Popaganda Episode: Volunteers

Every year, about 25 percent of Americans volunteer for a project. All those millions of volunteer hours add up! On this episode, we bring you four stories about volunteering and passion projects where people go above-and-beyond. 

First off, writer Rafia Zakaria explores the complicated dynamics of voluntourism—the trend of people from richer countries combining international travel and volunteering. Then, a teen reporter with Seattle radio station KUOW reports on a teenage farmworker who spends her high school years pitching in to improve the working conditions of other agricultural laborers. After that, we travel to Michigan with Making Contact to hear a report on a local Muslim community getting involved in political organizing. Finally, we hear an interview from Behind the Scenes with astounding filmmaker Dawn Porter, who is the creative force behind the new film Trapped, which details the attacks on abortion clinics in the South. 

FULL SHOW: 

THE COMPLICATED NATURE OF VOLUNTOURISM: 

INTERVIEW WITH TRAPPED FILMMAKER DAWN JONES: 

MEET A TEENAGE FARMWORKER AND ACTIVIST: 

ORGANIZING FOR CHANGE AT A MICHIGAN MOSQUE: 

SPONSOR: 

This episode of Popaganda is sponsored by She's Beautiful When She's Angry. The first documentary about the women’s liberation movement, She's Beautiful When She's Angry is a critically-acclaimed film now available to own. Featuring the women who made change happen - then and continue to bang the drum of equality today. Look for it on DVD, iTunes, Amazon Video and wherever you watch movies.

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Our show will be transcribed by Cheryl Green of StoryMinders. We're proud to make Popaganda accessible to people who are Deaf or hard of hearing.

Thumbnail photo by David Faulkner (Creative Commons).