This ‘artefact’ is a Muji 0.38 Black Gel Ink Pen. It is great for sketching as well as writing. This is important. The amount of ink that comes out is constant and does not shine through on the next page. The cap is attached tightly to the pen itself and never goes off unexpectedly, no matter how many items I stuff into my bag.

Dialogue lies at the core of any republic; it is not a coincidence that congress chambers, where highly sophisticated forms of dialogue take place, are constantly depicted and glorified by states that represent themselves as open and inclusive, even if they are not.

In context of the promotion of her new book Urban Warfare: Housing under the Empire of Finance, we had the honour to talk one-on-one with Brazilian author Raquel Rolnik. As architect and urban planner, she has been deeply involved in policies concerning social housing for several decades. During 2008-2014 she was the UN special reporter on the Right to Adequate Housing. We asked her about her drive, her ideals, and the current global challenges the social housing sector is facing.