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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 Whistleblowers’ holistic model of support and the massive and varied risks and repercussions faced by whistleblowers. We also discuss the particular peril facing whistleblowers in Africa and those who expose environmental crimes. We discuss landmark disclosures exposing state capture, transnational money laundering, illicit resource trafficking, corporate surveillance and paramilitary collusion, environmental destruction and greenwashing across Africa, South America and Europe. We also discuss South Africa's Zondo Commission and PPLAAF's position paper on the draft Protected Disclosures Bill. We discuss the collusion between environmental auditors and multinationals such as TotalEnergies and Rio Tinto in providing deceptive IFC Performance Standard 6 biodiversity reports. We also discuss the shortcomings of international, national and regional laws including the EU Whistleblowing Directive and a model whistleblowing protection law. Additionally, we discuss the importance of whistleblowing to preserving our democracies and environment. Finally, we discuss how the technocratic carbon consensus is becoming a new form of green colonialism, creating sacrifice zones across Africa. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/71

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 collection of eyewitness identification and the need for corroborative evidence. We also discuss victim blaming and the secondary trauma caused to sexual assault survivors by the criminal justice system. Finally, we discuss the need for circles and creating space to sit with uncomfortable narratives and listen to each other, prioritizing empathy and belonging, to rebuild our national community. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/70

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 digital abuse. Finally, we discuss the global rollback of women’s rights, from attacks on reproductive healthcare to leadership disparities and discrimination against female leaders. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/69

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 limit land prints. We discuss the opioid crisis and the need for universal healthcare and a strong public education system. We discuss the executive encroachment of the Trump administration, its inhumane attacks on immigrants and the need for immigration reform. We also discuss how access and digestion of media is increasingly segmented and contributing to increased polarization and extremism and the need for compassion, community and coming to the table. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/68

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 activism, the EUDR and the Forest Act and the need for more regulatory oversight. We also discuss agroforestry and how coffee can be grown to provide food security to farmers as well as retain biodiversity and regenerate soil. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/67

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 environmental, human rights and geopolitical issues concerning the CCP’s dams in Tibet, including building the world’s largest dam. We also discuss the impact of climate change on the Tibetan plateau, the Tibetan government in exile and how governments in exile can retain democratic structures. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/66

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 renewable energy infrastructure mega projects in the Global South impede local resources while failing to alleviate energy poverty, and the deception and detrimental impact of creative carbon offset accounting. Additionally, we look at the continued internalization of externalities in the Global South, saddled with odious debt and subject to the corrupt ISDS system, creating economic vulnerability and democratic deficits. We also discuss grassroots ecological movements and how we can move from green colonialism to create an equitable and ecological transition. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/65

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 exploitative and harmful. We also discuss climate change vulnerability, disaster capitalism, red-tagging and transgender rights in the Philippines. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/64

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 the energy transition and the International Seabed Authority’s conflicting mandate to establish the industry while protecting the deep sea. We also discuss how mining companies are exploiting Pacific Island nations, which are the most vulnerable to climate change. Additionally, we discuss the growing schism between climate mitigation and biodiversity protection and the need to view these as one problem that demands an integrated, holistic solution. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/63

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 the Stonewall uprising and its significance to the LGBTQI+ rights movement. We also discuss the AIDS epidemic as a health and housing crisis, the callousness and myopia of the Reagan administration’s lack of response and how the epidemic also led to solidarity and fostered community. Additionally, we discuss the movements for marriage equality and transgender rights. We also discuss polarization, disassociation, the need for active listening and brave communication. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/62

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 Electoral College in Presidential elections. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/61

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. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/60

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 the benefits of establishing a national human rights institution. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/59

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 polarity, what defines a crisis and media responsibility. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/58

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 lived experience of affected communities. Additionally, we discuss the importance of prior informed consent and moving from extractive to regenerative practices. We also discuss climate justice as an integral pathway toward climate mitigation and adaptation. For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/57