Ufahamu Africa

Not one guest, but three on our latest episode! Rachel speaks with Grace Adeniyi-Ogunyankin, Francis Nyamnjoh, and George Ofosu about postcolonial theory, decolonization of the university, and knowledge generation. All three have contributed to the Oxford Encyclopedia of African Politics, and we have access for our listeners to the chapters of our guests. … More Ep. 109: A conversation with Grace Adeniyi-Ogunyankin, Francis Nyamnjoh, and George Ofosu

In our last episode of Black History Month, Rachel interviews political theorist Adom Getachew on her new book, "Worldmaking after Empire: The Rise and Fall of Self-Determination." Her book reconstructs an account of self-determination offered in the political thought of Black Atlantic anticolonial nationalists during the height of decolonization in the twentieth century. We have lots of great recommendations for listeners this week, including books on race and feminism, a virtual event on African folktales, a virtual resource for those of us missing travel and fieldwork, podcast episodes you should listen to, and more! … More Ep. 108: A conversation with Adom Getachew on postcolonialism, worldmaking, and more

Jacqueline-Bethel Mougoué is an assistant professor of gender and sexuality in African Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In her conversation with us, she highlights her work in Cameroon on gender, identity, and nationalism, which has culminated in the publication of a new book, "Gender, Separatist Politics, and Embodied Nationalism in Cameroon." As we continue our celebration of Black History Month, we share what we're paying attention to right now. In addition to a film recommendation in this week's news wrap, Kim explains what is going on with COVID-19 vaccines in Africa, Rachel explains a case of environmental activism in South Africa, and more. … More Ep. 107: A conversation with Jacqueline-Bethel Mougoué on gender, identity, and nationalism in Cameroon

This week's episode features Cécile Fromont, an associate professor of art history at Yale University, who was a panelist for "Repatriation of Museum Objects," an event held by Cornell University's Institute for European Studies. She shares her perspective through four stories, drawing on her work as a historian of African and visual material culture in the early modern period. Listen to part 1 of this episode for more context about the event. … More Ep. 106: Repatriation of Museum Objects, Part 2

This week, we are sharing expertise from Souleymane Bachir Diagne who spoke on a panel last October as part of "Repatriation of Museum Objects" for Cornell University's Institute for European Studies. Next week, we will be sharing the expertise of Cécile Fromont, another of the event's panelists, as part 2 of this episode. In the news, Kim and Rachel talk about recent events in Ethiopia and Niger, how food security affects us all, and the recent transfer of power in the United States. … More Ep. 105: Repatriation of Museum Objects, Part 1

Happy New Year! We are back with our first episode of 2021, and a conversation between our co-hosts Kim and Rachel. On our minds from 2020: the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa, many of the elections held in the past year, and as always, we share what we are reading and the scholars and perspectives we're watching. … More Ep. 104: Looking back on 2020 and forward to 2021

Joining us in conversation this week is Cyril Obi, program director of the African Peacebuilding Network, to talk with Rachel about the geopolitics of oil in Africa, his work with the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Program, and the great work of the African Peacebuilding Network. And if you're still looking for gifts for your African studies friends, check out this week's news wrap where Kim and Rachel share the books we should be reading. In other news, we talk Ghanian elections, all of the happenings in the Sahel, and Malawi being selected as the country of the year. … More Ep. 103: A conversation with Cyril Obi of the African Peacebuilding Network

Nana Akufo-Addo has just won the presidency in this week's Ghanaian election with about 51 percent of the vote. We interview Noah Nathan, who has just published a new book on electoral politics in Ghana. He also tells us about his upcoming work on political brokers and party and state bureaucracy. Rachel and Kim tell us what's going on in African news this week, including in Western Sahara, the Ugandan election, and more about presidential term limits. … More Ep. 102: A conversation with Noah Nathan about the Ghanaian election

Why would a dictator create constraints to their own power? Anne Meng explains to us in this week's episode! Meng shares her expertise, which can also be found in her newly published article, "Winning the Game of Thrones," and book, "Constraining Dictatorship." In other news, Kim and Rachel cover Ivorian elections, term limits, and the insurgency in Northern Mozambique. … More Ep. 101: A conversation with Anne Meng about authoritarianism and leadership succession

Listen to our interview with Siba Grovogui about race and racism in international relations, in French! In this week's news wrap, Kim and Rachel talk about Zambia's COVID response, a crisis in Ethiopia, and the passing of Jerry Rawlings. We also announce our Ufahamu Africa essay competition. Submit a one-page essay reflecting on a topic of your choice within the broad scope of life and politics in African politics to win some podcast swag or a chance to read your essay on a future episode. … More Ep. 100: A conversation with Siba Grovogui about race and racism in international relations (French)

Happy #100EpisodesOfUfahamu! For our 100th episode, Rachel interviews Siba Grovogui about race and racism in international relations. You can listen to the interview in English or French! Kim and Rachel talk about Zambia's COVID response, a crisis in Ethiopia, and the passing of Jerry Rawlings. We also announce our Ufahamu Africa essay competition. Submit a one-page essay reflecting on a topic of your choice within the broad scope of life and politics in African politics to win some podcast swag or a chance to read your essay on a future episode. … More Ep. 100: A conversation with Siba Grovogui about race and racism in international relations

We are delighted to share this conversation between Nobel Prize winner Program of African Studies (PAS) and professor of English. Thank you to PAS for sharing this interview with us, which they hosted on October 2, 2020. Soyinka shares his thoughts on the American presidential election, the African diaspora, reclaiming African art, and more. Before the interview, Kim and Rachel share some news highlights, including election controversies in Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire. … More Ep. 99: Wole Soyinka in conversation with Chris Abani

In the news this week: #EndSARS, elections in Tanzania, and more. Kim and Rachel put these events into context and share what you need to know. This week's interview features guest host Patrick Mbullo Owuor in conversation with Denielle Elliott about KEMRI, Elliott's new research, and more! … More Ep. 98: A conversation between Patrick Mbullo Owuor and Denielle Elliott

Presidential elections are happening in multiple African countries, where we're seeing constitutional changes that allow presidents to seek third terms. Kim and Rachel also talk about the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Nigeria, the politics of education access, and a new report on migration in Africa. This week's interview features Lina Benabdallah—an expert on China-Africa relations—and the links between China and Africa (plus, her new book!). … More Ep. 97: A conversation with Lina Benabdallah on the link between China and Africa

Yonatan Morse, assistant professor of political science at the University of Connecticut, says that there have been three crises occurring in Cameroon over the last few years. He discusses them with Kim in this week's interview. In the news: 400,000 people have not been able to register to vote in Burkina Faso, the world is watching the U.S. election, and more! … More Ep. 96: A conversation with Yonatan Morse about the 3 crises in Cameroon

A lot is happening in the news! Kim and Rachel highlight some of the things they're seeing in their news feed, including: ECOWAS and Mali, African responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Takondwa Semphere's recent review of Beyonce's "Black is King." Kim interviews Oumar Ba, whose new book about the International Criminal Court highlights his expertise in international justice. … More Ep. 95: A conversation with Oumar Ba about international justice

We're back with season 5 of the Ufahamu Africa podcast! In this teaser episode, Kim and Rachel share what they've been reading, the conversations and guests they are looking forward to, and announce that the podcast has received funding from the Carnegie Corporation. Tune in every Saturday for new episodes that will continue to prioritize African perspectives as we learn about life and politics on the continent. … More Ep. 94: A conversation with our co-hosts, Rachel Beatty Riedl and Kim Yi Dionne

In this bonus recording, hear Ufahamu Africa host Kim Dionne (@dadakim) read her review of two recent books with insights on how increasing urbanization in Africa changes (or doesn’t change) politics and power: Noah L. Nathan’s (@noahlnathan) “Electoral Politics and Africa’s Urban Transition: Class and Ethnicity in Ghana,” and Jeffrey W. Paller’s (@JWPaller) “Democracy in Ghana: Everyday Politics in Urban Africa.”   The review was published in this past Friday’s installment of the 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 a review of two new books on what Africa’s urbanization means for politics

In this bonus recording, hear Ufahamu Africa host Kim Dionne read Emmanuel Balogun’s (@Ea_Balogun) review of  “The Political Life of an Epidemic,” written by Simukai Chigudu (@SimuChigudu), a professor of politics at Oxford University.  The review was published in this past Friday’s installment of the 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: Emmanuel Balogun’s review of “The Political Life of an Epidemic”

In this bonus recording, hear Ufahamu Africa host Kim Dionne read Laura Seay’s review of From Pews to Politics: Religious Sermons and Political Participation in Africa, a book by Rachel Beatty Riedl and Gwyneth McClendon. The review was published in this past Friday’s installment of the 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: Laura Seay’s review of “From Pews to Politics”