Matthew Dons: Reflections on Remaining Alive

avatar
Mark Fonseca Rendeiro
In Amsterdam
avatar
Matthew Dons
In Tokyo

Matthew Dons was told five years ago that he had less than one year to live. 5 years later, he is still living with terminal cancer. The struggle has not gotten easier yet at the same time Matthew has gained a wealth of knowledge about health care costs, cancer treatment options, humanity and I would argue… life itself.
Today on the program, recorded some weeks before his major surgery he is struggling to recover from currently, we talk about these past 5 years, and we also discuss the recent loss of the great Dan Kaminsky. In between there is podcasting, media, information, friendships and well.. the stuff life is made of. Listen in and enjoy.

Go to MatthewDons.org and donate to help him stay alive!

Budhaditya Chattopadhyay: Places Sound Takes You

avatar
Mark Fonseca Rendeiro
in Amsterdam
avatar
Budhaditya Chattopadhyay
in the Hague

Picture it: You meet someone new who introduces themselves to you. You proceed to start a conversation, but you notice this person’s voice sounds exactly like that of a childhood friend. In that moment, although you’re supposed to be listening to the conversation, you’re also thinking back to those days and that person. You’re there but you’re somewhere else.

Budhaditya Chattopadhyay is very interested in the “somewhere else” that sound can take us to. As an artist, researcher, writer and theorist, Budhaditya’s work revolves around lived experiences as well as contemplation through listening.


In today’s podcast I get to ask him about his life, work, and the kinds of sounds that most fascinate him, particularly during a pandemic when people are moving less and perhaps noticing one another more. Along the way we do something I love to do… remember music and films.

Madge Weinstein: Cancelled Friendships and Thus and So

avatar
Mark Fonseca Rendeiro
In Amsterdam
avatar
Madge Weinstein
Calling from Chicago

Legendary podcaster and esteemed political commentator Madge Weinstein returns to the program to update the gentle audience on what life is like when there are vaccines for covid but people somehow still manage to make each other sick.

Yeast Radio is my favorite podcast.

Eat This Hot Show may have ended.

Pod Save The Queens in about “The Crown”

538 isn’t really related but Madge mentioned them.

Bilal Ghalib: Building Deeper Relationships

avatar
Mark Fonseca Rendeiro
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
avatar
Bilal Ghalib
Paris, France

Beyond the loss, the distance, and the isolation brought on by the global pandemic, Bilal Ghalib has found creative and effective ways to keep learning; about himself, his loved ones, and humans in general. He also has never stopped experimenting with ways of connecting with people or tapping into his own talents and fears.
Today on the podcast, we spend the hour speaking with Bilal about his reflections over the past year, what he has figured out and what he struggles with. We tackle history and the parts of our past that are difficult to talk about or make sense of. We speak of family and the complication of distance when being the outsider /foreigner becomes a way of life. We also manage to discuss what gaming means to us, so far, with limited experience.

Bilal is a very special person who has appeared on this podcast numerous times over these past two decades, and Im very thankfully to have had this time together and to be able to share it with you the listeners.

Bilal‘s website

Beit Al Atlas

Meaning.Supplies

David Brightbill: Floridians Behaving Badly and other Vaccine Stories

avatar
Mark Fonseca Rendeiro
in Amsterdam
avatar
Dave Brightbill
in Tallahassee

When the global pandemic broke out, David Brightbill was struggling to make it home to his cooperative community in Florida. In the months that followed he faced a personal health scare and became aware of the shortages of PPE among first responders in his region and across the country.

Now over a year into the pandemic, he is part of a network of maker spaces that rose to the occasion – providing that much needed equipment. He has also navigated, like so many senior citizens, the new world of vaccines and testing.

Today on the podcast we dive into supermarkets as healthcare centres, governors who do terrible things, masks and the noses that stick out over them.. and much more. Davey is a longtime friend and a unique human being that it brings me great joy to talk to. Tune in to hear it all.

Madhavan Pillai: Decolonizing Photography in India

avatar
Mark Fonseca Rendeiro
in Amsterdam
avatar
Madhavan Pillai
in Ooty

Back in the winter of 2016, Madhavan Pillai welcomed me with open arms and warm conversations in the mountainous tranquility of Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India. He was new to the city and we talked about the kinds of projects in art and photography that he hoped to make a reality for the community.

4 years later, Maddy’s creativity and commitment is as contageous as ever.

Today on the podcast, Madhavan Pillai speaks about his experiences over these past years, and his current project called “People of India”, a project that brings together artists from around the nation, as part of the ongoing effort to decolonize photography in India.


Listen and enjoy!

Gallery One Two

People of India (Book)

Maddy Works (blog)