Source Code Berlin

Imagine you're on your way to the moon and you'd like to bring something nice along to leave behind that represents humanity. In the 1960's, at the height of the space race/cold war, NASA astronauts left behind the iconic American flag. In 2017, what would you leave behind? How about Wikipedia? Indeed when the PTScientists began working on their own mission to the moon, the one thing they definitely wanted to take with them -- Wikipedia. But Wikipedia is huge and it is on the internet. How then should it be taken to the moon? And more importantly, what should get to go? Today on the podcast, from the initial idea, to the process, to the final product -- the story of Wikipedia to the Moon, told by one of its architects: Michael Jahn. If you're looking for hope at the start of the new year, look no further.. listen to this!

Thomas Tursics talks Christmas Markets and Open Data, while Berlin Pro Sara takes us around the Lucia Christmas Market.

Everywhere you look in the world of education there are rumblings about how out of sync the way we teach is with the way we learn. For the past 3 years Rachel Uwa and the School of Machines, Making, and Make Believe in Berlin have been imagining a more effective and rewarding way to learn outside of those traditional structures and conventions. Today on the program we catch up with Rachel and hear about what has been happening with the School and think out loud about what is happening when it comes to humans, learning, and the age-old art of trying something new.

Today on the podcast we’re looking at the copyright reform that is being proposed by the EU commission. Of course even as I say those words, I can hear some of you clicking off, or saving this for later even if later will never come. Copyright is one of those things - it hits us in so many ways, everyday, yet often the discussions and specifics cause us to get bored or lost… amazingly something that matters so much is really hard to get excited about. But we’re daring to tackle the important on this program, with help from three voices - Polina Malaja of the Free Software Foundation Europe, Dimitar Dimitrov of the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU, and Julia Reda, German Member of the European Parliament. Our goal.. to look at the proposed changes to copyright in the EU and break down the who, what, and how… even some of the why. Because in the end.. these changes would impact every single one of us.

On the last Sunday of October 2016 a group of curious and inspired people got together at Wikimedia Deutschland for Ladies That Foss; an open source hack event aimed primarily at women who want to join a free and open source software (FOSS) project but don't know where to start. Source Code Berlin was there to listen and observe, a unique experience that we're exicted to share with you in podcast form. So sit back, press play, and listen to the various participants talk about what they're passionate about in the world of software and programming as well as their experience and wishes when it comes to the gender gap in the tech industry.

Machines fighting with machines is a classic sci-fi storyline. There has long been a fascination with what happens when intelligent machines interact with one another. What if they don't get along? My guest today, Taha Yasseri has been studying bots within Wikipedia for over a decade, and found that even when we're talking about simple bots, sometimes they can get into complex fights. Why do they fight and how? Today on the program, we dig into bots that fight and what it all means for the larger world of AI in our lives.

When it comes to bringing information to life and presenting it in exciting ways, some of the most beautiful work from the past decade has come to us via Mahmoud Hashemi and Owen Cornec. Today on the podcast they join us to talk about Listen to Wikipedia and the Wikiverse projects, the how and why they took mass amounts of wikipedia data and made it into something mesmorizing.

Access, outreach, innovation, and communication are among the biggest goals that were discussed at this year's Wikimania conference in Esino Lario, Italy. Goals that are having impact right now in many different parts of the world, as well as being goals that will help make a better future when it comes to how individuals interact with wikipedia in the years to come. On today's program we will hear from wikipedians from several continents who gathered together this summer to work on their projects. These are just a few of the hundreds of talented voices present at this year's global gathering, Wikimania 2016.

What happens when 1000 wikimedians come stay in a small Italian village high in the mountains? What happens when you combine nature, a global gathering, and the world's most beloved source of knowledge? This summer, the people of Esino Lario and participants of Wikimania 2016 dared to find out. This is the story of how and why it happenned as well as what the result was.

All over the world a growing number of future doctors are editing wikipedia as part of their education. Meanwhile, more and more doctors are submitting research to open access journals published using wiki tools and traditions. Is this the future of medicine? Is the medical industry embracing these changes? Today we hear from educators and doctors who are making use of these tools and see the new paradigm on the rise.

Almost 10 years ago we began to see the founding of creative spaces made up of members who had a common interest in tinkering, creating, and sharing their ideas under one roof. Some of these were known as hacker spaces, others took up titles like Maker Space or Innovation hub. These places generated a modest amount of attention, primarily from the tech community, occasionally from the business community, and often- they were ignored or demonized by national governments. Over the years, as more and more spaces have emerged, under different names, in different corners of the planet, often thanks to inspiration from another such hub. Occasionally a high profile story from some hub somewhere in the world would get some well deserved attention and of course there would be the occasional keynote speech at a conference. One such conference, now in its tenth year, is Berlin’s very own Re:publica conference, which covers the internet, politics, the media, and society.. and over the past decade has gone from a mostly German net politics conference to a massive international gathering on a very broad range of topics about our changing society.

Today on the program we scan the travel writing horizon for answers to these questions. With help from veteran travel writer Sean Connolly, and Wikivoyage writers Andrew Wulf and John Perry. Its the travel guide edition of SCB and after you hear it, you may never travel the same way again!

Her campaign to add hundreds more women scientists to wikipedia has inspired volunteers and supporters around the world.. their issue: the content gap, especially when it comes to gender. This personal mission turned global movement has also become an institutional concern.. to address the longstanding gap in content about women who have made major contributions to the field of science and well beyond. We’re minding the gap and cheering for change with Emily Temple Wood, today on Source Code Berlin.

15 years ago the first article went up on the German edition of Wikipedia and the world has not been the same since! Today on the program we’re celebrating this birthday by speaking with the person who posted that first article AND brought us the software the site runs on today. And as a bonus, throughout today’s program we will listen to great moments in german wikipedia history.

There are some languages that dominate the online space in terms of reach and influence, and those influencers are not necessarily the ones with the most speakers. Over the past decade the internet's most widely used sources of information and tools for creating and sharing that information have been limited in terms of what languages are supported and able to be used. Whats wrong with this picture? Today on the program we’re going to address the questions of what is going on with language in digital spaces, with help from our guests Lucie-Aimee Kaffee of Wikimedia Deutschland, Irene Russo of the Digital Language Diversity Project, and Om Shiva Prakash of Wikimedia Kannada, as we talk about accessibility, wikipedia and language representation.