On Sunday, President Joseph R. Biden’s administration began unprecedented mass deportations of Haitians, who have been entering the United States from Mexico. Why are they being treated differently than, say, Cuban refugees, who only have to set foot on U.S. territorial waters to be welcomed to America? Could race be a factor, or is it because Haitians are fleeing capitalism and not communism like Cubans? And why isn’t there outrage from Black leaders in the administration and Congress?
On Sept. 5, the Guinean military rolled into the Guinean presidential palace, overthrew the government, and arrested President Alpha Condé, who had been in power since 2010. The country is now under the military rule of Col. Mamady Doumbouya. The colonel has promised to hand over power to civilians soon. Will he, or is this another story of an African military dictatorship in the making?
In this episode, Nado and Okong’o give their views on the mess their surrogate homeland of the United States has created in Afghanistan, and how it will affect their homeland of birth, Africa.
Among the countries that have agreed to help the U.S. save face — if that’s even possible — is Uganda. How can one of the world’s poorest nations, which already harbors 1.4 million refugees, afford to take more? And what will happen those among the 2,000 Afghan refugees who won’t be approved to relocate to the United States? Could Uganda be setting herself up for getting stuck with someone else’s problem, or is this a smart move by President Yoweri Museveni to get hold of some American dollars?
Continue reading “Episode 72: An African perspective on the U.S. fiasco in Afghanistan”
Haitian American musical artist, Sophis, gives us some straight-talk insights into the historical context mainstream media often avoid when talking about his country of birth.
Haiti is a country with a rich history. It was the first Black nation to liberate itself from European rule, way back in 1804, when a slave revolt defeated Napoleon’s mighty French army and declared independence. That’s right — 80 years before the 1884 Berlin Conference, when European empires sat down and agreed to divide the African continent amongst themselves, Haiti had fought and defeated one of he greatest of them to become independent.
Continue reading “Episode 71: Artist explains Haiti beyond superficial coverage of political violence and earthquakes”
The population of white people is declining, according to 2020 U.S. Census data released recently. We offer some straight-talking survival advice to any white people who might be angry that they’re going to lose their majority and the privileges that come with it.
Whenever African leaders are asked why the continent lags behind in terms of development, they blame braid drain — the exodus of its most intelligent people. But are they right, or are they to blame for frustrating young people so much that they have to go looking of a dignified life elsewhere?
Our guest is Joseph Makokha, an engineer who studies and conducts research on engineering design with the goal of understanding how to design Artificial Intelligence to augments humans on thinking tasks. He is currently helping the Turkish Ministry of Education develop an Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning curriculum for its schools.
Continue reading “Episode 69: Does Africa have the right to blame brain drain?”
We speak with Salani Wamkanganise naGaadza, and Kelly Takunda Orphan, a husband and wife who are ambassadors of African music and culture. Salani, a Zimbabwean-born virtuoso, doesn’t just make music and teach people how to play mbira; he makes the instruments himself in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he lives.
Since 2017, Salani has performed and recorded with various mbira ensembles and bands. In 2020, UNESCO inscribed the mbira to be on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and Salani was one of two featured cultural ambassadors during the filming of the project in Zimbabwe.
Continue reading “Episode 68: Meet Wamkanganise naGaadza, Zimbabwean mbira maker, teacher, and cultural ambassador”On July 23, Sierra Leone’s Parliament voted unanimously to make the west African country the 23rd on the continent to abolish the death penalty. That’s a laudable. But is it enough, given the sorry state of the continent’s criminal justice systems — most of which are carryovers from the colonial days?
In this episode, we look at how the politics of ethnicity holds Africa back. Why are poor Africans willing to kill or die for wealthy corrupt goons like former S. African President Jacob Zuma, whose jailing for contempt of court has led to riots that have killed 276 people? Can we simultaneously fight corruption and support tribal kingpins like Zuma?
We look at how Robin Reecht, a white Frenchman –who after being in Kenya for only three days–managed to come up with a start-up idea that raised $1 million to improve Kenya’s “not-so-good quality” food. Why is it so easy for white people who know nothing about Africa to raise millions in capital to start businesses in the continent?
In this episode, we also honor one of the most iconic patriarchs of post-colonial Africa, Kenneth Kaunda, the first president of Zambia, who died on June 17 at the age of 97.
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