MISTI Radio

Climate Change is obviously a global issue. And there are organizations, companies, and cities trying to mitigate it through decarbonization, the process of reducing the reliance on fossil fuels and achieving a carbon neutral society. The German American Business Council hosted a panel discussion on Alternative Energy Models for a Low Carbon Transition. The panel included Jens Müller-Belau, Energy Transition Manager at Shell Germany (MISTI sends students to Shell for internships); and Philipp-Nikolas Otto, Market Research Manager at EnBW North America, a Germany-based energy company. The discussion was moderated by Annette Wiedenbach, a past Fellow of the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. The panelists were asked questions like: What does it take to achieve a clean energy transition and how can energy companies help cities to become carbon neutral by 2030? So, what did the panelists have to say about the future of energy technologies?

Riding off the major developments of the past few years, including Brexit and the pandemic, Scotland had a major parliament election back in May, which resulted in pro-independence party victories. Now the country may have another independence referendum in the near future. The MIT Center for International Studies had none other than Scottish politician Ken Macintosh MSP talk about what’s happening in the country. Macintosh serves as presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament and has been a member for the West Scotland region since 2016. In this upcoming recording from a previous CIS Starr Forum, he talks about the last 5 years of Scottish politics, as well as the formation of a new nationalist party in Scotland. Take a listen. MISTI Radio is a production of MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives. You can listen to us on WMBR Cambridge, 88.1 FM, or wherever you get your podcasts.

On today’s show we have some audio from an event co-sponsored by our MIT-Russia program and the MIT AeroAstro department, featuring a NASA astronaut. You may have remembered a past episode of ours that featured astronaut-turned-investor Bernard Harris. But now we have an astronaut who will share the benefits of learning Russian as a space explorer. Edward Michael Fincke graduated from MIT in 1989, he then joined NASA as an astronaut in 1996. He’s spent a total of 381 days in orbit. He’s currently training for the first crew flight on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. The vehicle will provide roundtrip crew transportation services to the International Space Station and, along with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, restart U.S. space launches. Fincke is also fluent in Russian and Japanese. And his Russian skills have been pretty useful in being an astronaut. In this episode we will share why. Fincke was interviewed by Piper Sigrest, a 2018 AeroAstro graduate, a third-year aerospace engineering PhD candidate at the University of Michigan, and an aspiring astronaut who’s been studying Russian since their time at MIT.

MIT-India and MIT-Africa were thrilled to team up to host a conversation with MIT alumni, students, and faculty on difficult but necessary topics around diaspora, race, inclusion, and identity. Today we are going to share parts of that conversation. The event featured MG Vassanji, Class of 1974, a Kenyan-born, Tanzanian-raised South Asian who currently lives in Canada. Dr. Vassanji is a prize-winning novelist and while at MIT, he co-founded the MIT African Students Association. The panel also included MIT history Professor Kenda Mutongi, author of Matatu: A History of Popular Transportation in Nairobi; Also students Boluwatife Akinola, President of the MIT African Students Association; and Deekshita Kacham, President of the MIT South Asian Association of Students. The panel discussion was moderated by MIT History Professor Sana Aiyar, author of Indians in Kenya: The Politics of Diaspora. Prof. Mutongi and Dr. Vassanji illustrated the unique experiences of a generation of Africans who came of age in a period of decolonization, Africanization, and nation-building. The student panelists offered their experiences as members and leaders of their identity-based affiliation groups on campus. To listen to the entire recording, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cboGjdBptzc

The shootings of six Asian women in Atlanta in March of this year may have felt like the apotheosis of Anti-Asian violence in the time of Covid. Hate crimes against Asians shot up about 150% in 2020 in the largest American cities. This was connected to the increase of anti-Asian sentiment that emerged from the spread of Covid-19 in the US. Because of the origin of the virus, some Americans would call it the “China virus” or the “Wuhan virus.” Covid-19 was racialized, and the Asian community suffered because of it. The shootings provoked responses and action on a national and local level. We wanted to share clips from a Starr Forum organized by the Center for International Studies and Chris Pilcavage, our Managing Director for the MIT Japan program. In these clips the panelists discussed the causes and those responses to anti-Asian violence. First was Paul Watanabe, who is a Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute for Asian American Studies at UMass Boston. He served on President Obama’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and as the first Chair of the US Census Bureau’s National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations. He gets into the history of the racialization and consequential treatment of Asians in America. Next we wanted to share clips from Kathy Moon during the forum. She is a Professor of Political Science and the Wasserman Chair of Asian Studies at Wellesley College. She was a senior fellow and the Korea Chair at The Brookings Institution. Her research covers US-East Asia relations, the politics of North and South Korea, women and gender in international relations, social movements, and international migration. She talks about this unique form of intolerance and othering Asians experience, with a focus on the treatment of Asian women.

Ari recently had a chance to catch up with Kathleen Schwind, a 2019 MIT graduate from the Urban Studies and Planning program. Kathleen traveled extensively through MISTI while she was a student at MIT, making it to 22 countries by the age of 22. They caught up about her attraction to the world's most intractable problems and the role of water in middle east peace building. After, we wanted to feature a country we haven’t before on the show, and that is Mexico. We have an interview from Griselda Gomez, the Managing Director of the MIT Mexico program, and Diana Rentería, a participant of Mexico Global Teaching Labs.

On today’s show, we have some clips from the Boston Japan Film Festival. If you don’t know, the Boston Japan Film Festival is a single-day event that connects New England to Japanese culture through cinema. The festival was held online this year, with virtual film showings and discussions. There was a particular short documentary that we wanted to highlight called “Nourishing Japan” about Japan’s 2005 Food Education Law as it pertains to feeding young students. It was followed by a discussion with the director, Alexis Agaliano Sanborn, and cookbook writer Debra Samuels. After we have Ari interviewing research scientist and MIT professor Mercedes Balcells, where they talk about the research landscape in Spain.

The rabeca probably not an instrument many people would be familiar with. If you’ve never seen one before, you could look at it and compare it to a violin, but the comparison kind of stops at the visual similarities. So when the opportunity came to learn more about it, I jumped at the chance of talking about it in an episode. And that’s what we’ll get to do today. Adam Bahrami, a friend of the MIT-Brazil program, is here to tell the story of the rabeca.

In 2018, the Broadway hit "The Bands' Visit," won a slew of Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best original score, best actor, and best actress. It also won best orchestration, which was awarded to Jamshied Sharifi, an Iranian-American composer and MIT alum. Sharifi received his degree in Humanities at MIT, then went on to study at Berklee College of Music. Before the Band’s Visit, he scored multiple films, recorded his own albums, and produced and arranged for other musicians and bands. MIT-Israel, Arts at MIT, and MIT Hillel organized this event with Sharifi that you will hear soon. During this special virtual event, he talked about what it was like working on the Broadway hit, incorporating Middle Eastern influences to his music, and how his MIT degree continues to be relevant as a musician. So take a listen. Here’s Jamshied Sharifi. We also interviewed our very own Candi Deblay, the new MIT-France program manager at MISTI. France is just one of the many countries we send MIT students, but it’s a unique place for cultural experiences and internships. I spoke with Candi about what it was like living abroad in France, and the advancing industries that may be appealing to MIT students.

On this episode, we want to show you the ways telemedicine and energy industries are being transformed around the world. These two sectors may sound disparate, but there is actually something they have in common, and that’s the goal of efficiency. Countries may have trouble catching up with the current era of rapidly-evolving technology. Telemedicine can only work if it’s accessible. You can’t get the care you need if you don’t have the right device to receive it. In the energy sector, companies are working against time to slow or eliminate the effects of climate change. There are many in the MISTI community that are primed to address these issues, and we will be featuring them in this episode, one industry at a time.

This year, Global Startup Labs, or GSL, celebrated 20 years sending MIT students abroad to teach other students about entrepreneurship and help realize their startup ideas. GSL managers, students, alumni, and founders congregated via Zoom to commemorate and reflect on their achievements. Over 300 MIT students have instructed thousands of GSL students across 4 continents. Startups that were incepted in GSL have gone on to become successful companies. The impact that GSL has made makes the program a special and important part of MISTI. There aren’t many programs out there like GSL.

Every year we send over a thousand students to over 25 countries, and we have a few who really stand out for different reasons. Because of this we have unofficially created the MISTI Radio Hall of Fame, featuring students who have gone on five different MISTI trips. We have two of those students, including Richard Colwell. Through MISTI, Richard has been to France, Israel, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and would have gone to China this summer. We encourage students to not just intern with us during their time at MIT, but go multiple times. It’s a joy to work with students who want to do that, and are strong advocates for MISTI. Jierui Fang is our second inductee into the MISTI Hall of Fame. She traveled to Kazakhstan. France, Brazil, China, and Jordan; super impressive. Like Richard she has a good number of stories to share about her trips, and how those experiences have influenced her perspective on the world.

We have a really cool segment submitted by a student who spoke with students and alumni who traveled to Brazil either through MISTI or Fulbright. But first, we’re going to pick up where we left off on the last episode where Brigid and Ari interviewed Kevi Donat. If you don’t know, Kevi is a French tour guide that mainly focuses on the often overlooked black history of Paris. He leads his guests through the streets and offers an alternative narrative to what may be a typical understanding of Parisian history. In the second part of this interview they go beyond history and really get into the contemporary inequities that manifest in France whether it’s the racial wealth gap, white supremacist protests, and how this idea of freedom from religion, which is popular in France, can hurt black and brown communities. What is most interesting about the rest of this interview is that they discuss how the US perception of France differs from the reality, and how charged racial discourse has actually “globalized” and even was inspired by what’s happening here in the United States. I think it’s really important to point that out when we talk about racial justice.

Today we’re putting a spotlight on two MIT students; Rahul Ramakrishnan, who participated in the MIT-India program, and Mercedes Riley, who presented a philosophy workshop for girls all around the world.

As a whole, MISTI has had to forgo almost all travel for students, staff, and faculty. It was difficult to come to terms with this as a program that centers around traveling. But two staff members made the decision to fly out of America. Matt Burt, Korea Program Manager, and Marco de Paula, Brazil Program assistant, went to… well Korea and Brazil respectively. Africa Managing Director Ari Jacobovitz interviewed them about their experiences, and how they compared to each other. Also, COVID-19 has sent shockwaves through higher education in the U.S. and around the world. Today we will share excerpts from a panel of MISTI international partner organizations to learn about how the pandemic has impacted their operations, and what the future holds for universities globally.

As a whole, MIT is always looking to connect with the rest of the world in innovative ways that bring change. Students are a crucial part of that mission. Today you get to hear from two MIT undergraduates who are committed to inspiring their community to learn more about Africa. Also in the episode, we hear from our own faculty. It’s probably no surprise that a country’s response to a pandemic is correlated to the social norms of that country. At a recent panel, professors shared insights on how culture has played a role in a country’s shared response to the pandemic.

In this episode, we have our students and partners from the U.K. and Denmark who are addressing inequities related to food and STEM spaces. While these are issues that are prevalent in the U.S., we wanted to share the work others are doing in those countries. What are the similarities? What are the differences? We also have interviews with MISTI alumni who have extensive experiences with the countries where they have interned. Conor Kirby is one of our students who had to convert his in-person internship at Sumitomo Heavy Industries in Japan, to a remote one, where he would continue working in his home country of England. Andrea McClave, a MISTI alum who interned at the FoodLab at Denmark Technical University was hired permanently.

On this episode of MISTI Radio Podcast we talked with program partners from India and Denmark. With Covid continuing to spread, how does India adapt to ensure the security and safety of its people? Sloan graduates Hank Levine and Anirudh Sharma discuss how their companies are adapting to keep people employed and provide PPE sustainably in India, respectively. Though 66% of families in Denmark are traditional nuclear families living together, 44% are either co-parenting, single, in an open relationship, or in another living arrangement. The type of housing that will be built needs to adapt. So what can city planners and architects do? How can housing be more flexible for an unknown future? Ofri Earon, Architect and PhD at Ramboll, a consultancy in Denmark, discusses these questions and more. Finally we have an interview with Evan Lieberman, Professor of Political Science and Contemporary Africa at MIT and the new Faculty Director for the MIT-Africa program. In his interview with Managing Director Ari Jacobovitz they talked about what they’re looking forward to for the program. MISTI Radio is a project from MIT International Science and Technology initiatives. You can listen to us on WMBR Cambridge, 88.1 FM. or wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more, visit misti.mit.edu. 

On this episode we have a special interview and talk to share; both about how COVID-19 affects things from communications to climate change. Ari Jacobovitz, Managing Director of MIT-Africa, interviews Michala Mackay, the Chief Operating Officer and Director of the Directorate of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Sierra Leone. DSTI seeks to “transform Sierra Leone into an innovation and entrepreneurship hub.” In her work Mackay implements Sierra Leone’s National Innovation and Digitization Strategy to make technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship integral to the development of the country. In this interview Mackay discusses how the people and the government of Sierra Leone are responding to COVID-19, what the Directorate is doing, and how technology is playing an important role in conducting real-time analysis, communicating updates, and connecting people with each other in this situation. Next are excerpts from a Starr Forum hosted by MIT-Brazil and the MIT Center for International Studies. On April 24th they invited Dr. Carlos Nobre, an MIT-Brazil program partner, to talk about how the COVID-19 crisis reveals how balancing tropical ecosystems can actually reduce this risk of future pandemics. Dr. Nobre is Brazil’s leading expert on the Amazon and climate change. He is currently a Senior Scientist at University of Sao Paulo's Institute for Advanced Studies, chair of the Brazilian Panel on Climate Change and co-chair of the Science Panel for the Amazon. Nobre received a PhD in Meteorology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  MISTI Radio is a project from MIT International Science and Technology initiatives.