Africanist Press Podcast Service

This episode examines the Aboudi Bookstore and its role in Egyptology, the scientific and academic study of ancient Egypt. Established in 1909 in Luxor by Egyptologist and tour guide Professor Mohamed El Aboudi and his cousin, businessman Hamed El Aboudi, the Aboudi Bookstore is now run by third-generation family owners Taher Aboudi and his siblings. For more than 100 years, it has remained centra...

When Tanzania gained independence in 1961, Julius Nyerere saw publishing as a key part of decolonization and nation-building. In 1966, he founded the Tanzania Publishing House (TPH), putting state publishing at the center of building national identity and culture, and of bringing people together through language. Tanzania’s influence grew throughout the 1970s and 1980s. During this period, Dar es...

In this episode, we spotlight the Writers Association of the Gambia and its efforts to build a vibrant literary community, featuring Dr. Cherno Omar Barry, the Association's President, who shares inspiring insights into how Gambian writers are boldly shaping the nation's literary and intellectual landscape. Osman Kargo conducted this interview in Banjul, Gambia. This episode is part of the African...

In this episode, we explore how national libraries drive African development. Drawing on insights from Bakary Sanyang, Director General of the Gambia National Library Service Authority, we examine the real challenges facing Africa's national libraries and highlight how Artificial Intelligence and innovative digital tools can transform their management and operations. Osman Kargbo conducted thi...

In this podcast episode, we talk with Ousainou and Kathy Jagne, founders of Timbooktoo Bookstore in Banjul, Gambia. With 28 years of experience running an independent bookstore, they explain how bookstores shape communities and discuss ways to strengthen Africa’s reading culture. This episode of the Africanist Press New Democracy series uses Timbooktoo Bookstore as a case study to explore how book...

In this episode,  we feature a conversation with Laetitia Musheche, founder of BauHouse Arts Academy, on reimagining new technology in African classrooms and the need to build an all-African-centered curriculum for primary and secondary education across the continent. This episode is part of the Africanist Press's New Democracy Series.

In this episode, we focus on the Tripartite Agreement’s creation of a triangle of illegality, examining how it violated Sierra Leone’s Constitution and public election laws, and its ongoing threat to democracy and future elections. This episode is part of the Africanist Press's New Democracy Project series.

In this episode, we focus on why the Tripartite Agreement is regarded as illegal, specifically highlighting its legal and political implications. We also analyze how foreign organizations are actively working to uphold and strengthen the APC and SLPP’s ongoing practice of undemocratic power rotation in Sierra Leone. This episode is part of the Africanist Press New Democracy Project series.

In this episode, we expose how both the Maada Bio regime and its opposition allies undermine democracy in Sierra Leone by using deception, disinformation, and distraction to avoid accountability for social service failures. We show that these 3D tactics are not just tactics, but the driving force behind failed governance and a hallmark of illegitimate regimes. This episode is part of the Africanis...

In this episode, Dr. Chernoh Alpha Bah, editor of Africanist Press, discusses the ongoing political crisis in Sierra Leone, focusing on issues of accountability, extrajudicial killings, and the recent resignation of U.S. Ambassador Bryan David Hunt, whose involvement in local politics has raised concerns amongSierra Leoneans. The conversation also delves into the implications of foreign debts, par...

In this episode, we explore Sierra Leone's political landscape, focusing on the crisis marked by corruption, extrajudicial killings, and ongoing debt and development challenges since Maada Bio took office in 2018. We highlight the implications of these human rights violations for the 2028 elections and the future of democracy in the country.

In this episode, we discuss the increasing legitimacy crisis facing the Maada Bio regime in Sierra Leone. We examine the regime's agenda as it prepares for the upcoming 2028 elections. Additionally, we highlight why the 2028 elections pose a significant challenge to the political and elite alliances that have maintained power in Sierra Leone since 1961. This episode is part of the Voice from E...

In this exclusive interview, Africanist Press editor, Dr. Chernoh Alpha Bah talks to journalists Ryan Grim and Emily Jashinsky of the Counter Point Show about "USAID Cuts and the Need to Rethink Future US-Africa Relations.” You can order the book, The Ebola Outbreak in West Africa: Corporate Gangsters, Multinationals, and Rogue Politicians, here: https://www.amazon.com/Ebola-Outbreak-West-Afr...

This episode presents RSF's Sadibou Marong's keynote address at the conference on “Media and Democracy in Africa” held from April 17-18, 2025 at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University.  The conference, which brought together journalists, academics, and press freedom advocates from Africa, Europe, and USA, was organized by Dr. Chernoh Alpha M. Bah and...

This episode is a presentation by Dr. Chernoh Alpha M. Bah during a two-day conference on "Media and Democracy in Africa" held from April 17-18, 2025 at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University. The conference, which brought together journalists from Africa, Europe, and United States, was organized by Dr. Chernoh Alpha M. Bah and sponsored by the Afri...

In this episode, Africanist Press editor, Dr. Chernoh Alpha Bah gives a report on free speech and academic freedom violations in Sierra Leone. The presentation, which highlighted the harassment and attacks on the Africanist Press by Sierra Leone politicians, is part of 2025 annual meeting of the Committee of Concerned Scientists (CCS). To watch the full video of the proceedings, click here.

In mid-January, unidentified individuals broke into the offices of a human rights organization, Nouveaux Droits de l’Homme (NDH) in Yaoundé, Cameroon taking away essential documents and office equipment. The looted materials included laptops and desktop computers, hard drives, projectors, video cameras, and other data storage devices. In this exclusive interview, NDH's executive director, Cyrille...

In this episode, Evidence Chipadza discusses civil society and youth empowerment in Zimbabwe with Tafadzwa Makore and Leniel Gava. This episode is part of the Africanist Press community voices series.

Sierra Leonean politicians have created a new anti-terrorism law that contains unconstitutional provisions designed to curtail citizens’ fundamental civil rights. In this episode, we examine the law's implication for free speech and multiparty democracy in Sierra Leone. This episode is part of the Voice from Exile series.

In this episode, Evidence Chipadza and Hazel Dendere discuss young women and politics in Zimbabwe. This episode is part of our community voices series.

The  International Peace Bureau (IPB)  has called on members of Liberia’s House of Representatives  to unite and end the ongoing parliamentary deadlock that has affected the country’s legislative activities since October 2024. In this episode, we talk to Tyson Smith Berry Jr. about the IPB’s petition and the need for unity and peace in the Liberian House of Representatives. To sign the IPB petitio...

In this episode, Yeukai Ottilia Munetsi talks to Didmus Dewa about climate change and adaptation in Zimbabwe. Didmus Dewa is a lecturer at the Open University of Zimbabwe. This episode is part of the Africanist Press Community Voices series.

In this episode, Cornelia Seliphiwe talks about the impact of party politics on social service delivery and human rights in Gweru, Zimbabwe's midlands province. This interview was conducted by Yeukai Ottilia Munetsi. This episode is part of our new African community voices series.

In this exclusive interview Africanist Press editor Dr. Chernoh Alpha Bah discusses his investigation into West Africa's Ebola outbreak, and why there is still need for an independent investigation into the origin of the outbreak. Bah is the author of the book, The Ebola Outbreak in West Africa: Corporate Gangsters, Multinationals, and Rogue Politicians. The book is available here on ⁠⁠Amazon⁠...

In recent months, more voices have emerged demanding a fresh investigation into the origin of West Africa’s Ebola outbreak, one of the deadliest human catastrophes in recent history.  In this episode, journalist Ryan Grim interviews Dr. Chernoh Alpha M. Bah about his investigation that challenged the origin story of the outbreak. Dr. Bah’s book, The Ebola Outbreak in West Africa: Corporate Gangste...