Who You Calling Poor?
Official figures say 46 million Americans live in poverty. Beyond that, there’s little about poverty that Americans can agree on.
Read MorePlaces
Gauging Poverty From Africa to Appalachia
New York — When New Yorkers find out I grew up in West Virginia, they often ask if I’ve read “The Glass Castle.” Jeannette…
Read MoreIf your only lens on Africa was the war on terror, what would you see?
An article in The Washington Post got Mohammed Ademo heated up. Ademo is the cofounder and editor of the Oromo citizen news website Opride.com,…
Read MoreTake that, narrative: Barbie & Ken’s Nigerian wedding
This is fantastic. H/T Glenna Gordon for this awesome photo series by Obi Nwokedi, who was inspired by an Italian Vogue project on a…
Read MoreGood News from Africa
Not that kind. Not the Gospel, and not heartwarming features about an NGO or a noble American doing good and fixing Africa. I mean…
Read MoreRegarding more than the pain of others
I have a new essay with the Boston Review, about suffering, compassion and foreign journalism (and other narratives) of Africa. I hope you’ll read…
Read MoreOn being an “African writer”
Nikita Bernardi has a piece in Think Africa Press about the Caine Prize for African writing. For Caine, “‘An African writer’ is taken to…
Read MoreTo mark South Sudan’s first anniversary, read this
Journalism loves anniversaries, and South Sudan’s first anniversary of independence (or, as it’s been dubbed in places, its “birthday”) is a naturally an occassion…
Read MoreWhat’s one thing everyone in the world things belongs to them?
Maggi! Check out Aurora Almendral’s fabulous radio piece about Maggi, that most ubiqutous of seasonings. It immediately brings Rwanda to my mind — and…
Read MoreThings to watch: On reproductive rights around the world
I’m in Kenya for a few days, at a meeting in a hotel that has TVs in the room, so I’m catching up on…
Read More