WorldBeat with George Collins

Community Gearbox's stated mission includes "disrupting individual consumption [to facilitate] the sharing, co-ownership, and mobilization of resources amongst people who –specifically– know and trust each other."The sentiment fits well with a new wave of virtual development centered on accountability through decentralization. Cryptocurrencies may be the most (in)famous example, but many others exist in the space all under the vague umbrella of Web3. What is Web3? According to Dante, entire conferences are devoted to answering that question.Our interview wraps with Dante describing the origins and goals of Community Gearbox, the changes we may see to the web sector in the coming years, and how ordinary people can take control over their own networking.Community Gearbox: https://communitygearbox.com/Outro track On Top Of The World by Cecelia Lindh feat. Lilla Myhttps://soundcloud.com/epidemicsound/es-on-top-of-the-world-instrumental-versionIntro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

We hear about "Big Tech" all the time in political and business coverage, but what does that term actually mean? This becomes a pertinent question considering the influence the name itself has on a startup's IPO price and success projections. WeWork notoriously billed itself as such when its business model resembled that of a real estate firm more than anything else.Dante helps investigate the origin and meaning of the term in the 21st century, it's shifting nature over that time, and his entry into the space.Community Gearbox: https://communitygearbox.com/Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

We here on the show explored the globalizing tech sector in our last episode with AI specialist and data scientist Kathleen Siminyu. Now we return home stateside to analyze its effects on the cultural dynamics of the United States. Industry giants like Facebook, Google and Apple once carried with them an air of endless possibilities; a road to a new age led by charismatic white guys in turtlenecks. Skepticism of the web sector seems at a fever pitch in 2022, and as we transition into what the industry dubs “Web 3”, questions of ownership become more important than ever, especially as this industry appears in literally every part of our lives.Dante Garcia joins WorldBeat to discuss how Web designers and other technicians have been thinking about these questions.  Dante has ten years of visual design, and community organizing experience and holds a B.A. in political economy from The Evergreen State College. He co-founded Story 2 Designs, a POC led, worker-owned design cooperative dedicated to supporting progressive projects and organizations and he is now building the app Community Gearbox. Part 1 details Dante's upbringing in an activist household, his father's roots in civil action in the Philippines, and his own journey through college into the social and political action sphere.Community Gearbox: https://communitygearbox.com/Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

Computers, artificial intelligence, and machine learning carry reputations as great equalizers free of human error and false judgement, yet these devices require inputs from humans to function and therefore reflect the prejudices of their programmers, Scholars such as Kathleen herself and the American sociologist Ruha Benjamin explain this phenomenon in their writing and organizing. Here Kathleen details the dynamics of a design world dominated by a select group of elites, the promise of decentralized AI in creating a more equitable tech sector, and the importance of people around the world creating and expressing themselves in their languages.Outro track Shinkansen 2 by Lost Integrity:https://lostintegrity.bandcamp.com/album/super-expressIntro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

The British science magazine Nature reported in August 2021 that "There’s no original isiZulu word for dinosaur. Germs are called amagciwane, but there are no separate words for viruses or bacteria. A quark is ikhwakhi (pronounced kwa-ki); there is no term for red shift. And researchers and science communicators using the language, which is spoken by more than 14 million people in southern Africa, struggle to agree on words for evolution."African languages have long been shut out of the scientific world, creating questions about who this knowledge and work is for both among speakers of these languages and those working to spread scientific education on the continent. Kathleen is one of many scientists dedicated to increasing the accessibility of science and technology among populations speaking the more than 2,000 languages found in Africa. Here she shoots on the significance of language as a medium and how organizations can bridge the gap.Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

Computers have taken over the world as one of my old high school teachers once said. Indeed this here podcast wouldn’t be possible without them. And we become more conscious of their role in our lives as the group of new technologies collectively sitting under the “digital” label pull greater scrutiny of their impact on our everyday interactions.We in North America and Europe talk about these effects of social media flexing on suburban white kids and our coworkers at the water cooler, but we don’t talk about the effects on kids in middle and lower-income countries. The author Amitav Ghosh wrote of Syrian refugee children who believed they’d be safe in rickety boats crossing the Mediterranean so long as their phones were charged.On a macro level, the digital space has set new stages for economic development, especially on the African continent which has served as a laboratory for global development policies for decades. Computerization, and our guest’s specialty machine learning, will play pivotal roles in the next century of societal change across Africa, and questions of whom that technology serves and who owns the digital space will be pivotal in ensuring equitable access.Joining George Collins on WorldBeat is Kathleen Siminyu. Ms. Siminyu is an AI Researcher who focuses on Natural Language Processing for African Languages. She works at The Mozilla Foundation as a Machine Learning Fellow and prior to that was the Regional Coordinator of AI4D Africa. She has vast experience as a community organizer having co-organised the Nairobi Women in Machine Learning and Data Science community for three years.Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

COVID-19 stalled efforts to campaign for a new Scottish independence vote, but the dream hasn't died. Voters may not think of the European Union when they cast the ballot, but the organization plays a pivotal role in Scotland's future. Kat argues EU membership is the best conduit to avoid becoming a client state of the United States, China, or any other world power.Outro Track I Feel Numb by Faddy Dattyhttps://open.spotify.com/artist/6GDXXghVvkh7fCLViq6iKyIntro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

The 2014 Independence Referendum and the Brexit vote forced Scottish political parties o confront some hard truths about their place in the Kingdom. Kat breaks down the realignment taking place in Scottish politics in the wake of the seismic changes in 2010s UK politics and the hindrances remaining for those looking to capitalize on these shifts.Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

European politics constituted a small blip on the radar for Americans in the late 20th century. National elections and popular referendums got five minutes of fame stateside before vanishing into Wikipedia lists. The 2016 Brexit vote forced Americans beyond the political class to recognize that events across the pond can cause worldwide blowback, and a new consciousness of the happenings around the world emerged in the years since the United Kingdom's historic decision.But six years isn't much time to become acquainted with another country's political nuances, especially when so much analysis of political maneuvers abroad are framed through an American lens in corporate media. Today we gain an inside look at U.K. politics from someone who's lived and acted in both the American and British scenes.National secretary for SNP Socialists and the women’s officer for the Aberdeen Independence Movement Kat Carey joins WorldBeat to discuss her time growing up on a farm in Wisconsin, her experiences in the armed forces, and the factors leading to her family's relocation across the Atlantic. She holds an MSc in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh and co-hosts the Talking Sense podcast.Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

Big plans await Javoen's educational goals as he aims for the state and federal level. Our last segment together covers how to meet people where they are in education, the limits of some of the left's tactics, and how sharing the truth changes minds more effectively than browbeating from the ivory tower.The Hawk Foundation for Research and Education in African & African American Culture:https://www.hfeducation.org/Outro track Girl by Masta X-Kidhttps://mastaxkid.bandcamp.com/Intro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

Both the Hawk Foundation and Awodi Drumming push multicultural education as a means of empowerment and Javoen has transformed the lives of black American schoolchildren, prisoners, and others as they learn about their heritage and find a new lease on life. He details some of these stories and discusses the role black women can play in this effort to reclaim black American self-determination.The Hawk Foundation for Research and Education in African & African American Culture:https://www.hfeducation.org/Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

Javoen shoots on the history of African spiritual practices in slave resistance, the Haitian revolution, and how the stigma against such traditions carries forward into today both among African-Americans and populations still on the African continent.The Hawk Foundation for Research and Education in African & African American Culture:https://www.hfeducation.org/Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

A new generation of black American activism has emerged in the last ten years as movements like Black Lives Matter broke into the public discourse. These causes have brought wider attention to such issues of police corruption and discrimination in housing. But beyond the political realm, many black Americans are also digging into their history and finding a new sense of pride in their heritage, and one area of growing enthusiasm is in reclaiming spiritual practices from the Continent.Some of these folks felt particularly drawn to the community and healing aspects of such beliefs as the COVID-19 pandemic threw the whole world into the meat grinder. Porsche Little, a Brooklyn-based artist, diviner, and aborisha told Vox that she has received a huge increase in requests for divinations and readings throughout the pandemic.Beyond the personal fulfillment of these explorations, could embracing African spiritual practices hold value in the liberation struggles of black Americans? How does this rising enthusiasm for these beliefs intersect with the explosion of anti-racist activism in black communities of the past decade?Ethnomusicologist and the founder of  The Hawk Foundation for Research and Education in African & African American Culture Javoen Byrd sits down with George on this episode of WorldBeat. Part 1 details Javoen's early forays into music, his love of the drum, and how he came to be an initiated Isese practitioner.The Hawk Foundation for Research and Education in African & African American Culture:https://www.hfeducation.org/Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

How do we restore trust in healthcare amidst a pandemic and culture that has, rightly or wrongly, demonized public health institutions? Myles shoots on the importance of transparency in healthcare towards rebuilding that rapport and how changing incentives in the system to focus on preventative and community health can achieve better outcomes.The Insightful Nurse Leader podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-insightful-nurse-leader-with-myles-parilla/id1588957166Outro track Gimme Soma Dat Lovin by Sabbatical Bobhttps://open.spotify.com/artist/4vFxdosJYUGMUbA3N7YmJ1?autoplay=trueIntro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

Much coverage of U.S. healthcare workers during the Covid-19 outbreak paints a doom and gloom picture of burnout, high turnover, and failing systems. While there may be truth to these narratives, Myles explains the experience can be more nuanced than is presented. He shoots on the role of leadership in creating a lower pressure environment, the ways to create that effective leadership, and the pressures middle managers are subjected to that remain hidden from many outside accounts.The Insightful Nurse Leader podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-insightful-nurse-leader-with-myles-parilla/id1588957166Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

Almost two years into the COVID-19 pandemic and Americans can’t seem to catch a break as new variants emerge and policy debates over lockdowns, school closures, and vaccine mandates dominate coverage. It’s pretty daunting for folks on the outside as we struggle to keep up with the breakneck pace of change, but what about the folks on the inside?Popular coverage of healthcare workers has been as hot and cold as leftover lasagna. From being hailed as essential workers and heroes to being demonized as liars and pill pushers and everything in between, it’s important to remember that these people are human. They have thoughts, feelings, and emotional responses to the crisis just like the rest of us, and today we’ll highlight one such worker’s experience in the field and the strategies being implemented to provide quality care both for their patients, and themselves.Former nurse manager and founder of Myles Parilla Consulting Myles Parilla joins WorldBeat to talk about his upbringing in the Philippines, the impact of his father's entrepreneurial mind on his outlook towards nursing leadership, and his journey through nursing into the leadership consulting world.The Insightful Nurse Leader podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-insightful-nurse-leader-with-myles-parilla/id1588957166Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

Political dynamics in the UK have gone in a blender set to puree since the first Scottish Indy Ref. Neil shoots on the bright future he sees for Scottish nationhood, its connection to similar movements in Wales, and the shedding of the infamous self-deprecation that plagues the highlands.Outro track Mtaniroga by Tiera Geehttps://open.spotify.com/artist/0Y2fksqSdgkbOvSuFUKTlT?autoplay=trueIntro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

American politics have been wilder than a monkey on a mechanical bull the last several years, but that chaos ain't at all unique to our side of the pond. Citizens in the an independence referendum in Scotland, the Brexit vote, and three general elections in the past seven years. Many commentators regardless of party say the UK's political climate has changed forever following these events. While Brexit and its aftereffects capture the international spotlight, the 2014 Scottish independence referendum offered some fair warnings of the madness that followed.Activist, educator,  independence campaigner, and Ungagged podcast founder Neil Scott joins WorldBeat to break down the 2014 campaign and discuss the future of Scottish self-determination in the wake of these huge political upheavals. But before diving into that, Neil remembers his time coming up in Northern Ireland as the Troubles raged, his early days as a student activist, and how this time formed his political and social interests in the years to come.Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

The years of campaigning culminated in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. The vote swung towards No in 55/45 victory, a razor-thin  margin by the standards of a country-wide vote with 84% participation. Revisiting the campaign may feel like beating a dead horse, but the season proved to be a prescient look at the flavor of politics the UK would face in the years following the vote. Neil shares his experiences on the ground as a campaigner and how both the Yes and No campaigns changed Scottish and UK politics.Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

Scottish drive towards full sovereignty ain't nothing new. The spirit has a long history that was already finding new life when Neil became involved. He details the state of the move towards independence and the incredible gains in public support the campaign found leading up to the 2014 referendum.Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

Neil found himself across the Irish Sea in Glasgow at the height of the smack epidemic. He details his experience settling into his new home and meshing with the progressive causes taking place at the time.Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

Globalization is a force that touches all of us. Beyond cheap plastics from China and a diverse range of grub hubs in Columbia City, borders are more permeable than ever. What lessons can we learn about these dynamics as COVID-19's worst bouts fade into memory? Dr. Anderson wraps up our time together with this very question.Intro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeOutro track "Nowhere Man" by Faddy Datty https://open.spotify.com/artist/6GDXXghVvkh7fCLViq6iKyGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

Dr. Anderson spent a chunk of her career in many countries abroad, but her time in Mozambique proved to be some of the most impactful of her life. She shares her experience providing medical care in a war-torn country struggling to find its feet after independence and why the betterment of health outcomes for people in every country benefit those of us living in the heart of the empire.Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

Dr. Anderson shoots on the disservices inflicted on black and brown communities in the U.S. both historically and today and how trust in the healthcare system can be restored in these populations.Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/

COVID-19 rocked the world in a way few other events could. International structures long taken for granted crumbled  as nation states struggled to confront this novel virus and the chaos it brought. Everything from supply chains to migration policy to the reliability of scientific institutions came under fire, but no sector has taken more blows than healthcare.Americans were shocked at the sights of U.S. healthcare workers sporting garbage bags in April, 2020 as we learned of personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages. Vaccination itself became a politicized issue as government officials touted or condemned the vaccine based on their party affiliation. New revelations about the National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s funding of gain of function research casts new doubt on the origins of the virus and the implications of future such projects.It's a ton to dissect, and we're gonna need some more hands in the med room for this one. Dr. Nancy Anderson, retired Associate Professor in the Department of Midwifery at Bastyr University joins WorldBeat to discuss her entry into the healthcare industry, the tragic death of her father at the hands of a racist healthcare system, and why black and brown populations are still so gunshy about interacting with American medical institutions.Intro/outro music by Batata K1nghttps://www.batatak1ng.com/homeGraphic design by Kirk WhaymanPart of the Ungagged podcast networkhttp://leftungagged.org/