On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we explore how Jewish Europe is being reshaped across physical and digital spaces in the 21st century. How do virtual environments change the way heritage is preserved and shared? Can digital reconstructions and online communities sustain cultural identity? What happens when these spaces are affected by rising antisemitism, shifting politics, and changing public visibility—against a longer history of loss and reconstruction?

All this and more with Dr. Maja Hultman and Dr. Joachim Schlör, editors of Virtual and Real-Life Spaces of Jewish Europe in the 21st Century, published by De Gruyter Brill.

Discourse on sustainable digital spaces is just one of our sustainability initiatives here at De Gruyter Brill. Explore the recent De Gruyter Brill Annual Impact Reportfor a closer look at our sustainability commitments and progress in 2025.

Host: Dr. Shawn Rowlands

Guests: Dr. Maja Hultman and Dr. Joachim Schlör

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we examine how indigeneity is defined and contested in conversations around identity, science, and sovereignty. Is it something we inherit, or a political construct? How can scientific and Indigenous knowledge systems collaborate without losing their distinct integrity? And what happens when genetic research defines belonging in ways that conflict with cultural and political self-understandings?

All this and more with Dr. Benjamin Gregg, author of “Scientific Integrity and Indigenous Justice in Genetic Research,” which is Chapter 5 in the book Indigeneity as Social Construct and Political Tool: Critique and Reconstruction of a Contested Identity, published by De Gruyter Brill.

Host: Ramzi Nasir

Guest: Dr. Benjamin Gregg

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we look at how video games are reshaping the representation of girlhood, identity, and coming-of-age through play. Why have games so often been associated with boyhood? What overlooked histories of girls’ gaming cultures challenge this narrative? And how are contemporary games challenging traditional heroic narratives with more complex stories about growing up, belonging, and self-discovery?

All this and more with Dr. Stephanie Harkin, author of Girlhood Games: Gender, Identity and Coming of Age in Video Games, which is Volume 20 in the series “Video Games and the Humanities”, published by De Gruyter Brill.

Host: Ramzi Nasir

Guest: Dr. Stephanie Harkin

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we ask: why do unions rise, why do they fall, and what does it take for them to rise again? How do leadership, strategy, and internal democracy shape their trajectory? And what can the turbulent history of a major New York transit union teach us about the labour movement today?

All this and more with Dr. Marc Kagan, author of Take Back the Power: The Fall and Rise and Fall of NYC’s Transport Workers Union Local 100, 1975–2009, which is Volume 7 in the series Studies in Political Economy of Global Labor and Work, published by De Gruyter Brill.

Host: Ramzi Nasir

Guest: Dr. Marc Kagan

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we ask: How is digital technology transforming religious belief and practice today? How does digital culture reshape religious authority, education, and governance? And how do emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence complicate questions of belief, legitimacy, and responsibility within religious communities?

All this and more with Dr. Thomas Schlag and Katharina Yadav, editors of Religious Communication, Interaction and Transformation in a Culture of Digitality, published by De Gruyter Brill.

Host: Ramzi Nasir

Guests: Dr. Thomas Schlag and Katharina Yadav

What are the limits of the utilitarian approach to studying the environment? How do we go beyond Western philosophies in our thinking around the environment? Can Western and Non-Western approaches work together? And why is it imperative that we expand our political imagination?

In this episode of Sustainability Matters, Dr. Aleksandra Ross and Dr. Krzysztof Skonieczny talk about the importance of looking at ecological challenges from pluralistic, culturally diverse perspectives and discuss ways in which non-Western styles of thought help us not only understand the problem better, but also find solutions. This episode is based on their book Non-Western Approaches in Environmental Humanities, published by De Gruyter Brill, of which they’re co-editors alongside Dr. Gabriela Jarzębowska.

Host: Ramzi Nasir

Guests: Dr. Aleksandra Ross and Dr. Krzysztof Skonieczny

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we ask: What does it mean to narrate the heritage of psychiatry? Why is the history of mental health research so relevant today? How can we celebrate diverse experiences of "madness" without romanticising potentially harmful behaviours? And what role do contemporary systems play in the future of mental health heritage?

All this and more with Dr. Christoph Singer, co-editor of Narrating the Heritage of Psychiatry, which is Volume 1 in the series “Narratives and Mental Health”, published by De Gruyter Brill.

Host: Ramzi Nasir

Guest: Dr. Christoph Singer

This month on Sustainability Matters, we discuss whether external research promotion has any tangible effects. Can external media attention translate into academic citations? Does choosing the “right” journal matter? And do we risk perverse outcomes from over-incentivising citations?

All this and more with Dr. Steffen Lemke and Dr. Isabella Peters, authors of “Path model of the interplay between the promotion and the received attention of research articles” along with Dr. Athanasios Mazarakis. This is a chapter in the book The Science-Media Interface, published by De Gruyter Brill.

Guests: Dr. Steffen Lemke and Dr. Isabella Peters

Host: Ramzi Nasir