Dossier
CCCB Interviews
We speak with some of the most important names on the international cultural scene to get their ideas and thoughts out to you in an enjoyable and informative way. Each month, we publish a round of “CCCB Interviews” about the internet and digital culture, feminisms, climate change, science and the humanities, cities and public space, philosophy, language and literature, populisms and post-capitalism, as well as many other topics.
Technology
Yuk Hui: “We are living in a gigantic technological system”
Victor G. García Castañeda
The Hongkongese philosopher advises deepening our technological imagination outside the confines of the capitalist hegemony and colonialism.
Planet
N. Katherine Hayles: “We need a more comprehensive view of cognition”
Toni Navarro
The American professor talks to us about posthumanism, AI and the relationship between science and the humanities.
Storytelling
Alana Portero: “Cynicism is reactionary”
Berta Gómez Santo Tomás
The Madrid-born writer talks to us about pain, cynicism, nostalgia and hope, about stories that fall outside of literary pigeonholes.
Commons
Lea Ypi: “My idea of freedom is a moral idea”
Bashkim Shehu
The Albanian philosopher and writer reflects on freedom and analyses its limits in communist and capitalist societies.
Planet
Francisco J. Doblas Reyes: “Limiting the impacts of global warming is in our hands”
Elisenda Pallarés Piquer
The climate scientist and IPCC author says that measures exist to mitigate climate change and transition to fairer societies.
Commons
Cas Mudde: “The far right is normalised”
Andreu Barnils
We talk to the Dutch political scientist about the characteristics and strategies of today’s extreme right.
Culture
Tania Bruguera: “We are being cut off from the possibility of thinking about what has not yet happened”
Oriol Fontdevila
We talk with the Cuban artist about the tensions between art and politics and the ability to imagine new institutions.
Storytelling
Colson Whitehead: “There’s this whole secret city that’s being built when everyone else is asleep”
Albert Forns
We talked to the American writer about New York City and the stories that unfold there.
Storytelling
Anna Starobinets: “The authors and readers of dystopias are like canaries in a coal mine”
Miquel Cabal Guarro
We talk to the Russian author about exile, the situation in her country and dystopian literature.
Storytelling
Cristina Rivera Garza: “To write is to create empty space”
Lolita Bosch
We talk to Mexican author Cristina Rivera Garza, one of the most important voices in Latin American literature today.
Planet
Storytelling
Pankaj Mishra: “Modernisation is offered as a liberation, and yet it comes with many psychic costs”
Elisabet Goula Sardà
We talk to the renowned Indian author and writer about the complex relations between the West and the Global South.
Culture
Silvia Fehrmann: “Faced with the rise of fascism, generating networks and communities is more important than ever”
Susana Arias
We talk with the journalist and cultural producer about the important role played by cultural institutions in weaving community.
Science
Anil Seth: “Reality is a controlled hallucination”
Sònia Hernández
A conversation with the neuroscientist about the nature of consciousness, how it can be studied and the implications of understanding it.
Planet
Mar Santamaria: “The city is the artifact and the strategy that will enable collective survival”
Núria Moliner
An interview with architect and urban planner Mar Santamaria on the present and future challenges of contemporary cities, public policies, data and urban rights.
Culture
Judit Carrera: “The purpose of cultural centres is to generate connections”
Montse Frisach
Mathieu Potte-Bonneville (Centre Pompidou) and Judit Carrera (CCCB) talk about the future of cultural institutions.
Storytelling
Samanta Schweblin: “The Latin American women authors of my generation feel the joy of having arrived at a party in full swing”
Begoña Gómez Urzaiz
We talk to the Argentinian writer about her work, halfway between realism and science fiction.
Technology
Kyle Chayka: “The platform connects us but also homogenizes our tastes”
Àlex Hinojo
We talk to the journalist about minimalism and how this trend affects us when it comes to relating to the world that surrounds us.
Storytelling
Judith Schalansky: “Our planet is also an island in the known universe”
Juan Insua
We delve into the worlds of a writer of unclassifiable works that give wing to our imaginations.
Storytelling
Boris Lehman: “For me, life and film are indivisible”
Celeste Araújo
We talk to the filmmaker about his particular understanding of film, inextricably entwined with his life.
Culture
William Kentridge: “There are fault lines that come from the colonial period throughout the world”
Gemma Parellada
We talk to the South African artist about segregation, the echoes of colonialism and the anti-racist struggle.
Storytelling
Rimini Protokoll: “There’s not such a big difference between us and the audience”
Andreu Gomila
We talk with the trio of stage directors behind Rimini Protokoll, an avant-garde German company that has pushed theatre beyond its boundaries.
Storytelling
Cassandra Khaw: “It’s just a question of time before video games are accepted as culture”
Marina Amores
We talk to the scriptwriter of video games and science-fiction author about their narrative potential and the challenges still facing this digital format.
Commons
Jason Y. Ng: “Violence will only lead to more escalated violence”
Sergi Vicente
We talk to this lawyer, activist, and journalist about his experiences with protests and non-violent civil disobedience in Hong Kong.
Storytelling
Jeanette Winterson: “I believe in human beings, even though they have done some terrible things”
Víctor Recort
In light of her latest book, we talk with the English author about some of the most important challenges of today: the climate crisis, Brexit, and the rise of the extreme right.
Commons
Carolin Emcke: “We need a language of utopia to accompany our discontent”
Roger Manau Flotats
We talk with the German philosopher and journalist about the need to heed the complex web of violences, of hate and of silences and the need to find words to fight it.
Storytelling
Valeria Luiselli: “What right do we have to talk about issues that are not our own?”
Anna Pacheco
A conversation about the point from which writing departs, with one of the main voices from a generation of writers who live between Latin America and the United States.
Technology
Renata Ávila: “The Internet of creation disappeared. Now we have the Internet of surveillance and control”
Karma Peiró
An interview with this specialist in human rights, technology and freedom of expression to discuss how today’s societies are advancing to the drumbeat of “digital colonialism”.
Storytelling
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o: “Europe and the West must also be decolonised”
Tania Adam
We talk with one of the leading voices of contemporary African literature about linguistic imperialism and the importance of decolonising minds and the imagination.
Education
Henry Giroux: “Those arguing that education should be neutral are really arguing for a version of education in which nobody is accountable”
João França
An interview with founder of critical pedagogy Henry Giroux on the meaning of education, suspicions regarding neutrality and on how current uncertainties could be a driving force to rethink and generate new possibilities.
Commons
Mona Eltahawy: “Patriarchy is the form of oppression with which the entire world struggles”
Míriam Hatibi
A conversation with the journalist specialised in gender equality in North Africa and the Middle East about the oppression of women and the need to deconstruct the patriarchy in all its manifestations.
Planet
Paul Mason: “Information technology is going to erode the need for work”
Carlos Delclós
A conversation with this journalist, who is a specialist in economics and the author of “Postcapitalism”, which looks at the structural changes of our economic system and the real possibilities of imagining a world beyond it.
Commons
Planet
Rosi Braidotti: “What is necessary is a radical transformation, following the bases of feminism, anti-racism and anti-fascism”
Iu Andrés
A talk with the philosopher and humanist about what it means to be human in a changing world, where new forms of capitalism are marking out the future of what we are and what we will become.
Science
Marcus du Sautoy: “Humans will never know if the universe is infinite”
Iu Andrés
A conversation with mathematician Marcus du Sautoy about the Universe, the difference between Mathematics and Physics, AI and the relationship between science and literature.