Borderscapes

My podcast episode is an audiobook. Adapted from Edgar Allan Poe's darkly styled Gothic terrorism writings. Serving audiences with fragmented time and visually impaired persons. Based on The Fall of the House of Usher. The original work is a first-person narration, so it needs to be adapted into the form of the host, the protagonist, and the supporting characters reading their lines separately, and the sound effects added later. The Fall of the House of Usher is the work of Edgar Allan Poe, a famous American horror novelist in the first half of the last century. The work is profound and very literary, and I'm going to turn it into a podcast-worthy novel. The Fall of Usher is the work of the famous American horror novelist Edgar Allan Poe in the first half of the last century. The work is profound and literary, and I'm going to turn it into a podcast-friendly novel. There will also be changes in the plot, as the voice actor character needs to be given the opportunity to speak. This work aims to break the boundaries between hearing and seeing, and if only sighted people can enjoy great Halloween stories and literature, the world is too bad for blind people!

LION is just another animal until and unless he leaves his den, explores, gauges and hunts for survival it is called the king of the jungle. Quite similarly, students cross borders and dare to paint outside the lines. When students take this step to pursue higher education from a different country, economically and technologically superior, to enhance one's experience and explore a different education, lifestyle and cultural paradigm. One of the leading reasons is, they want more exposure into the subject of interest and learn it in a practical more applicative manner so that it can be useful and fruitful in real life, while adapting to cultural and lifestyle changes, such is the situation of many students who cross borders, not only geographically but in terms of education, culture and lifestyle also. I bring you my discussion with a few of them sharing experiences of our border escapes.

According to the Henley Passport Index, Japan and Singapore top the list of countries with strong passports on the global ranking. What this means is that; Japanese, British, Americans, Canadians and host of others with strong passports have visa-free access to most countries of the world. For most of African and South Asian countries, reverse is the case, their passports are classified as weak, this has over the years resulted into difficult immigration procedures for people of African and some of Asian origins. What is the rationale for the global classification of passports that created these disparities among countries of the world? Finding answers to these questions is the motivation for my podcast episode, UNEVEN BORDERS. I aim to seek these answers in a most objective manner in this episode. Through personal immigration experiences of Pooja, an international student from Indian at university of Sussex, I aim to have resourceful discussions on border issues and global passports classification as its affect the right to free movement of certain nationalities of the world.

Being a mum brings boundless joy, and words alone cannot express the feeling of motherhood. However, parenting comes with lots of sacrifices and total responsibility. Sadly, in various parts of the world, the parental ability of women with disabilities have constantly been doubted, worse still, some have their parental rights terminated. Should they be denied the joy of motherhood on the account of their disabilities? Joining me in this episode of Borderscapes, is Kristen, a blind mum of three. Kristen looked forward to motherhood right from childhood, which explained her love for dolls. When it was time to become a mum, something struck her mind; would her baby not be taken from her on the account of her disability? How did she convince the welfare services of her ability to parent a child? Stay tuned to find out how Kristen crosses the border of parenting with her disability.

Have you ever wondered about the different ways people learn? What is the impact on children and young people learning in a traditional classroom when that may not be how they learn best? On this episode we speak to Carlo, who for as long as he remembers has disliked school. He loses focus when he's in the classroom, can't concentrate and feels like he doesn't connect with any subjects, despite being in his final year of A-Levels. He's now on the cusp of leaving his school days behind him and we reflect on his school experience. We also speak to Dr Poppy Gibson, a senior university lecturer in education, who has carried out considerable research in education, how the curriculum effects children and how to inspire teachers to teach creatively. She explains what could be happening and helps us to understand the borders of the different ways we learn. Is it time for the curriculum to change in the UK?

You and everyone around you has played a role in maintaining white supremacy. Whether this is from the perspective of a victim or the perpetrator, both consciously and unconsciously. The insidious effects of white supremacy continue to affect our society from progressing and causing harmful damage to minority groups. So I want to talk about how you can be more aware about your actions in order to challenge these subtle forms of racism. This isn't about attacking people who hold white privilege, rather this is about addressing and considering how you can be a greater ally to the people of colour around you and end the power imbalances. I discuss personal experiences, academic literature, popular news and useful resources on how you can go from non-racist to anti-racist. It's not just minorities problem to fix this, all of us need to fight against racism.

All people belong to a border – a nationality, a citizenship, an identity. The process of being contained with a likeminded community impacts us all, on a local and national level. However, there are moments where borders feel invisible, that one belongs to no borders at well. Those who hold a second-generation identity, namely those who hold citizenships in both an Eastern and Western context, often find themselves torn between home and… home. The process of belonging is often tainted by clashing cultural values and skin color, causing a disconnect from feeling fully a part of either nationality. So, what does it mean for those who live in these circumstances of feeling culturally disassociated – to feel isolated from a border within a border - and the fragility of their mental health? Join me as I discuss my own transitions through life discovering continuous identity crisis as a BIPOC woman growing up in Ottawa, Canada and how that has impacted identity trauma within my day-to-day experiences. With commentary from expert Maya Phansalker, a psychotherapist working with many second-generation people, and Salma Tihani, a Canadian Moroccan woman living in Montreal, Canada and one of my childhood best friends. Listen as we embark on a journey of solutions, healing, and science; looking into the struggle of holding a second-generation identity.

Motherhood crossing borders' is a journey of two women who were standing on a threshold a year back. Prisca from Zambia returned to college after a gap of more than 15 years. But she had a lot at stake; her family, her husband, the society, and her two young children who didn't really understand why their mother wanted to leave them and travel thousands of miles to a different continent. Not very far in Uganda was Sylvia who was passionately working on her big dream. Standing at the hospital reception with her three-day old daughter, she had to decide whether to go ahead with her dream of coming to the UK or stay back with her new-born. So, will Sylvia submit her application or will she have to wait for another 15 years, just like Prisca? In this episode, I will follow the journeys of Prisca and Sylvia, and discuss patriarchal social norms which mothers and women often have to navigate through and resist to achieve their dreams. This podcast is about taking difficult decisions, challenging gender stereotypes, and breaking patriarchal barriers.

This is a podcast which takes the interview format of production to reshape the stereotype views of the able-bodied dominated society in which we live - that focuses on the medical model of impairment rather than the social model of disability. In this episode, Akin and Stephen explore the world of 'Artificial Intelligence (AI) to cross the border of impairment.

This episode is highly recommended for your listening pleasure as it exposes the unimaginable that you could have never thought that a person with disability, especially a blind or visually impaired individual can do. Kindly sit back, grab a cup of coffee, tea, akamo, zobo, fura de nunu or any form of drink that makes you feel good and embark on a trip with Stephen and my humble self, Akin, on how disabled people cross the border of impairment on the wheels of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Enjoy!

By Akinshola Famakin