Urgent Futures with Jesse Damiani

The Future of Free Speech & Censorship - Karen Attiah | Rapid Response #30

1 h 40 min · 1. Juli 2026
Episode The Future of Free Speech & Censorship - Karen Attiah | Rapid Response #30 Cover

Beschreibung

In September, then-Washington Post Global Opinions Editor Karen Attiah was fired from the Washington Post for expressing her opinions about gun violence. What has happened since is the real story. Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN [https://go.getproton.me/SH1yt] (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics [https://zbiotics.com/?sca_ref=4926056.YlP8s92iYP] (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR [http://mudwtr.pxf.io/Urgent] (43% off starter kits), 1Password [https://1password.partnerlinks.io/UrgentFutures] (simplify your life and increase digital safety), Mission Farms CBD [https://mission-farms-cbd.sjv.io/Urgent] (healthy, effective CBD for relief, sleep, and wellbeing—25% off with email). BIO: Karen Attiah is an award-winning journalist, columnist, and global thought leader whose work explores the intersections of race, culture, gender, and international affairs. She was born and raised in DeSoto, Texas, and began her journey in media and advocacy at 19 through an internship at the Dallas Public Defender’s Office. A formative summer in Spain studying Spanish ignited her lifelong commitment to international storytelling and human rights. A former Fulbright Scholar to Ghana, Karen has reported from across the globe—including Nigeria, Germany, Curaçao, and beyond. Her reporting and commentary have appeared in Voice of America, Al Jazeera, the Associated Press, Haitian Times, and other international outlets. She is also a frequent contributor to broadcast media, with appearances on CNN, MSNBC, BBC, NPR, and CBC. In 2016, Karen became the founding editor of The Washington Post’s Global Opinions section, where she commissioned commentary from some of the world’s most influential thinkers and dissidents. She became a staff columnist in 2021. Her writing—widely recognized for its clarity, courage, and impact—focuses on global justice, human rights, and the Black diaspora. Karen’s work has earned her numerous accolades, including the 2019 George Polk Special Award, the Harriet Beecher Stowe Freedom Writer Award, the National Association of Black Journalists’ Journalist of the Year Award, and recognition in Essence’s “Woke 100” and The Root 100. Washingtonian magazine named her a “Star to Watch” in 2021. She is the author of the forthcoming book Say Your Word, Then Leave, about the life and assassination of Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, whom she worked with closely during the last year of his life. In addition to her work as a writer and commentator, Karen is an amateur Muay Thai fighter and boxing enthusiast, having trained and competed both in the U.S. and abroad. She was the 2021 U.S. Muay Thai Open Silver Medalist in the 125-132 pound division. CREDITS: This podcast is produced & edited by Adam Labrie & me, Jesse Damiani. Adam Labrie also edited the video version, which is available on YouTube. Find more episodes of Urgent Futures at: youtube.com/@UrgentFutures [https://www.youtube.com/@UrgentFutures]. Get full access to Reality Studies at www.realitystudies.co/subscribe [https://www.realitystudies.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

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Episode The Future of Free Speech & Censorship - Karen Attiah | Rapid Response #30 Cover

The Future of Free Speech & Censorship - Karen Attiah | Rapid Response #30

In September, then-Washington Post Global Opinions Editor Karen Attiah was fired from the Washington Post for expressing her opinions about gun violence. What has happened since is the real story. Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN [https://go.getproton.me/SH1yt] (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics [https://zbiotics.com/?sca_ref=4926056.YlP8s92iYP] (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR [http://mudwtr.pxf.io/Urgent] (43% off starter kits), 1Password [https://1password.partnerlinks.io/UrgentFutures] (simplify your life and increase digital safety), Mission Farms CBD [https://mission-farms-cbd.sjv.io/Urgent] (healthy, effective CBD for relief, sleep, and wellbeing—25% off with email). BIO: Karen Attiah is an award-winning journalist, columnist, and global thought leader whose work explores the intersections of race, culture, gender, and international affairs. She was born and raised in DeSoto, Texas, and began her journey in media and advocacy at 19 through an internship at the Dallas Public Defender’s Office. A formative summer in Spain studying Spanish ignited her lifelong commitment to international storytelling and human rights. A former Fulbright Scholar to Ghana, Karen has reported from across the globe—including Nigeria, Germany, Curaçao, and beyond. Her reporting and commentary have appeared in Voice of America, Al Jazeera, the Associated Press, Haitian Times, and other international outlets. She is also a frequent contributor to broadcast media, with appearances on CNN, MSNBC, BBC, NPR, and CBC. In 2016, Karen became the founding editor of The Washington Post’s Global Opinions section, where she commissioned commentary from some of the world’s most influential thinkers and dissidents. She became a staff columnist in 2021. Her writing—widely recognized for its clarity, courage, and impact—focuses on global justice, human rights, and the Black diaspora. Karen’s work has earned her numerous accolades, including the 2019 George Polk Special Award, the Harriet Beecher Stowe Freedom Writer Award, the National Association of Black Journalists’ Journalist of the Year Award, and recognition in Essence’s “Woke 100” and The Root 100. Washingtonian magazine named her a “Star to Watch” in 2021. She is the author of the forthcoming book Say Your Word, Then Leave, about the life and assassination of Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, whom she worked with closely during the last year of his life. In addition to her work as a writer and commentator, Karen is an amateur Muay Thai fighter and boxing enthusiast, having trained and competed both in the U.S. and abroad. She was the 2021 U.S. Muay Thai Open Silver Medalist in the 125-132 pound division. CREDITS: This podcast is produced & edited by Adam Labrie & me, Jesse Damiani. Adam Labrie also edited the video version, which is available on YouTube. Find more episodes of Urgent Futures at: youtube.com/@UrgentFutures [https://www.youtube.com/@UrgentFutures]. Get full access to Reality Studies at www.realitystudies.co/subscribe [https://www.realitystudies.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

1. Juli 20261 h 40 min
Episode On 'Withnessing': Storytelling, Spirituality, & Healing Toward Freedom - Maytha Alhassen | Rapid Response #29 Cover

On 'Withnessing': Storytelling, Spirituality, & Healing Toward Freedom - Maytha Alhassen | Rapid Response #29

I love when a conversation on Urgent Futures feels truly hybrid—that my guest has an irrepressibly curious mind and expansive practice. This is one such conversation. Dr. Alhassen weaves together her committed practices as a writer, historian, activist, academic, and somatic teacher (among others…see her bio). To try to sum this up in a pithy context paragraph would be a fool’s errand, so please just enjoy the conversation. Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN [https://go.getproton.me/SH1yt] (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics [https://zbiotics.com/?sca_ref=4926056.YlP8s92iYP] (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR [http://mudwtr.pxf.io/Urgent] (43% off starter kits), 1Password [https://1password.partnerlinks.io/UrgentFutures] (simplify your life and increase digital safety), Mission Farms CBD [https://mission-farms-cbd.sjv.io/Urgent] (healthy, effective CBD for relief, sleep, and wellbeing—25% off with email). BIO: Dr. Maytha Alhassen is a writer, producer, journalist, professor, and Pop Culture Collaborative Senior Fellow, authoring the Haqq and Hollywood: Illuminating 100 Years of Muslim Tropes and How to Transform Them [http://popcollab.org/haqq-and-hollywood/] (2018) report. She has appeared as a co-host on The Young Turks’ main hour, as well as a guest co-host and digital producer on Al Jazeera English’s The Stream. Alhassen is the co-executive producer, writer, and social impact advisor for Hulu’s award-winning series Ramy; a lecturer in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity [https://ccsre.stanford.edu/people/maytha-alhassen] at Stanford; a 2021–2024 Harvard Religion and Public Life Fellow in Art + Pop Culture [https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/people/maytha-alhassen]; Executive Producer of the docuseries American Muslims: A History Revealed [https://www.americanmuslimsfilm.com/]; a Pillars Muslim Narrative Change Fellow [https://pillarsfund.org/culture-change/muslim-narrative-change-cohort/]; a USC 2022–23 Civic Media Fellow [https://www.annenberglab.com/civic-media-fellowship/2023-cohort/]; host of the educational web series Key Terms (part of the Office Hours series); co-host of Amazon Music and SALT Audio’s meditation podcast Become [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b55d1d50-7ba3-4149-98e0-e191c9b4e500/become?refMarker=null]; and a former TED Resident [https://www.ted.com/talks/maytha_alhassen_a_poem_for_syria_beyond_a_geography_of_violence] (2017). In 2012, Alhassen co-edited the collection Demanding Dignity: Young Voices from the Front Lines of the Arab Revolutions [https://www.amazon.com/Demanding-Dignity-Voices-Revolutions-MYSELF/dp/1935952714]. She has also written for CNN, Boston Review, HuffPost, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Baffler, Mic, and CounterPunch. Alhassen has appeared on CNN, HuffPost Live, Fusion Network, and WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show. From 2019 to 2020, Alhassen served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Peace and International Studies at Chapman University and as an Associate Professor teaching graduate courses in social justice and community organizing at Prescott College. As a social justice organizer, she helped launch abolitionist organizations and collectives including the Social Justice Institute at Occidental College, the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, Believers Bail Out, and Arabs for Black Lives. Alhassen received her Ph.D. and M.A. in American Studies and Ethnicity from USC, a B.A. in Political Science and Arabic and Islamic Studies from UCLA in 2004, and an M.A. in Anthropology from Columbia University in 2008. While at Columbia, she conducted research for the university’s Malcolm X Project and facilitated arts-based workshops with incarcerated youth at Rikers Island through the Blackout Arts Collective. Alhassen has decades of experience in education, arts-based social justice organizing, media and journalism, global travel, healing practices—including yoga, Reiki, doula work, and meditation—and poetry writing and performance. CREDITS: This podcast is produced & edited by Adam Labrie & me, Jesse Damiani. Adam Labrie also edited the video version, which is available on YouTube. Find more episodes of Urgent Futures at: youtube.com/@UrgentFutures [https://www.youtube.com/@UrgentFutures]. Get full access to Reality Studies at www.realitystudies.co/subscribe [https://www.realitystudies.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

25. Juni 20261 h 33 min
Episode The Geopolitical Crisis Hasn’t Even Started Yet - Adames Global (Juanita Adames & Michelle Sucameli) | Rapid Response #28 Cover

The Geopolitical Crisis Hasn’t Even Started Yet - Adames Global (Juanita Adames & Michelle Sucameli) | Rapid Response #28

What does Strait of Hormuz Crisis fallout mean for you? What does the Donroe Doctrine means for the emerging world order? American soft power on the decline & more from former USAID Project Directors, Adames Global. Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN [https://go.getproton.me/SH1yt] (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics [https://zbiotics.com/?sca_ref=4926056.YlP8s92iYP] (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR [http://mudwtr.pxf.io/Urgent] (43% off starter kits), 1Password [https://1password.partnerlinks.io/UrgentFutures] (simplify your life and increase digital safety), Mission Farms CBD [https://mission-farms-cbd.sjv.io/Urgent] (healthy, effective CBD for relief, sleep, and wellbeing—25% off with email). BIO: Juanita M. Adames, Chief Strategy Officer at Adames Global, writes and works on one question: what does it actually take to make change stick? Over 15+ years, she’s led humanitarian and development programs across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia - directing multi-country portfolios exceeding $75M, building public-private partnerships from the ground up, and operating in some of the world’s most unforgiving environments. Post-conflict Uganda and DRC. Fragile states like El Salvador, Kenya, and Myanmar. Places where the systems are broken and the stakes are real. Michelle Adames-Sucameli, Chief Executive Officer of Adames Global, leads the firm’s work at the intersection of strategy, systems transformation, and global impact, helping individuals and organizations navigate complexity, scale responsibly, and build institutions designed to endure.With more than 15 years of experience across international development, strategic partnerships, communications, and operations, Michelle has led high-impact initiatives spanning government, nonprofit, and private sector environments across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Her work has focused on translating ambitious ideas into executable strategy for media and business partners, building cross-sector coalitions, and strengthening organizations operating in politically, socially, and operationally complex environments. (Read their longer bios at the full episode page here [https://www.realitystudies.co/p/adames-global-strait-hormuz-geopolitical-crisis-hasnt-even-started]) CREDITS: This podcast is produced & edited by Adam Labrie & me, Jesse Damiani. Adam Labrie also edited the video version, which is available on YouTube. Find more episodes of Urgent Futures at: youtube.com/@UrgentFutures [https://www.youtube.com/@UrgentFutures]. Get full access to Reality Studies at www.realitystudies.co/subscribe [https://www.realitystudies.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

16. Juni 20261 h 4 min
Episode How to Live Fully in the Face of Collapse - Sarah Wilson | Rapid Response #27 Cover

How to Live Fully in the Face of Collapse - Sarah Wilson | Rapid Response #27

A lot of writing about collapse ends up feeling abstract—like the authors are writing from a remove about an alien species. But today's guest, Sarah Wilson, has written a collapse book that does something incredibly rare. Listen on to find out, and of course: Grab your copy of I Eat The Stars now! [https://amzn.to/4uPY8vS] Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN [https://go.getproton.me/SH1yt] (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics [https://zbiotics.com/?sca_ref=4926056.YlP8s92iYP] (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR [http://mudwtr.pxf.io/Urgent] (43% off starter kits), 1Password [https://1password.partnerlinks.io/UrgentFutures] (simplify your life and increase digital safety), Mission Farms CBD [https://mission-farms-cbd.sjv.io/Urgent] (healthy, effective CBD for relief, sleep, and wellbeing—25% off with email). BIO: Sarah Wilson is a multi-New York Times and Amazon best-selling author, podcaster [https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/wild-with-sarah-wilson], social philosopher, international keynote speaker [https://sarahwilson.com/speaking-events/], philanthropist and climate change advisor. Sarah is known globally for founding the I Quit Sugar movement – a digital wellness program with 13 award-winning books [https://sarahwilson.com/my-books/] that sell in 52 countries – which saw millions around the world transform their health. In 2022 Sarah sold the business and gave everything to charity [https://sarahwilson.substack.com/p/news-ive-100-quit-i-quit-sugar]. Sarah is an experienced journalist and broadcaster. She was previously the editor of Cosmopolitan Australia at age 29; host of MasterChef Australia; was a News Corp journalist and columnist; and has hosted ABC’s Compass, Ten’s The Project and has been a regular panelist and news commentator on Australian, UK and US screens for two decades. Her New York Times bestseller First, We Make the Beast Beautiful [https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/240832/sarah-wilson] is described by bestselling author (The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k) Mark Manson as, “The best book on living with anxiety that I’ve ever read,” and was featured as the book of the year on NBC’s Today Show. It’s published in 27 countries. Sarah’s book, This One Wild & Precious Life [https://www.booktopia.com.au/this-one-wild-and-precious-life-sarah-wilson], won the 2021 US Gold Nautilus Prize. Sarah is the host of the thought-leading podcast Wild with Sarah Wilson [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1548626341] and writes the popular Substack newsletter This is Precious [https://sarahwilson.substack.com/], which has an engaged community of 60,000 subscribers. Most recently, she serialized her book I Eat The Stars [https://amzn.to/3SkwLvu] on Substack – an exploration of system collapse and how we navigate it, which was acquired by Penguin US and will be released globally across May and June. CREDITS: This podcast is produced & edited by Adam Labrie & me, Jesse Damiani. Adam Labrie also edited the video version, which is available on YouTube. Find more episodes of Urgent Futures at: youtube.com/@UrgentFutures [https://www.youtube.com/@UrgentFutures]. Get full access to Reality Studies at www.realitystudies.co/subscribe [https://www.realitystudies.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

4. Juni 20261 h 8 min
Episode Decoding Systems of Power & Meaning: Military AI, Epstein, Necropolitics...& Backrooms - Cy Canterel | Rapid Response #26 Cover

Decoding Systems of Power & Meaning: Military AI, Epstein, Necropolitics...& Backrooms - Cy Canterel | Rapid Response #26

I was lucky to meet today's guest, Cy Canterel, a few years ago during the downslope of hype around NFTs and web3—a moment we actually dive into during the episode—fully aware of the ways many people will hear those terms an instantly tune out. My hope here isn’t to valorize the aforementioned (though we do discuss how there were seeds of something meaningful that were drowned out by all the grift and greed); I bring it up because it highlights the intellectual curiosity and expansiveness that threads all of Cy’s work across tech, art, culture, power, and philosophy. More than most people I’ve met, Cy trusts her intuition to lead her to new ways of thinking and perceiving, and her intense research practice then creates the scaffolding and texture to give her ideas weight. Support the show by checking out: ProtonVPN [https://go.getproton.me/SH1yt] (gold-standard VPN—fast and safe. Click the link to get 55% off VPN Plus: $4.49/mo). ZBiotics [https://zbiotics.com/?sca_ref=4926056.YlP8s92iYP] (Decrease impact of hangovers. Code: JESSEDAMIANI for 10% off), MUD\WTR [http://mudwtr.pxf.io/Urgent] (43% off starter kits), 1Password [https://1password.partnerlinks.io/UrgentFutures] (simplify your life and increase digital safety), Mission Farms CBD [https://mission-farms-cbd.sjv.io/Urgent] (healthy, effective CBD for relief, sleep, and wellbeing—25% off with email). All of which is why it’s especially fun for me that Cy has emerged as a leading media theorist and communicator on Substack, with a particular eye toward decoding systems of power and meaning. As you can gather from the title, that includes a whole lot of contemporary concerns as well as more evergreen ones. When I say this conversation is free-wheeling, I mean it; but I’ll let you experience it for yourself. BIO: Cy Canterel, in her own words: Artist. Feral scholar. Raised by computers. Ex-tech (infrastructure, IoT, AI/ML). Alumna: Institute for the Future of the Book. Fmr. visiting scholar @NYU. Decoding systems of power and meaning. Big time crayon fan. CREDITS: This podcast is produced & edited by Adam Labrie & me, Jesse Damiani. Adam Labrie also edited the video version, which is available on YouTube. Find more episodes of Urgent Futures at: youtube.com/@UrgentFutures [https://www.youtube.com/@UrgentFutures]. Get full access to Reality Studies at www.realitystudies.co/subscribe [https://www.realitystudies.co/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

28. Mai 20261 h 9 min