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.
It is often assumed that in order to be successful and realize your dreams you must go to university. Year after year people of all ages apply to institutions of higher education and go to great lengths to afford the high costs that come with such schools. Increasingly people are realizing that the costs to attend such schools far outweigh the benefits. Beyond that, with the dawn of interest networks online and the availability of information and instruction, there is a real opportunity to learn what you want to learn, without going back to school.
Kio Stark is a grad school dropout who loves to learn. As an author and inquisitive mind, her writing and research has brought her to the topic of informal learning. How does it work? what do different informal learners do to meet their goal and stay focused? These questions and more are part of a new book she has proposed to be published next year: “Don’t Go Back to School – A Handbook for Learning Anything.”
To make it even more interesting, Kio has put the proposal for the book up on kickstarter as a project which people can choose to support financially with the promise of being credited, receiving a copy of the book, and more. What is a refreshing new approach to education is matched by an innovative new approach to funding your work.
How did this project begin? What experiences has Kio had that led to her interest in learning outside of schools? These topics and more are explored in our podcast together. Give it a listen.
Support and Read more about Kio’s Project “Don’t Go Back to School” which has generated a fantastic outpouring of backers.
Unrecognized by many countries, unable to secure their borders, a struggling economy in a world already in crisis- the laundry list of problems that Kosovo faces can easily be called daunting. But in the face of so much adversity there are some exciting things happening and one source of excitement in Prishtina is the new media project called Kosovo 2.0.
I visited some of the talented people at K2.0 a few weeks ago during a brief visit this month. As a first time visitor, I had many questions about almost everything, from politics, to history, from education to entertainment. It may be a small place but it left a big impression on me.
In this podcast I sit down with the editor-in-chief of Kosovo 2.0, Besa Luci, a clear thinking journalistic mind who gave me the impression that no question was out bounds. I was also joined by deputy editor, journalist, and global wanderer Nate Tabak. Together as my two guests, they tackled all my sometimes elementary questions that many people around the world are also wondering – What is it like to be alternative press in such a troubled land, what is happening in Kosovo today and how does this special media outlet help make a better future?
He was podcasting before there was podcasting. Looking to the online conversations and connections between old and new media long before any media company understood what was going on. He’s a global citizen who has a talent for finding inspiring voices and teaching us about our world. His is a voice I hear in my head whenever I turn on a microphone or ask a question. Who better to talk about the past, present, and future of this thing we do on this website and beyond, than Christopher Lydon. He was there making podcasts long before anyone else back in 2002, when I starting recording my own program in 2004, his Radio Open Source was my constant companion as I made my way through my new life here in Amsterdam. In honor of my 400th we go back to the origins, back to the mindset that brought us this media revolution that is still unfolding. We’re not here to say its all great, nor are we here to declare it as disaster, but we are here to talk about what it has been like, what we see, and foresee, for ourselves as independent voices who make media, and for the bigger picture of us as citizens of this world.
Madge Weinstein is an internet celebrity, a culinary pioneer, and an extremely irritable elderly lesbian. Beyond all that, she is an inspiration to several generations of children around the world. After surviving many tragedies, including 3 Bush presidential terms and the current socio-political disaster that has gripped the United States, this podcasting diva has moved her life to Paris where she is sharing her talents with the people of France who already hate her.
A long time friend of citizenreporter.org, we went to visit her in her tiny Parisienne home where the water had suddenly been cut off. There we had the chance to ask her about her decision to leave the United States, the political and social reifications of that move, and her interest in the global occupy movement. The discussion spontaneously evolves into topics like dominance of mainstream media, the human centipede 2, and yeast.
Bank Transfer Day was this past weekend. Even now, people around the world are looking at their bank account thinking, maybe I dont want my money with these guys. What are the alternatives? Many will say “all banks are the same” as a way of justifying not doing anything. But what a little investigation can easily reveal is that not all banks are the same.
In the US much of the focus is on community banks and credit unions. In Europe, in the Netherlands for example, we have two small banks that are known for their dedication to transparency and sustainability. And now more then ever, as people flock to occupy more spaces to express their disgust and frustration with the global financial system, there is great interest in expressing your dissent by moving money from the big banks to the small sustainable banks.
My guest is James Vacarro, head of Investment Banking for Triodos UK. If you’ve never heard of Triodos or perhaps you’ve only heard a few things about Triodos, give this program a listen. James and I talk about where we stand in this world when it comes to banks, the real impact if moving money, and how the occupy movement is actually very relevant when it comes to pressuring banks and creating initiatives like sustainable banks. For those who have been asking what impact the occupy movement could possibly have on the financial sector- this podcast will give you an answer.
He was podcasting before there was podcasting. Looking to the online conversations and connections between old and new media long before any media company understood what was going on. He’s a global citizen who has a talent for finding inspiring voices and teaching us about our world. His is a voice I hear in my head whenever I turn on a microphone or ask a question. Who better to talk about the past, present, and future of this thing we do on this website and beyond, than Christopher Lydon. He was there making podcasts long before anyone else back in 2002, when I starting recording my own program in 2004, his 
Madge Weinstein is an internet celebrity, a culinary pioneer, and an extremely irritable elderly lesbian. Beyond all that, she is an inspiration to several generations of children around the world. After surviving many tragedies, including 3 Bush presidential terms and the current socio-political disaster that has gripped the United States, this podcasting diva has moved her life to Paris where she is sharing her talents with the people of France who already hate her.