Hardwired: On the Frontlines of Freedom
Despite being hardwired for freedom, nine out of ten people around the world live in places where basic human rights and fundamental freedoms aren’t a reality. Join Founder and President of Hardwired Global, Tina Ramirez, every Wednesday as she interviews human rights champions who are fighting on the frontlines for the dignity and freedom of others in countries where freedom is most fragile. Each guest shares their personal and sometimes heart wrenching story in their pursuit to ensure freedom of belief and conscience for the most vulnerable. Prepare to delve into the complexities of human rights and pluralism in countries plagued with instability and conflict. If you haven’t already, you may even begin to question the promise of freedom in your own country. Visit our YouTube channel to view the video recordings of this interview series: bit.ly/HWchannel
Episodes
28 episodes
Jenny Yang, World Relief/Refugee & Immigration Policy
Our interview with Jenny Yang uncovers the many evident and unseen challenges of the refugee experience. How can a country and local community address both the humanitarian needs of refugees, and holistically and structurally pro...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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55:50
John Reid features Hardwired's Fundraiser with Special Guest Enes Freedom
Human rights advocate and professional athlete Enes Freedom was the special guest for Hardwired Global’s fundraiser on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 in Richmond, Virginia. Enes headlined this special event to continue his support of Ha...
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2:32
Xi Fan Fleet, Cultural Revolution Survivor
In this conversation, our special guest Xi Van Fleet shares her experience surviving the Cultural Revolution in China. Xi describes the Communist tactics for seizing power by way of the “3D’s”: division, deconstruction, and destruction. First C...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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48:21
Mouloud Said, Ambassador at Large and Representative of Western Sahara
During our interview with Ambassador at Large for Western Sahara Mouloud Said, he illustrates the 45-year struggle of fighting for the Sahrawi people, whose land was invaded shortly after the Spanish left the Western Sahara and families divided...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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45:10
Zeina Dbouk, Human Rights Educator
In this conversation, Hardwired Founder and President, Tina Ramirez, and high school educator, Zeina Dbouk, discuss the ways Zeina’s father stood up to corruption in Lebanon, which inspired her to continue his legacy through teaching students. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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59:55
Victor "Skip" Conde, Human Rights Lawyer
Mr. Conde is a prolific author and lecturer in the U.S. and Europe who has defended countless refugees and individuals persecuted for their faith in his private law practice.In our interview, he shares how he first came face to face wit...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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56:37
Mohaned Elnour, Sudan Human Rights Lawyer
Mohaned’s story symbolizes the struggle many Sudanese Muslims experienced while living under the brutal rule of Sudan’s former dictator, Omar al Bashir. Mohaned describes the rampant discrimination and injustice he witnessed firsthand und...
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1:11:03
Dr. Suzanne Scholte, North Korean Freedom Week
“Every single country that’s a threat to peace, is a threat to their own people. Without exception.” Our next guest, Suzanne Scholte, gave North Korean defectors a voice in the U.S. Congress. Suzanne has been standing on t...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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1:04:25
Dr. Dennis de Jong, Former Member, European Parliament
In this latest On the Frontlines of Freedom episode, we share an interview with Dr. de Jong, a former Member of the European Parliament for the Dutch Government who went on to successfully found and build the first working group on Fre...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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53:29
Dr. Alissa Wahid, Gusdurian Network Indonesia
As a secular country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Dr. Alissa Wahid works to honor the nation’s 1928 pledge that the country is united on grounds of religious diversity and freedom for all – a unique model among predominately...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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57:18
Tatiana Moon, Unification Church
In this next conversation with Tatiana Moon, daughter of the founder of the Unification Church, Reverend Sun Myung Moon, she opens up about the public misunderstandings of the Church, and shares her father’s vision of reuniting North Korea with...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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52:02
Dr. Felisa Tibbitts, Leading Human Rights Educator
In this conversation with Dr. Felisa Tibbitts, co-founder of Human Rights Education Associates, we discuss the importance of teaching children and communities about their human rights. As a fellow global expert on human rights educa...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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49:40
Angela Wu Howard, International Human Rights Law Fellow
In this conversation, Tina Ramirez, Hardwired Global founder, and president, and Angela Wu Howard, a distinguished international human rights lawyer, discuss the dangers of government overreach and its impact on the freedom of religion for peop...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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1:20:33
Naomi Kikoler, US Holocaust Memorial Museum
In this conversation, Director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C, Naomi Kikoler, discusses the role of the Museum as the conscience of our country, designed to not...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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55:38
Eric Treene, Department of Justice
The last two years have exposed the lack of understanding many officials have about America’s first amendment protection of the freedom of religion. Under the threat of the coronavirus pandemic, many states passed laws that prevented publ...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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59:25
Zainab Al-Suwaij, American Islamic Congress
“And that was a moment that I’ll never forget. So many people had been living in the political prison for years in very inhuman conditions. The smell, the filthiness, there was no sun.”This interview is with Zainab Al-Suwaij, the co-foun...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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51:12
Dr. Habib Malik, Human Rights Activist
“Eleanor Roosevelt one day, got up and said ‘Dr. Charles Malik has been talking about the importance of the individual, and I have to say that the United States and other Western powers agree with that position’.”Dr. Habib Mali...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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58:49
Ajit Sahi, Indian American Muslim Council
"I’m not working for Muslims, Hindus, or Christians, I’m working for the rule of law. I’m working for justice, for liberty, for freedom. If one is not free, then none are free." – Ajit Sahi, Indian American Muslim CouncilAjit S...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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55:56
Julie Fishman Rayman, American Jewish Committee
"We are experiencing globally this massive spike in anti-Semitic incidence, rhetoric and attitudes that is unprecedented at least in the last generation. People are making a lot of comparisons to 1930's Europe because it feels that existential....
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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37:19
Dr. M. Zudhi Jasser, American Islamic Forum for Democracy
A first-generation American Muslim, Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser's parents fled the oppressive Baath regime of Syria in the mid-1960's for American freedom. He shares about how his family’s experience influenced his life and his own fight for freedom.&n...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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45:01
Dr. Bob Fu, ChinaAid
In this conversation, Dr. Bob Fu talks with Hardwired Global founder and president, Tina Ramirez, about his imprisonment and torture at the hands of authorities in the Chinese Communist Party. He describes how he eventually escaped China with h...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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58:43
Louie Michael, El Cajon Police Department
"We walked out of Iraq into a refugee camp in Turkey." - Sergeant Louie MichaelLouie Michael and his family fled Iraq by foot over the mountains into Turkey to start their journey to freedom. Eventually, they made it to the U.S. and the...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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42:43
Kristina Arriaga, Castro's Cuba
This conversation features Kristina Arriaga whose personal experience in Castro’s Cuba led her to become an advocate for human rights worldwide. Her parents fled Cuba and later she helped others flee and share their stories. While living in Ale...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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50:09
Dr. Elizabeth Prodromou, The Fletcher School
In this conversation, Hardwired Global Founder and President, Tina Ramirez, and Dr. Elizabeth Prodromou discuss the tragedy of religious and cultural "memoricide" in places like Cyprus, and the centrality of education in protecting fundamental ...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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39:26
Julie Fishman Rayman and Andrea Martin, the IRF Caucus
Hear from two dynamic women who have exemplified that bi-partisan cooperation is possible in our current political climate – and that religious freedom is something we can all work together on. Today, Julie Fishman Rayman and Andrea Martin cont...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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34:37
