Somewhere on Earth: The Global Tech Podcast — Tech That Actually Matters
If you’re tired of hype, gadgets-for-gadget’s-sake, and the same recycled tech headlines, welcome to Somewhere on Earth (SOEP) — the weekly global tech podcast that digs way deeper.Hosted by the ex-BBC World Service Digital Planet team (yes, the award-winning crew behind 21+ years of world-leading tech journalism and 1.5M annual downloads), SOEP uncovers the untold stories shaping our digital world.This isn’t a show about the latest shiny toy. It’s about technology that changes lives, cultures, and global societies.
Each episode explores:
•⚡ The real-world impact of emerging tech
•🌍 New innovations driving social good
•🔍 Under-the-radar digital trends you should be paying attention to
•🧠 How tech is reshaping communities, culture, and the way we live
•📰 The technology behind the week’s biggest world stories — explained simply
Our mission?To build a tech-for-good ecosystem where new ideas, powerful insights, and meaningful innovation can grow.If you want smart, globally minded tech storytelling from journalists who’ve been doing this longer (and better) than almost anyone else — SOEP is your new must-listen podcast.
Somewhere on Earth: Where tech meets humanity.
Somewhere on Earth: The Global Tech Podcast — Tech That Actually Matters
If you’re tired of hype, gadgets-for-gadget’s-sake, and the same recycled tech headlines, welcome to Somewhere on Earth (SOEP) — the weekly global tech podcast that digs way deeper.Hosted by the ex-BBC World Service Digital Planet team (yes, the award-winning crew behind 21+ years of world-leading tech journalism and 1.5M annual downloads), SOEP uncovers the untold stories shaping our digital world.This isn’t a show about the latest shiny toy. It’s about technology that changes lives, cultures, and global societies.
Each episode explores:
•⚡ The real-world impact of emerging tech
•🌍 New innovations driving social good
•🔍 Under-the-radar digital trends you should be paying attention to
•🧠 How tech is reshaping communities, culture, and the way we live
•📰 The technology behind the week’s biggest world stories — explained simply
Our mission?To build a tech-for-good ecosystem where new ideas, powerful insights, and meaningful innovation can grow.If you want smart, globally minded tech storytelling from journalists who’ve been doing this longer (and better) than almost anyone else — SOEP is your new must-listen podcast.
Somewhere on Earth: Where tech meets humanity.
Could AI Chatbots Influence Elections?
Could a chatbot change the way you vote? In this episode, DPhil candidate Kobi Hackenburg from the Oxford Internet Institute explains how AI is already capable of persuading people on political issues. From short, personalised conversations to fact-packed arguments, these systems can shift opinions in minutes - and the effects can last for weeks. We explore the implications for democracy, elections, and what it means when machines can influence minds as effectively as human campaigners.
Protect Your Digital Life After You’re Gone
What happens to your digital life after you die? Pawel Sopraniuk, CEO of Legacy App, joins us to discuss how digital assets — from bank accounts and investments to insurance policies - are often left inaccessible to loved ones. Legacy App provides a secure, encrypted way to map out your digital estate, ensuring that the right people inherit what you leave behind. This conversation highlights why planning your digital legacy is becoming as essential as writing a will.
The programme is presented by Ania Lichtarowicz.
SUBSCRIBE FOR THE PODEXTRA HERE: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/
Production manager: Liz Tuohy
Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz
Somewhere on Earth Productions UK Ltd. We’re a UK based production company creating podcasts and branded content that bring stories, places and people into focus.We’re all ex-BBC so the quality of the content is excellent and quality of the sound is amazing.
🎥 Learn more about what we do:
➡️ Official Website: https://somewhereonearth.co/
📩 Contact us or book a project: hello@somewhereonearth.co
➡️ Email: hello@somewhereonearth.co
📱 Follow us on socials:
➡️ Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/soeptech/?hl=en)
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➡️ Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/65YZwVfA03MSdZ3198yLdb)
If you like our show please rate and review us.
🔐AI, Ransomware, and the Collapse of Digital Trust
Cyber threats in 2025 have escalated fast. AI is now industrializing cybercrime.Deep-fake fraud, targeted phishing, and automated ransomware have driven a 50% surge in attacks. The consequences are no longer digital. Hospitals have shut down. Factories have stopped.Critical infrastructure is being quietly pre-positioned for future disruption.This episode explains why cyber risk is now a safety and leadership issue — not just an IT problem.
♻️ E-Waste & Critical MaterialsThe $91 Billion Urban Mine Hiding in Plain Sight
The world needs materials for EVs, clean energy, and AI. But they’re already in our homes. Old phones and laptops contain $91 billion in critical raw materials every year.Nearly half of it is never recycled.Instead, e-waste flows into informal, toxic systems that damage health and fuel illegal trade. We follow that global pipeline.We explore the fight to formalize recycling, the legal battle in India, and why e-waste has become a strategic resource.
This programme was created by Google Notebook LM but overseen by a human.
The PodExtra
🔒Who Controls the Future of Technology?
The Hidden Power War Over AI, Chips, and Global StandardsThe world’s most important power struggle isn’t happening on battlefields - it’s happening inside chip factories, standards committees, and AI supply chains. As the U.S., China, and the EU abandon free-market tech and move toward state control, a new global order is quietly taking shape. This episode reveals how export controls, semiconductor choke points, and technical standards are being weaponized - and why the era of “neutral technology” is over. Understanding this shift is essential to understanding who will shape the next century.
SUBSCRIBE HERE: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/
Production manager: Liz Tuohy
Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz
Somewhere on Earth Productions UK Ltd.
We’re a UK based production company creating podcasts and branded content that bring stories, places and people into focus.We’re all ex-BBC so the quality of the content is excellent and quality of the sound is amazing.
🎥 Learn more about what we do:
➡️ Official Website: https://somewhereonearth.co/
📩 Contact us or book a project: hello@somewhereonearth.co
➡️ Email: hello@somewhereonearth.co
📱 Follow us on socials:
➡️ Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/soeptech/?hl=en)
➡️ Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/httpssomewhereonearth.co)
➡️ LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast)
➡️ Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast/id1713408769)
➡️ Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/65YZwVfA03MSdZ3198yLdb)
If you like our show please rate and review us.
How AI Is Targeting Malaria at Its Source
Drones, AI and a radically targeted approach to malaria prevention - this week Ania speaks with Mary Yeboah Ansawa from Ghana’s Sora Technology about locating larvae-filled puddles before mosquitoes grow up to bite. From cutting pesticide use to saving field teams days of work, we dive into how this tech could reshape malaria control across Africa.
India’s TB Breakthrough—And a Privacy StormBack in Mumbai
Chavi Sajdev updates us on new TB diagnostics that swap messy sputum tests for simple oral swabs—faster, safer and far more accessible. Then: why India’s plan to preload every new phone with a government cyber-security app sparked a nationwide backlash and pushback from major tech companies.Somewhere on Earth - voices from Ghana to India, innovation to controversy - all in one episode.
The programme is presented by Ania Lichtarowicz.
Production manager: Liz Tuohy
Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz
🌍 Somewhere on Earth Productions UK. We’re a UK based production company creating podcasts and branded content that bring stories, places and people into focus.
We’re all ex-BBC so the quality of the content is excellent and quality of the sound is amazing.
🎥 Learn more about what we do:
➡️ Official Website: https://somewhereonearth.co/
📩 Contact us or book a project: hello@somewhereonearth.co
➡️ Email: hello@somewhereonearth.co
📱 Follow us on socials:
➡️ Instagram
➡️ Facebook
➡️ LinkedIn
➡️ Spotify
If you like our show please rate and review us.
This week on Somewhere on Earth, we explore two groundbreaking ideas: taking back control of your online creativity and transforming fast-fashion waste with the power of fungi.
1️⃣ Rebuilding a Human Internet
Rabble (Evan Henshaw-Plath), Co-creator of Nostr Divine Rabble, Twitter’s first engineer, unveils Divine - a new six-second video platform that rejects algorithms, bans AI-generated slop, and returns ownership of old content to creators. Built on open social protocols, Divine aims to restore a human, interoperable, user-driven internet.
2️⃣ Mushrooms vs. Fast Fashion
Tomasz Mierzwa, Co-founder of Myco Renew is on the show to explain how their fungal bioreactors can break down textiles - even polyester - in weeks and turn the leftovers into eco-bricks and new biomaterials. With 92 million tons of clothes thrown out yearly, this fungi-powered circular model could help clean up landfills from Poland to Ghana.
🎙️ Presented by: Ania Lichtarowicz
👩💻 Production Manager: Liz Tuohy
🎬 Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz
🌍 Somewhere on Earth Productions UK: We’re a UK-based production company creating podcasts and branded content that bring stories, places and people into focus. We’re all ex-BBC so the quality of the content is excellent and quality of the sound is amazing.
🎥 Learn more about what we do:
➡️ Official Website: https://somewhereonearth.co/
📩 Contact us or book a project: hello@somewhereonearth.co
➡️ Email: hello@somewhereonearth.co
📱 Follow us on socials:
➡️ Instagram: @soeptech / soeptech
➡️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/httpssomewhereonearth.co
➡️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast/
➡️ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast/id1713408769
➡️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/65YZwVfA03MSdZ3198yLdb Subscribe for the PodExtra version here: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/
If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it.
1️⃣ Clean, Green Ethical AI
At Web Summit Lisbon, Janet Adams of SingularityNET and the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance explains how truly ethical, climate-friendly AI is becoming in reality. With renewable-powered data centres, AI-optimised green batteries and decentralized computing via Kudos, the upcoming Cocoon AI puts users back in control of their data. Janet also unveils ASI Chain, a scalable new blockchain built to bank the unbanked and drive global financial inclusion.
2️⃣ Buying Shares of the Amazon Rainforest and nature’s first AI
Olga Sytnyk, founder of Awaken, is preparing to launch the world’s first digital shares of the Amazon rainforest, letting people co-own and profit from preserved nature. Powered by AI, blockchain, 1,500+ ecosystem sensors, NVIDIA-backed digital twins and environmental DNA analysis, Awaken transforms living forests into sustainable, revenue-generating climate assets - where the healthier the rainforest, the higher the return.
The programme is presented by Ania Lichtarowicz.
Production Manager: Liz Tuohy
Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz
🌍 Somewhere on Earth Productions UK. We’re a UK based production company creating podcasts and branded content that bring stories, places and people into focus.
We’re all ex-BBC so the quality of the content is excellent and quality of the sound is amazing.
🎥 Learn more about what we do:
➡️ Official Website: https://somewhereonearth.co/
📩 Contact us or book a project: hello@somewhereonearth.co
➡️ Email: hello@somewhereonearth.co
📱 Follow us on socials:
➡️ Instagram: @soeptech / soeptech
➡️ Facebook
➡️ LinkedIn
➡️Spotify
Decentralised, green-powered AI
We explore Cocoon, the new privacy-first AI network launched by Telegram’s Pavel Durov, and hear from Brittany Kaiser on why it could change how AI is built and powered.
Supporting neurodivergent students anywhere
NeuroIdentify is helping teachers in remote regions spot neurodivergent traits and personalise learning. Co-founder and CTO David Cabral explains how it works.
Airbnb for pets
Travelling soon? AnimalHotels.com connects pet owners with verified sitters and pet hotels. Founder Lukasz Klab shares the story.
For bonus content and to subscribe: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/
The show is presented by Ania Lichtarowicz.
Production Manager: Liz Tuohy.
Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz.
If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify:
Contact us by email: hello@somewhereonearth.co
From Web Summit Lisbon, Somewhere on Earth explores how Poland is becoming Central Europe’s tech hub. Meet the innovators behind AI-powered greenhouses, a nationwide mobile ID app, and a virtual fertility clinic—all transforming everyday life. Poland is rapidly growing as a tech hotspot, with startups raising €180M last year alone. Its skilled workforce, creative mindset, and engineering heritage are driving global expansion.
We hear about how AI is being used to optimize greenhouse growth, reducing water and energy use while boosting yields. Farmers can control everything via an app, making sustainable farming easier than ever.
The m-obywatel (mCitizen) app turns smartphones into digital IDs, streamlining government services for Poles across the globe. Upcoming EU interoperability could let citizens access services across Europe seamlessly.
And a virtual fertility clinic app uses AI and wearables to guide couples through diagnosis and treatment. Secure, personalized, and medically backed, it empowers informed decisions on reproductive health.
The show is presented by Ania Lichtarowicz from Web Summit in Lisbon.
Production Manager: Liz Tuohy
Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz
For the PodExtra version of the show please subscribe via this link: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/
If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Contact us by email: hello@somewhereonearth.co
Send us a voice note: via WhatsApp: +44 7486 329 484
Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World
From Web Summit's main stage to global expansion, discover how Poland became the undisputed tech heart of Central Europe. We explore the startups securing record funding and breaking into markets from the Middle East to the US. Join us as we uncover the story behind the boom.
🔗 Listen and follow "Somewhere on Earth" for more stories from the front lines of global innovation.
#WebSummit #PolishTech #Startups #FinTech #TechPodcast