Multimedia
Moroccan hip-hop group fuses traditional music with rap
During a reporting trip to Morocco last year, Worldfocus’ Hoda Osman, Rebecca Haggerty and Megan Thompson met the members of hip-hop group H-Kayne. In this brief interview, the rap trio discuss their musical influences, including Moroccan traditional music such as Aissawa and Gnawa. (co-edited by Ben Piven)
U.N. aid worker recounts rescue after 5 days under rubble Reporter/Producer – Mohammad Al-Kassim, Editor – Ben Piven
Jens Kristensen, a senior humanitarian officer with the UN’s peacekeeping force in Haiti, survived for five days under the rubble of the UN headquarters. Since he was largely unharmed, Mr. Kristensen chose to stay in Haiti to help with the rescue mission. Listen to our interview with him from Port-au-Prince.
Yemen’s UN ambassador calls al-Qaeda a ‘pestilence’
Worldfocus producer Mohammad al-Kassim interviews Abdullah Alsaidi, Yemen’s Ambassador to the U.N. They discuss Yemen’s battle against al-Qaeda in light of its own internal difficulties, as well as the failed Christmas day bomb attempt by a Nigerian man who had lived in Yemen. (Cameraman – Ben Piven)
Kim Jong-il’s North Korea welcomes legal U.S. tourists
Part 5 of 6 in our Inside the Hermit Kingdom series on the people and culture of North Korea. Multimedia producer Ben Piven’s video chronicles his five-day trip in August. Watch original footage of the Pyongyang Metro, rural countryside, Demilitarized Zone and everyday North Koreans. Cross-post on HuffPo.
Reported by Edie Magnus, produced by Ara Ayer, edited by Ben Piven for Worldfocus
In this wide-ranging interview, Chilean finance minister Andres Velasco speaks about Chile’s privatization of social security, its past and present fiscal policy, and the lessons advisors have learned from economic cycles of the past.
100,000 North Koreans dazzle at mass games spectacle by Ben Piven for Worldfocus
Filmed at the August 17, 2009, Arirang Games in Pyongyang, North Korea, with a point-and-shoot camera. The socialist mass games performance features 100,000 performers and runs six nights a week for over two months.
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At home in Morocco with an Islamist…and a feminist Reported by Rebecca Haggerty and produced by Ben Piven on Worldfocus
Mme. Nadia Yassine is the public face of a Moroccan Sufi Islamist association. She describes the social and political goals of her organization and the situation of women in Morocco.
What is Statelessness? Produced by Ben Piven and edited by Lisa Biagiotti on Worldfocus
The feature explains statelessness with photos of the following stateless groups: Palestinians at the Iraq-Syria border, the Bidoon in Kuwait, the Rohingyas in Bangladesh, the Haitians in the Dominican Republic and the Eritreans in Ethiopia.
Naked Sushi by Jenny Brown and Ben Piven.
Koko Hirasaki and her model Yuki Koyanagi demonstrate the sensual art of Nyotaimori.
From Naked Sushi in NYC Interactive 2009 Issue 4
The Penn Club: An Inside Look by Rebecca Fried and Ben Piven.
Listen to a member discuss the pros and cons of NY’s elite social clubs.
From High Society: NYC’s Elite Social Clubs in NYCInteractive 2009 Issue 3.
Hoardhouse.com is a NYC-based project on hoarding and cluttering that Karn Dhingra, Jacquelyn Kasuya, and Ben Piven produced as our 2009 multimedia master’s project at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. This Debugging and Decluttering video is one of the premier elements of the Hoardhouse project. The Flash-based site launched 03/23/09.
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From Christ to Krishna by Neeraj Kulkarni and Ben Piven See two Hare Krishna devotees discuss their conversion to ISKCON. Shifting Faiths in NYCInteractive 2009 Issue 2
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Payphone Pirate by Joe Bernstein and Ben Piven. Watch Public Ad Campaign replace an ad with art.
Agence France-Presse ran Guerilla artist targets phone booths on Yahoo!News and in the Sun (U.K.) / Un artiste s’attaque aux cabines telephoniques appeared on AOL and other networks in French / Guerilla-Künstler in New York verschonert Telefonkabinen was syndicated in German / Another syndicated version appeared in Arabic.
The Art of Subvertising in NYCInteractive 2009 Issue 1
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The Philly Beard, featured on Philadelphia Weekly and StreetLevel.com by Chikodi Chima, Justin Colvin, and Ben Piven
(01/29/09)
Philadelphia is known as “the city of brotherly love” and these brothas’ love their beards.
The beard has a special significance in Philadelphia culture, where it is an expression of individuality, religious observance and civic pride.
Selling Obama by Joe Jackson and Ben Piven, featured on Decision NYC 11/2/08.
Street vendors in Manhattan have been cashing in on Barack Obama’s iconic image for months, selling a wide variety of merchandise from t-shirts to posters.
Election Enclave by Gaia Pianigiani and Ben Piven, featured on Decision NYC 11/2/08. Two days before the election, the Hasidic Jewish community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, is strongly leaning towards John McCain, in contrast with predominantly Democratic NYC.
America Mountain by Chikodi Chima and Ben Piven (10/11/08)
Brooklynites in Prospect Park frolic on a giant American flag, stitched by MendingBeeForChange to help raise money for Barack Obama.
Meta at the Market by Ben Piven & Malia Politzer, Tough Times 11/08.
Doing good is in Meta Bodewes’ blood, but her idealism comes at a high price.