Episode 16: Atossa Araxia Abrahamian

The Sunday Long Read Podcast

"What kind of globalization should we want? There are lots of different versions of it, and we have a particular version that at this moment is pissing off a lot of people—but it doesn't have to be that way." Atossa has spent most of her journalism career investigating issues of globalism, from how global elites act at a level above states to how the global poor get caught up in the system. In 2015, she wrote a book on the topic, and issues of statehood and citizenship are in the news now as much as ever. Atossa explains how she ended up focusing on the topic and the "real reason" she became a journalist; offers a few tips for fellow freelancers; and discusses the joy of surfing. (And she's always open to ideas: atossa dot abrahamian at gmail). A few of the pieces we discussed:

• [3:00] PNL's World Or Nothing

• [11:00] The Cosmopolites

• [19:00] The Bizarre Scheme to Transform a Remote Island into the New Dubai

• [25:00] Enjoy the Silence

• [29:00] When the Price of Reporting Is a Car Bomb

• [31:00] How a Tax Haven Is Leading the Race to Privatise Space

• [32:00] How Tax Havens Make Us Poor

• [35:00] Fear of a Starbucks Planet

• [44:00] I Finally Passed My Driving Test on Try #4—And Haven't Driven Since