The Idealist.org Podcasts

En una calle arbolada de Buenos Aires se encuentra un descolorido edificio con un extenso mural de graffiti sobre la figura del incomparable Carlos Gardel. En su interior, un teatro que siempre permanece a oscuras. Es el llamado ‘Teatro Ciego,’ el primer y único teatro donde ambos, artistas videntes e no videntes, actúan totalmente sin luz.

Nuestro último podcast nos trae a Ceci Gil Mariño y su experiencia con la representación de La Isla Desierta en completa oscuridad. Descubriremos por qué es rociada con pefume de jazmín, cómo es para los actores no tener que hacer uso de la expresión facial y cómo este teatro representa una apuesta innovadora al promover el empleo para personas con discapacidad visual.

Una gran idea que merece ser difundida. ¡Comprúebalo! 

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Ceci Gil Mariño co-productora con Celeste Hamilton Dennis quieren agradecer a Martín Celis, Craig Dennis, Terry Dennis y Jason Kirtland por prestarnos sus voces. Janet Bollero, Rachel McRoberts, Deborah Brody, Emily Burnett y Lindsay Rihala por su impagable asistencia con la traducción. Pía Sicardi por la originalidad de su música. Julia Smith y Hannah Kane por el proceso de edición. Douglas Coulter por sus increíbles habilidades con la producción y lo más importante, agradecer al los componentes de Teatro Ciego, por permitirnos ‘encender’ una luz en su mundo de oscuridad.

On a tree-lined street in Buenos Aires is a faded building with a large graffiti mural of tango great Carlos Gardel on its walls. Inside is a theatre that is always kept dark. This is Teatro Ciego, the world's first and only theatre where both blind and seeing artists perform exclusively without light.

Our latest podcast features Celeste Hamilton Dennis as she experiences the play La Isla Desierta in total darkness. We hear why she gets sprayed with jasmine perfume, what it's like for the actors to not use facial expressions - and how this theatre is innovative in providing employment for the disabled. 

It's an idea worth spreading. Come hear for yourself. 

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Celeste Hamilton Dennis and co-producer Ceci Gil Mariño would like to thank Martín Celis, Craig Dennis, Terry Dennis and Jason Kirtland for lending us their voices; Janet Bollero, Rachel McRoberts, Deborah Brody, Emily Burnett and Lindsay Rihala for their invaluable translation assistance; Pía Sicardi for her original music; Julia Smith and Hannah Kane for their editing prowess; Douglas Coulter for his mad production skills; and most importantly, the cast of Teatro Ciego for letting us shine a light on their world.

In this episode we feature one of the winners of the 2009 Purpose Prize. The Purpose Prize awards up to $100,000 to social innovators in their encore careers who are creating new ways to solve tough social problems. The Prize is an initiative of Civic Ventures' Encore Careers campaign which aims to engage millions of experienced adults in work that makes a difference in their communities and the world.

In this interview we hear from Connie Siskowski who started The Caregiving Youth Project, which provides support groups, classes and resources for youth who are the primary caregivers for ill or disabled family members.

If you'd like more information on encore careers or mid-career transitions, go to idealist.org/midcareer

In this episode we feature one of the winners of the 2009 Purpose Prize. The Purpose Prize awards up to $100,000 to social innovators in their encore careers who are creating new ways to solve tough social problems. The Prize is an initiative of Civic Ventures' Encore Careers campaign which aims to engage millions of experienced adults in work that makes a difference in their communities and the world.

In this interview we hear from Judith Broder who, in her late 60's, created The Soliders Project which provides free psychological support to returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan.

If you'd like more information on encore careers or mid-career transitions, go to idealist.org/midcareer

On the outskirts of Buenos Aires tucked away from the ubiquitous tango clubs and steakhouses, is Hospital Borda, the largest and oldest mental hospital in Argentina. But this isn't your typical psychiatric ward. In the middle of its courtyard stands a small, bustling building full of recording equipment and unbridled energy, where each Saturday patients gear up to take the mic. This is Radio La Colifata, the first radio show in the world to be broadcast out of a mental hospital.
Our latest podcast follows Idealist staff member Celeste Hamilton, a transplanted New Yorker and Cecilia Gil Mariño, a native Argentinean, as they give us an intimate glimpse as to why everyone from taxi drivers to famous musicians can't get enough of Radio La Colifata. We hear from staff and patients, or colifatos as they like to be called, about how it all began, why it's lasted almost two decades-- and why this innovative form of public therapy has spawned 40 similar radio stations all over the world.

Special thanks to Victoria Bembibre and Martín Waserman for help with initial reporting;  C. Andrea Sottosanto and Josefina Murphy for transcription and translation assistance; Carolina Villanueva, Martin Celis, Rodrigo Tabernero and Verónica Carmona Barrenechea for lending us their voices; and Cheba Massolo, Agri, and Julio y Agosto for sharing their music. But most of all, mil gracias to the Radio La Colifata staff and colifatos for inviting Idealist into their world.

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Radio La Colifata: En Vivo desde Argentina 

En uno de los barrios menos transitados de la ciudad de Buenos Aires, lejos de los lugares favoritos de paseo de los porteños, se encuentra el Hospital Borda, uno de los más grandes y antiguos hospitales neuropsiquiátricos de la Argentina. Pero este no es un típico hospital psiquiátrico. En uno de sus jardines, podemos encontrar una descascarada sala de cemento donde si damos la vuelta, vemos un hermoso mural y si entramos, podemos encontrar equipos para grabar, cables, en síntesis: una radio, donde los pacientes van tomando de a turnos el micrófono para realizar el programa. Ésta es la Radio La Colifata, la primera radio en el mundo realizada por pacientes psiquiátricos y transmitida desde el hospital mismo.  

Nuestro último podcast sigue la historia de dos miembros del staff de Idealistas, Celeste Hamilton de Nueva York y Ceci Gil Mariño de Argentina. Ellas nos dan una mirada íntima acerca de cómo fueron descubriendo este mundo y por qué, desde un chofer de un taxi hasta un músico famoso participan de La Colifata. Escucharemos a los coordinadores de la radio y a los pacientes, o colifatos, como todos prefieren llamarse, que nos contarán cómo nació esta idea, por qué sigue vigente y por qué esta innovadora forma de terapia pública y colectiva ha inspirado a más de 40 radios similares en el mundo. 

Un agradecimiento muy especial a Victoria Bembibre y Martín Waserman por ayudarnos con las entrevistas iniciales; C. Andrea Sottosanto y Josefina Murphy por la transcripción y asistencia en la traducción al inglés; Carolina Villanueva, Martín Celis, Rodrigo Tabernero y Verónica Carmona Barrenechea por prestarnos sus voces para su versión en inglés; y Cheba Massolo, Agri, y Julio & Agosto por compartir con nosotros su música. Pero, por sobre todo, mil gracias a la Radio La Colifata y los colifatos por invitar a las chicas de Idealistas a ser parte de su mundo.

Haz clic acá para escuchar este episodio en español.

From our team in Portland, Oregon:

Last November, we blogged about a mentorship program taking place in our office where four of the women on our staff would be mentoring a small group of teenage girls. Coordinated by Girls, Inc. of NW Oregon, the Associates Mentoring Program provides opportunities for busy professional women to join forces with girls in crafting a project to explore different career paths, develop new skills, get to know one another, and have fun in the process.

Seven months and a ton of work later, we’re proud to show off the fruits of their labor: a new podcast!  “Past, Present, and Future…The Voices of Girls and Women” explores the diverse and shared perceptions of women and girls, the stories they tell, and the common themes they share. A team of three girls and four Idealists met every other week to create this new podcast, determining the theme, crafting six questions to ask each person, interviewing 17 women and girls who ranged in age from 14 to 61, and doing lots and lots of editing (with the guidance and assistance of our own Amy Potthast, host of The New Service podcasts). The end result? A twenty minute window into unique dreams and goals, stories of perseverance and ambition, and shared hopes and ideals of girls and women today.

Special thanks to rock stars Christa, Polina, and Galyna, Girls Inc of NW Oregon, and the many fascinating girls and women who participated in our project!

Idealist.org's Jung Fitzpatrick talks with Regina Garner, the Director of Student Financial Services for the Monterey Institute of International Studies, to dispel some common myths that working professionals have about qualifying for financial aid and to learn more about the ins and outs of financial aid for graduate education.

Whether you're thinking about graduate school–or are already on your way–this podcast helps answer many questions about the financial aid process. Topics include the basics of how financial aid is determined, the role of The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 in debt forgiveness and loan repayment as well as other issues for professionals transitioning to graduate school.

If you have more questions about graduate school, check out our free Public Service Graduate Education Resource Center, which in addition to articles on financing your graduate education, includes information on preparing for, applying to and alternatives to graduate school. You can also post questions to our Graduate Education Forum!

Also be sure to check out the upcoming Graduate Degree Fairs for the Public Good this summer in Washington D.C. and New York City and this fall in 16 cities in the United States and Canada.

This episode was produced by our guest contributors, Michael Premo and Rachel Falcone.  If you have a story, click here for more information on contributing it to the Idealist.org Podcast.

In 1983 New York State implemented the Returnable Container Act requiring a 5 Cent deposit on carbonated beverages sold in glass, metal and plastic containers. Commonly known as a “Bottle Bill,” the act is intended to reduce litter, ease the burden on solid waste facilities and encourage recycling activity.  To date, 11 US states and at least 14 countries have enacted similar legislation.

In addition to its intended environmental impact, the Bottle Bill has unwittingly created a necessary and important source of income for homeless and impoverished people. In New York City, people who collect and redeem containers for a living refer to their vocation as Canning. They can be seen around the city reclaiming bottles and cans from commercial and residential waste, contributing to the amount of recyclable materials diverted from the waste stream. They stack what they find in carts they call “wagons.” A popular wagon is a grocery store shopping cart, known to canners as a “$60 wagon” because of the average value of the amount of containers it can hold.

This is an audio portrait of a "canner" named Eugene “The King of Can’s” Gadsden and the work that he and his friends and colleagues Ana Martinez De Luco and Drew Swope are doing to improve the conditions of their community.

This audio portrait takes its name from the not-for-profit organization founded in 2007 by Eugene Gadsden and Ana Martinez De Luco. For more information or to contact Sure We Can, email Drew Swope at drew.swope (at) gmail.com.

For more information about the producers and other stories, visit michaelpremo.com.

Photography by Michael Premo

In recent years, communities across the five boroughs have become more concerned with eating "locally" and developing a sustainable food system for all New York City residents.  Community Supported Agriculture--the model of pairing groups of community residents with small local farms--continues to gain in popularity all over the city as an alternative to supermarket shopping.  But how exactly does CSA work?  What does membership in a CSA model mean for community residents?

In the latest Idealist.org Community Podcast, guest contributor Cambra Moniz-Edwards follows Fort Greene CSA Coordinator Jen Datka as she explains the ins and outs of one of Brooklyn's newest CSAs.  For more information on CSAs in the five boroughs, and on developing a sustainable agriculture system in New York City, visit JustFood.org.





Click here for more information on Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE) and the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project (MARP).

"The poor will always be among you" is a biblical quote often cited by Christian leaders as a reason to not focus on poverty work. Some Christians, however, believe the quote means the exact opposite and that although 1.4 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day, poverty can end.

In this latest Community episode, our summer podcasting intern Alison Killeen explores the beliefs of the Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She speaks with co-founder and coordinator Liz Theoharis, along with the formerly homeless scholar-in-residence Willie Baptist, about the work of their organization and the importance of teaching a new generation of Christian leaders to address poverty in a new light.