#103: Waging War on Gangsters: Questioning our Reaction to Terrorism with Rehan Ansari

Rehan Ansari anya kaats podcast

Rehan Ansari anya kaats podcast

I met Rehan at the beginning of Covid on a ranch in Santa Fe. After mentioning that my podcast features taboo conversations about a variety of topics, he asked if I’d ever discussed terrorism and the War on Terror & started talking about how bizarre he thought it was that the US had waged an entire war against what he described as “local gangsters”. I was intrigued, to say the least, and a year and a half later, we sat down to talk about it. Rehan grew up in Pakistan, but came to the US for college, and has lived here ever since. He’s a journalist, writer and a playwright, currently working on a project for Frontline/PBS about majoritarianism. We speak about the fallacies surrounding the War on Terror (of which there are many), and unpack how on a grand scale, the US effectively fabricated an enemy, and constructed and proliferated a war based on misguided judgement and vastly overblown risk.

Rehan’s book recommendation: The War At the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa

Songs featured: “Masters of War” by Vieux Farka Touré and Julia Easterlin and “War” by Edwin Starr

How to support the show:

Rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

Support my work on Patreon and get access to perks like an exclusive Discord Server, a book club just for patrons, shirts + stickers, playlists, and curated workshops led by myself, fellow Patrons and former guests of the podcast.

Visit my website – AnyaKaats.com & Find me on Instagram

#102 The Complexities of Environmentalism, Responsibility and Hope with Tzeporah Berman

Tzeporah Berman podcast anya kaats a millennial's guide to saving the world

Tzeporah Berman podcast anya kaats a millennial's guide to saving the world

Tzeporah is a Canadian environmental activist, campaigner and writer. She has worked in environmentalism for 30 years, is the co-founder and International Program Director at Stand.Earth and the Chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. From being arrested at the front lines of forest conservation initiatives, to speaking directly with the CEOs of fossil fuel corporations, Tzeporah has seen it all. We speak about regulation as it relates to both consumption and production, the difference between being a citizen vs. being a consumer, and we dissect the complexities of locating “responsibility” for ending the climate crisis. We discuss how humans are not separate from nature, but a part of nature itself, the unknown long-term effects of clearcutting and reforestation, and how to create hope in a seemingly hopeless situation.

Find Tzeporah and support her work by visiting Stand.earth and FossilFuelTreaty.org

Tzeporah’s book recommendation: The Day the World Stops Shopping by J.B. Mackinnon

Songs featured: “My City Was Gone” by The Pretenders and “Green Mountain State” by Trevor Hall

How to support the show:

Rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

Support my work on Patreon and get access to perks like an exclusive Discord Server, a book club just for patrons, shirts + stickers, playlists, and curated workshops led by myself, fellow Patrons and former guests of the podcast.

Visit my website – AnyaKaats.com & Find me on Instagram