Making Movements: Voices from a World of Change

From climate breakdown to fascism to runaway capitalism – what would it actually take to tackle our world’s roaring avalanche of challenges? Paul, a veteran of social movements through his work in facilitation, process and conflict mediation, stepped back and asked himself this question back in 2018. He realised that the problems are so vast and self-exacerbating that they require social change on a scale orders of magnitude beyond existing or historic efforts.This epiphany led to Paul working with his colleagues in facilitation collective Navigate to formulate A Movement Like We’ve Never Known in an online presentation. Something between a blueprint, roadmap, manifesto and a provocation, this talk – accessible at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f_bVh3bjpY – draws on deep wells of specialist experience to propose a new way of thinking about social movements with the scale and ambition we’re going to need.The experience Paul brings to bear on this work is a topic in itself. As part of Navigate, Paul has spent a decade working to help movements function more effectively. He defines himself as largely drawing on a critical strand of NonViolent Communication; if you haven’t heard of ‘NVC’– or if you have, and weren’t convinced – it’s well worth hearing Paul’s account of it as an indispensable aspect of healthy movement life.Our conversation is wide-ranging and tends toward the macro – but to repeat Paul’s closing invitation: Navigate is very much open to people reaching out to inquire about ‘movement fight rooms’, conflict mediation in general, and facilitation skills. We cover:Frame of collective power: why we need it, why we need to use it differentlyDid The Left make an unconscious ‘Sacred Vow’ to not hold power?“It maybe doesn’t even occur to us sometimes how we are taking on a particular shape of organising”Framing of ‘higher leverage points’ and causationThe pernicious ‘punitive’ and adversarial dynamics in left/activist culture, and how they undermine our movements in micro and macroA big takeaway is that we need to spread the orientation towards actually cooperating at scaleMovements are a spectrum, from fragmented to cohesiveBernice Johnson Reagon: ‘coalition space’ vs ‘home space’The nature of MLWNK as more ‘meta-movement’ (or mimetic intervention) than movementGhandian ‘constructive program’‘A strategy based on a sensitive awareness of complex systems and is aiming for high leverage points within those systems’The Fighting Together project: movement fight-rooms!How do we actually seed change across movements?The slow cultural shifts already in train: recognition of trauma, burnout, conflict, scaleSketching an emergent movement-wide collaborationLimits to the Left and implications of movement ecologyWhat Navigate can do for you The presentation itself, A Movement Like We’ve Never Known:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f_bVh3bjpYFind Navigate – and their potentially free conflict mediation help – at https://www.navigate.org.uk/Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

What and who is this podcast for? Why are social movements the best way to change the world? What kinds of hideous baggage and assumptions is host Douglas bringing to this work? What's with the upload schedule? Is it ok to think about things from London? (short answer: no!) Can a podcast be more than a podcast?Some of these questions will be answered in what is essentially a retroactive launch episode!Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

One of my favourite interviews! I sit down with Adam Greenfield, activist and author of the book Lifehouse, for a deep discussion of his work, its underpinnings and its implications.His book explores anarchist success stories for inspiration in the face of a ‘Long Emergency’ of climate and political instability, featuring classic case-studies like the Black Panthers, Occupy and Rojava among others.Instead of just duplicating a book I’d love people to read, we delve as much behind Lifehouse as into it. We consider the ideas and realities shaping his thought: primarily a certain version of anarchism, but also an unusually askance and informed perspective on social movements in general, from Extinction Rebellion to Your Party to Collapse tendencies to the incipient Lifehouse movement itself. From there we reflect on the dynamics – at once highly personal and deeply structural – configuring today’s collective politics.Throughout, Adam retains a deeply grounded orientation towards practicality and action, replete with unusually un-theoretical suggestions on the things we can do and the ways we can do in this chaotic context: chiefly a kind of practical spirituality, inquisitive politics, and a dash of conventional prepping. Something I could have got into with Adam but didn’t is his plenitude of past lives: his stint in the US Army’s psy-ops unit (!), his work first implementing and then criticising information technology, and his study and writing on urban design. Maybe another time! Snippets:‘A movement is a way of avoiding doing the thinking and the work for yourself’‘If your assembly does not have dispositive power over resources – I think it’s counter-productive. It is not you developing your muscles - it’s simply re-inscribing your own impotence. Because ultimately there’s this dynamic of supplication’‘We’re here to care for one another! We’re here to care for one another and anything that expands our capacity to do that and to extend the frame and the fabric of our ability to care is something I’m interested in’ Writing we mentioned:Gail’s Lifehouse piece: https://buymeacoffee.com/gailbradbrook/so-now-whatTadzio Mueller’s leadership piece: https://steady.page/en/disrupt/posts/3f4ac939-b805-431d-93e7-b8ff498f4242End music: Roses and Bread, sung by Penny Stone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZbkK6DGft0Check out Penny's work! http://www.singlouderthanguns.com/Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

Kollapscamp may well turn out to be a significant moment in movement history, with the climate scene evolving into new forms to meet the new realities of ‘long emergency’. At the same time – and very much relatedly – the camp was a physical and social space with real people bringing varied and sometimes rivalrous motivations, identities and needs.As the camp packed up, I caught up with Scully to discuss both parts of that work. Internal tension is pretty much a certainty in any gathering of this scale and ambition, but it’s rare to find such a lucid example of those tensions being raised and processed – and even rarer to debrief it all with one of the core organisers! If you want an understanding of what holding a serious movement space looks like in 2025, and/or a snapshot of the complicated collapse-politics constituency, stay tuned. Editor’s note: we talk a bit about Tadzio Mueller, one of the Camp’s foremost organisers alongside Scully, and a pre-eminent voice communicator on collapse politics. He’s been a significant social movement presence in Germany since the early noughties, involved in alter-globalisation activism, LGBT struggles, and the climate movement – notably helping to set up Ende Gelande. To get a direct sense of his inimitable style , check out his collapse pitch here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XODlnqPvpv8 How we’re feeling at the end of campWhat the camp’s aims were and if it met themMinor tensions in the campThe critique sessionThe contested place of Tadzio MuellerAccessibility questionsHow racial diversity can come down to moneyHow racial diversity can have deeper rootsComparing Just Collapse to Deep AdaptationThe wider marketplace of collapse politics projectsThe importance of cultures of care in collapse Some further reflections on the camp from its organising team: https://steady.page/en/friedlichesabotage/posts/7323dbfe-5ce4-421f-b9f1-3a7922201ef7 End music: people at Les Résistantes singing Le Pieu, a Basque song of collective resistancehttps://www.lesglottesrebelles.com/le-pieu/ Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

The water is coming. By 2050 8 million homes in England will be at risk of flooding - that’s *one in four*! But for hundreds of UK communities this existential threat has already arrived.Flooded People UK is an innovative organising project which aims to recast the people in flood-hit places from passive victims into active citizens with expertise, collective interdependence, and policy demands. I talk to FPUK organisers Harry and Sanjay to learn about this project’s unusual movement composition, the work it does, and its orientation in the bigger stories of climate and collapse.We cover:How FP is a convergence of the cultures of professional disaster management with the grassroots climate movementWhat FP does: creating national scale political pressure, alongside fostering networks of direct support within and between flooded communitiesHow flooding can impact a person, household and communityRe-imagining the policy position of flooded people - into a proactive political constituencyWhat needs to be done policy-wiseHow climate framing is and isn’t valuable in flooded contextsHow mitigation relates to adaptationThoughts on Kollapscamp and its collapse framingSee more atfloodedpeople.org.ukEnd music:People Gonna Rise Like Water, sung by XR BristolFollow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

Collapse – what’s the pitch?!Kollapscamp was a summer gathering of 900 people in Brandenburg, Germany. It has clear roots in the climate movement, but represents a very novel tendency within – or break from – that movement. The key shift being an assessment that some level of societal upheaval is now unavoidable (thanks in part to world leaders’ failure to limit carbon emissions), and that this has deep implications for all our movements’ strategies going forwards.The German ‘Just Collapse’ scene is one of several independently emerging scenes in Europe – but it’s the first to run a camp! The programme spanned a broad range of collapse-type classics: from the stereotypical ‘hard’ skills like martial arts and first aid training, through to emotional work, at least one very cool ‘organising in a crisis’ scenario training, and panels on/from specific issues from ‘Internationalism in Collapse’ to British flood management (see next episode). Plus all the usual and essential off-programme action of meals, parties, and formal and informal networking.If that sounds like a lot: it was!I sat down with Scully, one of the camp’s two key organisers, to discuss the ideas and intentions behind the camp. We cover:Quick intro from me on the broader context of collapse politicsWhy Kollapscamp?Ambitions for building up networksBuilding Collapse as a movementWho’s turned up to KCHow Collapse relates to climate movement strategiesBuilding alternative economic structuresThe content of KCThe reality-breaking outcome of How to Defend a Pride MarchHow KC relates to the UK’s Deep Adaptation Snippets:‘We won’t find the button to save the world or making everything perfectly fine again, so we have to deal with things getting worse’ Tadzio Mueller's ultimate collapse pitch:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XODlnqPvpv8Kollapscamp’s programme:https://kollapscamp.de/en/program/ End music from a spontaneous performance at Les Résistantes by what I think was La Criée, a feminist choir Montreuil in Paris. Embarrassingly I don’t know the name of this song but will update when I have it!Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

Benjamin and Sanna spent three years cycling around the world to spread the word about the Western Sahara: the world’s largest remaining colony, the last such project in Africa, and a weirdly (but not accidentally) under-covered topic. Tune in and cover it with us! We also cover:Benjamin’s year-long walk from Sweden to PalestineThe strange lack of social movements in SwedenA burgeoning ‘activist cafe’ projectWhat Les Résistantes means to us as visitors, and the role it could play in pan-European organising I can’t help but note in passing that the activist cafe concept is quite reminiscent of Joël’s frame-building mentality in the previous interview. Could space-holding be the new leadership? For more about the two’s work, check out Solidarity Rising: https://solidarityrising.com End music end music from a spontaneous performance at Les Résistantes by what I think was La Criée, a feminist choir Montreuil in Paris. This song is ‘Canción sin miedo’, a feminist hymn.Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

Les Résistantes was a beacon of joyful social movement ambition. Something like 10,000 people came together representing struggles from across not only France but Europe and beyond. An activist event of this scale and substance must be seen to be believed.* Where on earth did it come from?I caught up with Joël, one of the festival’s core organisers. He explains how Résistantes is really just a by-product of a five-year effort uniting local struggles into national coalitions. He shares some ‘secret sauce’ techniques which might explain how Terre des Luttes - the group driving these efforts - has had so much success where others struggle, going from seven people in a room to 200 organising a festival for 10,000. And, in a striking exception to every other conversation I have in these four days, we take a glance at the world-historic hurricanes on the horizon: the quickening breakdowns in our climate and political systems, and what they might mean for our movements. *As a close substitute I’ll be offering my own reflections from during and after the festival – where I get into the delightful, difficult and sometimes dramatic details – on a Patreon feed as soon as I can get around to setting it up. In the meantime you’ll just have to take my word that it was a good time.The foundational Terre des Luttes map :https://terresdeluttes.fr/qui-sommes-nous/ End music from a spontaneous performance at Les Résistantes by what I think was La Criée, a feminist choir Montreuil in Paris. This song is a feminist re-appropriation of the Chant des Corsaires, a Flemish sea-song.https://www.lesglottesrebelles.com/le-chant-des-corsaires/  Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

You might be as surprised as me to learn the anti-nuclear fight is one of the biggest social movement scenes in France. I sat down with Pauline Boyer to learn about France’s current nuclear crossroads and its peculiar economic, cultural and geopolitical dimensions. We also consider nuclear as an ideology and Type of Guy, and discuss Pauline’s journey into activism through Alternatiba, a 2010s movement which created joyful, utopian spaces before it was cool. End music from a spontaneous performance at Les Résistantes by what I think was La Criée, a feminist choir Montreuil in Paris. This song is ‘La Danse des Bombes’. It’s about the fighting for the Paris Commune in 1871 Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

In an age of sinister international connivance, have you ever wondered where *our* shadowy networks are? Wonder no longer!Ok not really, but the Movement Hub is a rare and brilliant case of social movement internationalism: alongside much-needed information-collation, the Hub’s runaway translation initiative has become the basis for an international convergence rarely seen in Europe since the COP days of the late noughties. I sit down with Karl to get a handle on this pan-European social movement scale, the significance of Les Résistantes, and the tricky but essential role of NGOs (non-governmental organisations) like Greenpeace. We also follow Carl’s own journey into activism from a Swedish Valentine’s Day gift-card directly into handcuffs in a German coal mine. We cover:Les Résistantes and its developing position as an international movement forumThe Movement Hub’s role in incubating international movement spaces, not least the inimitable international hub at Les RésistantesHow Carl got into activism from a conversation at a party and a Valentine’s Day gift-cardHow the Movement Hub aims to build bridges between progressive struggles across EuropeHow those struggles are generally going relative to last decadeThe complicated role of NGOs in this workWhat’s it like to work on social change from within an NGO, and Greenpeace in particularMovement Hub’s calendar from this summer: https://www.themovementhub.org/events/Arundhati Roy’s super short article The NGO-ization of Resistance: https://towardfreedom.org/story/archives/globalism/arundhati-roy-the-ngo-ization-of-resistance/My own piece about the Extinction Rebellion Netherlands’s A12 blockade (and the role played by NGOs and civil society): https://wagingnonviolence.org/2024/10/how-the-dutch-created-breakthrough-climate-crisis-mass-protest/Some written reflections from Karl himself on Les Résistantes: https://www.themovementhub.org/stories/les-resistantes-2025-impressions/ End music from a spontaneous performance at Les Résistantes by what I think was La Criée, a feminist choir Montreuil in Paris. Embarrassingly I don’t know the name of this song but will update when I have it!Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

Soulèvements could lay a claim to be the hottest eco-action group not just in France but all of Europe. Their approach of bundling local environmental struggles into bigger efforts has paid off in several actions with numbers in the tens of thousands, and pointed a way out of the climate movement's traditional confinement in the urban middle classes. Their sense of buzz and energy is such that Europe's other big powerhouse - Ende Gelande - has consciously sought to to emulate the French example.I sat down with Barbara for an introduction to this movement (whose name translates as 'uprising of the earth')We cover:Soulèvements' origins in a 2020 meeting of farmers, anarchists and ecologists at the legendary Notre-Dame-des-Landes occupation.That occupation's significance to French movement historyThe importance of the French peasant movementSoulèvements' core strategyThe specific issue of megabassinesThe Battle of Sainte-Soline and its consequences for the wider movementEditor's note: Barbara says 'impeach' a few times - she's really meaning to say 'prevent' (and is using the French 'empêche')Highlights:"There's hundreds of little fights in France that fight against a project - and that project is is linked to the bigger project that we don't want"End music: De l'eau, le feu ('From the Water, the Fire'), sung at a workshop at Les Résistantes. The song was written to commemorate the Battle of Sainte-Soline and the broader struggle against mega-bassines: its lyrics vividly describe scenes of ecotage and confrontation with the police.https://www.lesglottesrebelles.com/de-leau-le-feu/For more on the Battle of Sainte-Soline, check out this breathtaking documentaryhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMJK2YZEa4MFollow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

For our first entry at Les Résistantes I talk to Mikhail about his activist career, which begins with the onset of far-right violence in early-2000s Slovakia, runs though the world of football ultras, and ultimately brings him to the climate movement, cultures of care, and France’s liveliest activist festival.*Editor’s note: this episode is harder to keep up with than most! We cover a lot of ground and are pursued for about half of it by Les Résistantes’ iconic New Orleans brass band. This is not a problem if you’re ready for ambience, but if you’d like something more settled then you might want to come back to this one. We cover:Introduction to European football ultras as both far-right and far-left Mikhail's personal journey from subculture into anti-fascist activism in 2003The incremental growth of far-right politics in Slovakia, as it developed from street-violence to – by the early 2010s – parliamentary politicsAnti-fascist organising in the context of the football ultra scene^In which we learn that Europe’s best left fighters come from Belarus^And discover the impressive hybrid of a combined football tournament / leftist political conference / fundraiserThe value ultras bring to the climate movement in Central Europe regarding urban policing in terms of experience, tactics, and organising stylesThe question, from this perspective, of violence in the social movement repertoireThe rapid rise and even quicker fall of XR Czechia (and its very Scotland-reminiscent re-formation into Climate Camp Czechia, and mutual aid efforts like a tenants’ union)Some initial observations on the Les Resistantes’ incredible interpretation hub (for a deeper look at this and where it came from, see later interview with Carl)The need for new ways of relating to each other as the primary means of resisting the right. Highlights:“the people who were fighting in the streets are now sitting as MPs… the left did not manage that kind of jump” Music credit: much appreciation to ‘shelf-employed’ for the brass interlude (from https://freesound.org/people/shelf-employed/sounds/751844/)End music: Ode aux Casseurs (‘Ode to the Breakers’) from a spontaneous performance at one of Les Résistantes’ several bars. The song makes the merry case that breaking laws and objects is never justified unless you win, c.f.: 1789, Suffragettes, 1940s, etc. Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

Robin Wells, director of Fossil Free London, joins me to reflect on Green Gathering and the movement evolutions on view there: namely the increasing relevance of fascism to the climate movement, and broader frame/vibe-shift towards a *collapse* framing.We then follow Robin’s personal journey into activism via the student fees movement to her present role with Fossil Free London.From this vantage we take a close look at one of the more successful UK climate groups of the last few years: answering questions like ‘what does a protest group actually do?’.Editor’s note: at about the 15:00 mark I say that Tadzio Mueller was very involved in Reclaim the Streets. This is a slip of the tongue! I meant to say he was very involved in the alter-globalisation movement: related to RTS but not the same thing.Outro music: A Force of Love sung by Penny Stone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_AL9nIgbfkCheck out Penny's work! http://www.singlouderthanguns.com/Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

Clifford offers an awe-inspiring tour through four decades of change-making. Starting in Greenham Common in 1981 and running through the Miners’ Strike, the anti-roads movement, Earth First, to Extinction Rebellion and beyond.This wide sweep and experience then provides us with fresh perspectives on Green Gathering, the enigmatic Trad Village at its core, and the latest wave of interest building around intentional communities: visible in both the new UK communities conference (https://www.communitiesconference.co.uk/) and the inter-community volleyball tournament.As much as for any specific subject, this discussion is worth a listen just for Clifford’s grounded demeanour as someone who seems to have seen it all and kept his vision sharp. He probably wouldn’t like me saying this but if embodied movement wisdom has a voice then this is one way it can sound.Also featuring a surprise guest appearance from Storm Floris. Our tiny yurt studio couldn’t help flapping a bit in the wind, so apologies for the intermittent background noise!End music: Roses and Bread, sung by Penny Stone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZbkK6DGft0Check out Penny's work! http://www.singlouderthanguns.com/Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

Coming from a teepee in a mysterious village at the heart of Green Gathering, Paul Mather tells us the story behind this congregation of yurts and ideas: a combination of climate collapse and countercultural experimentation.But the ‘Transformative Adaptation Space’ is only one part of Paul’s story – he’s also part of the Hospicing Modernity UK Collective (and is also a school teacher!). Inspired by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira’s book from which they drew their name, the Collective came together in 2022 to explore and practice decoloniality. Paul gives us a taste of what this work can look like.Editor’s note: there is music in the background throughout most of this recording. This is a bit annoying but also feels like an authentic snapshot of Green Gathering, where radical thought sits side by side with festival culture.End music: May the Long Time Sun, sung by Penny Stone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97WDKsph2nICheck out Penny's work! http://www.singlouderthanguns.com/For more decoloniality, check out Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures at https://decolonialfutures.net/Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

Climate Camp Scotland is one of many kindred efforts. Douglas sits down with organisers Emma and Eimear to learn that Climate Camp Ireland is very similar in some respects (organising culture, general strategy) and very different in others (political context, movement infrastructure - *alcohol*!)Together we consider what might lie behind these differences and how they add up into very different overall experiences. We also discuss the contested position of the Palestine movement in Ireland, the long shadow of colonialism, and reflect on Climate Camp Scotland from a newcomer’s perspective. At one point I mention Ende Gelande – this is a German climate action movementWe use the abbreviation ‘DA’ a few times, standing for direct action. It's a whole thing. For more information about Climate Camp Ireland and related actions follow Slí Eile at https://www.instagram.com/sli_eile/?hl=enOr see https://climatecampireland.ie/ Outro music: Spirit Guide (Acoustic Version), Maz and the Phantasmshttps://www.instagram.com/mazphantasms/Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

Movements bring people together, and some people bring movements together. Lynne Jamieson is a Professor of Sociology of Families and Relationships at the University of Edinburgh, and president of the British Sociological Association. She’s also a veteran of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). She’s also a trustee and organiser with a community garden.In this latest sit-down on the haybales, Douglas gapes in wonder at the 70-year legacy of CND, featuring maybe the world’s longest-running protest encampment (Faslane Peace Camp), we discuss the changing status of The Family in the context of the polycrisis, and we get down to the details of community empowerment and liberation in a disadvantaged part of Edinburgh. Outro music: And When I Rise, sung by Penny Stone, adapted from the poem by Wendell Berryhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHxmcJTKs7M(We sang a version of this at the camp’s song workshop) Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

In which I reflect on Henna-Elise’s workshop: The Body as Ally: Building Collective Power and Resilience in Climate Justice Work.I try to cast a bit more light on what somatic practices can look like, why they work, and how this success is reaching beyond the traditional 'hippy' constituency. If you're interested in learning more about somatic practice try:An online workshop on collective healing from Arowah Cleaver https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAmzlO893ykOr really anything written by Staci Haines, adrienne maree brown, or Prentis Hemphill.I’m also personally a big fan of Hemphill’s podcast Becoming the People https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/becoming-the-people-podcast-with-prentis-hemphill/id1519965068 Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

What happens when you ask people to embody climate change? Can embodiment practices help us prevent burnout and channel our values? What do these practices look like in practice? And why does the world seem to resist us maintaining them?Henna-Elise Ventovirta is political scientist, interdisciplinary dance-artist and trainer from the Finnish Lapland. She researches corporeal resistance in the intersection of climate activism and dance – and is also the founder of German political education collective, Kipppunkt Kollektiv. Highlights:‘A person who has been very active in the climate movement who has been trying to do everything from demonstrations to strikes to direct action, who has the feeling nothing works… what might happen to that person in our individualised culture is that they turn the blame on themselves: ‘I didn’t do enough’, ‘I failed’…The work of embodied tools might first require that the person actually acknowledges the pain – and at the same time acknowledges ‘no, it’s not my fault’, and acknowledges the collective element that has caused this embodiment to take place.’ Alongside her research and practice of somatics, Henna-Elise is a founding member of the German group Kipppunkt Kollektiv who do work to empower social movements. I’m hoping to link back up with her in the future to discuss this group!https://kipppunkt-kollektiv.de/ The punk band mentioned at the start and played at the end is Maz and the Phantasms – they're amazing, check them out! The outro track was Psychosomatic https://open.spotify.com/artist/3bxfjLBLwpN6sQjNYbBl26?si=tLRHyUL5TPatc8LBfHD0Ughttps://www.instagram.com/mazphantasms/Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing

What is Climate Camp Scotland actually like? What’s the strategic thinking behind the whole camping thing? How is the European climate movement doing generally? Is climate still a relevant framing in the context of a polycrisis and a genocide? What does the growth of the far-right mean for social movement efforts?Quan Nguyen, an organiser behind Climate Camp Scotland, joins us on a hay bale to hash it all out. Highlights:‘We were formed during a time when you could just shout ‘meeting now to challenge fossil fuels!’ and a hundred people would show up in a random room somewhere in Edinburgh – and that’s not the case any more’'Fascism comes to the bed of a dying democracy, but not to check on its health'-          Albert Camus via Quan Nguyen'Our democracies are not designed to withstand massive environmental disaster plus climate migration plus… Liberal democracies are not designed to do that'Want a comprehensive view of what went down at this year's camp? Check out the 2025 programme, covering everything from The Magical World of Poo (which was about mobile toilet infrastructure) to Ecology and Antifascism in Rojavahttps://climatecamp.scot/programmeOutro music: Es Lo Que Hay (it is what it is) from Maz & the Phantasms, who frankly upstaged the Climate Camp Ceilidh Collective with an incandescent performance on Friday night - check them out!https://open.spotify.com/artist/3bxfjLBLwpN6sQjNYbBl26?si=JqJ68KDoRV6HvCPXRDWAbQhttps://www.instagram.com/mazphantasms/Follow me on Bluesky @douglasrogers.bsky.social‬ or Twitter at @writingDouglas if you're into that kind of thing