🍼💥 The Global Crowd – Baby Teaser 2: “The Braaibe” 💥🍼

Yes, I’ve done the baby video thing before.

Yes, it had impact.

Yes, the babies have teeth.

Yes, I was told—wisely—not to use the same “formula” again (pun intended).

Which is exactly why I’m doing it again.

But this time, the roles are reversed.I’m the one holding the milk bottle... and someone really wants in. Badly.

While the teaser may seem familiar, the episode it leads into will be a bit different. Can’t wait to share it with you… but I thought we’d make some noise for it first.

Evergreen gratitude to Ricard Sierra, who lended his talent and candor to get this thing rolling in the first place—and still rakes up views and claps like the showman he is. Keep the love coming.

And to Olga Beregovaya, who set the bar so high we had to launch ourselves over it with a cannon… no safety net, no parachute—wow, the ground is approaching really fast…

Baby shenanigans incoming. Guess who’s doing the “braaibing”?

Welcome back to The Global Crowd—a proudly unpolished podcast built on spontaneous conversations with leaders from the globalization and international growth community who refuse to take life too seriously.

Today, we welcome Olga Beregovaya, VP of AI at Smartling, community pillar, music producer, horse whisperer—and one of those rare humans who can face chaos with elegance, curiosity, and great boots.

From building AI programs to wrangling 22 punk rockers at a border crossing, Olga’s life reads like a setlist nobody could plan—but every track hits.

🎙️ In this episode, we talk about:

• How one structural linguist became the queen of AIs (with a side hustle in tour buses)
• Punk bands, border patrol, and the unexpected strength of expat community
• The disgusting biological betrayal that is the film on boiled milk
• Why the best business strategy sessions might be happening in bars
• The haunting disappearance of one very special pair of rocking socks
• What it’s like to live inside the AI hype—and still call BS on half of it
• And the repeated public shaming that comes from not watching your friend’s podcast before agreeing to guest on it

It’s been cut to a reasonable length, censored for safety, but remains unfiltered, a little weird, and occasionally tender.

Olga made us laugh, made us think, and maybe made us cry a little.

You’ve been warned. Thanks for listening.

#TheGlobalCrowd #AI #globalization #international #machinetranslation #punkenergy #podcast #translation #thankyou

List of chapters:

00:00 – An unscripted podcast with seven pages of pleases

02:25 – From syntax to stage lights

04:35 – Explaining AI to a five-year-old (and other impossible tasks)

10:37 – Things we wish we never had to localize

13:07 – The afterthought era must end

15:21 – The punk producer in a business suit

19:47 – Inside and outside the Soviet Union: Wherever you go, your music follows

24:27 – The most epic concert… she never got to hear

26:02 – Calling the socks private investigator

28:36 – Rock & roll? Yes. But someone has to do the paperwork

30:52 – Fighting ducks, meeting dead people in elevators, and upsetting the gods of keys

36:01 – Bungee jumping in Siberia and other great decisions

36:55 – Russian superstitions, ranked and feared

38:20 – AI’s future: less talk, more tools

38:53 – Practice what you preach (and benchmark it)

41:38 – Everything About Agentic AI with Olga Beregovaya

42:24 – Getting real about multilingual GenAI

45:29 – The data goldmine hiding in plain sight

47:00 – Learning AI, one sacrificed weekend at a time

50:11 – Consensual rabbits, ditching regret, and finding the way out

54:44 – How to make the Queen of AIs cry

Someone told me that creating a podcast was "child's play". We'll, I strongly disagree. Just convincing my guest for episode 1.1 took no less than seven pages of "pleases".

Can you tell who she is?

Episode 1.1 coming soon to you, loyal subscriber.

Welcome to The Global Crowd—a podcast you definitely didn’t need, but we really hope you’ll enjoy.

This is Episode 0: a proof of concept, a pilot, a playful experiment. There’s no fancy studio, no sponsor, no agenda—just honest conversation, curiosity, and a guest who helped make this whole thing happen: Ricard Sierra, CEO of Kobalt and long-time friend.

Ricard’s career started in audiovisual translation, subtitling theatrical releases for major studios before founding Kobalt, a language services company known for its deep investment in automation and innovation. He also hosts a local radio show about cinema and remains a passionate defender of dubbing, Grease (!?!), and the importance of finding joy in what we do.

🎙️ In this episode, we talk about:
– His path from translator to CEO
– How automation changed the way Kobalt works
– AI’s real impact on the language industry
– The slow death of TEP
– The subtitling vs. dubbing debate
– Favorite films, directors, and cinematic moments
– Why we once ended up at Los Pollos Hermanos in Albuquerque

This isn’t a show about promotion—it’s a show about people.
And it starts here, with someone who’s helped shape the industry and inspired me personally.

Thanks for joining us.