The State We're In, 14 April 2012. A Belgian comedy troupe pranks the country’s biggest telecommunications company with the reputation for the worst customer service. A Nicaraguan woman plays a witch on local radio to name and shame men into treating their wives properly. An American writer discovers her name and image were being used to promote a porn site that thousands were flocking to. And an anti-mafia journalist names names on his TV station in Sicily and gets away with it... so far.
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Belgian comedians Neveneffecten play a phone prank on Movistar, a telecom giant known for its abysmal customer service. Their elaborate scheme involves a shipping container, a telephone line and a lot of laughs. View photos.
The Neveneffecten team prank Mobistar (English subtitles)
A small radio station in the middle of Nicaragua (Palabra de Mujer or Woman’s Word) begins each morning with a witch behind the microphone.
She names and shames local men who’ve abused their wives. Domestic violence there is endemic and the law is weak. But the witch (Yamileth Chavarría) tells host Jonathan Groubert how her show is changing lives. View photos.
Yamileth is also the subject of a documentary film Jungle Radio, which was featured in the Movies that Matter festival in The Hague.
It took a while for friends to convince her, but writer Susan Arnout Smith eventually decided to join Facebook.
She enjoyed reconnecting with people until she learned about another Facebook page bearing her name and photo on it: it was a pornographic site.
She tells Jonathan about her odyssey in tracking down the culprits, and uncovering their identities.
Susan is the author of the thrillers The Timer Game and Out at Night.
Pino Maniaci was so fed up with the extortion and crime in his home town of Partinico, Sicily; he set up a TV station and started broadcasting the names of mob bosses living there. View photos.
His station is now hugely popular – and is even watched by the Mafia themselves.
He tells Jonathan how “kicking Mafia ass” is worth the threats and attacks he’s had. Telejato website (Italian language only)
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The best show on Radio "Period"..........
Excellent show as usual, from the hilarious to the horrifying. Keep it up.
Someone may be pranking Susan, our corporate firewall is flagging http://www.susanarnoutsmith.com/ as having a virus.
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