Discussing the “Charming” Psychopathy of Corporations with Filmmaker Joel Bakan

What do you think of when you hear the word “psychopath?” Is it Norman Bates dressed in his darling mother’s clothes? Perhaps it’s Christian Bale’s handsome face spattered with blood in American Psycho. I’m sure the logo of a large corporation like Nike or Apple wasn’t the first image to pop into your head.

Joel Bakan, the world-famous filmmaker, lawyer, author and esteemed jazz guitarist, has made it his mission to reveal the true psychopathy and dangers of large corporations fed by capitalist pursuits in his latest film The New Corporation.

“We were learning about corporations and we were learning that they were persons, that the law sort of created them, constituted them, recognized them as these artificial beings,” says Bakan in a recent Zoom interview with Skaana podcast host Mark Leiren-Young. “We create this person. And then we imbue it with a personality that says it can only act in its own self-interest. It can’t act in ways that care for others, or for the environment, or for nature, or nonhuman animals, or any of that. It always has to act in its own self-interest. And what is that self-interest, basically? The collective financial interests of the shareholders that constitute the corporation.”

Real-Life Eco-Superhero Robbie Bond Talks Saving Parks with Skaana

“I think that kids can make even more of a difference than adults,” says 12-year-old youth environmental activist (and Marvel Hero) Robbie Bond in a recent interview with Skaana podcast host Mark Leiren-Young. “As a kid, it may seem like you don’t have a lot of say in things. Like you can’t vote and you can’t drive and things like that, but you can still make a difference.”

Bond has always had a love for the national parks in his native USA. He began to share his passion with others at the age of eight when he spoke at the Utah “Rally Against Trump’s Monumental Mistake” in 2017, following President Donald Trump’s executive order to downsize national monuments. He has since travelled around America speaking at schools to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining natural areas and to encourage kids everywhere to take action to protect the environment.

Discussing Grief, the Environment, and COVID-19 with Thanatologist Kriss Kevorkian

In a recent interview with Skaana podcast host Mark Leiren-Young, Kevorkian offered advice on how to cope with a world being rocked by COVID-19. “It’s not an easy time for anybody, but if you can find that something just within a moment where you can see any glimmer of hope, build on that and that will hopefully help you keep going… The lessons that I find from grief and from death are appreciating what we have in the now.”

Painter Robert Bateman Makes Waves and Creates Cranes in His Interview with the Skaana Podcast

“My whole life story has been planned around having adventures in nature,” artist Robert Bateman told Mark Leiren-Young, in an interview that was just released on the Skaana podcast.

The iconic Canadian painter met Leiren-Young virtually to talk about his views on the importance of staying connected with the natural world and to share how his passions led him to a career in art.