People Fixing the World
BBC World Service · World Hacks
Presenter, Reporter & Founding Team Member · 2016 –17
Sahar was part of the founding team behind World Hacks, BBC World Service’s pioneering solutions-focused journalism series, now known as People Fixing the World.
She hosted the weekly podcast and also reported from the field, producing radio documentaries and video stories from around the world. The series explored practical responses to major social and global challenges — from migration and gun violence to climate, transport, public health and poverty.
“Utterly fascinating” - The Guardian
UK · The War on Fake News
How to police the internet in the age of post-truth and alternative facts.
US · How to Be a Better Mum in Jail
A US programme providing doula support to pregnant women in prison, aiming to give mothers and babies a better start.
US · Greener In Death
How alkaline hydrolysis – or “water cremation” – offers a greener way of dealing with the body after death.
UK · How To Make Sushi From Methane Gas
Can methane be turned into a more sustainable source of protein for animal feed?
Mexico · Urban Cable Cars
Can urban cable cars better connect low-income communities to jobs, services and the wider city?
US · The Teachable Moment
How youth workers use a critical moment in the treatment of US gunshot victims to help reduce the risk of them being shot again.
Haiti · Turning Plastic Trash into Cash
Can “social plastic” keep the oceans clean and fight poverty too?
Dominican Republic · Emergencies in Super-Quick Time
How a mobile-phone system is speeding up emergency response on a Caribbean island. Plus an experiment with roads made from recycled plastic.
UK · The Parent Hack For Cheaper Childcare
How parents struggling with childcare costs are banding together to care for each other’s kids.
Haiti · Composting toilets and Circular Runways
A scheme to solve the problem of human waste disposal in Haiti and a radical suggestion for airports.
Spain · Super-blocks to the Rescue?
How Barcelona’s “superblocks” are redesigning streets to reclaim urban space from cars.
France · An Unlikely House Share
In one of the most expensive cities in the world, students are moving in with older people who have spare rooms as part of a “homeshare” scheme.
Lebanon · Jobs For Syrian Refugees
An experiment in Jordan giving Syrian refugees the right to work, and asking whether it could benefit refugees and the wider economy.
Peru · The Cloud Catchers
Can giant fog nets provide water to communities where conventional supplies are scarce?
The Philippines · Respect My Remittances
New ways of giving migrant workers more control over how money they send home is spent.
PERU · ‘Bribing’ Mums To Feed Their Kids
How conditional cash payments in Peru were used to improve children’s health and nutrition.
UK · Teaching Kids To Think
What happens when you teach kids how to think for themselves?
US · Reducing US Police Shootings
How a new training system could reduce deadly police shootings in the US.
Credits
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Sahar Zand
Presenter & Reporter
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Tom Colls
Series Producer
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Mukul Devichand
Executive Producer