On The Map, Off The Radar

Cookshop.Biz is a food delivery service like UberEats, Deliveroo or GrubHub, but operating under much different business and market conditions in Liberia. It is the first company in Liberia to accept online payments locally and it is revolutionizing the food supply chain in Monrovia. Founders Charles Cooper and Mlen-Too Westley discuss how they set up the appropriate infrastructure to create a successful business in a country where technological innovation is scarce.

Mahmud Johnson, a 25 year old Liberian Dartmouth graduate, returned to Liberia to found JPalm. JPalm supplies farmers around Liberia with palm oil collection machines and then helps the farmers sell their crude palm oil. JPalm strives to use every part of the palm tree and not only sells the palm oil now but also sells the palm kernel shells as an alternative fuel source to charcoal. They have also branched out to found a beauty product line: Kernel Fresh. Kernel Fresh uses the oil inside of the palm kernel as a moisturizer for skin and hair. It is the new 'coconut oil' and is widely sold throughout Liberia. J-Palm has helped Liberian palm farmers multiply their profits, improve oil collection efficiency, and has created a vital supply chain infrastructure for palm oil in the country.

Monrovia has one of the most consistent rainfalls in the world, and is also the 'wettest' capital city in the world. However, potable drinking water is a huge issue in the country. Joel Gordon and Charles Cooper discuss their business, African Rain, which installs rainwater collection tanks across the country to turn rainwater into drinking water.

Archel Bernard, founder of the Bombchel Factory, discusses how her clothing company in Monrovia empowers Liberian women who were affected by ebola or sexual assault. The Bombchels (as the women who work there are called) create contemporary outfits for the global woman using bold African prints. Check out this inspiring podcast about a clothing company whose mission will *always* be in style.

Somali presidential candidate Fadumo Q. Dayib talks with On the Map, Off the Radar about her choice to run for office in order to initiate social change, why the 4.5 clan system of choosing a leader is corrupt and needs to change, how Western media and organizations are hindering democratic elections in Somalia and perpetuating a damaging narrative of the country, and, most importantly, her hope for the future of women leaders and also of Somalia. This is one of the most inspiring interviews I have ever conducted and you'll be both informed and moved by watching it from start to finish. Thank you, Fadumo Dayib, for taking the time to share your story and your message with us! Regardless of the outcome of the presidency, you have already won in sparking a revolution that empowers women and the voiceless in Somalia and beyond! For more information: https://fqdayib.com/

Earth system models to date operate in a world without animals. In these models animals are assumed passive recipients of environmental conditions and plant processes, contributing negligible effects on global biogeochemical cycles and biome function. In this episode of On the Map, Off the Radar Andrew Abraham discusses the previously overlooked movement of nutrients by animals, and the importance this may have to all of life on Earth.

Oxford PhD students Yale Michaels and Quentin Ferry discuss their research at the Fulga Lab using CRISPR and cas9 to edit genes, and the implications this work has for potential cures for cancer and other diseases, as well as its ethical considerations. For further reading, you can check out www.fulga-lab.org

Sofar Sounds, short for 'songs from a room' is a global phenomenon that has re-shaped the live music experience, stripping it down to intimate gigs in intimate settings. Rafe Offer, one of the founders of Sofar, discusses how Sofar was founded, and the unexpected community of musicians and music lovers that the organization has created in over 260 cities worldwide. If you'd like to attend a Sofar event near you or get involved, check out sofarsounds.com

Franklin Chang-Diaz, former NASA astronaut, veteran of 7 space shuttle missions and founder of Ad Astra Rocket Company, discusses the importance of human space flight, the development of sustainable energy inspired by technology developed for space exploration and how the Ad Astra designed engines will make it cheaper, faster and more efficient to explore space than ever before. For more information on Ad Astra Rocket Company: http://www.adastrarocket.com

David Llewellyn, a founder of the Good Lad Initiative, talks about how the organization aims to improve the definition and behavior of what it means to be a "lad" through discussion-facilitated workshops and how this in turn will create a better gender dynamic between men and women on university campuses and beyond. To find out more about the Good Lad Initiative, visit goodladworkshop.com

One year ago, I ran the London Marathon with my good friend, Kiran Gandhi. Kiran was on her period and it bled through her spandex. Her essay recounting running the marathon on her period without a tampon went viral internationally, and she has since used her experience as a platform to work towards destigmatizing menstruation. A musician and a feminist, Kiran talks about how 2015 was the year of the period and how she plans on furthering the discussion that the London Marathon created about periods into real change in society and cultures where it is often ignored, stigmatized, and shamed. Kiran's essay on running the London Marathon without a tampon: https://medium.com/endless/going-with... Kiran's music (Madame Gandhi): https://soundcloud.com/madamegandhi

Cathy White, Seedcamp's Communications and Marketing Director and organizer of GeekGirl Meetup UK talks with us about her experiences as a woman in the tech and startup world, and offers advice to other women hoping to get into the field. For more information on Seedcamp: http://seedcamp.com/ GeekGirl Meetup: http://www.geekgirlmeetup.co.uk/ This video is in collaboration with One in Ten Films, an initiative by MondoTV: http://www.mondotv.co/ The original video was broadcast live on Meerkat: https://meerkatapp.co/

109world is an organization that harnesses social media to create a space for global awareness and social change through service trips in different parts of the world. It was founded in February 2015 by Olivia Rothschild and Rachel Brathen. Olivia and Rachel discuss how they came up with the idea to create a space for global awareness through social media, the challenges of founding an NGO, and some of the current and future projects of 109 World.

Jesse Sanchez, a dream director for the Future Project, talks about his journey to Harvard as a first-generation college student. He also discusses the work of The Future Project, which helps equip U.S. high school students with entrepreneurial skills. You can find out more information on The Future Project at: http://www.thefutureproject.org/

Smitha Mallaiah, a mind-body intervention specialist at MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses how practicing yoga benefits cancer patients, and the research study being conducted at MD Anderson currently about the effects of yoga on breast cancer patients. To learn more about the Integrative Medicine Center at MD Anderson, check out: https://www.mdanderson.org/patients-family/diagnosis-treatment/care-centers-clinics/integrative-medicine-center.html

Dr. Sarah Prinsloo, an Assistant Professor at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, explains how neurotherapy is used in helping cancer patients manage acute pain, in addition to being used to treat things like attention-deficit disorder and anxiety. To learn more about neurotherapy , you can read Dr. Prinsloo's article: http://www.neuroregulation.org/article/view/14293/9286

On the Map, Off the Radar is a weekly news digest that covers stories that the mainstream media largely neglects. While the news is full of stories directly affecting the Western world, more structurally complex or less obvious stories from other parts of the world are often neglected. We are bringing these underreported events back to attention! We don’t claim to present a whole picture, or know everything but rather try to encourage an open discourse about things that one should know more about! If you want to add to a story by sharing personal accounts, alternative opinions, showing support or even voicing disagreement, or if you feel like the world should know more about certain issues that are not currently covered, please drop us a mail at on.the.map.off.the.radar@gmail.com

This week, we will be discussing the upcoming presidential elections in Nigeria with Sa'eed Husaini, who is a student at Oxford University reading for an MSc in African Studies. If you'd like more information on the Nigeria elections, you can check out Sa'eed's op-ed in the Daily Nation at: http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/blogs/dot9/Goodluck-Jonathan-Buhari--Nigeria-election/-/1959700/2622748/-/1dskg2z/-/index.html

A (very) brief overview on how the media portrayal of the conflict in South Sudan doesn't reflect the reality of the conflict on the ground. I haven't gone into much detail on the dynamics of the conflict, but for those of you who are interested, I would recommend starting with Young's book 'The Fate of Sudan', along with Copnall's 'A Poisonous Thorn in Our Hears'. Le Riche and Arnold's 'South Sudan: From Revolution to Independence' is also good. For shorter articles on the conflict, I would mainly rely on reports from various organisations like ICG, HRW and Small Arms Survey. Some good links are: http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/fileadmin/docs/working-papers/HSBA-WP-20-Armed-Violence-Southern-Sudan.pdf http://www.hrw.org/reports/2014/08/07/south-sudan-s-new-war http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/horn-of-africa/south-sudan/223-sudan-and-south-sudan-s-merging-conflicts.aspx Jok and Hutchinson have also done some great work on identity issues in South Sudan - they have both written a lot but I wou

In this episode of 'On the Map, Off the Radar' I look at how the rise in quinoa popularity around the world affects the locals in Peru and Bolivia where it is grown. For further reading, here are some more interesting pieces about quinoa in the global and local spheres: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jan/25/quinoa-good-evil-complicated http://www.peruthisweek.com/news-quinoa-causing-competition-among-peru-and-bolivia-105070 If you have any comments, suggestions, or concerns, please e-mail us at on.the.map.off.the.radar@gmail.com