Violent Times

In our society, violence seems to simultaneously feel necessary, disgusting and fascinating—depending on who is perpetrating it. As an outlaw biker, psychology graduate and the son of Afghan refugees, Mahmood Fazal is interested in the psychology behind violence. In Violent Times, Mahmood seeks to deconstruct our relationship to violence, be it criminal, romanticised or state sanctioned.

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Episodes

An Afternoon With the Yakuza: Japan’s Most Notorious Crime Syndicate

Japan’s Yakuza are infamous as one of the world’s most notorious crime syndicates. While their modern identity is a fascinating mix of style and violence, they see themselves as the cultural descendants of samurai. Speaking to Mahmood Fazal in Japan, they present as public servants who are proud of their sense of history, community, and loyalty. But it’s a perception the rest of Japan doesn’t share. In recent years, criticism has become more vocal with many insisting they represents the worst of...

Feb 28, 2019•22 min•Season 1Ep. 5

SAS Commando On Training To Kill

In 2013, Paul Cale earned the titles Australia’s Toughest Soldier and the Killer Commando after he stormed an enemy compound and strangled a Taliban leader his bare hands. At the time, he was a sergeant of the Second Commando Regiment: an elite branch of the Australian Defence Force that suffered more casualties than any other Australian military unit through several tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. In this episode of Violent Times, we explore state-sanctioned violence, and its impact on individua...

Feb 07, 2019•27 min•Ep. 4

Indigenous Incarceration Is a Form of Systemic Violence

Indigenous Australians are the most incarcerated people on earth. They make up 2 percent of the general population, but a staggering 34 percent of the female prison population. Studies have explained this startling statistic through the experience of violence: the majority of Indigenous female prisoners are survivors of family and other violence. In this episode of Violent Times we meet Vickie Roach, a Yuin woman, academic, and prison abolitionist. She explores the relationship between the syste...

Jan 25, 2019•29 min•Ep. 3

The Child Soldier Who Joined the Tamil Tigers

At the age of 15, Niromi Di Soyza left her middle class home in Northern Sri Lanka and joined a violent militant group called the Tamil Tigers, a liberation front to some and a terrorist organisation to others. But the horrific realities of war, confronting snipers in dense jungle while spending most of her time on the run, quickly overshadowed the romance of violent revolution. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 16, 2019•30 min•Ep. 2

How Graffiti Went From Spray Cans To Box-Cutters And Guns

The Australian state of Victoria has some of the harshest graffiti laws in the world; it’s an offence to even carry spray paint or “graffiti marking tools” in public. It’s a response to Melbourne’s volatile graffiti scene, where the legacy of street artists are tied to violent reputations alongside creative merit. For graffers, the territory they tag is a reflection of their place in the subculture and society at large. So when an invader decides to claim their spot, or worse cross out their nam...

Jan 16, 2019•31 min•Ep. 1

Introducing Violent Times

As a society, violence seems to simultaneously feel necessary, disgusting and fascinating, depending on who is perpetrating it. As an outlaw biker, psychology graduate and the son of Afghan refugees, Mahmood Fazal is interested in the psychology behind violence, particularly what drives someone to engage in violence, and how it affects them afterwards. In Violent Times, Mahmood seeks to deconstruct our relationship to violence, be it criminal, romanticised or state sanctioned. Hosted on Acast. S...

Jan 14, 2019•2 min

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