This Week in Dystopia

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Fit Nation Mar 19, 2019

Show notes

From the moment your alarm goes off until your head hits the pillow at night, fitness is in your face. During the day, most of us will either go to the gym, think about working out, get a reminder from our fitness tracker, walk by a fitness studio, or feel bad for not getting any exercise at all. Fitness is not only a large part of our day, but it's a part of our cultural identity and pop culture.

This week Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Associate Professor of History at The New School, joins This Week in Dystopia Host Chris Robichaud for a conversation about fitness, pop culture, and public policy. We talk about everything from SoulCycle to physical education in schools.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Captain Marvel Mar 13, 2019

Show notes

🚨 SPOILER ALERT: Host Chris Robichaud has already seen this movie (twice!) and the episode contains spoilers. If you haven't already seen Captain Marvel, listen at the peril of your movie-going experience.

Julian Chambliss, English Professor at Michigan State University and comic book aficionado, joins host Chris Robichaud to discuss Captain Marvel. They discuss both what Carol Danvers portends for the Avengers storyline as well as what her cultural significance is as the leading female superhero to grace the silver screen in the most popular superhero universe (sorry DC Comics, but let's be real).

This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Politics & the Playbook Mar 05, 2019

Show notes

In episode 20, we asked, can you keep politics out of football? The answer was a resounding no. Not only are politics a part of contemporary sports culture, but politics is woven throughout sports and entertainment history. Host Chris Robichaud sits down with Justin Tinsley, a writer at ESPN's Undefeated, to talk about social activism in sports and pop culture. The conversation touches on everything from Jackie Robinson to Sammy Davis Jr., Travis Scott, and sneaker culture.

This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Horror Noire Feb 26, 2019

Show notes

This week, host Chris Robichaud sits down with author, scholar, and executive producer Tananarive Due to talk about the complicated relationship Black filmmakers and Black audiences have with horror.

Mentioned in the show
Horror Noire
Get Out
The Sunken Place
My Soul to Keep (African Immortals series)

This episode was FULL on mentions, find them all on our Medium page.

This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

This is America Feb 19, 2019

Show notes

The Grammys have been criticized for lacking diversity and not giving hip-hop artists their due. This year, Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, took home both song and record of the year awards. This is America, Glover's chart-topping song best known for its music video, has something to say about the state of the U.S. from gun violence to race. We sat down with Chris Lebron, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins, to talk about the significance of Glover's Grammy win in light of recent criticism as well as his no-show at the Awards. The conversation turns to the broader music scene, Janelle Monáe, Afrofuturism, and Kanye West.

Mentioned in the show
This is America Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY
Boston Review, What Happened to Kanye West?: http://bostonreview.net/race/christopher-lebron-what-happened-kanye-west
Boston Review, Janelle Monáe for President: http://bostonreview.net/race-literature-culture/chris-lebron-janelle-monae-president
Kanye West Interview with Charlamagne: http://digg.com/video/kanye-charlamange-interview
Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFK6k-pvXmI

This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Pop Culture and Politics? No Apologies Feb 12, 2019

Show notes

Are comic books just for kids? Is there more to pop culture then pure entertainment? I think you know our answer. Tune in to hear host Chris Robichaud discuss why This Week in Dystopia is focusing on pop culture and politics this season and how we'll prove that comic books aren't just for kids.

Mentioned in the show
Bill Maher's comments on comic books: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgInmHHO0m4
Maher's blog on the topic: http://www.real-time-with-bill-maher-blog.com/index/2018/11/16/adulting?rq=comic%20books
Brett Easton Ellis on Black Panther: https://www.indiewire.com/2019/02/bret-easton-ellis-black-panther-oscar-noms-no-one-thinks-its-good-movie-1202041009/

This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

The NFL, Politics, and Patriots Feb 01, 2019

Show notes

In advance of Super Bowl LIII, tune in to hear host Christopher Robichaud in conversation with Mark Leibovich, Chief National correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, author of Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times, and Leah Wright Rigueur, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.

This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School. Special thanks go to the JFK Jr. Forum at Harvard's Institute of Politics for allowing us to share this discussion.

The Students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Mar 27, 2018

Show notes

On Tuesday, March 20th, the Institute of Politics hosted a conversation with students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School titled, “#NEVERAGAIN: How Parkland Students are Changing the Conversation on Guns.” This week, we listen in to the discussion to reflect on both the power of young advocates in our democracy and the deep impact of gun violence, particularly in schools.

This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Gun Rights & Democracy? Mar 13, 2018

Show notes

Gun rights have dominated headlines the past two weeks. This isn’t the first time that debate around gun control has erupted following a mass shooting, but momentum and teenage advocacy have some people believing that this time the conversation won’t fade. With strong advocates arguing both sides of the issue, it can be difficult to deeply reflect on the role of guns and self-defense in a modern democracy.

This week, host Chris Robichaud is joined by Caroline Light, Harvard Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality. Light, an expert on America’s relationship with self-defense, provides insight into today's debate over gun control.

This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

The Conversation No One Wants to Have About Inequality Mar 06, 2018

Show notes

New ways of governing, policy, protests, and more have been introduced across the globe for centuries to try and curb inequality. So, what actually worked? According to Walter Scheidel, author of "The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century," history reports that violence and catastrophe are the only proven effective interventions. On February 26th, Walter Scheidel, Dickason Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Classics and History, Stanford, joined This Week in Dystopia host Chris Robichaud for a conversation at Harvard Kennedy School.

More about "The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century" can be found online here: https://press.princeton.edu/titles/10921.html

This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

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