Eric Maddox
Current work:
Eric Maddox is the host and lead producer of Latitude Adjustment Podcast and the founder and director of the Palestine Podcast Academy, an initiative that aims to connect Palestinians from across Gaza, Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank to learn the mechanics and philosophy of podcasting, and to put the tools of independent media production back in the hands of the people.
The first two Palestine Podcast Academies were successfully piloted in September and October of 2021, with all shows produced in English and Arabic. You can hear the students' final projects by subscribing to Latitude Adjustment Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or most podcasting apps for Android phones. The aim of the PPA is to "pass the mic to Palestine" and facilitate independent media production from Palestine and by Palestinians, free of outside influences or agendas, while creating jobs and marketable skills for Palestinians.
Background:
Eric completed his undergraduate studies in Philosophy and Classic Literature and his graduate degree in Conflict Transformation. He moved to the West Bank to conduct his field research, collecting oral histories from the 1948 War while living in Dheisheh refugee camp.
Back in the US, Eric spent two years traveling through the US-Mexico borderlands, conducting interviews, writing, and producing media projects on both sides of the border and in the deserts of southern Arizona and New Mexico.
In 2011, Eric started a cross-border dialogue and collaborative filmmaking initiative, The Virtual Dinner Guest Project, with a connection between residents of New Mexico and cd. Juárez, Mexico.
In 2012, Eric returned to the MENA region to implement The Virtual Dinner Guest Project, ultimately facilitating nearly 80 encounters between 20 countries, for collaborative filmmaking and intercultural dialogue programs, connecting small groups in Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Gaza, Syria, and eventually India and the Balkans, to communities around the world.
In 2015 Eric co-founded the Amsterdam-based nonprofit, Open Roads Media. He’s currently traveling in North America, where he continues to produce projects with Open Roads Media as he hosts Latitude Adjustment podcast and works to grow the Palestine Podcast Academy.
Appearances in film, podcasts, and other media
