Best Ushahidi Podcasts (2025)

1
How Civic Action Shapes Cities and What to Avoid When Building Megacities From Scratch | Dafe Oputu 43:30

6M ago43:30

43:30

The built environment is a reflection of political decisions. The officials you elect shape the environment around you. So, what happens if people don’t participate in the voting process? In this episode, we delve into the critical intersection of civic action and urban development with our insightful guest, Dafe Oputu. We’ll explore the urban land…

1
How the Just Cities Project is Using 3D Modeling to Co-Design Smart Cities in Kenya | Titus Kaloki 58:08

7M ago58:08

58:08

What makes a city truly smart? Or just? The answer lies with the people. In this episode, we explore the human-centric side of Smart Cities with our guest Titus Kaloki from the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Kenya office. Through their Just Cities Project, Titus is on a mission to make cities both smart and just, leveraging technology to put people at th…

1
How Escrevivências Challenge Urban Planning Norms: Afro-Brazilian Communities’ Strategies for Reclaiming the Right to the City | Mayara Almeida de Paula 52:50

9M ago52:50

52:50

What if the true architects of our cities are not the government officials or urban planners, but the communities who live in them? In this episode, we dive deep into a provocative question: When governments fail to provide essential services like water and electricity, and communities step up to fill the gaps, who define the future of urban develo…

1
How Think Tanger's Multicultural Approach Transforms Suburban and Urban Spaces | Amine Houari & Naziha Nasrin 1:07:54

10M ago1:07:54

1:07:54

In this episode, we're headed to Tangier, Morocco. My co-host Naziha Nasrin and I speak with Amine Houari of Think Tanger, a non-profit cultural agency shaping Tangier's development through art, research, and collaboration. Together, we discuss crucial topics such as creative insurgency, planning in suburban contexts in Toronto (Scarborough) and Ta…

1
Equitable Engagement Lab: Innovate Public School 32:09

1+ y ago32:09

32:09

Northeastern students from the AI4Impact class are collaborating with parents in San Jose and San Francisco and Innovate Public School in developing a generative AI tool. This tool will make Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) more accessible to parents and caregivers.

1
Equitable Engagement Lab: OurTurn 21:34

1+ y ago21:34

21:34

Hundreds of young students aged 14-22 were engaged by Our Turn with the help of All Our Ideas to determine their thoughts on necessary changes to help them thrive and to address their main concerns regarding their schools. Their input is currently shaping the revision of the National Student Agenda.

1
How the Bicycle Mayor of Toronto is Making Toronto's Streets Safer for All | Lanrick Bennett Jr., Joycelyn Guan & Erin 1:09:56

1+ y ago1:09:56

1:09:56

Join me, along with my co-hosts Joycelyn and Erin, as we dive into an insightful conversation with Lanrick Bennett Jr., Toronto's Bicycle Mayor, and the Executive Director of Charlie's FreeWheels. We explore his tenure as a bike mayor and the expansive network of BYCS-appointed mayors, stretching from India to Uganda and beyond. In this episode, we…

1
Artistry Beyond Borders: Exploring the Power of Public Art in Toronto with Destinie Adélakun 12:21

1+ y ago12:21

12:21

This episode marks the first video episode of the podcast! Here's a sneak peek of my conversation with Destinie Adélakun, an emerging multi-disciplinary artist, who masterfully weaves her Nigerian-Indian heritage into her breathtaking solo exhibition, "Journey of Adé." Destinie also shares the excitement of exhibiting at Toronto's renowned Nuit Bla…

1
Exploring the Power of Collective Intelligence: (with Prateek Buch and Brendan Arnold) 29:58

1+ y ago29:58

29:58

In this episode of The GovLab's Collective Intelligence Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Prateek Buch and Brendan Arnold from the UK Government's Policy Lab and its innovative Collective Intelligence Lab. Prateek, a renowned advocate for responsible technology use, and Brendan, the government's first Creative Technologist, shed light o…

1
How the Charter Cities Institute Promotes Inclusive and Adaptable Planning for Sustainable New Cities | Heba Elhanafy 43:18

2y ago43:18

43:18

Join me in this captivating episode of the podcast as I have an insightful conversation with Heba Elhanafy, an urban researcher from the Charter Cities Institute (CCI) Zambia. Together, we explore the fascinating world of charter city development and dive deep into the Planning Guidelines Report titled "Guided Organic Growth: An urban planning fram…

1
How Ushahidi is Using Crowdsourcing to Help Community Disaster Response and Recovery | Angela Oduor Lungati 35:42

2y ago35:42

35:42

In this episode, I chat with Angela Oduor Lungati, the CEO of Ushahidi. Ushahdi is a mobile platform dubbed “Africa’s Gift to Silicon Valley” by the New York Times. Born out of a crisis, the open-source software enables virtually anyone with a cellphone or internet connection to efficiently crowd-source information, map it and share it with those t…

1
Comment le Centre d'Art Waza fait la promotion des artistes et de l'art populaire à Lubumbashi | Patrick Mudekereza 51:30

2+ y ago51:30

51:30

En novembre 2021, j'ai eu le plaisir de parler avec M. Patrick Mudekereza le Directeur Exécutif du Centre d'Art Waza. Le Centre d'Art Waza, situé à Lubumbashi, en République démocratique du Congo une ville désignée en 2015 par l'UNESCO, comme étant la Ville créative d'artisanat et des arts populaires. Ainsi, pendant notre discussion nous parlons pa…

1
How CLUSTER is Bridging Western Urban Understanding From the Middle East to North Africa | Salma Elbasty & Sami Ferwati 35:20

3y ago35:20

35:20

In this episode, my co-host Sami Ferwati and I chat with Salma Elbasty from CLUSTER (Cairo Lab for Urban Studies, Training and Environmental Research). CLUSTER undertakes a number of research, architecture, and arts-based urban initiatives with a special focus on analyzing urban informality and highlighting its role in our cities. During our discus…

1
How Book Bunk is Restoring Public Libraries Across Nairobi | Marion Anvango & Jane O'Brien Davis 40:13

3y ago40:13

40:13

In this episode, my co-host Jane O'Brien Davis and I chat with Marion Anvango at Book Bunk. Book Bunk is "working to restore some of Nairobi's most iconic public libraries into sites of heritage, public art, collective memory, knowledge production, shared experiences, cultural leadership and information exchange." During our discussion, we explore …

1
How Black Futures Now Toronto Turned Local Histories into a Virtual Community Centre | Adwoa Afful 44:07

3y ago44:07

44:07

In this episode, I chat with Adwoa Afful, the founder of Black Futures Now Toronto (BFN TO). BFN TO is collective that uses a mixture of storytelling, radical mapping, and a whole lot of creative talent, to develop a number of interactive ways of archiving, experiencing, and celebrating overlooked Black histories and geographies. During our talk, w…

1
How Buildher is Empowering Women Through Construction | Tatu Gatere 47:57

3y ago47:57

47:57

In this episode, I speak with Tatu Gatere, the co-founder and CEO of Buildher. Buildher is a non-profit based in Nairobi Kenya that is on a mission to promote gender equality within the construction industry through the provision of accredited construction, artisanry, and manufacturing skills to women that participate in their training program. Thr…

1
How Justice Defenders is Using Education to Defend the Defenceless | Milly Kakungulu & Hannah Ahamedi 1:10:13

3y ago1:10:13

1:10:13

In this episode, my co-host Hannah Ahamedi and I chatted with Milly Kakungulu, the Education Department Lead at Justice Defenders Uganda. Through our discussion, we learned more about how the Justice Defenders (formerly known as the African Prisons Project) are defending the defenceless by educating prisoners on how to provide legal services for th…

1
AIR Louisville (with Ted Smith) 27:58

3y ago27:58

27:58

In this episode of The GovLab Collective Intelligence Podcast, Dane Gambrell interviews Ted Smith, former Chief of Civic Innovation for Louisville Metro Government, about the AIR Louisville project.

1
How Lima’s Sonic Landscapes Are Shaped by Afro-Peruvian Women | Roxana Escobar Ñañez 1:10:33

3y ago1:10:33

1:10:33

In this episode, I chat again with Roxana Escobar Ñañez. Roxana is pursuing her Ph.D. in Human Geography at the University of Toronto and she was recently one of five special guests on the 12th episode of the podcast. Given her unique research interests, after our last conversation, I decided to invite her to the show again to dive deeper into her …

1
An Exploration of Black Excellence in Future Geographers and Planners at the University of Toronto | Jane, Brianna, Priscilla, Roxana & Bola 57:32

3+ y ago57:32

57:32

This special episode of Urban Limitrophe is brought to you in collaboration with the Graduate Geography & Planning Student Society (GGAPSS) in celebration of Black History/Black Futures Month! In this episode, I speak with Roxana Escobar Ñañez (PhD Human Geography), Brianna Lane (MSc Physical Geography), Priscilla Ankomah-Hackman (MSc Planning), Ja…

1
Ushahidi (with Angela Oduor Lungati) 20:21

3+ y ago20:21

20:21

In this episode of The GovLab Collective Intelligence Podcast, Dane Gambrell interviews Angela Oduor Lungati, Executive Director of Ushahidi. Ushahidi (“testimony” in Swahili) is an online platform for crowdsourcing data in support of crisis relief, human rights advocacy, transparency and accountability campaigns. You can read our full case study a…

1
How the Black Planning Project is Diversifying Urban Planning One Story at a Time | Abigail Moriah 39:48

3+ y ago39:48

39:48

In this episode, I speak with Abigail Moriah, a registered urban planner and founder of the Black Planning Project. Through this initiative, Abigail and her team, collect and share the stories of Black urban planning professionals and students to highlight their important work and encourage more diverse voices to enter the profession. Most importan…

1
How the BuildX Studio is Creating Dignified Circular Affordable Housing Across Kenya | Carolina Larrazábal 45:40

3+ y ago45:40

45:40

In this episode, I speak with Carolina Larrazábal, the co-founder and design director at BuildX Studio. BuildX Studio is an innovative award-winning architectural studio based in Nairobi, which is the first architecture, engineering or construction company in Africa to become B Corp™ certified. The team at BuildX Studio is on a mission to build rad…

1
How the Dikan Center Is Building the First Photo Library in Ghana | Paul Ninson 37:05

3+ y ago37:05

37:05

In this episode, I speak with Paul Ninson, a photographer, and filmmaker about the importance of visual storytelling and how after collecting over 30,000 books on photography and film, he is in the beginning stages of building The Dikan Center. The center will be the first visual storytelling library in Ghana. The Dikan Center will train not only t…

1
How Waste Reclaimers Recycle 80 to 90% of South Africa's Waste | Dr. Melanie Samson 36:58

3+ y ago36:58

36:58

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Melanie Samson, about the important role that waste reclaimers play in our cities, particularly in Johannesburg. Melanie works closely with the African Reclaimers Organization (ARO), a non-profit group that is fighting to get waste reclaimers the rights and recognition they deserve for their hard work and ensuring …

1
City of York Council (with Joe Micheli) 50:18

3+ y ago50:18

50:18

In this episode of The GovLab Collective Intelligence podcast, Dane Gambrell interviews Joe Micheli from the City of York Council to discuss the York Neighborhood Approach. Learn how the City Council is fostering collective action and motivating active citizens to help residents experiencing loneliness. You can read the full case study here: https:…

1
Helsinki Climate Watch (with Sonja-Maria Ignatius) 19:17

3+ y ago19:17

19:17

In November 2019, the city of Helsinki launched the Helsinki Climate Watch website (https://ilmastovahti.hel. fi)/) to track the city’s progress towards each of the 147 measures defined in its action plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035. The aim of this initiative is to develop an operating model for effective, transparent and collaborative ma…

1
How OFF TO Magazine is Celebrating African Cities One Issue at a Time | Liz Gomis 46:22

3+ y ago46:22

46:22

In this episode, I speak with Liz Gomis, about the inspiration and process of developing OFF TO Magazine. OFF TO Magazine is a bilingual, biannual magazine available online and through print, that explores African Cities through the eyes of local citizens. Each issue centers around one African city and uses the experience of local journalists, writ…

1
How the Mmofra Foundation is Designing Playful and Child-Friendly Cities in Ghana | Amowi Phillips 1:18:13

4y ago1:18:13

1:18:13

In this episode, I discuss urban play spaces and child-friendly cities with Amowi Phillips from the Mmofra Foundation. The Mmofra Foundations is a non-profit based out of Accra, Ghana that transforms urban spaces and urban green spaces into creative labs where children and youth can play and learn while being exposed to art, culture, and nature. In…

1
How Gbobètô is Turning Waste into Sustainable Energy in Port-Novo, Benin | Naomi Fagla Medegan 46:48

4y ago46:48

46:48

In this episode, I discuss recycling and the importance of creating sustainable energy alternatives with Naomi Fagla Medegan, the founder of Gbobètô. Gbobètô is a non-profit based out of Porto-Novo, Benin that sees waste as a tool for social and sustainable development and through their various recycling programs works to make cities cleaner and co…

1
synAthina (with Haris Biskos) 40:24

4y ago40:24

40:24

This was recorded during NYU Solving Public Problems on March 10, 2021 Podcast duration: 26 minutes. Audience Q&A: 15 minutes synAthina is an online-offline public platform where the City of Athens supports citizens in developing and implementing projects that improve the quality of life in the city. While an activist working outside of the city’s …

1
How Hope Raisers Uses Digital Storytelling to Build Community Climate Resilience in Nairobi, Kenya | Daniel Onyango 41:47

4y ago41:47

41:47

In this episode, I discuss a bit about community climate change adaptation and the importance of incorporating the youth voice in decision-making with Daniel Onyango, the founder of The Hope Raisers Initiative. The Hope Raisers Initiative uses arts, culture, and sports to amplify the youth voice in the neighbourhood of Korogocho in Nairobi, Kenya. …

1
How The Abibiman Project is Tackling Food Insecurity One African Dish at a Time | Rachel Adjei 34:30

4y ago34:30

34:30

In this episode, I discuss a bit about the role of the cultural appropriateness of food in tackling food insecurity and chat with Chef Rachel Adjei, the founder of The Abibiman Project. The Abibiman Project is an initiative started by Rachel in October 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, that uses African cuisine and ingredients to help pr…

1
Civic Bridge (with Amardeep ‘Dee’ Prasad) 15:18

4y ago15:18

15:18

Surrounded by Silicon Valley, San Francisco leaders saw a golden opportunity to improve the lives of residents by bringing private sector talent to bear on pressing City problems. Civic Bridge -- a 16-week program teaming up city staff and private sector experts to design better City services -- enables San Francisco to do just that. Guest: Amardee…

1
How iAfrika is Helping Local Public Libraries Bridge the Digital Language Divide | Grant McNulty & Dr. Lia Frederiksen 46:47

4+ y ago46:47

46:47

In this episode, I discuss the importance of public libraries in cities with Professor Lia Frederiksen. I also chat with Grant McNulty of McNulty Consulting the team behind iAfrika, a mobile-friendly platform that works with local libraries to help their communities create and distribute African language content. In this episode, you'll learn about…

1
GoodSam App (with Dr. Mark Wilson) 25:28

4+ y ago25:28

25:28

GoodSam is a revolutionary platform that alerts doctors, nurses, paramedic and those trained in basic life support to emergencies around them.GoodSAM has 25,000 first responders in the UK, and its use has spread around the world. As services like GoodSAM, founded in 2013, demonstrate, people are smart and capable; they have specific skills and abil…

1
How Surf Ghana is Building the First Skatepark in Accra | Sandy Alibo 36:23

4+ y ago36:23

36:23

In this episode, I discuss a bit about the role of skateboarding and skateparks in city building. I chat with Sandy Alibo, the founder of Surf Ghana, a non-profit based in Accra, Ghana that transforms its communities by bringing youth together using the power of skateboarding and surfing. In this episode, you'll learn about: Surf Ghana's Freedom Sk…

1
Welcome to Urban Limitrophe 0:48

4+ y ago0:48

0:48

Urban Limitrophe is a podcast exploring the various initiatives happening in cities across the African continent to creatively solve problems, support their communities, create vibrant urban spaces, and build better cities overall. Tune in to catch interviews with various guests doing great work to change the future of their cities and get inspired…

1
City of Lakewood Sustainable Neighborhoods Program (with Jonathan Wachtel) 28:57

4+ y ago28:57

28:57

When city planner Jonathan Wachtel got tired of being able to do no more to thank residents for making good suggestions about how to achieve sustainability goals, he decided to find a way he could help them to implement their own ideas. Since the program launched in 2012, more than 20,000 residents have participated in more than 500 events, worksho…

1
Episode 12 with Marcy Sutton 52:05

8+ y ago52:05

52:05

On today’s episode we sit down with Marcy Sutton—a senior front end engineer at Deque Systems, where she works on accessibility. We talk about the intersection and differentiations in performance and accessibility. Marcy explains that there’s a huge audience that’s being missed by not making your website accessible. Unfortunately, if it’s not somet…

1
Episode 11 with Steve Souders and Mark Zeman 38:26

9y ago38:26

38:26

On today’s episode we sit down with Steve Souders and Mark Zeman of SpeedCurve. We talk about the benefits that come from Developers and Designers working side by side, and how the users are often a key component in uniting these (and other) disciplines. Mark discusses “perceived performance”, and we talk more about flowing the user experience over…

1
Episode 10 with Tammy Everts 49:30

9+ y ago49:30

49:30

Our guest this week is Tammy Everts. Tammy is a Senior Researcher and Evangelist at SOASTA. In this episode, we discuss getting started with performance budgets, why you should focus on article and product page load times instead of homepage load times, how to build a case for improved web performance to your company or team, the real impact of per…

1
Episode 09 with Val Head 1:02:02

9+ y ago1:02:02

1:02:02

Why are Apple's product pages so heavy? When is the right time to choose aesthetic wins over performance wins? We explore these questions in today's preshow. We're also joined this week by web animation expert Val Head. We're taking a deep dive into web animations; how Val got started with animation, the benefits of animations in UI, why you should…

1
Episode 08 with Sophie Shepherd of Ushahidi 55:26

10y ago55:26

55:26

This week, we have a brief discussion about how third party ad networks affect performance on news sites before talking with Sophie Shepherd. Sophie is a Senior Designer at Ushahidi, a non-profit software company that develops free and open-source products for information collection, visualization, and interactive mapping. We discussed the challeng…

1
Episode 07 with Brenna Heaps of GitHub 38:12

10y ago38:12

38:12

Our guest this week is Brenna Heaps. Brenna currently works at GitHub, but previously was a project manager at Happy Cog. She managed several projects that Katie was a part of, so we asked her to join us on the show today to share her tips and advice on managing projects and teams, selling clients on performance, sticking to performance budgets, an…

1
Episode 06 with Matt Shull of Aristotle Interactive 50:42

10y ago50:42

50:42

Our guest this week is Matt Shull. Matt works at Aristotle Interactive where he manages projects and helps shape performance best practices. He also teaches others about web design/development through Thinkful in his spare time. In this episode, we talk about Matt's experience with making sites fast for big clients, the tools they use at Aristotle …

1
Episode 05 with Brian Greene and John Hoyt of Nationwide Insurance 40:12

10y ago40:12

40:12

This week we talk with Brian Greene and John Hoyt, both both members of the user experience team at Nationwide Insurance. We discuss the challenges of working with such a big team, how they promote performance across departments, managing user expectations and improving perception of speed by designing feedback mechanisms, and more. Show Links: Vel…

1
Episode 04 with Jeff Veen 43:16

10y ago43:16

43:16

This week we're joined by special guest Jeff Veen. Jeff founded Typekit, which was acquired by Adobe in 2011. He recently stepped down from his position at Adobe to join True Ventures as a Design Partner. In this episode, Jeff shares what he's learned about the importance of design and performance, we talk about why slow page load speeds are a big …

1
Episode 03 with Jeff Lembeck 1:04:30

10y ago1:04:30

1:04:30

This week, Katie and Tim talk to Jeff Lembeck of the Filament Group about how they conduct performance analysis, how they sell performance, why everyone needs a "Jank Tank", and the importance of perceived performance. Our sponsor this week is SpeedCurve. SpeedCurve is built on top of the WebPageTest API and allows you to get continuous feedback on…

1
Episode 02 with Mark Dorison 54:08

10y ago54:08

54:08

This week, Tim talks about performance budgets, and shares how he sets up a performance budget for the sites he works on. We also speak with Mark Dorrison about how he focuses on performance at a technical level, how to talk performance with your clients, how to sell performance to clients that aren't familiar with how important it really is, how t…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Ushahidi Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen