Citizen Reporter

Annie Correal knows all about the nature of the news reporting business and the internet of news feeds and hypersharing. But she also knows a world where people take time to tell their stories and listen to one another. The online world of reading, writing and recording where taking time and moving perhaps a little more slowly, is well worth the wait. Her work with both Cowbird and Radio Ambulante reveals two such places where people from all walks of life are coming together, and sharing life in a very significant way. Today on the podcast I get to know Annie Correal, and ask her questions about how she got started as a journalist to how and why these two special projects became part of her life. Join us for what I believe is a very important and enjoyable conversation. Then go tell stories of your own!

"We've been here before!" Hanna Braun said to herself back in 1948 as Arab residents were expelled from Haifa. She had been a member of the Hagana before the Israeli army had been formally created - before there was even an Israel. She had escaped Germany at the height of the Nazi era, and tells marvelous tales of life in Palestine and how the dream of a secular, multicultural, state was stolen away by a select group who saw violence and hate as tools with which to build a nation.  When she was old enough to fully understand what had happened, she dedicated her life to fighting injustice and increasing understanding on both sides. Hanna Braun was a friend of this podcast who taught us about a time in history and an experience that no school book has ever been allowed to publish.  She passed away in November of 2011 at the age of 84. This podcast features our first ever conversation, recorded in February 2006, about her life growing up, and what led her to become such an outspoken activist and deciated humanit

In the late 80's and early 90's, my parents built a studio in the basement of our home. This plywood and carpet creation would become the home for The Voice of Portugal, which proudly served the Portuguese of New Jersey for almost a decade. It was this very spot where I first spoke into a microphone as a child. 20 years later I'm standing on that same spot, recording a podcast update about this current journey in the United States, and the new projects I have launched this year.

This week leaders of the African Union celebrated the completion of their state-of-the-art headquarters in Addis Ababa. A gift from China, built with Chinese money and Chinese Labor. Recently the Indian government completed work on the Ghanian State-House. Everywhere you turn on the continent of Africa, leaders continue to make deals and accept gifts that look like progress but in fact, as Chika Ezeanya explains it, is an insult and a crime against Africa. Through her work, writing and teaching, Chika reminds Africans and the entire world that the real tradition of this wonderful continent is not to hold out your hands and have someone build you a new headquarters, it is to work hard use your own skills and strength - that is the often ignored African Way. Background Reading and more information; read Chika for Africa, the best out of Africans, for Africa!

In 2011 the Republic of Honduras became the most dangerous country in the world. With the murder rate rising and wages plummeting, the miitary have now been granted extraordinary police powers. Multinational mining, agribusness, and textile corporations pay poverty wages while the government cooperates closely with the objectives of the US military. The result is what human rights observers like Gilda Batista have described as an unsustainable situation where something big is about to happen. From the streets of Tegucigalpa to the mines of the Siria Valley, something terrible is going on in Honduras, something the internaitonal headlines have been afraid to address. To help better understand the situation on the ground and how things got this way, my guests on this podcast are: Gilda Batista, Human Rights Defender, Prosecutor - Refuge Without Limits Grahame Russell, Director - Rights Action This podcast was co-produced by Jeremy Kryt, who's investigative work on Honduras can be read on In These Times

When three friends set out on a journey through West Africa, they knew an unpredictable but potentially wonderful adventure awaited them.  And sure enough from Senegal through Mali, BurkinaFaso to Ghana and finally to Togo, they experienced the joy and witnessed the struggles of everyday life there.  As radio journalists and documentary film makers, they observed and reported, but some things even an interview can't capture properly. The following conversation was recorded in Berlin just a few days into the New Year. It features Steffi and Phillip, both independent media producers who just returned from Togo.  I asked them about their journey, including the stops en route to Togo, comparisons between countries, and how the experience matched or did not match their expectations and hopes for the journey. We also talk about a documentary about Togolese culture which they are also working on.

Thomas Wiegold was there in Somalia even before the German military arrived back in 1993. And he has been there ever since, reporting on what is a unique situation for both a country and its military. As the decades have passed, as an independent journalist Thomas has continued to both report about as well as look critically at the decisions that are made and how those decisions are carried out by a military that has quietly engaged in a significant number of international interventions over the past 20 years. In this podcast I get the chance to sit down with Thomas at the Pressehaus in Berlin and to talk about his work, how he got started reporting about the military and where this work has taken him, both physically and mentally.  Besides a list of newspapers and magazines, you can also find his work on his blog, Augen Geradeaus (wordplay on the military command - EYES FRONT!), which is mostly in German with items for the English speakers as well.  Download, sync it, listen to the discussion, you're sure t

Personal media empires aren't a new concept, but with every year that goes by and every advancement that helps individuals produce original content- they rise.  Media commentators used to predict a media revolution or the collapse of traditional media institutions, but recent history shows us that it won't exactly unfold that way.  Instead, personal media producers like Tim Pritlove are hard at work producing programs, exploring topics, engaging with audiences in ways that a big media outlet could only dream about.  In different parts of the world, using a magnificent range of styles and approaches, personal media empires are on the rise. Beyond his many podcasts and online work, you can also follow him on twitter.

"If my grandmother knows Kosovo is a country… everyone knows Kosovo is a country"  Flekitza repeats in an attempt to help me understand what is going on in the Serbian community of Kosovo.  In her home city in Kosovo, public school teachers get pay checks from the Serbian government, which are substantially larger the the salary Kosovo pays them.  A confusing situation that you'll hear me get lost in several times as Flekitza explains how even her university diploma is now considered worthless, as jobs do not recognize what was then officially a Serbian University. The list of obstacles would be enough to make a person quit and run off to a country where things make more sense, but instead she is dedicated to making a life in Prishtina, together with her Albanian partner. A Serbian-Albanian-Kosovar love story that many people, including family, are not willing to accept.  "Who cares what people think.. I certainly don't"…. in this podcast I spend time getting to know Flekitza's story, her family, her problems

Gent Thaçi is a rare bird in Kosovo, even he would admit it.  At 17 years old he devotes most of his energy to making Kosovo a better place, speci

Çelik Nimani is well aware of the difficulties his young country faces.  He is also well aware of the tremendous creativity and potential that can be found here as well as throughout the international Kosovar diaspora.  His goal is to help unleash that potential with a resounding call for everyone to get involved, take initiative, and be the change the nation needs to see.  He's not just a business man, he's an ideas guy who enjoys being inspired just as much as he himself inspires. In this podcast we get into how to reach people in Kosovo, to motivate them, to wake up those who are in a depression or feeling powerless. We discuss resources and what this nation has to offer the world.  You would think being able to choose your country on a form would be a given, but thats not the case in Kosovo - we discuss this issue.  From education to entrepreneurs, this program takes the series on Kosovo to the next level, to where the mainstream media rarely invests the time and energy, and where you can hear the detail

It is often assumed that in order to be successful and realize your dreams you must go to university. Year after year people of all ages apply to institutions of higher education and go to great lengths to afford the high costs that come with such schools.  Increasingly people are realizing that the costs to attend such schools far outweigh the benefits.  Beyond that, with the dawn of interest networks online and the availability of information and instruction, there is a real opportunity to learn what you want to learn, without going back to school.

Unrecognized by many countries, unable to secure their borders, a struggling economy in a world already in crisis- the laundry list of problems that Kosovo faces can easily be called daunting.  But in the face of so much adversity there are some exciting things happening and one source of excitement in Prishtina is the new media project called Kosovo 2.0

He was podcasting before there was podcasting. Looking to the online conversations and connections between old and new media long before any media company understood what was going on. He's a global citizen who has a talent for finding inspiring voices and teaching us about our world. His is a voice I hear in my head whenever I turn on a microphone or ask a question. Who better to talk about the past, present, and future of this thing we do on this website and beyond, than Christopher Lydon. He was there making podcasts long before anyone else back in 2002, when I starting recording my own program in 2004, his Radio Open Source was my constant companion as I made my way through my new life here in Amsterdam. In honor of my 400th we go back to the origins, back to the mindset that brought us this media revolution that is still unfolding. We're not here to say its all great, nor are we here to declare it as disaster, but we are here to talk about what it has been like, what we see, and foresee, for ourselves as

Madge Weinstein is an internet celebrity, a culinary pioneer, and an extremely irritable elderly lesbian. Beyond all that, she is an inspiration to several generations of children around the world.  After surviving many tragedies, including 3 Bush presidential terms and the current socio-political disaster that has gripped the United States, this podcasting diva has moved her life to Paris where she is sharing her talents with the people of France who already hate her.

Bank Transfer Day was this past weekend. Even now, people around the world are looking at their bank account thinking, maybe I dont want my money with these guys. What are the alternatives? Many will say "all banks are the same" as a way of justifying not doing anything. But what a little investigation can easily reveal is that not all banks are the same. In the US much of the focus is on community banks and credit unions. In Europe, in the Netherlands for example, we have two small banks that are known for their dedication to transparency and sustainability.  And now more then ever, as people flock to occupy more spaces to express their disgust and frustration with the global financial system, there is great interest in expressing your dissent by moving money from the big banks to the small sustainable banks.

Occupy Amsterdam has just entered into its 3rd week. 3 weeks of building a community where people have come together and occupied a public space, where debates are an almost 24 hour phenomenon and cooperation is currency. Over the first 7 days of occupyamsterdam I was there checking in with people and observing how things developed.  During those days I observed meetings of the General Assembly, as well as work groups that are dedicated to different aspects of the movement.  I observed teach-ins or education lectures. At the weekend I listened to and even participated in speeches and musical performances.  By the beginning of week two it had become a fully functional camp where some people could live and anyone can and did stop by to participate or look around. The following 4 interviews are taken from week 1, they were carried out with people I saw regularly participating and attending events. My goal in these conversations was not to do what the mainstream media does: asking people why they are here as if

My guest on this edition of Citizenreporter.org is Chilean-American, community organizer, world citizen Nick Farr who has been traveling around Chile observing many of the activities connected with the student protests demanding education reform in that country. For several months students throughout Chile have been holding mass rallies, protests as well as occupying university and high school buildings, demanding the government take action to address inequality in the education system and the creation of the country's first free higher education option. Presently education in Chile consists of a few prestigious charter-type schools, many more prestigious private schools which are very expensive, and then the rest of the public system that is considered poor quality-undesirable schooling.  Rural areas, which is most of Chile, are especially plagued by a lack of affordable education. But even in cities these days, access to good schools is entirely dependent on where you live. The student movement that has

Earlier this year a famine was declared in Somalia. It was not the first time the world had heard about a humanitarian crisis in that struggling country. How did the world respond? How did Somalia get to the state it is in today and who was involved in getting it that way?

John Howard Wolf doesn't know how to fix the global economy, but he can teach us a thing or two about education. Its been his business and passion for most of his adult life.  Having immigrated from the US to Portugal in the late 1970's, even back then he was a swimming against the current, setting up a primary school in a country still getting over its post-fascist hangover.  As a Americano-Luso (American-Portuguese) he has a unique perspective based on the kind of experiences most of us only wish we could have. John Howard Wolf knows literature and he knows history, but what he knows that the world would be lucky to hear about, is another way to approach life and human relations on this planet.  For one great hour on the last days of summer in Lisbon, we sat together watching the world go by during a financial crisis, and talking about how this all happened and what is to come. Read John's piece in the Portuguese-American Journal His article on Rural Development and Portugal from January 1992 (note - ac