The Arts of Travel

To get an update on Hong Kong, the Corona Virus and the still ongoing Hong Kong Protests, I spoke with Contributing Writer at the Atlantic -Timothy McLaughlin (Twitter @TMclaughlin3)

We discuss the incompetence of Carrie Lam and her handling of the Corona Virus, if solidarity is building between Wuhan and Hong Kong, and the still evolving protests and methods of dissent used by Hong Kong Protesters.

For more on Tim you can check out his website here: https://www.timothymclaughlin.net/

Music is Garden Eden - created by BmoMusik of Free Beat / Beat Brueck https://soundcloud.com/beatbruecke/free-beat-garden-eden-by-bmomusik-wwwbeatbrueckede

This is part 1 of a two part conversation. I spoke w. Comedian Jake Flores on his terrifying experience with ICE, his interactions with what's colloquially known as the Brooklyn Left, and how podcasting has become so critical to amplifying the left, and the positives and negatives of this Medium.

Jake's an incredibly sensitive and kind comedian with great insights on how we can build a more progressive space for Comedy, Media and politics. I try to raise some good-faith criticisms of my own interactions with the "Brooklyn Left". I think our conversation ends at a good place before we move onto part two (next week) which talks more specifically about Comedy.

For more on Jake check out his twitter, go see his live shows, and listen to his own podcasts:

• The more serious and academic 'Why you Mad?': https://soundcloud.com/whyyoumadpod

• And the horror/leftist/cluster-fu*k that is Pod Damn America : https://soundcloud.com/poddamnamerica

• And Jake's own website (with tours and other info) can be found here: http://www.feraljokes.com

Beats by Lakey Inspired - Golden Hour

https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired

I was thrilled to speak with Dr. Joshua Hendrick, Author of Gülen: The Ambiguous Politics of Market Islam in Turkey and the World

Fethullah Gülen is perhaps the world's most open but least understood religious leaders. In this conversation, Dr. Hendrick unpacks how The Gülen movment built itself into a religious and business empire, how it was originally an ally of the Erdogan and the AKP, and how it became such a threat to the Turkish State that an open war was declared between the former alllies, culminating in the 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan.

We also discuss the fascinating term "Market Islam" or (as I call it Neoliberal Islam), how Neoliberalism was crucial to the infrastructure of the Gülen Movement.

This is perhaps our most interesting chat of the year, we can't wait for you to listen and learn more about this fascinating man, movement and his falling out with the Turkish State!

Prod. Riddiman: Holidays - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIup-HVd4_M

I was thrilled to speak with accomplished journalists Karen Ho (Twitter: @karenkho) & Tony Lin (@tony_zy) for a conversation on Race, Class and Privilege.

We discuss how Wuhan's Corona Virus is being used to promote anti-Chinese racism, how Post-Coloniality and White Privilege affects Journalism, and how far-right tendencies manifest themselves in China's digital spaces.

We also touch upon Wall Street, The Ivy Leagues, Ellen K Pao and a host of other subjects. It's a passionate and at times contentious conversation, but, it's all in good faith. We all want to build a better world, we just feel there are different ways to get there.

For more on Tony and Karen's incredible reporting, I would recommend the following:

Karen's cover story for Time on Whitness in Hollywood and the film Crazy Rich Asians: https://time.com/longform/crazy-rich-asians/

Karen's Story for Toronto Life on the family crime drama of Jennifer Pan: https://torontolife.com/city/crime/jennifer-pan-revenge/

And her story for Vox on the ordeals of US immigration: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/2/26/18235347/us-work-visa-o-1

For Tony I'd highly recommend:

His report on the Doxxing of Chinese citizens for supporting the Hong Kong Protests: https://qz.com/1696522/chinese-supporters-of-hong-kong-protests-face-doxxing/

His work on Islamophobia on China's Digital Spaces: https://www.cjr.org/analysis/weibo-new-zealand-massacre.php

And for the book we discuss LIQUIDATED: An Ethnography of Wall Street (written by a different Karen Ho, Dr. Karen Ho of the University of Minnesota ) Can be found here: https://www.dukeupress.edu/liquidated

Music is by Lakey Inspired: https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired

I was thrilled to be joined by Naomi Burton, Co-Founder of Means TV (@means_tv), the first Anti-Capitalist Media Platform in the United States. Naomi and Co-Founder Nick Hayes, rose to prominence through producing videos for Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and several other campaigns.

After these big breaks they could have done anything, but (to my great admiration) they chose perhaps the most risky and unprecedented path: trying to build a worker-owned media platform that gives voice to those traditionally excluded from the entertainment industry, and to produce content that explains the structural forces (Racism, Capitalism, Patriarchy, Sexism) that generates these exclusions.

It's a strange conversation in that I'm not sure Fame or Celebrity (which themselves are based on inequality) can ever be progressive or leftist. I discuss this with Naomi, my own difficulty in building solidarity with fellow leftists in Media, and thoughts on how we can do things better. It's a fascinating conversation with a brilliant woman, and I can't wait to hear what you think!

For more on Means TV check them out on Twitter or their webpage. They launch February 26th and need your support!

Music is "Arcade" by Lakey Inspired: https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired

Writer and Professor @AruniKashyap was kind enough to join The Arts of Travel Podcast to discuss how he captures the complexity of India, his home state of #Assam and identity, through his fiction and poetry.

Aruni is a highly regarded Assamese Writer and Translator currently teaching at the University of Georgia. He is the author of His Father's Disease and Other Stories (Context/ Westland) and the novel The House With a Thousand Stories (Viking/ Penguin Random House). His short stories, poems, and essays have appeared or forthcoming in The Oxford Anthology of Writings from Northeast, The Kenyon Review, The New York Times, The Guardian UK, the Hindu, Evergreen Review, Karthika Review, Juked, Sin Fronteras Journal, Stonecoast Review, The Atticus Review

For those interested in our discussion, below are recommended titles from Aruni:

• Miya poetry is mostly available online in translation or in the Assamese script in blogs.

• Fiction by Indira Goswami, Bhabendra Nath Saikia, Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya, Syed Abdul Malik, Nirupama Borgohain, Homen Borgohain, Arupa Patangia Kalita, would be a wonderful way to start with Assamese fiction.

• Non Fiction by Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, Dilip Kumar Chattopadhyay, Makiko Kimura, Vibhuti Singh Shekhawat, Sanjib Baruah

For More w. Aruni, check out his interview in Scroll:

https://scroll.in/article/949444/aruni-kashyaps-gentle-stories-depict-assamese-characters-trying-to-make-sense-of-their-world

His Interview in the Indian Express: https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/the-only-way-forward-is-building-a-tolerant-society-aruni-kashyap-6147681/

And of course his numerous writings on Context, Penguin, Viking and other presses: https://www.arunikashyap.com/

Music by Eskry: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn7sTl5-v4Ik6OpPHTQkEVg

In light of Taiwan's recent election, and Hong Kong's struggles for Democracy, a third nation has remained quiet: Singapore. This small territory has seen none of the protests of Hong Kong and has none of Taiwan's Democracy. Is this stability, or the calm before the storm?

To unpack Singapore, I was thrilled to have Kirsten Han (Twitter:@kixes), The Editor in Chief of New Naratif (@NewNaratif) as our guest. Kirsten and I discuss "Manufacturing Consent" in the context of Singapore, what the current state of democracy is within the country, and how colonial legacies of racism, capitalism, and control, still shape this modern-day financial center.

It's a fascinating chat, and I hope it inspires more conversation on what Democracy is, where Democracy can go, and how we still need to work towards decolonization and intersectionality, no matter the person or place.

For more on New Naratif, please check out their work here: https://newnaratif.com/

And we also recommend Kirsten's "We the Citizens" Newsletter for more in-depth coverage on Singapore: https://wethecitizens.substack.com/

I caught up with the indomitable Brian Hioe (@brianhioe) for a reflection on Taiwan's 2020 elections, Media bias (both domestic and Western), thoughts on 'Populism' in Taiwan's elections and how Tsai Ing-wen's re-election was seen by a Hong Kong movement fighting for Democracy.

On January 25th, Brian will be presenting in the China Question Symposium, at NYC's Verso Loft. He's one of the most brilliant and empathetic voices I've encountered on the Left, and I highly recommend seeing him in person if you have a chance.

For brilliant Video interviews New Bloom did with Taiwan Progressives, head here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCopBHfUawiLXgtpDqeSzihg

For more on Taiwan's elections I would recommend Brian's work in New Bloom and Popula. I've also linked to a great article on Populism within Taiwan that we discuss (one of the few I recommend outside of Brian's ... we get into why in our chat!)

• Great article on Han Kuo-yu (Tsai's challenger) from the Frozen Garlic Blog

Beats by Lakey Inspired: https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired

I was trying to think of an eloquent title to describe my conversation with this week's guest, the brilliant and brave journalist Surabhi Tandon, but I've decided to use the words of Arundhati Roy, one of India's greatest living activists. When asked about the current CAA/NRC laws within India, she simply called them, "Fu*king Insane"

Kashmir, where Surabhi has done some of the best reporting (in video or print) I've seen, is also "Fu*king nsane". A conflict left festering for decades, suddenly people can't leave their neighborhoods, networks of barbed wire, pellet guns and torture chambers have appeared, and a digital siege has left Kashmir cut off from the world. Coupled with disgusting comments from BJP politicians about buying land and 'fair-skinned Kashmiri women', marrying the language of misogyny with Settler Colonialism.

I discuss the insanity of Kashmir w. Surabhi, how insanity has become normalized in Kashmir, and the contemporary history of Kashmir's suffering. I may have learned the most from this conversation from any I've recorded. I hope you find it to be a powerful and informative conversation.

For more on Surabhi- https://www.surabhitandon.com/about

Beats by Urban Nerd Beats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSHD9IulAB0

And for resources on Kashmir, we recommend the following:

• Surabhi's incredible report for France 24: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVF77IRxKpk

• Arundhati Roy on India's execution of Afzal Guru: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/10/hanging-afzal-guru-india-democracy

• Pankaj Mishra on Kashmir the case for Freedom: https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4411-kashmir-the-case-for-freedom

• Nishita Trisal on the Kashmiri Pandit's right to have their story told, but not weaponized by the BJP: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/08/22/i-am-kashmiri-pandit-india-must-stop-weaponizing-pain-our-past/

• Goldie Osuri on the comparisons between Kashmir and Palestine: https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/08/kashmir-palestine-story-occupations-160823101836524.html

• Supchina on comparisons between Kashmir and Xinjiang: https://supchina.com/2019/10/21/is-kashmir-the-next-xinjiang/

• On Secular Islamophobia within India: https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/to-invoke-allah-or-to-not-secular-islamophobia-and-the-protesting-indian-muslim

• On Liberalism's failure in India to resolve Kashmir: https://thewire.in/rights/pankaj-mishra-mirza-waheed-kashmir-caa-india

• On Sexual Violence committed by state actors of India in Kashmir: https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/women-biggest-victims-inhumane-siege-190820122327902.html

• On Kashmir: https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/a-kashmiri-novelist-on-a-state-under-siege

We were fortunate to speak with Dr. Martin Hägglund on a book which profoundly changed our thinking on Life, Meaning and Humanity. Dr. Martin Hägglund's work This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom has been discussed on platforms as varied as the New Yorker to MSNBC's Chris Hayes. We were thrilled to have him on our podcast.

In the spirit of Dr. Hägglund's deeply inquisitive work, we didn't want to ask him questions we'd heard elsewhere. Rather, we tried to have a meaningful discussion w. Dr. Hägglund that explored and interrogated his work in good faith.

We hope you enjoy our conversation. For our favorite review of Dr. Hägglund's book we highly recommend the New Yorker's Review:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/05/20/if-god-is-dead-your-time-is-everything

We also enjoy his conversation w. Meagan Day of Jacobin: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2019/05/this-life-martin-hagglund-review-interview

Beat by KBRZBeats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH1LOM1V0z4