

Scene on Radio
Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University
Scene on Radio is a two-time Peabody-nominated podcast that dares to ask big, hard questions about who we are—really—and how we got this way. Our latest is Season 7, Scene on Radio: Capitalism. Previous series include Seeing White (Season 2), looking at the roots and meaning of white supremacy; MEN (Season 3), on patriarchy and its history; The Land That Never Has Been Yet (Season 4), exploring democracy in the U.S. and why we don’t have more of it; The Repair (Season 5), on the cultural roots of the climate crisis; and Season 6, Echoes of a Coup, the story of the only successful coup d'etat in U.S. history, in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1898. Produced and hosted by John Biewen, with collaborators, Scene on Radio comes from the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. The show is distributed by PRX.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 17, 2021 • 33min
S5 E7: Deluges and Dreams
The climate crisis is not new to Bangladesh. For decades, global warming has exacerbated storms and flooding and turned many thousands of people into refugees in their own country. Yet, even though Bangladeshis did almost nothing to create the crisis, some are trying to be part of the solution.
Reported by Tareq Ahmed, with recording and production help from Tareek Muhammad and Muhammad Rabbi. The series editor is Cheryl Devall. Music in this episode by Lili Haydn, Kim Carroll, Lesley Barber, and Fabian Almazan. Music consulting by Joe Augustine of Narrative Music.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Nov 2, 2021 • 57min
S5 E6: "We Don't Have the Power to Fight It"
Earth’s changing climate is already displacing millions of people, worsening tension and conflict, and sometimes violence – for example, between farmers and traditional nomadic herders in Nigeria. Part 6 of The Repair, our series on the climate emergency.
Reported by Ugochi Anyaka-Oluigbo, with reporting and production assistance from Nchetachi Chukwuaja and Tim Cuttings Agber. The series story editor is Cheryl Devall. Mix by John Biewen.
Music in this episode by Lili Haydn, Kim Carroll, Chris Westlake, Lesley Barber, Cora Miron, Alex Weston, Fabian Almazan, and Maetar. Music consulting by Joe Augustine of Narrative Music.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Oct 20, 2021 • 39min
Bonus Episode: Manchin on the Hill, and Introducing Drilled
Co-hosts John Biewen and Amy Westervelt discuss the U.S. Congress’s effort to pass its first major climate bill ever, and Senator Joe Manchin’s move to block a key measure seemingly on behalf of the fossil fuel industry. And an episode of Drilled, Amy Westervelt’s true crime podcast about the climate crisis.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Oct 13, 2021 • 42min
S5 E5: Jakarta, the Sinking Capital
Southeast Asia is especially vulnerable to storms, rising oceans, and other climate effects—though countries in the region did very little to create the crisis. In Indonesia, among other climate-related challenges, the capital city is sinking into the sea. Part 5 of our series, The Repair, on the climate emergency.
Reported by Nita Roshita, with recording and production help from Hilman Handoni. Mixed by host John Biewen. Interviews with Bondan Kanumoyoso, Yayat Supriatna, Selamet Daroyni, Amalia Syafruddin, and others.
The series editor is Cheryl Devall. Music in this episode by Lil Haydn, Kim Carroll, Chris Westlake, Lesley Barber, and Fabian Almazan. Music consulting by Joe Augustine of Narrative Music.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Oct 6, 2021 • 1h 1min
S5 E4: Up to Heaven and Down to Hell
Why has the United States played such an outsized role in the creation of the climate crisis? As a settler nation, the U.S. emerged from the colonizing, capitalist West, but what did America and its cultural peculiarities bring to the party? Part 4 of our series, The Repair, on the climate emergency.
Researched and written by this season’s co-host, Amy Westervelt, produced and mixed by host John Biewen. Interviews with Colin Jerolmack, Darren Dochuk, Melissa Aronczyk, Bob Brulle, and the Rev. Lennox Yearwood.
The series editor is Cheryl Devall. Music in this episode by Lili Haydn, Kim Carroll, Chris Westlake, Lesley Barber, Cora Miron, and goodnight Lucas. Music consulting by Joe Augustine of Narrative Music.
The Repair is supported by Scene on Radio listener-donors, and by the International Women’s Media Foundation.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Sep 29, 2021 • 55min
S5 E3: "Managing" Nature
Explore the impact of the Enlightenment on society's perception of nature and the environment. Learn about the negative consequences of this cultural shift, such as slavery, racism, and environmental exploitation. Discover how the arrival of oil influenced religious beliefs and the birth of the modern PR industry. Delve into the paradoxes of liberty and equality in the United States, shaped by violent exploitation and the control of the ownership class.

Sep 22, 2021 • 43min
S5 E2: To the Victor
Guests: Charisse Burden-Stelly, Kate Rigby, Enrique Salmón, David Pecusa. Explore the impact of the Crusades on the climate crisis and the concept of holy war. Discuss the origins of racial capitalism and the construction of racial hierarchies. Challenge assumptions about European dominance and the ethical dimension of conquest. Emphasize the interconnectedness and value of the natural world.

4 snips
Sep 15, 2021 • 42min
S5 E1: In the Beginning
Interviewees David Pecusa, Bina Nir, and Kate Rigby discuss the climate emergency. Topics include repairing the climate crisis and social injustices, traditional Hopi farming practices, the rich history of the land, revolutionary concepts in the Genesis creation story, and the origins of patriarchy and exploitative language.

Aug 23, 2021 • 4min
Season 5 Trailer: The Repair
This season will explore the cultural roots of our current ecological emergency, and the deep changes Western society will need to make to save the Earth and our species. Through interviews with historians and other experts, The Repair will trace the evolution of the West’s colonizing, extractive culture, and how we in the rich Global North drove humanity into the ecological ditch. We’ll hear from producers in countries that did not create the crisis, yet got hit early and hard. Finally, with help from leading thinkers and activists, Biewen and Westervelt will look at potential solutions—the repair.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jan 13, 2021 • 1h 7min
REBROADCAST: S4 E8 The Second Redemption
This special re-broadcast of a Season 4 episode is in response to the attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. A look at the right-wing counterrevolution in the face of expanding democracy in America: It started long before Donald Trump.
By host and producer John Biewen, with series collaborator Chenjerai Kumanyika. Interviews with Nancy MacLean, Wendy Brown, and Rhon Manigault-Bryant.
The series editor is Loretta Williams. Music by Algiers, John Erik Kaada, Eric Neveux, and Lucas Biewen. Music consulting and production help from Joe Augustine of Narrative Music.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices