Gabor Farkas and GemLabs Present: Sustainable Futures

About Gabor Farkas and GemLabs Present: Sustainable Futures

inSUBSTANTIA is produced in Geneva, Switzerland, and invites leading thinkers, practitioners, and curious minds to explore ideas that shape our world. It offers something most experts crave but rarely get: the space to think out loud, to connect their knowledge to deeper philosophical and ethical issues, and to challenge assumptions beyond the headlines. Each episode invites reflection without requiring specialised background knowledge, making complex issues accessible and thought-provoking.

Publisher

Gabor Farkas

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Sept 2024

Latest episode

23 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

31 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Sept 2026

   The New Censorship

   WHEN JOURNALISTS CENSOR THEMSELVES When we picture censorship, we imagine a heavy hand. A banned book, a redacted headline, a state official stamping out the truth. But what happens when the censor is a journalist's own hesitant hand over the keyboard? 🎙️ IN THIS EPISODEMedia scholar and former Haaretz editor Dr. Ayala Panievsky terms it strategic bias. Journalists facing populist attacks soften their tone, avoid specific words, and drop certain topics, all to prove they are not what their attackers claim. No one issues an order. No one needs to. And entire realities quietly disappear from the screen. 📚 In this conversation, we walk through her book The New Censorship, published with a foreword by Emily Maitlis. From Israeli newsrooms where the word occupation vanished from the vocabulary, to the BBC, to doxing campaigns forcing journalists to weigh a scoop against threats to their families, to what readers and listeners can actively do. Her most hopeful statement: "We haven't even started fighting." ⏱️ CHAPTERS(00:00) Introduction to Dr. Ayala Panievsky and the central argument of The New Censorship(02:43) From reality TV recaps to the newsroom: entering journalism without a master plan(06:15) Working across the Knesset, refugee aid efforts, and the Molad think tank(10:50) The erosion of public resistance: what became of the peace movement(15:28) The targeting of critical voices: Ilan Pappé, Francesca Albanese, Shlomo Sand(20:22) How far-right organizations deploy student recordings and smear tactics against academics(23:23) Military service as an alibi: how journalists defend against treason accusations, and who that excludes(30:10) Why the focus on Netanyahu misses the broader structural shift(32:07) Being targeted: transitioning from journalist and think-tank worker to researcher(36:56) Strategic bias defined: intentional self-censorship to signal neutrality(44:45) How the word "occupation" vanished from Israeli journalism(50:39) Why leaning right fails to appease populist critics(54:00) Ethical codes and the retreat into balanced panel formats(57:39) A global anti-media network: the UK, Hungary, India, and the US(01:01:56) Analyzing your home country while living in London(01:04:01) Emily Maitlis and structural parallels at the BBC(01:10:08) Why ratings alone cannot explain the asymmetrical platforming of the far right(01:16:02) Doxing, digital intimidation, and safety threats facing journalists' families(01:21:56) Billionaire media ownership, and why audiences must actively support journalists(01:27:18) Bot networks, impersonation, and holding fake accounts legally accountable(01:29:53) Treating our information environment with the urgency of environmental protection(01:33:45) Newsroom CPR: Covering Populism Responsibly(01:38:00) What AI can and cannot accomplish in journalism(01:41:48) Using the freedoms we still have before they vanish(01:46:10) Why individual action is not enough: the case for journalistic solidarity 🔗 RESOURCES & LINKS• The New Censorship by Dr. Ayala Panievsky, foreword by Emily Maitlis: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-New-Censorship/Ayala-Panievsky/9781804441114 (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-New-Censorship/Ayala-Panievsky/9781804441114?utm_source=gemini)• Emily Maitlis interviews Prince Andrew (BBC Newsnight): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VenaSmaNXQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VenaSmaNXQ&utm_source=gemini)• Molad (Center for the Renewal of Israeli Democracy): https://www.molad.org/en/ (https://www.molad.org/en/?utm_source=gemini)• Peace Now (Shalom Achshav): https://peacenow.org.il/en/ (https://peacenow.org.il/en/?utm_source=gemini)

2. 

   21 May 2026

   Health Care as a Cultural System

   What happens when healthcare technology is not designed for people, but with them? InSubstantia welcomes Anam Hijab, the founder of AtPulse, a health technology company tackling one of the largest and least understood diabetes crises in the world. Pakistan is home to 55 million people living with or on the verge of diabetes. Anam is building technology to address this crisis. Following a career in pharmaceutical engineering in Denmark, Anam came back to Pakistan to apply that expertise where it could matter most. In this episode, she shares her experience of building systems on the ground in Pakistan, working with one of the largest cardiovascular hospital networks in the world. This conversation moves beyond product features and into first principles: how culture shapes care, why Western health models fail at scale in high-density populations, and what it means to design technology for communities rather than individuals. 00:00 – Introduction: Anam Hijab’s background and the scale of Pakistan’s diabetes crisis 02:24 – Pakistan as a “melting pot” shaping identity and worldview 04:00 – Why Denmark? Education, equality, and the Nordic model 07:53 – Returning to Pakistan and identifying a market opportunity 10:15 – Understanding the real diabetes crisis 13:58 – When diabetes compounds into systemic failure 16:03 – Why patients disappear after treatment (70–90% dropout) 20:32 – Inside NICVD: what 1,000+ patients per day teaches about systems 25:52 – Designing the product and breaking assumptions about how people use technology 29:16 – Why the app is offline, visual, and audio-first 33:35 – The responsible implementation of AI in healthcare 40:06 – Who owns the value of healthcare data? 42:15 – Predictive care and risk profiling 45:01 – How to balance revenue with community impact 50:12 – Being a woman founder in Pakistan 55:04 – What Pakistan revealed that Europe didn’t 01:00:08 –  Cultural gaps in European healthcare models 01:03:09 – Climate change and chronic disease 01:18:37 – Towards a localized, intuitive healthcare for everyday life 01:10:15 – Medical language vs patient understanding Resources: Learn more about AtPulse https://atpulse.org/ (https://atpulse.org/) Chapters: Connect with Anam Hijab https://www.linkedin.com/in/anam-h-73b945122/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anam-h-73b945122/)

3. 

   24 Feb 2026

   Mediation: One word, Many Practices

   What happens when two sides in a dispute refuse to move even when a compromise seems obvious? In this episode of Insubstantia, I speak with mediator and author Manon Schonewille about what really keeps conflict stuck. Often, it is not the substance of the dispute but the process itself. Even within the same country, the word mediation can mean very different things. Once you add borders, legal cultures, and conflicting expectations about authority and neutrality, misunderstandings can derail a case before it even begins. Drawing on decades of practice and comparative research across jurisdictions, Manon explains why mediators must “mediate the process first, particularly in cross border situations.” From commercial disputes to cross cultural conflict, we explore how ego, identity, fairness, and culture shape outcomes far more than logic alone. If we cannot agree on what mediation is supposed to be, what exactly are we doing when we say we are mediating? What we talk about with Manon: What mediation is and what people misunderstand about it The difference between negotiation and mediation Why conflict escalates even when both parties are “rational” How identity, ego and culture shape disputes The role of emotions in high-stakes conflict Why parties often resist settlement even when it benefits them What mediators do behind the scenes The concept of “face-saving” and why it matters When mediation works best and when it fails The mediator’s role in power imbalances Trust-building styles and techniques in tense conversations How people interpret fairness differently Cross-cultural mediation and communication differences The importance of language, framing, and timing in resolution Real-world examples of disputes that seem impossible until they’re reframed Links & Resources Mentioned: Check out Manon Schonewille’s books and publications: https://www.manonschonewille.nl/author (https://www.manonschonewille.nl/author) Excerpt from “The Variegated Landscape of Mediation” https://www.manonschonewille.nl/_files/ugd/682f8c_420aff0f964b4ba7b59bbc3b70759961.pdf (https://www.manonschonewille.nl/_files/ugd/682f8c_420aff0f964b4ba7b59bbc3b70759961.pdf) Jump to Content: 09:05-11:43 On Manon’s first case about furniture and dogs 18:36 - 19:30 It’s not about you in mediation 31:45 - 32:35 I define cross-border mediation 38:47 - 39:20 Is free mediation beneficial (Gabor) 39:50 - 40:10 Always mediate the process first 50:53 - 52:07 If you go to US or UK - cultural differences in mediation 55:19 - 56:54 Korean CEO and Dutch manager 1:07:39 - 1:08:29 Time in mediation 1:15:46 - 1:16:30 Innovations and good practices in mediation 1:29:15 - 1:30:38 Against too much regulation in mediation

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