Remembering a Friend: RIP Atul Chitnis
Many years ago I attended my first hacker conference in Berlin, an experience that would forever change the course of my life. During those beautiful days I met many inspiring new friends and acquaintances who’s…
Kurt Bassuener: Bosnia 101
Podcast: Download (Duration: 42:00 — 28.9MB) | Embed “People here are a whole lot more rational than they give themselves credit for. They all think they are more moderate than the norm; they don’t realize…
Ahmad and Karam: A Syrian Message for the World
Podcast: Download (Duration: 41:53 — 28.8MB) | Embed In 2011 Ahmad and Karam, two university students from Deir ez-Zor took to the streets as part of the mass protest movement demanding an end to the…
Syria Comes Closer
I have been silent over the past 2 weeks, trying to process a recent journey and an experience that had a profound impact on me. Although it would seem there are several ways to tell…
Marcela Olivera: After the Water Wars
Podcast: Download (Duration: 28:45 — 19.8MB) | Embed The year was 2000 and on the streets of Cochabamba, Bolivia, people marched and demonstrated against the privatization of their water. In what became known as the…
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Forgotten Schools, Limited Vision
While spending some days in Portugal this month I got to enjoy the beauty of spring in the small agricultural villages of my ancestors. Places where social and economic life has slowed down over the past few decades, as tens of thousands emigrate in search…
Making Private Water Public Again
Podcast: Download (Duration: 27:24 — 18.9MB) | Embed Has your water utility been privatized in the past decade? Are today’s water companies really investing in infrastructure and improvements? How much democracy is there in your water bill? If any of these questions sound familiar, you…
Why I Talk to Jehovah’s Witnesses
Years ago, when I finally put my last name on the front door bell of my home in Amsterdam, I began getting visits from Jehovah’s witnesses. Not just any run-of-the-mill witness, but Portuguese and Brazilians who noticed my last name and figured – here’s a…
Lizz Winstead: Political Windsurfing While Droning Your Neighbor
Podcast: Download (Duration: 35:00 — 24.1MB) | Embed You can’t windsurf, because that would be elitist. But, if you’re the American president, you can drive around your ranch in a golf cart shooting guns, because people can relate to that. As comedian and writer Lizz…