Selam & Hello

Does AI know what githeri is? Ben and Lilly, both self-proclaimed ‘African optimists’ discuss why the answer to that question matters for the children who need AI most. Nearly four years after his first appearance (unless you caught his episode on parenting last month!), global education expert Dr. Ben Piper returns to Selam & Hello. What began as a revisit of their 2023 conversation, Power in the...

Does your face light up when your child walks into the room? Lilly and her husband, Dr. Ben Piper, reflect on parenting while playing ‘Blame or Claim’, a game about the wins they'll take credit for and the fails they'll pin on someone else (her? him?). Lilly and Ben have raised four children in Nairobi, between Ethiopian and Black American traditions. In a rare episode with Lilly in the guest seat...

Does your face light up when your child walks into the room? Lilly and her husband, Dr. Ben Piper, reflect on parenting while playing 'Blame or Claim', a game about the wins they'll take credit for and the fails they'll pin on someone else (her? him?). Lilly and Ben have raised four children in Nairobi, between Ethiopian and Black American traditions. In a rare episode with Lilly in the guest seat...

What does it take to raise four children across two continents, and still like each other at the end of it? In this deeply personal Selam & Hello original, Lilly invites her husband of 27 years, Dr. Ben Piper, into the studio for an honest, funny and tender conversation about modern(ish?) African(ish?) parenting. After 24 years of raising four children and two decades on the continent, the two...

What does it take to raise four children across two continents, and still like each other at the end of it? In this deeply personal Selam & Hello original, Lilly invites her husband of 27 years, Dr. Ben Piper, into the studio for an honest, funny and tender conversation about modern(ish?) African(ish?) parenting. After 24 years of raising four children and two decades on the continent, the two...

#ClimateAction #SelamAndHello #LivingWithTheLand #PoliticsofWater In this final conversation for Selam & Hello’s Living With the Land series, Dr. Anna Msigwa traces the path that led her into hydrology, climate adaptation, and agricultural water management. Based at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology in Tanzania and also serving as a Research Associate at the Univ...

#ClimateAction #SelamAndHello #LivingWithTheLand #PoliticsofWater In this final conversation for Selam & Hello's Living With the Land series, Dr. Anna Msigwa traces the path that led her into hydrology, climate adaptation, and agricultural water management. Based at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology in Tanzania and also serving as a Research Associate at the Univ...

More than one billion people eat potatoes every day. Yet this familiar crop is often overlooked in conversations about climate resilience, nutrition and Africa’s food future. This episode is Part 2 of Living with the Land, a Selam & Hello series in partnership with the Australian High Commission in Kenya. Lilly speaks with agricultural scientist Dr. Dinah Borus, widely known among farmers as “...

More than one billion people eat potatoes every day. Yet this familiar crop is often overlooked in conversations about climate resilience, nutrition and Africa's food future. This episode is Part 2 of Living with the Land, a Selam & Hello series in partnership with the Australian High Commission in Kenya. Lilly speaks with agricultural scientist Dr. Dinah Borus, widely known among farmers as "...

Recorded live at the 2026 Nairobi LitFest on Mother's Day. What do our mothers give us beyond life? Language. Courage. Silence. Resistance. Sometimes even the freedom to choose a completely different life. Lilly Bekele-Piper sits down with three of today's most celebrated international writers, Safiya Sinclair, Dr. Nick Makoha and Lina Meruane, to explore the complicated inheritance we receive fro...

Recorded live at the 2026 Nairobi LitFest on Mother's Day. What do our mothers give us beyond life? Language. Courage. Silence. Resistance. Sometimes even the freedom to choose a completely different life. Lilly Bekele-Piper sits down with three of today's most celebrated international writers, Safiya Sinclair, Dr. Nick Makoha and Lina Meruane, to explore the complicated inheritance we receive fro...

(This episode is a special collaboration with @African Interiors. FULL episode can be found at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83vTSspY7jg&t=627s) What makes a house feel like home? Today, Lilly welcomes you into her Nairobi home, where Ethiopian heritage, Kenyan life and Pan-African design come together to tell one family's story. Lilly reflects on identity, belonging, creativity a...

(This episode is a special collaboration with @African Interiors. FULL episode can be found at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83vTSspY7jg&t=627s) What makes a house feel like home? Today, Lilly welcomes you into her Nairobi home, where Ethiopian heritage, Kenyan life and Pan-African design come together to tell one family's story. Lilly reflects on identity, belonging, creativity a...

What if the future of Africa isn't hidden beneath the ground—but growing from it? In this special episode that is part 1 of a series in partnership with Australian High Commission Kenya, Lilly Bekele-Piper sits down with one of the world's foremost voices on agriculture and food systems, Dr. Agnes Kalibata. From transforming Rwanda's agricultural sector to leading the UN Food Systems Summit, Dr. K...

What if the future of Africa isn't hidden beneath the ground—but growing from it? In this special episode that is part 1 of a series in partnership with Australian High Commission Kenya, Lilly Bekele-Piper sits down with one of the world's foremost voices on agriculture and food systems, Dr. Agnes Kalibata. From transforming Rwanda's agricultural sector to leading the UN Food Systems Summit, Dr. K...

Recorded live at the World Hope Forum: East Africa. What if culture isn't something we simply inherit but something we intentionally build? Fashion designer Katungulu Mwendwa has spent her career living that question. In this special episode of Selam & Hello, Lilly sits down with Katungulu Mwendwa, founder and creative director of Katush, for a moving reflection on identity, belonging, creativ...

Recorded live at the World Hope Forum: East Africa. What if culture isn't something we simply inherit but something we intentionally build? Fashion designer Katungulu Mwendwa has spent her career living that question. In this special episode of Selam & Hello, Lilly sits down with Katungulu Mwendwa, founder and creative director of Katush, for a moving reflection on identity, belonging, creativ...

The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily represent the official views, positions, or policies of the Australian High Commission Kenya. Selam & Hello has partnered with the Australian High Commission as they celebrate 60 years of partnership with Kenya for this special series: Saying the African Part Out Loud! In this final (an...

The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily represent the official views, positions, or policies of the Australian High Commission Kenya. Selam & Hello has partnered with the Australian High Commission as they celebrate 60 years of partnership with Kenya for this special series: Saying the African Part Out Loud! In this final (an...

The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily represent the official views, positions, or policies of the Australian High Commission Kenya. In the second episode of the ‘Saying the African Part Out Loud’ series with the Australian High Commission Kenya, Lilly sits down with Hemanshi Galaiya — Kenyan bioengineer, social entrepreneur, an...

The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily represent the official views, positions, or policies of the Australian High Commission Kenya. In the second episode of the 'Saying the African Part Out Loud' series with the Australian High Commission Kenya, Lilly sits down with Hemanshi Galaiya — Kenyan bioengineer, social entrepreneur, an...

The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily represent the official views, positions, or policies of the Australian High Commission Kenya. To commemorate 60 years of diplomatic partnership between Australia and Kenya, Selam & Hello has partnered with the Australian High Commission for a special three-part series: Saying the Africa...

The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily represent the official views, positions, or policies of the Australian High Commission Kenya. To commemorate 60 years of diplomatic partnership between Australia and Kenya, Selam & Hello has partnered with the Australian High Commission for a special three-part series: Saying the Africa...

In this poignant final episode of Selam & Hello, Lilly sits down with the extraordinary Ato Nagizy Gebremedhin—engineer, mountaineer, and a treasured elder of Nairobi’s community. At 90 years old, Ato Nagizy recently climbed Mount Kenya for the 14th time, exemplifying a life lived with purpose and resilience. Together, they journey through his Ethiopian and Eritrean roots, his groundbreaking p...

In this poignant final episode of Selam & Hello, Lilly sits down with the extraordinary Ato Nagizy Gebremedhin—engineer, mountaineer, and a treasured elder of Nairobi's community. At 90 years old, Ato Nagizy recently climbed Mount Kenya for the 14th time, exemplifying a life lived with purpose and resilience. Together, they journey through his Ethiopian and Eritrean roots, his groundbreaking p...