Kiki Edozie (James Madison College at MSU) compares recent corruption scandals in Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya.  She argues that democratic crises are closely tied to economic crises. At the end, the implications of these processes for African politics are considered.

Africa Past and Present: Episode 15 [ 32:33 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Patrick Bond (Director of the Centre for Civil Society, University of KwaZulu-Natal) talks to us about his new book Climate Change, Carbon Trading and Civil Society: Negative Returns on South African Investments (co-edited with Rehana Dada and Graham Erion, 2007). Bond discusses carbon trading’s effects on global warming, critiques free market approaches to climate change, and charts the rise of African grassroots movements for environmental justice.

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Professor Folu Ogundimu (MSU, Journalism) joins Peter Limb and Olabode Ibironke, an MSU graduate student in Comparative Literature, to discuss how the transformation of mass media in contemporary Africa has revitalized democracy and strengthened freedom of expression. Later in the episode, Alegi reports on the “Media, Communication, and Sports in Africa” conference, and speaks with Simon Akindes (University of Wisconsin, Parkside) about the joys and sorrows of global African football.

Africa Past and Present 29 February 2008 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In this episode’s first segment, Peter Alegi reports on the exciting conclusion of the 2008 African Nations Cup in Ghana. In the second segment, South African media scholar Sean Jacobs (University of Michigan) discusses his blog Leo Africanus, and shares his insights on the relationship between media, popular culture, and democracy in Africa.

Africa Past and Present 15 February 2008 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This episode focuses on African football (soccer), cinema, and literature. In the first segment, Peter Alegi reports on the first round of the African Nations Cup in Ghana. In the second segment, MSU Professors Ken Harrow and Safoi Babana-Hampton join us in a discussion centered around Harrow’s new book Postcolonial African Cinema: From Political Engagement to Postmodernism (Indiana University Press, 2007). Issues of authenticity, “truth,” self-expression, and the impact of new media connect the latest trends in African cinema and literature.

Africa Past and Present Podcast for 31 January 2008 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download