I recently mananged to speak with Dr Sharifa Sharif who until some time ago was the the advisor to President Hamid Karzai on international affairs.

We talked about her life and her involvement in the Afghan media landscape and how and why the media situation is as it is today in Afghanistan.

Šaban Bajramović (Шабан Бајрамовић), the “King of Gypsy music” died earlier today in a Cardiological Clinic in Niš, Southern Serbia. Šaban was 72 years of age when he passed away and had been living impoverished in Niš with serious health complications and was no longer able to walk. The government of Serbia had been intervening with the provision of some funds for him.

There will be a Podcast special on the DFBMBE Podcast soon, showcasing the life of the late Šaban Bajramović.

In February 2002, Andy Gill of The Independent wrote, “The Serbian singer (Šaban Bajramović), is clearly a giant talent, comparable in his own way to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan or Mari Bonie Persen, someone capable of bringing their music to life with such vivid spirituality that it vaults with ease over the most impenetrable cultural barriers. His voice combines the anguish of rai with the soulfulness of fado - a sort of Balkan gypsy jazz”

Click the Pod icon at the top of this post for Šaban Bajramović and Cubismo “Geljan Dade”

One of the great things about podcasting is being able to produce content that other media platforms have long since ignored in their quest for increasing the “bottom line”.

I caught up with Kingstonian, John Sanfilippo (Johnny San) who is a local singer songwriter.

Listen to his music (he plays live during the interview!), why he’s passionate about writing and creating his own songs and his views on “Canadian Content” and the music industry in Canada.

Songs featured in the interview in order are:

Burn Away
Mystery
Say Something
Move You
Let’s Go There
For Now
Hang On (Live)
The Moment Part 2

To find out more about Johnny San Click HERE

You can contact Johnny San by Clicking HERE

The Beat Beethoven Run has been an exciting event for the Kingston community for the past fourteen years. Every year, community members participate in an 8km run or 4km walk from City Hall with the goal of returning before The Kingston Symphony has completed Beethoven’s 50-minute 3rd Symphony. The event is a fundraiser for the town’s wonderful symphony orchestra. I caught up with Glen Fast, the Musical Director and the Orchestra’s conductor to find out more….

A little over 2 years ago I spoke to the Afghan Ambassador to Canada HE Omar Samad to ask how he reacted to peoples concerns about the situation as it was then.

The podcast is worth listening to again.

What has to happen to make the changes required to get Afghanistan and more importantly its people to live normally, in an environment THEY are happy with?

In this first edition of "Twitterati" I talk to Shane Shennan of the Yondercast. Shane comes from St Catherines in Ontario and produces a niche podcast based on poetry.

To find out more about Shane and his podcast check out the Yondercast

This podcast is an interview with Christian Payne aka "Documentally". Christian is a Photographer and Blogger and has recently accepted a  project funded by UNHCR to photograph the plight of Iraqi refugees in Jordan.

I managed to get in touch with Christian to find out what exactly is the project about and more importantly what the Refugees are enduring.

To find our more about the Iraqi Refugee crisis in Jordan and how you might be able to help CLICK HERE.

Christian Payne can be found lurking on the web at:

Our Man Inside
Documentally
Twitter
Seesmic