During the road trip through the gulf coast, I spent some time with a lovely couple who live in Long Beach, Mississippi. Hurricane Katrina not only destroyed their home, it also erased their entire neighborhood, devastating their community. However after the storm they faced another reckless force.. the insurance companies. This is their story.
We Discuss:
– The day after the storm
– First observations, steps
– What kind of help was available
– The effects on the community
– Finding a place to stay
– Hurricane coverage and the fine print
– Strategy of insurance companies
– FEMA and their trailers
– The case
– The future for the community
– rebuilding or not rebuilding
An article about the case
Somewhere in the upper ninth ward, amidst the destruction and abandonment, there are 400 volunteers occupying a school. Everyday they fan out into the city and take on a task that most would not have the courage for. In this podcast, I speak to a few of those volunteers.
Common Ground Collective (read their site and consider going there yourself)
Topics include:
– Where different students are from
– How does the collective work
– What kind of work do they do, how many hours
– Where does funding, tools, etc come from.
– How does the community receive them
– What has happened to the ninth ward
– Where are the residents
– Awareness outside the gulf coast
– Concern on college campuses
– Other organizations involved
When you first hear that a fire has been burning beneath a town since the 60’s, it is hard to imagine. It would be even harder to live in that town, to see things destroyed or simply disappear. But that is just what has happened in Centralia, Pennsylvania and those fires are still burning. But not everyone is gone and beyond that.. people have become interested in Centralia, what happened and what lessons can be learned. My guest today is Georgie Roland, one of the directors of the new documentary about Centralia “The Town That Was”.
We Discuss:
– How Georgie first decided to focus on centralia
– His visits to Centralia
– The story of how the fires started
– What happenned to the community
– The remaining residents
– The possible scenarios for the future
– How people live
– Lessons for the future
– Eminent Domain
(and more, so listen to the program!)
Centralia on Wikipedia
I spoke about a message board, but I don’t have the link so nevermind.
Packing my bags and leaving for the US and A in a few hours. Therefore, Im reusing and revisiting a show from 2005. A topic that I wish to see in every school and in every history book. Enjoy and I’ll speak to you from New Jersey.
You can search for the entire documentary on archive.org, search for the name Century of the Self.
Thats all, time to travel.
The president of Guinea has ruled this west african nation for over 20 years. Under his rule the nation has become one of the world’s poorest and more corrupt. But recently the people have taken to the streets and declared a general strike, making demands of this president who previously seemed to answer to no one. What is really going on in Guinea and why… Pauline Bax, my friend and a journalist based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast joins us to explain.
Her Blog: West Africa Wins Always
We Discuss:
-The last month in Guinea
-The strikes
– Lansana Conté, what should we know about him
-Where the country gets income
– Working as a journalist in Guinea
– Mining and mining companies
– Who Benefits from the present situation
– Plenty more, download the show.
The European Union has a parliament which has two homes, Brussels and Strasbourg. When weighing all the resources required and practical costs for maintaining this tradition, many have called into question why there isn’t one European Parliament. My guest today is Anders Ekberg, a key player in the OneSeat.eu campaign and part of the Liberal Party of Sweden, he explains the history of the campaign and we discuss the details.
We Discuss:
– How the Parliament juggles the two places
– The history of the situation
– Luxembourg, the third seat.
– Who pays for what
– The process
– France
– What to do with Strasbourg
– The campaign and its future