On the day I moved to Jordan, a big thing happened.

Although not much is known about exactly what happened, it presents to us a good opportunity to talk about different types of political change - something I've been doing in multiple episodes of this podcast.

I also talk about the refugee crisis, mention my episode on a parliamentary coup (!) in Brazil (https://spoti.fi/3cxKhVk), promote my series on Palestine, and reveal to you that I have, in fact, another podcast (https://spoti.fi/3pWUJsR)!

You might have heard about the new law that was passed in New Zealand.

Why are we only seeing this law now and how come is it only India that has had a similar law since decades ago? What would be needed to see a change like this around the world?

Can we turn something as exclusive as an independence day into something else?

In this episode, I talk about a very personal experience of being from "a small country no-one knows about" and what dilemmas it has resulted in.

Or this same podcast!

The dance between democracy and authoritarianism can take different forms. And Brazil presents to us yet another one. 

What the hell has been happening in Brazil for the past five years and what recent event sparked this episode?

In short, it’s an alarming situation that involves large-scale corruption.

For a longer story, listen to this episode! It’s a dense one.

You can find the article on Dilma’s impeachment that I mention together with all of the episodes I refer to here: https://wp.me/pc6sQr-eh 

In this quick article, I also share with you an independent media outlet recommendation where you can find all the quality news about Brazil.

Let me say: how weird is this question?

Interestingly, it's a question we find behind some pretty strange yet uncommon statements people make about politics.

Although this episode - and an almost identical one in Lithuanian! - was sparked by something that has just happened in Lithuania, I talk about something universally important: political representation.

What is the current paradigm when it comes to who is allowed to represent whom? What is the role that the concept of a myth plays here? And why do we have to talk about political representation in the first place?

You know what, this is the perfect episode for International Women's Day.

Why? Because we can't talk about women's progress in any society without talking about political representation.

Check it out. 

You can find the book recommendations I mention in my episode here: https://wp.me/pc6sQr-d0 

Įrašiau epizodą lietuviškai apie peticiją prieš Tomo Raskevičiaus poziciją kaip Žmogaus Teisių Komiteto pirmininką. Neišvengiamai, čia gvildenu daug temų: apie LGBT situaciją Lietuvoje, apie tai, kas yra - ir kaip kuriamas ir vartojamas - mitas, ir ko turime nepamiršti kalbėdami apie politinę reprezentaciją. 

Nors to neplanavau, iš dalies tai - ir epizodas Kovo 8-ajai. Kodėl? Nes negalime kalbėti apie moterų padėtį visuomenėje nekalbėdami apie politinę reprezentaciją.

Pasiklausykit, ir, jei kas surezonuos - pasidalinkit plačiau! Visgi svarbios temos reikalauja garsių pokalbių. 

PS. An episode in English is coming, don't worry! I by no means want to be exclusive with my topics. 

What is the role of the media in portraying this conflict?

Can its role be "neutral"? Definitely not.

I invite you to notice three categories of this role: silence, information that is incomplete, and - the worst one - indirectly blaming the Palestinians for their own occupation.

Give it a listen.

You can find the article that I mention in my episode here: https://wp.me/pc6sQr-6d 

What might we find at the very core of debates surrounding this conflict?

Certainly not always, but sometimes, there is a layer of hypocrisy we need to cut through. When we do that - including inspecting our own hypocrisy sometimes, ouch - is a very simple answer to the real question here. In the end, we might have different values. And there’s a benefit in clarifying where we disagree exactly.

You can find references to the resources I mention in my episode here: https://wp.me/pc6sQr-bY  

Controversy: this is one of the first words that might come to your mind when you think about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It’s so confusing. Too complex to analyse.

And indeed, each conflict is complex, and there is no solution that wouldn’t require political will. But whose political will is needed to end a military occupation? And why is this a controversial question?

In this episode, I aim to deconstruct some of the aspects that create that seeming controversy. I talk about the need to reject the weaponisation of antisemitism, about who has power over whom, and what the negotiation table really looks like.

PS. You can find some useful links here: https://wp.me/pc6sQr-bt 

What does Australia Day have in common with the carnival in São Paulo? A quick answer: a parallel that is probably insulting to the very point I’m trying to make in my episode.

And who is the person who has the same initials - JP - as mine but whose work I would recommend over mine in a heartbeat? (seriously, don’t listen to my podcast, watch his documentaries instead)

In this episode, I talk about the known controversy - also known as...simply history! - that surrounds certain national holidays in countries that have a colonial past.

Have a listen and please let me know what your take on this subject is in this poll (http://bit.ly/3jBWpXo) - I’d really appreciate it!

You can find the documentary I mention (and praise) in my episode, by John Pilger, here: https://bit.ly/2MQhBNn