Neologism used by the World Bank to refer to developing countries
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Mighty Measure - Stories and strategies of meaningful impacts in business and beyond…Sean Penrith, CEO of Gordian Knot Strategies, a climate finance consultancy aiming to mobilize $1B per year by 2030 (and having mobilized $1.67B to date) joins Kim Allchurch Flick. Penrith shares his path from entrepreneurship in Argentina to founding a sustainable glass company, then moving into climate policy, carbon markets, and impact investing in Portland before launching GKS to “translate” between capital providers and climate projects. He argues climate capital isn't flowing due to a nature-negative economy, lack of standardization, unclear risk/return profiles, and failure to price ecosystem services viewed as public goods. GKS focuses on nature-based solutions while also evaluating energy and tech options. He urges consumers to choose responsible banks, support climate-forward policymakers, and pressure companies, and defends carbon markets as a conduit moving capital to Global South “carbon sink baskets,” despite corporate fear of reputational risk.Time Stamps00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro01:36 Sean's Entrepreneurial Journey04:52 GKS Mission and Funding Gap06:03 Why Climate Capital Stalls08:11 Nature-Based Solutions Focus10:28 What Consumers Can Do19:31 B Corps and Better Standards23:34 Carbon Markets and Reputation Risk28:56 Nature's Fast Comebacks32:44 Trillions Needed and Leadership35:09 How to Reach Sean35:28 Dinner Guests and Wrap-Up
** Do you want to talk about this episode with us? Come to Macro ‘n Chill, our online gathering. Tuesday, August 4, 8pm ET/5pm PT. Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/nLks4k8gQWKQzTAn0CEsoAAshwin Shantha joins Steve for a discussion challenging Western narratives on China – particularly the all-too-common opinions that dismiss its socialist character. This episode makes the case that China is a genuine socialist project where the state disciplines capital rather than being governed by it.Ashwin illustrates how China's green industrial revolution—driven by rapid progress in electric vehicles and renewable energy—marks a qualitative break from capitalist development paths. Unlike the Global North's extractive model, China's centrally planned approach prioritizes use-value objectives (clean air, energy self-reliance, and technological independence) over exchange-value maximization. The state constructs markets strategically, using mechanisms like the dual-credit policy to force both domestic and foreign automakers toward sustainable production targets.While the episode isn't focused on MMT, it highlights how China's monetary sovereignty enables fiscal space for long-term industrial planning. The nation's ability to issue its own currency and direct credit toward clean development highlights a crucial distinction from Global South countries trapped in IMF-imposed structural adjustment programs. This self-determined policy space, which is denied to nations like India and much of Africa, allows Beijing to absorb neoliberal shocks while maintaining state control over the economy.China's sustainable growth model is anti-imperialist in two key ways. First, energy independence reduces reliance on imported fossil fuels that expose the country to geopolitical leverage through choke points like the Malacca Strait. Second, technological autonomy focuses on developing indigenous productive forces that break the Western monopoly over clean technology.By keeping private capital subordinate to state priorities, China shows that socialist modernization offers a workable alternative for the Global South, avoiding the de-development and resource plunder that characterizes Western industrialization.China's model may still have some contradictions, but it continues to show what is possible when state power is wielded in the interests of the working class.Ashwin Shantha (they/them) is a doctoral student whose research focuses broadly on the political economy of sovereign development in the global South, focusing specifically on China and South Asia. Some of their existing work has researched South-South development cooperation between China and Pakistan through the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as, more recently, China's state-led green industrial revolution in the electric vehicles and renewable energy sectors. Ashwin is also the host of the International Solidarity Podcast, which focuses on the politics of anti-imperialism and socialism in the global South.YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@journalofintlsolidarityInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/journalofintlsolidaritySubstack: https://intlsolidarity.substack.com/
We are very excited to be joined by our colleague from the University of Jyväskylä, Bonn Juego. Bonn is a political economist, Senior Lecturer in International Development Studies, and the four-term Chair of the Finnish Society for Development Research (FSDR).Above all, Bonn considers himself a “student of capitalism”—investigating its political-economic, geopolitical, socio-ecological, and technological dimensions. His work bridges global political economy, heterodox economics, and post-colonialism, offering critical insights into the phenomena of “authoritarian neoliberalism” (i.e., a neoliberal economy embedded in the politics of authoritarianism) and “authoritarian populism” (i.e., the popular legitimacy given to anti-democratic personalities and practices), while contributing to conceptualizations of “securitization” (i.e., the dominance of security institutions and agents over societal spheres) and “just sustainability” (i.e., sustainable futures firmly grounded in the principle of justice).In this wide-ranging conversation, Bonn shares his personal and intellectual journey from the Philippines and Malaysia to Estonia, Denmark, and Finland, reflecting on his consciousness formation through lived experiences, progressive mentorship, and pivotal moments that shaped his worldview. He also expands our understanding of extractivisms today by sharing ideas from his contemporary endeavors and writings: examining rent-seeking and extractivist activities of governance elites and the oligarchic class; interrogating the historical-structural link of capitalist development with war and conflict, whereby valuable nature and human beings are prematurely disposed of and profitably transformed into wasted lives and into wasteful things; drawing on his recent policy study on worker and data extractivism in the interplay between labor and technology under conditions of competition-driven AI and other new technical innovations; and reflecting on his ongoing project studying the transnational recruitment and migration of Filipino nurses to the Finnish healthcare system—exposing the contradictions, devaluation, racialization, and inequalities in extractive transnational care relations and the crisis of social reproduction in both a Global South nation and a Nordic welfare state.Confronting complex global crises, Bonn leaves us with a reflexive framework for activist scholarship, taking a cue from Gramsci's “pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.” He makes an inspiring appeal to treat development studies as a prefigurative discipline of conscience—emphasizing means-ends consistency, everyday ethical action, and the indispensable power of collective movements in making a difference.Want to learn more about Bonn's work? Check out his academic profile here: https://www.jyu.fi/en/people/bonn-juego
In this episode of the Behind the Knife Global Surgery Series, we take a closer look at the real-world complexity of global surgery partnerships between high-income institutions and partners in the Global South. Words like equity, bidirectionality, partnership, and decolonization are used often in global surgery—but what do they actually mean when funding, mobility, research access, publication opportunities, and institutional power are unequally distributed?Host Mike Mallah is joined by Dr. Hugo Stark from George Hospital in South Africa and Dr. Sydney Bertram from Emory for a candid discussion about the benefits and tensions of collaborations in an unequal world. Together, they explore how global surgery partnerships can create meaningful educational and clinical value, how good intentions can still reproduce unequal systems, and how surgeons can build partnerships that are locally useful, honest about power, and ultimately centered on better surgical care for patients.Hosts/Guests:- Mike M. Mallah, MD, FACS, FICSDirector of Global Surgery at Medical University of South Carolina@MikeMMallahMD@MUSCGlobalSurgmallahm@musc.edu- Hugo Stark, MDHead of Department - Surgery, George Hospital, Western Cape, South AfricaHead of Surgical Services, Central Karoo RegionSydney Bertram, MDGeneral Surgery Resident, Emory UniversityTrainee Advisory Council, Consortium of Universities for Global Health@Sydney_Bertram Learning objectives:• Describe how global surgery partnerships can provide educational, clinical, professional, and research value for both high-income and Global South partners.• Identify how asymmetries in funding, mobility, publication access, and institutional agenda-setting can create inequity within otherwise well-intentioned global surgery partnerships.• Discuss practical principles for ethical global surgery engagement, including centering local needs, avoiding extraction, building durable partnerships, and focusing on patient access to surgical decision-making.Please visit https://behindtheknife.org to access other high-yield surgical education podcasts, videos and more. If you liked this episode, check out our recent episodes here: https://behindtheknife.org/listenBehind the Knife Premium: https://behindtheknife.org/premiumOral Board Review: https://behindtheknife.org/oral-boardOral Board Simulator: https://behindtheknife.org/oral-board/simulatorGeneral Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/general-surgery-oral-board-reviewTrauma Surgery Video Atlas: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/trauma-surgery-video-atlasDominate Surgery: A High-Yield Guide to Your Surgery Clerkship: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/dominate-surgery-a-high-yield-guide-to-your-surgery-clerkshipDominate Surgery for APPs: A High-Yield Guide to Your Surgery Rotation: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/dominate-surgery-for-apps-a-high-yield-guide-to-your-surgery-rotationVascular Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/vascular-surgery-oral-board-reviewColorectal Surgery Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/colorectal-surgery-oral-board-reviewSurgical Oncology Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/surgical-oncology-oral-board-reviewCardiothoracic Oral Board Review Course: https://behindtheknife.org/premium/cardiothoracic-surgery-oral-board-reviewOBGYN Oral Board Review Coures: https://behindtheknife.org/course/obgyn-oral-board-reviewEPA Playbook: https://behindtheknife.org/course/epa-playbookSurgical Instrument Flashcards: https://behindtheknife.org/course/surgical-instrument-flashcardsABSITE Review: https://behindtheknife.org/course/absite-2026-exam-reviewDownload our App:Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/behind-the-knife/id1672420049Android/Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.btk.app&hl=en_US
China is moving quickly to expand its influence over global governance as the United States steps back from its traditional leadership role. Earlier this month, President Xi Jinping unveiled the World Artificial Intelligence Organization, a new Shanghai-based institution with 29 founding members, most from Asia and Africa, that Beijing hopes will help shape the global rules governing AI. The new organization is the latest in a series of Chinese initiatives aimed at reshaping the international order to better reflect Beijing's priorities. Through efforts such as the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and now the WAIO, China is positioning itself not just as a participant in the existing system, but as an architect of new global rules. Yu Jie, a senior research fellow on China at Chatham House in London, joins Eric to discuss whether Beijing can turn its diplomatic ambitions into lasting influence and why many countries in the Global South are receptive to China's vision.
Raimund Löw in conversation with Liu Feitao, Xie Bo, Thomas Eder, Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik, Yang Bowen, Daniel Fuchs, Oliver Radtke, Bu ShaohuaCHINA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION: CHALLENGES, DYNAMICS AND MULTILATERALISM IN A TRANSFORMING LANDSCAPEIn the interaction among regional powers, China's participation has been steadily increasing, encompassing political, economic, and investment dimensions. Amidst shifting global dynamics, the European Union is increasingly pursuing strategic autonomy alongside its historic American partnership, while other major actors, including China and countries of the Global South, are also shaping evolving approaches to security and multilateral engagement. What consequences will this have for the relationship between Europe and China vis-à-vis global stakeholders such as Russia and the Ukraine, India and the Gulf or Africa?As China remains a significant participant in the UN system and a major contributor to peacekeeping, the Global South has found increasing common ground with China in UN bodies. In this context, can joint efforts among the EU, China, and partners from the Global South strengthen the multilateral agenda and help to bridge their diverse systemic perspectives? In light of 55 years of diplomatic relations between Austria and China, we bring together perspectives from Beijing, Vienna, and Brussels to discuss current and future challenges and synergies.The panel discussion will be followed by Break-Out-Round Tables with all the discussants and further Austrian academics and business representatives in order to provide for more detailed interaction and conversation.Panel:Liu Feitao, Vice President of China Institute of International Studies, Secretary General of China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation, Senior Research FellowXie Bo, research fellow of China Institute of International StudiesThomas Eder, Research Fellow (Postdoctoral Researcher) at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs in Vienna and Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of ViennaSusanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik, Sinologist, Professor emerita at the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Vienna and corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of SciencesAdditional discussants at the Break -Out-Round Tables also include:Yang Bowen, Department for European Studies of China Institute of International StudiesDaniel Fuchs, assistant professor at the Institute for Asian and African Studies at Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinOliver Radtke, Sinologist, Strategic Advisor, Author; Research Fellow University of Vienna and Shanghai International Studies University Bu Shaohua, Deputy Director and Associate Research Fellow at the Department for European Studies in China Institute of International StudiesModeration:Raimund Löw, Journalist, Author, Historian
Are modern AI companies the new empires? What is the hidden human cost behind chatbots like ChatGPT? How does Silicon Valley's rhetoric echo the East India Company? In this episode, Anita is joined by award-winning tech journalist Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI, to explore the hidden colonialism behind the artificial intelligence boom. They discuss the rise of Sam Altman, the industry's reliance on precarious workers in the Global South, and the similarities between the East India Company and OpenAI. Summer sale is here: get an annual Empire Club membership for an extra 20% off with code SUMMER26. That's ad-free listening, early-access, every bonus episode, and full access to our exclusive members' series. Sale ends August 31st, so grab it before summer's over. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com. Email: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Assistant Producer: Imogen Marriott Editor: Bruno Di Castri Social Producer: Charlie Johnson Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The mates discuss Dario vs. Jensen's open vs. closed AI debate, OpenAI and Anthropic teaming up to lobby in DC, and Kimi K3's global expansion. Get access to metatrends 10+ years before anyone else - https://qr.diamandis.com/metatrends Peter H. Diamandis, MD, is the Founder of XPRIZE, Singularity University, ZeroG, and A360 Salim Ismail is the founder of Open ExO, a GP at Exponential Venture Capital/The Organizational Singularity Fund and a sought after global speaker and thought leader. Dave Blundin is the founder & GP of Link Ventures Dr. Alexander Wissner-Gross is a computer scientist and founder of Reified – My companies: Apply to Dave's and my new fund:https://qr.diamandis.com/linkventureslanding Go to Blitzy to book a free demo and start building today: https://qr.diamandis.com/blitzy Your body is incredibly good at hiding disease. Schedule a call with Fountain Life to add healthy decades to your life, and to learn more about their Memberships: https://www.fountainlife.com/peter _ Connect with Peter: X Instagram Substack Website Xprize A360 Connect with Dave: Web X LinkedIn Instagram TikTok Connect with Salim: LinkedIn X Join Salim's 10X Shift Subscribe to Salim's YouTube channel Exponential Venture Capital Connect with Alex Website LinkedIn X Email Substack Spotify Threads Listen to MOONSHOTS: Apple YouTube – *Recorded on July 28, 2026 *The views expressed by me and all guests are personal opinions and do not constitute Financial, Medical, or Legal advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In today's Cloud Wars Minute, I look at Microsoft's strategy for balancing AI innovation with local governance, culture, and national control. Highlights 00:04 — I want to start today with a quote from Natasha Crampton, Microsoft's Chief Responsible AI Officer. "AI sovereignty doesn't mean doing it alone." This quote stands out from an interview she recently gave on the sidelines of the UN AI for Good Summit in Geneva. 00:48 — Ultimately, Crampton, echoing Microsoft's stance, stated that nations should leverage the best global AI technologies while ensuring they're adapted to local laws, languages, cultures, and values. Crampton explains that AI sovereignty is about control, not isolation. It's about cross-border coordination whilst making sure that countries retain control over how AI is deployed, governed, and used. 01:18 — One of the main problems that Crampton highlights regarding AI sovereignty is how AI is widening the gap between developed and developing economies. She says we cannot let the digital divide become an even greater AI divide. She emphasized the importance of making these technologies more accessible to the Global South. 01:43 — She says that AI sovereignty is about making sure that local impact, local cultures, values, and norms are prioritized within AI systems while taking advantage of global technology. AI becomes far more valuable when it understands local languages and cultures rather than simply translating from English. 02:15 — Overall, Crampton laid out a clear and, I'd say, pretty unique vision for what AI sovereignty can be. It's also a clever position for Microsoft to take, saying to governments that choosing Microsoft doesn't mean giving up sovereignty because they can control the data, the governance, and the policies on Microsoft's global platforms. Visit Cloud Wars for more.
Matt Orsagh spent 25 years inside mainstream finance, including as Senior Director of Capital Markets at the CFA Institute. Then he concluded that ESG was painting the house while it was on fire. Now, as co-founder of the Arketa Institute for Post-Growth Finance, he makes the case that a post-growth world is coming, by disaster or by design. We discuss why degrowth is a diet, not austerity; why green growth collides with physics and the Jevons paradox; and his answer to the Global South objection: Africa should be allowed to grow, it is the Global North that needs the diet. Plus a radical rethink of pensions, a third of the world's assets, built on natural and social capital, not just piles of gold. Listen, then share it with someone who still believes efficiency will save us.
The Do One Better! Podcast – Philanthropy, Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship
Martin Burt, Founder and CEO of Fundación Paraguaya (Paraguay Development Foundation) and former Mayor of Asunción, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss a fundamentally different approach to eliminating poverty. Rather than focusing solely on income or government interventions, Burt argues that lasting change begins with families, dignity, and the entrepreneurial spirit. The conversation explores the Poverty Stoplight, a framework now used in 62 countries that enables families to assess their own multidimensional poverty across objective measures such as housing and income, alongside subjective factors including motivation, self-esteem, and aspirations. By identifying their own priorities and connecting with practical solutions, families become active agents in their journey out of poverty. Martin explains why empowerment matters as much as economics, why families should define what it means to be "not poor," and how this locally developed methodology from Paraguay is reshaping poverty alleviation across the Global South and the Global North. He also reflects on lessons from four decades in economic development, public service, and social innovation, offering a compelling vision for putting human flourishing at the heart of development. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.
①Xi and Lula discuss BRICS, Global South cooperation. What are the next frontiers of cooperation? (00:56) ②Lula criticizes new U.S. tariffs as "unfair" and a "strategic mistake". How are countries looking for ways around Washington's trade barriers? (11:28) ③China chipmaker CXMT surges 500% in blockbuster Shanghai debut. What does it signal? (24:21) ④China's industrial profits extend strong growth in first half. AI, manufacturing and old industries - all growing? What's driving China's industrial momentum? (34:30) ⑤Trump paused Iran strikes to make room for talks. A temporary pause, or a real opening for diplomacy? (43:50)
Abby and Patrick welcome writer, critic, and religion scholar Jack Hanson for an in-depth and wide-ranging conversation about the politics and social significance of the contemporary Catholic Church. With Jack's new piece in Harper's, “Radical Reformation: The Catholic Church's Progressive Revival,” as a guide, the three put the accession of the Chicago-born Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV into the context of the Church's complicated relationship with modern geopolitics, economic pressures, and technological change. From papal critiques of nineteenth century industrialization to the emergence of liberation theology in the Global South to the impact of Vatican II and beyond, Jack walks Abby and Patrick through the intellectual traditions and internal tensions that have shaped the Church's attitudes towards the state, the market, and secular political ideologies. Going beyond headlines and reductive soundbites, Jack helps Abby and Patrick situate the contradictions of American Catholicism – embodied most visibly in the reactionary politics of figures like J.D. Vance – within a broader narrative of US imperial decline and crises of institutional legitimacy and moral authority. As a case in point, the three turn to the Pope's recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, its provocative assessment of AI specifically, and its account of conditions of contemporary anomie more generally. What ensues is a conversation about desire, fantasy, technology, solidarity, and what it means to be human.Jack Hanson, “Radical Reformation: The Catholic Church's Progressive Revival”: https://harpers.org/archive/2026/08/radical-reformation-jack-hanson-catholic-church-progressive/Jack's Substack, Phantom Heresy: https://phantomheresy.substack.com/Jack on Magnifica Humanitas on the Know Your Enemy podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4OZialymsdMglvaEdujzx2More by Jack on the Catholic Church:“The Text That May Be Key to How the New Pope Thinks,” https://www.thenation.com/article/society/pope-leo-xiv-rerum-novarum-socialism/“Last Rites,” https://www.nybooks.com/online/2024/10/20/last-rites-death-penalty-catholic-church/“Mamdani's Newest Ally: The Catholic Church?”: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/mamdanis-newest-ally-the-catholic-church.html“The Heresy of Americanism,” https://newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/the-heresy-of-americanism“The Post-Francis Church,” https://yalereview.org/article/pope-francis-death-future-catholocismHave you noticed that Freud is back? Got questions about psychoanalysis? Or maybe you've traversed the fantasy and lived to tell the tale? Leave us a voicemail! (646) 450-0847 A podcast about psychoanalysis, politics, pop culture, and the ways we suffer now. New episodes on Saturdays. Find us online: http://www.ordinaryunhappiness.com X: @UnhappinessPod Instagram: @OrdinaryUnhappiness Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/OrdinaryUnhappiness Theme song: Formal Chicken - Gnossienne No. 1 https://open.spotify.com/album/2MIIYnbyLqriV3vrpUTxxO Provided by Fruits Music
Stewart Alsop sits down with Matias Avalos on this episode of the Wisdom podcast to explore the intersection of technology, humanism, and creative sovereignty. The conversation moves from Matias's work with neural network-based audio plugins and effect chains to broader questions about corporate transhumanism, data ownership, and what it means to maintain human agency in an increasingly automated world. They discuss the dangers of convenience-driven technological adoption, the implications of companies like Palantir and Neuralink, and how bureaucratic incentives push toward total legibility while protecting their own opacity. Along the way, they touch on everything from IMAX audio production and the death of walkable cities to Instagram's transformation from visual diary to data extraction platform, ultimately arguing for local, open-source, and sovereign approaches to technology that keep humans in the loop rather than replacing them with "average fabrics" of algorithmic output. Find Matias Avalos on LinkedIn for more techno-poetic discussions.Timestamps00:00 Stewart welcomes Matias Avalos to discuss their friendship and upcoming conversation topics.05:00 Matias explains audio effect chains using neural networks to capture professional recording room signatures and create portable high-fidelity sound processing.10:00 Discussion of piezoelectric microphones converting sound vibrations to electrical signals and CIA experiments using lasers to capture audio from glass surfaces.15:00 Conversation shifts to digital audio recording, sampling rates, and the importance of source material quality for post-production work.20:00 Stewart shares his journey building web conferencing software to replace Riverside, encountering lip-sync problems and learning about FFMPEG processing.25:00 Matias discusses corporate transhumanism, Neuralink's implications, and how brain interfaces could enable continuous taste mining beyond medical applications.30:00 Analysis of corporate transhumanism through companies like Neuralink, discussing private decision-making, lack of transparency, and various transhumanist philosophies globally.35:00 Matias reads poetry about digital replicas and data generation, exploring how wearable devices continuously capture human activity creating targetable information streams.40:00 Discussion of Peter Thiel's shift from libertarianism to neoconservatism, Palantir's origins in Total Information Awareness program, and Buenos Aires as humanist sanctuary.45:00 Examination of American convenience culture, post-WWII suburban isolation, and Buenos Aires as walkable humanist alternative to car-dependent American cities.50:00 Matias presents Neil Harbison as positive transhumanism example, explaining color-to-vibration synesthesia implant while discussing techno-optimism from Global South perspective.55:00 Conversation explores bureaucratic incentives toward population legibility, compelled silence laws, and sovereignty through open-source local technology ownership avoiding corporate control.60:00 Matias concludes discussing digital identity ownership, social network portability, and how digital twins determine human worth across platforms and borders.Key Insights1. Modern digital audio processing technologies represent a fundamentally different approach to music and sound production compared to generative AI tools. Matias Avalos distinguishes between technologies like Neural DSP's Mantra plugin, which uses deep neural networks to capture and emulate professional recording environments, and generative platforms like Suno. The key difference is that traditional digital signal processing tools put the creator in control, allowing them to make artistic decisions using expensive effect chains that would otherwise only be available in elite studios like Abbey Road. These technologies democratize access to professional audio tools without removing human agency from the creative process, whereas generative AI tools operate as black boxes that produce outputs based on prompts rather than allowing genuine creative control.2. The capture and preservation of source material remains critically important in audio and video production, despite advances in post-production capabilities. Through his experience building a web conferencing application to replace Riverside.fm, Alsop learned that many technical problems, particularly lip-sync issues, stemmed from poor source file management and recording methodology. This principle extends across all media production, as Avalos explains using the example of missing lighting in professional photography. While modern generative AI might attempt to invent missing elements, the results cannot match properly captured source material. This highlights a fundamental tension in contemporary media production where the quality triangle of cheap, good, and fast has been disrupted by AI technologies that can deliver all three if we lower our standards for what constitutes good work.3. Corporate transhumanism represents a particular and concerning subset of transhumanist philosophy that differs significantly from earlier artistic and philosophical approaches to human enhancement. While early transhumanists like Neil Harbison, a color-blind artist who implanted a device to translate color frequencies into vibrations, pursued personal enhancement and expanded human experience, corporate transhumanism as practiced by companies like Neuralink focuses on technological integration with significant profit motives and control mechanisms. The discussion highlights how these corporate approaches position themselves as solving medical and cognitive problems while simultaneously creating dependency through terms of service, data mining, and token-based economic models. This represents a Trojan horse where the promise of enhanced capability masks the establishment of new forms of control and surveillance of human consciousness itself.4. The concept of legibility as a bureaucratic end goal rather than a means to an end explains much of the surveillance apparatus that has developed in Western societies, particularly in the United States since 9/11. Alsop describes how those in positions of power, wealth, and fame have a structural incentive to make everything around them legible and controllable while maintaining their own privacy and illegibility to external observation. This dynamic manifests in technologies like Palantir and in legal mechanisms like compelled silence through gag orders, which directly contradict constitutional principles of free speech. The drive for total legibility of populations appears to have no ultimate purpose beyond the accumulation of legibility itself, creating a recursive loop where surveillance and data collection become self-justifying activities that serve power structures rather than the populations they ostensibly protect.5. Human beings continuously generate enormous streams of metadata through their daily activities, creating what Avalos describes as evaporating against our own will into hundreds of RSS feeds for hundreds of corporations. This automatic data production occurs through basic activities like waking up, moving through space with smartphones and wearable devices, and interacting with digital platforms. The fundamental question that predates transhumanism but becomes more urgent within it is how individuals can own what they produce simply by existing and moving through the world. This data is captured through accelerometers, gyroscopes, GPS systems, and countless other sensors that create comprehensive digital profiles without explicit consent or meaningful control by the individuals being monitored. The unilateral nature of this communication, where individuals broadcast data without receiving genuine value in return, has become so deeply embedded in modern infrastructure that it forms part of the taken-for-granted landscape of contemporary life.6. Platform lock-in and the inability to migrate digital identity across services creates a new category of loss that requires genuine grieving. Avalos describes how his experience with Instagram, which began as a personal visual diary before the Facebook acquisition, evolved into a situation where he cannot extract his creative work and social connections from the platform without significant loss. This phenomenon extends beyond mere inconvenience to touch on fundamental questions of identity and citizenship, as social media profiles increasingly determine real-world opportunities like visa applications and border crossings. The implications of digital footprints have become severe enough that individuals can be denied entry to countries based on algorithmic analysis of their online interactions, likes, and expressed beliefs. This creates a situation where people are worth exactly what their digital twin indicates they are worth, with no meaningful avenue for human appeal or nuanced self-representation.7. The future relationship between humans and technology requires a return to principles of sovereignty, local control, and open source development rather than dependence on corporate platforms and proprietary systems. Both Alsop and Avalos advocate for a do-it-yourself approach to technology that emphasizes ownership and control over personal tools and data. This includes avoiding closed systems like Neuralink unless they become open source and user-controlled, and prioritizing local execution of AI models over cloud-based services that create dependencies and enable surveillance. The conversation suggests that techno-optimism remains possible, but only from what Avalos calls the trenches, acknowledging the different relationship that people in the Global South and those outside centers of power have with technology. This grounded optimism recognizes the entanglement of beneficial and harmful aspects of technological development and maintains that human agency and creative freedom require conscious resistance to the convenience-at-all-costs model that has characterized recent technological adoption.
This week on Sinica, a rare treat: an in-person recording from Beijing with two dear friends who happen to be two of the very best in the business on technology and China — Samm Sacks and Paul Triolo, fresh off the exhibition floor of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. We dig into Xi Jinping's first in-person WAIC appearance and his most extensive statement on AI to date, the launch of the World AI Cooperation Organization, Moonshot's release of Kimi K3, the Trump administration's reported push to shut Chinese open-weight models out of the U.S. market, the coming age of agents, the untranslatable problem of ānquán, and what to expect from the first U.S.-China AI dialogue in September.8:51 – The view from the floor: heat, humidity, robot boxing grandmas, WeChat-gated free water, and the "AI+" vibe — why WAIC 2026 felt less like an AI conference than a sector-by-sector snapshot of China's entire economy being supercharged with AI, with attendance swelling to some 200,000 tickets16:32 – Why Xi showed up: what the leader's first in-person WAIC appearance and his most extensive AI statement to date signal, and why domestic drivers matter as much as geopolitics18:01 – Chapter and verse: which phrases from the speech will be put to work in the system — "secure and orderly development" and the governance of agents, and Xi's strikingly extensive language on AI safety after China was frozen out of the Paris process22:26 – The ānquán problem: one word meaning both "safety" and "security," the three buckets of AI risk, and how China's safety community has moved from bias and deepfakes toward CBRN and loss-of-control concerns — Black Mirror versus Star Trek28:14 – Shanghai's baby: how WAIC's ownership structure differs from the CAC-run World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Chen Jining's very visible host duties, and whether the center of gravity in AI policy is shifting to the Yangtze River Delta30:05 – WAICO: what the new World AI Cooperation Organization with its 29 founding members is actually for, Xi's concrete deliverables for the Global South — 5,000 AI training slots, regional cooperation centers, the MAZU early-warning system — and healthy skepticism about follow-through34:39 – Kimi K3: what's technically significant in Moonshot's big new model, why it's the fourth arguably frontier-class Chinese release in a single month, the two-way traffic in distillation accusations, and what it all says about the state of the frontier gap four years into export controls40:33 – Washington reacts: the reported menu of options for shutting Chinese open-weight models out of the U.S. — entity listings, a draft executive order, supply-chain security authorities — and why none of the tools actually fit the problem49:36 – Strange bedfellows: David Sacks versus the "closed lab duopoly," the FUD strategy, why some 80% of Andreessen Horowitz portfolio companies reportedly run on Chinese open models, and how gating U.S. frontier models while Chinese weights flow freely supercharges the AI sovereignty argument worldwide54:55 – The model is infrastructure, the agent is the product: the ByteDance–ZTE agentic phone, the CAC's new initiative on agent trust and interoperability, and why agents fused into operating systems upend both super-app walled gardens and China's data protection regime1:02:27 – An exegesis of kěkòng: the many meanings of "controllable," the long history of ānquán kěkòng in Chinese tech policy, and the unanswered question of who — CAC, NDRC, or somebody new — actually owns AI safety in either system1:08:54 – The road to September: what to expect from the first U.S.-China AI dialogue, why Mythos tops the Chinese grievance list, the securitization feedback loop that starves trust-and-safety advocates of resources on both sides, and why recursive self-improvement makes this feel like a last, best chancePaying It ForwardPaul nominates Tony Peng, whose Substack RecodeChinaAI offers sharp, well-written analysis of the application side of China's AI industry — part of an impressive new generation of independent China tech writers. Samm gives a shout-out to Professor Zhu Yue of Tongji University Law School, published in Science and doing pioneering work at the intersection of disability law and AI law.RecommendationsSamm: The Land and Its People by David Sedaris — laugh-out-loud funny, especially the "Enough is Enough" chapter; Transcription by Ben Lerner, a perfect small novel about fathers, sons, memory, and technology as enabler or disabler of connection; and Didion and Babitz, on Joan Didion and Eve Babitz and the 1970s California rock scene.Paul: The Party's Interests Come First by Joseph Torigian — dense but beautifully written, and essential for understanding the current Chinese leadership.Kaiser: A fiction-only summer! Stoner by John Williams, a small life told most grandly in some of the most beautiful sentence-level writing anywhere; Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, an epistolary novel dense with distilled wisdom from a dying Iowa minister; and Wang Xiaobo's The Golden Age (黄金时代) in Yan Yan's excellent new translation — bawdy, hilarious, and super Beijing-y despite its Cultural Revolution setting.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
pWotD Episode 3367: Shakira Welcome to popular Wiki of the Day, spotlighting Wikipedia's most visited pages, giving you a peek into what the world is curious about today.With 203,437 views on Tuesday, 21 July 2026 our article of the day is Shakira.Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( shə-KEER-ə, Spanish: [ʃaˈkiɾa isaˈβel meβaˈɾak riˈpol]; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter, dancer, and record producer. Referred to as the "Queen of Latin Music", she has had a significant impact on the musical landscape of Latin America and has been credited with popularizing Hispanophone music globally, contributing to increased learning and use of the Spanish language worldwide. She is also credited with opening the doors of the international market for other Latin artists. Her accolades include four Grammy Awards and 15 Latin Grammy Awards.Shakira made her recording debut with Sony Music Colombia at the age of 14. She rose to prominence with the albums Pies Descalzos (1995) and Dónde Están los Ladrones? (1998). Her first English release, Laundry Service (2001), sold over 13 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female Latin artist. Her success was further solidified with the Spanish-language albums Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 (2005), Sale el Sol (2010), El Dorado (2017), and Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (2024), all of which topped the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, making her the first woman with number-one albums across four different decades. Her English albums Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 (2005), She Wolf (2009), and Shakira (2014) achieved platinum status worldwide.Shakira is among the world's best-selling musicians with numerous number-one singles, including "Estoy Aquí", "Ciega, Sordomuda", "Whenever, Wherever / Suerte", "Underneath Your Clothes", "Objection (Tango)", "La Tortura", "Hips Don't Lie", "Beautiful Liar", "She Wolf", "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", "Loca", "Rabiosa", "Can't Remember to Forget You", "Dare (La La La)", "La Bicicleta", "Chantaje", "Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53", "TQG", and "Dai Dai". Shakira served as a coach on two seasons of the American singing competition television series The Voice (2013–2014), had a voice role in the animated films Zootopia (2016) and Zootopia 2 (2025), and executive produced and judged the dance competition series Dancing with Myself (2022). Billboard named her the Top Female Latin Artist of the Decade twice (2000s and 2010s), and she was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2026. Involved with the FIFA World Cup at various points since 2006, Shakira has been described as the tournament's artistic, publicity, and humanitarian icon.Shakira has written or co-written a vast majority of music and lyrics she performed during her career and is regarded as an "international phenomenon", known for blending Western and Middle Eastern influences. She received the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year and Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year awards in 2011, for her philanthropic and humanitarian work, such as the Barefoot Foundation, and was appointed to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. Additionally, she was granted the honor of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government in 2012, and advocates for equitable development of the Global South, the rights and interests of children, the Latino minority in the U. S. and Canada, women, and other under-represented groups.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 05:00 UTC on Wednesday, 22 July 2026.For the full current version of the article, see Shakira on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Bluesky at @wikioftheday.com.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm standard Geraint.
Eric Olander, editor-in-chief of the China Global South Project, joins the pod to discuss the developments on the other side of the globe. From Ho Chi Minh City, Eric explains how the Global South actually sees the US-Iran war, why nobody expects China to ride to anyone's rescue, and how Vietnam's tariff and energy shocks became a never-again moment. He and Jacob dig into the myth that tariffs can implode China, America's fading China literacy, and why the next order won't be Chinese-led - but China will be its transformational character.*Note: There are some weird buzzing sounds in the pod, we know! There was some sort of issue uploading the audio, we're on it.--Timestamps:(00:00) - Welcome and Guest Intro(00:46) - World Cup Travel Chaos(02:01) - Soccer Politics and Tensions(03:33) - Meet Eric Olander(05:32) - China's Transformation Story(07:54) - Global South Views of China(10:26) - China as Daily Operating System(13:12) - Pew Poll Surprises Explained(14:10) - Southeast Asia vs Northeast Asia(17:32) - Why Philippines Aligns With US(20:10) - Japan Taiwan Flashpoint(21:15) - Supply Chains and Sea Lanes(23:36) - Japan Rearms for Post US Era(28:19) - Japan's Regional Influence(30:38) - Japan as Counterbalance(32:04) - Drone Age Security Shift(33:05) - South China Sea Alarm(33:28) - Iran War Global South(38:37) - China Gains and Risks(40:46) - No Alliance Expectations(43:51) - ICBM Test Explained(47:40) - Decoupling and US Pragmatists(50:35) - People to People Breakdown(54:41) - China Blowing Europe Window(58:56) - Mutual Misunderstanding Finale(59:55) - Closing Thanks and Signoff--Referenced in the Show:--Jacob Shapiro Site: jacobshapiro.comJacob Shapiro LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jacob-l-s-a9337416Jacob Twitter: x.com/JacobShapJacob Shapiro Substack: jashap.substack.com/subscribe --The Jacob Shapiro Show is produced and edited by Audiographies LLC. More information at audiographies.com--Jacob Shapiro is a speaker, consultant, author, and researcher covering global politics and affairs, economics, markets, technology, history, and culture. He speaks to audiences of all sizes around the world, helps global multinationals make strategic decisions about political risks and opportunities, and works directly with investors to grow and protect their assets in today's volatile global environment. His insights help audiences across industries like finance, agriculture, and energy make sense of the world.--Mentioned in this episode:Check Out Future Hindsight!If you enjoy our podcast, check out our homies over at Future Hindsight! It's an award-winning weekly podcast that takes big ideas about civic life and democracy and turns them into action items for you and me. Learn more at www.futurehindsight.com/
Dream the Size of Freedom: How African Liberation Mobilized New Left Internationalism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025) by Dr. R. Joseph Parrott explores how anti-colonial movements in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau reshaped US activist engagement with the Global South from the 1960s through the 1970s and influenced American foreign policy as the Vietnam War drew to a close. These Portuguese African liberation movements, led by nationalists like Eduardo Mondlane and Amílcar Cabral, built global solidarity networks to support their military and social challenges to empire while defending against Western intervention. US activists disillusioned with the Cold War came to see African self-determination as central to global campaigns for racial and economic justice. A broad coalition ranging from Black Power radicals to religious liberals mobilized against the North Atlantic alliance with Portugal. In the process, this grassroots movement helped define a New Left Internationalism that championed decentralized, multiracial organizing and a collaborative vision of US foreign policy to redress historic inequalities between Global North and South. Drawing on more than fifty oral histories and research in government and activist archives on three continents in English, Portuguese, French, and Afrikaans, Dr. Parrott reconstructs the transnational anti-imperial network that injected Global South priorities into US political debates. Popular protests and informational campaigns led to collaborations with legislators eager to constrain the powerful executive branch. In 1976, this grassroots-legislative alliance halted Gerald Ford's anti-communist intervention against the Soviet-backed government of newly independent Angola. This victory of New Left Internationalist ideas anticipated future anti-apartheid and Latin American peace movements while also fueling a conservative revival of Cold War containment. By exploring US engagement with the contested process of African decolonization, Dream the Size of Freedom highlights the origins of two contrasting visions of American foreign policy that defined debates over the country's proper role in the Global South into the 1990s. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Dream the Size of Freedom: How African Liberation Mobilized New Left Internationalism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025) by Dr. R. Joseph Parrott explores how anti-colonial movements in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau reshaped US activist engagement with the Global South from the 1960s through the 1970s and influenced American foreign policy as the Vietnam War drew to a close. These Portuguese African liberation movements, led by nationalists like Eduardo Mondlane and Amílcar Cabral, built global solidarity networks to support their military and social challenges to empire while defending against Western intervention. US activists disillusioned with the Cold War came to see African self-determination as central to global campaigns for racial and economic justice. A broad coalition ranging from Black Power radicals to religious liberals mobilized against the North Atlantic alliance with Portugal. In the process, this grassroots movement helped define a New Left Internationalism that championed decentralized, multiracial organizing and a collaborative vision of US foreign policy to redress historic inequalities between Global North and South. Drawing on more than fifty oral histories and research in government and activist archives on three continents in English, Portuguese, French, and Afrikaans, Dr. Parrott reconstructs the transnational anti-imperial network that injected Global South priorities into US political debates. Popular protests and informational campaigns led to collaborations with legislators eager to constrain the powerful executive branch. In 1976, this grassroots-legislative alliance halted Gerald Ford's anti-communist intervention against the Soviet-backed government of newly independent Angola. This victory of New Left Internationalist ideas anticipated future anti-apartheid and Latin American peace movements while also fueling a conservative revival of Cold War containment. By exploring US engagement with the contested process of African decolonization, Dream the Size of Freedom highlights the origins of two contrasting visions of American foreign policy that defined debates over the country's proper role in the Global South into the 1990s. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-studies
On today's show Andrew and Bill focus on the arrival of Moonshot's Kimi K3 model and the “DeepSeek 2.0 concerns” among investors and policymakers. Topics include: The incoherent U.S. approach to the open source AI ecosystem, levers the U.S. side could pull to thwart Chinese progress, and why the Trump Administration might be reluctant to take those steps. Then: Xi's keynote address at the World AI conference, China's coherent messaging to the world, questions about infrastructure in the Global South, and the needle the U.S. could thread with open source policy. At the end: Trump's claims of “an unprecedented election security nightmare” at the hands of the PRC, the Connected Vehicle Security Act heads to mark-up this week, Neville Roy Singham is under investigation, and Rep. John Moolenaar urges the NBA to look closer at Brooklyn Nets owner—and Alibaba Chairman—Joe Tsai.
Dream the Size of Freedom: How African Liberation Mobilized New Left Internationalism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025) by Dr. R. Joseph Parrott explores how anti-colonial movements in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau reshaped US activist engagement with the Global South from the 1960s through the 1970s and influenced American foreign policy as the Vietnam War drew to a close. These Portuguese African liberation movements, led by nationalists like Eduardo Mondlane and Amílcar Cabral, built global solidarity networks to support their military and social challenges to empire while defending against Western intervention. US activists disillusioned with the Cold War came to see African self-determination as central to global campaigns for racial and economic justice. A broad coalition ranging from Black Power radicals to religious liberals mobilized against the North Atlantic alliance with Portugal. In the process, this grassroots movement helped define a New Left Internationalism that championed decentralized, multiracial organizing and a collaborative vision of US foreign policy to redress historic inequalities between Global North and South. Drawing on more than fifty oral histories and research in government and activist archives on three continents in English, Portuguese, French, and Afrikaans, Dr. Parrott reconstructs the transnational anti-imperial network that injected Global South priorities into US political debates. Popular protests and informational campaigns led to collaborations with legislators eager to constrain the powerful executive branch. In 1976, this grassroots-legislative alliance halted Gerald Ford's anti-communist intervention against the Soviet-backed government of newly independent Angola. This victory of New Left Internationalist ideas anticipated future anti-apartheid and Latin American peace movements while also fueling a conservative revival of Cold War containment. By exploring US engagement with the contested process of African decolonization, Dream the Size of Freedom highlights the origins of two contrasting visions of American foreign policy that defined debates over the country's proper role in the Global South into the 1990s. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history
Dream the Size of Freedom: How African Liberation Mobilized New Left Internationalism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025) by Dr. R. Joseph Parrott explores how anti-colonial movements in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau reshaped US activist engagement with the Global South from the 1960s through the 1970s and influenced American foreign policy as the Vietnam War drew to a close. These Portuguese African liberation movements, led by nationalists like Eduardo Mondlane and Amílcar Cabral, built global solidarity networks to support their military and social challenges to empire while defending against Western intervention. US activists disillusioned with the Cold War came to see African self-determination as central to global campaigns for racial and economic justice. A broad coalition ranging from Black Power radicals to religious liberals mobilized against the North Atlantic alliance with Portugal. In the process, this grassroots movement helped define a New Left Internationalism that championed decentralized, multiracial organizing and a collaborative vision of US foreign policy to redress historic inequalities between Global North and South. Drawing on more than fifty oral histories and research in government and activist archives on three continents in English, Portuguese, French, and Afrikaans, Dr. Parrott reconstructs the transnational anti-imperial network that injected Global South priorities into US political debates. Popular protests and informational campaigns led to collaborations with legislators eager to constrain the powerful executive branch. In 1976, this grassroots-legislative alliance halted Gerald Ford's anti-communist intervention against the Soviet-backed government of newly independent Angola. This victory of New Left Internationalist ideas anticipated future anti-apartheid and Latin American peace movements while also fueling a conservative revival of Cold War containment. By exploring US engagement with the contested process of African decolonization, Dream the Size of Freedom highlights the origins of two contrasting visions of American foreign policy that defined debates over the country's proper role in the Global South into the 1990s. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
The RUNDOWN S6 E113: Democrat Melat Kiros: U.S. Must Elect More Immigrants from ‘Global South' to Challenge Global World OrderPlease Support Our Sponsors:HITMAN INDUSTRIES - Visit them at https://www.hitmanindustries.net/THE CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLY - Visit them at https://cragop.org/USCOMBATGEAR.COM - Visit them at https://www.uscombatgear.com/HAWG HOLSTERS - Visit them at https://www.hawgholsters.com/
Carolyn Woodard covers a growing counter-movement to concentrated AI power and what it means for nonprofits thinking about data sovereignty, open-source models, and their own agency in a moment that can feel overwhelming.Mozilla's recent State of Open Source AI Report frames this shift as a "Rebel Alliance" against winner-take-all AI development. Mozilla is deploying $1.4 billion to seed an open, trustworthy AI ecosystem, joined by more than 55 organizations. The report makes the case that open-source models are closing the capability gap with closed commercial systems, and that communities, not just corporations, can own and control their AI.Carolyn also introduces Current AI, a nonprofit backed by the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and the French government, which is building what it calls a worldwide web of AI: free, public, and available to anyone the way the early internet was. One example: an offline device running AI in 22 Indian languages, built so communities own their data entirely. A Current AI grantee in Brazil is doing similar work with indigenous Amazon communities.This episode covers:Why Mozilla's open-source AI report matters for nonprofits skeptical of locking into commercial platforms with opaque pricing and data practices.How indigenous and Global South communities are leading on data sovereignty, and what that model could mean for mission-driven organizations here.The case for staying informed even if you're not ready to act: understanding the landscape is itself a form of agency.One for-profit alternative worth knowing: Change Agent AI, built by, for, and with the social sector, on its own infrastructure without big tech servers, currently $25 per seat.Resources Mentioned:State of Open Source AI Report – Mozilla – https://stateofopensource.aiCurrent AI – https://www.currentai.org/Nonprofit Current AI Is Racing to Build the World Wide Web of AI – TechCrunch – https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/19/nonprofit-current-ai-is-racing-to-build-the-world-wide-web-of-ai-free-for-all/Conference Spotlight: Data Sovereignty and the Ethics of AI – Vimeo – https://vimeo.com/1200022928/dce5a0cd1eNCAI Tribal AI Governance Briefing – National Congress of American Indians – https://hubs.la/Q04pD9650Change Agent AI – https://thechange.aiGenerative AI Is an Engineering Disaster – The Atlantic (paywalled) – https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/07/generative-ai-engineering-disaster/687901/New every Tuesday. _______________________________Start a conversation :)Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.comon LinkedIn on reddit/r/nonprofitITmanagementon the Community IT websiteThanks for listening.
Dream the Size of Freedom: How African Liberation Mobilized New Left Internationalism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025) by Dr. R. Joseph Parrott explores how anti-colonial movements in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau reshaped US activist engagement with the Global South from the 1960s through the 1970s and influenced American foreign policy as the Vietnam War drew to a close. These Portuguese African liberation movements, led by nationalists like Eduardo Mondlane and Amílcar Cabral, built global solidarity networks to support their military and social challenges to empire while defending against Western intervention. US activists disillusioned with the Cold War came to see African self-determination as central to global campaigns for racial and economic justice. A broad coalition ranging from Black Power radicals to religious liberals mobilized against the North Atlantic alliance with Portugal. In the process, this grassroots movement helped define a New Left Internationalism that championed decentralized, multiracial organizing and a collaborative vision of US foreign policy to redress historic inequalities between Global North and South. Drawing on more than fifty oral histories and research in government and activist archives on three continents in English, Portuguese, French, and Afrikaans, Dr. Parrott reconstructs the transnational anti-imperial network that injected Global South priorities into US political debates. Popular protests and informational campaigns led to collaborations with legislators eager to constrain the powerful executive branch. In 1976, this grassroots-legislative alliance halted Gerald Ford's anti-communist intervention against the Soviet-backed government of newly independent Angola. This victory of New Left Internationalist ideas anticipated future anti-apartheid and Latin American peace movements while also fueling a conservative revival of Cold War containment. By exploring US engagement with the contested process of African decolonization, Dream the Size of Freedom highlights the origins of two contrasting visions of American foreign policy that defined debates over the country's proper role in the Global South into the 1990s. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dream the Size of Freedom: How African Liberation Mobilized New Left Internationalism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025) by Dr. R. Joseph Parrott explores how anti-colonial movements in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau reshaped US activist engagement with the Global South from the 1960s through the 1970s and influenced American foreign policy as the Vietnam War drew to a close. These Portuguese African liberation movements, led by nationalists like Eduardo Mondlane and Amílcar Cabral, built global solidarity networks to support their military and social challenges to empire while defending against Western intervention. US activists disillusioned with the Cold War came to see African self-determination as central to global campaigns for racial and economic justice. A broad coalition ranging from Black Power radicals to religious liberals mobilized against the North Atlantic alliance with Portugal. In the process, this grassroots movement helped define a New Left Internationalism that championed decentralized, multiracial organizing and a collaborative vision of US foreign policy to redress historic inequalities between Global North and South. Drawing on more than fifty oral histories and research in government and activist archives on three continents in English, Portuguese, French, and Afrikaans, Dr. Parrott reconstructs the transnational anti-imperial network that injected Global South priorities into US political debates. Popular protests and informational campaigns led to collaborations with legislators eager to constrain the powerful executive branch. In 1976, this grassroots-legislative alliance halted Gerald Ford's anti-communist intervention against the Soviet-backed government of newly independent Angola. This victory of New Left Internationalist ideas anticipated future anti-apartheid and Latin American peace movements while also fueling a conservative revival of Cold War containment. By exploring US engagement with the contested process of African decolonization, Dream the Size of Freedom highlights the origins of two contrasting visions of American foreign policy that defined debates over the country's proper role in the Global South into the 1990s. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dream the Size of Freedom: How African Liberation Mobilized New Left Internationalism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025) by Dr. R. Joseph Parrott explores how anti-colonial movements in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau reshaped US activist engagement with the Global South from the 1960s through the 1970s and influenced American foreign policy as the Vietnam War drew to a close. These Portuguese African liberation movements, led by nationalists like Eduardo Mondlane and Amílcar Cabral, built global solidarity networks to support their military and social challenges to empire while defending against Western intervention. US activists disillusioned with the Cold War came to see African self-determination as central to global campaigns for racial and economic justice. A broad coalition ranging from Black Power radicals to religious liberals mobilized against the North Atlantic alliance with Portugal. In the process, this grassroots movement helped define a New Left Internationalism that championed decentralized, multiracial organizing and a collaborative vision of US foreign policy to redress historic inequalities between Global North and South. Drawing on more than fifty oral histories and research in government and activist archives on three continents in English, Portuguese, French, and Afrikaans, Dr. Parrott reconstructs the transnational anti-imperial network that injected Global South priorities into US political debates. Popular protests and informational campaigns led to collaborations with legislators eager to constrain the powerful executive branch. In 1976, this grassroots-legislative alliance halted Gerald Ford's anti-communist intervention against the Soviet-backed government of newly independent Angola. This victory of New Left Internationalist ideas anticipated future anti-apartheid and Latin American peace movements while also fueling a conservative revival of Cold War containment. By exploring US engagement with the contested process of African decolonization, Dream the Size of Freedom highlights the origins of two contrasting visions of American foreign policy that defined debates over the country's proper role in the Global South into the 1990s. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dream the Size of Freedom: How African Liberation Mobilized New Left Internationalism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025) by Dr. R. Joseph Parrott explores how anti-colonial movements in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau reshaped US activist engagement with the Global South from the 1960s through the 1970s and influenced American foreign policy as the Vietnam War drew to a close. These Portuguese African liberation movements, led by nationalists like Eduardo Mondlane and Amílcar Cabral, built global solidarity networks to support their military and social challenges to empire while defending against Western intervention. US activists disillusioned with the Cold War came to see African self-determination as central to global campaigns for racial and economic justice. A broad coalition ranging from Black Power radicals to religious liberals mobilized against the North Atlantic alliance with Portugal. In the process, this grassroots movement helped define a New Left Internationalism that championed decentralized, multiracial organizing and a collaborative vision of US foreign policy to redress historic inequalities between Global North and South. Drawing on more than fifty oral histories and research in government and activist archives on three continents in English, Portuguese, French, and Afrikaans, Dr. Parrott reconstructs the transnational anti-imperial network that injected Global South priorities into US political debates. Popular protests and informational campaigns led to collaborations with legislators eager to constrain the powerful executive branch. In 1976, this grassroots-legislative alliance halted Gerald Ford's anti-communist intervention against the Soviet-backed government of newly independent Angola. This victory of New Left Internationalist ideas anticipated future anti-apartheid and Latin American peace movements while also fueling a conservative revival of Cold War containment. By exploring US engagement with the contested process of African decolonization, Dream the Size of Freedom highlights the origins of two contrasting visions of American foreign policy that defined debates over the country's proper role in the Global South into the 1990s. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day
China is an active advocate and practitioner of global governance in artificial intelligence, committed to ensuring that the benefits of AI are shared more broadly and equitably among people around the world, experts said.专家表示，中国是人工智能全球治理的积极倡导者和践行者，致力于让人工智能发展成果更广泛、更公平地惠及世界各国人民。Guided by the principles of multilateralism, openness and inclusiveness, China works to build the broadest possible international consensus on AI governance and contributes Chinese solutions to advancing global development in the age of intelligence, they said.专家们说，中国秉持多边主义、开放包容的原则，努力凝聚人工智能治理领域最广泛的国际共识，为推动智能时代全球发展贡献中国方案。Speaking in Shanghai at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, President Xi Jinping called for joint efforts to build a just and equitable system for global AI governance.国家主席习近平在上海出席2026世界人工智能大会暨全球人工智能治理高级别会议开幕式并发表讲话，呼吁各方共同努力，构建公正合理的全球人工智能治理体系。"All countries should take a people-centered approach and develop AI for the positive and for good. We should ensure that AI is an important driver for shared prosperity and common security," Xi said.习近平表示："各国应坚持以人为本，推动人工智能向善发展，确保人工智能成为促进共同繁荣与普遍安全的重要力量。"In his keynote speech, Xi stressed the need for adhering to the principles of openness and win-win and boosting innovation-driven development.习近平在主旨演讲中强调，要坚持开放合作、互利共赢，加快创新驱动发展。He called for strengthening risk awareness, ensuring that AI is secure and controllable, encouraging inclusiveness, promoting mutual learning between civilizations, advocating solidarity and improving global governance.他呼吁增强风险意识，确保人工智能安全可控，倡导包容普惠，促进文明互鉴，弘扬团结协作精神，完善全球治理。Gordon K'achola, founder and CEO of the Africa Center for Diplomatic Affairs, highlighted that China has promised to help developing countries build their own AI know-how.非洲外交事务中心创始人兼首席执行官戈登·卡乔拉指出，中国已承诺帮助发展中国家建立自主人工智能技术能力。"For Africa and the broader Global South, the goal isn't just getting the latest tech. It's about building the capacity to create and control their own AI writing algorithms, growing research centers, and strengthening local institutions," he said.他表示："对非洲和更广泛的全球南方国家而言，目标不仅仅是获得最新技术，更在于培养自主研发和掌控人工智能算法的能力，壮大本地研究中心，加强本土机构建设。"Xi said that China will develop international AI application cooperation centers with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the League of Arab States, the African Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS.习近平表示，中国将与东盟、阿盟、非盟、拉共体、上海合作组织、金砖国家共同建设人工智能应用国际合作中心。Furthermore, China will promote the deployment of MAZU, an AI-powered meteorological early-warning solution, in 30 countries, he said.他还表示，中国将推动人工智能气象预警方案"妈祖"在30个国家落地应用。Philip Okello, principal meteorologist at the Kenya Meteorology Service, noted that China has made significant advances in meteorological forecasting, satellite observation and early warning of disasters, adding that deeper cooperation in these areas could help enhance Africa's forecasting capabilities and strengthen its resilience to climate change.肯尼亚气象局首席气象学家菲利普·奥凯洛指出，中国在气象预报、卫星观测和灾害预警等领域取得显著进展，他补充说，在这些领域深化合作将有助于提升非洲的预报能力，增强其应对气候变化的韧性。"President Xi's speech is timely because climate change is no longer a future risk; it is a present-day reality that is affecting countries across the globe," he said.他说："习近平主席的讲话恰逢其时，因为气候变化已不再是未来的风险，而是正在影响全球各国的现实挑战。"Okello also said that Xi's emphasis on strengthening meteorological science, innovation and international cooperation "aligns closely with what Africa needs to better prepare for increasingly frequent droughts, floods and extreme weather events".奥凯洛还表示，习近平强调加强气象科学研究、创新与国际合作，这与非洲应对日益频发的干旱、洪涝和极端天气事件、提升防范能力的需求高度契合。Xi also announced the establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, whose headquarters will be in Shanghai, as "a major move by China to answer the call of the Global South and unite the international community" to vigorously promote AI development and governance.习近平还宣布成立总部设在上海的世界人工智能合作组织，称这是"中国响应全球南方国家呼声、凝聚国际社会共识"、大力推动人工智能发展与治理的重大举措。Maria Sun, co-chair of the FIRA RoboWorld Cup 2026, said the rapid development of AI has brought new challenges, underscoring the need for stronger international cooperation to address them collectively.2026世界机器人足球锦标赛联合主席玛丽亚·孙表示，人工智能的快速发展带来了新的挑战，凸显出加强国际合作、共同应对这些挑战的必要性。"China's efforts to promote AI cooperation with developing countries are very encouraging. International exchanges like these help bring more countries into the AI era," she said.她说："中国致力于推动与发展中国家的人工智能合作，这非常令人鼓舞。此类国际交流有助于让更多国家融入人工智能时代。""China has maintained an open approach to AI development, and that will contribute significantly to technological progress worldwide. Today, China is one of the global leaders in AI, and its continued openness will help drive innovation and international cooperation," Sun added.孙补充说："中国在人工智能发展上始终秉持开放态度，这将为全球科技进步作出重要贡献。当今，中国已成为全球人工智能领域的领军者之一，其持续开放的姿态将有助于推动创新与国际合作。"Humprey Arnaldo Russel, head of the ASEAN-China Research Center at the University of Indonesia, said that AI creates transnational challenges involving safety, ethics, misuse, technical standards, regulatory fragmentation, and widening digital and governance divides.印度尼西亚大学东盟-中国研究中心主任汉弗雷·阿纳尔多·拉塞尔表示，人工智能带来了涉及安全、伦理、滥用、技术标准、监管碎片化以及数字和治理鸿沟扩大等跨国性挑战。He said that the Global AI Governance Initiative, put forward by President Xi in 2023, advances global AI governance through solidarity and multilateral cooperation, which requires the greatest attention from the international community.他表示，习近平主席于2023年提出的《全球人工智能治理倡议》，通过团结协作与多边合作推动全球人工智能治理，这需要国际社会给予高度关注。"The proposal is especially important for the Global South, whose interests remain underrepresented in global technology governance. A broadly accepted, United Nations-centered framework could strengthen developing countries' participation (in global AI governance) while respecting different national conditions," he added.他补充说："这一倡议对全球南方国家尤为重要，因为它们的利益在全球科技治理中长期代表性不足。一个得到广泛认可、以联合国为中心的框架，既能尊重各国不同国情，又能加强发展中国家在（全球人工智能治理）中的参与。"David Tuffley, an adjunct senior lecturer at Griffith University's School of Information and Communication Technology in Australia, said the people-centered approach seeks to address a major challenge in AI governance: ensuring that the benefits of the technology are shared broadly rather than remaining concentrated in the hands of a few.澳大利亚格里菲斯大学信息与通信技术学院客座高级讲师戴维·塔夫利表示，"以人为本"的理念旨在应对人工智能治理中的一大挑战，即确保技术发展成果得到广泛共享，而非被少数人垄断。President Xi's speech highlighted China's commitment to promoting global AI governance and the development of international norms, he noted.他指出，习近平主席的讲话彰显了中国致力于推动全球人工智能治理和国际规则制定的坚定承诺。Tuffley also said that for the international community, particularly developing countries, the commitment to capacity building and greater access to computing power is especially significant, as much of the world's population currently has little voice in shaping the rules that govern AI.塔夫利还表示，对国际社会尤其是发展中国家而言，加强能力建设、扩大算力获取渠道的承诺意义尤为重大，因为当前全球相当一部分人口在人工智能规则制定中话语权十分有限。"Australia and China share an interest in AI safety research, in standards for evaluating frontier systems, and in ensuring AI serves rather than displaces human judgment in critical domains such as healthcare and education," he said.他说："澳大利亚与中国在人工智能安全研究、前沿系统评估标准，以及确保人工智能在医疗、教育等关键领域服务于人类判断而非取代人类判断等方面，拥有共同利益。"practitioner /prækˈtɪʃənər/ n.实践者，践行者equitably /ˈekwɪtəbli/ adv.公平地multilateralism /ˌmʌltiˈlætərəlɪzəm/ n.多边主义inclusiveness /ɪnˈkluːsɪvnəs/ n.包容性fragmentation /ˌfrægmenˈteɪʃən/ n.碎片化underrepresented /ˌʌndərˌreprɪˈzentɪd/ adj.代表性不足的adjunct /ˈædʒʌŋkt/ adj.兼任的，客座的frontier /ˈfrʌntɪr/ n.前沿
President Xi Jinping unveiled on Friday a set of concrete measures to help developing countries build artificial intelligence capacity, including 5,000 training opportunities over the next five years, as he called for joint efforts to build a just and equitable system for global AI governance.Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, held in Shanghai, Xi said that China will develop international AI application cooperation centers with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the League of Arab States, the African Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS.China will also promote the deployment of MAZU, an AI-powered meteorological early-warning solution, in 30 countries, he said.Xi announced the establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization as "a major move by China to answer the call of the Global South and unite the international community" to vigorously promote AI development and governance.On Thursday, representatives of 29 countries signed an agreement establishing the organization. With headquarters in Shanghai, it will be the world's first intergovernmental organization dedicated to AI."It will be an important milestone in the history of AI development," Xi said, noting that AI development should be a symphony of international cooperation instead of a solo performance by a single country.In his keynote speech, Xi said China believes that all countries should take a people-centered approach and develop AI for positive and good outcomes and for humanity.He stressed the need to uphold openness and win-win cooperation and promote innovation-driven development, calling for greater openness, collaboration and sharing in open-source development, technological innovation and AI applications to empower industries, upgrade traditional sectors and foster emerging and future industries.Xi called for strengthening risk awareness to ensure that AI is secure and under human control. He also urged stronger legal, monitoring, early-warning and emergency-response systems to prevent the misuse or malicious use of AI, while opposing the overstretching of national security concerns in the AI sector or placing one country's security above that of others."We should … ensure that AI is always under human control," he said.Xi also called for countries to encourage inclusiveness and mutual learning among civilizations, saying that the values of AI should be shaped with humanity's common values, and AI technologies should be used to deepen understanding, tolerance, exchanges and sharing among all civilizations."AI development and its application should not erode or undermine the diversity of world civilizations or the uniqueness of cultures of different countries," he said.Xi advocated solidarity and stronger global AI governance, urging countries to work through the United Nations to align development strategies, governance rules and technical standards, in order to form a consensus-based global governance framework at an early date.He also called for stronger capacity-building support for the Global South to bridge the AI and digital divides and prevent creating new historical injustice in AI.Addressing the opening ceremony, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said no country should remain merely a consumer of AI, and that every state should have the opportunity to develop its own digital infrastructure and institutional capacity.Tokayev described the establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization as a decision of historic significance, saying that it could become an important pillar of the global AI governance architecture and a platform for mutually beneficial cooperation.Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said his country views AI as a bridge for international cooperation rather than a source of geopolitical rivalry, and supports an open, multi-aligned architecture that enables collaboration across regions, political systems and governance models.Developing countries should have meaningful and equitable access to AI technologies, data infrastructure and localized tools, he said.Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said that although AI is already reshaping many aspects of people's lives, technological progress does not automatically become human progress, which depends on the choices countries make together."Thailand, therefore, commends the foresight of President Xi Jinping and his government for convening this important meeting and for advancing international cooperation on AI governance, including the initiative to establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization," he said.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said technology that will shape the future of humanity must be shaped by all humanity, and cannot be governed by only a handful of countries or companies.While AI can accelerate medical breakthroughs, transform education, strengthen food systems and create new industries and jobs, Guterres warned that computing power, data resources and technical expertise remain concentrated, with developing countries receiving only a trickle of AI investment.He said China has an essential role to play in making AI a force for greater inclusion and shared progress.The four-day conference, which runs through Monday under the theme "AI Partnership for a Brighter Future", is one of the world's leading annual AI events.This year, it has drawn government officials and representatives from industry, academia and research institutions, with participants representing more than 100 countries and international organizations.A chair's statement issued on Friday called for stronger international cooperation to address major challenges in the AI era and greater prominence for AI capacity building in global governance.It also urged action to tackle unequal access to resources and power, so that Global South countries can share fairly in the benefits of AI and contribute to achieving the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
When God entrusts us with more than we need, the question is not simply “How can we preserve it?” or “How can we grow it?” The deeper question is, “What is this surplus for?” That question moves stewardship beyond spreadsheets, tax strategies, and investment performance. It takes us into matters of the heart, family, calling, and purpose. And for many families, that is where stewardship becomes both more challenging and more meaningful. Rachel McDonough, a Certified Kingdom Advisor® (CKA®), Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), and author of The River and the Garden: A Story of Faithfully Stewarding Surplus, joined the show today to explore how Christians can think more deeply about stewarding wealth, especially when they have been entrusted with more than they need for provision. Why Tell a Stewardship Story? Rachel has spent more than 20 years crafting financial plans. So when her publisher first suggested she write fiction about stewardship, she was surprised. After all, much of the financial world is built around practical tools, frameworks, and step-by-step guidance. But Rachel came to see that a story can reach places a spreadsheet cannot. That matters because real families do not fit neatly into formulas. They bring different perspectives, fears, desires, wounds, and hopes to the table. And when money is involved, especially significant money, those relational dynamics often come to the surface. That is part of what makes The River and the Garden unique. It is not a technical manual. It is a parable about wealth, family, faith, and the purposes of God. The River, the Garden, and the Craig Family The novel follows three generations of the Craig family. Maddie, the grandmother and matriarch, has come into a surplus after the sale of a family business. Her son Roger is analytical, driven, and accustomed to solving problems through strategy and optimization. Willow, Maddie's granddaughter, is a young artist who wants little to do with money, numbers, or spreadsheets. Together, they begin a journey that takes them through overlooked neighborhoods in Dallas and even to Rwanda as they explore investment and giving opportunities. Along the way, they wrestle with a central question: What does it look like to steward a surplus faithfully? The imagery of the book is simple but powerful. The river represents capital. The garden represents what we choose to water, cultivate, and grow. That image reframes the way we think about money. Capital is not neutral. It does not merely sit still in an account. It flows somewhere. It waters something. And the faithful steward must ask whether those resources are flowing toward purposes that honor God and serve others. When Capital Becomes Stagnant One of the most striking scenes in the book comes through one of Willow's dreams. In it, she sees dark, stagnant pools of water—a picture of capital left unattended. Rachel says that the image should unsettle thoughtful Christians for at least two reasons. First, capital never truly stands still. We may think of it as simply “sitting” in an investment account, but it is always connected to something. It may be funding businesses, industries, practices, or systems that either contribute to human flourishing or diminish it. Second, surplus wealth needs a purpose. Investing for provision is good and right. Families should plan wisely, save diligently, and seek to provide for their needs. But when a family has more than enough for provision, the conversation should expand. What is the surplus for? Rachel describes surplus as “fuel”—an accelerant for the vision and calling God has placed before a family. That does not mean being careless or impulsive. It means prayerfully assigning purpose to resources rather than allowing them to drift without intention. Provision, Impact, and Prayerful Tension Rachel shared that she and her husband have wrestled personally with this tension between provision and impact. In some cases, they have chosen to invest a portion of their non-retirement savings in redemptive businesses that seek to address serious needs, including a company working toward cancer treatment that could serve not only affluent patients but also people in the Global South. Those choices were not haphazard. They were made through prayer, analysis, planning, and mutual agreement as husband and wife. That is an important distinction. Faithful stewardship is not the same as recklessness. Trusting God does not mean ignoring wisdom. Rather, it means recognizing that the resources God entrusts to us may have purposes beyond our own security. A Book for Those Asking, “What Is This For?” Rachel says The River and the Garden is especially for those who have been entrusted with more than they need and are asking what faithful stewardship looks like now. That may include someone who has received an inheritance, sold a business, accumulated significant assets, or reached a point where the resources exceed what is needed for ordinary provision. For those families, new opportunities may open up in both giving and investing. Many people are familiar with stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and traditional charitable giving. But when surplus is truly available, there may be opportunities to support redemptive businesses, private investments, community development, global work, or other efforts that are not always on a family's radar. Surplus wealth can easily become a source of pride, fear, or conflict. But rightly understood, it can become a tool for joining in the good work God is doing in the world. Aligning Head and Heart At the emotional center of the story is the relationship between Roger and Willow. Roger represents technical mastery. He is confident in spreadsheets, strategies, and optimization. Willow represents relational insight and imagination. She sees the human cost of wealth and longs for transformation, but she initially wants nothing to do with financial conversations. Their journey shows the importance of bringing head and heart together. Faithful stewardship requires wisdom, planning, and diligence. But it also requires love, humility, discernment, and imagination. If we only optimize, we may miss the people and purposes God is inviting us to see. If we only dream, we may neglect the responsibility that comes with stewardship. Near the end of the story, Maddie reflects on the windfall that came from the sale of the business her husband built. She recognizes that the family may have worked too hard and sacrificed too much along the way. She cannot recover the time that was lost, but she can still ask that the money count for something. Many families cannot rewrite the past. They cannot undo every sacrifice, repair every regret, or reclaim every missed moment. But by God's grace, they can still ask what faithfulness looks like today. On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions: I'm 65 and have an annuity worth about $28,000. I'm considering taking monthly withdrawals from it. Is that a wise option? I've been a member of my church for 10 years and have always tithed from my salary. Lately, I'm struggling with some of the church's spending decisions, including music-related purchases and the shift in support from a women's shelter to library reading programs. How should I think about continuing to tithe when I disagree with how some of the money is being used? Resources Mentioned: Faithful Steward: FaithFi's Quarterly Magazine (Become a FaithFi Partner) Garden Audit Assessment The River and the Garden: A Story of Faithfully Stewarding Surplus by Rachel McDonough Our Ultimate Treasure: A 21-Day Journey to Faithful Stewardship by Rob West Wisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on Money Look At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and Anxiety Rich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich Fool Find a Certified Kingdom Advisor® (CKA) FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every weekday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God's resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
This episode of The New Abnormal podcast features the Johannesburg-based ‘thinker, researcher, and sometimes do-er' Geci Karuri-Sebina, who is an Assoc Professor at the WITS Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, Organiser at the Civic Tech Innovation Network, and Chair / Director of the Southern African Node of the Millennium Project.In what I hope you'll agree is a fascinating conversation, she discussed rethinking futures, activism, and development through more pluralistic and imaginative approaches. Drawing on her interdisciplinary background across technology, urban studies, and foresight, Geci explained her shift towards post-activism, arguing that conventional responses to crisis often reproduce the very systems they seek to change. Rather than prioritising action alone, she advocates deeper understanding, experimentation, and humility in the face of complexity. She also illuminated the emerging African Foresight Network, which seeks to cultivate futures thinking rooted in African and Global South perspectives, indigenous knowledge systems, and diverse conceptions of time. Geci discussed challenging linear, Western models of futures thinking and encouraging more culturally grounded approaches - she also critiques the dominance of reductionist foresight methods (e.g. the 2x2 scenario matrix) calling for richer, more inclusive epistemologies and methodologies. Turning to urban futures, Geci outlined her work on a decolonial critique of urban studies, arguing that African cities are often constrained by limiting narratives. She advocates moving beyond these imaginaries through experimentation and new narratives. The discussion concluded with her work on AI, development models, and an "Alt Lab" for social experimentation. Finally, she explained how creating better futures depends on strengthening imagination, inclusion, and institutional transformation...
President Xi Jinping on Friday presented four observations on artificial intelligence (AI) development and governance while addressing the opening ceremony of the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance.First, adhering to the principle of openness and win-win cooperation while boosting innovation-driven development. Xi highlighted the importance of encouraging open-source, openness, collaboration and sharing to facilitate technological innovation, industrial development and scenario-based application of AI.Second, strengthening risk awareness and ensuring that AI is secure and controllable. Stressing the need to ensure that AI is always under human control, Xi urged all sides to jointly oppose overstretching the national security concept in the field of AI or placing one country's security over that of others.Third, encouraging inclusiveness and promoting mutual learning among civilizations. AI development and its application should not erode or undermine the diversity of world civilizations or the uniqueness of cultures of different countries, according to Xi.Fourth, advocating solidarity and improving global governance. The important role of the United Nations should be recognized, Xi said, calling for further alignment and coordination on AI development strategies, governance rules and technical standards."We must carry out extensive international cooperation and help Global South countries with capacity building to bridge the AI and digital divides, promote sustainable development and prevent creating new historical injustice in AI," he said.artificial /ˌɑːtɪˈfɪʃl/adj. 人工的；人造的governance /ˈɡʌvənəns/n. 治理；管理innovation /ˌɪnəˈveɪʃn/n. 创新；革新solidarity /ˌsɒlɪˈdærəti/n. 团结；同心协力
China is stepping up its push for a more open, inclusive and collaborative approach toward artificial intelligence, as the country's open-source AI ecosystem gains growing recognition among overseas users with its wider and fairer access to high-performance AI technologies at lower costs, said senior officials and industry experts.多位高级官员与行业专家表示，中国正积极倡导以更加开放、包容、协作的思路发展人工智能。依托更低成本、更普惠公平的高性能人工智能技术获取渠道，中国开源人工智能生态正在海外获得越来越广泛的认可。"China is ready to work with all parties to establish a globally interoperable AI governance system that accommodates the interests of all parties and promotes beneficial, safe and fair AI development," said Li Lecheng, minister of industry and information technology, when attending the first session of the United Nations Global Dialogue on AI Governance last week in Geneva, Switzerland.工信部部长李乐成上周在瑞士日内瓦出席首届联合国人工智能治理全球对话会时表示：“中方愿同各方携手构建全球互通兼容的人工智能治理体系，兼顾各方利益，推动人工智能向善、安全、公平发展。”By placing great importance on both AI development and governance, the nation has supported the world's first resolution on AI standardization and has worked with international partners on more than 120 AI standards, contributing practical experience to the global intelligent transformation, Li said.李乐成称，中国统筹推进人工智能发展与治理，推动通过全球首份人工智能标准化相关决议，与国际伙伴共同制定120余项人工智能标准，为全球智能化转型贡献实践经验。He added that China will continue to help bridge the global AI divide by supporting fair and inclusive development and by assisting countries, particularly those in the Global South, in building AI technologies and services.他补充称，中国将持续推动人工智能公平普惠发展，助力弥合全球人工智能发展鸿沟，帮助各国尤其是全球南方国家建设人工智能技术与服务体系。Mathias Gabrysch, senior director of ecosystem development at global communications alliance GTI, noted during the conference that China has provided "valuable practical experience for the world" by making extensive AI applications in agriculture, healthcare and public services.全球移动通信联盟GTI生态发展高级总监马蒂亚斯·加布里施在会上指出，中国在农业、医疗、公共服务领域大规模落地人工智能应用，为世界提供了“宝贵实践经验”。"More important, China's open-source models — such as DeepSeek — enable researchers, startups and public institutions around the world to access high-performance AI at low cost. That is a genuine contribution to the global public good," he said.他表示：“更为重要的是，深度求索等中国开源大模型，让世界各地科研人员、初创企业、公共机构能够低成本使用高性能人工智能，这实实在在造福全球公共领域。”Speaking to China Daily more recently, Pan Helin, a member of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Expert Committee for Information and Communication Economy, said the growing international appeal of Chinese AI models is being driven by their improving capabilities, competitive pricing and open-source nature.工信部信息通信经济专家委员会委员盘和林近日接受《中国日报》采访时表示，中国人工智能模型国际吸引力持续提升，得益于模型能力不断进步、价格优势突出以及开源开放的特性。"The gap between AI models made by China and the United States is narrowing rapidly. China's significant cost advantage is increasingly offsetting the remaining difference in performance. In some areas, such as video-generation models, Chinese developers are already ahead of their overseas competitors," Pan added.盘和林补充说：“中美人工智能模型之间的差距正在快速缩小。中国显著的成本优势不断弥补性能上尚存的差距。在视频生成模型等部分赛道，国内开发者已经领先海外竞品。”According to OpenRouter, a platform widely used by developers to access AI models, weekly application programming interface calls for Chinese large language models have surpassed those for US-developed LLMs for 11 consecutive weeks as of Sunday, placing China at the top position globally.开发者广泛使用的大模型接入平台OpenRouter数据显示：截至周日，中国大语言模型每周API调用量已经连续11周超过美国大语言模型，位居全球第一。Since Feb 8, more than 30 percent of tokens used by US companies on the platform each week were related to Chinese AI models, with the share peaking at 46 percent. Tokens are small units of data processed by AI models during training and inference. In contrast, the share was only 4.5 percent in the first half of 2025.自2月8日以来，美国企业每周在该平台消耗的算力令牌中，超30%用于调用中国人工智能模型，峰值达到46%。令牌是人工智能模型训练与推理过程中处理的数据基本单位。而2025年上半年，这一比例仅为4.5%。"Whether individuals or businesses, users worldwide are validating China's AI development path through real-world adoption. That, in turn, will further strengthen the global application ecosystem for Chinese AI models," Pan said.盘和林认为：“无论是个人还是企业，全球用户正在通过实际使用认可中国人工智能发展路径。反过来，这也会进一步壮大中国人工智能模型的全球应用生态。”A growing number of overseas companies are already turning to Chinese LLMs as a more cost-effective option for deploying advanced AI.越来越多海外企业开始选用中国大语言模型，作为部署高端人工智能更具性价比的方案。In late June, Brian Armstrong, CEO of cryptocurrency platform Coinbase, shared on social media that the company had added two Chinese LLMs as default models for its engineering team, cutting AI spending to nearly half its peak level.6月末，加密货币平台Coinbase首席执行官布莱恩·阿姆斯特朗在社交平台透露，公司为技术团队接入两款中国大语言模型作为默认模型，人工智能相关开支降至峰值的近一半。The same month, AI startup Lindy announced that it had moved all its traffic from Anthropic's Claude to DeepSeek-V4.同月，人工智能初创企业Lindy宣布，将全部业务流量从安索帕公司的克劳德模型切换至深度求索DeepSeek-V4。"(This) saves us millions of dollars and we are actually seeing an increase in performance on many core use cases. (It is) transformative for the business," Lindy CEO Flo Crivello wrote on social media.Lindy首席执行官弗洛·克里韦洛在社交平台写道：“此举为公司节省数百万美元成本，并且众多核心场景的模型效果不降反升，彻底改变了公司业务格局。”interoperable /ˌɪntərˈɒpərəbl/可互通兼容的standardization /ˌstændədaɪˈzeɪʃn/标准化offset /ˈɒfset/抵消，弥补consecutive /kənˈsekjətɪv/连续不断的inference /ˈɪnfərəns/（模型）推理transformative /trænsˈfɔːmətɪv/具有变革性的
In this episode with Durba Mitra, we discuss her latest book, The Future that Was (Princeton University Press, 2026). The podcast highlights the emergence of women's internationalism as both a political project and a mode of knowledge production that grew out of the crisis of Third World developmental nationalism in the 1970s and the search for new forms of international solidarity. We examined how changing ideas about women, the family, and social reproduction became central to postcolonial politics, while highlighting how women from the Global South emerged as strong actors for creating a vision of democratic internationalism. Durba talked about how feminist activists transformed international institutions through conferences, UN initiatives, policy research, and autonomous scholarship, even as these spaces increasingly redirected radical feminist inquiry toward technocratic development agendasunder the influence of foundations and global development institutions. The conversation concludes with reflecting on the legacies of Third World feminist internationalism in an era of NGOization, professionalized feminism, and privatized global capitalism, asking what has been lost and what remains vitalfor building democratic movements and emancipatory knowledge today.
President Xi Jinping will set out China's policy positions, vision and proposals on artificial intelligence development and governance at one of the field's most influential international events, to be held in Shanghai this week.Xi will attend the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance and deliver a keynote speech, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian announced on Monday.The four-day conference, themed "AI Partnership for a Brighter Future", will run from Friday to Monday.China has invited government officials from around the world, representatives of industry, universities and research institutions, as well as heads of international organizations, to attend the gathering, Lin told a regular news briefing in Beijing.Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul will attend the conference during an official visit to China from Thursday to Monday, Lin said.Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will attend and address the opening ceremony, according to Cambodia's Foreign Ministry."AI technological innovation is undergoing broad-based breakthroughs and demonstrating unprecedented dynamism," Lin said.Such advances are bringing both opportunities and challenges to the international community, making AI governance "a profound topic of our times", he added.In recent years, China has worked to advance the four global initiatives and the Global AI Governance Initiative proposed by Xi in the field of AI, Lin said.The country has remained committed to providing international public goods, advocating AI for good and for all with real actions, and helping Global South countries strengthen their AI capacity. These efforts have been widely recognized by the international community, he added."Through this conference, China looks forward to building a platform for all parties to enhance mutual trust, build consensus and deepen cooperation," said Lin.He added that China hopes the gathering will promote the sound, safe and orderly development of AI and become "a milestone in the history of AI development".Speaking at a news conference in Shanghai on July 7, Vice-Mayor Chen Jie said that this year's conference was expected to reach a record scale, attracting more than 1,100 companies, displaying over 3,000 exhibits and featuring more than 300 products making their global debut.For the first time, the exhibition area will exceed 100,000 square meters.The intelligent computing and embodied AI sections will each bring together more than 200 companies.Leading technology companies, major State-owned enterprises and top multinational corporations will exhibit alongside their ecosystem partners, showcasing the latest AI-powered applications across a wide range of industries.Shanghai has previously hosted the conference for eight consecutive years since its launch in 2018. Over the years, the event has developed into an important platform for showcasing cutting-edge AI technologies from China and abroad, as well as for deepening international cooperation.
This is episode 2 of a six-part series on food imperialism. Welcome to Edible Empire, a podcast by Planet Pulse Pacific about the hidden cost of our food.Beyond recipes lies a story of power. From colonial plantations to modern agribusiness, this podcast reveals how the pursuit of food has redrawn maps, exploited people, and continues to shape who holds control today.This episode explores how an increasingly monopolised system of multinational corporations operates as de facto states within the global food system, exercising power over land, labour, trade, and policy in ways that rival or exceed nation-states.If empires once flew flags, today they file annual reports. This episode examines how large agrifood corporations increasingly function as sovereign actors within global food systems. From controlling vast transnational supply chains and shaping trade rules, to influencing national policy and disciplining labour across borders, corporations now wield powers historically associated with states. Focusing on agribusiness, food traders, and retailers, the episode asks how corporate concentration has reconfigured food imperialism, turning companies into the new “nations” of food empires, and what this means for accountability, democracy, and food sovereignty.In this episode of Edible Empire, Professors Phil Howard and Jennifer Clapp unpack how intense corporate concentration has transformed global agriculture into a system dominated by a few powerful transnational firms that operate much like sovereign states. Using the analogy of an hourglass, Professor Phil Howard illustrates how millions of farmers and billions of consumers are squeezed through a dangerously narrow bottleneck controlled by these massive agribusinesses, which deploy specific power plays to manipulate trade rules, capture government subsidies, and avoid accountability for environmental and labour exploitation. Meanwhile, Professor Jennifer Clapp highlights how mega-mergers in the agricultural inputs sector allow a small cartel to exercise immense structural power, locking in an industrial model that dictates what society views as "normal" food practices, while trapping countries in the Global South in dependency loops that prioritise luxury exports over local food security. Despite the immense political and economic inertia behind this consolidation, both experts close with a message of hope, emphasising that because this extractive system was constructed by humans, it can be dismantled through active political engagement and collective action.Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss out on the next episode!Resources from this episode:https://philhoward.net/ https://ipes-food.org/people/phil-howard/ https://uwaterloo.ca/scholar/jclapp/homehttps://ipes-food.org/people/jennifer-clapp/https://uwaterloo.ca/environment-resources-and-sustainability/profiles/jennifer-clappTo view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website.Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee or becoming a member of Athletes for Nature.Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, subscribe to this podcast, and share this episode with your friends and family.
On July 6 and 7, the United Nations convened its first major meeting on AI governance. The Global Dialogue on AI Governance, held in Geneva, was different from other global gatherings on artificial intelligence because it included significant participation from constituencies that are often left out of discussions about AI, including representatives from the Global South, civil society, academia, and communities most likely to be affected by the rapid deployment of AI technologies. Claire Melamed, the United Nations Foundation's Vice President for AI and Digital Cooperation Strategy, explains why this meeting marks a milestone in the global AI governance debate, what makes the UN's approach distinct, and how international cooperation can help ensure that AI is developed and deployed in ways that serve the public good. We discuss what happened in Geneva, why inclusive AI governance matters, and what role the United Nations can play as governments, companies, and civil society grapple with one of the most consequential technologies of our time. (Sorry for my mic issues on this one.)
In this special episode, we are doing something a little different by introducing an urgent, concrete internationalist political project. We are joined by two representatives affiliated with RAIZ International.To protect the sensitive nature of their organizing on the ground, we have tailored this conversation to focus on their overarching strategic goals and material outlook without endangering any ongoing local initiatives.RAIZ International rejects the dominant trend of contemporary Western "solidarity," which often reduces internationalism to hollow press releases, moralistic posturing, or aesthetic digital templates. Instead, RAIZ operates on a model of concrete internationalism—rooting its efforts in the actual relations of production, global displacement patterns, and working-class organization.We discuss the material realities of their focus areas:The Colombian Context: Navigating the complex aftermath of displacement, land conflicts, and regional state violence, and tracing how those struggles connect directly back to Western imperialism and transnational resource extraction.The Migrant Labor Pipeline: How global capital forces displacement from the Global South into the centers of Europe, turning vulnerable migrants into hyper-exploited labor pools.Building Independent Working-Class Power: How RAIZ coordinates across borders to offer material support, link regional organizing struggles, and establish durable counter-institutions that empower workers directly rather than funneling them into state-vetted NGOs.If you are listening from Europe and hear about RAIZ initiatives or their upcoming speaking tour through local newsletters or radical community spaces, we highly encourage you to attend an event, stop by, and get involved. This is how we begin building a concrete, internationalist future with a real revolutionary outlook.Project Links & FundraisingOfficial Website: https://www.raizinternational.org/Fundraising Tour Support: https://chuffed.org/project/gira-venceremosSupport our analysis on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/varnvlogSend us Fan Mail Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent Patreon at the Sponsor Tier: Jordan Sheldon, Mark J. Matthews, Lindsay Kimbrough, RedWolf, DRV, Kenneth McKee, JY Chan, Matthew Monahan, Parzival, Adriel Mixon, Buddy Roark, Daniel Petrovic,Julian, Drea, Free Beer
Send us a text message and tell us your thoughts.A child grows up learning that love can arrive in a barrel, but comfort cannot. That tension sits at the heart of our conversation with Grenadian director, producer, and creative industry strategist Meschida Phillip, whose documentary work asks what migration costs families long after the plane takes off. We trace how the Grenada Revolution, early separation, and years of “waiting” shaped her sense of connection and pushed her toward filmmaking as a way to name what Caribbean families often keep silent. Meschida shares the story behind her feature documentary Scars of Our Mother's Dreams, grounded in Dr. Claudette Crawford-Brown's concept of “barrel children,” where parents migrate for opportunity while children remain at home with relatives. We talk about emotional trauma, reunification, and why seeing these stories on screen lands differently than reading them. Meschida also pulls back the curtain on responsible documentary practice, from deep research and interviews to building a film that works as an archive and a conversation starter for Caribbean history, culture, and healing. We then zoom out to the film industry itself, including Caribbean Tales Media Group's Cross-Continental Forum and what Black diaspora collaboration can look like when it's intentional. Meschida breaks down the real barriers Caribbean filmmakers face funding infrastructure, banking access, co-production limits, and distribution networks and paints a vivid vision of Global South co-production funds, direct Caribbean Africa pipelines, and a market that rewards cultural specificity instead of asking creators to dilute it. Meschida Philip is a filmmaker, producer, creative-industry strategist, Executive Director of Mprojekts Creative Group, and Founder and Festival Director of the 12°N, 61°W Grenada Film Festival. She is a director, producer, and creative industries strategist working at the intersection of film production and screen industry development in the Caribbean. With over 20 years of professional experience, including more than a decade leading regional initiatives, her work focuses on positioning the Caribbean as an originating creative economy, capable of developing, financing, and exporting its own stories through equitable international co-production. Her work spans both content creation and industry development, with a focus on co-production frameworks, talent pipelines, and market access for creators in small island developing states.This episode was created in collaboration with Caribbean Tales Media Group to highlight the annual Cross-Continental Forum, a curated, decolonial co-production hub specifically designed to connect Black producers across Africa, the Caribbean, Canada, Europe and the Americas. It offers a structured pathway from information sharing to treaty-driven deals and market access. As an intensive hybrid accelerator, it functions as a “strategic gateway” to co-productions, beginning with an online Accelerator covering legal, financial and distribution frameworks, followed by two in-person events including a pitch showcase.Editor's Note: Philips participated in the Cross-Continental Forum with Canary, a documentary project that was in development at the time. She is credited as the project's director and co-producer. Scars of Our Mother's Dreams was not the project presented at the Forum, however it was screened at the festival. Support the showConnect with Strictly Facts - Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube | Website Looking to read more about the topics covered in this episode? Subscribe to the newsletter at www.strictlyfactspod.com to get the Strictly Facts Syllabus to your email!Want to Support Strictly Facts?Rate & Leave a Review on your favorite platformShare this episode with someone or online and tag usSend us a DM or voice note to have your thoughts featured on an upcoming episode Donate to help us continue empowering listeners with Caribbean history and educationProduced by Breadfruit Media
Angela Stent is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where she focuses on US-Russia policy and Russia’s relations with Ukraine, China, Europe, and the Global South. Concurrently, Dr. Stent is senior adviser to Georgetown University. She speaks on the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
SHOW NOTES: What if your charitable dollars could come back to you — and you could send them right back out into the world to do even more good? That's the elegant premise behind Renewables.org, the first nonprofit that lets everyday people fund solar projects across India and the Global South for as little as $25, with monthly repayments over five years. Host Dr. Laura Scherck Wittcoff sits down with co-founder and CEO Lassor Feasley to explore how a background in product design, a failed for-profit startup, and a connection with Kiva.org co-founder Premal Shah led to one of the most innovative climate finance models in the nonprofit world. Guest Lassor Feasley, Co-Founder & CEO, Renewables.org Lassor is a product designer and entrepreneur trained at the School of Visual Arts Product Design program. He leads product, brand, and strategy at Renewables.org, channeling philanthropic capital into high-performing solar installations that expand energy access while reducing carbon emissions. What is Renewables.org? Renewables.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and Global South solar crowdfunding platform. Here is how it works: You purchase a solar panel for as little as $25 Your funds are deployed into solar projects across the Global South You receive monthly repayments over five years You can reinvest those repayments into new solar projects or withdraw your funds Every panel is tracked on a personal rooftop dashboard where you can monitor repayments and your real-world impact Over 95% of repaid funds are reinvested back into Global South solar. Key Topics Covered Why the Global South? Solar costs approximately one-third as much to build in the Global South compared to the US or Europe Each kilowatt-hour fed onto the grid avoids 2 to 3 times more carbon because those grids run heavily on coal and diesel Projects receive, on average, 20% more sunshine per year The result: Renewables.org estimates 550% more carbon impact per dollar compared to investing in US solar — a figure Lassor believes is actually conservative The financial model Renewables.org operates on a 0% interest loan model, similar to Kiva. Investors are made whole but do not earn a financial return. This structure avoids securities regulations while keeping the model sustainable. The spread between what Renewables.org borrows from investors at 0% and what it charges solar developers funds the organization's operating costs — meaning they do not plan ever to solicit donations for salaries or administration. The donor option Investors can also choose to make a tax-deductible donation into the fund. Donors receive the same dashboard experience and see their funds being repaid and redeployed, but the withdrawal option is removed. Renewables.org also accepts contributions from donor-advised funds, IRA minimum distributions, and offers employer matching compatibility. Design as a competitive advantage Lassor's background in product and UX design shaped every aspect of Renewables.org — from the financial model itself to the user interface and dashboard experience. He draws a parallel to how Instagram was built by tapping into a latent behavior Facebook users were already exhibiting, and applies the same thinking to the satisfaction people get from tracking their solar productivity. What's next Renewables.org is preparing a major software platform redesign, enabled in part by new AI coding tools. Upcoming features include the ability for climate influencers and fundraisers to open personal crowdfunding pages to rally their own communities around Global South solar. The long-term vision is to reach Kiva-scale — tens or hundreds of millions of dollars raised annually — and catalyze solar development across the Global South. How to Get Involved Invest: Purchase your first solar panel for as little as $25 at renewables.org Donate: Make a tax-deductible donation through the Renewables donor account option Employer Match: Check if your employer matches charitable contributions Connect with Lassor: Reach him at lassor@renewables.org or search "Lassor" on LinkedIn or Instagram Connect with Small & Gutsy Website: SmallandGutsy.org Email: Laura@SmallandGutsy.org Do you know a nonprofit or social enterprise doing incredible work? Send them our way! If you are a nonprofit or want to donate goods directly to a nonprofit, check out Givelink: www.https://givelink.app/en?
Often the news covers crises without context. That's especially true when it comes to coverage of the Global South in international media. Our guest this episode, journalist and documentary filmmaker Etant Dupain, gives us a behind-the-headlines look at events in Haiti, his home country. Dupain says that the gangs who control much of the country now are supported by powerful elites. Their aim, his says, is to suppress a grassroots protest movement that is calling for accountability for the embezzlement of billions of dollars in development funds. Dupain's documentary film, The Fight for Haiti, tells the story of the Haitian movement against corruption and impunity, which started with a tweet and at its height had hundreds of thousands in the street. This episode was first recorded in February 2025, and has been updated. In this episode, you'll learn about The problematic history of foreign aid in Haiti including the aftermath of the the 2010 earthquake The Petrocaribe agreement with Venezuela that was supposed to fund crucial infrastructure projects in Haiti Creative tactics activists used to demand accountability Who profits when gangs overtake a country What the end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in the United States could mean for Haiti's future Watch a trailer and learn more about the film and the movement at thefightforhaiti.com. Want to host a screening? Email info@thefightforhaiti.com. Protest audio used in the episode is from the film The Fight for Haiti, used with permission. Other music in this episode by Xylo-Ziko, Toby Tranter, and Reed Mathis. ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.orgSupport our workConnect on social:Instagram @makingpeacevisibleYouTube @makingpeacevisibleLinkedIn @makingpeacevisibleBluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.socialMaking Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate.We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!
Jordan Ashley, PhD, founder of Souljourn Yoga, talks with J about the ethics of running retreats and teacher trainings in the Global South. They discuss seeing through the eyes of different cultures, the darker side of voluntourism and orphanage tourism, the NY Yoga scene circa 2016, becoming disenchanted with the yoga industrial complex, teen girls, working with locals, savior-ship mentality, hands on adjustments, retreat guest dynamics, operating as a nonprofit, using AI, and raising awareness and funds for causes we can believe in. To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM. Say thank you - buy J a coffee. Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.
In today's lecture, we explore Caribbean history through the lens of cinema and globalization. We begin with Chapter 11 of Neoliberalism, Globalization, Income Inequality, Poverty and Resistance by Renaldo McKenzie. This chapter examines the use of documentary films as forms of resistance and demonstrates how cinema can serve as a powerful medium for social critique and social change.The lecture centers on the documentary Life and Debt, analyzing how globalization has disproportionately affected the peoples of the Global South, particularly in the Caribbean. Students examine the contradictions and ironies of globalization, decolonization, and denationalization, while questioning whether political independence has translated into genuine economic and cultural liberation.Drawing on the works of Frantz Fanon, particularly The Wretched of the Earth; Homi K. Bhabha and The Location of Culture; and V. S. Naipaul and his literary contributions as forms of resistance and social commentary, the lecture explores the intellectual foundations of Caribbean thought and postcolonial critique.Students are introduced to and discuss key concepts including nationalism, colonialism, decolonization, postcolonialism, mise-en-scène, globalization, the Global South versus the Global North, and the ways visual storytelling can shape historical consciousness and political understanding.The lecture then transitions into a historical timeline of the Caribbean, beginning with ancient Kemet over 5,000 years ago, examining early African civilizations and pre-Columbian societies before tracing the arrival of Christopher Columbus and the profound transformations that followed. Through this historical journey, students are encouraged to rethink conventional narratives about the Caribbean and situate the region within broader global historical processes.Delivered live via Zoom, this lecture is part of the Caribbean Thought course at Jamaica Theological Seminary and reaches students across the Caribbean, the United States, Canada, and beyond. The course is taught by Professor Renaldo McKenzie, author of Neoliberalism, Globalization, Income Inequality, Poverty and Resistance, President of The Neoliberal Corporation, and creator and host of The Neoliberal Round Podcast. Professor McKenzie delivers the lectures from Philadelphia, bringing together history, philosophy, political economy, and media studies to challenge students to critically examine the Caribbean's past, present, and future.For more information, email info@theneoliberal.com.Visit theneoliberal.com and renaldocmckenzie.com.Learn more about Jamaica Theological Seminary at https://jts.edu.jm.
Anti-immigrant protests in South Africa have raised difficult questions about race, class, and who gets targeted during waves of xenophobic anger. While Black African migrants have faced growing hostility, Chinese migrants and other foreign communities have largely avoided the same scrutiny. This week, Eric, Cobus, and Géraud examine why that is, and what it reveals about poverty, politics, and state dysfunction in South Africa. They also unpack a new set of China-South Africa trade protocols that could quietly expand bilateral trade, especially as Pretoria's relationship with Washington becomes more strained. Finally, they reflect on recent conversations in Nairobi, South Africa, Beijing, and New York about China, Africa, and the Global South's place in a rapidly changing world order.
Examining how memory, intergenerational transmission, and kinship work together, Relative Strangers: Romani Kinship and Palestinian Difference (U Toronto Press, 2025) sheds light on Romani life in Palestine. Arpan Roy presents an ethnographic portrait of Dom Romani communities living between Palestine and Jordan, zooming in on everyday life in working-class neighborhoods, and under conditions of perpetual war and instability. The book focuses on how Doms are able to sustain ethnic difference through kinship, even when public performances of difference are no longer emphasized – a kind of alterity that is neither visible by obvious markers like race or religious difference, nor detected by the antennas of the state. Drawing on long-term ethnographic fieldwork in Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Amman, Roy makes a case for such alterity for Romani people and other groups in the region. Analysing intimate ethnographic scenes through anthropological theories of kinship, psychoanalysis, social theory from the Global South, and more, the book reveals how alterity in the Middle East does not adhere to rigid identitarian categories. Ultimately, Relative Strangers demonstrates the inadequacy of transposing models of pluralism centred on European and American experiences of minoritization onto other contexts. Roberto Mazza is currently a visiting scholar at the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs at Northwestern University. He is the host of the Jerusalem Unplugged Podcast and to discuss and propose a book for interview can be reached at robbymazza@gmail.com. Blusky and IG: @robbyref Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychoanalysis
Examining how memory, intergenerational transmission, and kinship work together, Relative Strangers: Romani Kinship and Palestinian Difference (U Toronto Press, 2025) sheds light on Romani life in Palestine. Arpan Roy presents an ethnographic portrait of Dom Romani communities living between Palestine and Jordan, zooming in on everyday life in working-class neighborhoods, and under conditions of perpetual war and instability. The book focuses on how Doms are able to sustain ethnic difference through kinship, even when public performances of difference are no longer emphasized – a kind of alterity that is neither visible by obvious markers like race or religious difference, nor detected by the antennas of the state. Drawing on long-term ethnographic fieldwork in Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Amman, Roy makes a case for such alterity for Romani people and other groups in the region. Analysing intimate ethnographic scenes through anthropological theories of kinship, psychoanalysis, social theory from the Global South, and more, the book reveals how alterity in the Middle East does not adhere to rigid identitarian categories. Ultimately, Relative Strangers demonstrates the inadequacy of transposing models of pluralism centred on European and American experiences of minoritization onto other contexts. Roberto Mazza is currently a visiting scholar at the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs at Northwestern University. He is the host of the Jerusalem Unplugged Podcast and to discuss and propose a book for interview can be reached at robbymazza@gmail.com. Blusky and IG: @robbyref Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
The geopolitical checkerboard has seen, in recent years, a major shift. China, once a poor and ravaged country, is now challenging the U.S. for supremacy, and Washington doesn't like it. The Pentagon is flexing its muscle. The U.S. military budget is over a trillion dollars and climbing. It's triple what China spends. The Pentagon is planning for war. U.S. military bases surround China, yet Washington says that China is a threat. The U.S. is used to getting its way, but China won't be easily bullied or pushed around. China has a global economic strategy. It is expanding its influence by investing in the Global South, particularly in Africa and Latin America. It is taking the lead in sustainable energy, manufacturing 80% of the world's solar panels. While the U.S. is a military powerhouse, China is increasingly an economic one and most likely will supplant the U.S. as the global hegemon in the coming decades.
The New Yorker staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Louisa Thomas join Tyler Foggatt to discuss three recent collisions of sports and politics. Cunningham and Foggatt talk about President Donald Trump's appearance at a Knicks game during the team's championship run, which evoked a mixed reception from New Yorkers and complicated an otherwise celebratory week in the city. Then Fry and Foggatt discuss the U.F.C. fight that Trump hosted on the White House lawn—in celebration of America's two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary, and his own birthday—and how it merged the aesthetics and politics of Trump's second term. Finally, Thomas joins Foggatt to discuss the World Cup and how the Administration's immigration policies, the Iran war, and America's precarious standing on the international stage are impacting one of the world's premier sports and cultural events.Listen to Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts.This week's reading: “Fight Night at the White House,” by Naomi Fry “Will Americans Start to Care About the World Cup Now?,” by Louisa Thomas “Lessons in Fanhood from the Knicks,” by Vinson Cunningham “Can the World Cup Transcend Donald Trump?,” by Ishaan Tharoor “The World Cup and the Changing Psyche of the Haitian Diaspora,” by Doreen St. Félix “How the Moroccan World Cup Team Became a Symbol of the Global South,” by Dan Greene The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine's writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
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