photo by Sarge Devil / flickr

In the post-Arab spring/occupy world we’ve seen a call to action for more tools to help acitivists do what they do.  We’ve also seen a hodge-podge of tools being rolled out and touted as just what activists need. But security minded observers are not impressed. In fact, in some cases, they’re horrified. In this podcast, which is plagued by a previously undetected Berlin wind, Eleanor Saitta sits down with me to go over the aspects of security and ethics that everyone involved should keep in mind as we develop and implement communication strategies for organizations and activists around the world.

Photo Courtesy of CarribeanFreePhoto on flickr (thanks Georgia!)

Global Voices Online has come a long way since the days of being all about blogs from around the world. Just as the technology for publishing online and having conversations about issues that effect our lives has evolved, so too has this international project dedicated to multi-lingual, multi-cultural, grassroots reporting.  In 2012 GVO are into more than just providing a place for translation and reporting, they’ve moved into specialized projects relating to advocacy, socio-cultural projects and protecting citizen journalists around the world. At this year’s Re:publica12 conference, I had a chance to finally sit down with Ivan Sigal, executive director of Global Voices Online, and we spoke about these new frontiers and how he sees where we are today as global citizens of many languages examining the world around us.

photo by Occupy Global / flickr

The use of the law to keep people from protesting and assembling did not start with the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011.  In fact, for hundreds of years, since the birth of the United States, there has been a slow but steady effort to keep people from being able to lawfully protest and organize.  During the occupy movement there were extensive discussions about democracy, freedom, economics, and our future. Somewhere behind it all, there was the issue of laws and what protesters can and cannot do.  In the end it was the police armed with tear gas and legal ordinances who were able to clear people out of the public squares they had peacefully occupied.  In this podcast we speak with attorney  Joshua Dratel, the first civilian defense lawyer to have worked with prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.  His recent article “The Evaporation of American Political Dissent” talks about the long running degredation of the right to protest and assemble in the United States.

photo courtesy of Fairphone.org

In the summer of 2011 we learned of the fairphone mission; to make the world’s first ethically responsible mobile phone. We spoke about the challenges, the steps, the people and places in the world that would be involved. Now, many months later, we revisit fairphone to get an update and hear about the interesting developments and ongoing initiatives. My guest and guide on this podcast is Bas van Abel of the Waag Society, who has been part of the fairphone initiative since the early days.

We get into:

• Battery
• Miners
• Congo
• Open Design
• Urban Mining

On one fine Saturday afternoon in March, Levan and I sat down in Gudiashvili Square to talk about the urban challenges Georgia faces.

Check them out at Chiti.ge

Photo by FuckNewRave / flickr

John Hall remembers the advertizing business in the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s, and there was nothing glamorous about it. His personal policy in the work place was not to pursue wealth and happiness, but to pursue work that brought meaning to life, which in turn has always given him a feeling of being content and the richest man around. As a business man, a hospice nurse, an english teacher for French people, and a business teacher – one thing shines through no matter what he is working on – John Hall is a force to be rekoned with in the best possible way.

John joins me on the phone from Paris in this very insightful and fun conversation about the lessons he’s learned from fantastic life experiences, and his struggle to convey that to future global business leaders.

Ambulante Photo by Joy Till on flickr

Annie Correal knows all about the nature of the news reporting business and the internet of news feeds and hypersharing. But she also knows a world where people take time to tell their stories and listen to one another. The online world of reading, writing and recording where taking time and moving perhaps a little more slowly, is well worth the wait. Her work with both Cowbird and Radio Ambulante reveals two such places where people from all walks of life are coming together, and sharing life in a very significant way.

Today on the podcast I get to know Annie Correal, and ask her questions about how she got started as a journalist to how and why these two special projects became part of her life. Join us for what I believe is a very important and enjoyable conversation. Then go tell stories of your own!

Hanna's Memoir - Weeds Don't Perish

“We’ve been here before!” Hanna Braun said to herself back in 1948 as Arab residents were expelled from Haifa. She had been a member of the Hagana before the Israeli army had been formally created – before there was even an Israel. She had escaped Germany at the height of the Nazi era, and tells marvelous tales of life in Palestine and how the dream of a secular, multicultural, state was stolen away by a select group who saw violence and hate as tools with which to build a nation.  When she was old enough to fully understand what had happened, she dedicated her life to fighting injustice and increasing understanding on both sides. Hanna Braun was a friend of this podcast who taught us about a time in history and an experience that no school book has ever been allowed to publish.  She passed away in November of 2011 at the age of 84. This podcast features our first ever conversation, recorded in February 2006, about her life growing up, and what led her to become such an outspoken activist and deciated humanitarian.

Her Memoir – Weeds Don’t Perish

Newark Image: Designbydexterity / flickr

In the late 80′s and early 90′s, my parents built a studio in the basement of our home. This plywood and carpet creation would become the home for The Voice of Portugal, which proudly served the Portuguese of New Jersey for almost a decade. It was this very spot where I first spoke into a microphone as a child. 20 years later I’m standing on that same spot, recording a podcast update about this current journey in the United States, and the new projects I have launched this year.

I mention 2 new projects; 2 new weekly podcasts Im involved with:

Newz of the World - A weekly news review co-hosted with Tim Pritlove

United Academics Podcast – Interviews with Researchers from the World of Physical and Social Science

Image on long term loan from the China Daily

This week leaders of the African Union celebrated the completion of their state-of-the-art headquarters in Addis Ababa. A gift from China, built with Chinese money and Chinese Labor. Recently the Indian government completed work on the Ghanian State-House. Everywhere you turn on the continent of Africa, leaders continue to make deals and accept gifts that look like progress but in fact, as Chika Ezeanya explains it, is an insult and a crime against Africa. Through her work, writing and teaching, Chika reminds Africans and the entire world that the real tradition of this wonderful continent is not to hold out your hands and have someone build you a new headquarters, it is to work hard use your own skills and strength – that is the often ignored African Way.

Background Reading and more information; read Chika for Africa, the best out of Africans, for Africa!

Photo by The US Army / flickr

In 2011 the Republic of Honduras became the most dangerous country in the world. With the murder rate rising and wages plummeting, the miitary have now been granted extraordinary police powers. Multinational mining, agribusness, and textile corporations pay poverty wages while the government cooperates closely with the objectives of the US military. The result is what human rights observers like Gilda Batista have described as an unsustainable situation where something big is about to happen. From the streets of Tegucigalpa to the mines of the Siria Valley, something terrible is going on in Honduras, something the internaitonal headlines have been afraid to address.

To help better understand the situation on the ground and how things got this way, my guests on this podcast are:

• Gilda Batista, Human Rights Defender, Prosecutor - Refuge Without Limits
• Grahame Russell, Director – Rights Action

This podcast was co-produced by Jeremy Kryt, who's investigative work on Honduras can be read on In These Times

Yam Farming

When three friends set out on a journey through West Africa, they knew an unpredictable but potentially wonderful adventure awaited them.  And sure enough from Senegal through Mali, BurkinaFaso to Ghana and finally to Togo, they experienced the joy and witnessed the struggles of everyday life there.  As radio journalists and documentary film makers, they observed and reported, but some things even an interview can’t capture properly.

The following conversation was recorded in Berlin just a few days into the New Year. It features Steffi and Phillip, both independent media producers who just returned from Togo.  I asked them about their journey, including the stops en route to Togo, comparisons between countries, and how the experience matched or did not match their expectations and hopes for the journey. We also talk about a documentary about Togolese culture which they are also working on.

In this podcast I get the chance to sit down with Thomas at the Pressehaus in Berlin and to talk about his work, how he got started reporting about the military and where this work has taken him, both physically and mentally.  Besides a list of newspapers and magazines, you can also find his work on his blog, Augen Geradeaus (wordplay on the military command – EYES FRONT!), which is mostly in German with items for the English speakers as well.  Download, sync it, listen to the discussion, you’re sure to learn something new, just as I did.

Photo by Thomas Wagner / Flickr

Personal media empires aren’t a new concept, but with every year that goes by and every advancement that helps individuals produce original content- they rise.  Media commentators used to predict a media revolution or the collapse of traditional media institutions, but recent history shows us that it won’t exactly unfold that way.  Instead, personal media producers like Tim Pritlove are hard at work producing programs, exploring topics, engaging with audiences in ways that a big media outlet could only dream about.  In different parts of the world, using a magnificent range of styles and approaches, personal media empires are on the rise.

Beyond his many podcasts and online work, you can also follow him on twitter.

Victory! - Photo by SWPrishtina on flickr

Gent Thaçi is a rare bird in Kosovo, even he would admit it.  At 17 years old he devotes most of his energy to making Kosovo a better place, specifically through the cause of Free Software.  He knows not everyone understands and he is interested in engaging people, regardless of age or ethnic background, about what may very well help them in the workplace and at home in the already difficult reality for this struggling nation.

While sitting in a corner of an Albanian tavern Gent and I recorded this discussion, as I asked not only about what life is like for teenagers and young adults in Kosovo but also about relations between ethnic groups.  We manage to touch on the past, present, and foreseeable future when it comes to work, family, and conflict resolution.  Even when  Gent doesn’t know the answer to my various questions, he doesn’t pretend to know, but reminds us of what surely becomes clear- he is open and listening to anyone with a good idea.

After listening, you can also follow Gent on Twitter

Photo by SWPrishtina

Çelik Nimani is well aware of the difficulties his young country faces.  He is also well aware of the tremendous creativity and potential that can be found here as well as throughout the international Kosovar diaspora.  His goal is to help unleash that potential with a resounding call for everyone to get involved, take initiative, and be the change the nation needs to see.  He’s not just a business man, he’s an ideas guy who enjoys being inspired just as much as he himself inspires.

In this podcast we get into how to reach people in Kosovo, to motivate them, to wake up those who are in a depression or feeling powerless. We discuss resources and what this nation has to offer the world.  You would think being able to choose your country on a form would be a given, but thats not the case in Kosovo – we discuss this issue.  From education to entrepreneurs, this program takes the series on Kosovo to the next level, to where the mainstream media rarely invests the time and energy, and where you can hear the details of this immense challenge from the people who are living them everyday.

çelik Nimani on twitter

His LinkedIn profile