Podcast - Us and Them
The new HGGS Podcast, created by members of the Organizing Committee of the Summer Forum 2025, is a special Forum series exploring this year’s central theme, "Us and Them". Drawing from their own research, professors, PhDs and experts explore how boundaries are drawn, identities are shaped, and power is negotiated across disciplines—from history and literature to sociology, political science, and beyond.Tune in as they unpack how the theme resonates in different cultural, political, and theoretical contexts, offering fresh insights ahead of the Forum itself.The podcast is available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more.
Episode 1: The Trauma Hero in Films about the War on Terror
Our first episode introduces our theme “Us and Them” and opens the series with an interview between Sinan Barış Yaşar and PhD candidate Laura Herges (Heidelberg University): The traumatized war hero has become a well-known film trope. But how does the image of the suffering veteran influence our opinions on wars that happened in real life? Laura, who writes her thesis in American studies, discusses two movies about the War on Terror: Zero Dark Thirty (2012), which justifies the CIA’s torture of prisoners, and American Sniper (2014), which turns a controversial Navy SEAL into a patriotic martyr-icon. How strongly do films influence our judgement and moral values? Find out in the first episode of “Us and Them.“
Episode 2: Saving Strangers – The ‘False Promise’ of Responsibility to Protect
In the second episode, we welcome Prof. Dr. Richard Caplan, Professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford. Sinan Barış Yaşar (Law) from the HGGS interviews Professor Caplan, who reflects on the question: Has the Responsibility to Protect, particularly in the context of United Nations peacekeeping operations, amounted to a ‘false promise’? The conversation explores the historical evolution of the UN’s peacekeeping mandate, the enduring challenges in the execution of peacekeeping operations—including the so-called “Intervention Dilemma” articulated by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan—as well as the rising global influence of nationalist movements on the politics of the UN and the changing role of regional organizations in global peacekeeping efforts. How might international peacekeeping be reimagined for the future? We sincerely thank Professor Caplan for delivering the keynote lecture at the HGGS Summer Forum “Us and Them” on June 27, and for sharing his expertise and reflections in this podcast episode.
Episode 3: The Role of War Posters in the Russo-Ukrainian War: Constructing “Us” and “Them”
Dr. Liudmyla Pidkuimukha in conversation with Laura Herges
When Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, the world was left in shock. In times of war, the dichotomy between ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ becomes clearer than ever; and one specific medium in which this is illustrated are war posters. Dr. Liudmyla Pidkuimukha has analyzed more than 2,000 Ukrainian war posters with a special focus on the interplay of visual and verbal elements. In this episode, she talks with Laura from HGGS about the role these posters play to the Ukrainian people, how they function in different media and what differentiates them from posters in other wars. How do war posters portray the enemy? And how have they changed since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014? Listen to find out in episode 3 of Us and Them.
