Honestly Speaking with Antonia Howard

Sierra Leone is rich in natural resources — yet poverty remains part of the narrative. Why? In this episode of Honestly Speaking, Antonia Howard is joined by Andrew Lavali, a governance and public policy expert, for a deep conversation about how poverty is produced and maintained — not just through corruption, but through power, control, and public contracts. This episode examines the hidden layer...

In conversation with Zainab Bangura , one time presidential aspirant in Sierra Leone and now Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi, we explore values, civic responsibility, and the shared role of leaders, institutions, and citizens in shaping Sierra Leone’s future. Grounded in love for country, the discussion reflects on where we are as a nation, what has gone wrong beyond polit...

In Part Three of this special Honestly Speaking series for National Remembrance Day, the focus turns to prevention — and responsibility. Often repeated, “never again” can sound like a slogan. In this episode, it is treated as a question: what must be done to ensure Sierra Leone never returns to the kind of brutal conflict that defined the civil war? Through reflections from survivors, historians,...

This is Part Two of our special National Remembrance Day series. In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard picks up a difficult but necessary question: How did a country like Sierra Leone descend into war just thirty years after independence? Building on conversations from Part One at the Peace Museum and the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone, Part Two brings together voices who...

January 18 is National Remembrance Day in Sierra Leone. But what does remembrance really ask of us? In Part 1 of this special Honestly Speaking series, journalist and creative storyteller Antonia Howard begins a journey into memory, accountability, and unfinished questions from Sierra Leone’s civil war. This episode starts at the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone and the Peace Museum — place...

Across Africa, storytelling was how knowledge moved. It shaped values, preserved history, and held communities together. In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard sits down with Usifu Jalloh , widely known as The Cowfoot Prince — a storyteller, cultural practitioner, and educator who has dedicated his life to preserving Sierra Leone’s oral traditions and reintroducing them to new gener...

In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard sits down with Foday Dumbuya , founder and creative director of LABRUM London , for a thoughtful conversation about fashion as cultural storytelling, identity and power. Through LABRUM’s work, from references to African history and diasporic memory, to global collaborations with institutions like Adidas and Arsenal FC — the conversation explore...

Culture is often treated as something fixed. But culture is also lived — and sometimes changed by those bold enough to step into it differently. In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard speaks with Lala Bayani Sidibe — kora performer, girls’ advocate, and Miss Sierra Leone finalist — about identity, heritage, and women occupying spaces once closed to them. From performing the kora to...

Culture is often defended as “the way things have always been done.” But what happens when tradition causes harm? In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard sits down with feminist activist Josephine Kamara to confront the reality of Female Genital Cutting/Circumcision/Mutilation in Sierra Leone. No shouting. No finger-pointing. Just a conversation many avoid.

For over a decade, Joseph “Nashito Kulala” Koroma has been a quiet force behind some of Sierra Leone’s most defining sounds. In an industry shaped by limited resources, inconsistent standards, and a culture of “that’s good enough,” Nashito has built a reputation for insisting on excellence — often at personal cost, but always in service of the craft. This episode of Honestly Speaking looks beyond...

In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard sits down with legendary playwright, cultural curator, and founder of the Freetong Players, Charlie Haffner , for a deep, unfiltered conversation on art, power, and national identity. We explore: – How artists function as watchdogs , just like journalists – Why creative expression is a form of civic accountability – The role of theatre in docum...

Thirty conversations later, Honestly Speaking stepped out of the studio and into a live room full of truth-tellers, dreamers, and changemakers. 🎉 Hosted by Antonia Howard , this milestone 30th-episode celebration brought together some of Sierra Leone’s most compelling voices for an evening of laughter, reflection, and honest dialogue. The live panel — featuring Naasu Fofanah and Ibrahim “Beloz” B...

Everyone wants change, but what happens when the people trying to fix Sierra Leone are running on empty? In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard sits down with Ibrahim Yusuf (Beloz) Bangura to unpack the emotional weight of being a young Sierra Leonean today. They explore the tension between ambition and exhaustion, purpose and pressure, and what it means to care deeply about a count...

From “glow injections” and IV drips to lip fillers and body sculpting, Sierra Leone’s beauty industry is evolving fast — but not always safely. As more people turn to quick fixes and unverified beauty treatments, the risks are becoming impossible to ignore. In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard sits down with Dr. Ese Thomas-Macauley , Founder and CEO of Footprints Sierra Leone to d...

Drug dependency among young people in Sierra Leone is alarming and “Kush” has become a dangerous escape for those caught between pressure and hopelessness. But beneath the crisis is a deeper story about mental health, limited opportunity, and a generation trying to survive. In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard sits down with Dr. Abdul Jalloh , Consultant Psychiatrist and Director...

In Sierra Leone, the role of the journalist has never been more complex or more necessary. The fight for truth is happening in an environment where access to information is limited, resources are shrinking, and public trust in the media is fading. In this episode of Honestly Speaking , journalist and host Antonia Howard sits down with her longtime colleague Lamrana Bah , one of Sierra Leone’s most...

Leadership in Sierra Leone is often discussed through titles, politics, and power, but what if true leadership has less to do with authority and more to do with values, competence, and followership? In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard sits down with Dr. Modupe Taylor-Pearce , leadership expert and founder of the Africa Leadership Group , to explore what it means to lead with inte...

For years, farming in Sierra Leone has been seen as a last resort — something for survival, not success. But what if agriculture could be reimagined as innovation, opportunity, and national pride? In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard sits down with Lachaeveh Alberta Caizarine Davies , Miss Sierra Leone 2025 and Miss World Top 8 finalist, to discuss how her Dynamo Project (“Feeding...

In Sierra Leone, conversations about sex and sexuality remain taboo. In our homes, schools, communities, and even in policy, sexual and reproductive health is rarely named or discussed openly. But this silence comes at a heavy cost: high rates of teenage pregnancy, preventable infections, unsafe terminations, and futures cut short before they begin. In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia H...

In Part 1, we celebrated Sierra Leone’s UNESCO recognition of Tiwai Island and the Gola Rainforest with environmentalist Tommy Garnett. In Part 2, host Antonia Howard speaks with Bala Amarasekaran , founder of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, about what it truly takes to build a culture of conservation. From rethinking mindsets to linking eco-tourism, education, and national pride, Bala shares w...

Sierra Leone just celebrated its first World Heritage recognition with Tiwai Island and the Gola Rainforest — a milestone decades in the making. But beyond the pride lies a deeper question: can we truly build a future if environmental protection remains on the margins of our development agenda? In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard speaks with environmentalist Tommy Garnett about w...

Sierra Leone’s past is full of lessons ,but are we paying attention to the ones that matter for our future? In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard sits down with veteran educator Mrs. Cassandra Garber , whose decades of teaching and leadership give her a unique perspective on how far the country has come, what has been lost along the way, and what values we need to carry forward. Th...

We often say we have forgiven and forgotten the past, but have we really? In Sierra Leone, forgetting doesn’t erase trauma; it lingers, shaping our identity and our future in ways we rarely admit. In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard sits down with writer, historian, and human rights lawyer and advocate Joseph Ben Kaifala to explore the dangers of forgetting. From colonial legacie...

Democracy is not just about elections, it is also about citizens' participation. But how engaged are Sierra Leoneans in shaping the future of the country? In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard sits down with Valnora Edwin , a leading civil society leader and governance advocate, to unpack the state of citizenship in Sierra Leone. From political literacy and participation to fea...

In this episode of Honestly Speaking , Antonia Howard sits down with youth advocate Mariama Sahid to explore the state of youth engagement, leadership, and service in Sierra Leone. From political spaces to grassroots movements, we unpack the opportunities and barriers facing young people who want to lead. We’ll discuss how mentorship, intergenerational cooperation, and skills development can prepa...