The new video series On the Road to Change brings people in Los Angeles, Berlin, Athens and Delhi into conversation about what democracies can learn from the pandemic.

In the fifth episode, journalist & Thomas Mann Fellow Mohamed Amjahid joins Robin Stevens, professor of communication at the University of Southern California, and artist Joel Garcia in conversation about what structural reforms are needed to increase minority trust in politics. In Garcia's truck they are visiting places as diverse as COVID testing sites, social housing projects, and a cemetery in East Los Angeles.

 

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5. Mohamed Amjahid, Joel Garcia & Robin Stevens | Los Angeles

In the fifth episode, journalist & Thomas Mann Fellow Mohamed Amjahid joins Robin Stevens, professor of communication at the University of Southern California, and artist Joel Garcia in conversation about what structural reforms are needed to increase minority trust in politics. In Garcia's truck they are visiting places as diverse as COVID testing sites, social housing projects, and a cemetery in East Los Angeles.

Watch on YouTube

4. Amit Varma & Kavita Krishnan | Delhi

In the fourth episode, writer and podcaster Amit Varma and feminist activist Kavita Krishna begin the introspective journey from the by lanes of Lutyen’s Delhi, through the under construction Central Vista area. They collectively emphasize the importance of solidarity in times of crisis to prevent societies from disintegrating into agonistic sectors. As they travel through the sites of the anti-CAA NRC/Shaheen Bagh protests, the two get into a conversation about citizenship, social movements, and technology.

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3. Gigi Argyropoulou & Kostis Papaioannou | Athen

In the third episode, curator Gigi Argyropoulou and historian Kostis Papaioannou take us on a journey through Athens. Starting from the central Omonia Square, we take Syngrou Avenue to the cultural centers built by private foundations - Onassis and Niarchos. These two large houses have had a significant impact on the cityscape and cultural landscape of Athens in recent years. During the trip, both talk about the lack of urban planning, the various crises of the last year(s) and the positive impulses coming from the art and cultural scene.

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2. Catherine Newmark & Andreas Urs Sommer | Berlin

In the second episode, Berlin based publicist and writer Catherine Newmark and Freiburg based philosopher Andreas Urs Sommer discuss the impact the pandemic has on ideas of social coherence, solidarity and concepts of democracy. Will the pandemic have an empowering effect on wide parts of the population? Or will people turn away from politics in general, disappointed and disgruntled by the endless debates and often paradoxical decisions?

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1. Rainer Forst, Ananya Roy & Pete White | Los Angeles

In the first episode, urban planner Ananya Roy and philosopher Rainer Forst take us on a drive through Los Angeles. From the Thomas Mann House they head to the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. Their first stop is the most expensive private house in the world in Bel Air. Via Beverly Hills they continue their trip to Skid Row, the neighborhood with the largest population of homeless people in the United States. There, activist Pete White of the Los Angeles Community Action Network talks about the threat of eviction as a result of the pandemic and ways out of his city’s housing crisis.

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On the Road to Change is a cooperation of the Goethe-Institut and Thomas Mann House Los Angeles.