Gravity FM

Alexandra Arneri · thegravity.fm

A bimonthly podcast discussing international human rights and environmental issues around the world from public policy, legal, theoretical and ethical viewpoints with academics, lawyers, activists and community organizers on the ground. Our episodes discuss and dissect impediments to substantive democracy, equality, public health, reproductive, refugee, sexuality and free speech and protest rights and the proper intersection of competing rights. Our environmental episodes look at freshwater and food security, threats to biodiversity, climate change effects and mitigation strategies and the environmental consequence of impending large scale projects around the world.

71 episodes

24d ago latest

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English language

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Episodes 71

The Whistle and the Whip: Rebels Who Risk All to Speak Truth to Power
24d ago · 1:59:19
Risks and Retaliation Faced by Whistleblowers in Africa and Climate Whistleblowers, and the Need for Comprehensive National and Transnational Whistleblowing Protections. Discussion with Gabriel Bourdon-Fattal, Jimmy Kande and Gemma-Maé Hartley of the sister organizations Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) and Climate Whistleblowers on the indispensable role of insiders in exposing corruption, state capture, greenwashing and ecocide. The episode also features the stories of whistleblowers Bianca Goodson, Gradi Koko and Andrés Olarte. We discuss PPLAAF's and Climate Whistleblo
Jaundiced Justice: Systemic Biases and Structural Violence in the Criminal System and the Need for Restorative Justice
4mo ago · 1:28:21
Wrongful Convictions, Survivor Shaming and Moving from Retribution to Healing Discussion with Jennifer Thompson, founder of Healing Justice, on the profound trauma caused by wrongful convictions and the transformative potential of restorative justice. We discuss systemic failures in the criminal justice system—including structural racism and sexism—that deny victims, survivors and defendants, and their families, justice. We discuss Jennifer’s personal journey to becoming a restorative justice practitioner and criminal justice reform advocate. We discuss wrongful convictions, best practices for
Sartorial Walls and Silent Screams: Gender Apartheid and the Global Rollback of Women’s Rights
8mo ago · 1:17:04
The Codification of Gender Apartheid, the Afghan and Iranian Resistance Movements and Global Gender-Based Violence Online and Offline Discussion with Heather Barr on gender apartheid in Afghanistan and Iran and efforts to codify it as a crime against humanity in international law. We explore why codification matters, how to support these efforts, and why challenging gender apartheid is critical. We discuss the concerning normalization of the Taliban regime and the Afghan and Iranian resistance movements. We also discuss gender-based violence, including acid attacks, rape during war, and digita
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: The Politics of Comedy and the Comedy of Politics in the Disunion
9mo ago · 1:13:07
Kamikaze Dolphins, Lettuce Triathlons and Calling the Right Place Discussion with comedian and activist Jimmy Tingle on the political utility of comedy and its service in exposing hypocrisy, bringing people together but its insufficiency in bringing change without grassroots organization and movement building. We discuss Jimmy’s political campaign for Lt. Governor of Massachusetts, the pernicious problem of money in politics and the need for campaign finance reform. We discuss climate change and the need not only for mitigation but designing microgrids alongside existing infrastructure to limi
From a Cup of Catastrophe to a Better Brew
11mo ago · 1:02:11
Environmental and Labor Exploitation in the Coffee Industry and How Coffee Can Turn a New Shade with Agroforestry Discussion with Etelle Higonnet on the environmental impacts of commercial monoculture coffee, including deforestation, loss of critical habitat, loss of biodiversity and amplification of climate change. We also discuss the structural inequities of the industry, with farmers earning the least in the value chain and the prevalence of child labor and forced labor in the industry. Additionally, we discuss the gaps in voluntary certification schemes and the need for both consumer activ
No Party on the Rooftop: Rapacity, Repression and Resistance in Tibet
1y ago · 1:00:00
Cultural Genocide, Ecocide and the Geopolitics of the CCP’s Water Industrial Complex Discussion with Dr. Lobsang Sangay on the repressive occupation of the CCP in Tibet and the utilization of tightly controlled tourism to obfuscate it. We discuss the cultural genocide that has and is taking place, including the destruction of religious sites and compelling children to go to boarding school to Sinicize the next generation of Tibetans. We also discuss the CCP’s commission of ecocide in Tibet from its rapacious extraction of critical minerals and other elements. Additionally, we discuss the envir
Colonialism’s New Clothes: The Age of Green Imperialism
1y ago · 1:49:29
Extraction and Exploitation in the Global South under the Decarbonization Consensus and Theories and Praxis for a Just Transition Discussion with Professor Miriam Lang and Mary Ann Manahan on how current energy transition efforts are framed under a colonialist narrative that continues and entrenches extraction, exploitation and interference in the Global South. We discuss how the Global North is utilizing emergency framing to create sacrifice zones across the Global South, rife with environmental destruction, resource depletion, land grabbing and human rights violations. We also discuss how re
Silver Intervention: Art, Activism and Disaster Capitalism in the Philippines
1y ago · 1:24:04
How a Community on the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis Took its Story to the Screen and Forced a Land-Grabbing Corporation to Go Off Script Discussion with writer and director Seán Devlin on his recent genre-busting films, which were made in partnership with typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) survivors, who participated and ad-libbed in his films. We discuss how art can be interventionist and serve a frontline community’s needs, by allowing a community to direct the narrative. Additionally, we discuss how efforts to aid frontline communities, without buy-in or leadership from such communities can be ex
In Deep Trouble: Battering the Seabed for Batteries
1y ago · 1:35:39
Perils to the Deep Sea From Bottom Trawling, Climate Change and Mining and the Need to Protect Its Stunning Biodiversity Discussion with Matt Gianni from the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition on the critical importance of the deep sea to our air, climate, the marine food web, our food security and health. We discuss the biodiversity of the deep sea and our continual discovery of new extremophiles. We discuss the threat of bottom trawling, which indiscriminately catches a multitude of bycatch and disrupts nutrient flow. We discuss the looming threat of deep sea mining for critical minerals for th
A Rhyme in Time: Power, Protest and Polarity in America
1y ago · 1:48:03
American Resistance and Repression, Identity and Intersectionality and the LGBTQI+ Rights Movement Discussion with Professor Timothy Patrick McCarthy on American radicalism and the need for multivocality rather than metanarratives in analyzing history. We discuss the construction and interpellation of identities, their historical contingencies and intersectionality. We discuss the power dynamics of identity construction, in entrenching the status quo and serving to cleave mass mobilization and conversely in empowering marginalized groups. We discuss the need for origin myths in the context of
Unfinished Business: Sufferance for the Suffrage and the Need to Put the Demos Back in Democracy
1y ago · 1:11:54
The History of Voting Rights in the United States, the Electoral College and the Value of the Vote Discussion with Professor Alex Keyssar on the origins of democracy and the history of the right to vote in the United States. We discuss the lack of an affirmative right to vote under the U.S. Constitution, amendments prohibiting abridgement and voter suppression. We also discuss the value of the vote in the context of gerrymandering, party mechanics, the impact of different voting systems and the influence of money in politics. Additionally, we discuss the history and distortive impact of the El
The Future Is Circular: Tiny Tilos Making Titanic Strides
1y ago · 1:11:06
Circular Economy, Community Buy-In and Compassionate Leadership Discussion with Hon. Maria Kamma-Aliferi, Mayor of Tilos and Jenny Giannopoulou on the need for and implementation of a circular economy. We also discuss renewable energy infrastructure, the Greek energy pricing system, sewerage infrastructure, freshwater conservation and navigating different levels of government bureaucracy. Additionally, we discuss the need for environmental literacy and community buy-in. We also discuss refugees, the need for compassionate leadership and how immigration can be a revitalization for the community
Our Tattered Tapestry: Hate and Extremism Across America
2y ago · 1:20:13
Exposing, Investigating and Inoculating Against Hate Discussion with Lisa Borden and Susan Corke from the Southern Poverty Law Center on hate and extremism groups throughout the United States. We discuss rising right radicalism, including religious and white nationalist groups and their means and methods. We also discuss "parental right groups" and their anti-inclusive stance and disruption of public school governance. Additionally, we discuss the school-to-prison pipeline, continuing systemic racism and disenfranchisement and how to help inoculate youth against radicalization. We also discuss
Letters of Leadership
2y ago · 1:21:06
A Celebration of Civics and Connection Amidst Crises and Consternation Discussion with Shannon A. Mullen on her recent book In Other Words, Leadership: How a Young Mother’s Weekly Letters to Her Governor Helped Both Women Brave the First Pandemic Year which looks at agency, representative democracy, socioeconomic and environmental crises within a portrait of leadership. The book is based on the true story of Ashira Knapp’s exchange of letters with Maine Governor Janet Mills during the pandemic. We discuss civics, representative democracy, leadership, reigniting our agency, reconnecting over po
From the Courtroom to the Community: Revitalizing Law to Empower Frontline Communities
2y ago · 1:11:53
How Grassroots Movements for Climate and Environmental Justice Are Critical to Surviving the Climate Crisis Discussion with Vivek Maru on the importance of community paralegals in extending access to the law, enforcing rights and aiding in structural change. We discuss the Customary Land Rights Act in Sierra Leone, the Community Land Act in Kenya and environmental justice action in Myanmar. We also discuss environmental injustice within the United States, the need for cumulative impact in any environmental assessment and the importance of having both expert input on legislation as well as the
Deflection, Deceit and Division in the Time of Climate Crisis
2y ago · 45:17
Climate Change, Subterfuge and Building a Broad Climate Coalition Discussion with Dr. Michael Mann on the subterfuge tactics by the fossil industry to prevent systemic and structural decarbonization. We discuss how the fossil fuel industry promotes doomsday theories to engender apathy and deny agency. We also discuss how the fossil fuel industry fosters division between different social groups to prevent a climate alliance and needed structural change. Additionally, we discuss how the focus on individual accountability and hypocrisy shaming can impede and deflect from needed structural change.
Our Immolated Heart: Deforestation and Land Grabbing in Brazil's Amazon
3y ago · 1:10:54
Cattle Ranching, Palm Oil Plantations and Other Agrobusiness Drivers of Deforestation, Fraud and Violence Against Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples, Bolsonaro's Crimes and the Need for Due Diligence and Accountability in Financing and Supply Chains Discussion with Gabriella Bianchini on the importance of the Amazonian biome to the local environment and our planet and the current threats to the rainforest. We discuss the history of deforestation in Brazil's Amazon, including the ecocide under Bolsonaro and the current agrobusiness drivers, with a focus on cattle ranching and palm oil pla
ISDS: Clandestine Corporate Courts that Entrench Colonialism and Exacerbate the Climate Crisis
3y ago · 1:15:02
Neocolonialism, Democratic Deficits and Regulatory Chill of the Investor State Dispute Settlement Mechanism Discussion with Lisa Sachs on the regulatory chill and democratic deficit of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism (ISDS). We discuss the structural issues of ISDS, including conflict of interest, lack of transparency and lack of accountability as well as its neocolonial origins and entrenchment. We also discuss the proliferation of bilateral and multilateral investment treaties, the expanding investor protections of international investment law, treaty shopping and how ISDS is
Of Olives and Tears: Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the First Amendment
3y ago · 1:20:05
Palestinian Human Rights Defenders, SLAPP Suits, Anti-Boycott Laws and Human Rights Abuses in Israel and the OPT Discussion with Maria LaHood on the curtailment and criminalization of advocacy on behalf of Palestinian human rights and criticism of Israeli government policies and their conflation with antisemitism. We discuss SLAPP suits, prevention of academic freedom and debate and anti-boycott laws and their effect on chilling speech. We also discuss the importance of the right to boycott for our democracy and the increasing criminalization of dissent in the U.S. Additionally, we discuss hum
The United States of Waste and Woe: Conserving Toxicity at the Santa Susana Field Lab
3y ago · 1:28:26
Regulatory Capture, Lobbying, Astroturfing, Greenwashing and the Failure to Clean up LA’s Toxic Secret Discussion with Daniel Hirsch, Denise Duffield and Melissa Bumstead on the history and current contamination of the nuclear experiment and rocket testing site, Santa Susana Field Lab, above Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. We discuss how the responsible parties- NASA, the Department of Energy (DOE) and Boeing have failed to clean up the site, the tactics they have utilized to not do so and the current status of the cleanup. We discuss Boeing’s litigation against cleaning up to background lev
Toxic Tastes: How Industry Seeds Doubt, Fights Regulation and Hurts Our Health
3y ago · 1:11:04
The Nexus Between Environmental Health and Social Justice Discussion with Dr. Jimena Díaz Leiva on the health and environmental impact of fracking, forever chemicals, flame retardants and glyphosate. We discuss how trade secrets are being utilized to protect against disclosure of all toxic chemicals in fracking, the exemptions the industry obtained from environmental laws and how the First Amendment is being utilized against mandated government health warnings for glyphosate. We also discuss the tobacco and chemical industries’ deception respecting flame retardants and how CEH worked to ban fl
Ecocide: An Egregious Crime Causing Collective Calamity
4y ago · 1:15:22
Drafting and Establishing the 5th International Crime Against Peace Discussion with Darryl Robinson and Kate Mackintosh on the history of ecocide and the gravity and culpability elements necessary for it to be the fifth international crime against peace. We also discuss the process of establishing ecocide as an international crime, including the process of its adoption by the International Criminal Court. We discuss the differences between the definitions of the independent expert panel of international criminal and environmental jurists and the Promise Institute’s expert working group, which
A Tapestry of Humanity: Adam Hochschild's Ghosts of Rapacity and Resistance
4y ago · 1:45:03
Adam Hochschild's Ghosts of Rapacity and Resistance Discussion with Adam Hochschild on the historical movements and moments throughout Adam’s books. We discuss the First World War, the Spanish Civil War, the turmoil and anti-immigrant and anti-labour purges in the United States during and after the First World War, apartheid, the Stalinist purges and the Russian people’s attempt to reconcile with this rapacity, the British emancipation movement and King Leopold II’s genocide in the Congo. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/49
Total Extraction: Brutality and Blindness in Business and Banking
4y ago · 1:16:13
The Noxious Nexus of Environmental Destruction, Corruption, Conflict and Human Rights Abuse Discussion with Patrick Alley on the intersectionality of environmental destruction, human rights abuse, conflict and corruption. We discuss how our banks and institutional funds finance deforestation while concomitantly publicly rallying against it. We discuss greenwashing by the fossil fuels industry and its influence on COP26. We also discuss the intimidation, attacks and murder of frontline environmental defenders. Additionally, we discuss the environmental destruction, corruption and human rights a
Light Departing: Umbrellas v. Gas Canisters
4y ago · 1:34:29
Democratic Resistance in Hong Kong Discussion with Alex Yong-Kang Chow and Brian Leung on China’s increasing control over Hong Kong and its breaches of the Sino-British Declaration. We discuss the student democratic protests in 2014 and 2019 and the arrest and trials of the protestors. We discuss the enactment and use of the National Security Law to target free speech and the free press. We discuss the ransacking and closure of the June 4th Museum and the prohibition of the Tiananmen Square vigil and attendant arrest of its organizers. We also discuss the Greater Bay Area initiative and the in

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Episodes 71

The Whistle and the Whip: Rebels Who Risk All to Speak Truth to Power

Jaundiced Justice: Systemic Biases and Structural Violence in the Criminal System and the Need for Restorative Justice

Sartorial Walls and Silent Screams: Gender Apartheid and the Global Rollback of Women’s Rights

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: The Politics of Comedy and the Comedy of Politics in the Disunion

From a Cup of Catastrophe to a Better Brew

No Party on the Rooftop: Rapacity, Repression and Resistance in Tibet

Colonialism’s New Clothes: The Age of Green Imperialism

Silver Intervention: Art, Activism and Disaster Capitalism in the Philippines

In Deep Trouble: Battering the Seabed for Batteries

A Rhyme in Time: Power, Protest and Polarity in America

Unfinished Business: Sufferance for the Suffrage and the Need to Put the Demos Back in Democracy

The Future Is Circular: Tiny Tilos Making Titanic Strides

Our Tattered Tapestry: Hate and Extremism Across America

Letters of Leadership

From the Courtroom to the Community: Revitalizing Law to Empower Frontline Communities

Deflection, Deceit and Division in the Time of Climate Crisis

Our Immolated Heart: Deforestation and Land Grabbing in Brazil's Amazon

ISDS: Clandestine Corporate Courts that Entrench Colonialism and Exacerbate the Climate Crisis

Of Olives and Tears: Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the First Amendment

The United States of Waste and Woe: Conserving Toxicity at the Santa Susana Field Lab

Toxic Tastes: How Industry Seeds Doubt, Fights Regulation and Hurts Our Health

Ecocide: An Egregious Crime Causing Collective Calamity

A Tapestry of Humanity: Adam Hochschild's Ghosts of Rapacity and Resistance

Total Extraction: Brutality and Blindness in Business and Banking

Light Departing: Umbrellas v. Gas Canisters

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Episodes 71

The Whistle and the Whip: Rebels Who Risk All to Speak Truth to Power

Jaundiced Justice: Systemic Biases and Structural Violence in the Criminal System and the Need for Restorative Justice

Sartorial Walls and Silent Screams: Gender Apartheid and the Global Rollback of Women’s Rights

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: The Politics of Comedy and the Comedy of Politics in the Disunion

From a Cup of Catastrophe to a Better Brew

No Party on the Rooftop: Rapacity, Repression and Resistance in Tibet

Colonialism’s New Clothes: The Age of Green Imperialism

Silver Intervention: Art, Activism and Disaster Capitalism in the Philippines

In Deep Trouble: Battering the Seabed for Batteries

A Rhyme in Time: Power, Protest and Polarity in America

Unfinished Business: Sufferance for the Suffrage and the Need to Put the Demos Back in Democracy

The Future Is Circular: Tiny Tilos Making Titanic Strides

Our Tattered Tapestry: Hate and Extremism Across America

Letters of Leadership

From the Courtroom to the Community: Revitalizing Law to Empower Frontline Communities

Deflection, Deceit and Division in the Time of Climate Crisis

Our Immolated Heart: Deforestation and Land Grabbing in Brazil's Amazon

ISDS: Clandestine Corporate Courts that Entrench Colonialism and Exacerbate the Climate Crisis

Of Olives and Tears: Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the First Amendment

The United States of Waste and Woe: Conserving Toxicity at the Santa Susana Field Lab

Toxic Tastes: How Industry Seeds Doubt, Fights Regulation and Hurts Our Health

Ecocide: An Egregious Crime Causing Collective Calamity

A Tapestry of Humanity: Adam Hochschild's Ghosts of Rapacity and Resistance

Total Extraction: Brutality and Blindness in Business and Banking

Light Departing: Umbrellas v. Gas Canisters