In this episode, fellow Chido Nyaruwata speaks to professor Zethu Matebeni , a sociologist, activist, and writer researching African queer theory, sexuality, and gender. Matebeni is a co-editor of Queer in Africa: LGBTQI Identities, Citizenship, and Activism. Surya Monro and Vasu Reddy worked with Matebeni to edit this highly interdisciplinary and rich volume on different Read More…

From Sudan-based fellow Samah Fawzi, this episode is about about Somalia and Somalis, as they are in real life and real time. Our guests are Mohamed Shidane from Mogadishu, the Capital of Somalia, Hassan Jama from Hargeisa, the Capital of Somaliland, and Najih Al-Hilowli, a Somali based in Sweden. They share with us their views Read More…

Zainab Usman is a senior fellow and director of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This week, she talks to Rachel about the importance of economic diversification in Africa and how it can contribute to a more climate resilient Africa. In the news wrap, Kim and Rachel talk about the killing Read More…

Soinato Leboo and Gretchen Walch are our next fellows! In this episode, they talk to four friends and acquaintances about their experiences of both belonging and otherness in Kenya. Each of their perspectives were unique, but converged in their hopes for Kenya’s future. In the news wrap, Kim and Rachel talk about healthcare and a Read More…

This week, Rachel interviews Mai Hassan, an associate professor in political science at the University of Michigan.  Hassan’s research focuses on the state, autocracy, and regime change.   In the news wrap, Kim and Rachel talk about the digitization of Mali’s prized manuscripts (“Mali Magic”),  the French exit from Mali, and what’s going on in Read More…

Where are the young Africans in climate diplomacy and who is keeping them out? In this episode fellow Chido Nyaruwata speaks to Elizabeth Gulugulu about the processes that shape the international climate regime. Drawing on her reflections as programs manager for the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change, Zimbabwe and YOUNGO Global South Focal Point, Read More…

Happy International Women’s Day! We are releasing this week’s episode today in celebration, featuring an interview given by one of our non-resident fellows: Wanjiku Ngugi. Wanjiku’s interview with Nerima Were is about women’s rights in Africa and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Nerima Were is the deputy executive director at the Kenya Legal & Read More…

How can ECOWAS and the African Union combat ongoing coups in Mali and Burkina Faso? We spoke with international relations scholar Emmanuel Balogun about the tools that ECOWAS and the AU have at their disposal to fight coups and about the obstacles the intergovernmental agencies will face in trying to use them. Books, Links, & Read More…

Coups are on our minds this week, especially with recent events in Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau. Kim and Rachel talk about their own views on “coup contagion” and how their perspectives have changed over time. Then, Kim talks to coup expert Naunihal Singh, who breaks down what coups are, shares how he began studying them, Read More…

Bamba Ndiaye is a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Society for the Humanities and the Music Department at Cornell, and also our guest this week! He’s at work on a book project called “Black Social Movement and Digital Technology,” and we talk to him about democracy in Senegal, his work on “neo pan-Africanism,” and more! Read More…