Throughout the world, television is still a constant companion for millions, if not billions, of people. Yet in the age of the internets and iphones, there seems to be little discussion in the media about the significant effects TV has on the human brain and creativity in general.
Mitch Altman likes to be provocative and he loves tricking people into choosing to do that which they actually WANT to do versus what television or groups of people tell them to do. His invention, the TV-B-Gone has become a global phenomenon, and in this podcast we talk about why the television could and should be turned off, and how brain waves work. We also get into the effects of television on children, the importance of meditation, and much more.
Lots of governments and supranational organizations like the UN have websites, yet few are really understandable or usable for the average person. At the 24C3 in Berlin this past weekend, I sat down with Julian from undemocracy.com . His work has helped create a place on the internet where anyone can search, link, and read about who said what at the United Nations, in order to better understand what our nations are doing on the international level.
We Discuss:
- The problems with the regular UN website
- Documents, votes, statements
- Searchability, linkability
- What was necessary to create undemocracy.com
- connections with wikipedia
- His UK parliamentary project, http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/
- NExt steps
- Appeal to the public
Should journalists and activists who seek change in the world inform the public and expect action? Or should they be launching campaigns complete with talking points and strategy? This podcast features a special extended interview with my friend John Aravosis of Americablog.com and it focuses on how you can change a country and at what cost such change can occur.
We Discuss:
- Informing the public versus manipulating the public
- The tactics of US conservatives
- The lack of tactics from US liberals
- Global Warming
- Human Rights in China
- Playing on emotion
- Passing laws versus changing culture
- Holidays and Consumerism
My guest on this particular podcast is one of my closest friends on this earth – Leah. It just so happens that she also works at a women’s center in Philadelphia where women can have abortions. This podcast is about her experience working day-to-day, and what it is like both inside and outside the type of place that is so controversial for some Americans. We recorded this during my recent visit to Philadelphia, and (I confess) I was very honored to have such a candid and educational interview with such a special friend.
We Discuss:
- The Womens Center
- Legal questions related to abortion in the state of pennsylvania
- Type of People
- The people outside the center
- Other types of Places
- Abortion in Holland
- Private versus Public centers
- Violence and intimidation against women
- Lake of Fire
Not all labor struggles get the news coverage that the writers get. While in Hollywood they fight their battle, in West Virginia and Kentucky nurses have also been on strike. My guest on today’s podcast is Richard Negri, a journalist and labor activist; the person behind unionreview.com
We discuss:
- How the strike began
- Who is involved
- The situation on the ground
- Violence against union members
- Public opinion
- The big picture
- Decline of Labor versus Rise of Unions
- The use of new media t cover labor issues
I’ve heard him reffered to as the man who saved the bagel. Al Appleton, who helped save NYC water system in the 1990’s, sat down with me during the TBLI conference in Paris last month. This is his story.
We Discuss:
- The crisis of the 90’s
- How he got the job
- A unique way to conserve
- The result
- Wetlands near JFK airport
- Other conservation projects
- New Orleans
- Big Corporations and their behavior
- The future