A bit of a departure on this episode of Research in Ukraine. The conflict has taken a turn for both sides, and on the Ukrainian side it is increasingly difficult to track down in-country guests for this podcast.
As more bombs fall on Ukrainian cities we know from research and experience that there will be physical and psychological consequences long after the fighting has stopped so in this, our final episode, we decided to look at how a relatively new area of research can help people cope with what war has done to their lives.
Telepresence.
It is a technology that induces a “sensation of being elsewhere”. As a therapeutic tool, the art and science of telepresence represents a confluence of the social and natural sciences, performative arts, and the humanities. Responsive telepresence’s secret sauce is empathy, the necessary angel that recognizes you cannot change minds without first changing the heart. In the middle of a war, telepresence can interrupt the war playing out in people’s minds. It might even help find peace somewhere in our digital world.
Research in Ukraine has been hosted by Don Hill and produced by Mike Spear. Music by Don Hill and Freesound.
Links to material mentioned in this podcast: