Dissidents and Dictators

In this episode, recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, we hear from human rights activist Tawakkol Karman, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her non-violent struggle for democracy and women’s rights in Yemen. In her roles as a journalist, politician, and founder of the Tawakkol Karman International Foundation, she is also known as “mother of the revolution,” “the iron woman,” an...

In this episode, recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, exiled Afghan activist and politician Zarifa Ghafari speaks on the challenges faced under the Taliban — particularly concerning women’s rights, freedom of speech, and human rights. After making a daring escape from the Taliban, Zarifa now lives in exile, where she continues to advocate for human rights in Afghanistan and globally.

In this episode, recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, we hear from Carolina Barrero, an art historian, activist, and human rights advocate fighting for peace and civil and political rights in Cuba. As a member of the 27N movement of artists and intellectuals, Barrero participated in 2021 protests that challenged Cuba’s totalitarian regime.

In this episode, recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, Chemi Lhamo discusses the annexation of her homeland, Tibet, by the authoritarian Chinese government, and urges the international community to help amplify the Tibetan peoples’ calls for freedom.

In this episode, recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, Eritrean human rights activist and software developer Filmon Debru recounts his experience in the expansive human trafficking cycle. Since his escape, Debru has raised awareness about human trafficking and testified before international bodies, including the European Parliament.

In this episode, recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, we hear from author and Uyghur advocate Jewher Ilham about the widespread use of Uyghur forced labor and how the international community must respond. Jewher has testified before the U.S. Congress, published op-eds in The New York Times and Guardian, and received numerous international awards on behalf of her father, imprisoned academic Ilh...

In this episode, recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, we hear a conversation between renowned journalist Michaela Wrong and Carine Kanimba, an activist and daughter of Hotel Rwanda’s Paul Rusesabagina — who saved more than 1,200 people in his hotel during the 1994 genocide.

Over the past several decades, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has relentlessly attacked human rights in order to advance its political goals. This episode explores how youth in the diaspora are grappling with the Chinese government’s abuses in their respective homelands, and mobilizing in exile. Guests include Babur Ilchi from the Campaign for Uyghurs, Tenzin Yangzom from Students for a Free Ti...

In this episode, recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, we hear from three Belarusian activists –– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Veronica Tsepkalo & Tatsiana Khomich –– who have spent years fighting corruption under Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, and rallying for a free and democratic Belarus. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is a former presidential candidate and leader of the national democratic movement...

In this episode, recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, we hear from Areej al-Sadhan, a Saudi activist and sister of Red Crescent humanitarian worker Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, who disappeared in 2018 during a mass crackdown on critics and rights activists in Saudi Arabia. Areej remains outspoken on the ill-treatment of her brother and other activists, and has publicly denounced Saudi Crown Prince M...

After nearly two decades of democracy, El Salvador’s democratic institutions find themselves, once again, under siege. President Nayib Bukele has achieved extreme popularity, fueled by populist rhetoric and the adept use of social media. In this episode, El Faro journalist Nelson Rauda discusses how Bukele has abused emergency powers, eroded the independence of the judiciary, and paved the way for...

In this episode, recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, Ethiopian investigative journalist Lucy Kassa discusses her extensive reporting on the war in Ethiopia, and the power journalism holds to expose human rights abuses. Despite suffering physical intimidation, death threats, and ongoing online trolling and smear campaigns, Kassa continues to report stories that bring attention to the victims o...

This episode discusses the deterioration of freedoms in Hong Kong since the implementation of the national security law, and highlights the Chinese government's aggression. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has continuously tried to suppress Hong Kong’s civil society, and the national security law — alarming legislation aimed at eradicating the pro-democracy movement — has been the final “nail in...

In this episode, Casey Michel and Paul Massaro discuss how corrupt regimes exploit systems of democracies to launder their money, and the ongoing legislative efforts in the United States (U.S.) to address this issue. Casey Michel is an investigative journalist and author of “American Kleptocracy,” which studies how the U.S. has become a haven for stolen wealth, and Paul Massaro is a counter-corrup...

Recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, in this episode, Evgenia Kara-Murza speaks on behalf of her husband, former OFF speaker and Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was arbitrarily arrested in Moscow. Evgenia Kara-Murza is the project manager of the Free Russia Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan international organization supporting civil society and democratic development in...

Recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, Tanzanian lawyer Fatma Karume recounts in this episode her fight against Tanzania's late authoritarian president, John Magufuli. Karume co-founded the Center for Strategic Litigation to challenge the regime’s repressive and unconstitutional laws in court. In response to her activism, Karume’s office was bombed in 2017, and she faced disbarment in 2020. Karu...

Bektour Iskender is a journalist, educator, and co-founder of Kloop Media, one of Kyrgyzstan’s largest media outlets that doubles as a journalism school to equip youth in the country with the skills to investigate and report on corruption. Recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, in this episode, Iskender tells of his live-blogging of the 2010 Kyrgyz Revolution, which culminated in the ousting of...

Recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, in this episode, Syrian public speaker and human rights advocate Omar Alshogre recounts his experience as a political prisoner, braving torture and witnessing the death of his beloved cousin. At the age of 20, Alshogre was smuggled out of prison and fled Syria with the help of his mother. Alshogre currently serves as Director of Detainees Affairs for the Sy...

Recorded at the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum, Oleksandra Matviichuk recounts in this episode the horrors of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, and stresses the need for mass mobilization against Vladimir Putin. Matviichuk is a human rights defender who heads the Center for Civil LIberties, which aims to protect and defend human rights and democracy in Ukraine and the OSCE region.

In the past year, Daniel Ortega’s regime in Nicaragua has dramatically ramped up its persecution of civil society, arresting presidential candidates in the run up to the November 2021 elections in an attempt to solidify his one-party rule. Recorded at the 2021 Oslo Freedom Forum, Berta Valle, a Nicaraguan journalist and vocal critic of the regime, tells the story of how her husband, former #OFF sp...

For decades, the Communist regime in Cuba has sold an image of a nation with high human development, boosted by its alleged world class healthcare system and education. However, reality tells a story of coercion, lies, and misery. The case of the Cuban dictatorship is not unique. Other regimes have positioned themselves as having achieved commendable levels of development: Chile under Pinochet, Ka...

Recorded at the 2021 Oslo Freedom Forum, DJ Switch recounts in this episode how she survived the October 20, 2020 #LekkiMassacre in Lagos State, Nigeria. This tragedy was the worst case of violence to take place during the #EndSARS protests against police brutality. She describes how the protests illustrate the defiance of the current generation of Nigerian youth, dubbed the “coconut head generati...

Over the last decade, the frequency, severity, and duration of government-imposed internet shutdowns has been fast accelerating. Used to quash dissent and stifle democratic participation, shutdowns are a blunt tool that strip individuals of their human rights, and cause untold damage to economies, education, and healthcare. Recorded at the 2021 Oslo Freedom Forum, this episode outlines the tactics...

The gaming industry has taken the world by storm since the 1970s. Technological advancements over the past several decades have allowed PC, mobile, and console games to incorporate new designs and new storylines. These advances have helped the industry to expand dramatically, attracting diverse audiences with various interests, including sports, music, and current events. Recorded at SXSW 2022, th...

Dictatorships frequently use art and culture as propaganda to create cults of personality and maintain legitimacy. The totalitarian aesthetic is familiar to many of us from films and documentaries of the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany: tanks driving down wide boulevards; paintings of toiling workers; military uniforms laden with medals; and films depicting past glories. But for billions of people wh...