Unsettling Extremism

Final Episode

This episode distils and highlights the major takeaways of this podcast, namely belonging and peace.

Dismantling Communicative Inequalities with Mohan Dutta

In today’s episode, we talk about how the study of communication can help us understand and resist social inequity.   My guest is  Prof. Mohan Dutta, Dean's Chair Professor of Communication at Massey University. He is the Director of the Center for the Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE).  Prof. Dutta is the winner of the 2016 International Communication Association (ICA) Applied/Public Policy Communication Research Award, and the 2018 Outstanding Health Communication Scholar Award. He serves on the Advisory Panel of the World Health Organization (WHO) Cultural Contexts of Health (CCH) group.  Mohan discusses how we can the CCA as a lens to better understand the current political environment, communication inequality, as well as communicative sovereignty. His take on disinformation, as a critical scholar myself, is one of the most thought-provoking I’ve heard  Here are a few of Mohan’s  articles that relate to our discussion: Dutta, MJ. (2023). Applied communication, witnessing, and decolonizing futures. Journal of Applied Communication Research. 51(6), 579-581   Elers, C., & Dutta, M. (2023). Academic-community solidarities in land occupation as an Indigenous claim to health: culturally centered solidarity through voice infrastructures. Frontiers in Communication. 8   Dutta, MJ. (2022). Communication as raced practice. Journal of Applied Communication Research. 50(3), 227-228   Dutta, MJ. (2022). De-centering the whiteness of applied communication research: some editorial strategies. Journal of Applied Communication Research. 50(2), 109-110   Māori Scholars on the role of disinformation (or myth-making) in colonisation    Jackson, M. (2018). Colonization as myth-making: A case study in Aotearoa. In Being Indigenous (pp. 89-101). Routledge. Jackson, M. (2020). Where to next? Decolonisation and stories in the land in Imagining Decolinsation Bridget Williams Books Mikaere, A. (2013). Racism in contemporary Aotearoa: A Pākehā problem. Colonising Myths-Maori Realities: He Rukuruku Whakaaro, 92-126. Miller, R. J., & Ruru, J. (2008). An indigenous lens into comparative law: the doctrine of discovery in the United States and New Zealand. W. Va. L. Rev., 111, 849. Ngata, T. (2019). Kia Mau: resisting colonial fictions. Kia Mau Campaign. Ritchie, J., Skerrett, M., & Rau, C. (2014). Kei tua i te awe māpara: Countercolonial unveiling of neoliberal discourses in Aotearoa New Zealand. International Review of Qualitative Research, 7(1), 111-129.

Theorizing About Conspiracy Theories with M Dentith

On this episode of Unsettling Extremism, we talk about the concept of conspiracy theories. People talk about conspiracy theories all the time, but have you ever slowed down to think about what conspiracy theories are? Are all conspiracy theories built equal? Is a belief in conspiracy theories inherently bad? I spoke with New Zealand-based philosopher, Dr M R Dentith, Associate Professor of philosophy at Beijing Normal University at Zuhai. M is a philosopher specialising in understanding the knowledge that underpins conspiracy theories, especially in a social context. In other words, they are an expert on the theory of conspiracy theory, or conspiracy theory theory. M has written and edited several books on conspiracy theories, the first of which is called the philosophy of conspiracy theories, published in 2014 see the show notes for more of their writing, but beyond their writing, M also has a podcast called The Podcaster's Guide to the Conspiracy. So if you like these kinds of conversations, you want to listen to those too. Here's a little spoiler alert. If you've come to disparage conspiracy theories and the people who believe in them, you'll be disappointed in this episode. But if you've come to learn more about conspiracy theories and what they're about, this is the episode for you. Resources: Books  The Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories by M. Dentith (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) The Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories: Concepts, Methods and Theory (Routledge, 2024) Articles  Dentith, M. R. (2016). The Problem of Fake News. Public Reason, 8(1-2), 65. Dentith, M. R. (2016). When inferring to a conspiracy might be the best explanation. Social Epistemology, 30(5-6), 572-591. Website https://www.mrxdentith.com/ Podcast  https://zencastr.com/The-Podcaster-s-Guide-to-the-Conspiracy

Replacement Conspiracy Theory and Aotearoa

This episode of Unsettling Extremism is a little bit different than what you're used to today, rather  than talking to a scholar about their research we are taking on a particular topic, great replacement conspiracy theory. As the research center charged with countering and preventing violent extremism, I wanted to take a closer look at how this conspiracy theory relates specifically to an Aotearoa context to do this. I had conversations with some of Aotearoa, leading experts on the topic. First, I spoke to Dr Max Soar, Research Fellow at He Whenua Tarikura, who has seen the way the replacement conspiracy theory shows up in Aotearoa through his research on how white supremacist dynamics show up in politics and science. Then, I had a group conversation with the esteemed scholars, Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies, Paul Morris of Victoria University and distinguished Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Paul Spoonley from Massey University, who share with us their understandings of replacement conspiracy theory and its local manifestations.  References  The Venomous Rhetorical Web of Far-Right Terrorists by Julia Kupper https://gnet-research.org/2022/10/17/the-venomous-rhetorical-web-of-far-right-terrorists/ Fear:  New Zealand's Hostile Underworld of Extremists by Byron Clark https://www.harpercollins.co.nz/9781775542308/fear/ Histories of Hate: The Radical Right in Aotearoa New Zealand, Edited by Matthew Cunningham, Marinus La Rooij and Paul Spoonley Edelman Trust Barometer 2025 https://acumennz.com/acumen-edelman-trust-barometer/acumen-edelman-trust-barometer-2025/ The Great Replacement’: The Violent Consequences of Mainstreamed Extremism by Institute of Strategic Dialogue,  https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/the-great-replacement-the-violent-consequences-of-mainstreamed-extremism/ The Jan. 6 Insurrectionists Aren’t Who You Think They Are by Robert Pape of Chicago Project on Security & Threats https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/06/trump-capitol-insurrection-january-6-insurrectionists-great-replacement-white-nationalism/ UK Islamophobic assaults surged by 73% in 2024, anti-hate crime charity reports by Aamna Mohdin and Chris Osuh in the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/feb/19/uk-islamophobic-assaults-surged-by-73-in-2024-anti-hate-charity-reports

Exploring Big Questions Through Fiction with Tina Makereti

On this episode of Unsettling Extremism, we explore how literature can inform our understanding of white supremacy and extremism. I spoke with Dr. Tina Makereti, an award-winning writer who teaches creative writing at Victoria University of Wellington, Te Herenga Waka at the International Insitute of Modern Letters. Learn more about Tina's book The Mires, here. https://ultimopress.com.au/products/the-mires References: Clark, B. (2023). Fear: The must-read gripping new book about New Zealand's hostile underworld of extremists. HarperCollins New Zealand. Ebner, J. (2021). Going dark: The secret social lives of extremists. Bloomsbury Publishing. Lavin, T. (2020). Culture warlords: My journey into the dark web of white supremacy. Legacy Lit. Marsh, S. T. (2024, December 9). Arts don’t just decorate knowledge, they deepen it. Newsroom https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/12/09/arts-dont-just-decorate-knowledge-they-deepen-it/ Tecun, A., Lopesi, L., & Sankar, A. (Eds.). (2022). Towards a Grammar of Race: In Aotearoa New Zealand. Bridget Williams Books.