Exposing the Invisible

What do architecture, investigation, maps and storytelling have in common? Follow the trail in this episode where Alison Killing takes us on a fascinating journey starting from her training and professional career in architecture and constructions to her research in migration and human rights, culminating with an internationally awarded journalistic collaboration.

"That wasn't just a problem with the map loading. And it wasn't just that there was information missing from the map and they put a blank tile instead... there was something much stranger going on. I mean, I find it quite enjoyable to push and poke at these different things and try and develop these different investigative techniques and ways that we can maybe start to look at these issues, which are by design very, very difficult first to investigate."

Modesty, honesty, care and time, together with varying doses of obsession and concern, are recurring themes in Megha Rajagopalan's story of how she became a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist investigating human rights issues. Megha talks about what it takes to develop and respect sources, to pursue topics, and to embrace collaboration with people from other professional backgrounds in order to reveal a different narrative.

"You don't want to immediately frame everything you do as an investigation. It may be that you've produced something that uncovers some kind of wrongdoing, but I guess to term it as an investigation from the outset, it's almost like you're predetermining what the final result is going to be."

Avi Asher-Schapiro is a journalist who focuses on the intersection of technology and human rights. His investigations have pivoted on exposing abuse of power. He recounts some of his work including his first investigative piece in school. He also talks about what drives him, how he digs up information, the power of story telling as well as the flawed assumption that everything is on the internet already.

"Their job is to make themselves look really good and your job is to sort of figure out what's true and what's not true, and often you're at odds because the facts don't make them look good. So there you are. And that's the game.”

After years of investigation and campaigning, Anthea Lawson shares with us insights into what her experiences have been. Her work continues to investigate the deep links between our inner lives, our souls and our psychology and how that manifests in the world we're creating together.

"Some of the most liberating conversations I had with longstanding activists were the ones where I realized that the people who managed to really keep going are doing their campaigning as a practice and not so much as a goal."