In this revealing interview, journalist Vincent Bevins discussed his newly released book If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution, based on his research of a wide range of social movements between 2010 and 2020. Beginning with an analysis of the "Yellow Vest" protests in France, the discussion focusses on the challenges, nuances, and lessons of building broad social movements—with particular lessons for the climate movement. Vincent highlights the transformative power of social media but also its limitations in fostering genuine, long-lasting change. He underscores the drawbacks of decentralized movements and ambiguous goals identifying potential pitfalls. Drawing from his on-the-ground experiences in Brazil, Vincent emphasizes the significance of recognizing the worldwide repercussions of local endeavors. He also stresses the need for activists to work with governments and state institutions rather than rejecting them, emphasizing that radical change does not necessarily always mean being anti-government.
Vincent Bevins is an award-winning journalist and correspondent. He covered Southeast Asia for the Washington Post, reporting from across the entire region and also served as the Brazil correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, also covering nearby parts of South America. He has written for are the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Economist, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, the New York Review of Books, the New Republic, and more. His previous book is the Jakarta Method: Washington’s Anticommunist Crusade And The Mass Murder Program That Shaped Our World.
Episode 92: Interview with Medha Patkar, social activist
Episode 91: Interview with Professor Ioannis Ioannou, leading sustainability researcher at London Business School
Episode 90: Interview with John Dennis Liu, filmmaker and ecologist
Episode 89: Interview with Naomi Klein, author and activist
Episode 88: Interview with Professor Mike Hulme on the culture and politics of climate change
Episode 87: Interview with Dr. Keir Milburn on generational politics, and Public-Commons Partnerships
Episode 86: Interview with Professor Colin Mayer on corporate purpose
Episode 85: Interview with Professor Maisa Rojas, COP 25 scientific coordinator
Episode 84: Interview with Noam Chomsky, pioneering linguist, social critic, and political activist on the environmental crises we are facing
Episode 83: Interview with Nate Hagens on energy and sustainability
Episode 82: Interview with Unai Pascual, Ecological Economist
Episode 81: Interview with Dr. Robert Romanyshyn on Frankenstein, technology and climate collapse
Episode 80: Interview with Brian Von Herzen on Marine Permaculture
Episode 79: Interview with Peter Head, resilience champion
Episode 78: Interview with Dr. Jonathan Foley, Executive Director of Project Drawdown, on the next-steps for this pathbreaking project
Episode 77: Interview with Mark Campanale, Founder of Carbon Tracker Initiative
Episode 76: Interview with Eva Garen, Director of Environmental Leadership Training Initiative
Episode 75: Interview with Professor Herman Daly, the dean of ecological economics, on the Steady state economy
Episode 74: Interview with Caroline Lucas, Green Party member of UK House of Commons
Episode 73: Interview with Thomas Lovejoy, “The Godfather of Biodiversity”
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