What does “development” really mean—and who is forced to pay for it?

Ziada is a climate and gender justice advocate working at the frontlines of renewable energy and community resistance. Trained in medicine, her activism was shaped by real encounters with inequality, environmental breakdown, and lives lost to preventable conditions.

What is EACOP, really? A massive oil pipeline from Uganda to Tanzania—sold as progress, contested on the ground.

The real cost of “development” Displacement. Lost livelihoods. Closed schools. Communities cut off from land and identity.

Why women are hit hardest Economic exclusion, social disruption, and power imbalances intensified inside homes and communities.

Key Takeaway

“We don’t lack solutions—we lack implementation.”

Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media.

Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.

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What happens when poetry becomes testimony? What happens when a voice carries the grief, rage, memory, and survival of an entire people?

In this deeply emotional and politically charged episode of Troublemakers, we journey through “Vous allez où?”, a haunting spoken-word piece that confronts war, displacement, colonial violence, exile, and the persistence of hope in places the world often chooses to ignore.

Through vivid imagery and painful truths, the poem paints a world where mothers bury children, rivers carry bodies instead of songs, and children draw rifles instead of suns. Yet even within devastation, there remains resistance the stubborn insistence on dignity, memory, and life itself.

This episode reflects on:

• War as a lived daily reality, not a distant headline
• Forced displacement and the psychology of exile
• The silencing of oppressed voices
• Colonial legacies and systems of domination

At its core, this episode asks: Where do people go when home itself becomes unlivable? And what does it mean to continue dreaming in a world built to erase you?

This is not just poetry. It is testimony. It is mourning. It is resistance.

Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media.

How do we move from gathering stories to creating impact? How can we be more strategic about story gathering? And who truly owns the narrative - organisations or the communities themselves?

In this episode of Troublemakers, we explore the role of storytelling in activism and development, featuring insights from practitioners working across Brazil and Nepal within ActionAid. This conversation unpacks how stories are gathered, shaped, and used. It explores the role of ActionAid in story gathering and reflects on why rethinking storytelling is essential for justice-driven work.

Guest Host

● Joan Njoroge – Moderator of this conversation, guiding a deep dive into how storytelling shapes advocacy, impact, and community voice within global movements.

Guest Speakers

● Erika Azevedo – Coordinator of Public Engagement at ActionAid Brazil, with a background in journalism and documentary storytelling.

● Anish Shrestha– Communications Manager at ActionAid Nepal, working closely with grassroots communities to amplify lived experiences.

Reflections

This episode highlights a key shift: storytelling must be decolonial, feminist, and human-centred. It’s not just about telling better stories — it’s about better planning and collaboration to avoid overload, more focus on agents of change, and amplifying people’s voices to different audiences.

License

Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media.

Resources & Show Links

● Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/troublemakers.podcast

● ActionAid Global: https://www.actionaid.org

● Beautiful Trouble Toolbox: https://beautifultrouble.org/toolbox/

How do we defend rights in a world full of misinformation?

In this episode, guest host Jesué Mutanava speaks with Steward Muhindo, a human rights activist from the Democratic Republic of Congo and member of Lutte pour le Changement (LUCHA).

They explore how social media shapes activism, the dangers of disinformation, and how young people can push for change through peaceful action. Steward also shares simple ways to verify information and why truth is essential in the fight for human rights.

Key Takeaways

• Human rights are universal.
• Peaceful action drives change.
• Misinformation can cause real harm.
• Truth is the foundation of activism.

Licensing: Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Trouble Makers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media.

In Super Hero, Phindu Banda honors the quiet courage of everyday people who rise, endure, and keep going. From childhood dreams to life’s hardest moments, this piece reminds us that survival, resilience, and showing up are acts of heroism.

You didn’t wait to be saved. You became the hero.

About the Poet

Phindu Banda is a Malawian poet, performer, and activist whose work explores identity, feminism, and social justice. Through spoken word, she amplifies everyday experiences and transforms them into powerful reflections on resilience, healing, and change.

Licensing:

Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Trouble Makers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Resources & Show Links:

https://www.instagram.com/phinduzaie/

Why do movements that aim to transform the world so often fall apart from within? And what happens when the gap between our values and our actions becomes too wide to ignore?

In this episode of Trouble Makers, we sit down with Dale McKinley, a veteran activist with over 35 years of experience across South Africa’s most influential social movements. From the Communist Party to the Anti-Privatisation Forum and the Right to Know Campaign, Dale has witnessed firsthand how movements rise and how they implode.

Together with Phil Wilmot, they explore one of the most critical tensions in activism: the balance between changing the world and changing ourselves.

Key Conversations & Insights:

The “personal vs political” gap—and how it destroys movements from the inside

Why failing to confront internal issues (corruption, abuse, dishonesty) leads to collapse

The danger of “don’t air dirty laundry” culture in activist spaces

Real stories of movement breakdowns due to a lack of accountability

How trust, relationships, and internal culture shape long-term impact

Licensing:

Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Trouble Makers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media.

“The secret is numbers.”

What happens when ordinary citizens decide to take democracy into their own hands?

In this episode of the Trouble Makers Podcast, host Tatiana Gicheru sits down with Kenyan journalist and civic mobilizer Ademba Alanns, the mind behind the fast-growing Tukokadi movement, an initiative pushing millions of young Kenyans to register as voters ahead of the 2027 general elections.

What started as a simple tweet has now become a nationwide movement, mobilising thousands across all 47 counties. Ademba shares how one small action sparked a ripple effect, turning civic duty into a collective, youth-driven force.

Together, they unpack:

• The power of grassroots organising in the digital age.
• Why voter registration is just the beginning of civic engagement.
• The role of civic and political education in shaping informed voters and so much more.

Beyond Kenya, this conversation reflects a broader shift across Africa and the world, where young people are reclaiming their role in shaping governance, one vote at a time.

This episode is a reminder: democracy is not passive. It is built, protected, and sustained by those who show up.

How does misinformation spread in conflict zones, and what are the consequences for communities and human rights defenders?

In this episode, journalist Josué Mutanava speaks with Espoir Hamoni, a human rights defender based in Uvira, South Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. They discuss how disinformation, rumors, and fake news in eastern DRC can fuel hate speech, community tensions, displacement, and insecurity, while making it harder for human rights defenders to document abuses. Originally recorded in French by Soma Media Lab in Goma, this episode highlights the importance of media literacy, reliable journalism, and community awareness in countering misinformation. The English transcript is available in the episode description, and the video can be watched on YouTube with English subtitles. English Transcript: https://bit.ly/4uirWle

YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/4b8bxGW

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Comment la désinformation dans les zones de conflit affecte-t-elle les communautés et les défenseurs des droits humains ?

Dans cet épisode, le journaliste Josué Mutanava s’entretient avec Espoir Hamoni, défenseur des droits humains basé à Uvira, au Sud-Kivu, dans l’est de la RDC. Ils discutent de l’impact des rumeurs, fake news et manipulations de l’information sur les tensions communautaires, les déplacements de population et la sécurité, ainsi que sur le travail des défenseurs des droits humains. L’épisode a été enregistré en français par Soma Media Lab à Goma. La transcription en anglais est disponible dans la description de l’épisode, et la vidéo peut être regardée sur YouTube avec des sous-titres anglais. YouTube: https://bit.ly/4b8bxGW