The guest for this episode of Global Development Review Podcast is Prof. Marty Otañez. Prof. Marty Otañez is a California-born medical anthropologist and filmmaker. He is Chair and Associate Professor in the Anthropology Department, University of Colorado Denver. His study areas include exploitative labor practices of global tobacco companies in Malawi's tobacco growing sector, occupational health concerns of cannabis workers in Colorado, and digital storytelling as a resource to examine health equities and social justice. His recent publications include the manuscript co-authored with Jassy Grewal, “Health and Safety in the Legal Cannabis Industry Before and During COVID-19, New Solutions: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy; the chapter co-authored with David Vergara, “Cannabis Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives: A Critical Approach to Research and Practice,” in The Routledge Handbook of Interdisciplinary Cannabis Research; and “A Labor Studies Approach to Cannabis,” in The Routledge Handbook of Interdisciplinary Cannabis Research. In 2021, he is working on a co-edited volume called Cannabis Counter-Narratives: The Role of Arts-Based and Visual Research in Addressing Stigma. Otañez received his PhD in Anthropology from University of California Irvine in 2004, and master's degrees from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria (Political Science) and the Institute of Social Studies, Netherlands (Employment and Labor Studies). He produces the community television show Getting High on Anthropology: A Story-Based Approach to Cannabis Research, Education and Funding, www.FSandGreen.org/shows.

In this podcast episode, Prof. Marty shares about his work on Tobacco Farming and Child Labour in Africa and what are the key findings of his research. He also helps us to understand the political economy of Tobacco Farming and Child Labour in the context of Malawi, how legal laws or national policies are dealing with the issue of Tobacco Farming and Child Labour in Malawi, how do we understand child labour in the context of countries suffering from chronic poverty and how do we locate agency of worker in that context.

In this podcast episode, Prof. Marty also talks about the nature of exploitation or harms that the child labour and adult labour do experience in tobacco farming. Based on his engagement and work, he also suggests and recommends several policy measures, and highlights the nexus between corporate and state. He also explains what he calls neo-colonialism, referring to arrangement of colonial legacy that still exists with current changes.

We hope you enjoy this conversation and learn from the insights that Prof. Marty shares in this podcast. We are active on all leading social media platforms, including LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Please follow us for future episodes and updates.

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