podcasts

How to become a Digital Nomad

I’ve blogged many times before about Digital Nomads, which are people who work in nations outside where they have citizenship, typically because they have jobs that can be completed online. I first became aware of digital natives after the 2008 financial crisis. Some of my students realized then that they could do their job -for example, data entry for a hospital- anywhere globally, while living in a country with a far lower standard of living. These students began to turn up in my online classes. Chiang Mai, Thailand was by far the most popular place for these students to live, but I also found students to be living anywhere with cheap costs and good internet.

In the years that have followed, Digital Nomads have become a true social movement for twenty and thirty-somethings. They have their own group on Linked In. Entire nations, such as Portugal, have begun to try and court this group, which is ironic. I was in Lisbon this fall, and found that many coffee shops will have signs on the tables near the windows: “No computers at the table.” The cafe owners don’t seem to want people in the street to look into their cafes to see people working there. At the same time, there’s always a space a little back from the windows in which there are long tables, filled with foreigners busily working on their Macbook.

So how do you become a Digital Nomad, or at least resettle in another country? I’ve been fascinated with this question, because I wondered how many people -often in their twenties- managed to figure out all the complexities that come from working abroad. It turns out that there is a network of resources to support these people. If you look on Reddit, you’ll find find subreddits that are filled with practical advice. I like also particularly Kristin Wilson’s podcast, “Badass Digital Nomads.” You should be aware that Kristin has a company that helps people relocate. Indeed, one of her podcast episodes features an audio recording of one of these classes, in which people describe their motivations and what they are learning from the course. What was interesting to me was that many people who were taking the class were not digital nomads, but rather retirees searching to find an new life abroad, not only because they wished to protect their finances, but also because they were disillusioned with life in the United States. I found myself curious to take the course. Kristin Wilson also has a popular Youtube channel about travel, “Traveling with Kristin.” It’s a good source for inspiration, while also being realistic about the challenges digital nomads and travelers face. One recent episode focused on what she disliked about living abroad, after having lived in sixty different countries.

I have a podcast, Dispatch 7, which has been on hiatus since October as I am on sabbatical. But I’ll return to work soon, and will be featuring some interviews with and about Digital Nomads.

Shawn Smallman, 2022

How to publish an academic book

For over twenty years my editor has been Elaine Maisner at the University of North Carolina Press. I’ve worked with Elaine on three different book projects, including a co-authored textbook that is now in its third edition. So when I wanted to do a podcast interview with someone who could give advice to junior faculty members about how to publish their book, there was only one person to talk to. You can hear our conversation here at Dispatch 7.

Shawn Smallman

What you didn’t know about finding an international career

Over the last year I’ve been enjoying a series of podcast interviews on global topics. One aspect my podcast that makes it more fun for me is that many episodes focus on topics of interest to students and people in their twenties. For this reason, I’ve recorded a number of episodes on careers. If you are curious as to what you might do after you graduate, or want to explore a career shift, here are some episodes that might help you.

What you didn’t know about federal jobs. Joyce Hamilla is the executive director at the Oregon Federal Executive Board. She’s also had a fascinating career in multiple intelligence and security agencies, as well as academia. Many students don’t think that they would have any interest in federal jobs. Many students also know next to nothing about federal jobs, apart from what they have seen on television series like Homecoming and movies. Joyce spoke with such enthusiasm and conviction that by the time I was done listening to this episode, I was ready to apply for federal jobs.

Internships. Regina Navarro Gomez was an energetic speaker, who had done multiple internships as an undergraduate student. She talked about the pros and cons of internships, and why they matter. If you are an undergraduate student who hasn’t yet done an internship, you might find that you have a new perspective after listening to Regina’s interview.

Career Opportunities in Global Studies. In this talk I discuss the four main tracks that most people will follow if they graduate with a degree in International and Global Studies. I also talk about the choices that you should make during your studies in order to prepare yourself for success. The talk was designed to be a practical guide to think about career choices.

Useful Career Websites:

idealist.org This website allows you to search for non-profit job openings based on your location. It’s very popular with my students.

https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results? This is the federal government’s jobs website. You should be sure to filter by potential jobs and location or you’ll be overwhelmed

https://careers.state.gov/work/available-jobs/ This website lists available jobs in the foreign service

https://www.macslist.org/ If you are in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, Macs list is a great resource to look for jobs.

Indeed.com This job site does not show jobs specifically for international careers or non-profits, but is popular with students.

Pickering Fellowship: “The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program is a program funded by the U.S. Department of State, administered by Howard University, that attracts and prepares outstanding young people for Foreign Service careers in the U.S. Department of State.” To be clear, I have no ties whatsoever to either the Pickering Fellowship or Howard University.

Shawn Smallman

What you didn’t know about federal jobs

I recently interviewed Joyce Hamilla, the Executive Director at the Oregon Federal Executive Board, about federal jobs. In the podcast, she talked about the many reasons why people should consider applying for federal positions I’ve noticed a clear trend over the last decade in which my students have become increasingly uninterested in working for the federal government. Of course, I think part of that is led to the ugliness of political discourse in the United States. But I also think that students and many other people are poorly informed about the wealth of jobs in federal service, and the opportunities to do work that is truly meaningful.

Joyce spoke to these questions. One of the points that she made is that if you are looking for a work environment that is apolitical, federal service may be the right place for you. She also pointed out that the federal government is hiring accountants, engineers, and people from every other possible background that you can imagine, even a cowboy. She also talked about applying for one of the eighteen different intelligence services in the U.S. government, and why -despite what you’ve seen in the movies- might want to broaden your horizon beyond the CIA. She also spoke about why -contrary to expectations- people often move jobs in federal service, so that’s a great workspace for people who want to explore different jobs. If you’re thinking at all about what do to after graduating, or if you might be interested in a new career, this might be the podcast episode for you.

Shawn Smallman

The five most popular podcast episodes

I started a new podcast last spring, in part because I viewed it as a way to stay in touch with people during the pandemic. If I couldn’t meet people face to face, at least I could talk with them in the podcast. One of my early difficulties was to find a title, as at first it seemed that every possible choice was already taken. In the end, it was one of my students (Kristen Fox) who came up with the title, and it was my students last spring quarter who voted to choose it via Google Form. This was how “Dispatch 7: global trends on all seven continents” was born.

I wanted to share what have been the five most popular episodes:

Applying for graduate schools, Ep. 1. This was a fun episode for me, because I interviewed my former student, past graduate assistant, and now friend, Rosa “Rosie” David. Rosie is now in a doctoral program in Canada. In her interview she spoke about how to apply to a doctoral program. This episode was not only the first, but also has been listened to far more than any other.

The Joy of Tea with Kim Brown, Ep. 2. Kim Brown is not only my friend and colleague, and the co-author of our textbook, but also a ceaseless font of information about tea. I have had many conversations with her over the last fifteen years, in which I’ve tried to persuade her to write a book about tea. That’s failed, but at least she agreed to talk with me about tea in our second episode, which has been the second most listened to on the podcast. It will probably leave you wanting to make a trip to a tea store, as soon as this miserable pandemic is ended.

Career Opportunities in Global Studies, Ep. 9. I created this episode based on a talk that I frequently give to prospective students. I had no intention of creating my own episodes at the time; this was supposed to be a podcast based on interviews. But when the wildfires swept Oregon and California last summer, some of my scheduled interviewees faced major issues and had to delay their interviewees. So I created this episode, which I hoped would speak to International and Global Studies majors.

Indigenous Futurism with Grace Dillon, Ep. 8. This is one of my favorite episodes because of Grace’s warmth. I love to hear her laugh throughout the conversation. When I originally conceived of this podcast, I wanted it to have short episodes. But with Grace the two of us just dove into a longer conversation. I think that everyone who listens to the episode has the same reaction that I did, which was that I wanted to go to the library and pick up several of the novels that she suggested. I am grateful to Grace, who also wrote the preface to a book that I wrote about an Indigenous spirit. Of course, that preface had the same humor and brilliance as Grace had in this conversation.

¡Bienvenidxs a España- A Fulbright Story! | Ep. 4 In this episode I interviewed one of our alums, Chiara Nicastro, about her experience with the Fulbright program. Chiara is an exceptional public speaker, and her energy and humor came through. My hope is that it will inspire other graduates to apply for a Fulbright in the future. I especially appreciated that Chiara also agreed to come and join me again in my careers episode, to talk about why an MA really is required now for many jobs in the field.

I’m hard at work on the podcast still. The next episode will be an interview with Joyce Hamilla about why students should apply for government jobs, and the following one will be about Syrian refugees. I’ve loved talking with all of my guests, and want to thank all of my interviewees.

Shawn Smallman, 2020

Internships for International Studies students

I want to thank Regina Navarro-Gomez, whom I interviewed for my recent episode of my podcast, Dispatch 7. Regina has done internships not only in the United States but also abroad, and from the Oregon governor’s office to the Department of State. She spoke about diversity, job descriptions, networking, intern burnout, and many other topics. Most of all, she spoke about the opportunities internships can bring, and the importance of believing in yourself. If you are thinking about doing an internship -or perhaps supervising one- you might enjoy this episode. You can find the podcast here.

Shawn Smallman

The Fulbright Program, a podcast interview with Chiara Nicastro

Chiara Nicastro is an International Studies graduate from Portland State University, an Oregon Consular Corps Scholarship winner, and a Fulbright scholar. She was a fantastic guest on the latest episode of my podcast, Dispatch 7, in which she talked about the Fulbright program. If you’ve ever thought about doing this program after you graduate, or know someone who might be interested, this is worth a listen. Plus, Chiara is just a high energy and positive person, so she’s always fun to talk with. You can find the podcast episode here.

Shawn Smallman, 2020

The 1918 pandemic and COVID-19

Food market in Taiwan. Note the plastic partitions separating customers. Photo taken by Isabella Mori in May 2020.

Like many people, I’ve been struck by the parallels between the current COVID-19 pandemic and the 1918 pandemic.  In 1918 many media outlets in Europe and the United States did not initially give the outbreak adequate coverage, because they were censored during the war, or did not want to reveal their nation’s weaknesses. In the United States and Brazil now, populist leaders are dismissive of the news and data on COVID-19, because it reveals their failures. For this reason, their followers tend to view all COVID-19 information through the lens of partisan politics. Indeed, President Bolsonaro of Brazil has called his followers to storm hospitals to take photos and videos to show whether COVID-19 patients are truly filling hospital beds, as the hospitals and state leaders claim. Such denial has caused painful climbs in COVID-19 deaths in both Brazil and the United States. …

New Podcast: Dispatch 7, global trends on all seven continents

Image of globe on light, McGill University. Photo by Smallman

I have a new podcast!: “Dispatch 7: global trends on all seven continents.” The first episode is out: “Applying to Graduate School.” I interviewed Rosa “Rosie” David, who did her undergraduate and graduate studies at Portland State University. Since then Rosie has worked in both Mexico and Colombia. I’ve known Rosie for a long time, and was delighted when she was accepted into multiple graduate programs. The graduate school application process is sometimes a mysterious one, so I thought that people might want to hear about the experience of someone who had just successfully navigated it. It was really fun being able to have Rosie as my first guest, especially as I was anxious about doing the recording remotely. I’m working to establish a regular schedule, which will likely be every two weeks. Some upcoming topics? Tea, labor migration in India, and COVID-19.

I particularly want to thank Kirsten Fox, my former student, who came up with the podcast title. I shared a google form with a list of possible titles with my students last quarter, and her suggestion was by far the most popular. Thanks Kirsten!

I also want to thank my daughter Paige Smallman, who was the producer and sound editor. Without her, this podcast wouldn’t have happened.

Are you interested in applying to graduate school, and want to know some tested tips and tricks? Listen to Rosie’s advice.

You can find the podcast at the following links:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6rpLOdK2V7qfuWt3j2YQH3

Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xYjM5ODczOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1506724360/dispatch-7-global-trends-on-all-seven-continents

Radio Public: https://radiopublic.com/dispatch-7-global-trends-on-all-s-8X3Vl5

Pocket casts: https://pca.st/8ijvae4e

Shawn Smallman

Coronavirus podcast

Window of Chinese medicine store in Hong Kong, China. Photo by Shawn Smallman

There is so much discussion of the coronavirus epidemic in the media that it can be hard to find reliable information. One good source of measured, thoughtful information is this podcast, “Coronavirus Infections—More Than Just the Common Cold,” which is an interview with Anthony, S Fauci, the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease. You can also find this podcast on Stitcher and other podcast platforms. To listen to it on Apple podcasts, please search for “JAMA Author interviews,” and go to January 27, 2020.

If you are interested in learning more about live markets, you can read my work here. And this blog posts discusses quarantine and nCoV based on some historical context from the 1918 influenza pandemic.

Shawn Smallman, 2020

Market Sign, Hong Kong. Photo by Shawn Smallman

 

 

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