When HBO series Watchmen premiered in October 2019, the show—a dramatically different take on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s original comic book/graphic novel—was noted for its direct confrontation of racism in America. Systemic racism, police brutality, collective trauma, and vigilante justice are all central themes to the TV remix. In light of ongoing deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police, nationwide protests, and calls for reforms, the show is now getting a second look with many calling it eerily prescient. 

Tune in to a conversation, originally held on June 25th, 2020, about how Watchmen and other popular entertainment can highlight and help us understand critical issues around race and policing. Speakers include: 

• Chris LeBron, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Johns Hopkins University 
• Leah Wright Rigueur, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, Brandeis University 
• Deva Woodly, Associate Professor of Politics, The New School 
•  Christopher Robichaud (Moderator), Senior Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

⚠ Spoiler alert! This discussion will reveal key moments from the show, if you haven't seen it already and plan to, we highly encourage you to watch before listening. 

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Chris Lebron, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, returns to talk about the HBO TV series based on the 1980s comic.

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From the moment your alarm goes off until your head hits the pillow at night, fitness is in your face. During the day, most of us will either go to the gym, think about working out, get a reminder from our fitness tracker, walk by a fitness studio, or feel bad for not getting any exercise at all. Fitness is not only a large part of our day, but it's a part of our cultural identity and pop culture. 

This week Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Associate Professor of History at The New School, joins This Week in Dystopia Host Chris Robichaud for a conversation about fitness, pop culture, and public policy. We talk about everything from SoulCycle to physical education in schools.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

🚨 SPOILER ALERT: Host Chris Robichaud has already seen this movie (twice!) and the episode contains spoilers. If you haven't already seen Captain Marvel, listen at the peril of your movie-going experience.

Julian Chambliss, English Professor at Michigan State University and comic book aficionado, joins host Chris Robichaud to discuss Captain Marvel. They discuss both what Carol Danvers portends for the Avengers storyline as well as what her cultural significance is as the leading female superhero to grace the silver screen in the most popular superhero universe (sorry DC Comics, but let's be real).

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

In episode 20, we asked, can you keep politics out of football? The answer was a resounding no. Not only are politics a part of contemporary sports culture, but politics is woven throughout sports and entertainment history. Host Chris Robichaud sits down with Justin Tinsley, a writer at ESPN's Undefeated, to talk about social activism in sports and pop culture. The conversation touches on everything from Jackie Robinson to Sammy Davis Jr., Travis Scott, and sneaker culture.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

This week, host Chris Robichaud sits down with author, scholar, and executive producer Tananarive Due to talk about the complicated relationship Black filmmakers and Black audiences have with horror.

Mentioned in the show
Horror Noire
Get Out
The Sunken Place
My Soul to Keep (African Immortals series)

This episode was FULL on mentions, find them all on our Medium page.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

The Grammys have been criticized for lacking diversity and not giving hip-hop artists their due. This year, Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, took home both song and record of the year awards. This is America, Glover's chart-topping song best known for its music video, has something to say about the state of the U.S. from gun violence to race. We sat down with Chris Lebron, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins, to talk about the significance of Glover's Grammy win in light of recent criticism as well as his no-show at the Awards. The conversation turns to the broader music scene, Janelle Monáe, Afrofuturism, and Kanye West.

Mentioned in the show
This is America Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY
Boston Review, What Happened to Kanye West?: http://bostonreview.net/race/christopher-lebron-what-happened-kanye-west
Boston Review, Janelle Monáe for President: http://bostonreview.net/race-literature-culture/chris-lebron-janelle-monae-president
Kanye West Interview with Charlamagne: http://digg.com/video/kanye-charlamange-interview
Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFK6k-pvXmI

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Are comic books just for kids? Is there more to pop culture then pure entertainment? I think you know our answer. Tune in to hear host Chris Robichaud discuss why This Week in Dystopia is focusing on pop culture and politics this season and how we'll prove that comic books aren't just for kids.

Mentioned in the show
Bill Maher's comments on comic books: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgInmHHO0m4
Maher's blog on the topic: http://www.real-time-with-bill-maher-blog.com/index/2018/11/16/adulting?rq=comic%20books
Brett Easton Ellis on Black Panther: https://www.indiewire.com/2019/02/bret-easton-ellis-black-panther-oscar-noms-no-one-thinks-its-good-movie-1202041009/

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

In advance of Super Bowl LIII, tune in to hear host Christopher Robichaud in conversation with Mark Leibovich, Chief National correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, author of Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times, and Leah Wright Rigueur, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School. Special thanks go to the JFK Jr. Forum at Harvard's Institute of Politics for allowing us to share this discussion.

On Tuesday, March 20th, the Institute of Politics hosted a conversation with students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School titled, “#NEVERAGAIN: How Parkland Students are Changing the Conversation on Guns.” This week, we listen in to the discussion to reflect on both the power of young advocates in our democracy and the deep impact of gun violence, particularly in schools.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Gun rights have dominated headlines the past two weeks. This isn’t the first time that debate around gun control has erupted following a mass shooting, but momentum and teenage advocacy have some people believing that this time the conversation won’t fade. With strong advocates arguing both sides of the issue, it can be difficult to deeply reflect on the role of guns and self-defense in a modern democracy.

This week, host Chris Robichaud is joined by Caroline Light, Harvard Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality. Light, an expert on America’s relationship with self-defense, provides insight into today's debate over gun control.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

New ways of governing, policy, protests, and more have been introduced across the globe for centuries to try and curb inequality. So, what actually worked? According to Walter Scheidel, author of "The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century," history reports that violence and catastrophe are the only proven effective interventions. On February 26th, Walter Scheidel, Dickason Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Classics and History, Stanford, joined This Week in Dystopia host Chris Robichaud for a conversation at Harvard Kennedy School.

More about "The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century" can be found online here: https://press.princeton.edu/titles/10921.html

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

We kick off season three of This Week in Dystopia with a discussion of The Joker. From the DC Comics’ character to Heath Ledger and then Joaquin Phoenix portrayal of the super villain, host Chris Robichaud and guest Lauren Spohn discuss the charter we love to hate. Is the Joker the product of society? An inevitable part of Gotham? Can you have Batman without the Joker? Tune in for this and more. 

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Do we need to say more than Black Panther?

Okay, maybe. 

Black Panther, the latest film in the Marvel universe, has been met with such excitement it’s hard to imagine a world (or at least social media) without Wakanda. Released on February 16th, the film has since shattered records. Black Panther is the second-fastest movie to reach $400 million, it had the second-best sophomore weekend ever, and it’s on track to top a billion dollars in box office sales. Though the comic books have existed since 1966, the film seems to really have erupted into a pop culture staple in the past two weeks.

On this episode, Leah Wright Rigueur, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, joins host Chris Robichaud to discuss Black Panther. From Oakland to Wakanda, T’Challa to Killmonger, comic book to movie, the conversation covers the pros and cons of the film, the hidden easter eggs, and what might happen in a sequel (or prequel!).

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Idiocracy, an over a decade-old movie, is set in a world where corporations have taken over, the population’s IQ has declined dramatically, and the president is a reality TV star. Now a cult-classic, people on both side of the aisle are starting to wonder did this 2006 comedy predict the future? 

Before you go any further, we recommend you watch the film. It’ll make this podcast way more interesting. 

Thursday, February 8th, the film’s co-screenwriter Etan Cohen joined Christopher Robichaud in a screening of the movie followed by a live episode of This Week in Dystopia. Tune in to hear Cohen discuss what didn’t make it into the film, the relationship between comedy and reality, and how social media would have changed the story.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Political parties and campaigns are a critical part of American democracy. Our parties are complicated, multi-faceted, and at times, downright confounding. To better understand some of the promise and perils of political parties and campaigns, This Week in Dystopia is joined by someone who knows the Democratic party and process of campaigning intimately. Host Chris Robichaud invites former Clinton Campaign Manager Robby Mook, now a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center and CNN political commentator, to discuss campaign cybersecurity, the generic ballot, the outlook for the 2018 election cycle, and more.

You can find out more about the Defending Digital Democracy project via Harvard's Belfer Center: https://www.belfercenter.org/D3P

Don't forget! The This Week in Dystopia film series is this week, 2/8-2/11 at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square. You can find out more and purchase tickets here: http://www.brattlefilm.org/category/calendar-2/repertory-series/this-week-in-dystopia/ Our Thursday night kickoff event will be FREE!
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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

What rights do immigrants have? Did President Obama open the door for President Trump’s travel ban by instituting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)?
Immigration is a contentious issue, hotly debated on both sides of the aisle. Amidst arguments, in a post-truth era, it’s hard to know what to believe about policy, laws, and immigrants' rights. Sabrineh Ardalan, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law and Assistant Director of the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic, joins host Christopher Robichaud to help us all better understand the legal underpinnings of immigration.

Don't forget! The This Week in Dystopia film series is 2/8-2/11 at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square. You can find out more and purchase tickets here: http://www.brattlefilm.org/category/calendar-2/repertory-series/this-week-in-dystopia/ Our Thursday night kickoff event will be FREE!

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Do dystopian societies require a bad good guy? Why do we love superheroes who morals are all shades of grey? Comic fans, this one is for you. Host Chris Robichaud dives into the world of superhero dystopias, focusing on Batman and Watchmen, bringing culture and politics together to help us understand what the bad good guys we love can teach us.

In this episode:

The Brattle Theatre and Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation present a dystopian film series in celebration of the launch of This Week in Dystopia. For this film series This Week in Dystopia host Chris Robichaud and other guests will leave the recording studio to join us for select screenings as we dive into the dreadful, dastardly, and disturbing futures presented in sci-fi films — from the robot-controlled caste system of Metropolis to the prescient satire of Idiocracy to the stirring teenage rebellion of The Hunger Games… and beyond!

For more information and tickets, please visit the Brattle website: http://www.brattlefilm.org/category/calendar-2/repertory-series/this-week-in-dystopia/

Pow! Bang! Kaboom! Power and Responsibility: Doing Philosophy with Superheroes, a SmithsonianX and Harvard Division of Continuing Education course, blends superheroes narratives with the core areas of philosophy.

Check out the course: https://www.edx.org/course/power-responsibility-doing-philosophy-smithsonianx-phil1-1x#.Wl4_ObBRbZ4.facebook

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Misogyny is hard to spell but much easier to find in modern politics and society. How do you define misogyny? What’s the difference between misogyny and sexism? What role does misogyny play in modern politics? These are the questions that Kate Manne, assistant professor of philosophy at Cornell, addresses in conversation with host Chris Robichaud. Manne, the author of the recently published book, Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny, helps explain how despite waning gender roles, misogyny is still alive and well. She walks us through examples from Clinton to Julia Gillard, former Prime Minister of Australia; and Oprah.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Heralded by cries of “repeal and replace” from a party with a legislative majority, it was clear that going into 2017 the Affordable Care Act’s days were numbered. In the final month of the year, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and with it repealed the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. In 2018, what’s going to happen to insurance markets in the U.S. without the individual mandate? Will we enter a “death-spiral”? Would a single-payer system actually work? Host Chris Robichaud is joined by healthcare policy expert Emily Schlichting to discuss the future of healthcare.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Happy Holidays from This Week in Dystopia! ’Tis the season for gifts, holiday cheer, and divisive arguments about the role of religion in America. Host Chris Robichaud invites Lauren Kerby, Ph.D., to join him for a discussion about religious conservatives, Christmas, and coffee cups.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

It’s been over a year since the 2016 election. Campaigning has concluded, ballots have been cast, and the results are in. Despite this finality, the year’s events and subsequent questions still linger in the minds of many. One of these people is Donna Brazile, Harvard Shorenstein fellow & former Democratic National Committee (DNC) interim chair. In episode nine of This Week in Dystopia, Brazile sits down with host Christopher Robichaud to discuss her experience during the 2016 presidential election cycle. Brazile covers how she uncovered an unethical financial relationship between the Clinton campaign and the DNC. She then dives into what it was like dealing with attacks and hacks, focusing on our need for better cyber hygiene and literacy.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Recent events have engendered a multitude of questions about the white nationalist movement. What draws people to the movement? Have social networks provided an opportunity to increase membership? Can we change people’s minds with civil discourse? Is civil discourse possible? Host Chris Robichaud welcomes R. Derek Black, a former white nationalist activist, to share his unique story and perspective.

Watch Black speak at Harvard Kennedy School in the JFK Jr. Forum via the Harvard Institute of Politics website: http://iop.harvard.edu/forum/im-not-racist-examining-white-nationalist-efforts-normalize-hate

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

When Beyoncé gives you Lemonade, make a reader (and a podcast episode). We close out season 2 of This Week in Dystopia with a discussion of Beyonce's audio-visual experience and album.

Host Chris Robichaud is joined by The Lemonade Reader co-authors Kinitra Brooks, Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in Literary Studies in the Department of English at Michigan State University, and Kameelah Martin, Professor of African American Studies and English at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. The discussion covers why Lemonade is so popular and ends with a conversation about pop culture's role in education.

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Join host Christopher Robichaud in his office as he sits down with Claire Wardle and Hossein Derakhshan to discuss 2017’s Word of the Year, fake news; why that term should be banned from our vocabulary, and what we should use in it’s stead.

Claire Wardle and Hossein Derakhshan's new report, "Information Disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policymaking" can be read in full on the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy website.

More information about this episode can be found on Medium at https://www.medium.com/@WeekinDystopia

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Former Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) sat down with host Christopher Robichaud to discuss the choices and constraints he faced during the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Stupak, a lifelong pro-life advocate, discusses how he had to reconcile his advocacy for comprehensive healthcare reform with his opposition to abortion. Stupak’s story is one of both strategy and ethics, an interesting case study on the role of compromise and party politics in our democracy.

More information about this episode can be found on Medium at https://www.medium.com/@WeekinDystopia

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Happy Halloween from This Week in Dystopia. In a spooky episode host Christopher Robichaud illustrates what zombie apocalypse stories have to teach us about democracy. How are zombies useful in understanding democracies and how we handle crises? What does Night of the Living Dead have to do with race relations? Tune in to find out.

This episode features mentions of Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead, The Walking Dead, World War Z, The Dead Mater and more.

More information about this episode can be found on Medium at https://www.medium.com/@WeekinDystopia

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Nicole Hemmer, Assistant Professor in Presidential Studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center, joins host Christopher Robichaud for a discussion about the recent events in Charlottesville, White Nationalism, and alt-right media.

You can learn more from Hemmer on her podcast, "Past Present," or in her recent book, "Messengers of the Right
Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics."

More information about this episode can be found on Medium at https://www.medium.com/@WeekinDystopia

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This Week in Dystopia is produced by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.

Host Christopher Robichaud sits down with Julia Minson, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, to discuss her research into listening, cognitive dissonance, and disagreement. Together, they answer the questions: Is productive disagreement possible? How can we encourage civil disagreement?

More information about this episode can be found on Medium at medium.com/@WeekinDystopia.

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This Week in Dystopia is produced by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.

In the second episode of This Week in Democracy host Chris Robichaud tunes into a conversation about whether or not democracies around the world, including our own, are in peril. Harvard Kennedy School experts Marshall Ganz, Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Meghan O’Sullivan, and Dani Rodrik are featured.

The full JFK Jr. Forum conversation featured in this episode can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsS1r_pG3_o

More information about this episode can be found on Medium at https://www.medium.com/@WeekinDystopia

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This Week in Dystopia is produced by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.

In the first episode of This Week in Dystopia host Christopher Robichaud introduces the series and answers the question, why is this series called This Week in Dystopia?

Sources for this segment include NPR's On Point with Tom Ashbrook and Network (film). For more show notes, future episodes and information, visit This Week in Dystopia on Medium.

More information about this episode can be found on Medium at https://www.medium.com/@WeekinDystopia

Want more This Week in Dystopia? Don't forget to subscribe, follow This Week in Dystopia on Twitter @WeekinDystopia, and like the show on Facebook.

This Week in Dystopia is produced by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.

Despite the persistent threat of video game domination, board games are still here and gaining popularity. And people aren't just dusting off their boxes of Monopoly and Life. New games are pushing the boundaries of how fun, engagement, and empathy intersect.

Host Chris Robichaud talks to Co-Founders of Magpie Games Mark Truman and Marissa Kelly about how the game industry is changing and what we can expect out of the next-generation of tabletop games. Questions around how social justice and gaming can intersect are answered, and of course, D&D is mentioned.

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The devil may be in the details, but Satan also has a home in Salem Massachusetts, the headquarters of the Satanic Temple. The Temple, both self-described and now labeled by the IRS as a religious organization, is growing in popularity. The recent premiere of Hail Satan? at the Sundance Film Festival propelled the religious organization even more into the spotlight. Host Chris Robichaud sits down with Lucien Greaves, Cofounder of The Satanic Temple, to talk about the Temple's mission and why the movement has seen such an uptick in fame and following.

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Winter is here. Sunday, April 14th, 17.4 million viewers tuned in to watch the battle for the Iron Throne continue when the final season of Game of Thrones premiered. Ilya Somin, Professor of Law at George Mason University, joins host Chris Robichaud to talk about how the power struggle at the heart of this extremely popular show relates to governance.

🚨 This episode does NOT contain any season 8, episode 1 spoilers. However, we do briefly discuss some important scenes from earlier seasons.

Intro music credit: KSHMR & The Golden Army https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no2dG9OlXZo

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Baseball has long been called America's pastime, but some feel the pastime is just that, past. Do conversations happening in and around the NFL and NBA better reflect America today? Or is the game of baseball just too long for the 21st-century sports fan? This week, we sit down with Liz Bloom, current Harvard MBA/MPP and former Pittsburgh Pirates beat reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, to talk about how baseball has historically been a petri dish for society's issues and where the league is today.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

🚨 SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't already seen Us, listen at the peril of your movie-going experience. Better yet, go see the film and come right back to this episode!

Jordan Peele may fear his doppelgänger, but he isn't afraid of melding horror with social commentary. This week, Kinitra Brooks, Hutchins Fellow at Harvard University and co-editor of the forthcoming volume, The Lemonade Reader (yes, that Lemonade!), joins host Chris Robichaud to discuss the Peele's newest thriller Us.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

The theatre has influenced political thought since at least the days of the Athenian Democracy. Today, the tradition of theatre as a medium to spark political debate is alive and well. Now, contemporary artists are more than ever contemplating how the theatre can not only convey their thoughts but truly reflect and engage the lived experiences of their communities. 

This week, host Chris Robichaud sat down with two artists who actively straddle the worlds of theatre and social justice. Ilana M. Brownstein, director of new work at Company One, and David Valdes Greenwood, nonfiction author and playwright, join in a discussion about the role of theatre in society and a new project that is working to convey the experiences of Boston's undocumented community.

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This podcast is brought to you by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.