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Africa
World Books Review: Diary of Some Bad Years
One of literature’s greatest living authors, J. M. Coetzee, writes his own posthumous fictionalized biography, in which he airs his deepest fears that no number of awards or marriages or friends can ever fully dispel the universal human certitude that one is a talentless fraud and an unlovable misanthrope.
Being gay in Uganda
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A Ugandan government minister has said that a proposed law which includes the death penalty for some homosexual acts is “not necessary”. The bill submitted last October sparked international condemnation. Homosexual acts are punishable by up to 14 years in jail in Uganda. Jeb Sharp talks with Maria Burnett, Uganda researcher for Human Rights Watch, about the anti-gay bill. Download MP3
World Books: International Reads for the Holidays
“Your Face Tomorrow, Volume Three: Poison, Shadow, and Farewell”: the final volume in Javier Marías’s trio of spy novels extraordinaire is part of World Book’s idiosyncratic round-up of first-rate international literary stocking stuffers.
Death and denial in Nigeria
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A harrowing report has been filed by Caroline Duffield, the BBC’s correspondent in Lagos, Nigeria. The bodies of young men are literally piling up in a hospital in the town of Enugu, and have been for months, it has been alleged. Nigerian police say the men, many of whom are untraceable, were thiefs and armed robbers. But the family members of some who can be identified are disputing the claims. Download MP3
Sexual assault in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe
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A new report out today documents Robert Mugabe’s alleged campaign of organized sexual violence against opposition supporters during the 2008 elections in Zimbabwe. The World’s Jeb Sharp reports. Download MP3
US women’s colleges appeal to Muslims
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Many colleges and universities in the US compete fiercely for foreign students. But there’s one group of potential students that until recently went largely untapped: women from the Arab and Muslim World. More of them are now attending women’s colleges here, as The World’s Katy Clark discovered. Download MP3 (Photo of Mount Holyoke freshman Lubna Saqran by Katy Clark)
Windows 7 in African languages, unfortunate baby names, and the new Klingon
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Our top five language stories this month: African languages get their versions of Windows; the government of Moldova changes the name of the country’s official language; South Korean birthing centers go multilingual; unfortunate foreign meanings of baby names and how you can protect yourself; and Na’vi, invented for the silver screen, hopes to emulate Klingon.
Business in the Developing World, Part II
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A year ago, inflation in Zimbabwe was a mind-blowing 231 million percent. (And that was before the government stopped bothering to update the figure!) A new government came to power in February and life has much improved. The Zimbabwe dollar, or Zim dollar, is gone. But that has spawned problems of its own.
Stories from Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa, Bangladesh, India and Peru on Part II of this two-part podcast about econonics and business in the developing world.
Business in the Developing World, Part I
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Bank bailouts and Wall Street bonuses may enrage many in the United States, but they’re hardly top of mind for most people in places like Nicaragua, Senegal, and Peru. The majority of people in the developing world were poor when the Great Recession began, and they’re poor today. Do the ebbs and flows of the banks in London and New York impact their daily lives? Part I of this two-part podcast looks at econonics and business issues in the developing world.
Tech Podcast 268: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Returns!
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Tons of fun in this week’s podcast. The highlight is the return of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Eoin Colfer, who you may know as author of the Artemis Fowl series, has taken on the task of writing Book Six of Three in the H2G2 universe. It’s called And Another Thing… and we’ve got an interview with Colfer on this week’s podcast! We also hear about expert windmill builder, William Kamkwamba.
Tech Podcast 266: The Strange Case of Blogger Hossein Derakhshan
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The centerpiece of this week’s podcast is a look at the strange case of Iranian-Canadian blogger Hossein Derakhshan. He was jailed a little more than a year ago after returning to Iran. We hear about the twists and turns his life has taken in recent years. We also hear about some new research on Persian blogs, and about the world’s smallest FM transmitter! Oh, and a guy who has most of his life recorded digitally…and loves it.
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou
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Even though the music business continues to suffer economically, record labels are still releasing lots of old music that’s been re-mastered and tweaked so it sounds fresher than ever. Columbia is about to re-issue everything Miles Davis recorded for them. 70 CDs in total. But I want to talk about the music of an old band that few people in the west have ever heard of: “Orchestre Poly Rhythmo de Cotonou.” We hear more today about Orchestre Poly Rhythmo de Cotonou. Download MP3
Returning to Sudan
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A refugee named Valentino Achak Deng returned from the United States to his home in southern Sudan. Deng built a school there, with proceeds from a book based on his life. The book was written by author Dave Eggers. The World’s Jeb Sharp talks with Eggers and Deng about their friendship. Download MP3
Nazi Traitors, Hamid Karzai, Guinea
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On the history podcast this week a compilation of recent stories. Gerry Hadden tells us the story of a Nazi traitor who finally had his conviction overturned. Alex Gallafent tells us about changing U.S. views of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. And Marco Werman interviews Loyola University historian Elizabeth Schmidt about the significance of the September 28th stadium in Guinea. Download MP3
Ethiopia asks for urgent food aid
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The Ethiopian government has asked the international community for emergency food aid for 6.2 million people. The request came at a meeting of donors to discuss the impact of a prolonged drought affecting parts of East Africa. BBC correspondent Mike Wooldridge witnessed Ethiopia’s famine in the 80s. Now he’s back, Marco Werman talks with him. Download MP3
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