The Subverse

In this episode, Susan talks about the molecule of life, the matrix of the world, the cosmic juice - water.  As Barbara Kingsolver writes, “It is the gold standard of biological currency.” She says, “Water is life, it’s the briny broth of our origins, the pounding circulatory system of the world, a precarious molecular edge on which we survive. It makes up two-thirds of our bodies, just like the map of the world; our vital fluids are saline, like the ocean. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” This episode is part tribute, part meditation on the journey of water from the stars to the tide pool. John Steinbeck wrote in The Log from the Sea of Cortez about how all things are one thing and that one thing is all things — plankton, a shimmering phosphorescence on the sea and the spinning planets and an expanding universe, all bound together by the elastic string of time. He advises us to look from the tide pool to the stars and then back to the tide pool again. For the remainder of this podcast season, we will cover various dimensions of water — from history to folklore, to the impact of big dams, to the challenges of providing drinking water and sanitation, and more. This episode is also an introduction to the remainder of the season and how we can speak of our current crises in view of the space of water as an urgent territory of engagement. From the stars to the tide pool is a tale of magic, of diving into a wreck, of embracing differences, articulating agency and accounting for our water wounds. It is a journey from the outer to the inner space of water, to coming to terms with our fishy beginnings, and our watery selves and learning to swim towards unknowable futures.   The Subverse is the podcast of Dark ‘n’ Light, a digital space that chronicles the times we live in and reimagining futures with a focus on science, nature, social justice and culture. Follow us on social media @darknlightzine, or at darknlight.com for episode details and show notes.

In this episode, Susan speaks with Kumi Naidoo, a seasoned activist in South Africa during its struggle against apartheid who is recognized internationally as a forceful advocate for human rights, gender equity, economic justice and environmental justice. He headed Civicus, Greenpeace and Amnesty International and continues to serve in an honorary capacity as Global Ambassador for the Pan-African civil society movement, Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity. Kumi is presently a fellow at the Robert Bosch academy in Berlin, Germany. Susan and Kumi speak about art and activism, the aftermath of COP26, and how close we are to the cliff on climate change action.  Art is a way of making visible that which is invisible or maybe even rendered invisible and activism can learn much from art. We need to move beyond the limitations and entanglements of political activism as it stands now, and the hierarchies and intrinsic hegemonies built into our institutions and our norms. Art, fiction activate our imaginations and are important forms through which we can imagine other forms of human existence and other futures. Kumi also speaks compellingly of the need for youth to take the reins of leadership and not wait for it to be handed over, along with continuing to celebrate life, to love, laugh, embrace joy, to go down fighting, see these fights as marathons not as sprints and ensure accountability and justice in the process. The Subverse is the podcast of Dark ‘n’ Light, a digital space that chronicles the times we live in and reimagining futures with a focus on science, nature, social justice and culture. Follow us on social media @darknlightzine, or at darknlight.com for episode details and show notes.  

In this episode of The Subverse, we talk about soundscape ecology, the study of sounds and bioacoustics, which is the study of species vocalisations.  Susan talks to Pooja Choksi, a PhD candidate at Columbia University and co-founder of Project Dhvani about her fascinating research on ecological restoration in the central Indian landscape, using acoustics as a tool.   Pooja’s primary research focuses on understanding the impact of ecological restoration on vegetation, people, and wildlife. She uses non-invasive audio recorders in the dry tropical forests of central India to study how species vocalise and how acoustic activity differs as a function of restoration and management.   The Subverse is the podcast of Dark ‘n’ Light, a digital space that chronicles the times we live in and reimagining futures with a focus on science, nature, social justice and culture. Follow us on social media @darknlightzine, or at darknlight.com for episode details and show notes.  

In this episode, Susan speaks with Jisha Menon whose book ‘Brutal Beauty: Aesthetics and Aspiration in Urban India’ was recently published by Northwestern University Press in October 2021. Jisha is an Associate Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies and, by courtesy, of Comparative Literature at Stanford University. With a focus on performance studies, this book turns to artworks, performances, and aesthetics to examine the aspirations and anxieties generated in the wake of liberalization in India. Taking into consideration various works of art — paintings, installations, photography, films, theatre, live performances, visual art, etc —Brutal Beauty argues that neoliberalism exceeds its descriptors as an economic, social, and political phenomenon.   The book explores a range of subjects from the aspirations of urban youth using the call center industry as a point of departure, to the dramatic shifts in discourses around representations of same-sex desire and treating narcissism not just as self-absorption but as a libidinal intervention in highly organized and rationalized environments. It also explores property and development, displaying the urban panics that shape spatial struggles around home and belonging. What is clear from this excellent book, and which both Susan and Jisha speak about in this episode is that the artists discussed in this book exist in a dialectical relationship of receptivity and responsibility to the urban environments from which they emerge, suggesting an inextricable connection between arts and social worlds. Artists are affected by urban forces, and this manifests in their artworks that are likewise open and receptive to the world that shapes them into being.    The Subverse is the podcast of Dark ‘n’ Light, a digital space that chronicles the times we live in and reimagining futures with a focus on science, nature, social justice and culture. Follow us on social media @darknlightzine, or at darknlight.com for episode details and show notes.

In this episode, Susan speaks to Uttara Narayan, who explores the governance of the clean energy transition at the World Resources Institute, Chennai, India. Her focus is on expanding the interpretation of a just energy transition to include broader consequences of exclusion and injustice and ways to minimize them in an equitable manner. Uttara’s work involves the use of interdisciplinary approaches to address challenges at the intersection of environment, social justice, and development. We discuss larger concerns about climate discourse and the fixation on numerical targets, which swamp all other considerations and often ignore concerns around land, livelihoods, biodiversity, and culture. These issues are often viewed as inconvenient distractions in the movement towards a higher-order climate goal. Uttara speaks in her personal capacity and her views do not necessarily reflect those of the World Resources Institute. The Subverse is the podcast of Dark ‘n’ Light, a digital space that chronicles the times we live in and reimagining futures with a focus on science, nature, social justice and culture. Follow us on social media @darknlightzine, or at darknlight.com for episode details and show notes.  

We live in a time of extreme weather events and after a sobering sixth assessment report was recently published by the IPCC on the physical science basis of climate change, the question of what is going to fuel the future has never been more urgent. The evolution of energy has changed both human and natural history in significant ways and yet our future is not preordained and there is great potential to redefine society’s relationship with energy.  In this episode Susan speaks to Ketan Joshi, a prolific writer, analyst, and communications consultant whose focus is on clean energy and climate change. Ketan has previously worked in climate and energy for private companies and government agencies, and now writes about the front lines of climate and energy battles around the world. Ketan is based in Oslo and he is also the author of Windfall: Unlocking a fossil free future, which was published in September 2020. The Subverse is the podcast of Dark ‘n’ Light, a digital space that chronicles the times we live in and reimagining futures with a focus on science, nature, social justice and culture. Follow us on social media @darknlightzine, or at darknlight.com for episode details and show notes.

To understand life, you must understand proteins, the workhorses of the human cell. What a protein does and how it does it, depends on how it folds up after its creation into its final intricate shape and function. In this episode, Susan talks to Sudha Neelam, a cell biologist who studies the mechanisms of protein synthesis; exploring how misfolded proteins cause diseases and how therapeutics can intervene to correct the damage it causes. Sudha compares protein folding to origami, the ancient Japanese art of paper folding, which has entertained generations with its beautiful simplicity. Proteins are our own biological origami, folding spontaneously based on a series of codes in the form of amino acids, akin to the crease patterns and folds of origami. Connecting the folds back to her childhood memories, she muses on how paper folding and protein folding are unique in their creativity and similar in their need for precision and perfection. The Subverse is the podcast of Dark ‘n’ Light, a digital space that chronicles the times we live in and reimagining futures with a focus on science, nature, social justice and culture. Follow us on social media @darknlightzine, or at darknlight.com for episode details and show notes.

Poromboke is a medieval Tamil word that refers to communally held commons such as water bodies, grazing lands and community forests. These lands were carefully managed, yielded value to the community, and were subject to strict regulation. But over time, they began to be perceived as ‘wastelands' and have been dismissed as worthless. In this episode, Susan speaks to Nityanand Jayaraman, a Chennai and India-based writer, social activist, and a member of the Chennai Solidarity Group — a collective that fights environmental injustice and discrimination.  As competition for access to natural resources pits powerful corporations against farmers, fishing communities and indigenous people in violent conflict, Nityanand has placed himself on the side of the latter, working to ensure that the rule of law and ideals of democracy are not buried at the altar of commerce.  Listen to Nityanand hold forth on the origins of these commons, spanning from medieval through colonial times, and touch upon industrialisation, the rise of the metropole and the role of art in protest. Carnatic musician TM Krishna's soulful rendition of Chennai Poromboke Paadal (written by Kaber Vasuki) provides a beautiful foil to Nityanand's rousing call to action.  The Subverse is the podcast of Dark ‘n’ Light, a digital space that chronicles the times we live in and reimagining futures with a focus on science, nature, social justice and culture. Follow us on social media @darknlightzine, or at darknlight.com for episode details and show notes.

Ryan Christie is a holistic movement coach who loves helping people achieve goals that at one time seemed unattainable, making the impossible possible. Moving and coaching people from children as young as 6 to his more life-experienced clients of 70+ years of age, Ryan's focus with his coaching clients is to provide support with ‘life’ coaching, focusing on mindset and mental tools, enhancing emotional intelligence through conversation, and increasing physical strength, power, stamina, and flow. In this episode, Ryan and Susan speak about flow and play, improving our vestibular intelligence- the doors of our perception, and how we relate to our environment. They talk about how Ryan's work helps change mindsets, provides a physical boost, instills fun moving and grooving, and how he just so joyfully shares his wisdom and empathy. Flow is both go and slow, time can be pliable and elastic and so is our brain. So, we do need to try out new things, learn new languages, make origami shapes, cook up a storm, play a musical instrument, find our playgrounds, embrace our inner child, go exploring and invite novelty and creativity into our lives. The Subverse is the podcast of Dark ‘n’ Light, a digital space that chronicles the times we live in and reimagining futures with a focus on science, nature, social justice and culture. Follow us on social media @darknlightzine, or at darknlight.com for episode details and show notes.

Devaki Panini is an environmental lawyer with conservation on her mind. Her work has taken her across the world, and she has witnessed first-hand how human actions are altering ecosystems. And yet she feels that our conversations on conservation still circle around mega-fauna, and we forget that bees, ants and spiders are the critical species that prevent mass extinction. Devaki believes in the power of poetry and art to reach young minds. Her poems add a funny, tender and personal note to the difficult road that lies ahead of us. In this episode, Susan Mathews and Devaki Panini speak about the inspiration behind her poetry and her interests in hidden and lesser-known species. The Subverse is the podcast of Dark ‘n’ Light, a digital space that chronicles the times we live in and reimagining futures with a focus on science, nature, social justice and culture. Follow us on social media @darknlightzine or at darknlight.com.