Art of Power

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Vladimir Putin hates her: Meet Daria Kaleniuk of Ukraine Mar 10, 2022

Show notes

In this week’s episode of Art of Power, host Aarti Shahani sits down with the woman who helped build Ukraine’s fledgling democracy. Daria Kaleniuk is the executive director of Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center. She has spent a decade building sweeping anti-corruption infrastructure, much to Russia’s chagrin. As Vladimir Putin invades her home, you may have seen her calling out U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a recent press conference that went viral. In our conversation, Kaleniuk questions the value of her life’s work: “We are being executed by Russia for fighting corruption and building rule of law,” she tells Shahani. “Those allies which helped us…are betraying us. They are not providing means to protect our democracy.” To understand the war in Ukraine, you need to understand her story: where she grew up, the uprising that shaped her, and the threat that she poses to Vladimir Putin. We discuss her early childhood in the post–Soviet state (1:43), her protest work during the Maidan Revolution (7:00), Putin’s recent speech that cited the organizations she helped create as a pretext for his invasion (27:37), and her call to action for Western governments (32:02). Editor’s note: This interview was recorded on Monday, March 7, 2022. It provides vital context for understanding Russia's attack on Ukraine, but does not reflect the latest developments on the ground.

Jameela Jamil wants vengeance Mar 03, 2022

Show notes

Jameela Jamil has been revered and despised as the internet’s loudest anti-fat-shaming activist, a social media Candyman out to get the diet industry. But whatever the public opinion, she couldn't care less. In this week’s episode of Art of Power, host Aarti Shahani sits down with the premiere social media activist of a generation. We discuss her unexpected career launch in the U.K. (1:40), a life-threatening discovery that shook her into upending her life (2:41), her unfiltered social media battle with entertainment giants (7:17), her decades-long battle with depression and suicide (18:20), the origin story of her media company, I Weigh (30:09), how her Brown girl identity has shaped her career trajectory (38:51) and her deadly phobia of bees (0:00). “I will die fighting the f***ing diet industry,” she says. If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (En Español: 1-888-628-9454; Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889) or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.

‘I am literally nonbinary, and not just in gender’: Taiwan Digital Minister Audrey Tang on COVID, democracy and identity Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

Audrey Tang is a genius, a hacktivist, and a software engineer who protested Taiwan’s government during the 2014 Sunflower Movement – and then became an insider, as the first nonbinary and openly transgender cabinet member in the world. Tang and host Aarti Shahani talk about Taiwan’s COVID-19 “miracle”; the platform they helped create to democratize Taiwan’s fragile democracy; a rare childhood heart condition and Taoist meditation; and how their personal identity is a metaphor for the way they publicly lead.

Living between war and peace: Azmat Khan on the personal toll of war reporting Feb 17, 2022

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America’s air campaign against terrorism in the Middle East was one of the most precise in history, according to military officials and media reports at the time. But award-winning investigative journalist Azmat Khan did not believe what she read in the papers. So, she decided to find the truth for herself. She put her body on the line and crisscrossed war zones to figure out how America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were actually going. We discuss tricks of the trade: how Azmat shook off Iraqi officials who were on her tail, how she distinguished between ISIS fighters and civilians, and how she built relationships with her sources. We meet the most important source in her life, Basim Razzo, an Iraqi man who lost his family in a U.S. drone strike. He was labeled, incorrectly, as a member of ISIS. We also go to a place Azmat does not like to visit (at least not in public): her inner life. Living between war and peace takes a real emotional toll.

How Big Tech silences dissent: Timnit Gebru’s insider account Feb 10, 2022

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Google hired computer scientist Timnit Gebru to sniff out bias and other unethical practices in the company’s sprawling artificial intelligence work. After she drafted a paper that did just that, she says, the company moved to fire her. In this episode of Art of Power, Gebru walks host Aarti Shahani through the twists and turns of life that led her to Silicon Valley. A refugee from Ethiopia, she migrated to Massachusetts as a teen, and then headed to Stanford University (though her college guidance counselor didn’t think she was Stanford material). Gebru became a different kind of tech unicorn – a woman and an under-represented minority in the industry. Her departure from Google is one of the most high-profile exits that Big Tech has ever seen. She reflects on what her personal story means for a larger public that’s grappling with the unchecked power of a handful of companies. She also explains how she’s working to light little fires everywhere.

Olympic champion Allyson Felix in her own shoes ... literally Feb 03, 2022

Show notes

Allyson Felix used her legs to become the most decorated track athlete in American history, with more world titles than Usain Bolt and Carl Lewis. Though it wasn’t until her journey into motherhood that she found and used her voice. In this episode, host Aarti Shahani talks with Felix about her metamorphosis – from quiet superstar to unexpected activist. The daughter of a pastor and a teacher, she discusses her early years, when she avoided politics (and also happiness!). We dissect just how she found herself in the center of a massive battle over maternal rights … and why exactly she took on her corporate sponsor, the biggest name in footwear: Nike.

Journalism is not a ‘neutral profession’: Nikole Hannah-Jones on ‘The 1619 Project’ Nov 18, 2021

Show notes

Nikole Hannah-Jones won the Pulitzer Prize for creating The 1619 Project, a series from The New York Times that reframes American history by placing the institution of slavery at the center of the national narrative. The project was released as a book this month. On this episode of WBEZ’s Art of Power podcast, Hannah-Jones tells host Aarti Shahani how she dreamt up the project while on sabbatical, what the backlash has taught her about how power works, and why journalism is not a neutral profession. “I want you to feel deeply disturbed and hopefully guilty by the time you finish my work so that then you will feel the desire to do something differently,” she said. We also trace her journey from dutiful education reporter at a small town newspaper to, well, firebrand.

How will you fix this broken world? Oct 14, 2021

Show notes

The inaugural season of WBEZ’s Art of Power podcast comes to a close after nearly 30 episodes. In our season finale, Aarti asks listeners to take stock, internalize lessons learned and make a commitment: What am I doing — or going to do — to fix this broken world? We, the creators and listeners of Art of Power, are not just in the business of learning. We are in the business of learning in order to do. To help you, Aarti and her producers share their favorite power lessons. And she publicly shares a commitment she is making — one that may go very, very badly.

‘You Cannot Take From Me What Is Mine’: Tarana Burke, ‘Me Too’ Movement Founder Oct 07, 2021

Show notes

Tarana Burke created the “Me Too” movement 15 years before #MeToo went viral in the wake of the 2017 Harvey Weinstein scandal. On Art of Power, she tells host Aarti Shahani how she did it. Burke, author of the new memoir Unbound, said she had to fight with herself before she could even say the words “me too” out loud. She had to build a grassroots movement in the shadows, in defiance of movement leaders who wanted her to fight against racism, not gender violence and sexism. And she had to reclaim her movement after it appeared to be hijacked by the white Hollywood establishment. Overwhelmed by the visibility and attention of #MeToo, Burke said, “I really shrunk.” It took time to realize her only limits were the ones she put on herself. Though, she jokes, “that would have sounded like Kumbaya nonsense to me before.”

‘You Don’t Even Know You’re Invisible’: Margaret Cho Forces A Generation To Be Seen Sep 30, 2021

Show notes

Margaret Cho, an elder stateswoman in comedy, began touring the stand up circuit as a teenager. She dropped out of school and, at age 23, launched the very first TV sitcom about an Asian-American family, All American Girl. The show bombed. And in the immediate aftermath, she looked in the mirror (literally) and blamed the failure on her inability to lose weight. Years later, she realized she was missing the historical context of the era and the “invisibility” that Asian-Americans were dealing with. Today, Cho is host of The Margaret Cho, a podcast on the EARIOS network, where she dedicated a season to discussing anti-Asian violence. Cho talks with Art of Power about her mistakes, including how she mistakenly looked up to a white male leader who was later convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the death of his wife. She also gives a mini-master class on what makes a joke funny (in case you wanted tips).

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