EP 58 - Belonging Without Othering: A conversation with john a. powell and Stephen Menendian

In this interview, Caroline Hayes, Senior Technical Specialist on Digital Strategies at Equimundo, describes how authoritarian actors exploit men and boys’ struggles such as loneliness, economic anxiety, and a sense of lost identity to advance anti-feminist and anti-democratic politics. She draws on Equimundo's research and the LinkUp Lab initiative to offer concrete strategies for reaching men and boys where they are online, and for building the kind of social connection that makes them less, not more, susceptible to those who would weaponize their grievances.

Around the world, communities and organizations are developing strategies to confront the weaponization of gender and build a future rooted in belonging and pluralistic democracy.

Around the world, communities and organizations are developing strategies to confront the weaponization of gender and build a future rooted in belonging and pluralistic democracy.

This episode is part of a series of talks and panel discussions recorded during the breakout sessions of our Othering & Belonging Conference that took place in Oakland this past April. This session is titled "Land, Culture, and Belonging: Place-based Community Advocacy." It looks at the redevelopment of the Henry J. Kaiser Center in Oakland, which was the location of our conference. A private developer who was granted a long-term lease by the city to reopen the venue had negotiated a community benefits agreement with a coalition of local artists. And some of the artists and leaders involved in that process are among the panelists invited to discuss the issue and how it speaks to broader issues of land, culture and belonging. Panelists include Nikki Bas, who is the President of the Oakland City Council; Thomas Cavanagh from the group BANDALOOP; Cristy Johnston-Limón, who leads the City of Oakland’s business development activities; Ayodele Nzinga, who is an artist, actress, playwright, and poet; and Kev Choice, who is a pianist and community advocate. The session was moderated by Eli Moore, who directs OBI's Community Power and Policy Partnerships Program. Eli co-curated this session with OBI's Sarah Crowell. You can find more episodes from this podcast series on our website at belonging.berkeley.edu/whobelongs.

This episode is part of a series of talks and panel discussions recorded during the breakout sessions of our Othering & Belonging Conference that took place in Oakland this past April. This session is titled "Leaning into Paradox: How We Can Block, Bridge & Build Our Democratic Future Together." It includes two speakers from the Horizons Project who engage the audience on those three seemingly paradoxical approaches: how to come together to block the threats to our democratic values; the need to bridge across differences to foster broad-based movements, and to build together the future we want to see. Those speakers are Julia Roig, who is the Founder & Chief Network Weaver at the Horizons Project, and Jarvis Williams, who is the organization's Director for Race and Democracy. You can find more episodes from this podcast series on our website at belonging.berkeley.edu/whobelongs.