Unsettling Extremism is a podcast by He Whenua Taurikura, Aotearoa's Independent Centre of Research Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism. In this podcast we will be having critical conversations with experts who look at extremism, hate, mis and disinformation, conspiracy theories as well as our social connectedness all through a uniquely Aotearoa lens. Each episode I'll interview a different expert who will discuss their research contextualise the present moment explain the impact of extremism and disinformation, and let us know what we all can do about it.
Unsettling Extremism is a podcast by He Whenua Taurikura, Aotearoa's Independent Centre of Research Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism. In this podcast we will be having critical conversations with experts who look at extremism, hate, mis and disinformation, conspiracy theories as well as our social connectedness all through a uniquely Aotearoa lens. Each episode I'll interview a different expert who will discuss their research contextualise the present moment explain the impact of extremism and disinformation, and let us know what we all can do about it.
Today our guest Byron Clark, an independent researcher and author on New Zealand’s far-right extremist movements. His book, Fear, helps us shows some of the ideological underpinnings of influencers and groups in the lead-up to the Occupation of Parliament in 2022. Byron uses his insight as a Pakeha man, the target demographic of these far-right groups, to help us, understand, untangle, and confront the ideologies and theories that support these movements. I have a lot of respect fo Byron, not just as a researcher, but as a human because he is far from a keyboard warrior, he has paid a personal price for his research. By speaking out he has become the target of intimidation, harassment, and threats from the very groups he studies. And yet, he continues to speak up and speak out.
Resources
Fear: New Zealand's Hostile Underworld of Extremists by Byron Clark
https://www.harpercollins.co.nz/9781775542308/fear/
Byron's Newsletter, Feijoa Dispatch, is a collection of his work and writing. https://www.feijoadispatch.nz/
Histories of Hate: The Radical Right in Aotearoa New Zealand, Edited by
Matthew Cunningham, Marinus La Rooij and Paul Spoonley
The definition of the Great Replacement Theory was in the chapter Identitarianism and the Alt-Right: A New Phase of Alt-Right Politics in Aotearoa New Zealand, by Paul Spoonley and Paul Morris, pg. 308.