19 Jan 2025
Harnessing Pedal Power: How Myles Delfin and Bike Scouts Aid Communities in Crisis
Does the world need another podcast? About as much as it needs another blog or newsletter I suppose, so why bother? Because there is an overabundance of blogs, newsletters and podcasts featuring tech bros touting their dystopian vision of a future in which, for instance, musicians hate making music (seriously, watch the clip (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DE2-k84zdam/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)), and all human endeavour is in need of a tech interface to make it more efficient, more monetizable and less humane. And so I thought, maybe, I could squeeze in a little one to balance the books a bit and here it is, the first episode of the ‘Pro-Human Podcast’ featuring our very first ‘Human of The Month’, Myles Delfin.
So, what makes Myles worthy of this double honour? Well, I don’t want to give the whole game away but he’s the founder of Bike Scouts, a volunteer emergency service in the Philippines powered by cyclists who risk their lives to enter disaster zones and administer aid, set up communications and deliver messages of hope to frantic loved ones.
Myles founded Bike Scouts in 2013 in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda—a Category 5 super typhoon that killed at least 6,300 people in the region of Visayas. Over the course of just 23 days in 2024 he and his team faced down five typhoons and one tropical storm, which displaced 1.4 million people and caused severe damage to infrastructure and the loss of homes and crops. Early estimates of economic losses amount to nearly $500 million.
Study: Climate Change ‘Supercharged’ Deadly String of Storms in Philippines (https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/climate-change-supercharged-deadly-string-of-philippines-storms-study)
This is the frontline of the climate crisis and it’s not getting any better. Myles and his Bike Scouts are fighting for the lives of his countrymen every year so please watch, listen and, if you can, help. Subscribe on:
* YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@Pro-HumanPod)
* Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1xKNeUNTG47sgDaMZ0GhN8?si=06a27d43a6cb4c98)
* Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/neal-moore-|-pro-human-podcast/id1791254274)
Recommendations
As usual I still have some recommendations for things to read, watch, look at, listen to or do:
* Singapore’s own Baby Combat (ex-Shelves) has released a 5-track EP called Tuesday Night Live. I bought it and I think you should too. If you’re into The Strokes, The Libertines and 2000’s indie sleaze then you’ll be into this:
* Staying local, Singapore’s indie queen Inch Chua and hunky king Nathan Hartono are playing Cathy and Jamie in musical ‘The Last FiveYears’. Scored by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown, it follows five years of ups and downs in their relationship. It runs from 12th Feb - 1st Mar at the KC Arts Centre, tickets available from SRT: https://www.srt.com.sg/show/the-last-five-years/ (https://www.srt.com.sg/show/the-last-five-years/)
* A really intelligent and nuanced discussion between public intellectual Stephen Fry and artist/music producer Brian Eno on AI, interestingly sponsored by an an AI company brave enough to give airtime to alternative views. I liked Eno’s quote that instead of following Facebook’s mantra of ‘move fast and break things’ we should “move a bit less fast and make things”.
Right, that’ll do ya! Nx
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nealmoore.substack.com (https://nealmoore.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
