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The Utopias Podcast with Dr. Ramesh Srinivasan
In the wake of an era where alarmism and crisis branding sells - whether in relation to climate change, new technologies, or polarization, we have a huge opportunity to embrace our capacity for innovation, empathy, and compassion towards one another. To get there it is high time to have creative, productive, and truly progressive conversations about our planetary future, and approach such from every discipline and perspective we can.
Hosted by UCLA professor and public intellectual Ramesh Srinivasan, the “Utopias” podcast presents a new narrative, a vision of life futures based on a set of conversations that celebrate the work and perspectives of “dreamers”, or those who represent and care deeply for the endless potential for human creativity, expression, and optimism. We share the stories of those who believe in the potential for our planet, and are doing the important work to try to empower our tomorrow in a way that we can all benefit from.
This podcast brings back the realms of the scientific, emotional, artistic, legal, poetic, musical, ecological, and spiritual into conversation with one another as together, we imagine and advocate for futures for our planet and species that lift us all up. Dr. Srinivasan’s guests shall run the gamut, bringing artists, journalists, politicians, scientists, environmentalists, monks and religious practitioners, and scholars together. Utopias shall inspire listeners to imagine new futures defined by compassion, an appreciation of diversity alongside unity, and the recognition that we live in an extraordinary time where we are all in ‘it’ together.
Produced by Jack Garland. Music by Albert Ortega
26 Episodes
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Daron Acemoglu is an acclaimed economist, author, and professor at MIT. In 2024, he received the Nobel Prize in Economics and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences. His research focuses on the field of political and economic development and the relationships between political power and institutions and prosperity. He has written six award-winning books about the intersection between economic institutions, statehood, democracy, and technology. Nishat Anjum joined me as co-hos...
Andrew Yang is an American entrepreneur, lawyer, author and philanthropist, as well as a former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and 2021 New York City mayoral candidate. He is the founder of the Forward Party and Humanity Forward, an organization that lobbies for anti-poverty measures in Washington DC. Andrew is the first two-time guest on Utopias! This conversation was recorded on July 11, 2025. Keep up with Andrew and Ramesh. Follow Andrew on Bluesky, X, YouTube, Instagram, Tik...
Astra Taylor is a documentary filmmaker, writer, and political organizer. Her works include the documentary What is Democracy? and the books The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart and The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, which won an American Book Award in 2015. She is also the co-founder of the Debt Collective, a union for debtors fighting to cancel student debt and bail debt. This conversation was recorded on July 11, 2025. Follow Ast...
Cory Doctorow is an activist, journalist, and bestselling science fiction author. His books include The Lost Cause, Red Team Blues, The Internet Con, and Picks and Shovels. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. This conversation occurred on May 8, 2025, as part of a live event sponsored by UCLA DataX, an initiative focused on strengthening research and education in data science and critical data studies. The event was titled Beyond Broligarchy:...
Sayash Kapoor is a computer scientist and co-author of AI Snake Oil. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Princeton University's Center for Information Technology Policy. His work focuses on the societal impacts of AI. In 2023, he was named to Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in AI.” This conversation was recorded on February 27, 2025. Learn more about Sayash, AI Snake Oil, and Ramesh. Follow Sayash on Bluesky, X, and LinkedIn. Keep up with Ramesh on X, YouTube, Instagram, Bl...
Venerable Dr. Pooja Dabral is a Buddhist monk and an assistant professor at Nalanda University in Rajgir, India, a university which originally dates back to more than 1500 years. Her research focuses on Buddhist 'middle path' philosophy and psychology and Buddhist Psychology. This conversation was recorded on January 28, 2025. Learn more about Ven. Dr. Dabral and Ramesh. Questions or comments? Email podcastutopias@gmail.com. Check out this list for definitions of technical t...
Venerable Geshe Dorji Damdul is the director of the Tibet House, the Cultural Center of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi, India. He previously served as the English translator to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This conversation was recorded on September 18, 2024. Learn more about Ven. Damdul and Ramesh. Questions or comments? Email podcastutopias@gmail.com. Keep up with Ramesh on X, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn.
Sandeep Vaheesan is the legal director at the Open Markets Institute and a former adviser to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He is a staunch advocate for antitrust regulation and consumer protection. He is the author of Democracy in Power: A History of Electrification in the United States. This conversation was recorded in October 2023 and includes discussion about the FTC during the Biden administration. Learn more about Sandeep and Ramesh. Follow Open Markets on X....
Yanis Varoufakis is a renowned Greek economist and bestselling author. He served as the Minister of Finance in Greece and co-founded the political party Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25). His books include Another Now and Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism. This conversation was recorded in November 2024. Learn more about Yanis and Ramesh. Questions or comments? Email podcastutopias@gmail.com. Keep up with Ramesh on X, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn.
Sara Dosa is an award-winning documentary director and producer, and Shane Boris is an award-winning documentary writer and producer. Their most recent collaboration, Fire of Love, was nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film at the 2023 Academy Awards. This conversation was recorded in the spring of 2023. More about Sara. More about Shane. More about Fire and Love. Keep in touch with Dr. Srinivasan! Website: www.rameshsrinivasan.org X: @rameshmedias Instagram: @ra...
Nathan Schneider explores the intersection of democracy and technology as a professor of media studies and the director of the Media Economies Design Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is a founder of the platform cooperativism movement and Occupy Wall Street. This conversation was recorded in January 2024. More about Nathan: https://nathanschneider.info/ Keep in touch with Dr. Srinivasan! Website: www.rameshsrinivasan.org X: @rameshmedias Instagram: @rameshmedias YouTube...
Elaine McMillion Sheldon is an Academy Award-nominated and Peabody and Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker. Much of her film work, including her most recent film King Coal, is rooted in the culture and environment of her home region of Appalachia. This conversation was recorded in October 2023. More about Elaine: https://www.elainemcmillionsheldon.com/about More about King Coal: https://www.kingcoalfilm.com/ Keep in touch with Dr. Srinivasan! Website: www.rameshsrinivasan.org X: @r...
Nipun Mehta is a designer of large-scale social movements that are rooted in small acts of service. He is the founder of ServiceSpace, a global community working at the intersection of technology, volunteerism and gift culture. Mehta was honored as an Unsung Hero of Compassion by the Dalai Lama and appointed by President Barack Obama to a council addressing poverty and inequality in the U.S. This conversation was recorded in March 2024. More about Nipun: https://nipun.servicespace.org/abou...
Maurice Mitchell has been the National Director of the Working Families Party since 2018, aiming to create a multi-racial working class movement across the United States. More generally, Mitchell is a nationally recognized social movement strategist and a prominent leader in the Movement for Black Lives. This interview was recorded in January 2024. More about Maurice: https://workingfamilies.org/about-maurice-mitchell/ More about Working Families Party: https://workingfamilies.org/ K...
Maz Jobrani is a comedian, actor, producer, and LA Times best-selling author of "I'm not a terrorist, but I've played one on TV." Jobrani also co-wrote, co-produced, and starred as the main character of indie film "Jimmy Vestwood: Amerikan Hero." His newest standup special, which is on YouTube, is called "The Birds and the Bees." Jobrani's other standup comedy specials include Netflix original "Immigrant", and 3 additional solo specials on Showtime: "Brown and Friendly", "I Come in Peace", an...
Dr. Maja Göpel is a political economist, transformation researcher, speaker, and best-selling author. In April she released her newest book, “We Can Do Better: A Departure Into the World of Tomorrow." This interview was recorded in October 2023. Maja's website: https://www.maja-goepel.de/ We Can Do Better book: https://scribepublications.com.au/books-authors/books/we-can-do-better-9781761380693 Keep in touch with Dr. Srinivasan! Website: https://www.rameshsrinivasan...
Kevin Roose is a technology columnist for the New York Time where he is the co-host of “hard fork” an NYT podcast about technology and the future. He is also an author of three bestselling books: Future Proof, Young Money, and the Unlikely Disciple. Recorded January 2024. For questions or comments email podcastutopias@gmail.com Hard Fork: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hard-fork/id1528594034 Kevin's website: https://www.kevinroose.com/ Keep in touch with Dr. Sriniva...
Kathleen Hanna is a musician, activist, zine writer, and punk legend who pioneered the feminist punk movement "riot grrrl" in the '90s. She was the lead singer of feminist punk band Bikini Kill from the early-to-mid '90s, and then founded the electronic band Le Tigre. She currently performs and releases music as the lead singer in the Julie Ruin. On May 14th Hanna released her memoir "Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk" which has received widespread critical acclaim. Disclaimer: th...
Jacques Servin is a media artist and co-founder of the “Yes Men”, originally an activist duo that aims to expose wrong-doings of massive corporations through producing fake spectacles, disrupting events, and destroying brands. Since then, the initiative has transformed into a non-profit which partners with other activist organizations and schools. Servin is also the writer, director, and producer of three Yes-Men movies including The Yes Men, The Yes Men Fix the World, and The Yes Men a...
Roshi Joan Halifax is a Buddhist teacher, social activist, and author. She is the Founder, Abbot and Head Teacher of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This episode was recorded in July 2023. For questions or comments email podcastutopias@gmail.com Learn more about Roshi Joan Halifax: https://www.joanhalifax.org/ Learn more about Upaya Zen Center: https://www.upaya.org/ Keep in touch with Dr. Srinivasan! Website: https://www.rameshsrinivasan.org/ X: @rameshmedias Instagr...
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