Mikey Jones
Music by Florencia Di Concilio
Social Media & Support - Maja Moberg

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It's summertime in Sweden and Canada. The Filmmaker and the Advocate are taking a break, but the podcast isn't.  For five weeks, Fredrik and Leilani bring their faithful fans and new listeners the PushBack Talks - Summer Series.  These are curated podcasts from Season 2 - episodes you may have missed that are definitely worth a listen. We've pared them down,  and updated each with recent news and a few personal reflections. So, whether you're stuck at home, or chilling on a beach - we hope you enjoy our Summer Series!

This is a special episode of PUSHBACK Talks to mark the opening of PUSH-the film in [virtual] theatres across the USA. For the first time, The filmmaker and The Advocate invite a guest into the conversation. This episode features Aaron Glantz, Peabody Award-winning investigative journalist, resident of San Francisco, and author of the recently released book, Homewreckers which details the devastating impact on millions of Americans when vulture capitalists entered the housing sector after the Global Financial Crisis. Nobel Laureate Prof. Stiglitz provides a jumping-off point for the trio to discuss the cosy relationship between government, banks and private equity that ensured those with money would come out winners, and those without would have their dreams demolished.
Fredrik and Leilani use this episode of PUSHBACK Talks is a wake-up call and a warning: the vultures are likely circling again, with 40 million people in the US who can’t pay their rent and nearly 4 million who can't pay their home mortgages. 

Produced by WG Film 
Recorded & Edited by Mikey Jones
Music by Florencia Di Concilio
Social Media & Support - Maja Moberg

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It's summertime in Sweden and Canada. The Filmmaker and the Advocate are taking a break, but the podcast isn't.  For five weeks, Fredrik and Leilani bring their faithful fans and new listeners the PushBack Talks - Summer Series.  These are curated podcasts from Season 2 - episodes you may have missed that are definitely worth a listen. We've pared them down,  and updated each with recent news and a few personal reflections. So, whether you're stuck at home, or chilling on a beach - we hope you enjoy our Summer Series!

The Filmmaker and the Advocate bring you an exclusive conversation with Denmark’s Housing Minister – Kaare Dybvad Bek – one of the few politicians in the world to have had the courage to take on Blackstone and other institutional investors. The Minister recounts the new housing reality in Copenhagen where private equity, pension funds and asset management firms have started to dominate, imposing on tenants huge rent increases (often double) and unnecessary renovations driving tenants out of their homes and neighbourhoods. Believing that ordinary people – nurses, teachers, bus drivers – should be able to live in the cities where they work, and racing against time to keep remaining affordable units out of the clutches of investors, the Minister took matters into his own hands.  A Parliamentary Committee to analyze the situation was initiated, and despite considerable pressure successfully put forward ground-breaking legislation aimed at keeping big finance out of Copenhagen’s housing market. Known as ‘Lex Blackstone’, the legislation puts a 5-year ban on renovations and rent increases for new owners, and strengthens tenants rights. The legislation has had its intended results: fewer institutional investors and a significant decrease in property prices. Denmark’s legislation offers inspiration and stands as a model for advocates and politicians across the globe.
The podcast also brings back memories from the World Premiere of PUSH at the amazing CPH DOX film festival in Copenhagen.  The film won the Politikken Audience Award and the issues in the film created a strong debate in Danish media.

Produced by WG Film 
Recorded & Edited by Mikey Jones
Music by Florencia Di Concilio
Social Media & Support - Maja Moberg

Support the show

It's summertime in Sweden and Canada. The Filmmaker and the Advocate are taking a break, but the podcast isn't.  For five weeks, Fredrik and Leilani bring their faithful fans and new listeners the PushBack Talks - Summer Series.  These are curated podcasts from Season 2 - episodes you may have missed that are definitely worth a listen. We've pared them down,  and updated each with recent news and a few personal reflections. So, whether you're stuck at home, or chilling on a beach - we hope you enjoy our Summer Series! 

Most of us put our savings in a bank. But what does the bank do with our money? What if you learned that your life savings were being invested in companies that are burning down the Amazon forest or raising rents and evicting tenants from their homes? Would you care? Would you be willing to do something about it? 

This week the Filmmaker and the Advocate talk with Jakob König the Project Leader of the Fair Finance Guide - Sweden, an organization that exposes the role the finance sector plays in harming our planet and undermining human rights. Using a set of international standards, Fair Finance Guide investigates the investment activities of financial institutions like banks. If they don’t receive a passing grade, they inform the clients of the bank to provoke outrage and action. The results have been impressive. Under pressure from 5,000 clients, Swedish banks met with the government of Brazil and halted the burning of the Amazon forest for several months. So maybe we have more power than we think!   

Fredrik and Leilani see great potential in the model and wonder if it couldn’t be used to hold institutional investors in housing to account. And, if banks can be shamed into changing what  they invest in, might they also be persuaded to change their lending practices – where so much of the real damage is done?

Produced by WG Film 
Recorded & Edited by Mikey Jones
Music by Florencia Di Concilio
Social Media & Support - Maja Moberg

Support the show

It's summertime in Sweden and Canada. The Filmmaker and the Advocate are taking a break, but the podcast isn't.  For five weeks, Fredrik and Leilani bring their faithful fans and new listeners the PushBack Talks - Summer Series.  These are curated podcasts from Season 2 - episodes you may have missed that are definitely worth a listen. We've pared them down,  and updated each with recent news and a few personal reflections. So, whether you're stuck at home, or chilling on a beach - we hope you enjoy our Summer Series! 

The Filmmaker and the Advocate take listeners of this episode of PUSHBACK Talks into the real world – one where $$ money $$ is the principle value and corruption and kleptocracy the means of acquisition. Few are better placed to expose the workings of corruption than Sarah Chayes – former NPR reporter, and senior adviser to government officials in the US Department of Defence, and author of three books including her most recent, On Corruption in America and What is at Stake. 

 Drawing on her experiences in Afghanistan, Nigeria, Honduras, Lebanon and beyond, Chayes reveals that contrary to media reporting, corruption is not about individuals or single acts. Rather, it operates through sophisticated networks that link together people from very different sectors of society, spanning governments and the private sector. These networks are flexible and exist through time, over decades, losing members along the way as protests and civil unrest require, and then gaining more members after each sacrifice. Network members bend and repurpose the institutions and agencies of government to make them serve the objectives of the network, rather than the public interest. The pivotal role of real estate in all of this is not lost on Chayes who notes a universal feature of these networks of corruption is the use of real estate as a vehicle.  

So what’s at stake when kleptocracy and corruption are left unchallenged? Nothing less than democracy.

Produced by WG Film 
Recorded & Edited by Mikey Jones
Music by Florencia Di Concilio
Social Media & Support - Maja Moberg

Support the show