Behind every traditional recipe lies a story of geography, memory, and belonging. A dish carries accents, landscapes, childhood memories, and regional pride. It becomes a way of recognising oneself in a rapidly changing world. This is particularly true in Europe, where identities have historically been built not only around languages and borders, but around local traditions carefully preserved across generations.

What has become common in activist spaces is that ideological alignment overrides human lives. Iranian politics cannot be simplified and reduced to “West vs. East” narratives while leaving serious domestic issues unaddressed.

As an avid lover of mythology, reading the Iliad by Homer, a fellow İzmirite, led me to wonder whether human ideas of power, legitimacy, leadership, order, and authority have truly changed over the centuries, and what mythology might still teach us about the world today. This idea served as the starting point for this interview.

In his work, Gadamer refers to the expression “fusion of horizons,” which is a true form of hermeneutic universalism – understanding is an essential human need, and interpretation is transversal to all human experiences - and not merely a catalogue of values that condition all human behaviour.

In Japan, overtourism and rising immigration have become constant fuel for media outrage —and politicians might have noticed. Interestingly, many residents insist their feelings about these problems are genuine, justified frustration, and not prejudice.

There is a stigma around the term ‘proxy’. It invokes a caricature of a puppet master pulling strings. In the context of conflict, it suggests that one party is being forced to fight and die at the direction of a more powerful party. In reality, there are no puppets, only actors with layered motivations and abilities.

The current trajectory of the “America First” is not isolationism, but perhaps a turn to predatory unipolarity. America is gambling with its long-standing global stability for short-term material gains, which could potentially bring chaos and weakening to American hegemony and global order.