This podcast episode explores the concept of interconnectedness through three distinct metaphorical paths: Network, Mesh and Continuum. Each one provides a unique lens to look on how everything in existence is interrelating, from humans to nature and culture to objects and ideas.

Sounds used: 

(1) Analogist - Mellotron spacey bleebs (Freesound.org)
(2) seenms - Forest on the shore of the lake (birds, frogs, the sound of leaves) (Freesound.org)
(3) rickaldo09 - Sci Fi gravitational field (Freesound.org)
(4) smokinghotdog - Tones Retro Soothing Radiohead Bell (Freesound.org)

Texts used: 

- Latour, B. (2017) "On Actor-Network Theory. A Few Clarifications, Plus More Than a Few Complications" in: Philosophical Literary Journal Logos 27(1):173-197.
- Morton, T. (2016) Dark Ecology. For a Logic of Future Coexistence, New York: Columbia University Press.
- Braidotti, R. "Anthropos Redux. A Defense of Monism in the Anthropocene" in:  Frame: Tijdschrift voor Literatuurwetenschap, 29(2), 29-48.
- Remme, D., Vitalism https://newmaterialism.eu/almanac/v/vitalism.html
- Bencherki, N. Actor-Network-Theory (2017), in: Scott, Lewis (eds.) International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication.

Script by: Claude-Johann Cierny, Philipp Letz, Sarah Wullbrecht
Main narrators: Claude-Johann Cierny, Philipp Letz, Sarah Wullbrecht
Intro: Jonas Hägele
Outro: Derin Kayabali

Scientific supervision: Dr. Elena Tripaldi

Intro/Outro Jingle: "Awakening" by ROZKOL

Metaphors of Interconnection

Ep_02_Metaphors of Interconnection

This radio podcast delves into the complex political metaphors underlying the concept of the Anthropocene, exposing it as a construct rooted in dynamics of oppression that impact both human and non-human lives. Through a critical lens, we examine how the term establishes an ontological hierarchy that perpetuates exclusion and domination. Drawing on the philosophies of Donna Haraway and Rosi Braidotti, this series challenges traditional narratives and reimagines our relationship with the planet, living organisms and each other.

Listeners will embark on an interdisciplinary journey through the History of Philosophy, Feminist Materialism, and theories of Otherness and Difference. Using historical examples—from antisemitism and colonialism to misogyny and extractivism—we explore how dialectical oppositions reinforce systemic inequality and hinder our collective future. With Braidotti’s critique of dualism and her active monism, and Haraway’s innovative concepts of the Chthulucene, Capitalocene, and Sympoiesis, we unpack the limitations of the Anthropocene framework and propose alternative ways of understanding interconnection, tentacularity and mutual survival.

Perfect for scholars, activists, and anyone curious about ecological philosophy and critical theory, this podcast brings fresh perspectives on the Anthropocene debate, urging us to rethink the language, metaphors, and assumptions shaping our engagement with the world.

Bibliography:

Braidotti, R. (2016). Anthropos Redux: A Defence of Monism in the Anthropocene Epoch. In: Frame: Journal of Literary Studies, 29(2). Utrecht University Repository.

Ferdinand, M. (2022). Decolonial ecology: thinking from the Caribbean world. Translated by Anthony Paul Smith. Polity.

Haraway, D. J. (2016). Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Duke University Press.

Düwell, Marcus (2008). Würde der Kreatur. In: Bioethik. Methoden, Theorien und Bereiche. Gasché, R. (1995). Inventions of difference: on Jacques Derrida. (2. print.). Harvard Univ. Press.

Malinowska, Ania (2020). Waves of Feminism. University of Silesia, Poland.

Schinkel, Anders. Martha Nussbaum on Animal Rights. In: Ethics and the Environment, vol. 13, no. 1, 2008, pp. 41–69. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40339148. Accessed 13 June 2024.

Newspapers & Magazines:

Friedrich, Lisa (2021, September 30). Jürgen Habermas. Es gibt keine unbeweglichen Identitäten. In: Philosophie Magazine. (2021). Accessed 13 June 2024 https://www.philomag.de/artikel/juergen-habermas-es-gibt-keine-unbeweglichen-identitaeten

Sherwood, Harriet (2020, September 13). 300 years on, will thousands of women burned as witches finally get justice? In: The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/uk- news/2020/sep/13/300-years-on-will-thousands-of-women-burned-as-witches-finally-get- justice. 

Script by: Verónica Mota Galindo
Main narrator: Verónica Mota Galindo 
Intro: Claude-Johann Cierny
Outro: Jonas Hägele

Scientific supervision: Dr. Elena Tripaldi

Intro/Outro Jingle: "Awakening" by ROZKOL

Ep_04_Political Metaphores

In this first podcast episode of “being in the Anthropocene”, we will look at the concept of the Anthropocene, and then elaborate on the challenges that arise when one tries to grasp the anthropocene within traditional academic boundaries. We argue that this concept is inherently tied to several academic disciplines, and only understandable when mixing these disciplines together, or even going beyond them. The possibilities that arise when we leave traditional academic boundaries behind, create room for creative and innovative concepts and solutions for adequately describing and tackling the many 21st century problems, and foster a understanding of our world based on connectedness, rather than on difference and separation.  To end the episode, we will take a closer at one such innovative approach to research: The Feral Atlas, an interactive website project.

Sources
Primary Sources

Tsing, Anna L.; Deger, Jennifer; Keleman Saxena, Alder; and Zhou, Feifei: Feral Atlas. The More than Human Anthropocene, Interactive Website Project: https://feralatlas.org/, Accessed: October 3, 2024.
Unknown Author: Level as a Concrete Slab…, Online Resource as Part of the Feral Atlas: https://feralatlas.supdigital.org/modes/smooth-speed, accessed October 3, 2024.

Secondary Sources
Badmington, Neil. "Theorizing posthumanism." Cultural critique 53 (2003): 10-27.
Beetham, Gwendolyn, and Melissa Fernández Arrigoitia. "inter/trans/post-disciplinarity: explorations of encounters across disciplines." Graduate Journal of Social Science 7.1 (2010): 7-13.
Braidotti, Rosi. The Posthuman, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
Darbellay, Frédéric. "Postdisciplinarity: Imagine the future, think the unthinkable." Postdisciplinary knowledge. Routledge, 2019. 235-250.
Deger, Jennifer. “A Digital Humanities Experiment.“ Online Resource: https://feralatlas.supdigital.org/?cd=true&rr=true&cdex=true&text=jennifer-deger-a-digital-humanities-experiment&ttype=essay, accessed October 3, 2024.
Haraway, Donna Jeanne. Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene, (Durham: Duke University Press, 2016).
Hollinshead, Keith. "Postdisciplinarity and the rise of intellectual openness: The necessity for." Tourism Analysis 21.4 (2016): 349-361.
Horn, Eva and Bergthaller, Hannes. The Anthropocene: Key Issues for the Humanities, (London, New York: Routledge, 2020).
Horn, Eva. The future as catastrophe: Imagining disaster in the modern age (New York: Columbia University Press, 2018).
Imbesi, Lorenzo. "Inter-Trans-Post-Disciplinarity."
Lewis, Simon L. and Maslin, Mark A. “A Transparent Framework for Defining the Anthropocene Epoch,” The Anthropocene Review 2, no. 2 (2015).
Loveless, Natalie. How to Make Art at the End of the World. A Manifesto for Research Creation, (Durham & London: Duke University Press, 2019).
Soper, Kate. "The humanism in posthumanism." Comparative Critical Studies 9.3 (2012): 365-378.

Script by: Jonas Hägele, Linus Wilke
Main narrators: Jonas Hägele, Linus Wilke
Intro: Veronica Mota Galindo
Outro: Sarah Wullbrecht

Scientific supervision: Dr. Elena Tripaldi

Intro/Outro Jingle: "Awakening" by ROZKOL

Demos Oneiron

Ep_01_Postdisciplinarity in relation to the concept of the Anthropocene

In the last episode of season one of the Being in the Anthropocene podcast, the X-Research Group “What is the Right Ontology for the Anthropocene” reflected on their research process and on their experience of shared reading, writing, discussing, and recording throughout the four months of the project.

Among many other topics, the episode explores the challenges and joys of interdisciplinary work and the expressive potentialities of translating complex academic discussions in the popular format of a radio podcast.

Group 1: Veronica Mota Galindo, Claude-Johann Cierny, Jonas Hägele.
Group 2: Sarah Wullbrecht, Derin Kayabali, Linus Wilke.

Intro: Derin Kayabali
Outro: Linus Wilke

Scientific supervision: Dr. Elena Tripaldi

Intro/Outro Jingle: "Awakening" by ROZKOL

Ep_05 Looking back: Reflections on three months of interdisciplinary student research

In this episode of our podcast series 'Being in the Anthropocene', I will be discussing the affective responses people have when they encounter an event related to the climate crisis. As a starting point, I will talk about the Australian bushfires that occurred in late 2019 and early 2020. I will then discuss how encountering the climate crisis and trying to cope with it affects us mentally. Within this discussion, I will outline the negative effects that these encounters can have on our mental health and, based on the suggestions of philosophers Timothy Morton and Lea Ypi, how we can instead use them for self-improvement. I will argue that confronting the realities of the climate crisis can help us better understand our ecological and political environment and gain a new perspective on the power dynamics that dominate our lives.

Bibliography 

Bennett, J. (2010). Vibrant matter : a political ecology of things / Jane Bennett. Duke University Press.

Morton, T. (2016). Dark Ecology : For a Logic of Future Coexistence / Timothy Morton. Columbia University Press. 

Verlie, B. (2022). Learning to live with climate change : from anxiety to transformation / Blanche Verlie. Routledge.

Ypi, L. (2024) - “What is Moral Socialism?” 2024 Walter-Benjamin Lectures, Berlin (https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/en/benjamin_lectures/what-is-moral-socialism/)

Intro: Sarah Wullbrecht
Outro: Veronica Mota Galindo

Scientific supervision: Dr. Elena Tripaldi

Intro/Outro Jingle: "Awakening" by ROZKOL

Ep_03_Affective Perspectives on the Anthropocene

Welcome to Being in the Anthropocene, the podcast where we explore how the way we think of the world transforms the way we act upon it. 

This podcast presents the results of the research conducted by the X-Research Group “What is the Right Ontology for the Anthropocene”, held at the Institute of Philosophy of the Free University of Berlin from April to July of 2024.   

The “What is the right ontology for the Anthropocene” research group was coordinated by Dr. Elena Tripaldi and comprised Derin Kayabali, Johann Čierny, Jonas Hägele, Linus Wilke, Philipp Letz, Sarah Wulbrecht, and Veronica Mota Galindo. 

The research group focused on the following questions: What understanding of reality inspires the best interactions between humans and non-humans? How do we draw the line between human and non-human? Are care and compassion possible in a world where we have little control on our actions and their consequences? And are the traditional concepts of Western thought the best guide in this journey? 

Tune in to discover our findings!


X-Research Groups are research-based projects sponsored by the Student Research Opportunities Program of the Berlin University Alliance (https://www.berlin-university-alliance.de/en/commitments/teaching-learning/sturop/research-groups/index.html)

Image credits: 
Photo from "Phasmides" by Daniel Steegmann Mangrané (https://www.danielsteegmann.info/works/21/index.html)

Photo by: Tuija Sonkkila https://www.flickr.com/photos/dadaa/

Ep_02_Metaphors of Interconnection

Being in the Anthropocene Podcast

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