The making of a film empire
The book ‘Nollywood: The Making of a Film Empire’ takes a journalistic approach to that industry without falling back on the bombast of most popular accounts.
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Paul Milchick
Paul Milchik is a pseudonym for the author of this piece. His name has been changed due to his status as an international student in the US during the second Trump administration, in a context where foreign students have been targeted for detention and deportation as a result of expressing pro-Palestinian views.
Postcards from Rwanda
The 1994 genocide was an unthinkable mayhem that still frames Rwanda, including how the government will write the narrative until 2034.
Africando in Colombia
A deep dive into the African-influenced music scene of the Colombian Caribbean coast.
AC Milan’s Moroccan problem
AC Milan, who wants to build an academy in occupied Western Sahara, is not alone in legitimizing Morocco’s occupation.
How did Fulani herdsmen become such bogeymen in Nigeria?
What is missing in this conversation is the question as to why and how a pastoralist community suddenly becomes a roving insurgency across the country.
The Lame Duck President
Reflecting upon the Jacob Zuma tenure at the head of South Africa and the prospects of a Cyril Ramaphosa presidency.
How to subvert the Hollywood Western
An interview with the South African director and writer of ‘Five Fingers for Marseilles,’ a Western set in that country, and starring an all black cast.
This film was not made to be shown in Egypt
The Nile Hotel Incident chronicles a brutal murder and cover-up, framed against the backdrop of the outbreak of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.
The New South Africa’s original ’State Capture’
The elite compromise of the early 1990s emphatically excluded the possibility of a comprehensive redistribution policy.
When Tiffany Haddish visited her father’s country, Eritrea
The comedian Tiffany Haddish has been hailed by Vanity Fair as “the funniest person alive right now”...
Hugh Masekela’s musical modernism
Masekela wanted to craft a sound that avoided “world music” caricature while not simply mimicking the American Bebop he was so enamored of.
Two Salafi Clerics Visit London
Their decision to wear “western clothes” in public, spark debate on modernity and morality in Northern Nigeria.
A Lion Among Men
In praise of the late Keorapetse Kgositsile, who became South Africa’s national poet laureate in 2006.
Davos Blues
Through poor judgement, poor oversight, and negligence the IFC, the private investment arm of the World Bank, too often appears to be doing more harm than good.
Future so bright
All things equal, we should have a new website within the next couple of weeks.
Asante Sana: The soundtrack to revolution
The writer, a student in New York City, on the emotional experience of living the Zimbabwe #NotCoup in real time online and away from home.
Cuba and the Black Pacific
A deeper look at the contemporary Cuban Hip Hop scene with Luna Olavarria Gallegos, one of the producers of the Afro Razones project.
George Weah’s biggest goal
Weah is poised to become Liberia’s next president. What will a Weah administration look like, and how will he govern?
Thomas Sankara’s Star
Sankara’s enduring popularity rests not only on his words, however much they resonate with today’s disenchanted and angry youth. It is also based on his deeds.
The Dutch disease (and its prescription)
Even in spite of a recent history of reactionary backlash, the movement against #ZwartePiet (Black Pete) has had some success.