Resistance Reading Room | Beyond the Page: A Podcast Discussion

You’re invited to Resistance Reading Room: Beyond the page - our new series that uses short media (podcasts, videos, or articles) as a springboard for clear, constructive conversation.

·       A welcoming space to make sense of big ideas together: not a lecture and not a debate.

·       Read, listen, or watch first: engage with the article, podcast, or video on your own, then join our Zoom discussion.

·       The host introduces short “issue spotlights” and a question for each theme.

This session: Rhyming Chaos Podcast

Rhyming Chaos Podcast is hosted by journalist Jeremy Goldkorn. Each episode is a long-form conversation with people who have lived through or studied periods of upheaval or democratic stress — using those experiences to make sense of the present and what citizens can do.

We’ll discuss the episode “Why the U.S. Is Now a Developing Country,” featuring writer/filmmaker Richard Poplak. The conversation looks at how small policy choices add up (“slow backsliding”), what state capture looks like in practice, and why some governments lean on tariffs for revenue when tax systems are weak — and what that signals for everyday life.

Listen here: https://www.rhymingchaos.com/p/why-the-us-is-now-a-developing-country

Length: 34 minutes.

Speakers

Jeremy Goldkorn — Host

South African–American journalist and editor who founded Danwei (acquired by the Financial Times), co-created the Sinica podcast, and served as editor-in-chief of The China Project. He now hosts Rhyming Chaos and writes the China Week newsletter, bringing a comparative lens on media, politics, and civic life.

Richard Poplak — Guest

Johannesburg-based journalist, author, and filmmaker; senior contributor at Daily Maverick and co-director of Influence (Sundance 2020) about Bell Pottinger and weaponized PR. His work focuses on corruption and “state capture,” with books including Ja, No, Man, The Sheikh’s Batmobile, Until Julius Comes, and Continental Shift.

WHEN

Wednesday, August 27, 2025 at 08:00 PM Istanbul Time

CONTACT

Nuray Tasangil

11 RSVPs