Populace Radio - full experience
A Few Years After Jubilee is a speculative radio show set in a future Europe, a after Jubilee; a mass erasure of debt, a new calendar system, and a restructuring of societal and economic priorities. By tuning into the show, named Populace, listeners get a glimpse of the day-to-day stories, opportunities, and challenges brought about by this time of transition.
Through a series of segments - a conversation between a grandma and her granddaughter, a report from a local community center, a love story between carpenters who alternate shifts - listeners are invited to imagine a world where we have more space, to rest, to experiment, and to connect with one another.
The show is accompanied by a physical planner, a giveaway from the radio show, that visualises the newly structured year, month, and weeks, and concepts that inspire them. The new calendar illustrates how language can question the seemingly unchangeable. The years reset, with a timeline marked by a move from AD to AJ (After Jubilee). The months break from the Gregorian calendar, and are renamed to reflect new priorities, bringing us closer to the environment (e.g. Harvest). Each week is 10 days, split equally between rest and workdays, referred to as otium and negotium.
This restructuring reflects, and encourages, changing priorities and lifestyles, which listeners get a glimpse into throughout the show. A Few Years After Jubilee re-imagines futurism, questioning our relationship to the past, the linearity of time, and the inevitability of the future.
Partners: Fred Wordie, Alia ElKattan, full credits
What people have said after listening to Populace Radio:
"Even though this is set in the future, it made me think of my grandmother, and my history. It has this beautiful aspect of trans-temporality that was integrated in this work."
Elena
"Made me think of a much slower life, where we value our personal freedom rather than being driven by money or our professional lives. It inspired a feeling of lightness and freedom, creativity and imagination."
Mark
"It was really inspiring to hear these people talk about the stories of their lives: the alternatives, having different models of living than 8-5 or even sleeping patterns!"
Simon