You know who Gary Lineker is, and perhaps the Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan. But do you know who Abiden Jafari is?
Latest
The broader conversation about Afrobeats
Is Afrobeats more directly derivative of continental currents than diasporic contexts?
The deep authoritarian imaginary
Authoritarian populism isn’t the only authoritarian project we should be worried about, as Tanzania under the late John Magufuli showed.
The cemetery of cinema
Thierno Souleymane Diallo’s latest film traces his search for what is likely the first film made by a Guinean, in the process asking: how is a film culture possible when the infrastructure and institutions are lacking?
The roots of toxic masculinity in South Africa
In South Africa and elsewhere, toxic masculinity is an outcome of modern individualism rather than tradition.
Searching for identity
The award-winning Djiboutian author, Abdourahman Waberi, shares his reflections on writing, power and living with a disability.
Climate Politricks
A series on climate justice, tax justice and extractives in African spaces. Funded by Open Society Foundations. Guest edited by Grieve Chelwa.
A new documentary focuses on using the soil’s carbon absorbent properties to solve the climate change problem.
Social policy is essential to creating more just African countries. Why is it not the norm across the continent?
Culture
The projected versions of Dambudzo Marechera
With its new edition, Penguin Classics disfigures Zimbabwean writer Dambudzo Marechera’s novel ‘The House of Hunger.’
The cricketing phenomenon
The South African bowler, Kagiso Rabada, is arguably one of the best to play test cricket, and could retire as South Africa’s highest wicket-taker if the country plays more red-ball cricket.
The phenomenological real
A book by writer Melissa Thackway and director Jean-Marie Teno highlights an ethical and politically engaged partnership between filmmaker and film critic.
The ways of South Africa’s cricket establishment
In South African cricket, almost three decades after white rule ended, “local talent” means “local white talent,” even if you’re the national team captain.
Emancipation that costs servitude
Filmmaker Khady Sylla amplifies the voices of and gives visibility to the domestic workers tending to the homes of Africa’s middle classes.
Football
Everything the government does
On the South African Department of Tourism's pending sponsorship deal with Premier League football club, Tottenham Hotspur.
The value of holding on as we imagine an escape
As Iran withstands one of its greatest existential challenges, its men's national team would be forced to carry the weight of a nation’s despair on the field.
A pivot towards Africa
The positive reactions of Africans to Morocco’s performance at the World Cup are not outliers. Sport has often challenged outsiders' view of Africa's regions as disparate and disconnected.
The (African) Arab Cup
Morocco’s World Cup heroics are forging a new, dissident Third-World solidarity, reflecting the multifaceted nature of Moroccan identity itself: simultaneously Arab, African, and Amazigh.
Politics
Whose democracy?
In Israel, tens of thousands have demonstrated against the new right-wing government’s plans for judicial reform. But what of the Palestinian question? In this episode of the podcast, we discuss.
The future of South Africa’s Tripartite Alliance
On March 20th there will be a national shutdown in South Africa. On that day, join us for a discussion in Johannesburg on the effectiveness and future of the South African left.
To speak freely in Zambia
The Zambian state must make better concessions regarding free speech. The people have been demanding that since independence.
We don’t need another hero
In Nigeria’s recent election cycle, many citizens looked to Peter Obi for change. But the country needs people-led social transformation, not saviors.
Cut out of society
African women en route to Europe often land up stuck in Morocco, taking on precarious work as hairdressers and beauticians.
RADIO
This month on Africa Is a Country Radio, taking inspiration from the work of Chinua Achebe, we take a listen to the music of the post-independence era on the African continent.