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Japan By River Cruise

Land of the Rising Floodwaters (w/ Dr. Wesley Cheek)

Japan By River Cruise
Japan By River Cruise

After the unprecedented rain and landslides in western Japan, disaster sociologist Dr. Wes Cheek talks about the country's future, and how facing the climate crisis may require never-before-seen levels of "shikata-ga-nai."
Ollie recommends a climate change simulating cruise that is ALREADY behind the times.

Bobby throws some classic comedic misdirection in your face.

Topics discussed on this episode range from:

  • Whatever happened to all those RAINBOW HATS?
  • Updates with Ollie's continuing run of terrible luck at the Fringe, and how he's discovered that his pain is funny
  • Wes's wild journey from bourgeoise JET ALT to MMA Photographer to disaster recovery researcher, and how 311 (not the band) changed the direction of his life
  • Brian's in a bit of a mood
  • The JBRC Alumni network and Wes's work adjacent to previous guest Angela Ortiz
  • How we're funding the boathouse
  • The extreme weather and its effects on southern Japan
  • Wes getting caught in the weather in Kagoshima, Bobby being in it in Fukuoka
  • A brief description of rain
  • Exactly HOW severe the level of precipitation was and how this is creating challenges for areas that didn't see these challenges
  • How Japan's topography makes it vulnerable
  • Japan immigrant pessimism from Alex Kerr's 'Dog's and Demons' but how Japan's tendency to put concrete everywhere can actually be good
  • What are the extreme lengths Japan might have to go in preventative measures?
  • How Japan news media is reframing its approach to covering extreme weather stories
  • What does that "Once in hundred year" storm terminology actually refer to statistically?
  • A very clear illustration of why we invite people who are smarter than us on the show
  • What motivates politicians to gamble with disaster preparedness
  • Why politicians frame disasters as unforeseeable and what disaster researchers try to do balance that out
  • The inherent conflict between running day-to-day politics and caring about the long-term
  • Helplessness in the face of disaster
  • Geographical climate crisis triage
  • When should we give up?
  • Is there messaging that can get people to not adapt a shikata-ga-nai attitude towards man-made climate disasters?
  • The proliferation of "Bousai" (disaster preparedness) content in Japan
  • The effect of measuring the value of a society based on its GDP, and how that relates to who we put the responsibility for saving the planet on
  • Why Wes tells his children not to recycle (not really)
  • How is Japan positioned to face the future?
  • What sort of things should Japan concern itself with going forward?

As always, the extras are FANTASTIC, and they're like getting a whole extra show for free. Well, not for free.
For like 4 to 5 dollars a month.
You can get access to the extras by supporting the podcast for less than $1 an episode by becoming a member at http://buymeacoffee.com.

Topics discussed on the extras include:

  • How Ollie and Wes think that being able to edit podcast audio makes them fucking Keanu Reeves
  • How the new internet economy screws you guys, sorry
  • Wes gets a brief education on UK sitcoms before he SURPRISE SURPRISE moves to London. TWEET AT HIM ABOUT his soon to be defunct @ on twitter!
  • Wes's podcast Atticus Shrugged, covering US politics in the south
  • How the names of places work, and how Florida politics skew, plus a brief moment where Bobby pretends to remember college football
  • A definition of "florida crackers" that we were unfamiliar with
  • Why Wes hates thinking about good things
  • Once Wes almost ran for Congress against Matt Gaetz
  • Are there parallels between current US populism and Japanese political trends?
  • How legacy politics and elite association membership controls the relationship between politics and the media
  • The western tendency for people to define their personal/social identity based on their political affiliation and how that doesn't really happen in Japan at large
  • The US pulling out of Afghanistan, and Japan's reaction
  • The relationship (financial and otherwise) between Japan and Afghanistan over the years
  • Nakamura Tetsu
  • How Japan doesn't accept refugees, except they gave it to that Myanmar Soccer Goalie
  • The Utada Hikaru contradicition: How Japanese people choose whether or not they consider someone Japanese
  • How lots of countries will make "humanitarian" choices when it involves people who are good at sport
  • Should Kobe Bryant and Mike Tyson have been forgiven? (HOW THE HELL DID WE GET HERE?)
  • How the US rightwing is just trolling
  • Bobby's lighting fail when we made that Olympic video


Have something you'd like to say? Send us a fax at japanbyrivercruise.com - it works now.

or Tweet to us at @jbrcpod


Social Media Links:

Dr. Wesley Cheek: Twitter | Podcast-Atticus Shrugged

Ollie Horn: Twitter | Instagram

Bobby Judo: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube


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