Robbie Smith: Haiti and the Complexities of Giving

In this second episode of The Provocateur, I talk to Robbie Smith, CEO and founder of NGOs United, about the political situation in Haiti and how his initiative can improve the efficacy of development aid in the country. Join us for a fascinating discussion that takes in the history of this oft-forgotten Caribbean state; the impact of recent natural disasters such as the 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew; and the ongoing challenges to effective aid delivery.

You can listen to the podcast here: 

Further Reading:

Berry, N. S. (2014) ‘Did we do good? NGOs, conflicts of interest and the evaluation of short-term medical missions in Solola, Colombia’,  Social Science & Medicine 120, pp. 344-351.

Kidder, T. (2011) Mountains Beyond Mountains. London: Profile Books.

Minn, P. H. (2011) “Where They Need Me”: The Moral Economy of International Medical Aid in Haiti. PhD thesis, McGill University.

Pfeiffer, J. (2003) ‘International NGOs and primary health care in Mozambique: the need for a new model of collaboration’, Social Science & Medicine 56, pp. 725-738.

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John McKeane: How to Dialogue in 2017

As the year comes to a close, it’s a good time to reflect on what has happened politically in the past 12 months. According to John McKeane, Lecturer in Modern French Literature at the University of Reading, the crisis in modern Western democracy can be put down to a crisis of confidence in citizens’ ability to dialogue with each other.

In today’s episode of The Provocateur, I talk to John about his aspirations for better political dialogue in 2017. We take in Brexit, Trump, identity politics and I even try ‘doing’ dialogue myself for good measure.

You can listen to the podcast here: