The latest on Iran: nationwide communications blackout deepens

Iranian authorities imposed an unprecedented communications blackout as protests spread nationwide. The internet monitoring group NetBlocks shows that connectivity remains at around one percent of normal levels, with mobile data, phone calls, text messages and fixed-line services all heavily disrupted. Digital rights groups say the scale of the shutdown goes far beyond previous internet blackouts used during unrest. Amir Rashidi, Director of Internet Security and Digital Rights at the NGO, the Miaan Group and Felicia Anthonio, Access Now’s #KeepItOn Global Campaign Manager explain how the shutdown is being enforced and what it means for people inside Iran.

How AgriTech Is Cutting Food Waste: Tracking Produce from Farm to Table

Up to 50% of fresh produce is lost before it ever reaches our plates - often because critical information disappears after harvest. In this episode we speak with Kacper Dach, Co-Founder of Agrocontracts, about how digital tracking, QR codes, and RFID technology are helping farmers and distributors trace produce from field to table. We explore how small data mistakes can lead to massive food waste, why agriculture needs better tech infrastructure, and how smarter supply chains can reduce losses, costs, and environmental impact worldwide.

The programme was presented by Ania Lichtarowicz.

SUBSCRIBE HERE: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/

Production manager: Liz Tuohy

Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz

Somewhere on Earth Productions UK Ltd. We’re a UK based production company creating podcasts and branded content that bring stories, places and people into focus. We’re all ex-BBC so the quality of the content is excellent and quality of the sound is amazing.

🎥 Learn more about what we do:

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Could AI Chatbots Influence Elections?

Could a chatbot change the way you vote? In this episode, DPhil candidate Kobi Hackenburg from the Oxford Internet Institute explains how AI is already capable of persuading people on political issues. From short, personalised conversations to fact-packed arguments, these systems can shift opinions in minutes - and the effects can last for weeks. We explore the implications for democracy, elections, and what it means when machines can influence minds as effectively as human campaigners.

Protect Your Digital Life After You’re Gone

What happens to your digital life after you die? Pawel Soproniuk, CEO of Legacy App, joins us to discuss how digital assets — from bank accounts and investments to insurance policies - are often left inaccessible to loved ones. Legacy App provides a secure, encrypted way to map out your digital estate, ensuring that the right people inherit what you leave behind. This conversation highlights why planning your digital legacy is becoming as essential as writing a will.

The programme is presented by Ania Lichtarowicz.

SUBSCRIBE FOR THE PODEXTRA HERE: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/

Production manager: Liz Tuohy

Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz

Somewhere on Earth Productions UK Ltd. We’re a UK based production company creating podcasts and branded content that bring stories, places and people into focus. We’re all ex-BBC so the quality of the content is excellent and quality of the sound is amazing.

🎥 Learn more about what we do:

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🔐AI, Ransomware, and the Collapse of Digital Trust

Cyber threats in 2025 have escalated fast.  AI is now industrializing cybercrime.Deep-fake fraud, targeted phishing, and automated ransomware have driven a 50% surge in attacks. The consequences are no longer digital. Hospitals have shut down. Factories have stopped.Critical infrastructure is being quietly pre-positioned for future disruption.This episode explains why cyber risk is now a safety and leadership issue — not just an IT problem.

♻️ E-Waste & Critical MaterialsThe $91 Billion Urban Mine Hiding in Plain Sight

The world needs materials for EVs, clean energy, and AI. But they’re already in our homes. Old phones and laptops contain $91 billion in critical raw materials every year.Nearly half of it is never recycled.Instead, e-waste flows into informal, toxic systems that damage health and fuel illegal trade. We follow that global pipeline.We explore the fight to formalize recycling, the legal battle in India, and why e-waste has become a strategic resource.

This programme was created by Google Notebook LM but overseen by a human.

The PodExtra

🔒Who Controls the Future of Technology? 

The Hidden Power War Over AI, Chips, and Global StandardsThe world’s most important power struggle isn’t happening on battlefields - it’s happening inside chip factories, standards committees, and AI supply chains. As the U.S., China, and the EU abandon free-market tech and move toward state control, a new global order is quietly taking shape. This episode reveals how export controls, semiconductor choke points, and technical standards are being weaponized - and why the era of “neutral technology” is over. Understanding this shift is essential to understanding who will shape the next century.

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Production manager: Liz Tuohy

Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz

Somewhere on Earth Productions UK Ltd. 

We’re a UK based production company creating podcasts and branded content that bring stories, places and people into focus.We’re all ex-BBC so the quality of the content is excellent and quality of the sound is amazing.

🎥 Learn more about what we do: 

➡️ Official Website: https://somewhereonearth.co/ 

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How AI Is Targeting Malaria at Its Source

Drones, AI and a radically targeted approach to malaria prevention - this week Ania speaks with Mary Yeboah Ansawa from Ghana’s Sora Technology about locating larvae-filled puddles before mosquitoes grow up to bite. From cutting pesticide use to saving field teams days of work, we dive into how this tech could reshape malaria control across Africa.

India’s TB Breakthrough—And a Privacy StormBack in Mumbai

Chavi Sajdev updates us on new TB diagnostics that swap messy sputum tests for simple oral swabs—faster, safer and far more accessible. Then: why India’s plan to preload every new phone with a government cyber-security app sparked a nationwide backlash and pushback from major tech companies.Somewhere on Earth - voices from Ghana to India, innovation to controversy - all in one episode.

The programme is presented by Ania Lichtarowicz.

Production manager: Liz Tuohy

Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz

🌍 Somewhere on Earth Productions UK. We’re a UK based production company creating podcasts and branded content that bring stories, places and people into focus.

We’re all ex-BBC so the quality of the content is excellent and quality of the sound is amazing.

🎥 Learn more about what we do:

➡️ Official Website: https://somewhereonearth.co/

📩 Contact us or book a project: [email protected]

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This week on Somewhere on Earth, we explore two groundbreaking ideas: taking back control of your online creativity and transforming fast-fashion waste with the power of fungi.

1️⃣ Rebuilding a Human Internet

Rabble (Evan Henshaw-Plath), Co-creator of Nostr Divine Rabble, Twitter’s first engineer, unveils Divine - a new six-second video platform that rejects algorithms, bans AI-generated slop, and returns ownership of old content to creators. Built on open social protocols, Divine aims to restore a human, interoperable, user-driven internet.

2️⃣ Mushrooms vs. Fast Fashion

Tomasz Mierzwa, Co-founder of Myco Renew is on the show to explain how their fungal bioreactors can break down textiles - even polyester - in weeks and turn the leftovers into eco-bricks and new biomaterials. With 92 million tons of clothes thrown out yearly, this fungi-powered circular model could help clean up landfills from Poland to Ghana.

🎙️ Presented by: Ania Lichtarowicz

👩‍💻 Production Manager: Liz Tuohy

🎬 Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz

🌍 Somewhere on Earth Productions UK: We’re a UK-based production company creating podcasts and branded content that bring stories, places and people into focus. We’re all ex-BBC so the quality of the content is excellent and quality of the sound is amazing.

🎥 Learn more about what we do:

➡️ Official Website: https://somewhereonearth.co/

📩 Contact us or book a project: [email protected]

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1️⃣ Clean, Green Ethical AI

At Web Summit Lisbon, Janet Adams of SingularityNET and the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance explains how truly ethical, climate-friendly AI is becoming in reality. With renewable-powered data centres, AI-optimised green batteries and decentralized computing via Kudos, the upcoming Cocoon AI puts users back in control of their data. Janet also unveils ASI Chain, a scalable new blockchain built to bank the unbanked and drive global financial inclusion.

2️⃣ Buying Shares of the Amazon Rainforest and nature’s first AI

Olga Sytnyk, founder of Awaken, is preparing to launch the world’s first digital shares of the Amazon rainforest, letting people co-own and profit from preserved nature. Powered by AI, blockchain, 1,500+ ecosystem sensors, NVIDIA-backed digital twins and environmental DNA analysis, Awaken transforms living forests into sustainable, revenue-generating climate assets - where the healthier the rainforest, the higher the return.

The programme is presented by Ania Lichtarowicz.

Production Manager: Liz Tuohy

Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz

🌍 Somewhere on Earth Productions UK. We’re a UK based production company creating podcasts and branded content that bring stories, places and people into focus.

We’re all ex-BBC so the quality of the content is excellent and quality of the sound is amazing.

🎥 Learn more about what we do:

➡️ Official Website: https://somewhereonearth.co/

📩 Contact us or book a project: [email protected]

➡️ Email: [email protected]

📱 Follow us on socials:

➡️ Instagram: @soeptech / soeptech

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Decentralised, green-powered AI

We explore Cocoon, the new privacy-first AI network launched by Telegram’s Pavel Durov, and hear from Brittany Kaiser on why it could change how AI is built and powered.

Supporting neurodivergent students anywhere

NeuroIdentify is helping teachers in remote regions spot neurodivergent traits and personalise learning. Co-founder and CTO David Cabral explains how it works.

Airbnb for pets

Travelling soon? AnimalHotels.com connects pet owners with verified sitters and pet hotels. Founder Lukasz Klab shares the story.

For bonus content and to subscribe: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/

The show is presented by Ania Lichtarowicz.

Production Manager: Liz Tuohy.

Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz.

If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify:

Contact us by email: [email protected]

From Web Summit Lisbon, Somewhere on Earth explores how Poland is becoming Central Europe’s tech hub. Meet the innovators behind AI-powered greenhouses, a nationwide mobile ID app, and a virtual fertility clinic—all transforming everyday life. Poland is rapidly growing as a tech hotspot, with startups raising €180M last year alone. Its skilled workforce, creative mindset, and engineering heritage are driving global expansion. 

We hear about how AI is being used to optimize greenhouse growth, reducing water and energy use while boosting yields. Farmers can control everything via an app, making sustainable farming easier than ever. 

The m-obywatel (mCitizen) app turns smartphones into digital IDs, streamlining government services for Poles across the globe. Upcoming EU interoperability could let citizens access services across Europe seamlessly. 

And a virtual fertility clinic app uses AI and wearables to guide couples through diagnosis and treatment. Secure, personalized, and medically backed, it empowers informed decisions on reproductive health. 

The show is presented by Ania Lichtarowicz from Web Summit in Lisbon. 

Production Manager: Liz Tuohy 

Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz 

For the PodExtra version of the show please subscribe via this link: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/ 

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Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World 

From Web Summit's main stage to global expansion, discover how Poland became the undisputed tech heart of Central Europe. We explore the startups securing record funding and breaking into markets from the Middle East to the US. Join us as we uncover the story behind the boom. 

🔗 Listen and follow "Somewhere on Earth" for more stories from the front lines of global innovation.

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