A55 Podcast: The Pulse of Africa

Ballet has long been seen as elitist — foreign, inaccessible, and out of reach for many across Africa. But that perception is shifting. As the art form gains popularity, a new generation of African instructors is stepping forward: certified, committed, and determined to make ballet more inclusive. In Ghana, Vivie’s Dance and Theater Academy is leading the charge, offering training to children from...

Calls for education reform across Africa are not new, but the one ingredient necessary to facilitate these reforms - data - is not readily available in many countries. The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) has rolled out a five-year initiative aimed at transforming how education data is collected, understood, and used across the continent. Inyang Umoren, Project Manager...

Africa's green energy transition is underway, but without dedicated funding, some countries may be forced to delay or abandon it altogether. Despite contributing less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Africa remains vulnerable to the impact of climate change. Research Fellow at the Climate Policy Lab at Tufts University and IPPG, Seth Owusu-Mante, unpacks the burden of the green tran...

By the end of this century, your native language may no longer exist. Already, over 300 African languages are said to be at risk or have already disappeared. How do we ensure the rest survive? Nigerian writer and linguist, Kola Tubosun, joins us with some thoughts on preservation, the power of archiving, and what happens when we lose what we inherited from generations before us. Read his interview...

Defining art may be difficult, but it is visible in nearly everything around us. For many of us, our impressions of art and artists have been ones of struggle, and at times being 'broke'. But today's generation of African artists has proven that art pays. So, what is with the hesitation many of us have about art? Essenam Dabla-Attikpo gives us an insight into the fascinating world of a...

From its print origins in the mid-20th century to its digital rebirth in the early 2000s, African-focused literary magazines have helped propel the careers of many writers. But with many of the digital magazines operating without external sources of funding, how sustainable are they in the long term? We speak with Nzube Nlebedim, founding editor of The Shallow Tales Review, about his writing and t...

While slavery in the American south has largely been documented in fiction including films and novels, the same cannot be said about slavery in the north of the country, especially in New York. Close to New York's City Hall is a monument honoring that tells the story of enslaved Africans who first arrived in the city in the 1600s. In this episode, we learn more about the African Burial Ground...

Since Black Panther's release in 2018, afro-futurism has surged into mainstream consciousness. But as that genre expands, creatives like our guest, Kwame-Michael Brako are pushing beyond it to tell stories that fuse African ancestral knowledge, cosmology, and futurism together. Kwame joins us to unpack this creative shift and share why after working on blockbuster franchises like the Avengers...

Sudan's two-year-old conflict which started as a power struggle between two military Generals shows no sign of ending soon. Happening alongside the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, many consider Sudan's conflict a 'forgotten war.' But how is it a forgotten war when it's become the worst humanitarian situation in the world with millions displaced, thousands killed, and half of the population a...

We've been away for a while ... sorry to have kept you waiting. But the wait is almost over! Our brand-new season starts Friday, August 1, 2025!!

Discovering one's true calling in life doesn't always come easily. Awe Ogon learned that the hard way. She studied law to please her father but realized after a few years of practice that she was not as passionate about law as she was about creating art, so she quit law and left her home country, Nigeria. Now, the author of 3 books and a collection of poems, Awe talks to us about how she found her...

Before Nollywood came calling, Collins Okoh worked for Nigeria's Ministry of Health while nursing a dream of becoming a novelist. But that all changed when Nollywood actor, producer, and director Funke Akindele Bello invited him to collaborate on her 2020 film, Omo Ghetto: The Saga. Since then, Collins and Funke have churned out some of the highest grossing movies in Nollywood history including A...

Esports is a multi-billion-dollar industry attracting young people from around the world. International and regional tournaments, including tournaments for university teams, offer players a pathway to becoming professional gamers. In Africa, esports is gaining grounds despite challenges such as the cost of accessing the internet and electricity cost. As many worry about the effect long hours of ga...

On January 29, 2025, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will lose three of its members. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger who have formed a new group known as the Alliance of Sahel States say their decision to leave the larger union is irreversible, yet ECOWAS says it will continue to engage their leaders until July 2025. Dr. Lassane Ouedraogo, a professor at Université Nazi Boni a...

Ghana has a storied tradition of storytelling and a wealth of writers, yet the commercial theater scene experienced a lull between the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2008, playwright, James Ebo Whyte, affectionately called Uncle Ebo, reignited the passion for theater with his play, "Unhappy Wives, Confused Husbands," drawing crowds back to the playhouse. Since then, commercial theater appears to have b...

On December 7, voters in Ghana will elect a new president and members of parliament. The presidential race is a rather unique one because for the first time in the country's history, a former president and an incumbent vice president are vying for the highest office in the land. In October, the country nearly ground to a halt as organized labor (union workers) threatened to strike to protest illeg...

As the year draws to a close, businesses as well as individuals like to take stock of their activities in the year that's ending and find ways to improve in the coming year. For businesses, it also means finding ways to thrive in an ever-evolving business environment. But what does it mean to thrive in uncertainty and what does it take? Organizational transformation consultant, Benjamin Yaw Manu w...

In African tradition, the elderly, especially ancestors are highly revered for their wisdom which they've passed down for generations through proverbs and even folktales. But in our modern world where patience for instance is more of a luxury than a virtue, relying on the wisdom of our elders may appear to be out of sync with our busy lives. Author and teacher of Malian ancestral traditions, Anna...

There's a 50/50 chance for students who gain admission to study a course in humanities at Ghana's premiere university, the University of Ghana, to be offered archaeology as a course of study. Fewer students out of the number minor or major in archaeology in their final year. It is one of the courses at the university many students would rather avoid. So why did Beatrice Darko-Yeboah (PhD) give up...

Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts to Nigerian parents, Dr. Adeoye Owolewa, popularly known as Rep. Oye , is leading the charge for America's capital city, the District of Columbia, to become the country's 51st state. Having moved to Washington D.C after his doctoral studies in Pharmacy, Rep. Oye made his first foray into politics on a dare which landed him in spot on the D.C Neighborhood Ad...

We're all set for the premiere of Season 2 of the A55 Podcast on October 4, 2024! Mark the date on your calendar and make sure you join us for the brand-new season of the show that connects Africa to the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Emil Acolatse founded the nonprofit, Free Inspiration Reaching Everyone (F.I.R.E) , the goal at the time was simply to expand upon his passion for helping others. He wanted to help young people discover their passion as they prepared for the future. Nearly a decade on, the nonprofit's focus has expanded to include providing a range of resources for young people in different communities in Gha...

Thousands of Africans leave the continent annually to further their education in Europe, North America, Asia, Australia among others. But as immigration around especially in the United States becomes a thorny issue, International Students are struggling to stay abreast of immigration regulations and how they impact their job hunt upon graduation. What should new and prospective students know about...

For close to a decade, Aisha Diori has been supporting education in West Africa through her nonprofit organization, Africa Everything . The organization has over the past eight years provided scholarships to students in schools in five countries across West Africa, renovated school buildings and provided school supplies to students. With a unique twist, funding for the projects comes from the annu...

As concerns grow around the world about the spread of misinformation and disinformation, one of the tools to combat the trend - media literacy education - appears to be lacking in Africa. A study by the University of Westminster's Communication and Media Research Institute revealed that media literacy, even in its broadest sense, was barely taught in six out of the seven countries studied. A repor...