 welcome to power up Hawaii, where Hawaii comes together to walk towards a clean, renewable, and just energy future. I am your host, Raya Salter. I'm an energy attorney, clean energy advocate, and community outreach specialist. I'm also the principal attorney of Imagine Power LLC. Got some exciting stuff today. We always say here on the show that it's important to engage all stakeholders in the energy conversation, including those who may not be traditionally engaged in energy policy. I think this prominently includes our communicators, reporters, and storytellers as it's they who keep us the public informed, engaged, and educated about arts, culture, news, and current events. So it's not often these days that you come across a print magazine that just blows you away with its beauty, style, and content, but that is what happened to me when I came across this month's edition of Summit Magazine. Summit is Hawaii's global magazine with in-depth coverage of arts, design, style, business, civics, and literature in the Hawaiian Hemisphere. Summit connects islanders and global travelers to the very best perspectives, purveyors, and products of the archipelago. I'm pleased to have with me here today Ikaika Hussie, the publisher and editor of Summit Magazine with us here in the studio today. So Ikaika resides in Kalihi and is a longtime leader in the community in a wide variety of areas. He's on the board of the Domestic Violence Action Center and the Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action, just to name a few. Ikaika is a teacher, offer, and thought leader with, in his words, the common goal of strengthening our island home. Ikaika earned a master's degree in political science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is currently studying economics via the University of London and the London School of Economics. So with all of that said, welcome Ikaika. Thank you, Raya. So Summit Magazine I think is just gorgeous. I just, you know, I hadn't come across it before and I was just so blown away by the just the intriguing content, the beautiful pictures fashion and style, and yet still this really deeply intellectually engaging approach, global approach. So I'm just so excited to have you here to talk a bit about the magazine. Thank you. But first before we do, maybe you could tell me a little bit about yourself and your background and how you came to become a magazine publisher. Sure. Well I came to media from through a very unconventional path. I came to it as as a person who had to often talk to the media about things that are happening in the grassroots community and so I come out of sort of an organizer community activism background. Fantastic. What kind of what I'm hearing you are engaging with the news, what type of stuff were you? Sure, a lot of things in the native wine community, self-determination, sovereignty, demilitarization, land rights, kind of basic human rights things. And it was often my job within our various hui to be the person who would go and talk to the press. I would write the press releases, I'd create the flyers and do that kind of thing. And what I realized was our press, our media have an incredibly important responsibility and a lot of power and it could be used for incredibly wonderful things. My concern when I first started Summoning the Hawai'i Independent was that oftentimes native Hawaiians were treated sort of as the problem. It was like why are those guys, why are those Hawaiians protesting? And the fact that we were protesting was the problem as opposed to the issues that we were protesting about being the problem. So I wanted to flip the lens a little bit and to speak about the world from a Hawaiian perspective instead of having media that just covers Hawaiians. So I wanted to tell a very different kind of story than what was available in the media of the time. Wow, that is so interesting. What I'm hearing you say is the problem was speaking out. If only they would be quiet. And not talk about these things. And so you were like, let's go ahead and talk about these things authentically is what I'm hearing. Right. Shift who's speaking. Shift who's speaking. And so a couple of years ago, I was thinking about a lot about how do we how do we create something that's really powerful and wonderful coming out of Hawai'i. I wanted to speak to a more global audience from a very distinctly Hawai'i and Hawaiian point of view. And it's always been rattling around in my mind this quote from Queen Kapi'olani who was the spouse of David Kulakawa, the last king of Hawai'i. And it was during a time when Hawai'i was very much a global place. It was much more cosmopolitan and had a very kind of modernist perspective and orientation much more so than it than it did in the in the 20th century. And her model Kapi'olani's model was Kulia Ikanu, which means strive for the summit and try to achieve the very best that we can as an island community. And I think that's a neat idea. And so my goal with with this particular publication is to to try to elevate expectations for what Hawai'i can be in this 21st century to showcase the amazing people who are doing great things in media like like think tech or in fashion or in culinary arts. You know, show that we really have a lot to offer the world. And so that's about 60 70 percent of the magazine and the other 30 40 percent is kind of straight up international politics and business. So we cover big ideas that are driving the world right now, like the idea of a universal basic basic income, which they're talking about later, which is which is so interesting. Yeah, I hope so. Yeah. You know, no, I well, I think it's interesting. I think folks watching will as well. So how did you go from, you know, the, you know, writing the press releases to sort of, you know, having this, you know, international, you know, magazine? Well, you know, thankfully, we live in a in a time when a lot of the effort that it used to take to create a publication has been, it's a lot easier. WordPress and and Amazon Web Services and all of the kind of readily available technology that the internet has offered to us. I started doing websites when I was like 17 or 18 years old in high school. And it was very much tinkering around with creating creating really simple websites. So I launched an online news website called the white independent in 2009. Okay, I can remember just because my daughter was born right as I launched it. And I have this crazy habit of starting businesses when kids are very bad idea. So, you know, it was relatively easy to get that off the ground just because the technology is, you know, we didn't have to print and hire trucks to deliver physical newspapers. That makes sense that yet at the same time, I think it must have also been, you know, your work, just the knowledge and roots in the community must have known a lot of artists because you can have all the trucks to drive and fancy print things in the world and not have sort of photographs of the beauty that you have and, you know, the richness of content. So, well, summit is a very different art and a science summit really is a team effort. I play a I would say a pretty minimal role in the actual creation of this this thing that you have in your hand on the table. We have an excellent art director and excellent, you know, managing editor who really make the magazine happen and copy editors and writers who who put, you know, wonderful thought into their words. I just help with like I literally drive the magazine around show it to people and try to set up the revenue so that it can keep going. Well, I'm always in a very important function. Who's the audience for summit? Who's the audience? So, we have our core demo is sort of 35 to 45 year olds. So, like, you know, me, it's always easier to when you create something for someone that you that you know, well, so I happen to be right in the middle of that, that demo. Modly speaking, we're sort of 35 and up mass affluent. So not quite the 1%, but, you know, people who are professionals, they're business owners, they're deeply engaged in the life and our civic life. They may themselves have significant assets. We and we certainly have a lot of readers with with who are very affluent. I feel like I want to be in this demographic. Me too. And so that's, you know, that's sort of the the age and income distribution. And then geographically, we're writing for an audience that's here, but also an international audience. So we have readers in Japan. We have readers. We have readers all throughout North America. I have a subscriber in Slovenia that I need to send magazines to. And, you know, so that's where it's ironic now that I'm printing a physical magazine, because then we have to deal with the logistics of moving this, you know, 200 pages of paper around the globe while trying to try and as best as we can to mitigate the carbon impact, which we should talk about. Of course. And that's, you know, that's sort of a always an issue in Hawaii. Shipping and, you know, absolutely and wanting to, to, you know, cultivate interest in local things and have it to somehow still needing to. I'd like to think carbon impact, not the standing, but, you know, come things coming from this direction to the mainland. I mean, that we want to increase that. I would think, especially cultural and intellectual. Sure. I mean, part of our orientation is that is that this is our mainland. Like this is this is the center of our world. And so from this, this particular locus, we can then speak about what's happening in Asia or North America, South America from, from our perspective here in Hawaii. And, you know, it's a very different way of thinking about the world. On the other hand, I consume a lot of media that's produced, for instance, in New York City. And I'm always struck by how writers in New York City assume that everyone knows New York City. They talk about the geography of New York City as if it's the daily commute of everyone in the audience. And it's not, of course. No, of course it's not. So I don't feel bad about insisting that our point of view should be from Hawaii. But, you know, at the least it's a very interesting way of seeing the world. It's different, which is when you're creating a product nowadays, it's all about being different. It's about creating something that's differentiated from everything else that's out there. Well, I would agree that sounds like good advice to product creator. And so, why don't we go ahead and talk a little bit about how the magazine is structured and why. So, you know, I know there may be some variation, but I know this. We have lifestyle, arts, industry, commons, teaching for tomorrow. So, you know, how you sort of put this together, I'm sure, you know, illuminates those perspectives. So why did you decide to sort of break the magazine up in this way? Well, so the first section is called Anu'i Nui. Anu'i Nui means rainbow in Hawaiian. And, you know, our magazine does not have a Hawaiian name, right? It's summit. So I thought if we have one section in the magazine that has a Hawaiian name, that would be okay. And I figure, on balance, people around the world probably have seen the word Anu'i Nui at some point. If they've come to Hawaii, they probably see, you know, the people who are sports fans know that that's associated with our sports team at university. So that's our lifestyle section. And we think of it as the place where you go for information about where to eat, what to make with your alcohol collection at home. Rainbow. You know, we're about to take a break. Okay. And then when we come back, we'll talk more about the structure of the magazine and we'll start digging into some of the content. So we'll be right back with Ikaika Hussey talking about Summit Magazine in just a bit. Aloha. This is Kaili Akeena with the Weekly Ehana Kako. Let's work together program on the Think Takawaii Broadcast Network Mondays at 2 o'clock PM. Movers and shakers and great ideas. Join us. We'll see you then. Aloha. Aloha. I'm Kaui Lucas, host of Hawaii is my mainland here on Think Takawaii every Friday at 3 p.m. We address issues of importance for those of us who live here on the most isolated land mass on the planet. Please come join me Fridays at 3 p.m. Mahalo. Aloha. My name is John Wahee and I actually had a small part to do with what's happening today. Served actually in public office. But if you don't already know that, here's a chance to learn more about what's happening in our state by joining me for a talk story with John Wahee every other Monday. Thank you and I look forward to your seeing us in the future. Hi and welcome back to Power Up Hawaii where Hawaii comes together to talk about a clean renewable and just energy future. We're here with Aikaka Hussi of some publisher of Summit Magazine and we were just talking about the the different sections of the magazine and actually you can reach the magazine at www.summitzine.com That's right. Correct. So let's go ahead and continue our discussion about magazine. Okay so real briefly the the first section is Onua Nui which is lifestyle. The second section is originals which is artists primarily musicians and it's mostly features on folks who create culture. Industry is the third section. I hope I'm getting the order right. That's like business features. Commons is the fourth section and that is essentially international politics. Politics and social issues and then letters is the final section and that's I think it was sort of our New Yorker moment where we get to do poetry and prose and then we also have a summit shop where we work with producers here makers who are creating wonderful products and we help to sell their products. Well that's that fantastic. I just again I think it's really important to talk to folks who are purveyors of perspectives and cultures because if energy policy folks don't sort of engage with the you know the thought leaders and let you guys know that what you do is important to us then you know how can we expect you to come to us and talk about how what you do is you know about we do can be important to you. Of course you know and why everyone knows you've got 100% renewable energy goal and I know there's a great piece this month that folks might be interested in about solar hot water heaters and the need to sort of think of them as being cooler and sexier then we may usually think about them because they are a real solution and something that can be an answer in a way also for low to moderate income folks to participate in energy so thank you for covering that. Sure and I should mention that it's a piece that we did on shifted energy that's in partnership with yes with energy accelerator which is great work yes and really pushing the you know pushing innovation forward which we desperately need. Yes absolutely um so I'd also like to talk about a couple of the other articles that I found to be just so fascinating so one of them is called mana for the people and it's sort of it's a historical look back at the um Polynesian pamper movement could you talk a little bit about that first of all sort of how did you come across this topic and why did you decide the you know to go ahead and bring that forth in summit. Sure so it's a story that was brought to us by one of our contributing writers based in Australia um and you know I'm as a student myself of social movements I've always been fascinated with how social movements are adapted and kind of spread all throughout the world so one of those obviously it's the Black Panther movement and so what we see what we found in New Zealand is um is a very local New Zealand Maori and Pan Polynesian effort to to take some of the energy and language and sort of intellectualism of the Black Panther movement and turn it into a Polynesian movement in in Aotearoa New Zealand and I should mention too that there's you know there were also similar things happening here in Hawaii during the same time period where you know folks were were following what was going on all around the world you know and and building social movements that that copied either the affect of things like the Black Panther movement and also a lot of the substance a lot of the a lot of the thinking behind you know what what was going on in like Oakland for instance. Why do you think that that particular I guess Black American and Caribbean cultural message resonated amongst folks in the in the Pacific? Oh that's a good question. I think you could make an argument and I'll just say it I'll make the argument that the Black culture in North America and the Caribbean has has really been the the most creative wellspring of culture for for like our modern age you know if you look at all of the cool stuff that's come out of come out of the United States right it's you have jazz it's the blues it's hip-hop it's rap you know it's all these things that have come out of out of Black culture and to me I find it very inspiring because it's really about a group of people who you know history should have could have written them off you know and that group of people taking things that were forced on them and then turning it into the the tools of their own liberation it's really a beautiful I'm sort of getting emotional it's a very beautiful you know historical trend that's happened and it's a very beautiful thing. And I guess the the seeds of that sort of wellspring I mean it it's sort of the culture and also the the social movements and the social activism and the stories of oppression I guess helped create this diaspora of of resistance right I don't know what to call it but there's something was it the music was it the afros something resonated you know and for I think perhaps still resonates today something you know it you know when you look at the pictures and I'm sorry I don't have them to share you know it's sort of a it seemed like such a natural overlay you know you hear about this person you know in New Zealand picking up you know Huey Newton's work and you know you know wearing a beret putting on a jacket and it just sort of you know that the overlay is almost kind of seamless and what they decided to do in terms of helping young people with homework and you know having you know working with after school like it was also very similar just it seemed kind of seamless I'm trying to get at what kind of resonates. I think part of what's going on in that particular in that particular episode that you're describing is is that we all you know everyone in sort of English speaking modern world we also sort of live in one culture right and it's a culture that is broadcast out through Hollywood and and and so everyone sort of shares in in what's happening through this mass English language culture and as a result of that the cultural minorities even you know in Hawaii native Hawaiians are a minority of sorts in Aotearoa New Zealand even though they're I don't know some large percentage of the population I don't know the exact number but Maori are still treated as a minority in that community in that in that country what we have then is this situation where you have this kind of monolithic English language culture and within that monolithic culture black culture is is sort of the other but it's a very powerful other it's an incredibly vibrant and and powerful and creative space where where liberation can take place and so I think when that culture touches places like New Zealand or Hawaii it becomes a place for all the folks who don't get to be you know the white man at the table we all get to play within the black culture because it's so accepting and we can all find a voice there so if you look at in Hawaii you have like the the movement I think of guys like John John Prime Kina who's leading the 808 you know the 808 murals urban 808 excuse me the urban 808 group and they're working with kids who are using sort of the the visual language of hip-hop the visual language of street art of aerosol art to to tell their own stories because that is an available medium you know they can't find a space in the white dominated culture so the black culture is actually a an accepting place that's so interesting in the and the article talks about how you know in this Polynesian Panther movie movement in the 70s it began to become a a pan-Polynesian pan-pacific you know sort of diaspora sort of a movement to unify the diaspora and reached out to you know movements in South Africa so yes I mean in that we are all African in one regard or another originally that's it and I was going to ask you know I know so you this is in the current issue so what if and how do you think you know this topic is important today well just off the top of my head we live in incredibly interesting time right yeah we do we do it's it's sort of amazing unbelievable that it's been a month barely a month since this new Trump era has taken place but it's a time where so many social movements are in communication with each other and are able to find support and love and solidarity with each other to code access pipeline yeah sovereignty black lives matter exactly you know and you look at things like the the the women's the women's mark yes yes on inauguration day what was amazing about that for me was just how incredibly rich and multi multi-everything those marches were so much more than like the official inaugural events and the sort of kind of monoculture that you see in in those in the Trump phenomenon you know what's happening with the people is the people are getting together and we need to celebrate that all these moments all these peoples that that coalescing is is an incredibly powerful historical trend that I don't think will ever stop you know it's in some ways it's an unraveling of of the way in which people have been divided since over the last 500 years I say it's so interesting I feel like we could have a whole show about that in terms of what's coming together and what some of the some of the challenges and the fissures some for very good reason we need to talk about energy right yeah well no like that well I wanted to get to I we could talk about that we don't have a lot of time left so what I really wanted to get to was this interesting article where you interviewed an economist who has an idea um what is the name of the actual name of the the idea it's often described as universal basic income universal basic income so basically it's this concept that there can be a situation where everyone gets a base income a base income um and what that what that means in terms of you know in terms of society and economic development and particularly for the poor so tell us a little bit about sure why about this and why you chose to probably call it universal basic income universal basic ubi sounds like a disease it's a yeah something you're getting you don't want to talk about yeah but so the idea is that we're moving to an economy with less on us people where you don't actually need people to do a lot of the creationization yeah right and so um the idea is you create a tax regime that would that would uh take all of the benefits of this incredibly increasingly humanless economy and then share that benefit with the people so that people can still get some uh still uh get some value from that later which and gosh I this is my fault for lingering but we're not going to have as much time to dig into that fascinating theory as I hope we'll do it but um is uh tell how can people find summit magazine so summit is on uh we're in about 400 stores across the United States but at most Barnes and Nobles you can find a copy of summit you can also find a set of four seasons or or the Lotus Honolulu you find us at Whole Foods all throughout the state and the Barnes Noble here at Alamoana has a copy and maybe at a doctor's office or a lawyer's office too you know we're all over the place or you go to summit zine.com which is our website all right well fantastic thank you so very much for uh sharing about this magazine and some of your fascinating perspectives thank you so much for that thank you and that wraps up another issue or another edition of Power Up Hawaii I'm Raya Salter energy attorney um clean energy advocate community outreach specialist um uh thank you so much mahalo and aloha