9 episodes
Long Reads Rest of World
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- Technology
Listen to Rest of World's best stories about the way technology is reshaping the globe. Narrated by our staff of writers and editors.
Nearly four billion internet users live outside the West. We're telling their stories, with in-depth, on-the-ground reporting on topics like Big Tech’s global influence, e-commerce, cryptocurrency, the struggles of the gig economy, and the rise of EVs.
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The graying gig economy
The average age for delivery workers is 29 and the average age for ride-hailing drivers is 36, but many older individuals are turning to gig work, too.
Rest of World spoke to 52 workers above the age of 50 who ventured into gig work to keep up with rising living costs or because they cannot find employment elsewhere. As more and more workers transition to informal gig employment and populations age, the lack of social safety nets poses significant challenges.
Written by Laís Martins, Kimberly Mutandiro, Lam Le and Zuha Siddiqui. Narrated by Victoria Turk.
Original story: https://restofworld.org/2024/aging-global-gig-workers/ -
Inside the BJP’s WhatsApp machine
As millions of Indians vote, there’s one platform most of them will turn to for information: WhatsApp. And no one controls the political narrative on WhatsApp like the BJP, the ruling party helmed by Prime Minister Modi.
In partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and Digital Witness Lab, Rest of World spent several months in northern India to explore how the BJP turned its WhatsApp strategy into an election-winning machine. Just in Mandi, a tiny Indian town with a population of 26,000, party volunteers run a network of more than 400 WhatsApp groups. Our analysis of thousands of messages sent in these groups shows how India’s ruling party is able to maintain a sophisticated operation on WhatsApp, and optimize its political campaign on the platform far away from public scrutiny.
Written by Srishti Jaswal. Narrated by Mithila Phadke.
Original story: https://restofworld.org/2024/bjp-whatsapp-modi/ -
Inside TSMC’s struggle to build a chip factory in the U.S. suburbs
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) was slated to open a plant in Phoenix, Arizona in 2024. It aimed to bring thousands of jobs, but the expansion hasn’t taken off.
In this story, Rest of World follows the experience of an American engineer, Bruce, as well as others employed by TSMC, and explores how missed deadlines and tension among Taiwanese and American coworkers are plaguing the chip giant’s Phoenix expansion.
Written by Viola Zhou. Narrated by Daniela Dib.
Original story: https://restofworld.org/2024/tsmc-arizona-expansion/ -
The changing face of protest
Mass protests used to offer a degree of safety in numbers. Facial recognition technology changes the equation.
This story explores how thanks to new facial recognition technology, protesters’ safety in numbers is becoming a thing of the past. We take a look at three case studies — in Russia, India, and Iran — to show the proliferation of facial recognition as a tool to control and curtail protest.
Written by Darren Loucaides. Narrated by Jane Seidel.
Original story: https://restofworld.org/2024/facial-recognition-government-protest-surveillance/ -
The rise and fall of Argentina’s celebrity crypto pastor
Generación Zoe’s Leonardo Cositorto was charged with fraud in Argentina in April 2022. His and staff arrests have users asking, “¿Qué pasó con generacion Zoe?”
In this feature from our archive, Rest of World visits Cositorto as he awaits trial in prison, we speak with some of his loyal followers and alleged victims, and chart the rise and fall of Generación Zoe, the “educational and resource-creating community for personal, professional, financial and spiritual development”. This is a tale of a celebrity salesman, stock-trading “robots,” and millions of lost dollars.
Written by Facundo Iglesia. Narrated by Daniela Dib.
Original story:https://restofworld.org/2023/generacion-zoe-leonardo-cositorto/ -
Riders in the smog
From toxic skies to health hazards: Rest of World measured air quality for riders in Lahore, New Delhi, and Dhaka. The results were devastating.
Pollution is worsening in South Asia’s major cities, but few occupations face more risk than gig riders. Many have no options for alternate work, and receive little help from employers. we spoke to 25 gig workers in Lahore, New Delhi, and Dhaka, all of whom reported symptoms that health experts believe are the consequence of routine exposure to carcinogenic pollutants.
Listen to our reporting to find out just how poisonous the air has become.
Written by Zuha Siddiqui, Samriddhi Sakunia and Faisal Mahmud. Narrated by Mithila Phadke.
Original story: https://restofworld.org/2024/riders-in-the-smog-gig-workers-pollution/