Mind the Shift

One of the world’s most experienced diplomats, Jan Eliasson is a likable and honest man who is endowed with a constructive mindset. Lately, however, he feels that he in dark moments almost lands in the category of pessimist, ”but a pessimist that hasn’t given up”, he adds in his typical forward-looking way. What is worrying this former UN number two is the geopolitical shift that seems to have eroded trust between world powers and diminished the belief in international cooperation. Plus the ”almost obscene” levels of expenditure on armaments. Jan Eliasson tends to paint worst case scenarios to be prepared, he tells (his wife has banned them at breakfast and dinner). ”Mostly they don’t occur”. The hope lies in focusing on people, not on organizations or governments. Says Jan: ”We have to get away from the vertical approach. You put the problem at the center, and then you gather people around it that can do something about it, whether formally or informally.” ”It sounds like a banality, but the more I work in international politics, the more I realize that what really counts is when you make a difference in people’s lives.” On spirituality and inspiration from UN’s former head Dag Hammarskjöld: ”You have to look for a higher purpose and see that you were given the gift of life and have to take care of that life and do the best of it. And, actually, the best you can do for yourself is to help others.” On the future of humanity: ”I hope we come back to humanism and understand that the most important work is the work we do together. You are part of something bigger.” ”If we really mobilize the resources we have, we can do it. And I have an enormous belief in the increasing role of women.” Jan Eliasson is currently the chairman of the international peace research institute SIPRI.

Jannecke Øinæs is a Norwegian former singer and actor who now excels as a spiritual entrepreneur. I really enjoyed having this candid conversation, which revolves around the deepest aspects of life but still in an easy-going way. Jannecke is a true light worker. Hear her talk about: • Her sudden, life changing shift in the middle of a promising career in show business • Identifying with labels others put on you • Finding your true purpose • Being present in the world while growing spiritually • Lucid dreaming • Experiencing ayahuasca • The perils of spiritual ego … and much, much more. She is the host of a popular Youtube channel called Wisdom from North, and she has also created a membership community with exclusive masterclasses every month.

Most of what you think you know about migration is probably incorrect. Listening to professor of sociology Hein de Haas, director of the International Migration Institute, makes one realize that both the media and the politicians have got the whole thing wrong: Migration would be less dramatic with more open borders. Poverty and conflict don’t drive most of migration, labor demand does. The concept of climate refugees has no scientific basis. ”People say I shouldn't say these things in public”, says Hein de Haas. ”But I think we need to be able to deal with the truth.” Here are some other no-nonsense quotes: ”The Turkey deal (between the EU and Turkey) shows we aren't too worried about what happens to refugees.” ”International migration has been remarkably stable over the decades at around three percent of the population.” ”Nine out of ten Africans that move to Europe do so legally.” ”There is a tendency at the UN and other organizations to paint a misleading picture that we are facing a migration crisis. This can actually undermine refugee protection.” ”The main cause of migration is quite simply labor demand. There is a huge level of hypocrisy around this.” ”When borders are relatively open, migrants don’t stay permanently. When borders are harder to cross, they stay.” ”Mobility should be considered a freedom in its own right. And it really doesn’t matter if you use it or not. It’s like the right to vote or run for office.” Hein’s homepage: www.heindehaas.org Hein’s book ”The Age of Migration”: http://www.age-of-migration.com

Rania Odaymat is a Ghanaian artist, creative coach, art curator, founding member of the Beyond Collective and a part time fashion stylist and creative director. ”All of these roles can be helpful in simplifying things, but they don’t describe you as a person”, says this cool, wise and responsive human being (who stresses that she can just as well be described as an explorer, seeker, mother and daughter). Seventeen years ago she had an inner crash. ”I couldn’t get out of bed. I couldn’t stand myself. I had been repressing my inner voice and was basically living for others. So I made a choice: I am going to be true to myself no matter whom I lose or what I lose. That’s when I started reeducating myself.” She wants us to develop our different kinds of intelligence: ”The nature of intelligence is dynamic. We need a lot of creative intelligence in times like these. Those who are going to survive are those with the highest capacity to change,  re-create themselves and adapt to very fast rising situations.” She thinks teaching kids that one plus one always equals two is a mistake, because that is an oversimplification that doesn’t always apply in life, like in collaboration. On art and freedom she says: ”Your arts create your narrative, and without a story of your own it is very difficult to be free, because other people will write your narrative and decide who you are.” Rania also talks about life in Accra during the pandemic, dream interpretation, Kwame Nkrumah and Salvador Dalí. And about the future: ”Our future depends on the kind of consciousness we develop. If we keep on acting from a place of fear we won’t be going anywhere good.” You can find Rania’s podcast Creative in Accra on all available podcast platforms.

Allan Lichtman, a professor of history at American University in Washington DC, has correctly predicted the winner of nine presidential elections in a row. He has a system with 13 ”keys” that seems almost foolproof (see below). Now he reveals his prediction for November 3, and you will hear it in this episode. Lichtman is a Democrat, but he makes sure to shove his own opinions aside when he makes his predictions. The fact that he has picked five Republicans and four Democrats on beforehand gives him credibility enough. But his thoughts on how the incumbent is doing he doesn’t keep to himself: ”Trump has exposed lots of loopholes in our system. He has also shown how easy it is to deny information to the American people.” ”He is a coward. He can’t even fire people eye to eye. He hasn’t personally got the fortitude to actually, physically, fight a battle to stay in the White House.” ”Trump has virtually destroyed everything the Republican party ever stood for.” Oh, and Allan is also a former steeplechase champion. And a 16-time quiz show winner. Here are the 13 keys to the White House. If six or more of these statements are found to be false by this time, the incumbent party loses: 1) midterm gains 2) no primary contest 3) incumbent seeking re-election 4) no third party 5) strong short-term economy 6) strong long-term economy 7) major policy change 8) no social unrest 9) no scandal 10) no foreign/military failure 11) major foreign/military success 12) charismatic incumbent 13) uncharismatic challenger Lichtman concludes that seven are now false – 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12

Roy Coughlan had a multi-million euro business and lost everything when the markets crashed. When trying to rescue what was possible to rescue he saw the corruption of the economic and legal systems. He had a first hand experience of the ”conveyor belt rulings” in favor of the banks and against homeowners. At that point he had already seen falsity in the health system. ”Why don’t you hear about health methods that will heal you without pills? Because it’s a money game.” Now Roy wants to help more people think for themselves and free themselves from what he sees as a corrupt matrix – by truth-telling and by giving solutions. His tools are a new podcast (in addition to the three he already had) and a book. But are cell phones and additives truly dangerous? What role does fear play? Listen to Roy and me discussing the state of the world from partly different angles but with one common basis: have no fear, but be aware. Check out Roy Coughlan’s website here.

Hear the experienced and highly respected ”global trend guru” Bi Puranen explain some of the social mega-trends that we are seeing today. On the Pandemic: ”Lockdowns have caused a lot more harm than the virus to low and middle income countries . One estimated result is 15 million unwanted pregnancies.” ”It’s a huge backlash for the fight against poverty. We have lost ten years.” On Democracy: ”What do we mean by the term? It can be filled with many peculiar things that someone brought up in the West would never consider democratic.” ”We need to learn how to detect the ’submarines’ in popular opinions.” On migrants: ”We must revise the notion that you never change the mindset you get when you are young. Migrants do.” On the elderly: ”Where elderly people have a high social position, people also think they have too much influence.” On defense: ”People aren’t as willing to fight for their nation as before. But they are willing to fight to defend values.” Puranen is one of the leaders of the World Values Survey and a researcher at the Institute for Future Studies in Stockholm.

The experienced, sharp-minded, productive and – to some – controversial German ecologist Josef Reichholf is a humble Bavarian scientist who realized early on that he couldn’t compromise with his conscience. That entailed breaking with fellow ecologists, who in Reichholf’s mind had become too ideological. He thinks climate change policy for the most part is a big waste of money – not because there is no warming, but because there are a myriad ways the money could be used wiser. Who is then the biggest culprit in the destruction of habitats? Modern agriculture. Some quotes: ”Nature has always changed. When our bodies reach equilibrium, we are dead. There is no state of nature that is the ’right’ one.” ”Since Enlightenment we have separated nature from humankind. This separation is now predominant in the Western culture.” ”As a nature scientist I want to stay unbiased by ideology. The green ideology came into conflict with the scientific facts.”

Shouldn’t an economist count money all the time? ”No”, is the unequivocal answer from Andreas Bergh, associate professor in economics at Lund university in southern Sweden. In this episode you can hear Bergh develop his sharp observations of human behavior in all kinds of contexts. Some samples: On globalization: ”We are seeing a backlash against the very forceful and rapid increase in globalization in the 80’s and 90’s, and what else is to expect, really?” ”But preventing people from communicating across borders, I don’t see that happening, not even if you try hard to stop it.” On the negativity bias: ”We are not freeing ourselves from the lizard brain but we are learning how to handle it better.” On the internet’s impact on polarization: ”Your friends, your family and your workmates are even more similar to you than the people you meet online. Yes, there are echo chambers, but they didn’t appear with the internet.” On the rise of right-wing populism: ”I was shocked when the liberal elites acted as if these opinions had never existed. Many had naïve expectations of the effect of political participation. Democracy is working; that’s why we are seeing a rise of right wing populist parties.” ”At the same time the potential for these parties is decreasing because tolerance is increasing in the long run.” On inequality: ”It is a problem if the biggest decision regarding your economic standard is the timing of your real estate transactions. It’s hard to get rich by working.”

In this episode we meet UNFPA doctor Bernadette ”Bernie” Ssebadduka, who dedicates her working hours to fighting harmful cultural practices in poor rural areas in northern Uganda, such as ”courtship rape” and female genital mutilation performed under the radar. But Bernie has also seen change sweeping across Uganda. There is hope, she says: ”We have seen the benefits of empowering women. The game changer has been education.” Her own journey is a case in point, from growing up in a large family in a small village via the big city to becoming a highly educated, skilled professional.