The InnerView
Why is Stalin so popular in his native Georgia? | The InnerView
As far as 20th century tyrants go, Joseph Stalin earned his place to be ranked near the top of the pile. Tens of millions died at his hands, and while he made the Soviet Union a superpower and helped defeat the Nazis during World War II, it’s really hard to ignore or rationalize his crimes. As more and more evidence emerged over the decades the world came to see the real cost of Stalin’s rule: forced deportations, gulags, the Holodomor famine in Ukraine. In essence – suffering on an industrial scale. And yet, in some corners of the world—especially in his homeland—Stalin’s shadow still lingers, his statues still sell and his memory evokes positive emotions among many. Stalin was born Joseph Dzhugashvili, an ethnic Georgian, who would become the leader of a world empire centered in Moscow. Imran Garda heads to Georgia, where he meets Irakli Khvadagiani, a researcher at the Soviet Past Research Lab in Tbilisi, and asks: Why does the cult of Stalin still survive, and who’s keeping it alive? Then, in Stalin’s hometown of Gori, Imran joins Zhana Odiashvili, founder of the Gori Free Walking Tour, who leads him through the highs and lows of Stalin’s legacy. Zhana speaks about the scars left by Stalin’s rule, the lingering effects of the country’s 2008 war with Russia and her own complicated feelings toward the man her town can’t seem to forget.
Up Next
Ruben Laukkonen: How do you teach AI to be moral | The InnerView
Cognitive neuroscientist Ruben Laukkonen tells Imran Garda that raising AI is a lot like raising a child: it’s not enough to make it intelligent, we also need to teach it human values. The question is how? Laukkonen believes the answer could be in one of humanity's most ancient practices — contemplative meditation. Dr. Ruben Laukkonen joins The InnerView from Barcelona to discuss how he believes we can mitigate the risks of AI, what it means for a machine to be moral, and how the world’s oldest meditation practices could help us build better AI.
Saleyha Ahsan: When helping people in a war zone makes you a target | The InnerView
Saleyha Ahsan tells Imran Garda that acts of inhumanity against medics, doctors, and humanitarian workers are happening daily and with complete impunity. She’s witnessed it all — in Palestine, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Syria. Ahsan is a former British soldier, humanitarian doctor and filmmaker who has served on the frontlines of some of the world’s most brutal conflicts: from the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1990s, to attacks on healthcare workers in Palestine, and the large-scale bombings of schools and hospitals in Syria. On this episode of The InnerView, Ahsan shares why she no longer advises junior doctors to go to Gaza, the moment that changed her forever, and what she thinks must happen before anyone can truly feel safe.
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