Citizen Reporter

Before the city of Maastricht chose to pursue marijuana prohibition policies they first asked a team of researchers to examine what impact it would have. The researchers found that the proposed “membership” system for coffeeshops, which included banning all non-residents from going into establishments, would have disastrous effects on the cities public safety, health, and economic situation.  In response, the government demanded new research with results that would support their new mission to shut down marijuana cafe’s that have existed since the 1990’s.   Today there are a several municipalities that have adopted this prohibition policy that is scheduled to go national by January 2013, and the results are already being felt. Nicole Maalsté is a researcher from Tilburg University who has been examining the issue of drug policy and coffeeshops in the Netherlands over the course of several decades. She joins me on today’s podcast to explain what her work has revealed and just how the relationship between politics and research has led to a startling reality on the street level.

When social media rose up from what were thought to be the ashes of traditional media, there were high hopes for the new world that was to come. And as world events continue to unfold and these seemingly open forums continue to grow in importance, alot of old habits and trends continue to appear. What once was known as the 24 news cycle has not disappeared, but rather, it has spawned the world of trending topics and viral media.

What has this new media ecology meant for independent voices bringing original content about topics that have a significant influence on human well being around the world? Today on the podcast I lay down the framework for how the news cycle of the 80’s and 90’s, translates to the trending topics of 2012.

I’ll be speaking on this topic at Campus Party Berlin on August 25th.

An African Election is a film that documents the struggle and achievements of the 2008 Ghanian elections.  4 years later, with the death President Atta Mills, the country is preparing to go back to the ballot box. And they’re not alone, throughout the continent of Africa, the wheels of democracy continue to turn, often in places you hear the least about in the international press.  Film maker Jarreth Merz is fascinated and inspired by the shining examples of Africa, and in their stories he see’s a chance to inspire, the spark that can light a fire and get new discussions started, large and small.  To do it, he’s putting together a mobile movie theater and bringing it all over Ghana and beyond. But he’s not doing it alone, besides his talented team, he’s putting out the call to people around the world who love democracy, Africa, aventure, and stories.. to get involved and get on board – it is time for A Political Safari.

Unlike the simple and unmistakable yellow fruit on your kitchen table, the banana industry has a complex and troubled story. And as the global banana faces its greatest crisis ever, one might wonder- how did we get this banana, and how did the industry get to such a breaking point? Writer and journalist Dan Koeppel has been researching and tracking the world of bananas for several years and has information that most of the banana eating public has never heard. He joins me on today’s podcast as we discuss the history, the science, the politics and the future of the mighty banana.

Get the Banana Book

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When it comes to drug policy and coffeeshops in the Netherlands, we rarely hear the voices of those who work behind the counter and see how things work (or don’t work).  Nel has lived and worked in the coffeeshop world for over 5 years and in that time he has seen the daily routine of the cannabis industry and the politics that revolve around it. What he knows is not the political theater that so often gets reported on in the media, his story is the reality that somehow does not always trump the growing list of myths that surround cannabis in the Netherlands.

Stichting Drugsbeleid

The Global Commission on Drugs

In the post-Arab spring/occupy world we’ve seen a call to action for more tools to help acitivists do what they do.  We’ve also seen a hodge-podge of tools being rolled out and touted as just what activists need. But security minded observers are not impressed. In fact, in some cases, they’re horrified. In this podcast, which is plagued by a previously undetected Berlin wind, Eleanor Saitta sits down with me to go over the aspects of security and ethics that everyone involved should keep in mind as we develop and implement communication strategies for organizations and activists around the world.

Global Voices Online has come a long way since the days of being all about blogs from around the world. Just as the technology for publishing online and having conversations about issues that effect our lives has evolved, so too has this international project dedicated to multi-lingual, multi-cultural, grassroots reporting.  In 2012 GVO are into more than just providing a place for translation and reporting, they’ve moved into specialized projects relating to advocacy, socio-cultural projects and protecting citizen journalists around the world. At this year’s Re:publica12 conference, I had a chance to finally sit down with Ivan Sigal, executive director of Global Voices Online, and we spoke about these new frontiers and how he sees where we are today as global citizens of many languages examining the world around us.