WEBVTT - 61. things are changing...

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<v Speaker 1>Things are changing around here. I'm not going to lie.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm kind of nervous. I don't know why. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know why I'm nervous. Okay. Breathe. First time recording in

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<v Speaker 1>like five weeks, maybe six. And it feels so unnatural.

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<v Speaker 1>My POV right now is literally light, camera, another camera,

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<v Speaker 1>my laptop. And behind that is literally my kitchen dining

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<v Speaker 1>room situation. I don't know why I'm feeling nervous. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>feeling like I've been out of the swing of things.

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<v Speaker 1>But hello, how are you? My name is Charlie. Welcome

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<v Speaker 1>to or welcome back to From the Diving Board. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>dive right in today because things are changing around here.

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<v Speaker 1>Over the last couple of years, I have spent hours

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<v Speaker 1>dedicated to researching the hidden politics behind everyday conversations. On

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<v Speaker 1>this channel and on this podcast, We have over 50

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<v Speaker 1>episodes unpacking the hidden politics behind things like crochet, tradwives,

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<v Speaker 1>and even yogurt. And you guys have stuck with me

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<v Speaker 1>throughout the entire journey, from the weird and wacky to

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<v Speaker 1>the more obvious and simplistic. Through every single one, you're

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<v Speaker 1>always willing to hear me out, even when it seems

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit far-fetched. But the truth is, in every

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<v Speaker 1>single episode, there's always a very similar underlying message. And

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<v Speaker 1>that is, we really need to be investing and focusing

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<v Speaker 1>on our local communities. And very often, capitalist and consumerist

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<v Speaker 1>attitudes are detracting from that effort. And while I could

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<v Speaker 1>probably keep going forever on this trajectory, picking up on

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<v Speaker 1>new conversations people are having... new things I've noticed in

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<v Speaker 1>popular culture or on TikTok and unpacking why that is

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<v Speaker 1>actually political, because of course, everything is political, there's always

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<v Speaker 1>something that I've wanted to do that I've never really

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<v Speaker 1>found the right time to do. And that is bring

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<v Speaker 1>it right back to basics. If you're not following me

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<v Speaker 1>on Instagram, you may not be aware that I was

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<v Speaker 1>a law and political science university student only a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of years ago. And while I ended up studying for

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<v Speaker 1>over five years and really obviously loving those subjects, I

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<v Speaker 1>didn't enter this field with a solid understanding of who

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<v Speaker 1>Marx was or what the book called The Second Sex

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<v Speaker 1>is or even really understand democracy beyond the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>everyone gets to vote. That meant that my first few

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<v Speaker 1>semesters at university were spent scrambling trying to figure out

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<v Speaker 1>what people even meant when they were talking about things.

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<v Speaker 1>And I often felt like everyone had been given this

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<v Speaker 1>secret reading list that I didn't have access to over

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<v Speaker 1>the summer before the term started. In many ways, that's

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<v Speaker 1>exactly why I started this podcast, because I truly believe

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<v Speaker 1>that in a functioning democracy, everyone needs to be informed

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<v Speaker 1>about what is actually going on in politics. And when

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<v Speaker 1>we read political and legal jargon, we should be able

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<v Speaker 1>to understand that. In fact, It's a problem if we don't.

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<v Speaker 1>This podcast has never been about judging people who don't

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<v Speaker 1>understand because I was someone who didn't understand too, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's okay. In fact, I believe that most people don't

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<v Speaker 1>understand because it's not often given to us in an

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<v Speaker 1>accessible way. In a time where the far right and

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<v Speaker 1>the far left are both using fascism to describe each other,

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<v Speaker 1>or when democracy is described in very different ways by

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<v Speaker 1>the left and right and centrists, I think it's really

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<v Speaker 1>important to unpack what do these terms actually, theoretically, scientifically mean?

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<v Speaker 1>And that's exactly what this series is all about. What

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<v Speaker 1>do we mean when we say we want a representative system?

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<v Speaker 1>What kind of policies is Zoran Mamdani implementing? And why

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<v Speaker 1>is socialism still such a taboo and scary concept? What

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<v Speaker 1>do we mean by fascism? What even is democracy? And

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<v Speaker 1>is what we're living in right now representative of a

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<v Speaker 1>democratic system? These are all the types of questions that

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to be answering until the end of the year.

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<v Speaker 1>And I am so excited for you guys to come

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<v Speaker 1>along the journey. So welcome to the series on From

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<v Speaker 1>the Diving Board, which I am coining tentatively the deep end.

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<v Speaker 1>And we're going to deep dive every single topical concept

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<v Speaker 1>so that you guys have that playbook ready to go

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<v Speaker 1>every time you want a little brush up on your

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<v Speaker 1>political knowledge. At the end of the day, there's no

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<v Speaker 1>democracy without political education and no democracy without informed citizens either.

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<v Speaker 1>So I will see you so soon.