Best Carr Center For Human Rights Policy Podcasts (2025)

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Making LGBTQI+ Rights a Global Priority 34:24

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10d ago34:24

34:24

Justice Matters is celebrating its 100th episode today with co-host Mathias Risse's conversation with Jessica Stern about the state of LGBTQI+ rights around the world. Jessica Stern is one of the world’s most distinguished LGBTQI+ human rights leaders. Appointed by President Joe Biden, Stern served as the U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rig…

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Collective Healing: Lessons from Women Human Rights Defenders in Egypt and Tunisia 42:21

27d ago42:21

42:21

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Aminta Ossom speaks with Yara Sallam about the experiences of women human rights defenders in Egypt and Tunisia as well as her personal history following the Arab Spring that led her to write about burnout and well-being in human rights activism. Yara Sallam is a prominent feminist activist and human ri…

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Digital Rights Across Borders: EU vs. US on Consumer Data Protection 29:28

2M ago29:28

29:28

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Lex Zard, Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr-Ryan Center, about recent developments concerning the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the Europe Union in regulating consumer data protection, how that compares to US regulatory models, and what this means for human rights i…

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Educating Women in Afghanistan Today 27:27

2M ago27:27

27:27

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Maggie Gates speaks with Lucy Ferris about the all volunteer network of professors from around the world educating women in Afghanistan. Professor Ferris is the co-founder and president of the board of Afghan Female Student Outreach (AFSO), a volunteer non-profit organization committed to helping return…

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Protecting Pride: Deval Patrick on the Fight for LGBTQI+ Rights 47:20

2M ago47:20

47:20

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Diego Garcia Blum speaks with former Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick about his work as Governor fighting for LGBTQI+ rights, as well as the current state of those rights in the country. Patrick began his career as a staff attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, then went on to serve as Assista…

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Bringing Orban’s Playbook to America? 31:58

2M ago31:58

31:58

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Mathias Risse speaks with John Shattuck about the Trump administration’s attacks on Harvard University and the parallels to Victor Orban’s attacks on the Central European University (CEU) in Hungary. Shattuck is an international legal scholar, diplomat, human rights leader and former university presiden…

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Global Pride: Foreign Policy and LGBTQI+ Rights 39:47

3M ago39:47

39:47

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Diego Garcia Blum speaks with Wendy Sherman about her experience speaking to global leaders about LGBTQI+ rights while serving as Under Secretary of State from 2021-2023. In addition to her work at the State Department, she is a Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership and Director of the Center …

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Columbus, the Caribbean, and the Origins of the Climate Crisis 37:18

4M ago37:18

37:18

Today on Justice Matters co-host Maggie Gates speaks with Dr. Tao Leigh Goffe, associate professor of literary theory and cultural history with a focus on climate, race, and digital technologies. She teaches in the Department of Africana, Puerto Rican and Latino Studies at Hunter College in New York after over a decade of research and teaching on B…

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Climate Change and Human Rights 36:50

4M ago36:50

36:50

In honor of Earth Day last week, we are featuring an episode of Justice Matters with co-host Aminta Ossom on the topic of climate change and human rights. Aminta speaks with Sam Bookman, a scholar of climate change law and human rights, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard’s Project on the Foundations of Private Law, and a Hauser Global Fellow at NYU’s…

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Surviving Mariupol: A Firsthand Account of the Russian Invasion in Ukraine 38:28

5M ago38:28

38:28

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Alina Beskronva, who is currently pursuing a Master's in Public Administration in International Development at the Harvard Kennedy School. Alina is from the city of Mariupol in South-Eastern Ukraine and was in the city during the first few weeks of the Russian attack on Mariup…

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DEI, Affirmative Action, and the Future of the Black Middle Class 43:27

5M ago43:27

43:27

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates speaks with Darcel Rockett, senior journalist for the Chicago Tribune whose work centers on narratives for and about populations/communities who need to be heard. An avid documenter of the Black experience, she continually aims to shine a light on the many facets of race and culture. She i…

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Pursuing Profits While Protecting Human Rights 43:46

6M ago43:46

43:46

On this episode of Justice Matters, co-host Aminta Ossom speaks with Michael Posner, Professor of Ethics and Finance at the Stern School of Business at NYU and director for the Center for Business and Human Rights. He served in the Obama administration from 2009-2013 as Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor…

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A Life in Human Rights 35:30

6M ago35:30

35:30

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Douglas Johnson, former director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy from 2013-2017 and Lecturer on Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. On the occasion of his retirement from the university he reflects on his work over a long career in human rights including: h…

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Standing Up for LGBTQI+ Rights in Uganda 41:25

6M ago41:25

41:25

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Kasha Nabagesera, Ugandan LGBTQ+ rights activist and Executive Director of Freedom & Roam Uganda (FARUG), about her decades of work. In today’s conversation, Mathias and Kasha discuss: Kasha’s origins as an activist standing up for LGBTQI+ rights, why Uganda is so hostile towa…

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The Untold History of Slavery and Resistance in California 39:27

7M ago39:27

39:27

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Jean Pfaelzer, award-winning historian and Professor Emerita of English, Asian Studies, and Women and Gender Studies at the University of Delaware, about her 2023 book, California, A Slave State, which investigates California’s histories of enslavement. Together, they discuss:…

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Radio as a Tool for Change in Syria 30:21

7M ago30:21

30:21

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates talks with Lina Chawaf, CEO of Radio Rozana and fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism. Radio Rozana was created in 2013 in the aftermath of the Arab Spring to examine the conflict in Syria with a focus on women’s voices for an audience of over 8 million listeners. Chawaf has a lon…

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Championing Democracy in Myanmar: Three Years After the Military Coup 40:44

8M ago40:44

40:44

In this episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates speaks with Burmese human rights defender Wai Wai Nu and her colleague Hana Seita about their work in Myanmar. Wai Wai Nu spent seven years as a political prisoner in Myanmar and upon her release founded the Women’s Peace Network (WPN) and the Yangon Youth Center. Through WPN she advocates fo…

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Mobilizing Black Germany 32:44

9M ago32:44

32:44

In this episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Tiffany Florvil, associate professor of history at the University of New Mexico and fellow at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. She is a 20th century cultural historian of Germany whose work focuses on Black Germans and their creation of new intellectual, cultural, and political p…

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Fighting the Stigmas Against Intersex Peoples 45:57

9M ago45:57

45:57

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Diego Garcia Blum speaks with Kimberly Zieselman, an intersex woman, lawyer, and human rights advocate with over 25 years of experience in nonprofit leadership. Currently, she serves as a Senior Advisor to the Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons at the U.S. State Department and…

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Finding Peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 27:11

10M ago27:11

27:11

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Amani Matabaro Tom, educator and community organizer from Eastern Congo who is currently a Scholar at Risk at the Carr Center. Amani is a co-founder of Action for the Welfare of Women and Children in Congo (ABFEC), which possesses several core initiatives: entrepreneurship tra…

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Building Just Technologies of the Future 37:57

10M ago37:57

37:57

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates speaks with Albert Fox Cahn, founder and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP). STOP litigates and advocates for privacy to ensure that technological advancements don't come at the expense of age-old rights. As a lawyer, technologist, and activist, Albe…

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(Re)Building Nations with Indigenous Governance 30:09

11M ago30:09

30:09

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Megan Minoka Hill, the Senior Director of the Project on Indigenous Governance and Development and the Director of the Honoring Nations program at the Harvard Kennedy School. The Project on Indigenous Governance and Development works with Indigenous people to provide them with…

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Rainbow Railroad: Relocating LGBTQI+ Refugees to Safety 43:04

11M ago43:04

43:04

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Diego Garcia Blum speaks with Kimahli Powell, former executive director of Rainbow Railroad, a Toronto-based organization that relocates LGBTQI+ refugees from nations where they are at risk. Powell is a senior leader in the INGO field with expertise in community-building and strategic advocacy with a f…

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What’s at Stake in the U.S. Presidential Election 31:40

11M ago31:40

31:40

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Matthias Risse talks with Archon Fung, Harvard Kennedy School’s Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Democracy, about the state of democracy around the world and the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Fung is the director of the Ash Center for Innovation and Democratic Governance, a…

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Moral Universalism, Interventionism, and Human Rights as Politics 36:55

12M ago36:55

36:55

"One of the great virtues of human rights is that it's very alert to the dark side of human nature. All the human rights covenants are a systematic inventory of all the horrible things that human beings can and have done to each other. I respect human rights for their moral realism, and I want human rights that are very realistic in their conceptio…

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A New Theory of Systemic Police Terrorism 51:27

1y ago51:27

51:27

On this week's episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates speaks with Dr. Charity Clay, Assistant Professor of Sociology and UNCF Mellon Fellow at Harvard's Hutchins Center for African and African-American Research. As a sociologist of the African Diaspora, Clay's research interests are varied but center around the dispersal, preservation, ma…

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Dismantling the Global Anti-LGBTQI Movement 47:40

1y ago47:40

47:40

On this week's episode of Justice Matters, co-host Diego Garcia Blum talks with Kristopher Velasco, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Princeton University about his research on the global anti-LGBTQI movement. Professor Velasco’s research centers on the intersections of global & transnational sociology, organizations, political …

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Racial Justice Without Borders 31:11

1y ago31:11

31:11

On this week's episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse talks with Desirée Cormier Smith, the Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice for the U.S. State Department. In this position, she is the face of the United States for all matters regarding racial equity in the world outside of the United States. Together they talk about …

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Diversity Matters: The Importance of Inclusivity in Business 49:09

1y ago49:09

49:09

On this week's episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates talks with Jessica Yamoah, the CEO and Founder of Innovate Inc., an organization that provides awareness and access to underrepresented communities at the intersection of business, entrepreneurship, and technology. Together they discuss Innovate's work to provide awareness and access i…

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Poetry as a Means of Defending Human Rights in Uganda 41:06

1y ago41:06

41:06

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Danson Kahyana, a fellow at the Carr Center and Associate Professor in the Department of Literature at Makerere University in Uganda. His recent work includes an examination of the effects of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 on artistic freedom; exploring the representa…

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Reversing the Global Backlash Against LGBTQI+ Rights 33:41

1y ago33:41

33:41

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates talks with Diego Garcia Blum, Program Director of the Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. His work is dedicated to advocating for the safety and acceptance of LGBTQI+ individuals globally, particularly in regions whe…

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From the Frontlines: Reflections on Decades of the Racial Justice Movement 34:09

1+ y ago34:09

34:09

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse talks with Gay McDougall, distinguished scholar in residence at Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham University School of Law and member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Professor McDougall has worked for decades on the frontlines of …

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Justice for Victims: Lessons from Around the World 45:27

1+ y ago45:27

45:27

On today's episode of Justice Matters, co-host Kathryn Sikkink talks with Phuong Pham and Geoff Dancy about the Carr Center’s Transitional Justice Program, the culmination of the program’s research, and the creation of a research repository on the newly released Transitional Justice Evaluation Tools (TJET) website that compiles data on human rights…

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Indigenous Sovereignty and Human Rights in the United States 33:35

1+ y ago33:35

33:35

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse talks with Angela Riley, Chief Justice of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and Professor of Law and American Indian Studies at UCLA, about indigenous sovereignty and human rights in the United States. Together they discuss: the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, what sovereignty means for tribes in …

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A Human Rights-Based Approach to Mental Health 45:40

1+ y ago45:40

45:40

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates is joined by Bevin Croft and Ebony Flint from the Human Services Research Institute for a conversation about the intersections of mental health and human rights in the wake of new guidance on mental health issued in October 2023 by the World Health Organization and the Office of the High C…

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Human Rights and Indigenous Rights in New Zealand 31:40

1+ y ago31:40

31:40

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse talks with Claire Charters who was recently named in the role of Rongomau Taketake to lead work on the Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Charters is a Professor at the University of Auckland Faculty of Law specializing in indigenous peoples’ rights in …

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The Human Rights Violations of Abortion Bans 37:11

1+ y ago37:11

37:11

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates talks with Karla Torres and Catalina Martinez Coral from the Center for Reproductive Rights. On November 8, 2023, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) held a landmark hearing on the human rights violations caused by the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the move to ban abortion …

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The UN Business & Human Rights Forum: Twelve Years and Counting 51:57

1+ y ago51:57

51:57

Today on Justice Matters we take a deep dive into the UN Business Human Rights Forum, which just wrapped up its 12th iteration at the end of 2023. Co-host Aminta Ossom attended the forum and interviewed working group member Robert McCorquodale to get some background on the inner workings of the Forum. Ossom also spoke with long-time attendee of the…

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A New Civil Rights Movement 43:22

1+ y ago43:22

43:22

On today's episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates talks with Jill Collen Jefferson, a civil and human rights lawyer and the founder of Julian, a national organization based in Mississippi that works to attack discrimination in all forms through legal advocacy, organizing, policy, and innovation. With experience on Capitol Hill, at think-t…

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Just Hierarchy 31:15

1+ y ago31:15

31:15

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Daniel A. Bell, Chair of Political Theory with the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong. They discuss topics from Professor Bell’s most recent book, “Just Hierarchy: Why Social Hierarchies Matter in China and the Rest of the World” which include: academic freedoms in …

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The Age of Surveillance Capitalism 55:09

1+ y ago55:09

55:09

On today's episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Shoshana Zuboff, author of the acclaimed book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. They discuss a number of topics from her landmark book including: the idea of surveillance capitalism, the harm of disinformation, the f…

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Your Holiday Gift Guide with Human Rights in Mind 32:45

1+ y ago32:45

32:45

On this episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates, Executive Director of the Carr Center, talks with Sarah Zoen, Associate Director at Pillar Two — an organization that advises businesses on human rights due diligence — about how to navigate shopping for the holidays while keeping human rights and ethical business practices in mind. Together…

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The Birth of US Human Rights Policy 29:42

2y ago29:42

29:42

On this episode of Justice Matters, co-host Kathryn Sikkink, the Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, speaks with two veterans of the human rights movement, John Salzberg and Joe Eldridge. John Salzberg was the key staff member working with Representative Don Fraser to hold the first set of hearings about the …

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"Hot Labor Summer" and the State of International Labor Rights 29:36

2y ago29:36

29:36

On this episode of Justice Matters, host Aminta Ossom interviews Jeff Vogt, Director of the Rule of Law Program at the Solidarity Center. Vogt is also the co-founder of the International Lawyers Assisting Workers Network, which brings together over 700 worker rights lawyers from around the globe. In 2022, he was appointed to the International Labor…

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Do Human Rights Still Hold Power in the World? 37:07

2y ago37:07

37:07

On this episode of Justice Matters, co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Kenneth Roth, who led Human Rights Watch as its Executive Director for almost 30 years. Together they discuss the history of Human Rights Watch and Roth's reflections on his tenure, whether human rights still hold power in the world, how to bring about change in countries with ab…

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Introducing Strength & Solidarity - A show exploring the tools and tactics of human rights movements 37:35

2y ago37:35

37:35

Justice Matters will return this October. In the meantime, we'd like to share with you a podcast we think you will enjoy by our friends over at Strength & Solidarity.Strength & Solidarity is a podcast about the tools, tactics, and ideas driving and disrupting the human rights movement around the world. Host Akwe Amosu has over 30 episodes of interv…

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Justice Matters returns this October 1:30

2y ago1:30

1:30

The human rights podcast Justice Matters returns this October with host Maggie Gates, Executive Director of the Carr Center, and a team of Harvard faculty members acting as rotating co-hosts, including Mathias Risse, Aminta Ossom, Rob Wilkinson, and Yanilda Gonzalez.By Maggie Gates, Aminta Ossom, Rob Wilkinson, Yanilda Gonzalez, Mathias Risse

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Haiti and the Origins of Black Internationalism 25:14

2+ y ago25:14

25:14

On this episode of Justice Matters, host Sushma Raman speaks with Dr. Leslie Alexander about the history of Black Internationalism and its ties to today’s global Black Lives Matter movement. Her newest book, Fear of a Black Republic: Haiti and the Birth of Black Internationalism in the United States, examines how the Haitian Revolution and the emer…

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The Rise of Human Rights Cities 28:33

3y ago28:33

28:33

Where do universal human rights begin? On this episode of Justice Matters, host Sushma Raman speaks with Professor Martha Davis about local movements and human rights cities. Davis teaches constitutional law, US human rights advocacy, and professional responsibility at Northeastern Law School, where she is a Faculty Director for the Program for Hum…

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Understanding Critical Race Theory 27:55

3y ago27:55

27:55

What is critical race theory and why is it under attack? On this episode of Justice Matters, host Sushma Raman discusses critical race theory with Dr. Victor Ray, Carr Center Fellow and F. Wendell Miller Associate Professor at the University of Iowa. Together they explore the related topics of structural racism and intersectionality, and how race s…