Somewhere on Earth: The Global Tech Podcast

Send us a text Rare earth element boom poisoning Myanmar Growing demand for electric vehicles and wind turbines might look good for emissions, but there’s an environmental cost too. Regions, habitats and livelihoods in Myanmar are facing significant damage because the surge in demand for permanent magnets is driving up mining for rare earth elements according to a report from Global Witness. CEO M...

Send us a text Millions of gallons of water needed for new data centres in Chile during 30 year drought Chile looks set to become the data centre capital of Latin America, with the country’s President announcing another 28 proposed developments. But these data centres require vast amounts of electricity to run and huge volumes of water to cool them. With the country experiencing a severe long term...

Send us a text Technology is not the problem (we are)… Can we really lay the blame for our problems to the rise of technology or should be take responsibility for our actions and how we are choosing not to relate to the world around us? Author, tech journalist and comedian Timandra Harkness is on the show to challenge the way we think and deal with the choices presented to us by tech. Her new book...

Send us a text Indian Elections; deep fakes, false memes, and misinformation galore Resurrecting dead politicians in election campaigns online may sound unbelievable, but in the Indian elections it seems that almost anything is possible. From deep fakes and AI meme wars to bogus audio messages, Bangalore based investigative journalist Nilesh Christopher has been reporting on them all. He’s on the...

Send us a text  How AI is saving lives and languages in Ghana In general, people in the developing world are optimistic about the potential of AI. Of course, there are some concerns about job security and fairness, but overall, the positive outlook outweighs the negative. However, this is not the case in countries like Ghana, where suspicion and fear prevail. Interestingly, even with Google's sign...

Send us a text Can ‘small’ AI have a huge impact in sub Saharan Africa? Artificial intelligence is usually fed with large datasets allowing the technology to create what should be well balanced algorithms – but what happens when large data sets aren’t available or the impact of the AI could have a very significant impact on people’s lives? Researchers at Tufts University in the United States have...

Send us a text AI for peace – using artificial intelligence to manage conflict and maintain peace With numerous ongoing conflicts in places like Sudan, Israel-Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, and Syria, peace can seem scarce in today's world. However, artificial intelligence could play a role is managing wars. A new book titled “AI for Peace” provides a roadmap for using artificial intelligence to promote pea...

Send us a text Dear Lovely SOEP listener,Just a little shout out to remind you that we also do a PodExtra version of the show.  For just $10US a month you can hear more of our guests and even new stories, as well as even more chat between Gareth and our studio experts.  We know it's a big ask but we really do appreciate all your support. Just click on the link below to subscribe:https://www.buzzsp...

Send us a text World Cybercrime Index – Where are the cybercriminals hiding? Russia leads the list of countries that host cybercrime, followed by Ukraine, China, the USA, Nigeria and Romania, according to a new study by an international team of researchers. The findings come from anonymous questionnaires completed by ninety-two cybercrime experts. The researchers say this survey approach overcomes...

Send us a text Is crypto currency supporting terrorism? With the phasing out of cash transactions we’ve seen a rise in digital and other transactions. One of the currencies that’s in the ascendancy are crypto currencies, whose place in the market according to Forbes magazine, has shifted from one of fear to neutral, and now to greed. In other words it’s hugely on the up. After facing some downturn...

Send us a text Tech stories that matter – what should we be reporting on? A little extra episode for our lovely SOEP Subscribers.  Just over a year ago the BBC axed its flagship global tech radio show – Digital Planet.  A few of the listeners (we did have 1.5million downloads a year BTW) got together in London to reminisce and remember the programme.  Here’s a short recording from that evening whe...

Send us a text YouTube approves disinformation ads in India in run up to election A recent joint investigation conducted by Access Now and Global Witness reveals that YouTube is giving its approval to election disinformation ads in India prior to the country's general election. The investigation "Votes will not be counted", discovered that YouTube is endorsing ads that make baseless allegations of...

Send us a text SOEP meets Dame Steve Shirley – a coding female pioneer Dame Stephanie (Steve) Shirley is a game changer in whatever she does and we were delighted that she agreed to chat to Somewhere on Earth. She arrived in England as an unaccompanied child refugee on the Kindertransport in 1939. She convinced her all girls’ school to allow her to learn maths at the boys’ school and in 1962 start...

Send us a text West Africa Internet – when will it be fixed? As many as a dozen countries across West and Central Africa were cut off from the internet and are still experiencing significant connection issues following damage to submarine cables. Now a repair ship is enroute to fix the d­­amage, but it will be some time before services return to normal. What happened, how was traffic rerouted and...

Send us a text AI for Africa – one young female scientist’s drive to develop solutions We meet Rokhaya Diagne, a twenty something AI developer and entrepreneur who is using AI to overcome Africa’s specific challenges. She’s currently creating a diagnostic platform for malaria in Senegal as well as using underwater drones to map and monitor biodiversity for marine conservation agencies and to impro...

Send us a text Anti-poaching tech – does it work? Anti-poaching initiatives are making increasing use of technology, such as infrared thermography but with an array of tech out there, what should governments, wildlife charities and NGO’s be using? Professor Adam Hart, from the University of Gloucestershire, is a conservationist who’s been testing environmental tech as well as using his hacking ski...

Send us a text Digitising public life in the US – making America e-smart Many governments and local authorities around the world have moved many, if not all their public services online, from filing tax returns to e-passports and food assistance schemes. However, the United States is lagging behind, with many civic services providing lengthy and user-unfriendly systems. CEO of Code for America, th...

Send us a text Jimmy Wales - Wikipedia co-founder - answers your questions We speak to the one and only “Wiki Guy” as even he describes himself. Wikipedia and Wikimedia co-founder Jimmy Wales joins Gareth and Ghislaine on the show. He will be talking about his new project called Trust Café and answering your questions on amongst other things Wikipedia’s moderation policies and the impact of large...

Send us a text A gentle ask for your (financial) supportDear lovely Somewhere on Earth Subscribers (or SOEPSUDS for short) here's a short message from Gareth, reminding you about our podextra shows.  For $10US a month, you can hear extended interviews from our guests, details about how they came to be where they are now and even some new additional stories from time to time.  We appreciate that in...

Send us a text Tech in Ukraine after two years of war Two years ago Russia invaded Ukraine and in that time, the country’s already booming tech sector has adapted and changed rapidly. In 2022 it was service led, providing IT development for companies outside its borders. Now though things have changed significantly and not only are the tech savvy helping the war effort, but many entrepreneurs are...

Send us a text Diagnosing TB using AI and a mobile phone Diagnosing tuberculosis is cumbersome and not all tests are available in developing countries. Now a team of scientists has used AI to allow a mobile phone to identify if someone’s cough could be a sign of TB. Dr Manuja Sharma, from the University of Washington is on the show to tell us how they used machine learning to identify more than 33...

Send us a text A special guest on Somewhere on Earth, your help needed We have a very special annoucement and we need you help. We have the co-founder of Wikipedia and founder of the Wikimedia Foundation Jimmy Wales coming on the show. But instead of us asking the questions, we want to hand over to you. What would you like to ask Jimmy Wales? Please send us your questions by Friday 16th February v...

Send us a text The British Post Office Technology Scandal The British Post Office scandal saw more than 900 subpostmasters convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting. However, it was faulty account software called Horizon and made by Fujitsu, that was to blame. The personal tragedies of those involved have been documented recently in a TV drama in the UK. But what was actually wrong with the s...

Send us a text The Global AI Arms Race Leading global powers have for some time been positioning themselves at the forefront of AI development. All these governments see AI as such a powerful tool they want to be first to be in control, however they also want to regulate it. But with regulations, development can be slow says Dr Kerry McInerney from the University of Cambridge and the AI Now Instit...

Send us a text A Bitcoin transaction ‘uses a swimming pool of water’ Every Bitcoin transaction uses about the same amount of water as a backyard swimming pool according to a study published in the journal Cell Reports Sustainability. That’s around six million times more than a credit card swipe. The vast amounts of water are needed as Bitcoin uses so much computing power, and in turn, electricity...