Vice News, 2021, 13:34… Fossil fuel companies knew about climate change decades ago. But instead of doing something about it, they spent millions to confuse the public and seed doubt. VICE World News explores their seedy tactics.
Philanthrocapitalism
DW Documentary, 2022, 42:25… From the video’s description: Across Africa, lobbyists, philanthropists and businesspeople are working to open up the continent to GMOs. They argue that GMOs can provide a miracle solution to two of Africa’s biggest problems: famine and malaria. One of the main supporters of the movement is Bill Gates, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals and founder of the most powerful philanthropic foundation in history. The film shows how the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation became the main funder of genetic experiments underway on the continent. Discreetly and beyond the reach of critical voices, scientists are conducting research on the genetic modification of cassava plants and mosquitoes as a solution to the malaria problem.
Elite Projection and Transportation
Ecofascism
Vice, 2022, 9:58… Concerns surrounding the environment and the climate crisis are no longer just the focus of liberals and the left. Eco-fascism is a growing racist ideology on the extreme right, marrying the ideas of environmentalism with white supremacy and ethnonationalism. With the climate crisis worsening by the day, eco-fascist thought has deepened alongside it.
Billionaires Are Bad for the Economy
WIRED, 2022, 7:36… This video helps dispel the myth of billionaire job creators. The share of income going to the top 1% of households has doubled since the 1980s while their collective investment in our society has been in decline. They are not using such gains to create jobs, raise wages, or uplift the lower classes more generally. Our taxation policies also allow billionaires to pay minimal taxes. While they may give to charities, their donations do not offset the damages they create by hoarding wealth. All of this is unfortunate for society and the economy as this increasing wealth inequality is associated with lower productivity.
Shady Homeowners & Hot Renters
Vox, 2021, 6:48… It’s time to stop looking at trees as a form of “beautification.” They are, instead, a living form of infrastructure, providing a variety of services that include stormwater management, air filtering, carbon sequestration, and, most importantly for a city like Phoenix, Arizona, they cool the environment around them.
Conspicuous Water
CBS Sunday Morning, 2021, 3:39… Martin Riese is America's first certified water sommelier, who studies the subtle flavors of bottled water, and prepares menus pairing specific brands with foods. Correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti sits down with Riese to discuss his unique palate, and his thirst for spreading the word on water.
Period Stigmas and Plastic Pollution
Overwork (996) Culture in China
Vice Asia, 2021, 16:41… "996" is a common term used by employees at China’s tech companies to describe their working life- starting work at 9am and leaving at 9pm, working six days a week. VICE World News looks at China’s hyper-competitive work culture and the costs to their personal and social lives.
Parasocial Relationships and Merch
Vice, 2021, 22:39… Celebrity stalking is an old problem. But it’s happening way more in the age of YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Fans repeatedly show up at their favorite content creators’ homes and expect the stars to be as welcoming as they are in their videos (“heeeeey guys”). Why don’t these fans realize this is invasive? In part, because the influencers encourage it.
Compassion Fatigue and Dead Anti-Vaxxers
House Parties and Social Bonding
Veblen Goods
Microaggressions Are Like Mosquito Bites
SciFi and Racism
Vice News, 2021, 6:08… As debates around teaching Critical Race Theory in schools continue across the country, Hollywood has tackled exploring the conversation for decades. Science fiction is being used as a tool to tell stories of American history and a sociologist (Jean Beaman) tells Krishna Andavolu that it may actually be effective.
Exclusionary Zoning and the Housing Problem
Vox, 2021, 9:41… Zoning laws are the local rules and regulations that decide what types of homes can be built where. These rules can sometimes have good intentions. But they also have a dark history in the United States as a tool to keep certain races, religions, and nationalities out of white neighborhoods. And while zoning laws in the US are no longer explicitly racist, their effect remains basically the same: to keep affordable housing, and the people who need it, away from the wealthiest Americans.
Cults and Online Conspiracy Groups
WIRED, 2021, 9:39… Dr. Janja Lalich, a sociologist who was formerly a part of a left-wing cult, talks about the cult-like nature of many online conspiracy theory groups. Dr. Lalich explains how people get caught up in groups like this, and what can be done to help those who have fallen further and further down the rabbit hole.
Tactical Urbanism
Freethink, 2021, 5:34… From guerilla gardening to pop-up parks, tactical urbanism is catching the world by storm. The growing movement is characterized by the temporary altering of city infrastructure through citizen-led initiatives. When tactical urbanists see something wrong in their cities, they start dreaming up ways to fix it themselves.
You’re Being Watched Right Now
NYT, 2019, 12:15… The surveillance state is the stuff of dystopian novels and futuristic thrillers. Or, as revealed in the Video Op-Ed above, it’s here now. With ad trackers on our phones, facial recognition cameras on our streets and N.S.A. agents listening in on our phone calls, Big Brother is watching. Throughout 2019, The New York Times Opinion department’s Privacy Project has been trying to make the conversation about privacy a little less boring, a little less complicated and a lot more real. We keep hearing, “I’ve got nothing to hide” or “I can’t actually do anything about it.” But when the government fails to protect your privacy, it’s up to you to set your limits. It’s time to decide: Are you really O.K. with being watched?
Universities & Racist Legacies
Vice, 2020, 6:17… Zing Tsjeng visits Oxford to examine the ongoing controversy as universities across the UK reckon with their unsavoury connections to colonialism. People like slave owners, slave traders and white supremacists have historic connections to some of the UK’s finest universities. They don’t put that bit in the prospectus, but it’s the truth.