IDEAS in the Afternoon for December 2023

* Please note this schedule is subject to change.

Monday, December 4

DEHUMANIZATION AND WAR
In war and conflict, killing is preceded by dehumanization of the other. Dehumanization begins with casting others as less human and less evolved than oneself. The process allows us to exploit and humiliate and, ultimately, annihilate those we no longer see as people. The phenomenon is remarkably similar across time and place whether the killing manifests as vast and sustained or as a flash of violence hidden away in a tiny corner. In this episode, experts and survivors discuss dehumanization and whether there's a way back when the killing is done.

Monday, December 11

"SOMETIMES I THINK THIS CITY IS TRYING TO KILL ME..."
Robin Mazumder once worked as an occupational therapist. In trying to help a depressed client find urban connection, in guiding another man with disabilities across a wide street in winter — he became convinced that urban environments often have a destructive effect on people's health and well-being. So Mazumder became an environmental neuroscientist, using technology to measure urban stress. That science helps him passionately advocate for cities to be more equitable, healthy, and human-scale, particularly for children and the vulnerable. He details his professional and personal motivations in a conversation with IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed, alongside excerpts from his 2023 Zeidler-Evans Lecture, called A City That Can Save Us. 

Monday, December 18

SINGING AND SWINGING: THE VIOLIN
The violin may be one of the most difficult instruments to master. And its associations with high-brow music are longstanding. But for musician and radio producer, David Schulman, the violin can swing and sing like nothing else. Schulman is based in Washington, D.C., but recently traveled to the north of Italy to try and discover the original trees from which Antonio Stradivari made his masterpieces. It's a journey of surprise and delight — as is Schulman's second documentary featured in this episode: a journey that began with a bootlegged live album of jazz violinist, Stuff Smith. That documentary was nominated for a Prix Italia. 

Monday, December 25