Special thanks to Jim, Cecilia, Shailoh, and Alice who read in this particular recording. As well as Pete, Carly, Tess, and Sarah who read in the first half that is not featured in this recording.

videos of the event available on youtube.com

Photo by fickr user: Rowens27

During his presidency GW Bush spoke openly about a return to building nuclear powerplants in the US. Now, president Obama says he’s going forward with those plans, calling Nuclear Power a clean solution for America. However despite the pro-nuclear policies of both presidents, projects are costing double and triple their original budget, designs and plans are full of problems and delays, and the question of how to handle extremely dangerous nuclear waste still has no answer.

My guest on this program is Kate Sheppard, a journalist who rights about politics and the environment for Mother Jones Magazine in Washington, DC. She joins me to talk about whats happening with the Obama administration’s nuclear plans and who is benefiting from all this. Her article “Obama’s Nuclear Giveaway” is available now on motherjones.com. You can also follow her on twitter.

My guest is communications consultant, videoblogger, world citizen Jeffrey Taylor who joins me on the program from San Francisco. In this podcast he helps explain what this trial means, what both sides are doing in court, what could happen depending on the outcome, and all other aspects of the trial. We also get into the difference between fighting a battle for equal rights through the ballot box versus doing it in the courts and in the legislature.

Those wanting more info about the trial can follow NCLR or Jeffrey on twitter

Also his blog The Accidental Activist or the Prop 8 Trial Tracker are good places to read and follow deeper links.

We cover:

• The Earthquake in Haiti
• Google and China
• Laws against Homosexuality in Uganda
• Ukrainian Elections
• Fast Food tax in Romania
• Copyright law changes in India
• Public data portals online in Scandinavia, UK, US and beyond.

Please don’t bother commenting about the audio problems, I’ve listened many times and I know where its bad, Im working on this issue, but its a new program, so this will take time to get right.

To hear Tim’s work, you can listen (in German) to Chaos Radio Express or simply type his name into the search box in itunes.

In this podcast I take you along on a night patrol with pack #2. Along the way you’ll hear stories, some serious, some not so serious, but each from a different volunteer with a unique connection to the city of Newark.  You will also hear from Cory himself, as he prepares us all before we hit the streets, and later on when he and I had a chance to talk about this initiative and how it has been received by the city.

Beyond listening to this interview, I highly recommend this interview which appeared in Guernica Magazine.

He does what?

When you sit across from Lewis Gordon Pugh for just a few minutes, you understand why immediately.  You also understand you’re in the presence of someone who puts his entire life on the line for a global problem he is passionate about tackling.

Lewis’s concern about climate change and the urgent need to do something about it take him beyond the freezing waters of the arctic, as he explains in this interview, he is also concerned for the rapidly melting ice in the Himalayas, water that 1/5 of the world’s population lives on.  Thus setting the stage for his next swim, a lake formed from a melting glacier on Mount Everest.

If you enjoyed this interview and want to learn more about Lewis’ work, visit his website. I highly recommend seeing the video of his arctic swim.

Recently it was the University of Fine Arts in Vienna that tried to make this move. But unlike many Universities where students might have disagreed, protested, and eventually gave up the fight – students in Austria have taken matters into their own hands; They have occupied their school. Highy organized, their occupation is now more than 24 days old and has spread beyond the borders of Autria into Germany and other neighboring countries.

My friend and uni student Marty joins me on this podcast from Vienna, to explain how this all started, how the occupation works, what the demands are, and what we can expect in the coming days and weeks.

Check out the website where you can find links to every aspect of the student protests and occupations.

My guest is Azeri blogger Ali Novruzov, a friend of both Emin and Adnan who was among the first to hear what had happened. He has written and continues to write about their case and joins me in this podcast to discuss this issue.

From Breda, to the national level, to the European Court of Justice, Selçuk and I discuss drug policy in the Netherlands and just which way the political and social wind is blowing.

As part of a running series of podcasts on the Reality of Drug Policy in the Netherlands, I begin with this program featuring a conversation with Freek Polak of the Netherlands Drug Policy Foundation.

During the program Freek mentions this video of his face-off with the Executive Director of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime.

His blog Forrest for the Trees on the Texas Observer site

We mention the Texas National Movement

Forrest’s video of a recent demonstration

My guest today is Catherine Barufaldi of the Explore Charter School in Brooklyn, NY. For just over 2 years now she has worked at a successful charter school and has a lot to say about what sets her school apart from traditional public school.  In this program she talks about her experience while also explaining what exactly is a charter school and what do they mean for the future of education in the US.

Useful links:

The Article: Spin the Bottle

Response from Fiji’s PR person and other followup info

Details about the holding company (Roll International) that owns Fiji Water

Fiji suspended from Commonwealth

Anna also mention’s the BBC’s programming about Bottled Water