x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

The Subverse

The Subverse, presented by Dark ‘n’ Light is a podcast that uncovers the hidden and marginal in stories about nature, culture and social justice. From the cosmic to the quantum, from cells to cities and from colonial histories to reimagining futures. Join Susan Mathews every fortnight on a Thursday for weird and wonderful conversations, narrated essays and poems that dwell on the evolving contingencies of life.

society & culture

All Episodes

42:07

Subduing Unruly Waters: Learning from South Asia’s...

The Subverse ·

2022/06/08

From Asia’s mountain core flows ten great rivers that run through 16 countries, serving a fifth of humanity. The struggle for water in modern history is a global story, but nowhere has the search for water shaped or sustained as much human life as in India and China. In this episode, Susan Mathews speaks to Sunil Amrith, historian and writer, about his book Unruly Waters: How Mountain Rivers and Monsoons have Shaped South Asia’s History published in 2018. Unruly Waters tells the story of how the

en

34:26

A story made of water: of incantations, mermaids, and...

The Subverse ·

2022/05/26

In this episode, Susan talks to Sharanya Manivannan, who writes and illustrates fiction, poetry, and non-fiction for children and adults. Sharanya's two most recent books are the graphic novel, Incantations Over Water, and the picture book, Mermaids In The Moonlight. Sharanya grew up in Sri Lanka and Malaysia and currently lives in India. Ila is the mermaid protagonist in her two recent books, and the stories are set in Mattakalappu (Batticaloa), on the northeastern shore of Sri Lanka. We are

en

41:14

A River Dammed: Oral Histories From the Narmada River...

The Subverse ·

2022/05/11

In this episode, Susan Mathews talks to Nandini Oza about archiving oral histories around the struggles against dam projects in the Narmada River valley. The former President of Oral History Association of India (2020-22), Nandini is a researcher, writer, chronicler, and an archivist. For over a decade, she was an activist with the powerful people’s movement, the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). In 2004, Nandini began recording the oral histories of prominent leaders and activists of the NBA, both

en

17:04

From the stars to the tidepool: water as the matrix...

The Subverse ·

2022/05/03

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.”

en

33:29

Art as resistance: the future of activism in a...

The Subverse ·

2022/04/13

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

en

39:27

A chorus at dawn: using bioacoustics to quantify...

The Subverse ·

2021/11/18

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

en

45:13

Brutal Beauty: neoliberalism as an aesthetic project

The Subverse ·

2021/10/27

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

en

37:30

Renewable energy: clean, green, or mean?

The Subverse ·

2021/10/14

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

en

40:18

Reshaping energy justice in a climate crisis

The Subverse ·

2021/09/30

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

en

34:15

The folds of life: exploring origami, proteins and...

The Subverse ·

2021/07/29

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

en

36:23

Land, lyrics and the Poromboke Commons

The Subverse ·

2021/07/15

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

en

44:52

Flow like a river, play like a child

The Subverse ·

2021/07/01

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

en

28:11

All creatures great and small

The Subverse ·

2021/06/17

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

en

03:23

The Subverse - Trailer

The Subverse ·

2021/06/01

The Subverse, presented by Dark ‘n’ Light is a podcast that uncovers the hidden and marginal in stories about nature, culture and social justice. From the cosmic to the quantum, from cells to cities and from colonial histories to reimagining futures. Join Susan Mathews every fortnight on a Thursday for weird and wonderful conversations, narrated essays and poems that dwell on the evolving contingencies of life. For more information go to www.darknlight.com.

en

74 results

Similar Podcasts

The Daily Horoscope

The Daily Horoscope

The Michael Decon Program

Michael Decon

Kalimera Koveos

Andrea Koveos

The Documentary Podcast

BBC World Service

Smarter leben

DER SPIEGEL