Best Neo African Podcasts (2023)

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It's a Continent

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Thiaroye Massacre 21:44

2h ago21:44

21:44

On 1st December 1944, the French army opened fire on West African soldiers in Thiaroye, a suburb in Dakar, Senegal. These African soldiers previously fought for France during World War II, some even becoming prisoners of war in the process. Their crime? Asking for equal compensation for their war effort. We uncover this act of colonial violence tow…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

1
The Beach Boys’ Sonichu Album 1:26:56

15h ago1:26:56

1:26:56

What comes to mind when someone mentions the Beach Boys? Hot rods, surfing, California girls? Perhaps, if you’re a bit of a music nerd, you’ll know that they made a more serious, innovative album too, 1966’s Pet Sounds, often considered one of the greatest albums of all time. But a lesser-known chapter of the Beach Boys’ story is just how weird the…

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It's a Continent

1
The Scramble for Cobalt 24:38

14d ago24:38

24:38

In this episode, we delve into the world of cobalt, a critical material in the production of rechargeable batteries, especially Lithium-ion batteries that power our everyday devices such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, and electric vehicles. We explore the supply chain, mining, investment, and the future of cobalt. Discover the challenges of expl…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

1
The Neo-Victorian Neo-N@zi Lesbian BDSM Cult That Made Video Games 45:59

9d ago45:59

45:59

Title pretty much says it all. Even for Tor's Cabinet of Curiosities, this is a weird one.By toraparsons

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It's a Continent

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West African cinema: a Francophone perspective 32:50

15d ago32:50

32:50

We're joined by Dr Estrella Sendra: scholar, teacher, filmmaker, journalist and festival organiser based at King's College London. We bring marginalised African film into the spotlight as we learn about the origin of Francophone West African film and its pioneers. We discuss the genre's evolution - including its globalisation and top tips for getti…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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History’s Shrewdest Self-Promoter 45:26

1M ago45:26

45:26

"Weird-history" blogs and Youtube channels love telling the story of Timothy Dexter, a colonial-era Massachusetts entrepreneur who supposedly sold coal to Newcastle and mittens to the Caribbean, and made money each time. According to the stories, he became very rich on pure luck, despite being a blithering idiot the whole time. But is that true? Di…

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It's a Continent

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Albert Luthuli: Champion of Freedom 29:02

2M ago29:02

29:02

Meet Albert Luthuli, the first African to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent fight against apartheid. As the leader of the African National Congress, he became well-known in South Africa's anti-apartheid movement. In this role, his views on justifiable violence were tested and evolved. We explore his story of perseverance and courage. Fol…

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It's a Continent

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Cocoa: a Bitter Reality 31:22

3M ago31:22

31:22

Chocolate is something we all know and love to consume. However, it’s no secret that cocoa as a commodity has its roots in something a lot more sinister. Human rights campaigners continue calling on global chocolate companies to recognise the role the cocoa trade has played in enabling poverty and child labour, particularly in countries such as Cot…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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Of Course This Is Happening In Your Head, Tor. Why On Earth Would That Mean It Isn’t Real? 1:03:11

2M ago1:03:11

1:03:11

Ever had a witch steal your penis? No? Good for you. Thousands of people in times and places ranging from medieval Germany, to present-day Nigeria, to 1980s China, aren't as lucky. Penis-stealing witches are a scourge nearly as universal as death and taxes. How about this: are you hypersensitive to Wi-Fi? Have you ever gotten a strange headache aft…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

1
Louis Sarno, the White Pygmy of Central Africa 50:33

2M ago50:33

50:33

Working in the Netherlands after college, American drifter Louis Sarno heard a song on the radio that divided his life into Before and After. Not sure what had come over him, he immediately uprooted his life, traveling to the Central African Republic and attempting to integrate into a remote village of Ba-Benjellé pygmy tribespeople. Against all od…

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It's a Continent

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The CFA Franc: Neo-colonial currency? 33:54

3M ago33:54

33:54

The CFA franc is one of Africa’s most baffling and misunderstood currencies. Introduced in 1945 to keep France’s African colonies under control, it has withstood decolonisation. Today, the CFA franc operates in 14 African countries and remains managed by France. Its existence remains controversial, with the currency described as ‘one of the straitj…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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The Woman Who Would Be Pope 38:19

3M ago38:19

38:19

In the Middle Ages, it was widely believed that once, a woman had become Pope. Pope Joan, as she was known, supposedly infiltrated the ranks of the Catholic Church disguised as a man, rising all the way to the papacy, until she was found out in an accident and removed from office. While the story of Pope Joan was debunked in the Renaissance, most h…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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The Mystery of Rongorongo 43:48

3M ago43:48

43:48

Written language has only been independently invented a few times over the course of human history. Archeologists believe that it was invented in Mesopotamia first, then China, then maybe Egypt, then Central America - and then, some believe, on Easter Island, of all places. Artifacts from the remote, barren island are often covered in a regular, de…

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It's a Continent

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Andrée Blouin: Central Africa's unsung heroine 26:39

4M ago26:39

26:39

Andrée Blouin fought ardently for her belief in independence from imperial power. We look at her life, legacy and how colonial law impacted her experiences: from growing up in an orphanage, to losing her son from a treatable illness. Blouin used her experiences to advocate for women's rights both against traditional customs and European imperialism…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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Boris I, Pretender to the Throne 41:31

3M ago41:31

41:31

High in the Pyrenees mountains of southern Europe, in between France and Spain, sits the tiny, isolated country of Andorra. Since the Middle Ages, Andorra has been led by one of the most unique political systems in the world, with a Spanish Catholic bishop and the president of France as joint heads of state. The only time their rule over Andorra ha…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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Is There a Biggest Number? 49:08

3M ago49:08

49:08

No. Now that we’ve got that question out of the way, what’s the closest thing there is to a biggest number? What’s the biggest number we can conceive of? What’s the biggest number we’ve ever calculated? Surprisingly, there are concrete answers. Meet some candidates for the biggest number ever defined: Graham's number, Rayo's number, the Busy Beaver…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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The Lost Holocaust Movie Made by a Slapstick Comedian 46:50

3M ago46:50

46:50

The first mainstream Hollywood movie to tackle the Holocaust starred, and was directed by, Jerry Lewis, a lowbrow 60s slapstick comedian. Called The Day The Clown Cried and intended for a 1974 release, the very idea of its existence was met with disgust from critics, and it was left unreleased despite being almost entirely complete, a very rare phe…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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The Russian Navy’s Sunk Cost Fallacy 40:56

4M ago40:56

40:56

In a situation that may seem familiar to listeners in 2022, in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 Russia was finding itself humiliated, unexpectedly losing against a nominally less powerful, less significant power. With Russia’s Pacific naval fleet mostly decimated by the Japanese, Russia decided to move its Baltic Fleet out to the Atlantic, around the…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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Both Prospects are Equally Terrifying 43:59

3M ago43:59

43:59

How likely is life on other planets, really? It’s almost definitely out there somewhere - but it may be frighteningly rare. Then again, as mysterious radio signals and odd dimming patterns from stars suggest, extraterrestrial civilizations might already be trying to contact us. Have they visited us? Almost definitely not. But they might know we’re …

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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Where Have All the Locusts Gone? 38:19

3M ago38:19

38:19

In the late 19th century, locusts made large parts of the Great Plains nearly uninhabitable. They formed swarms the size of states, eating everything in their path, becoming a trope in Westerns to this day. And then they went extinct, over just a few decades. Their sudden disappearance predated modern pesticides and industrial farming techniques, a…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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HIM: A Blasphemous Lost Film; or, Does Jesus Is Gay? 50:24

3M ago50:24

50:24

The long and convoluted search for a lost 1974 porn flick about a young gay man sexually obsessed with Jesus H. Christ. Long thought to be a film critic's hoax, there is now sufficient evidence that the movie really existed, but no footage has ever surfaced.By toraparsons

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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Zambia Can Into Space 43:15

3M ago43:15

43:15

In the 1960s, as the US and USSR competed to be the first to land a man on the moon, the newly independent African nation of Zambia launched their own space program. Roundly mocked by the international press, historians and Zambians alike still debate what the Zambian space program really was: an honest attempt at reaching space on a shoestring bud…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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The Stonehenge of the Deep South 51:19

3M ago51:19

51:19

In a rural county in Georgia, fifty miles east of Atlanta, sits a mysterious monument. Stonehenge-like granite slabs are engraved with a message in eight common world languages, urging passersby to "maintain humanity under 500 million", "guide reproduction wisely, improving fitness and diversity", and "be not a cancer on the Earth", among other uns…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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Sex Raft 54:53

3M ago54:53

54:53

In 1973, 11 people, from all over the world, were set adrift on a raft in the Atlantic for 100 days, in order to prove a rogue scientist's theory that in isolation, men will fight to the death over their right to have sex with women. The experiment ended up in a peaceful, surprisingly wholesome place, to the chagrin of the scientist, who had done e…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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The Many Mysteries of My Immortal 1:02:57

3M ago1:02:57

1:02:57

Fanfiction has a surprisingly long and distinguished history - it's older than most forms of literature, and acclaimed authors from Alexander Pope to S.E. Hinton have all written fanfic of others' works. Nonetheless, the most famous fanfic in existence is still probably an anonymous, so-bad-it's-good 44-chapter Harry Potter fanfiction from 2006. It…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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Who Founded the Nation of Islam? 52:24

3M ago52:24

52:24

One of the largest and best-known Black nationalist organizations may have been founded by a white guy from Portland. Introducing the fascinating mystery of Wallace Fard Muhammad, a young, racially ambiguous man who showed up out of nowhere in 1930s Detroit, founded the Nation of Islam, and disappeared as mysteriously as he'd appeared. In the ensui…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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What a Story, Tommy! 51:13

3M ago51:13

51:13

He's a cultural icon for having directed The Room, a hilarious disaster of a movie, but Tommy Wiseau isn't just an entertaining weirdo, he's a walking mystery. Nobody knows where or when he was born, what country he is from, or how he got his massive fortune he used to finance the production of The Room - though people have their theories, and they…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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The River That Burned 46:05

3M ago46:05

46:05

In 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was so polluted, it caught fire. Supposedly, the revelation that a river could catch fire shocked Americans into realizing the toll they were taking on the environment, and paved the way for the first major environmental legislation - though that widely repeated story is largely based on a myth. The 1969 Cuy…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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Baseball’s Weirdest Hall of Famer 48:34

3M ago48:34

48:34

He was the best pitcher Major League Baseball ever saw, but he would often walk off the pitch mid-game to go fishing. He was a star actor, but he could never remember his lines. On multiple occasions, he saved people from burning buildings, to the chagrin of actual firefighters. He wrestled alligators, literally killed two birds with one stone, was…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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Town with a Secret 50:33

3M ago50:33

50:33

There are dozens of fake towns scattered across the United States - places with real buildings and all the apparent features of a real town, but no real residents or businesses. Most are on military bases, and are used as training sites for police or military agencies. Some are public enough that they can occasionally be visited by tourists; others…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

1
Meet The Mole People 51:54

3M ago51:54

51:54

In 1993, journalist Jennifer Toth shocked the world with her book "The Mole People", which described organized city-like societies of homeless people living in abandoned tunnels under New York City. Purportedly a work of nonfiction, the book drew a fair amount of flak - but there may be more truth to it than naysayers would care to admit.…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

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Wikipedia’s Biggest Mystery 45:31

3M ago45:31

45:31

The people with the most-translated biographical articles on Wikipedia are mostly who you'd expect: a rogues gallery of the most important and influential people of all time. With one glaring exception - a minor American actor whose Wiki page, staggeringly, is the 3rd most translated of any person ever, living or dead. Who is it, and more important…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

1
Dr. Goat Gonads: America’s Weirdest Conman 53:06

3M ago53:06

53:06

The life and lies of one of 20th century America's most unique and successful swindlers, a man who became rich and famous promoting a very strange (and dubiously safe) medical procedure, ran for Kansas governor twice (and won both times, though the state's political elite managed to prevent him from ever being inaugurated), and later fled to Mexico…

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Tor’s Cabinet of Curiosities

1
What Does It Do? 34:10

3M ago34:10

34:10

One of the most commonly quoted lines on the internet has no clear origin. Everybody remembers this quote, but nobody can agree on where it's from. There are two potential sources, but they raise more questions than they answer.By toraparsons

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It's a Continent

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Reparations to Africa: Action not Words 39:53

6M ago39:53

39:53

Calls for reparations have come at a time where we’ve seen the Head of State be removed in Barbados and the returning of looted items like Benin Bronzes, Patrice Lumumba’s tooth and skulls stolen during the Namibian genocide. In this episode we look at the case for reparations: its definition, political origin and what it could look like. Thank you…

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It's a Continent

1
Amílcar Cabral: Liberating Lusophone Africa 24:39

6M ago24:39

24:39

In this episode, we explore Lusophone Africa, that is, Portuguese-speaking Africa, through the lens of the revolutionist and Pan-Africanist Amílcar Cabral. Cabral played a critical role in ending colonial rule in Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde. We follow his story, legacy, and impact on the rest of Lusophone Africa. Follow us on IG: itsacontinentpod …

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It's a Continent

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Uganda's Environmental Challenge with Heizal Nagginda (rerun) 50:16

7M ago50:16

50:16

We're joined by Heizal Nagginda, a climate and environmental activist from Uganda, and founder of Climate Operation (@climateoperation). The organisiation's mission is to educate Ugandan children and communities about climate change and its intersection with other social issues. We discuss the effects of climate change in Uganda and the wider conti…

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It's a Continent

1
The Agojie: Dahomey’s Warrior Women 24:20

7M ago24:20

24:20

*This episode may contain The Woman King spoilers* The Agojie were fearless and skilled warrior women in the Dahomey Kingdom. By the mid 1800s, the all-female regiment was in its thousands, outmuscling rival kingdoms and participating in annual warfare. They lived in the royal palace and were taught how to fight and survive from an early age. Howev…

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It's a Continent

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Cabinda: a Complex Story 22:52

7M ago22:52

22:52

Cabinda is an exclave and province of Angola; however, this status is disputed and part of a long-standing conflict stemming from colonialism and decolonisation. This dispute has led to decades of conflict between Cabinda's liberation movement and the Angolan government. We discuss how this situation came to be and the present state of affairs. Fol…

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It's a Continent

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China X Africa: mutual gain or neo-colonisers? 26:48

8M ago26:48

26:48

As China looks for resources to benefit its growing consumption, African countries are looking for funds for development. We're now seeing Chinese state-owned firms building large scale infrastructure within the continent in exchange for access to minerals and oil. In 2000 Sino-African trade was 10 billion dollars. Just fourteen years later, this g…

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It's a Continent

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The voices behind the mics 49:18

11M ago49:18

49:18

To celebrate It's a Continent's Pub Day, we're joined by Juliana from No Shame in My Name Podcast, where she interviews us (on our own show - why not!) We discuss the writing process, our origin story, secrets behind the podcast and what we'd love our readers to take from our book baby. Follow us on IG: itsacontinentpod and Twitter: itsacontinent. …

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It's a Continent

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Kingdom of Aksum 20:00

11M ago20:00

20:00

The Aksum kingdom was a wealthy African civilisation and a major empire of the ancient world, thriving for centuries as a prosperous society and a spiritual home for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. During the kingdom’s peak power, it conquered southern Arabia. This episode sees us discuss the empire's rich history, and how amazing it is that a lot o…

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It's a Continent

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Burundi's Unifying Prince 25:39

12M ago25:39

25:39

Prince Louis Rwagasore was a key political figure in Burundi's history. He was known as the unifying prince as he worked to unite the country's ethnic groups, which Belgium had divided. In 1958 he established the Party for National Unity and Progress (UPRONA), and in September 1961, they successfully won the elections to lead an independent Burundi…

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It's a Continent

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Oil: Africa's neocolonial crisis 26:31

1y ago26:31

26:31

Africa contains five of the top thirty oil-producing nations, accounting for 85% of the continent’s oil reserves. However, unethical practices by some oil multinational corporations have seen social movements by host communities and human rights groups. Oil exploration has led to underdevelopment, pollution, and the eroding of traditional practices…

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It's a Continent

1
Uganda's Environmental Challenge with Heizal Nagginda 49:41

1y ago49:41

49:41

We're joined by Heizal Nagginda, a climate and environmental activist from Uganda, and founder of Climate Operation (@climateoperation). The organisiation's mission is to educate Ugandan children and communities about climate change and its intersection with other social issues. We discuss the effects of climate change in Uganda and the wider conti…

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It's a Continent

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Kony 2012: Activism or Slacktivism? 23:43

1y ago23:43

23:43

Around a decade ago, one of the first “viral” moments of the social media age took place. This involved American men launching a campaign to make Joseph Kony the most famous man in the world. Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) (which had existed for decades prior), had been indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. But …

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It's a Continent

1
Chagos Islands: Britain’s last African colony (rerun) 26:21

1y ago26:21

26:21

The Chagos Islands are located in the Indian Ocean, home to Chagossians. However, the islands' sovereignty remains disputed to this day. The UK continues laying claims to the islands, despite being urged to end its unlawful occupation. In this episode we’ll focus on the expulsion of Chagossians from their home country, and the steps the British gov…

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It's a Continent

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Nasser's Path to Presidency 21:15

1y ago21:15

21:15

Gamal Abdel Nasser was an Egyptian political leader and second post-independence President. Nasser joined Egypt's Royal Military Academy in 1937, and whilst in the military, he helped form the Free Officers Movement. In July 1952, the movement overthrew the monarchy in a coup and led Egypt into complete independence. Two years later, Nasser emerged…

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It's a Continent

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Guinean Market Women’s Revolt 21:37

1+ y ago21:37

21:37

This week we're in Guinea, looking at how the actions of market women went on to shape the policy of their nation through standing up against corruption. The cohesive nature of these demonstrations goes to show how market women became the most powerful collective group within their society. The revolt inspired other Guineans to speak up against Tou…

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It's a Continent

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Forming the African Union 31:45

1+ y ago31:45

31:45

The African Union (AU) was officially formed in 2002 with a vision to create an "integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.” In this episode we discuss how the AU came to be, its links to the Pan-African movement, and what the future holds for the continent under the …

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