Rethinking Development Podcast

Latest Episodes:

5.2 Development & the COVID 19 Pandemic Nov 02, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, Noaman and Safa reflect on the emergence, spread, political economy and impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on development work.
---> Link to Noaman's podcast ( Introduction to Political Economy).

51. Decolonization is not a Metaphor Sep 20, 2021

Show notes

Referring to Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang's article "Decolonization is Not a Metaphor", Safa and Noaman discuss the overuse and misuse of the term “decolonization” in the development sector and how Frantz Fanon and Amílcar Cabral can be role models for development workers.
Links we mention:
Intro to Political Economy Podcast with Noaman Ali
Decolonization is not a Metaphor by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang

4.12 Rethinking Development Mixtape May 12, 2021

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For our Season 4 finale, we share a compilation of clips from our past 50+ episodes!

4.11 Indigenous Land Defense May 04, 2021

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Daniel Kobei is the Founder and Executive Director of the Ogiek Peoples' Development Program, a Kenyan NGO working to secure human and land rights for the Indigenous Ogiek community as well as other Indigenous peoples across Kenya and Africa. Daniel represents Indigenous peoples under the umbrella of the International Indigenous Forum for Biodiversity and the Collaborative Partnership for Wildlife Management, set by the Convention of Biological Diversity. Daniel has been promoting the restoration of the Mau Forest Complex through Ogiek community involvement as a forest dwelling, hunter gathering community. Daniel helped lead the Ogiek to winning an eight year legal battle over land and human rights abuses at the African Court on Human and People's Rights in 2017. But four years later, the Ogiek community are still waiting for the implementation of that legal judgment.

We speak about:

the violation of the rights of the Ogiek community by the Kenyan state
resisting forced evictions & dispossession of ancestral lands
wining an 8 year long court case at the African Court on Human and People's Rights
the support of regional and international Indigenous rights groups
the undermining of Indigenous conservation knowledge
the impact of climate change in the Mau Forest complex - and much more!

Daniel joins us from Nairobi, Kenya.

4.10 A More Comprehensive Approach Apr 27, 2021

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Dr. Sabina Faiz Rashid is the Dean of the BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health at BRAC University in Bangladesh. Dr. Rashid specializes in ethnographic and qualitative research with a focus on urban slum communities and marginalized groups. She's particularly interested in examining the impact of structural and intersectional factors on the ability of those populations to realize their health rights and access to services. In 2008, she founded the Center for Gender, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, and in 2013, co-founded the Center for Urban Equity and Health. Both focus on research, capacity building and influencing program designs and policies in Bangladesh.

We speak about:

BRAC’s approach to development
co-thinking and co-creating with communities
unpacking assumptions about the ‘Global South’
solution-based thinking
competency based learning
building a youth friendly research culture
decolonizing global health - and much more!

She joins us from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

4.9 Degrowth Apr 20, 2021

Show notes

Giorgos Kallis is an ecological economist, political ecologist, and Professor at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology in the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies. His research is motivated by a quest to cross conceptual divides between the social and the natural domains, with particular focus on the political-economic roots of environmental degradation and its uneven distribution along lines of power, income, and class. His current work explores the hypothesis of sustainable degrowth as a solution to the dual economic and ecological crisis. Giorgos is the author of the books 'Limits' and 'The Case for Degrowth'.

We speak about:

his intellectual journey and working across disciplines
the history of the hegemony of growth
degrowth as one critique of capitalist economies
3 layers of articulating degrowth
the climate crisis
degrowth in high income countries vs. low income countries
collective action and international solidarities
engaging with a pluriverse of alternatives to capitalist growth - and much more!

He joins us from Barcelona, Spain.

4.8 Working With Bias Apr 14, 2021

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Mahrukh 'Maya' Hasan is as a designer, researcher and strategic advisor who helps social impact organizations build joyful, equitable and innovative teams. She's the Founder and Director of Azura Labs, a social design and research studio that builds the capacity of international NGOs and UN agencies serving communities in Sub Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia. Last March, Maya also founded the Fearless Project, a diversity, equity and inclusion firm, which aims to champion trust, belonging and joy in the social impact sector.
We speak about:

entry barriers in the sector
research ethics and design justice
moving beyond the binary of quantitative and qualitative data
diversity, equity and inclusion work
the culture of fear amongst leaders
emotional agility
learning from other sectors - and much more!

She joins us from Chiang Mai, Thailand.

4.7 In the Name of Development Apr 07, 2021

Show notes

Andrea Cornwall is currently Pro Director of Research and Enterprise and Professor of Global Development and Anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. She is a political anthropologist and her research focuses on power, inclusion and rights. Some of her work has focused on reproductive and sexual health in Zimbabwe and Nigeria, citizen participation and accountability in health policy and governance in the UK and Brazil, and contestations over gender, empowerment, and rights in international development. She joins us from London, UK.
We speak about:

applying an anthropological lens to the development sector
fashions, fads and buzzwords in development work
interrogating participatory methods
analyzing power dynamics
decolonizing international development studies
social movements being the biggest catalysts for change
care, leisure and compassion as part of a wholistic approach to development - and much more!

4.6 Women Fighting Apartheid Mar 31, 2021

Show notes

Shanthini Naidoo is a South African writer and former Sunday Times journalist. She is the author of the book which in South Africa is entitled: "Women in Solitary: Inside the Female Resistance to Apartheid" and in North America is entitled: "Women Surviving Apartheid Prisons". The book uses rich interview material to share the stories of four anti apartheid women leaders and activists who were part of “Trial 22” in 1969. They were held in solitary confinement and subjected to brutal torture in a bit to force them to testify against their comrades. They refused to do so, which forced the trial effort to collapse.

We speak about:

how mainstream media depicts women’s stories
the role of women leaders in the struggle against apartheid
the context of the “Trial of 22’ that happened in 1969 South Africa
the intergenerational legacy of trauma
storytelling as a tool for healing
the importance of remembering historical struggles for freedom - and much more!

Shanthini joins us from Johannesburg, South Africa.

4.5 Mobilizing Against Malaria Mar 23, 2021

Show notes

Marvi Rebueno-Trudeau is the Deputy-Executive Director of the Pilipinas Shell Foundation. She initially studied business management and founded a firm which represented foreign companies at the Asian Development Bank. Later she retired to Palawan, an island in the Philippines archipelago. Once there she was moved to come out of retirement in order to address various social issues in the community, namely malnutrition and high rates of malaria. She joined Pilipinas Shell Foundation, which funded a community-based province wide malaria program. The success of this malaria program enabled the foundation to be selected as a primary recipient of further grants from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

We speak about:

a community based approach to malaria prevention, detection and treatment
the importance of fostering the buy-in of government partners
using the malaria program as a catalyst for system wide health strengthening
embodying transparency and accountability
the role of the private sector in community development
ensuring sustainability in programming - and much more!

She joins us from Palawan, Philippines.

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