Tonight my first radio segment for Hudson Mohawk Magazine aired on WOOC 105.3 FM in Troy, NY. To provide some context on the public hearing, maybe I’ll just post the lead in script I provided for the hosts.

At Wednesday night’s Public Forum at the County Legislature, Troy residents Nora McDowell and Alexander Ferrer (FER-ERR) spoke out against the proposed 287(g) funding application that Sheriff Patrick Russo has sought from the Department of Homeland Security. Under the arrangement, Rensselaer County would be the first in New York State to collaborate with federal ICE agents. After the forum, WOOC reporter Dan Phiffer (FIE-FUR) spoke to County Legislator Peter Grimm.

You can also read more on no287g.com, a small website I created for the (cancelled) protest.

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I was recently on my friend Benjamen Walker‘s podcast Theory of Everything, talking about digital security.

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Related posts

• Surveillance and Inaction
• Multi-factor authentication for busy people

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Here’s another podcast episode that’s helpful for countering the mindless demagoguery that seems to dominate American political discussions about the plight of refugees. Scott Carrier has continued his journey to the island of Lesbos to interview refugees. Give it a listen.

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See also: On the Border of Greece and Macedonia

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The most recent episode of Reply All is a fantastic antidote to recent developments in U.S. politics.

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I challenge you to listen to this and feel cynical about politics and activism!

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The latest episode of Theory of Everything is a recut version of April’s New York After rent series. Listen to the whole thing in one 70 minute post prop f director’s cut episode.

In the future startups will enable us to rent out our memories, feelings, and dreams, the same way we now rent out our extra bedrooms and the stuff in our closets. In the future every flight of fancy eventually will be commodified.

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From Scott Carrier’s Home of the Brave podcast:

Four days ago, the European Union decided to allow only refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan into Northern Europe, stranding thousands of people at the Idomeni transit camp on the border of Greece and Macedonia. This report is from the Idomeni camp, where a variety of protests are ongoing by Iranians, Pakistanis, Moroccans, and Somalis who say they’d rather die than be sent home.

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See also: an earlier episode with interviews of Donald Trump supporters

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The most recent episode of the Radio Diaries podcast has an interview with Bill Siemering, who wrote the original mission statement for NPR.

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National Public Radio will serve the individual, it will promote personal growth, it will regard the individual differences with respect and joy, rather than derision and hate. It will celebrate the human experience as infinitely varied, rather than vacuous and banal. It will encourage a sense of active, constructive participation, rather than apathetic helplessness.

The total service should be trustworthy, enhance intellectual development, expand knowledge, deepen aural aesthetic enjoyment, increase the pleasure of living in a pluralistic society, and result in a service to listeners which makes them more responsive, informed human beings and intelligent, responsible citizens of their communities and the world.

It would speak with many voices and many dialects. The editorial attitude would be that of inquiry, curiosity, concern for the quality of life, critical problem solving, and life loving.

It’s interesting to know that the term broadcasting has its origins in agriculture, as in “scattering seeds.”

See also: Radiotopia’s Fall 2015 fund drive.

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Theory of Everything recently posted an addendum to last year’s Enchanting by Numbers. Both episodes are very worthwhile, and both include the same segment talking about how misunderstood Facebook algorithms are to most of its users.

Be sure to listen to the interview with Suw Charman-Anderson, founder of Ada Lovelace Day, which is today! That part starts at 14:30 in part 1.

Part 1

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Part 2

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See also: Ada’s Algorithm, the author was also interviewed in the Ada Lovelace segment. And Betsy Morais’s New Yorker article.

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This week’s On The Media was a rerun, but they ran a podcast extra about the Umpqua Community College shooting that’s worth a listen.

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Also, here is Michael Luo’s Medium post about his role in provoking Oregon’s state legislature to restrict public access to gun license records.

I had planned to cross-match the data of license holders with other records on criminal convictions. But Oregon officials repeatedly delayed turning over the records, and I wound up focusing instead on the licensing process in North Carolina, where officials released the gun permit data to me right away. I discovered that about 10 percent of permit holders in North Carolina over a five-year period had gone on to commit felonies or misdemeanors. Perhaps more disturbingly, I found that the authorities had failed to revoke the permits of many of those who had been convicted of felonies.

Stone-walling journalists from uncovering these kinds of legislative oversights is dangerous—not just in the rhetorical sense—it is literally endangering citizens.

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In case you missed it, here’s an important two-part series from This American Life about school integration. Find a couple hours to listen to these.

Part 1

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Part 2

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Link via Ta-Nehisi Coates