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It's been five years since Grenfell Tower in London burned down, after polyethylene cladding installed to make the building look more attractive acted as an accelerant and rapidly spread the fire along the length of the building. In the years since, many of those affected by the fire have had their lives uprooted, and there has been no real accountability. Many people whose homes still have the cladding are being forced to bear the cost of removing the expensive material from their buildings (sometimes as much as £50,000), despite having no say in its installation.Leilani and Fredrik are joined by Kareem Dennis, also known as Lowkey, a London-based activist, writer, and rapper for a history lesson on the Kensington neighborhood around Grenfell, and the attritional violence that came to a head that night in June when the building caught fire. What can be done when the corporations responsible have no body to punish and no soul to condemn?Support the show

Sixty percent of voters in Berlin voted to socialize apartments owned by corporate landlords with more than 3,000 properties in the city, but what comes next? The Filmmaker and the Advocate catch up with Joanna Kusiak, spokesperson for DW enteignen, on what has happened since the September 2021 Berlin referendum that voted in favor of government expropriation of over 200,000 privately-owned apartments in Berlin to create a new system of public housing. After years and years of pushing for reform, the referendum made headlines around the world as voter support was spread across all political parties in Berlin. Fredrik, Leilani, and Joanna discuss what it takes to build a revolution that uses the legal system while simultaneously challenging it, and keeping momentum when a movement isn't making headlines.Support the show

The Filmmaker and the Advocate are traveling again! While traveling to Palestine on a research trip at the invitation of the Norwegian Refugee Council, The Advocate was confronted with her family history and what her parents call "The Palestinian Heartache." Her trip through the villages of Area C of the Occupied Palestinian Territories left her focused on the hope of a future where the Palestinian people have a voice. The Advocate also talks about learning to persevere in her work while while carrying sadness, and fighting with human rights.All that, plus a week-long stopover in Pittsburgh to launch Fair Housing Month. Formerly a hub for the steel industry and home to jazz legends, the city's population has dropped by more than half in recent years, and the number keeps on dwindling.  The city has yet to fall victim to some of the more virulent forms of financialization - and the Advocate is hoping to keep it that way.And where has the Filmmaker been lately? Listen to the end to find out!*See Leilani's photos from her trip to Palestine here.*Please note this episode was recorded in early April, before the religious holidays and prior to the recent violence that has emerged.Support the show

This week the Filmmaker and the Advocate sit down with Member of European Parliament and the woman behind ‘My Home is an Asset Class,’ Kim Van Sparrentak.  The EU Commission cannot make laws on housing, so Kim decided to write a report on all of the aspects where the European Union does have an influence on the housing market. While researching for the report, she came across Push the film and realized that – not only was there a housing crisis throughout many countries in Europe – it was happening all over the world and being fueled by the same factors. And so ‘My Home is an Asset Class’ was born. For the first time, it’s down on paper just how big the business of financialization in Europe truly is – and it’s still growing. Fredrik, Leilani, and Kim talk about meeting with Blackstone, staying motivated in the fight against corruption, and the importance of addressing the issue at every level of government. What kind of world can we create if we put people before profit? Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

Leilani and Fredrik are back with a new live episode! More than 300 listeners joined live on Twitter Spaces to tell us how the housing crisis is manifesting in their corner of the world and how they are resisting. This time around we hear from listeners in El Salvador, Spain, England, and more. Want to participate in the next live conversation with the Filmmaker and the Advocate? Be sure to follow @Make_theShift & @Push_theFilm on Twitter and Instagram to receive notifications and to submit your questions ahead of the recording! Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

After a long delay, PUSH the film is making its theatrical debut in Mexico! To celebrate, Fredrik and Leilani sit down with four experts, each involved with the right to housing in a different way, to discuss how the issues of financialization, housing policy, eviction, and more manifest in Mexico, from Guadalajara to Monterrey.  Andrés de la Peña, a journalist from Guadalajara talks about his investigation into financialization in Guadalajara, “The Uninhabitable City.” (hyperlink) Alejandra Reyes, Assistant Professor, Urban Planning and Public Policy at UC Irvine walks us through her research on the ability of households to access adequate housing Human rights lawyer and Director of the Human Rights Centre of the Monterrey Free Law School  Carla Luisa Escoffié Duarte breaks down different components of the right to housing, and discusses how unifying these is essential to the full realization of the right. Silvia Emannuelli, coordinator of Habitat International Coalition, takes us through the work her organization has done on rent or mortgage payment problems and eviction amongst residents of Mexico City. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

As economies in the global north continue to grow, housing exclusion grows alongside it, creating greater amounts of inequality. More than 160 million people in Europe are struggling to afford housing, with more than half that number living in poor-quality housing. How is this problem continuing to worsen in some of the wealthiest countries in the world?   Fredrik and Leilani sit down with Sorcha Edwards, General Secretary of Housing Europe to talk about creating evidence-based housing policy in Europe to undo the mess that’s been made and creating an environment where young people can be optimistic about the future. Produced by WG FilmEdited by Alexander Jemtrell Music by Florencia Di ConcilioSocial Media & Support - Kirsten McRae, Aune Nuyttens, Augustas Alekna, Ninnie SchelinSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

It’s no secret that big medicine is big business, but the pandemic has made the intellectual property of pharmaceutical companies one of the most valuable assets in the world. From vaccine politics to surprise billing and revenue-based medical care, privatization of healthcare around the world has enabled financial actors to exploit the global health crisis to turn a bigger profit.  This week we pick back up on Fredrik and Leilani’s discussion with Peter S. Goodman and dive into how the world's wealthiest have used the medical system during the pandemic as a cash cow, structuring our hospitals, senior homes, hospices, and pharmacies for revenue first and public health last. Be sure to check out Goodman’s vital new book, Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World, available online and in stores now!Produced by WG FilmEdited by Alexander Jemtrell Music by Florencia Di ConcilioSocial Media & Support - Kirsten McRae, Aune Nuyttens, Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

Class is in session – In this two-part episode, the Filmmaker and the Advocate sit down with New York Times correspondent and author of powerful new book Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World, Peter S. Goodman, to learn about the handful of billionaires that are dramatically re-structuring the world as we know it. In the two years since the pandemic began, the ten richest people on the planet have more than doubled their wealth, even while homelessness and housing inadequacy have increased at a rapid rate. And this isn’t just about housing, these people impact systems all over the world – health care, public health, sovereign debt, the list goes on. These billionaires hide behind a cosmic lie – that by giving them tax breaks and advantages everyone will reap the benefits – while creating the problems they are claiming to solve.Goodman’s must-read new book, Davos Man, unpacks that cosmic lie by exploring who these people are and how they have manipulated laws and policies to uphold and perpetuate a system that proves, year after year, to primarily benefit the ultra-wealthy.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

Did you know that real estate constitutes a whopping one-third of China’s massive economy? The property sector has been used to drive growth and most household wealth is held in real estate. As a result, for years developers like Evergrande have had access to cheap money, enabling them to become small Empires.   Recognizing that the situation was out of control, President Xi Jinping has used his "common prosperity" to establish new policies to limit the use of property as a financial tool. This latest round of policies has landed China’s second-largest property developer in a world of trouble. Now the world’s most indebted property developer, Evergrande is in debt to the tune of $310 billion and has yet to build over a million flats that have already been paid for. Dexter Roberts, author of The Myth of Chinese Capitalism and former China bureau chief and Asia News Editor at Bloomberg Businessweek sits down with Fredrik and Leilani to delve into how Evergrande got to this point. Will the government bail the company out to prevent broader economic downturn? Or will Xi Jinping make an example of Evergrande to show that houses are for living in, not for speculation?  Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

At the conclusion of COP26 – the United Nations Climate Summit - the international community was divided on the conference’s final outcomes. Coined “the most exclusionary climate summit to date”, advocates, activists and leaders of developing countries were enraged by the dominance of wealthy nations and the watering down of outcomes, to benefit the economies of some countries while damning the future of others.  The Filmmaker and the Advocate sit down with current UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, David Boyd, to discuss his outrage that the human rights implications of climate change and mitigation were starkly absent at the COP,  suggesting this will only lead to more anger, protests and litigation. The trio discuss the important links between the right to housing and the right to a clean environment, and how human rights infrastructure is vital for both. The Special Rapporteur is unequivocal in his rebuke of governments who allege they don’t have adequate resources to address climate change. Countering this negative narrative, David talks about the hundreds of examples of how climate change is being addressed at the local level, with scant resources but with a tremendous amount of creativity, courage and commitment. Produced by WG FilmEdited by Alexander Jemtrell & Aune NuyttensMusic by Florencia Di ConcilioSocial Media & Support - Kirsten McRae, Maja Moberg & Aune NuyttensSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

This week, Leilani and Fredrik are joined by listeners worldwide as part of their first-ever LIVE conversation on Twitter Spaces. We’ve all watched as the global housing crisis has reached a fever pitch in recent years; how has the right to housing struggle manifested in cities around the world? Listeners from Mexico, Vietnam, Canada, and more weigh in on the housing issues faced in their respective countries. What lessons can we learn from each other and how can we better support the right to housing both at home and abroad? All that and more in this week’s episode!  Want to participate in the next live conversation with the Filmmaker and the Advocate? Be sure to follow @Make_theShift & @Push_theFilm on Twitter and Instagram to receive notifications and to submit your questions ahead of the recording!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

Zimbabwe has a long and complex history of forced eviction, displacement, and demolition. Operation Move the Rubbish, a large-scale Zimbabwean government campaign to forcibly clear slum areas across the country, saw an estimated 700,000 people displaced, with millions more indirectly impacted. The country also struggles with land corruption; Zimbabwe scored 24 out of 100 on the 2020 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, with public officials in the country being considered among the most corrupt.   But the people are working hard to change that. This year the federal government passed the Zimbabwe National Human Settlement Policy, a massively comprehensive policy aiming to address housing inadequacy, informal settlements, forced evictions, affordability, corruption, and more. This groundbreaking policy that is more than two years in the making identifies housing as a human right in Zimbabwe and sets big housing goals for the government. Fredrik and Leilani have a conversation with Francis Mukora, the Research, Advocacy & Communications Coordinator at Community Alliance for Human Settlements in Zimbabwe (CAHSZ) about the work it took to create such a sweeping policy, what it will take for proper implementation, and the work that remains to be done.Produced by WG Film Edited by Alexander Jemtrell & Aune NuyttensMusic by Florencia Di ConcilioSocial Media & Support - Kirsten McRae, Maja Moberg & Aune NuyttensSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

Housing in the Netherlands is under a lot of pressure. Housing costs are rapidly increasing and homelessness is on the rise. Residents of Rotterdam, the country’s second-largest city, are pushing back. More than 7,000 people took to the streets to protest unaffordable rents and real estate costs, and the shortage of affordable housing, particularly in Afrikaanderpark. The protest was one of many taking place across the Netherlands, signifying growing support for the human right to housing throughout the country.  The Filmmaker and the Advocate speak with one of the central organizers of the protest, Dr. Gwen van Eijk, Assistant Professor of Criminology at Erasmus School of Law, & Jan de Vries, human rights lawyer and representative of The Shift – Netherlands on how the housing conversation has shifted in recent years and why the right to housing movement is growing in the Netherlands.Produced by WG Film Edited by Alexander Jemtrell & Aune NuyttensMusic by Florencia Di ConcilioSocial Media & Support - Kirsten McRae, Maja Moberg & Aune Nuyttens Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

On 3 October 2021, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) published the Pandora Papers, a roster of almost 12 million confidential files that had been leaked to the organization detailing the offshore financial dealings of hundreds of politicians, public officials, and celebrities. This type of controversial uncovering of finances is nothing new; similar leaks to the ICIJ happened in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2020. Despite this, outrage over the reveal that many politicians and public officials have secret offshore dealings worth billions has been surprisingly low. The Filmmaker and the Advocate sit down with Dr. Anna Minton, writer, journalist, academic, and author of Big Capital, to discuss the complexities of finance that keep the public from understanding the problems unfolding at a global level. Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of taxes go missing each year – how do offshore holdings deteriorate the social contract we agree to, and contribute to a lack of available government resources that could change lives?  Anna, Leilani, and Fredrik consider how we can reframe the language we use to better galvanize the people, and move us closer to the peaceful, equitable, socially inclusive world we want to live in.Produced by WG Film Edited by Alexander JemtrellMusic by Florencia Di ConcilioSocial Media & Support - Kirsten McRae, Maja Moberg & Aune Nuyttens Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

In the span of just one year, Turkey has seen sharp increases in the cost of housing across the country, especially in neighborhoods near major universities. With the government’s neo-liberal policies inviting in huge amounts of foreign capital and the building of luxury housing to satisfy investor interests, the cost of rental accommodation has soared – increasing by 31% to as much as 290% depending on the region. As in-person classes resume for the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, many students have nowhere to live. There are just 720,000 or so public and private dormitory options combined, and private apartment rentals are simply too costly. The students are pushing back. They are sleeping in the streets in dozens of cities across the country, demanding their right to housing and refusing to move unless their requests are met.   Fredrik & Leilani meet with Dilan İpek, a Turkish student, activist, and member of the Libertarian Youth Organization in Turkey. Together they discuss how the movement is growing, how it's planning to face off with faceless capitalism, and how being outside of the system makes young people better positioned to push back.Produced by WG Film Edited by Aune NuyttensMusic by Florencia Di ConcilioSocial Media & Support - Kirsten McRae, Maja Moberg &  Alexander JemtrellSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

In a landmark vote, 56.4% of Berliners backed a referendum for city government to take over ownership of approximately 240,000 apartments from corporate landlords. A groundbreaking referendum with incredible results has put all politicians in Germany at all levels on notice: the corporatization of housing is no longer acceptable. The question now - what happens next? Will the Mayor of Berlin develop legislation to implement the spirit of the referendum? Fredrik & Leilani sit down with Joanna Kusiak, Cambridge University researcher and spokesperson of the DWE campaign, to discuss how they deployed Constitutional law to bring about radical change and what role imaginations play in bringing about revolution. Produced by WG Film Edited by Alexander JemtrellMusic by Florencia Di ConcilioSocial Media & Support - Kirsten McRae, Maja Moberg & Aune Nuyttens Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

Canada and Germany are having general elections later this month and the issue at the forefront of both is affordable housing. With growing movements around affordable housing in both countries, how are the parties’ housing platforms stacking up? The Filmmaker and the Advocate discuss the Berlin referendum that could have the government buying back property from large corporate landlords, before breaking down the housing platforms of Canada’s four major parties. In the last thirty years, the cost of housing has increased more in Canada than in any other OECD country. How have monetary and fiscal policy impacted the Canadian housing market and how do the party platforms miss the mark? Produced by WG Film Recorded & Edited by Mikey JonesMusic by Florencia Di ConcilioSocial Media & Support - Maja MobergSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

It's summertime in Sweden and Canada. The Filmmaker and the Advocate are taking a break, but the podcast isn't.  For five weeks, Fredrik and Leilani bring their faithful fans and new listeners the PushBack Talks - Summer Series.  These are curated podcasts from Season 2 - episodes you may have missed that are definitely worth a listen. We've pared them down,  and updated each with recent news and a few personal reflections. So, whether you're stuck at home, or chilling on a beach - we hope you enjoy our Summer Series! This is a special episode of PUSHBACK Talks to mark the opening of PUSH-the film in [virtual] theatres across the USA. For the first time, The filmmaker and The Advocate invite a guest into the conversation. This episode features Aaron Glantz, Peabody Award-winning investigative journalist, resident of San Francisco, and author of the recently released book, Homewreckers which details the devastating impact on millions of Americans when vulture capitalists entered the housing sector after the Global Financial Crisis. Nobel Laureate Prof. Stiglitz provides a jumping-off point for the trio to discuss the cosy relationship between government, banks and private equity that ensured those with money would come out winners, and those without would have their dreams demolished. Fredrik and Leilani use this episode of PUSHBACK Talks is a wake-up call and a warning: the vultures are likely circling again, with 40 million people in the US who can’t pay their rent and nearly 4 million who can't pay their home mortgages.  Produced by WG Film Recorded & Edited by Mikey JonesMusic by Florencia Di ConcilioSocial Media & Support - Maja MobergSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)

It's summertime in Sweden and Canada. The Filmmaker and the Advocate are taking a break, but the podcast isn't.  For five weeks, Fredrik and Leilani bring their faithful fans and new listeners the PushBack Talks - Summer Series.  These are curated podcasts from Season 2 - episodes you may have missed that are definitely worth a listen. We've pared them down,  and updated each with recent news and a few personal reflections. So, whether you're stuck at home, or chilling on a beach - we hope you enjoy our Summer Series! The Filmmaker and the Advocate bring you an exclusive conversation with Denmark’s Housing Minister – Kaare Dybvad Bek – one of the few politicians in the world to have had the courage to take on Blackstone and other institutional investors. The Minister recounts the new housing reality in Copenhagen where private equity, pension funds and asset management firms have started to dominate, imposing on tenants huge rent increases (often double) and unnecessary renovations driving tenants out of their homes and neighbourhoods. Believing that ordinary people – nurses, teachers, bus drivers – should be able to live in the cities where they work, and racing against time to keep remaining affordable units out of the clutches of investors, the Minister took matters into his own hands.  A Parliamentary Committee to analyze the situation was initiated, and despite considerable pressure successfully put forward ground-breaking legislation aimed at keeping big finance out of Copenhagen’s housing market. Known as ‘Lex Blackstone’, the legislation puts a 5-year ban on renovations and rent increases for new owners, and strengthens tenants rights. The legislation has had its intended results: fewer institutional investors and a significant decrease in property prices. Denmark’s legislation offers inspiration and stands as a model for advocates and politicians across the globe. The podcast also brings back memories from the World Premiere of PUSH at the amazing CPH DOX film festival in Copenhagen.  The film won the Politikken Audience Award and the issues in the film created a strong debate in Danish media. Produced by WG Film Recorded & Edited by Mikey JonesMusic by Florencia Di ConcilioSocial Media & Support - Maja MobergSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/pushbacktalks)