The Upfront Podcast

Ainhoa Martinelli is from Switzerland and is 19 years old. She works in a Montessori school and will begin to study geography in the fall. Ainhoa started her activist work in her early teenage years with Fridays for Future. She is now an active part of various international climate movements such as the Global Climate Strike, Debt4Climate, and the Global Youth Biodiversity Network, making her the perfect person to talk to about the issues we will all have to face.

Ainhoa and I will be talking about activist burnout, the dark side of volunteer tourism, what the climate movement has to do with the exploitation of formerly colonized countries, the climate crisis overall, and how Eurocentrism, privilege, and inequity are often disregarded factors that should be taken into account in environmental discussions. We are also talking about how our consumerist ways are hindering environmental protection efforts and what we can do to decrease the pace at which this planet is dying.

Find Ainhoa on Instagram: @_.ginia.ainhoa._

Mentioned resources
Climate Strike Switzerland: https://climatestrike.ch/
Debt for Climate Movement: https://www.debtforclimate.org/
Global Youth Biodiversity Network: https://www.gybn.org/
Fridays for Future: https://fridaysforfuture.org/
The Outlaw Ocean Podcast: https://www.theoutlawocean.com/the-outlaw-ocean-podcast/
Ted Talk: "The White Savior Complex: The Dark Side of Volunteering"
Ted Talk: "The Problem With Voluntourism"

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Stephanie Horwitz from the “What Should I Do With My Life” podcast is joining us today from Tel Aviv, Israel. Steph will tell us how we might have been misled since many people are figuring out that a career might not follow a one-and-done recipe.

Steph and I will be discussing how different people have mastered their careers, what you can do to get recognition on the job, and how you can advocate for your work. We will also talk about the fact that women are often easily overlooked in the workplace, and we’ll get into sharing our opinions on why passion matters, how you find self-definition outside of your job, and we’ll get into what privilege has to do with choosing your own path.

Find the "What Should I Do With My Life" Podcast here:
Website https://www.whatshouldidowithmylife.co/
https://www.facebook.com/stephhorwitzpodcast
https://www.instagram.com/whatshouldidowithmylife_steph/

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My guest today is Alejandro Salas, the head of global movement at the global anti-corruption organization Transparency International. Alejandro is originally from Mexico and has studied political science. He now lives in Berlin, Germany.
Alejandro will tell us about the dangers of corrupt politicians, what makes for an ethical society, and how impunity plays a crucial role. We are also talking about why giving government officials too much power can directly lead to the downfall of a democratic system and where we stand globally on whistleblower protection.

Transparency International Website https://www.transparency.org
For contacting and submitting tips https://www.transparency.org/en/contact
For donations https://transparency.givingpage.org

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My guest today is Jolanda Spiess Hegglin, a journalist and former Swiss politician. One harrowing night, everything changed for her. In the aftermath, her name was extensively used in Swiss tabloid media in attempts to ruin her reputation and to victim blame, while Jolanda was trying to come to terms with what had happened to her and to seek legal accountability. Now, Jolanda is an activist against gender-based violence and has founded an NGO called netzcourage. Jolanda still, to this day, is receiving misogynist hatred, harassment, and threats, while she is working on vindicating her name and taking sole ownership of her story. 

We are talking about the personal story of one incredibly courageous woman who has taken on what feels like an entire nation’s victim blaming rhetoric. We will also talk about how everything that has happened to Jolanda has uncovered a dysfunctional justice system, law enforcement victim blaming and revictimization, and how evidentiary material was being disregarded. Jolanda and I will also discuss the impact of the #Metoo movement on Switzerland, the discrimination of minorities, and the dangerous rise of incels in Switzerland.

Donations to #Netzcourage https://netzcourage.ch/spenden/
Find out more about Jolanda on https://www.jolandaspiess.ch/
Instagram instagram.com/jolandaspiess
Facebook facebook.com/jolandaspiess
Twitter twitter.com/jolandaspiess
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/jolandaspiess/
Mastodon https://mastodon.social/@[email protected]

Helpful Links
Netzpigcock.ch https://www.netzpigcock.ch/en/
Netzcourage on the web www.netzcourage.ch
Victim Help Hotlines (US) https://victimconnect.org/resources/national-hotlines/
Hotline & resource directories (international) https://ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html and https://www.rcne.com/links/sources-of-help-for-survivors/

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My guest today is Rabbi Akiva Weingarten, born and raised in the Jewish ultraorthodox “Satmar” community in New York. He decided to leave the community, lived abroad for many years, then studied “Jewish Studies” in Germany and eventually became the Rabbi for two liberal Jewish communities in Switzerland and Germany. His own book by the title “Ultraorthodox,” has recently been published.

We are talking about Judaism specifically, other religions, spirituality, and also what it was like for him to leave his old life behind. How he dealt with the struggles of entering a whole new world, redefining himself, and how his stance on identity, religion, and spirituality has changed. He will also tell us what he thinks of pop culture depictions of ultraorthodox Jews, such as the Unorthodox series on Netflix.

Find more on Rabbi Weingarten at https://rabbiweingarten.com
The Yeshiva https://www.beshtdresden.org
The community in Dresden: https://www.juedische-gemeinde-dresden.de
Migwan community in Basel: http://www.migwan.ch

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For the final episode of the year, I am saying goodbye for now until we meet again in the new year!

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On February 24th, 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine and launched a full-scale war on the sovereign nation. My guest today is Victoria Vlasenko, who is coming to us directly from Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. We will be speaking about her own experience living through the war in Ukraine, with her job still demanding that she regularly works as if nothing out of the ordinary is happening, about her personal opinions on how this could possibly end, and what everyday life in Kyiv looks like.

Find Victoria on:
Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@victoriavlasenko
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/minimal_victoria/

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Naftali Aklum is a public speaker and lecturer from the Beta Israel, the community of Ethiopian Jews. He tells us of his family’s harrowing journey to Israel and what Ethiopian Jews are facing, the split between forced assimilation and respecting one’s own identity, whilst dealing with systemic discrimination and racism.

Find Naftali at the following links:
Instagram, Facebook or Twitter
The Yerus Project at www.jewsofethiopia.com

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Feminism does have a few different principles, but what they all share is the plea for gender equality. Liz from Episode 3 is back, and we are discussing different stances on feminism and how this comes into play in our dating life when trying to determine people's compatibility and whether we should lower our standards to accommodate others.

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Patrick Jones is a journalist, originally from New York, now living in South Carolina, and host of the "That Gives Me Anxiety Podcast". Patrick and Nina discuss dealing with expectations of hosting a podcast, mental health, conspiracy theories, death, politics, and other fun stuff.

You can find the “That Gives Me Anxiety Podcast” at the following links and wherever you get your podcasts.
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/Thatgivesmeanxietypodcast/
Twitter https://twitter.com/GivesanxietyPod
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thatgivesmeanxietypodcast
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgCOITNlRi_K7JP9QxBK-vQ/
Patrick's other podcast, “Death Space: Filling The Void” you can also find on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/deathspacepodcast/
Patrick’s personal page https://www.instagram.com/patrick_e_jones/

Send us your comments, remarks, questions, and opinions in writing or as an audio recording through one of the following channels, and be sure to follow The Upfront Podcast. 
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theupfrontpodcast/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/theupfrontpodcast
E-Mail [email protected]

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Join the conversation and leave us your comments, remarks, and opinions on our Instagram, Youtube, Facebook or via E-Mail to [email protected]. Please share, subscribe and leave a review to help The Upfront Podcast reach more people.