In Episode 5 of Mapping the Planetary, Jussi Parikka, Professor of Digital Aesthetics and Culture at Aarhus University, joins us to discuss his latest book, Living Surfaces: Images, Plants, and Environments of Media, published in 2024.

Parikka’s work explores the intersections of media history, ecology, and geology, highlighting how digital infrastructures and media technologies both shape—and are shaped by—natural environments.

We delve into how media operates not just as a tool or platform, but as an environmental force intertwined with the living surfaces of the planet. Parikka offers insights into how artistic, technological, and ecological practices converge in the age of planetary crisis.

Academic Reference:

Jussi Parikka, Hagen Schulz-Forberg, James Quilligan; Planetary Surfaces and Computation—A Conversation with Jussi Parikka. Global Perspectives 10 March 2025; 6 (1): 144290. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/gp.2025.144290

Any Questions? Send us a text

This podcast was created and produced by the Research Center for New Critical Politics and Governance (CPG).

To watch the video version of this episode, please visit the link below:
https://cas.au.dk/en/cpg/podcast/mapping-the-planetary

In Episode 4 of Mapping the Planetary, Ryan Bishop, Professor of Global Art and Politics at the University of Southampton, joins us to explain how the technological sphere increasingly shapes the geosphere of the Planet.

Bishop unpacks the concepts of poly-scalar remote sensing and the concealed dimensions of tele-technology, reflecting on how media technologies intersect with governance and military power.

How do remote sensing systems operating at multiple scales transform our relationship with the environment? In what ways might hidden tele-technologies constrain—or empower—individual and collective agency?

Academic Reference:

Ryan Bishop, Hagen Schulz-Forberg, James Quilligan; The Planet and Military Tele-Technologies—A Conversation with Ryan Bishop. Global Perspectives 10 March 2025; 6 (1): 144297. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/gp.2025.144297

Any Questions? Send us a text

This podcast was created and produced by the Research Center for New Critical Politics and Governance (CPG).

To watch the video version of this episode, please visit the link below:
https://cas.au.dk/en/cpg/podcast/mapping-the-planetary

In this episode, we speak with senior advisors Andreas Lind and Cecilie Friis from the Danish think tank CONCITO about their project From Planetary Boundaries to Planetary Policies.

They explore how addressing the climate crisis requires confronting the broader web of interconnected environmental challenges—and how Earth-system science can inform more effective and equitable policy responses. Lind and Friis discuss the urgent need to move from abstract recognition of planetary boundaries to concrete political action.

What would it take to craft solutions that are globally viable? How can local communities meaningfully contribute to shaping policies at a planetary scale? The conversation highlights the potential of integrating planetary thinking into governance frameworks—bridging science, policy, and grassroots engagement in the face of accelerating ecological change.

Academic Reference:

Cecilie Friis, Andreas Lind, Hagen Schulz-Forberg, James Quilligan; Towards Planetary Politics—A Conversation with CONCITO. Global Perspectives 10 March 2025; 6 (1): 144301. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/gp.2025.144301

Any Questions? Send us a text

This podcast was created and produced by the Research Center for New Critical Politics and Governance (CPG).

To watch the video version of this episode, please visit the link below:
https://cas.au.dk/en/cpg/podcast/mapping-the-planetary

In Episode 2 of Mapping the Planetary, we sit down with our host, James Bernard Quilligan.

With over three decades of experience in international development and monetary policy—as both analyst and administrator—Quilligan now serves as Senior Research Fellow at the Center for New Critical Politics and Governance.

In the conversation, we explore key concepts shaping our planetary future—the idea of the planetary commons and the ecological limits of carrying capacity. Quilligan reflects on the importance of distinguishing globalization from planetization, and considers how principles from thermodynamics might shed light on the climate crisis.

What forms of planetary governance and stewardship could help us navigate these complex challenges? Most importantly, we ask whether embracing a degrowth mindset is essential to building a sustainable future.

Quilligan argues for the need to adopt a new worldview—a new epistemology and narrative—that can guide us through the planetary transition ahead.

Academic Reference:
James Quilligan, Hagen Schulz-Forberg; A Social Contract for the Planetary Commons—A Conversation with James Quilligan. Global Perspectives. 10 March 2025; 6 (1): 144292. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/gp.2025.144292

Any Questions? Send us a text

This podcast was created and produced by the Research Center for New Critical Politics and Governance (CPG).

To watch the video version of this episode, please visit the link below:
https://cas.au.dk/en/cpg/podcast/mapping-the-planetary

In this episode, Nils Gilman, Vice President of Programs at the Berggruen Institute, discusses his ideas on a planetary approach to governance with our hosts Hagen Schulz-Forberg and James Quilligan.

Gilman distinguishes the concept of the planetary from the global, framing it as a necessary shift in light of the bio-geo-chemical disruption of today.

He reflects on the need for new forms of shared sovereignty and suggests that a move beyond anthropocentric frameworks may open a fundamental rethinking of core categories in both political theory and policy practice.

Academic Reference:
Nils Gilman, Hagen Schulz-Forberg, James Quilligan; The New Order of Planetary Governance—A Conversation with Nils Gilman. Global Perspectives. 10 March 2025; 6 (1): 144161. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/gp.2025.144161

Any Questions? Send us a text

This podcast was created and produced by the Research Center for New Critical Politics and Governance (CPG).

To watch the video version of this episode, please visit the link below:
https://cas.au.dk/en/cpg/podcast/mapping-the-planetary