PRODUCER WORK
Compiled are a list of shows I produced and booked that obtained high engagement and views online.
QAnon: Is pro-Trump conspiracy movement going mainstream? | Al Jazeera English -The Stream
CURRENT VIEWS: 162,251 views & counting (as of August 27 2020)
AIR DATE: JULY 13, 2020
NOTES: Received the highest number of views the week of July 13 2020 compared to other shows aired that week. Engagement especially grew the following week as QAnon news more fully entered the mainstream.
Conspiracy theories are nothing new in the United States. There have been thousands of sightings of the mythical 'Bigfoot' creature. Many believe that a US military installation known as 'Area 51' is sheltering spacecraft and aliens. And some say the 9/11 attacks were an inside job. But, even in that company, the theories of the QAnon world stand out. Its growing network of true believers are centred around an anonymous figure known only as "Q" who claims to have inside knowledge that US President Donald Trump is waging an undercover war against elite and "deep state" paedophile rings and sex trafficking schemes. Many other conspiracy theories are also being spread by the movement's adherents. "Q" began posting messages on some of the more obscure corners of the internet such as the message boards 4chan and 8chan. Now, though, supporters of the individual's theories are happy to be interviewed in the mainstream media and have been turning up in force at Trump rallies. In this episode of The Stream, we look at the origins of the movement, find out why so many people are getting involved and ask, can they have a serious impact on US politics?
GUESTS BOOKED:
Jared Yates Sexton, @JYSexton, Political Analyst and Author of 'American Rule: How a Nation Conquered the World but Failed Its People'
themuckrake.com
Joseph Uscinski, @Joeuscinski, Political Science Professor, University of Miami
joeuscinski.com
Kelly Weill, @KELLYWEILL, Reporter, The Daily Beast
thedailybeast.com
Is Ethiopia spiralling into political crisis? | Al Jazeera English -The Stream
CURRENT VIEWS: 151,926 views & counting (as of August 27 2020)
AIR DATE: JULY 6, 2020
NOTES: Received the highest number of views the week of July 6 2020 compared to other shows aired that week. It was also the most aired episode in all of July 2020.
Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed’s work towards securing a peace deal with neighbouring Eritrea brought him to the attention of the world, and saw him awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. And he has won support at home for releasing political prisoners and trying to forge national unity. But just six months after Ethiopia’s first Oromo leader accepted the award in Oslo, the killing of a popular musician in Addis Ababa is fuelling a wave of both cross-communal and intra-ethnic unrest, amid unease over a postponed election.
Hachalu Hundessa, an Oromo protest singer, was shot dead in the Ethiopian capital on June 29. Police suspect a targeted killing. Thousands of people in the Oromia region took to the streets demanding answers, and scores of people were killed amid violence between gangs from different backgrounds. Jawar Mohammed and Bekele Gerba, two prominent Oromo opponents of Abiy, were arrested.
Politicians in opposition to Abiy’s Prosperity Party-led government were already critical of its declaration of a state of emergency in April due to the impact of coronavirus, as well as by parliament’s recent votes to delay elections due in August and allow Abiy to remain in office beyond his term. His opponents contend he is trying to hold on to power.
Abiy has long said that he wants to promote pan-Ethiopianism through his ‘medemer’ (‘coming together’) philosophy, and the recently-formed Prosperity Party brings together several parties representing Oromo, Afar and Amhara communities, among others. But the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which dominated a coalition government for years before Abiy took office, is absent. And historical differences over land and political power in Ethiopia persist.
With an election now on ice, Tigrayan leaders in the north vowing to forge ahead with their own vote, and support for Abiy’s government cooling in his Oromia heartland, does a crisis loom for Ethiopia and its prime minister?
GUESTS BOOKED:
Awol Allo, @awolallo Senior Lecturer in Law, Keele University
keele.ac.uk/law
Alula Solomon, @Alula_Solomon, CEO, Tigray Media House
tmhtv.org
Zelalem Moges, @EthioHermit, Lawyer
#GandhiMustFall: Was Mahatma Gandhi racist? | Al Jazeera English -The Stream
CURRENT VIEWS: 375,068 views & counting (as of August 27 2020)
AIR DATE: December 18, 2018
NOTES: One of the most viewed episodes on The Stream.
The University of Ghana has removed a statue of the Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, citing complaints from faculty and students that he was racist toward black Africans. The statue was donated to the university in 2016 by the Indian government, prompting critics to create the hashtag #GandhiMustFall to draw attention to derogatory statements the young Gandhi had written while living in South Africa.
Gandhi is considered an icon of social justice and defenders of his legacy contend that his writings, while ignorant, should be considered within the greater context of his life and struggle against oppression. Organisers of the hashtag campaign argue that Gandhi’s legacy doesn’t justify racism or his view that Africans were “inferior”.
In this episode, we speak with Gandhi historians and #GandhiMustFall campaigners to explore the impact of Mahatma Gandhi’s reported racism on his legacy as a champion of civil rights. Join the conversation.
GUESTS BOOKED:
Ọbádélé Kambon, Ph.D, Research Coordinator of Language, Literature and Drama at University of Ghana
obadelekambon.com
Rama Lakshmi @RamaNewDelhi, Editor, Opinion at The Print
theprint.in
Zachariah Mampilly @Ras_Karya, Professor of Political Science and Africana Studies at Vassar College
vassar.edu