Disasters: Deconstructed Podcast

Episode overviewEpisode 8 continues Season 10’s regional focus by turning to Southeast Asia, with a conversation centered on the Philippines and Vietnam. This episode brings together political sociology, disaster mental health, Buddhism, and grassroots practice to examine disasters as products of political systems, colonial legacies, and relational breakdowns—and to explore what engaged, justice-oriented alternatives might look like. Hosts Jason von Meding Ksenia Chmutina Guests Jake Cadag — Assistant Professor, University of the Philippines; scholar of community participation, postcolonial disaster studies, and grassroots disaster risk reduction Caroline Contillo — disaster researcher, resilience trainer, and disaster mental health practitioner; lead trainer with the New York Office of Mental Health Key themes Postcolonial and Indigenous ways of knowing disasters Disaster, authoritarianism, and political repression Activism, scholarship, and public sociology Buddhism, interdependence, and socially engaged practice Mutual aid, disaster mental health, and collective recovery Disaster risk creation through development and infrastructure Moving beyond reformism toward structural change Core discussion highlights Jake Cadag reflects on rediscovering Filipino-language scholarship and postcolonial social science, emphasizing reclamation rather than rejection of global knowledge. Disaster is framed as inseparable from political economy, authoritarian governance, and long-standing systems of marginalization in the Philippines. Jake discusses Walden Bello as a public sociologist whose work connects development, dictatorship, and disaster risk creation, and whose activism illustrates the risks scholars face under repressive regimes. The conversation highlights how political persecution and “red-tagging” of NGOs and academics can depoliticize disaster risk reduction and weaken grassroots participation. Caroline Contillo introduces Thích Nhất Hạnh as a thinker whose concept of interbeing challenges the idea of detached, objective disaster research. Socially engaged Buddhism is discussed as a framework for witnessing suffering without withdrawal—and for allowing compassionate action to emerge from that witnessing. Mutual aid and disaster mental health are explored through relational perspectives, including interpersonal neurobiology and community-based recovery. The episode challenges “bounce back” versions of resilience, arguing instead for recovery that confronts structural violence, inequality, and capitalism. Both guests emphasize that disasters reveal deeper systemic failures—and that meaningful recovery requires political engagement, not neutrality.

Episode overviewEpisode 7 continues Season 10’s regional focus with an in-depth conversation on Japan. Drawing on political theory, radical history, and long-term engagement with disaster-affected communities, the episode examines how Japanese intellectual traditions—often overlooked in disaster studies—help illuminate power, vulnerability, governance, and the social contracts that underpin disaster risk. Hosts Jason von Meding Ksenia Chmutina Guests Chris Gomez — Professor at Kobe University; head of the Sabo Laboratory; scholar of sediment-related hazards, ethical disaster management, and interdisciplinary disaster research Wes Cheek — Assistant Professor of Emergency Management, Massachusetts Maritime Academy; scholar of community, post-disaster reconstruction, and urban theory Key themes Japan as a site of rich but underexplored disaster thinking Reading beyond disaster studies: political theory, history, anarchism, and Marxism Social contracts, sovereignty, and disaster as rupture Infrastructure, concrete, and the political economy of risk Radical alternatives in Japanese history Disaster, authoritarianism, and state violence Hope, resistance, and refusal in dark times Core discussion highlights Chris Gomez reflects on returning to classic political theory, particularly Hobbes, to rethink disaster as a breaking point in the social contract between the state and communities. The discussion situates Japan’s long reliance on concrete-heavy disaster infrastructure within broader histories of governance, economic stability, and political legitimacy. Chris introduces Masao Akagi, often described as the “father of Sabo,” emphasizing how engineering practice, drawings, and material interventions function as forms of knowledge alongside academic texts. The episode challenges narrow definitions of scholarship, arguing that disaster knowledge is produced through multiple modalities, not only words and citations. Wes Cheek discusses Ōsugi Sakae as a key figure of Japan’s Taishō period, highlighting a moment when alternative political futures—anarchist, socialist, anti-authoritarian—were still possible. The conversation explores how the Great Kantō Earthquake was used as cover for state violence, repression, and the targeting of leftists and ethnic Koreans. Marxism is discussed as a crucial starting point for disaster scholarship, particularly for understanding vulnerability, power, and the non-natural origins of inequality. Both guests reflect on contemporary Japan, including demographic decline, economic contraction, tourism, immigration, and the rise of nationalist and exclusionary politics. Disasters are framed not only as physical events but as moments that expose deeper social fractures, discrimination, and political choices.

Episode overviewEpisode 6 marks a shift in Season 10 from thematic conversations to regional perspectives, focusing on Latin America (and the Caribbean) as rich sites of critical disaster thinking. The episode foregrounds intellectual traditions that challenge Eurocentric assumptions in disaster studies and emphasizes plurality, dialogue, and the politics of knowledge production. Hosts Jason von Meding Ksenia Chmutina Guests Giovanni Gugg — cultural anthropologist and lecturer in urban anthropology, working on risk cultures, disaster response, and activism in vulnerable urban territories Anna Süsina — Lecturer in Media and Creative Industries, Loughborough University; scholar of communication, social change, participatory media, and power asymmetries Victor Marchezini — sociologist at the Brazilian Early Warning Center and professor at INPE; leading voice in the sociology of disasters in Brazil Key themes Latin American and Indigenous intellectual traditions in disaster studies Reading beyond English-language and Eurocentric canons Development, coloniality, and the production of vulnerability Plural futures, pluriverses, and alternative ontologies Dialogue, pedagogy, and critical hope Translation, language, and epistemic justice Activism, civic responsibility, and scholarship Core discussion highlights Guests reflect on their reading practices, emphasizing podcasts, oral traditions, hard-copy books, and texts emerging from social movements, Indigenous communities, and Latin American critical scholarship. Victor Marchezini discusses the influence of Paulo Freire, highlighting dialogue, pedagogy, oppression in everyday life, and the importance of critical hope in teaching, research, and disaster practice. Giovanni explores Arturo Escobar’s critique of development and his concept of the pluriverse, applying it to disaster risk and urbanization around Mount Vesuvius. Disaster planning is framed as a cultural and political process, not only a technical one. Anna Süsina reflects on Indigenous thinking through Ailton Krenak, emphasizing relational worldviews, the human–non-human relationship, and the idea that the dominant relationship with Earth is itself a disaster. The conversation challenges the asymmetry between “scientific” and Indigenous knowledge, arguing for equal legitimacy and meaningful translation rather than extraction or tokenism. Translation is discussed as both a political challenge and a creative possibility—across languages, disciplines, generations, and even between humans and non-humans. The guests collectively stress the dangers of time compression in disaster scholarship, where urgency crowds out long-term thinking, historical analysis, and ethical engagement.

Episode overviewEpisode 5 centers Black power and Black scholarship as foundational to understanding disasters, vulnerability, resistance, and justice. Through a wide-ranging conversation grounded in lived experience, political struggle, and long-term community engagement, the episode examines how Black intellectual traditions reshape how disasters are understood, studied, and responded to. Hosts Jason von Meding Ksenia Chmutina Guests Danielle Rivera — Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, UC Berkeley; scholar of environmental and climate justice working with rural and unincorporated marginalized communities Dewald van Niekerk — Professor at North-West University (South Africa); founder and editor-in-chief of Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies; leading scholar of disaster risk in Southern Africa Key themes Black scholarship as central—not peripheral—to disaster studies Structural racism, historicity, and the “disaster before the disaster” Community resistance, agency, and epistemologies of survival Ubuntu, mutual support, and collective responsibility Rejecting colorblind and event-focused disaster narratives Long-term engagement versus extractive disaster research Bridging scholarship, practice, and policy Core discussion highlights Danielle Rivera discusses Clyde Woods’ work on the Mississippi Delta, emphasizing the importance of deep, place-based scholarship that traces disasters through long histories of structural racism, political economy, and resistance. Woods’ concept of “the disaster before the disaster” is explored as a way of understanding disasters as outcomes of deliberate abandonment and plantation logics rather than isolated failures or surprises. The conversation challenges dominant disaster narratives that center elite losses while marginalizing the experiences of poorer and racialized communities. Dewald van Niekerk reflects on his engagement with Black Consciousness thought and the work of Mamphela Ramphele, highlighting kindness, dignity, and community as starting points for resilience. Ubuntu is discussed as a philosophy emphasizing interdependence, shared humanity, and collective problem-solving—offering important lessons for disaster risk reduction and recovery. Both guests critique paternalistic and technocratic approaches to disaster management, arguing for community-led, non-extractive, and context-sensitive engagement. The episode reflects on the evolution of disaster studies, calling for deeper interdisciplinarity, stronger links between theory and practice, and greater honesty about power, inequality, and history.

Episode overviewEpisode 4 turns to anarchism as a lens for rethinking disasters, governance, and collective action. Through a rich conversation grounded in political theory, history, and pacifism, the episode explores how anarchist ideas—particularly mutual aid, nonviolence, and suspicion of centralized authority—offer critical insights into disaster risk, response, and recovery. Hosts Jason von Meding Ksenia Chmutina Guests Ruth Kinna — professor of political theory and historian of ideas, specialist in anarchism, utopianism, and activism Alex Christoyannopoulos — reader in Politics and International Relations, specialist in anarcho-pacifism, Tolstoy, and religious anarchism Key themes Anarchism as a political and ethical framework for disaster thinking Mutual aid as solidarity, not service delivery Violence, nonviolence, and the role of the state in producing harm Bottom-up governance, trust, and community agency Climate change, adaptation, and early anarchist thought Appropriation of radical ideas by states and institutions Resilience, care, and the politics of responsibility Core discussion highlights Ruth Kinna discusses Peter Kropotkin’s theory of mutual aid and its relevance to disasters, emphasizing cooperation, interdependence, and locally rooted knowledge. The conversation reframes disasters as moments that expose existing power relations, where mutual aid often outperforms slow or absent state responses—especially in marginalized communities. Kropotkin’s early engagement with environmental change and food security is explored, highlighting his concern with climate, production, migration, and adaptation well before contemporary climate discourse. Alex Christoyannopoulos reflects on Leo Tolstoy’s anarcho-pacifism, focusing on violence as a structural feature of the state and on moral responsibility, complicity, and refusal. Nonviolence is discussed not only as a moral stance but as a practical foundation for community resilience, collective decision-making, and resistance. Both guests critique the appropriation of concepts like mutual aid, care, and resilience by governments and institutions, arguing that such moves often strip these ideas of their political substance. The episode challenges disaster scholars to take seriously activism, disobedience, and bottom-up organizing as central—rather than peripheral—to disaster risk and response.