Power in the Roots: Rhizomes, Relationships, and the Energy Transition, with Junior Mbangala | Energ’Ethic - Climate Justice and Energy Transition

Description

with Junior Mbangala, researcher at Oxford and policy analyst at the WTO

What if the energy transition was less about infrastructure—and more about invisible connections?

In this episode, Junior Mbangala introduces a quietly radical idea: the rhizome. Borrowed from philosophy, this root-like, messy, decentralised structure becomes a powerful lens to rethink energy systems. Not as neat grids or market mechanisms—but as webs of trust, knowledge, and social ties.

👣 From working-class neighbourhoods in Liège to sub-Saharan Africa, Junior uses social network analysis to map how energy communities actually function:

Who participates?
Who holds influence?
And who gets left out, even when it all looks inclusive on paper?

Forget the top-down diagrams. Junior invites us to see energy not as a service, but as a social system. One where:

✨ Knowledge spreads like a rumour
🔗 Participation relies on trust, not just access
🌱 Change starts in the margins—and travels sideways

💬 “Each one, teach one,” he says. “The rhizome helps us grow differently—but together.”

🧠 What you’ll hear:

How network thinking reveals invisible power structures in energy communities
Why the “community” in energy community needs to come first
What Deleuze and Guattari have to do with just transition policies
Why hope—yes, hope—is a form of energy, too

📍This episode isn’t about electrons. It’s about entanglements. And how, if we’re serious about justice, we need to start mapping the roots—not just building the tree.

🎧 Listen now. And maybe never think about “inclusion” the same way again.

Energ' Ethic goes out every other week.

Keep up to date with new episodes straight from your inbox

Reach out to Marine Cornelis via BlueSky or LinkedIn
Music: I Need You Here - Kamarius
Edition: Podcast Media Factory

Support Energ'Ethic on Patreon

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Energ’Ethic - Climate Justice and Energy Transition

Energ’Ethic is a podcast exploring the human, institutional, and ethical dimensions of the energy transition.

Hosted by Marine Cornelis, Energ’Ethic brings together policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, city practitioners, researchers, and civil society voices to examine what makes energy transitions succeed—or fail—in the real world.

Beyond technology and targets, the podcast focuses on trust, power, consumer rights, digitalisation, and energy justice. Each conversation connects policy and market design with lived experience, unpacking how decisions taken in boardrooms and institutions translate into everyday realities for people and communities.

Energ’Ethic is not about slogans or quick fixes. It is a space for rigorous, grounded conversations about resilience, legitimacy, and the social conditions required for lasting climate and energy strategies.

Listen to Energ’Ethic to:

Hear first-hand perspectives from those shaping energy and climate policy from the inside
Understand how governance, regulation, and technology affect consumers and communities
Explore energy and climate justice through practical, experience-based insights

Energ’Ethic speaks to an engaged audience of decision-makers and practitioners working at the intersection of policy, markets, cities, and society.

Organisations can partner with Energ’Ethic to support high-quality dialogue and reach a thoughtful, policy-literate audience committed to a fair and resilient energy transition.

Listen, subscribe, and join the conversation.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Energ’Ethic - Climate Justice and Energy Transition

Energ’Ethic is a podcast exploring the human, institutional, and ethical dimensions of the energy transition.

Listen to Energ’Ethic to:

Hear first-hand perspectives from those shaping energy and climate policy from the inside
Understand how governance, regulation, and technology affect consumers and communities
Explore energy and climate justice through practical, experience-based insights

Energ’Ethic speaks to an engaged audience of decision-makers and practitioners working at the intersection of policy, markets, cities, and society.

Organisations can partner with Energ’Ethic to support high-quality dialogue and reach a thoughtful, policy-literate audience committed to a fair and resilient energy transition.

Listen, subscribe, and join the conversation.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Description

with Junior Mbangala, researcher at Oxford and policy analyst at the WTO

What if the energy transition was less about infrastructure—and more about invisible connections?

👣 From working-class neighbourhoods in Liège to sub-Saharan Africa, Junior uses social network analysis to map how energy communities actually function:

Who participates?
Who holds influence?
And who gets left out, even when it all looks inclusive on paper?

Forget the top-down diagrams. Junior invites us to see energy not as a service, but as a social system. One where:

✨ Knowledge spreads like a rumour
🔗 Participation relies on trust, not just access
🌱 Change starts in the margins—and travels sideways

💬 “Each one, teach one,” he says. “The rhizome helps us grow differently—but together.”

🧠 What you’ll hear:

How network thinking reveals invisible power structures in energy communities
Why the “community” in energy community needs to come first
What Deleuze and Guattari have to do with just transition policies
Why hope—yes, hope—is a form of energy, too

📍This episode isn’t about electrons. It’s about entanglements. And how, if we’re serious about justice, we need to start mapping the roots—not just building the tree.

🎧 Listen now. And maybe never think about “inclusion” the same way again.

Energ' Ethic goes out every other week.

Keep up to date with new episodes straight from your inbox

Reach out to Marine Cornelis via BlueSky or LinkedIn
Music: I Need You Here - Kamarius
Edition: Podcast Media Factory

Support Energ'Ethic on Patreon

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Energ’Ethic - Climate Justice and Energy Transition

Energ’Ethic is a podcast exploring the human, institutional, and ethical dimensions of the energy transition.

Listen to Energ’Ethic to:

Hear first-hand perspectives from those shaping energy and climate policy from the inside
Understand how governance, regulation, and technology affect consumers and communities
Explore energy and climate justice through practical, experience-based insights

Energ’Ethic speaks to an engaged audience of decision-makers and practitioners working at the intersection of policy, markets, cities, and society.

Organisations can partner with Energ’Ethic to support high-quality dialogue and reach a thoughtful, policy-literate audience committed to a fair and resilient energy transition.

Listen, subscribe, and join the conversation.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Energ’Ethic - Climate Justice and Energy Transition

Energ’Ethic is a podcast exploring the human, institutional, and ethical dimensions of the energy transition.

Listen to Energ’Ethic to:

Hear first-hand perspectives from those shaping energy and climate policy from the inside
Understand how governance, regulation, and technology affect consumers and communities
Explore energy and climate justice through practical, experience-based insights

Energ’Ethic speaks to an engaged audience of decision-makers and practitioners working at the intersection of policy, markets, cities, and society.

Organisations can partner with Energ’Ethic to support high-quality dialogue and reach a thoughtful, policy-literate audience committed to a fair and resilient energy transition.

Listen, subscribe, and join the conversation.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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Description

with Junior Mbangala, researcher at Oxford and policy analyst at the WTO

What if the energy transition was less about infrastructure—and more about invisible connections?

👣 From working-class neighbourhoods in Liège to sub-Saharan Africa, Junior uses social network analysis to map how energy communities actually function:

Who participates?
Who holds influence?
And who gets left out, even when it all looks inclusive on paper?

Forget the top-down diagrams. Junior invites us to see energy not as a service, but as a social system. One where:

✨ Knowledge spreads like a rumour
🔗 Participation relies on trust, not just access
🌱 Change starts in the margins—and travels sideways

💬 “Each one, teach one,” he says. “The rhizome helps us grow differently—but together.”

🧠 What you’ll hear:

How network thinking reveals invisible power structures in energy communities
Why the “community” in energy community needs to come first
What Deleuze and Guattari have to do with just transition policies
Why hope—yes, hope—is a form of energy, too

📍This episode isn’t about electrons. It’s about entanglements. And how, if we’re serious about justice, we need to start mapping the roots—not just building the tree.

🎧 Listen now. And maybe never think about “inclusion” the same way again.

Energ' Ethic goes out every other week.

Keep up to date with new episodes straight from your inbox

Reach out to Marine Cornelis via BlueSky or LinkedIn
Music: I Need You Here - Kamarius
Edition: Podcast Media Factory

Support Energ'Ethic on Patreon

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Energ’Ethic - Climate Justice and Energy Transition

Energ’Ethic is a podcast exploring the human, institutional, and ethical dimensions of the energy transition.

Listen to Energ’Ethic to:

Hear first-hand perspectives from those shaping energy and climate policy from the inside
Understand how governance, regulation, and technology affect consumers and communities
Explore energy and climate justice through practical, experience-based insights

Energ’Ethic speaks to an engaged audience of decision-makers and practitioners working at the intersection of policy, markets, cities, and society.

Organisations can partner with Energ’Ethic to support high-quality dialogue and reach a thoughtful, policy-literate audience committed to a fair and resilient energy transition.

Listen, subscribe, and join the conversation.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Energ’Ethic - Climate Justice and Energy Transition

Energ’Ethic is a podcast exploring the human, institutional, and ethical dimensions of the energy transition.

Listen to Energ’Ethic to:

Hear first-hand perspectives from those shaping energy and climate policy from the inside
Understand how governance, regulation, and technology affect consumers and communities
Explore energy and climate justice through practical, experience-based insights

Energ’Ethic speaks to an engaged audience of decision-makers and practitioners working at the intersection of policy, markets, cities, and society.

Organisations can partner with Energ’Ethic to support high-quality dialogue and reach a thoughtful, policy-literate audience committed to a fair and resilient energy transition.

Listen, subscribe, and join the conversation.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Description

with Junior Mbangala, researcher at Oxford and policy analyst at the WTO

What if the energy transition was less about infrastructure—and more about invisible connections?

👣 From working-class neighbourhoods in Liège to sub-Saharan Africa, Junior uses social network analysis to map how energy communities actually function:

Who participates?
Who holds influence?
And who gets left out, even when it all looks inclusive on paper?

Forget the top-down diagrams. Junior invites us to see energy not as a service, but as a social system. One where:

✨ Knowledge spreads like a rumour
🔗 Participation relies on trust, not just access
🌱 Change starts in the margins—and travels sideways

💬 “Each one, teach one,” he says. “The rhizome helps us grow differently—but together.”

🧠 What you’ll hear:

How network thinking reveals invisible power structures in energy communities
Why the “community” in energy community needs to come first
What Deleuze and Guattari have to do with just transition policies
Why hope—yes, hope—is a form of energy, too

📍This episode isn’t about electrons. It’s about entanglements. And how, if we’re serious about justice, we need to start mapping the roots—not just building the tree.

🎧 Listen now. And maybe never think about “inclusion” the same way again.

Energ' Ethic goes out every other week.

Keep up to date with new episodes straight from your inbox

Reach out to Marine Cornelis via BlueSky or LinkedIn
Music: I Need You Here - Kamarius
Edition: Podcast Media Factory

Support Energ'Ethic on Patreon

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Energ’Ethic - Climate Justice and Energy Transition

Energ’Ethic is a podcast exploring the human, institutional, and ethical dimensions of the energy transition.

Listen to Energ’Ethic to:

Hear first-hand perspectives from those shaping energy and climate policy from the inside
Understand how governance, regulation, and technology affect consumers and communities
Explore energy and climate justice through practical, experience-based insights

Energ’Ethic speaks to an engaged audience of decision-makers and practitioners working at the intersection of policy, markets, cities, and society.

Organisations can partner with Energ’Ethic to support high-quality dialogue and reach a thoughtful, policy-literate audience committed to a fair and resilient energy transition.

Listen, subscribe, and join the conversation.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

About Energ’Ethic - Climate Justice and Energy Transition

Energ’Ethic is a podcast exploring the human, institutional, and ethical dimensions of the energy transition.

Listen to Energ’Ethic to:

Hear first-hand perspectives from those shaping energy and climate policy from the inside
Understand how governance, regulation, and technology affect consumers and communities
Explore energy and climate justice through practical, experience-based insights

Energ’Ethic speaks to an engaged audience of decision-makers and practitioners working at the intersection of policy, markets, cities, and society.

Organisations can partner with Energ’Ethic to support high-quality dialogue and reach a thoughtful, policy-literate audience committed to a fair and resilient energy transition.

Listen, subscribe, and join the conversation.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

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