Ufahamu Africa

In this bonus recording, hear Ufahamu Africa host Kim Dionne read Laura Seay’s review of Shaping the Future of Power: Knowledge Production and Network-Building in China-Africa Relations, a book by Lina Benabdallah (@LBenabdallah). The review was published in last year's African Politics Summer Reading Spectacular (#APSRS20), and this recording is being shared as part of a collaboration with The Monkey Cage (@monkeycageblog), a blog on politics and political science at The Washington Post. … More BONUS: Hear Laura Seay’s review of Lina Benabdallah’s book on China-Africa relations

Kim and Rachel close up season 5 highlighting some of the major events on the continent and enjoying hearing some good news from friends of the podcast. Have a listen and you'll hear Grieve Chelwa, Anne Meng, TJ Tallie, Hilary Matfess, Judd Devermont, and Laura Smith share some great updates so we can celebrate some wins as we look back on this challenging year. … More Ep. 126: Season 5 Finale

Alhousseini Diabate joins us this week for a conversation about land access and food access in West Africa, particularly in Mali. This version of the episode is dubbed in English, but the original episode was conducted between Rachel and Diabate in French. You can find the French version of the episode on ufahamuafrica.com. Don't forget to also send us recorded clips of you sharing your good news with us! We will share everyone's good news in our upcoming season 5 finale episode. … More Ep. 125: A conversation with Alhousseini Diabate about land and food access in West Africa (English)

Alhousseini Diabate joins us this week for a conversation about land access and food access in West Africa, particularly in Mali. Rachel interviews Diabate in French, but check out a dubbed version of the conversation in English on ufahamuafrica.com. Don't forget to also send us recorded clips of you sharing your good news with us! We will share everyone's good news in our upcoming season 5 finale episode. … More Ep. 125: A conversation with Alhousseini Diabate about land and food access in West Africa (French)

Joining us this week is Tarila Marclint Ebiede, adjunct assistant professor of international affairs at Brussels School of Governance, Brussels, Belgium. His research examines the reintegration of ex-combatants, political violence, the impact of violent conflicts on local governance, youth and violence, peacebuilding and security in Nigeria. We talk to him about his research, the recent news of a fallen military jet plane in Nigeria, and his new Conflict Research Network (CORN) West Africa initiative. In the news wrap, Kim and Rachel talk about that fallen military jet in Nigeria and share updates on the books you should be reading. … More Ep. 124: A conversation with Tarila Marclint Ebiede about about violence and governance in Nigeria

Earlier this year, Liliane Umubyeyi and Amah Edoh joined Cornell University's Institute for European Studies to talk about their collaborative work on reparations, especially related to Belgium and the Democratic Republic of Congo. We share selected excerpts of their talk in this week's episode, and you can find a link to watch the full panel in this week's show notes. In the news wrap, Kim and Rachel talk about the arrest of former South African President Jacob Zuma and the subsequent protests. Plus, more about COVID vaccines on the African continent. … More Ep. 123: A conversation with Liliane Umubyeyi and Amah Edoh on reparations

Hear more of our conversation with Nanjala Nyabola, continued from Ep. 113: A conversation with Nanjala Nyabola. In this podcast mash-up with Cornell University's Migrations: A World on the Move podcast. Their episode shares previously unaired parts of our conversation with Nanjala and Migrations postdoctoral fellow Eleanor Paynter. Nyabola's work and writing spans themes of migration, politics, and personal experience in her new book "Travelling While Black." Listen to the episode to hear her read excerpts from select essays. … More Hear Ufahamu Africa on Migrations: A World on the Move

In her book, "Branding Humanity: Competing Narratives of Rights, Violence, and Global Citizenship," Amal Fadlalla writes about the Save Darfur movement and how it gained an international following. We bring her onto the show this week for a conversation about her work and her expertise in Sudan. In the news wrap, Kim and Rachel talk about global climate change, more updates from the Tigray region of Ethiopia, the protests in Eswatini, and more. … More Ep. 121: A conversation with Amal Fadlalla

Hear us on Foreign Policy Playlist this week when Rachel and Kim talk about Ufahamu Africa's vision and mission and the show features Kim's conversation about the genocide in Ethiopia's Tigray region with Dr. Goitom Gebreluel from episode 117. … More Hear Ufahamu Africa on Foreign Policy Playlist

Joining us this week is friend of the show, Zachariah Mampilly! He speaks with Kim about researching and teaching African politics, as well as his Program on African Social Research (PASR) which supports junior African scholars as they work to publish in academic journals. In the news wrap, Kim and Rachel talk about the Islamic State in Mozambique, news from Nigeria, and political updates in Côte d'Ivoire. … More Ep. 120: A conversation with Zachariah Mampilly on researching African politics

In their upcoming book, "After the Arab Uprisings: Progress and Stagnation in the Middle East and North Africa," Shamiran Mako and Valentine Moghadam share their work on democracy and social transformation in North Africa after the Arab Spring. In an interview with Rachel, Mako and Moghadam talk about the six years of research leading up to the book and explain the four key frameworks of their analysis: state and regime type, civil society, gender relations and women's mobilizations, and external influence. There's no news wrap this week, but you can still see what we're reading, listening to, and learning this week in the show notes on our website, ufahamuafrica.com. … More Ep. 119: A conversation with Shamiran Mako and Valentine Moghadam on “After the Arab Uprisings”

This week, we are re-airing Kim's interview with Ashley Currier, whose work looks at LGBT organizing in Africa. Currier spoke to Kim about her books, "Out in Africa" and "Politicizing Sex in Contemporary Africa," visibility of African activists, and homophobia on the continent. In the news this week: a coup in Mali, volcanic eruptions in eastern Congo, and reduced food rations in Rwandan refugee camps. Plus, Kim and Rachel share a summer music recommendation! Don't forget to also send us your good news! We will be sharing the wins of our listeners in a future episode, anything from exciting graduation announcements to book publications to being reunited with a family member after getting vaccinated! Email us a phone recording of your good news to ufahamuafrica@gmail.com. … More Ep. 118: A rerun of our conversation with Ashley Currier about LGBT organizing in Africa

As violence and unrest in the Tigray region of Ethiopia continues, we bring Goitom Gebreleul on the show. Gebreleul is a researcher in international and comparative politics of the Horn of Africa at Hatèta Policy Research. In his interview with Kim, he shares the evidence that this is a genocide and tells listeners what they can do to help. There's no news wrap this week, but you can still see what we're reading, listening to, and learning this week in the show notes on our website, ufahamuafrica.com. … More Ep. 117: A conversation with Goitom Gebreleul about the genocide in Tigray, Ethiopia

Joining us this week are special guests Christina Cottiero, a political science PhD student at UC San Diego doing award-winning research on regional security issues in West Africa, and Expédit Ologou, the founder and president at the Civic Academy for Africa’s Future, an independent research think tank in Benin, and a Senior Political Governance Officer for the Benin Office of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. They join Rachel for a conversation about the presidential election in Benin and ongoing concerns about de-democratization in the country. In the news wrap, Kim and Rachel talk about Lesotho's political impasse, corruption in South African politics, connecting looted African art to the Black Lives Matter movement, and more. … More Ep. 116: A conversation with Christina Cottiero and Expédit Ologou about Benin

Robtel Pailey is a writer, activist, and academic whose recent book engages with the topic of citizenship in Africa, especially in Liberia. She joins Rachel for a great conversation about her work, the scholar-activists who influence and inspire her, and how to make our work ethical, emancipatory, and accessible. In the news wrap, Kim and Rachel talk about academic freedom in Zambia, the corruption trial in South Africa against its former president, and legal challenges surrounding closings of Kenyan refugee camps, and Twitter's move to Ghana. … More Ep. 115: A conversation with Robtel Pailey on citizenship and Liberia

Special guest Dan Eizenga, research fellow at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, joins us to share his expertise on Chad and the recent death of Idriss Déby. Listen to learn what happened, who is in charge of Chad now, and what it all means. In the news wrap, Kim and Rachel talk about new restrictions from the U.S. on Ugandan officials, share new resources like an edited volume on coronavirus politics, and a new postdoc opportunity on global racial justice available from Cornell University. … More Ep. 114: A conversation with Dan Eizenga on Idriss Déby and Chad

In a special podcast mashup with Migrations: A World on the Move, hosted by Cornell postdoc Eleanor Paynter, we interview Nanjala Nyabola on human mobilities, asylum, vaccine nationalism, and activism that centers human experiences. Her new book, Travelling While Black, is a collection of essays on her experiences traveling to over 70 countries. Plus, she offers us a number of African novels on migration that we should read next! This conversation was recorded at an event held on April 12 called Race and Racism Across Borders, hosted by Cornell University's Migrations initiative and the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. … More Ep. 113: A conversation with Nanjala Nyabola

We've got another deep dive episode this week, featuring a conversation between Kim and Rachel on COVID-19 vaccines, global distribution, and the difference between equality and equity. They also take us through some of the top news stories of the week, including ongoing talks about a hydroelectric dam on the Nile River in Egypt, the election in Djibouti, and more. … More Ep. 112: A conversation between Kim and Rachel about COVID-19 vaccines

Kim and Rachel take a deep dive into the protests in Senegal, explaining everything you need to know about what's happening and what it means. They also talk about the recent death of Tanzanian president, John Magufuli. And in lieu of a guest, we feature our student essay competition winner, Hammed Kayode Alabi! Hammed is a graduate student at the University of Edinburgh studying Africa and international development. He reads for us his winning essay, called "#EndSARS Movement We Will Remember." … More Ep. 111: A conversation between Kim and Rachel about the protests in Senegal

N’Dri Thérèse Assié-Lumumba joins us in conversation this week to discuss her new book, the history of human capital theory, education in Africa, and tells us what is giving her hope. In this week's news, we announce the winner of our student essay competition, share links to a virtual symposium on immigration and the changing dynamics of blackness, and talk about what is going on with COVID-19 vaccines on the African continent. … More Ep. 110: A conversation with N’Dri Assié-Lumumba about education and human capital in Africa