Arriving in Kabul is like arriving in no other country I have ever been to before. The beautiful beige mountains surrounding this city in ruins, it doesn't take long before a visitor see's something odd or funny, an instant story for whomever will listen later.

The following podcast is just an introduction to this journey, with a limited explanation as to what I'm doing here, what I've observed so far, and all kinds of additonal thoughts about Afghanistan. 

A little update from Portugal at the end of my vacation.

There is no shortage of poorly written stories scattered throughout the internet, about cyber attacks leading to near apocalyptic situations involving power stations or other key infrastructure sites. And for every story, there is someone who believes it, and not many who take the time to critically examine and verify that anything ever really took place.

My guest, Anchises De Paula, is an exception to the rule. Based in São Paulo, Brazil, he has taken the time to check on these stories. The result is something most politicians don't want you to hear. They prefer to keep us scared and believing the half-truths and myths.

After all the glamour and hoopla surround the World Cup in South Africa, what about the actual costs and benefits of such an event for South Africa. The construction of massive new stadiums, the infrastructure projects, the tourism... was it everything people hoped? Was it everything FIFA promised? Where did the money come from? And do the benefits outweigh the costs?

<a href="http://www1.aston.ac.uk/lss/staff/bolsmannc/" target="_blank">Chris Bolsmann</a>, Lecturer in the Sociology Department at the University of Aston (UK) has been following the topic since before SA got the world cup. He has been speaking and <a href="http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/06/is_the_world_cup_good_for_south_africa.html" target="_blank">writing about the real costs</a> of such a tournament for the nation. He joins me on the program from South Africa.

Laura Stek went to Haiti to focus on the work of one very special photographer. But going to Haiti quickly became about more than the person taking photographs, as she observed and experienced what is and isn't going on in terms of the Haitian post earthquake recovery.

http://nos.nl/dossier/129596-aardbeving-haiti/

http://www.radio1.nl/contents/16612-het-spoor-terug-souteneurs-en-temeiers%3Fautostart%3D23505

Amelia Andersdotter was elected to European Parliament in 2009. More than 6 months since the elections, she finds herself living in Brussels but still not allowed to do her job.  How can an elected member of paliament be kept from taking her seat? In this podcast this dynamic young representative from the Swedish Pirate Party explains how it happened. She also tells the story of the campaign that got her into office, and the issues and concerns she has once she is finally allowed to get to work.

A unique group of people, a unique community space, and a unique event, all brought to you by the hackers of Vienna. My guests, Astera and Fin are both busy members of Metalab, Vienna's internationally beloved hacker space. In part 1 of this podcast, Astera explains an upcoming conference she is helping organize in Vienna, called Plumbercon. In part 2, Fin explains how the hackerspace is organized. From how much it costs, to the club's relations with the city government, Fin explains it all.

plumbercon.org
metalab.at

PS: For those who do register for plumbercon after reading-hearing this post, use the promo-code "Citizenreporter" when signing up. You won't regret it.

India Unheard is a new project by VideoVolunteers which focuses on helping develop a network of citizen journalists and concerned video citizens throughout India. My guests, BaghdadBrian and Stalin K, are both involved with the project and agreed to talk to me and explain what VV is, the idea behind India Unheard, and where they would like to go from here. India Unheard
Video Volunteers
BaghdadBrian on Twitter

Aki is no ordinary Japanese writer. He's been living and writing an issue that many westerners wouldn't believe would be so contreversial in such a modern place: room sharing.

In an unexpected podcast conversation, Aki takes us to post-war Japan where the country adopted a tradition of renting only single rooms or apartments for people unless they were married. As a result the idea of having a roomate, or living together with someone without getting married, is not only unheard of, its considered unacceptable by many landlords.

Then came the television program Friends along with a whole generation of Japanese young professionals who had lived abroad, they wanted to live with roomates and had to find ways to get past cultural restrictions. Aki tells the story of how this movement came to be and what kinds of situations they find themselves in. In between we also learn a whole lot more about Japanese urban culture.

What happens when a wealthy banker one day quits it all and tries out the world of environmental activism and conservation? Chiew Y. Chong did just that over 18 years ago when he joined the WWF.

As we strolled through the beautiful gardens in the Chinsan-zo area of Tokyo, Chiew told the story of how once he got to WWF, he had some ideas that had never been tried before by that organization... a sustainable investment fund. He explained the goal of such a fund and what makes it unique. Beyond all that, with a wise and curious spirit, Chiew tells more than a story about a fund, he tells the story of a personal evolution that he believes has been and will continue to spread throughout the planet like wildfire.