I am very sad to learn that Billy Bang has died at age 63. He was a beautiful musician who struggled with mental illness and other woes from the trauma of his service in Vietnam until he processed it in his music. I was introduced to his work by Butch Morris. Two years ago I was privileged to have a long conversation with him and Yusef Komunyakaa—this is the radio edit. Condolences to all who knew him.
The documentary film, ‘Rolé—Histórias dos Rolezinhos’ by Afro-Brazilian filmmaker Vladimir Seixas uses sharp commentary to expose social, political, and cultural inequalities within Brazilian society.
The personal archives of Dr. Yusufu Bala Usman, a Nigerian pro-democracy activist, suggests that same-faith presidential tickets are not necessarily about religious domination.
While editing a collection of the writings of South African feminist Lauretta Ngcobo, Barbara Boswell found inspiration in texts that reflected Ngcobo’s sense that writing is an exercise of freedom.
Kenya’s cost of living demonstrations have as much to do with popular discontent as they do with the opposition capitalizing on frustrations.
Government’s around the world are talking about tightening their belts. Austerity is a common economic policy, but what is it actually? On the podcast, we discuss.
For democracy to succeed in Sudan, the process towards civilian rule must itself be democratized, rather than largely driven by top-down efforts.
A fundamental contest between two orders is taking place in Kenya. Will its progressives seize the moment to catalyze a vision for social, economic, and political change?
South African con-artists Thabo Bester and Nandipha Magudumana are not good people. They’re also an outcome of a system that predisposes individuals to avarice, selfishness and deceit.
The events of May Day 1998 in Nigeria and lessons from Ola Oni on fighting for democracy in multi-ethnic societies.
In the 1980s, the South African arts collective Vakalisa Art Associates reclaimed time as a tool of social control through their subversive calendars.
The film ‘No Place But Here’ uses VR or 360 media to immerse a viewer inside a housing occupation in Cape Town. In the process, it wants to challenge gentrification and the capitalist logic of home ownership.
The music and art of Lauryn Hill and Chiwoniso Maraire combined sexiness with political consciousness, offering Black women a way out of rigid categorization.
Buharism, the social and economic outlook of Nigeria’s outgoing president, did not seek an alternative to neoliberal globalization, but sought to consolidate Nigeria’s place in it.
After the Arab Spring, the African left was left demoralized and disorganized. However, a recent book argues that the revolution continues in quotidian life.
Zimbabwe is not Mugabe, Nkomo, Mnangagwa or Chamisa. A new Afro-electronic music duo is giving the country’s complexity a soundtrack.
How are we to discuss and deal with colonization in Africa without using language that acknowledges that we were something before colonization?
Policing in postcolonial Kenya is at an impasse. What is needed is disinvestment from this system of repression and reinvestment in communities.
For all the coverage about Kamala Harris’ Afrobeats Spotify playlist, or her search for her grandfather’s house in Lusaka, her African trip is about shoring up US positions.
Artificial Intelligence is here to stay. The question is whether we align AI to promote human rights or to defend private property and exploitation.
Instead of listing the books that help her write ‘Written Out: The Silencing of Regina Gelana Twala,’ the author notes five books that shaped Regina Gelana Twala.