things I find interesting

I love to read and consume most forms of media, which help to shape my opinions and worldviews, as well as teaches me to be constantly curious. From anthropology to finance to politics and astronomy, no topic is off limits. Here’s a list of things I’ve found interesting recently!

In the Dark: A Podcast by the New Yorker

I cannot begin to explain what an impactful piece of media In the Dark has been for me, and I am sure for everyone else who has had the pleasure of listening to it. The premise of the podcast is simple – each season deep dives into a criminal case where host Madeline Baran takes apart the details of the general who, what, when, where, and why of what happened. Whilst this description is a vast generalisation, know that In the Dark is not just your ordinary true crime podcast.

What I love most about this podcast is how each case is looked at holistically, and not as an individual act isolated from what was going on in the world at that time or place. For example, season two revolves around the horrific miscarriage of justice for a man named Curtis Flowers, who was an innocent man put behind bars for 16 years. Baran goes through the 6 re-trial attempts that Flowers was given, and how an all-white jury were able to prosecute him time and time again despite the flimsy evidence. She examines the political and social situation in Mississippi at the time, and every factor that contributed to the prosecution of Flowers and subsequent acquittal.

The podcast is logos heavy and makes sure to deliver you the facts as they are so that you can make your own opinion. However, with the level of detail in the investigation and complete disassembly of the prosecutions paper-thin case, we get to understand how such a miscarriage even took place and how we must examine our own biases and preconceived notions of race.

Season 3 delves into an atrocity committed by the US Military in Haditha, Iraq where a family of 20+ civilians were shot dead in cold blood by American soldiers. Baran goes on the ground in Iraq and speaks to members of the family affected, as well as soldiers who were involved in the massacre. In this season, listeners are forced to confront the reality that far away from their unseeing eyes and comfortable homes that vicious and vile acts are committed on behalf of the country they pledge their allegiance to.

AI Chatbots: John Oliver

Oligarchy is worse than you think: Johnny Harris

As someone who studied American Politics as an elective in university, as well as generally having a keen interest in global politics, I thought I knew what an ‘oligarchy’ was. I had heard of the word and only understood the gist – a rule of law where only a few extremely wealthy individuals are able to maintain control of government systems and essentially override all form of law.

What this video gave me more of an understanding of is how gargantuan the wealth gap is between those who exist in the oligarchy and those who do not. One of those facts that seems utterly dumfounding is that the world’s richest 1% of individuals own more than 50% of the world’s wealth. Oxfam found an even more disturbing fact in that just the worlds 10 richest people hold the amount of wealth that over 3 billion people would normally hold.

Wealth inequality is not a new concept

The Left Hand of Darkness – Ursula Le Guin

I recently read this book after seeing a recommendation for early feminist sci-fi. Now I’m an avid sci-fi reader, but I had never broached the genre of feminist science fiction. It took me a month or so to finish the book, but I think it was an interesting thought piece involving views on gender identity, sex, inter-cultural politics and friendship.

The most notable theme in the book revolves around the Gethenians, who are a species of ambisexual beings that only become either male or female for a period of kemmer, which is 2-3 days a month. Breaking the stereotype of what it means to be male or female, and the gender identity narratives that influence our everyday society was at first difficult to comprehend – this is definitely a book that takes a few readings to digest.

As the book progressed, though, I began to understand that the role of mother or father, the role of wife or husband, or even male friend or female friend are a construction of society that is human-created. When you deconstruct that worldview, there is a realisation of how arbitrary our genders are and that importance has been placed on gender as a determining trait of our life experience. Historians who have analysed early human behaviour and women’s roles in particular in those societies are changing the narrative of what we initially believed were traditional hunter and gatherer societies. What began as clear evidence that women were regarded as maternal and solely child-rearing beings were interpreted that way at the time of those who discovered it.

Regardless of all my ramblings, I think this was a wonderful book that will make anyone contemplate and question our modern society.