[55] Philippe Sands — Impunity: International Justice in an Age of Lawlessness
Few people have shaped the public perception and debate about with as much eloquence and precision as Philippe Sands, who combines a distinguished career as a human rights lawyer with writing a series of books on themes such as justice, memory, and personal and family history. During the discussion series MQ Gespräche a the Museumsquartier in Vienna I spoke to Philippe about his new book 38 Londes Street, Nazi War Criminals and the Pinochet dictatorship, and about the arch of history that spans form 1930s Lemberg to London in 2025. In the second part of our conversation, we touch more contemporary developments about international law and lawlessness, the delicate question of when a mass killing must be considered genocide and whether it matters, and the importance of pragmatism in the pursuit of justice.The MQ Gespräche is a series of public discussions in which I invite prominent intellectuals to reflect about current questions. Allow me to say thank you to the Bruno Kreisky Forum, the IWM in Vienna, and the Museumsquartier, wonderful partners in this project.Support the show
--------
1:24:52
--------
1:24:52
[54] Sarah Newman — Did We Learn Culture from Animals?
Sarah Newman is a zooarcheologist, specialising in animal remains and what they tell about the interaction between humans and animals in the distant past. Her research projects took her to investigate the impact of humans on the landscape and on natural systems among the ancient Mayans and the inhabitants of ancient Jordan. Working on ancient beaver dams and early wooden buildings in which humans had clearly reused tree trunks felled by beavers, she had a fascinating idea: what if early humans got inspiration from special animal skills such as felling trees, damming water, building with wood, and even creating art? What if the division between culture and nature that seemed essential for centuries simply melts away if we allow the idea that there was collaboration and even co-creation between humans and animals, as animal culture and skills were acquired and combined by early humanity?Support the show
--------
1:02:58
--------
1:02:58
[53] Colombe Cahen-Salvador — A New Age of Democracy?
Colombe Cahen-Salvador is driven by the vision to create a turning point in the near future: to reform not only the European Union to make it stronger, more federal, and above all more democratic, but to create a global political movement. Oh, and she is also standing to become secretary general of the United Nations. This is not megalomania, but tactic, she explains. It is not about being elected, but about making a statement about the democratisation of an institution that is no longer fit for purpose. To effect the changes she is pursuing, she has co-founded Volt, the first pan-European political party, and almost impossible enterprise, she says, and Atlas, a global movement for progressive politics that is operating not only in Europe, but also on other continents. Colombe’s analysis of Europe, the old Left, and the project of the liberal West is as scathing as it is compelling and we had plenty to discuss.Support the show
--------
58:04
--------
58:04
[52] Karl Schlögel — Der Historiker und die Annexion
Karl Schlögel, Träger des Friedenspreises des deutschen Buchhandels 2025, ist einer der ganz wichtigen historischen Autoren in Europa. Er hat sein Lebenswerk der intellektuellen Geschichte Russlands gewidmet, eine Geschichte, die er immer wieder als eine Topografie beschreibt, die sich in großen Städten lesen lässt. Sein Wendepunkt ist die Annexion der Krim 2014, ein Moment, in dem sich seine eigene, tiefe Beziehung zu Russland radikal änderte. Wir sprechen über die kulturelle Geographie Russlands, die Blindheit westlicher Eliten und Schlögels eigene intellektuelle Neuorientierung hin zur Ukraine und einer alternativen Geschichte und Grammatik Osteuropas. Support the show
--------
1:00:11
--------
1:00:11
[51] Ussama Makdisi — Creating the Modern Middle East: The Peace Conference of 1919
Present political structures, powers, and peoples are better understood through their history. Ussama Makdisi, a historian of the Middle East and distinguished professor at the University of California at Berkeley, has spent much of his research on the formation of the modern Middle East out of the ruins of the Ottoman empire. He now writes on the peace conference of 1919 and its effects on the lands of the collapsing Ottoman empire, including the often-ignored fact finding mission that asked local inhabitants of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine about their own visions of their future governance. The report was quietly shelved, as a story of colonial domination played itself out and the region was carved up between Britain and France. The historical consequences, including the orientalist gaze that depicted Arabs and Muslims as less than human or at least less than civilised second-class citizens seen through a series of stereotypes. This orientalism still dominates Western policy towards the Middle East, Ussama Makdisi argues in this fascinating discussion. Support the show
The BlomCast looks at turning points in history, which have always fascinated me. My name is Philipp Blom, I am a historian and broadcaster and author of many books about the Enlightenment, the story of modernity and climate history. The climate catastrophe places us at the greatest historical turning point hin human history. What, if anything, can we learn from moments in the past in which a model of life seemed to change, or had to change, in which whole societies were transformed?If you want to support my work:https://buymeacoffee.com/blomcasthttps://www.buzzsprout.com/2104173/supporthttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOowcMCQ_oJtdJeZu3oK6og/joinhttps://www.patreon.com/user?u=75561076&utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Österreich