PUSHBACK Talks
by WG Film
Landlords without faces, apartments without tenants. In 2019, filmmaker Fredrik Gertten released Push, an award-winning documentary that explores the unaffordable, unlivable city, and the growing global housing crisis. Following the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Leilani Farha, the film sought to understand why cities around the world are becoming increasingly expensive. In June of 2020, Fredrik and Leilani teamed up again to continue the conversation they began with the film, and PUSHBACK Talks was born. Since then, PUSHBACK Talks has grown into an exploration of the social, political, and economic forces that shape our world, and of the actions people are taking to push back against inequality, corruption, authoritarian systems, poverty, war, and the shift towards far-right conservatism. Join the Filmmaker (Gertten) and the Advocate (Farha) as they dissect these topics, uncover the connections between them, and search for soluti
Episodes
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Spain's Rage For Rights: A Blueprint For Europe?
On 23 September 2026, 87-year-old Maricarmen is forcibly evicted from her home in Madrid. Just two weeks later, she dies in hospital. Her story unraveled live on social media, igniting a fire of rage and solidarity, uniting protesters in the demand for affordable housing across Spain. In Episode…
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We're Back: The Housing Crisis Everyone's Talking About
As fascist parties rise within our governments and investment companies profit from speculating on our homes, “Housing is a human right” has become the battle cry of activists, protesters and parliamentarians alike. Now, the questions Fredrik and Leilani began asking when they started filming…
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Word Food: Industry & Solar
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Wealth Tax & Waterfalls
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Occupied & Dandelion
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Yoghurt & Moonlight
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Big Tech & Resilience
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Profit & Spring
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Greta & Empathy
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Revolution & The Flood
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Puerto Rico & Universal
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Upside Down & Soft Power
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Wall Street & Safety
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Women, Life, Freedom & Alabama
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Doughnuts & Polar
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Slavery & NGO-ish
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Activist burnout & Patience
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Bubblegum & To be a Musk
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Airbnb & Winter
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Bumblebee & Nelson
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Ceasefire & Madeleine
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: It's Possible & Black and White
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here with "Word Food"! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple surface hides deeper...
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Word Food: Lucky & F**k Corruption
Pushback Talks Season 9 is here - with "Word Food" back on the menu! This season, Fredrik & Leilani return with their signature bite-sized episodes: sharp, surprising, 15-minute explorations of the words that shape our world. Each week, they pick a single word (or two) and unpack how its simple...
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Language Matters: a Playful Stream of Consciousness, pt2
This week we continue with the last five episodes of this years Summer Series, back-to-back! If you missed the previous ones, or just like to listen to them in one go, here's your chance. And if you liked this concept of shorter episodes around two words, please let us know in a comment or at...
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Language Matters: a Playful Stream of Consciousness, pt1
This week we give you kind of a rerun; the first six episodes of this years Summer Series, back-to-back! If you missed the previous ones, or just like to listen to them in one go, here's your chance. Word Food – bite-sized conversations that pack a punch. Each week, we randomly select two words…
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Summer Word Food: Pushback & Money
The Pushback Talks Summer Series is back! This summer, Fredrik & Leilani are serving up what we call Word Food – bite-sized conversations that pack a punch. Here's how it works: each week, we randomly select two words and dive into a 10-15 minute exploration of how these seemingly simple words...
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Summer Word Food: Democracy & Flowers
The Pushback Talks Summer Series is back! This summer, Fredrik & Leilani are serving up what we call Word Food – bite-sized conversations that pack a punch. Here's how it works: each week, we randomly select two words and dive into a 10-15 minute exploration of how these seemingly simple words...
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Summer Word Food: Remake & Sleep
The Pushback Talks Summer Series is back! This summer, Fredrik & Leilani are serving up what we call Word Food – bite-sized conversations that pack a punch. Here's how it works: each week, we randomly select two words and dive into a 10-15 minute exploration of how these seemingly simple words...
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Summer Word Food: Dancing & Supply Chains
The Pushback Talks Summer Series is back! This summer, Fredrik & Leilani are serving up what we call Word Food – bite-sized conversations that pack a punch. Here's how it works: each week, we randomly select two words and dive into a 10-15 minute exploration of how these seemingly simple words...
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Summer Word Food: No Words & Water
The Pushback Talks Summer Series is back! This summer, Fredrik & Leilani are serving up what we call Word Food – bite-sized conversations that pack a punch. Here's how it works: each week, we randomly select two words and dive into a 10-15 minute exploration of how these seemingly simple words...
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Summer Word Food: Growth & Summer
The Pushback Talks Summer Series is back! This summer, Fredrik & Leilani are serving up what we call Word Food – bite-sized conversations that pack a punch. Here's how it works: each week, we randomly select two words and dive into a 10-15 minute exploration of how these seemingly simple words...
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Summer Word Food: Social Contract & Media
The Pushback Talks Summer Series is back! This summer, Fredrik & Leilani are serving up what we call Word Food – bite-sized conversations that pack a punch. Here's how it works: each week, we randomly select two words and dive into a 10-15 minute exploration of how these seemingly simple words...
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Summer Word Food: Frankenstein & Wine
The Pushback Talks Summer Series is back! This summer, Fredrik & Leilani are serving up what we call Word Food – bite-sized conversations that pack a punch. Here's how it works: each week, we randomly select two words and dive into a 10-15 minute exploration of how these seemingly simple words...
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Summer Word Food: ROI & Saviour
The Pushback Talks Summer Series is back! This summer, Fredrik & Leilani are serving up what we call Word Food – bite-sized conversations that pack a punch. Here's how it works: each week, we randomly select two words and dive into a 10-15 minute exploration of how these seemingly simple words...
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Summer Word Food: Human & Walk the Dog
The Pushback Talks Summer Series is back! This summer, Fredrik & Leilani are serving up what we call Word Food – bite-sized conversations that pack a punch. Here's how it works: each week, we randomly select two words and dive into a 10-15 minute exploration of how these seemingly simple words...
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Summer Word Food: Hope & Bananas
The Pushback Talks Summer Series is back! This summer, Fredrik & Leilani are serving up what we call Word Food – bite-sized conversations that pack a punch. Here's how it works: each week, we randomly select two words and dive into a 10-15 minute exploration of how these seemingly simple words...
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Fighting the Georgian Dream: The 180+ Day Protest
Fredrik and Leilani dive into Georgia's unprecedented protest movement with Gota Chanturia, education policy specialist and member of the Movement for Social Democracy. For more than 180 days, Georgians have been on the streets opposing their government's dramatic shift away from European...
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Architects of Change: Mexico's Women Leaders Take on the Housing Crisis
This week, we explore how Mexico City is challenging the global housing crisis through innovative female leadership. While 26,000 Airbnb listings have transformed the city's housing landscape, primarily benefiting large investors rather than residents, women at the helm of Mexico's government are...
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Rights are Never Wrong, Colonialism is
In this week's episode, Fredrik and Leilani take center stage without guests to candidly explore how we might find connection and hope in challenging times. They reflect on the state of democracy, human rights, and social movements, sharing their personal struggles with making sense of current...
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Displacement by Design: A Veteran Advocate's Enduring Fight for Palestine
What happens when international law exists on paper but not in practice? This week, Fredrik Gertten and Leilani Farha speak with Allegra Pacheco, an American human rights lawyer who has dedicated her career to protecting vulnerable Palestinian communities in the West Bank. As Chief of Party of…
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Staying Sane in a World of Chaos - with NYT Correspondent Peter S. Goodman
This week, we dive deep into the fracturing landscape of global politics with Peter S. Goodman, New York Times Global Economic Correspondent and author. What happens when the rules of global cooperation suddenly seem disposable? When nationalist ambitions threaten to unravel decades of…
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To the UN! Advocates Hold UK Accountable
Fredrik and Leilani sit down with Sam Freeman (Head of Research and Advocacy at The Shift) and Dominika Leitane (Legal Officer at Opportunity Green) who reveal how they took the UK government to the United Nations—and won! Get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the UN review process as Sam…
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Sweden vs Tesla: The Longest Labor Strike in History
What happens when Elon Musk's anti-union Tesla meets Sweden's powerful labor movement? Since October 2023, Swedish workers have maintained the country's longest strike in a century, with solidarity spreading across Nordic countries. In this episode, Fredrik and Leilani speak with German Bender,...
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Canada Fights for What's Right - a conversation with MP Leah Gazan
Canadian Member of Parliament Leah Gazan (New Democratic Party, Manitoba) joins Fredrik and Leilani to explore how nations and individuals can stand firm against authoritarianism without succumbing to despair. Drawing from her family's experience with genocide across two continents, Gazan offers...
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Ending Homelessness the Finnish Way - with Juha Kahila
Finland has achieved what many countries still deem impossible: significantly reducing long-term homelessness through a Housing First model. Finland's model, which has reduced homelessness by 80% since 2008, doesn't just provide housing – it prevents homelessness through strategic urban planning,...
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Australia's Housing Disaster with Justice Kevin Bell
In our first episode of the new year, Leilani and Kirsten sit down with former Victoria Supreme Court Justice Kevin Bell to examine Australia's housing challenges and their global implications. Drawing on his 15 years on Victoria's highest court and his book "Housing: The Great Australian Right,"...
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The Singapore Solution - Housing for All
What if public housing could be a solution, not a symptom of urban inequality? Singapore offers an alternative to the traditional narrative of state-sponsored housing. In this episode, Fredrik, Leilani, and National University of Singapore Professor Kwan Ok Lee unpack an extraordinary housing...
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Bikes vs Cars: The Transformation of Paris - With Paris deputy Mayor Christophe Najdovski
Cities are the frontline of our global challenges – from climate change to housing crises. In this powerful episode of Pushback Talks, Deputy Mayor of Paris Christophe Najdovski reveals how progressive urban leadership can transform cities into resilient, livable ecosystems. From challenging...
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The Legend of the Vagabond Queen: Resisting Displacement in Lagos
In Nigeria's largest city, a powerful story is unfolding - one that shines a light on the urgent struggle for housing rights and urban resilience. In this episode, we sit down with the creative team behind the new film "The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos," which dramatizes the real-life...
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Keep Your Coins We Want Change: The Shift Directives Part 4
In the finale of our series on The Shift Directives, our experts examine the staggering scale and far-reaching impact of institutional investment on housing. What could we gain if housing investment and housing redevelopment complied with human rights standards? Leilani and Sam tackle thorny…
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About this show
Landlords without faces, apartments without tenants. In 2019, filmmaker Fredrik Gertten released Push, an award-winning documentary that explores the unaffordable, unlivable city, and the growing global housing crisis. Following the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Leilani Farha, the film sought to understand why cities around the world are becoming increasingly expensive.
In June of 2020, Fredrik and Leilani teamed up again to continue the conversation they began with the film, and PUSHBACK Talks was born. Since then, PUSHBACK Talks has grown into an exploration of the social, political, and economic forces that shape our world, and of the actions people are taking to push back against inequality, corruption, authoritarian systems, poverty, war, and the shift towards far-right conservatism.
Join the Filmmaker (Gertten) and the Advocate (Farha) as they dissect these topics, uncover the connections between them, and search for soluti
Hosted by
WG Film