Ep. 60: A conversation with Nyokabi Kamau on feminism in Kenya

This week’s episode kicks off Women’s History Month and celebrates International Women’s Day, starting with a conversation about women’s protest participation in Algeria and women’s representation in politics in Africa more broadly. We also highlight critiques of the theme for International Women’s Day 2019: #BalanceForBetter.Our conversation is with Professor Nyokabi Kamau, who is the Executive Director of the Centre for Parliamentary Studies and Training in Kenya. The conversation was part of a global salon hosted at the Lewis Global Studies Center in 2018 and was facilitated by Smith College Professor of Comparative Literature Katwiwa Mule. They talk about Kamau’s new book, Conversations about Gender: The Reflections of a Kenyan Feminist. Her segment begins at 12:31.

Ep. 53: A conversation with Beth Whitaker on Africa’s international relations

This week’s episode begins with a discussion of protests and repression in Zimbabwe, the terror attack in Nairobi, Kenya, Senegal’s upcoming election, and the re-launch of the Africa Online Digital Library. Our guest this week is Beth Whitaker, an associate professor of political science at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. Her research examines migration and security issues in Africa. We spoke with her about her new book, Africa’s International Relations: Balancing Domestic and Global Interests during the annual meeting of the African Studies Association in Atlanta, Georgia in November 2018. Some topics we cover include diaspora voting (especially in Kenya) and refugees. Our conversation begins at 10:25.

Ep. 35: A conversation with Boniface Mwangi on photography, running for office, and more

This week’s episode features a conversation with award-winning photojournalist and political activist Boniface Mwangi. Mwangi recently ran to be a member of parliament in Starehe constituency, which is in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city. Thanks to the efforts of friend of the podcast Dr. Chipo Dendere, Mwangi recently visited the Pioneer Valley to give a lecture at Amherst College. While he was here, I sat down with him and asked about his recent campaign for office and about his book, Unbounded, which features stories about his life juxtaposed with a sample of some of his amazing photography. In addition to being sold in Kenya, Unbounded is currently available in the United States via Amazon. Our conversation begins at 2:14.

Ep. 28: A conversation with Dr. Kathleen Klaus on Kenya’s annulled elections and more

In this week’s episode, we speak with Dr. Kathleen Klaus (@KathleenKlaus), Visiting Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University. She earned her PhD at the University of Wisconsin and was recently a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University. Her research examines elections, violence, and land rights and she is currently finishing a book manuscript that draws Read More…

Ep. 23: A conversation with Dr. Ken Opalo on the Kenyan elections

  In this week’s episode, we speak with Dr. Kennedy Opalo (@kopalo), an assistant professor at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. His research focuses on the political economy of development, legislative development, and electoral politics in emerging democracies. Ken blogs regularly at his blog, An Africanist Perspective, and currently is writing Read More…

Ep. 17: Conversations with Dr. Rachel Beatty Riedl and Dr. Jennifer Brass about two new books on African politics

This week’s episode features two conversations about recently published books on African politics. First, I chat with Dr. Rachel Beatty Riedl (@BeattyRiedl), Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University. Her award-winning book, Authoritarian Origins of Party Systems in Africa, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2014.  My second conversation is with Dr. Jennifer Brass (@jennifer_brass), Assistant Professor at Read More…