The ever-growing impact of climate change, military conflicts, rapid urbanization and economic crises are some of the pressing issues we examine with our students in our master’s degree with a joint focus on international cooperation, sustainable urban development and emergency architecture. To tackle these challenges, qualified professionals in both developed and developing countries are much needed, which is why we aim to increase awareness in young professionals by working on urgent emergency topics with our students.
We frequently share with you the wide range of research, books, papers and other resources that help increasing our knowledge and understanding of these complex issues. Today, we would like to present a range of podcasts covering the topics of emergency and humanitarian architecture, social impact, sustainable development and climate change.
Social Design Insights
The Curry Stone Foundation has released more than 100 episodes of its Social Design Insights podcast, a series of conversations with leading designers who discuss innovative projects and practices that use design to address pressing social justice issues. The show has been co-hosted in the past years by our long-time collaborator Eric Cesal, who discusses 5 Things about Social Design Impact in the most recent episode.
ODI – Overseas Development Institute
ODI is an independent, global think tank, promoting global progress and prosperity. Their research and policy work includes a wide range of development and humanitarian issues, with frequent publications, videos and podcasts released on their website. Check out this series about Constructive deconstruction: future humanitarian action – a three-part podcast series where change makers pitch radical new visions to shake up the future of humanitarian aid.
The Response
Part of the Shareable series of documentaries, articles and other resources, The Response is a documentary podcast series exploring the remarkable communities that arise in the aftermath of disasters. Spanning the globe, each episode takes a deep dive into a unique location to uncover the extraordinary stories that are hidden just beneath the surface of everyday life. Its most recent episode looks at climate disruption and re-building communities together.
The Urbanist
Monocle’s The Urbanist has long been one of the favourites with architects and urbanists, exploring how to make better cities. One of the most interesting recent episodes dealt with the The fall of the Berlin Wall, what life was like for citizens in a divided Berlin and discussed some of the lessons we can learn from the German capital to help repair the divisions faced by cities today.
The Funambulist
The Funambulist is a magazine that engages with the politics of space and bodies and provides a platform for activists, academics and practitioners. Next to its print and online magazine, it also publishes a series of podcasts. In this episode, architect Eyal Weizman talks about Forensic Investigations of Designed Destructions in Gaza, and his work with the Forensic Architecture that investigates geopolitical crimes in which architecture or territorial components can be approached as witnesses and evidence.
Displaced
This is the podcast series of the International Rescue Committee with leading humanitarians, foreign policy makers, and innovators to understand how they think about and tackle global crises. Among other things, it is looking at climate change displacement, and how global warming exacerbates conflict.
Refugee Studies Centre
The Refugee Studies Centre of the University of Oxford offers an extensive media library that also includes a podcast series of their public seminars and lectures. For example, this podcast covers a seminar exploring humanitarian urbanism and the development of the refugee camp environment.
Failed Architecture
In addition to their blog, FA’s podcast provides a platform for a critical urban discourse and seeks to explore the meaning of architecture in contemporary society. The wide range of topics is reflected in these examples: one episode explores the work of Albert Speer and the issue of an architect’s responsibility for the wider system that they work in, while another episode looks at the border systems and self-built cities in Calais.
GSAPP Conversations
This podcast series published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation features conversations between students and architects, urban designers and academics. In one of the episodes, architect Eleena Jamil talks about the potential vernacular architecture and sustainable building materials such as bamboo and timber in her native city Kuala Lumpur.
Global Development Institute Podcast
This podcast from the University of Manchester’s Global Development Institute brings you the latest thinking, insights and debate in development studies. In their latest episode, they talk to Raquel Rolnik, professor of Urban Planning at the University of São Paulo, about the financialization of housing and her new book ‘Urban Warfare: housing under the empire of finance”.
Architect
The Architect Podcast Network is a production of ARCHITECT, the journal of the American Institute of Architects, and showcases innovators working at the cutting edge of design, technology, and practice in architecture. One of the most recent episodes is called Giving Refugee Communities the Design They Deserve, and looks at how to create long-term communities in largely temporary spaces.
This post is an updated list from our previous blog post from January 2017.