Episode 04 – Progress

SOUND WARNING – I get pretty shouty in this episode, if you’re wearing headphones and/or driving be mindful of these timestamps:
11:13
16:27-18:13
21:32-22:09
25:27-27:19
and pretty much through to the end lol

I’m passionate about this topic. I mean, this podcast is part inspiration, part passionate rants about systems of oppression 🙂

Key points discussed in this episode:

• The importance of looking forward instead of living in the past
• The impact of nostalgia on our minds and emotions
• Reverence for the past can be a powerful tool as long as it isn’t holding us back, and we aren’t using it as an excuse to move forward
• There are plenty of applications where tried and true methods have worked and still work, but were abolished because of factors (such as greed)
• Progress
  • Benefits
  • Where we run into issues
• THE SOLUTION

References:

• Midnight in Paris (film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1605783/ 
• Bag lady by Erykah Badu: https://youtu.be/OqN0jsSeqPo?si=5YkU9jM5Who914Ep
• Rafiki “it’s in the past” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZfGTL2PY3E 

• PBS Terra and Floodlight News cover the surge in data centers and the harm they cause to communities:https://youtu.be/5p426fSlYH4?si=nzAEzxn0Gw7D5DFW

• Exploiting workers – slave labor used for Cobalt mining in the Republic of Congo for use in cell phones (especially newer devices) and electric vehicles:
  • https://humantraffickingsearch.org/resource/modern-slavery-the-true-cost-of-cobalt-mining/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%28ROI%29%20PMax%20-%20DSA%20xCO%20xAC%20xGT&utm_id=22450466552&utm_content=&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23504083602&gbraid=0AAAAADq-eHw-uNzbdAvJ5VCwLsYOAfbCo&gclid=CjwKCAjwidXQBhAZEiwA4egw6N-OhxtMX7r4aZ8wel32dxcikjyWlUvgNUHl3V–9aM0Yl1WrfHFHBoCezIQAvD_BwE 
  • https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/02/01/1152893248/red-cobalt-congo-drc-mining-siddharth-kara 
  • Even the Department of Labor acknowledges this!! This is from 2024! https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/DRC-FL-Cobalt-Report-508.pdf
• Tuskegee Syphilis Study, a program that caused immense harm to the black community of Tuskegee. Later, President Clinton issued a public apology and The National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care at Tuskegee University was created.
  • https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/about/index.html
  • https://www.thehastingscenter.org/newly-released-documents-from-untreated-syphilis-study-ethical-just-and-respectful-use-of-archival-materials/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=16567452402&gbraid=0AAAAACdtXhhig6ZOOByZ8Z2zO0PFJRT8j&gclid=CjwKCAjwidXQBhAZEiwA4egw6BRpmSHLPKUTPCS8iXCv3B1SMCx94rXOUJUwKjrvoz6VOXhJfDxEPhoClwQQAvD_BwE

• European settlers and the catastrophic effect on land that was well-maintained by First Nations’ civilizations – I thought of the Three Sisters planting method and how, over time, it became less of a common practice even though it was viable and sustainable
  • With the loss of farmland and the introduction of European staples including sugar, flour and butter, this ancient diet was almost completely replaced. The results were catastrophic. (source: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220801-the-sacred-sisters-of-ancient-america )
• Agricultural yields quote from PubMed Central® (PMC) – a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9288846/

THE SOLUTION:

1. BE INVOLVED in groups and communities
2. Have a clearly defined goal
3. Innovate without causing harm
4. Considerations when working on a technology, solution, construction etc – is this project:
   • Ethical
   • Collaborative
   • Beneficial to many
   • Shared
   • A win all around
   • Beneficial and not destructive
   • Inspiring
5. How to prepare for inevitable change:
   • Acknowledge that we often push back on change BUT we also ultimately adapt
   • Understand that progress is gonna happen whether we like it or not
   • Recognize the role we play, fight against the things that harm us and embrace the things that benefit us
   • As always, with all things, stick tight to our communities, help where we can, lift each other up, and stay strong, stay together through life’s ups and downs

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