June 22
Africa: Oxygen Atoms in 15-Million-Year-Old Giant Eggshells Reveal How Plants Reacted to a Hotter Earth - Study
Some periods in Earth history are so different from our own that they may as well belong to another planet. Many people are interested in the age of dinosaurs, or the Ice Ages, but… Read more »
June 15
Africa: Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim Crafted a Magnificent New Culture for South Africa
Adolph Johannes Brand was born on 9 October 1934 in Cape Town. He would become better known as Dollar Brand and then Abdullah Ibrahim, an artist of mixed ethnic descent who… Read more »
June 14
South Africa: The Story Behind Soweto Blues, Miriam Makeba's Famous Song About the June 16 Uprising
Miriam Makeba sang a famous song about the 16 June 1976 uprising in her birthplace, South Africa. The protest was a pivotal point in the fight against apartheid and white minority… Read more »
June 11
South Africa: How Traditional Music Helps the Elderly in a South African Care Centre
Being an elderly person in South Africa presents a range of challenges. Apartheid shaped diverse experiences of ageing and elderly care along racial and ethnic lines. In the… Read more »
May 12
Egypt: Why Was an Egyptian Mummy Stuffed With a Fragment of Homer's Iliad?
Archaeologists have found something unexpected inside a 1,600-year-old Roman-era Egyptian mummy: a fragment of Homer's Iliad. It wasn't placed beside the body, but inside the… Read more »
May 04
Uganda: Uganda's Bobi Wine On the Books (And Songs) That Shape His Politics
Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, is a Ugandan music star and political leader currently in exile. Framing his movement as a "people power" struggle by… Read more »
April 29
Zimbabwe: Rock Art, Dance and Ritual - What We Learned From Paintings in Zimbabwe
Rock paintings are found throughout Zimbabwe. They were made during the last 10,000 years by hunter gatherer groups and later by farming communities. Read more »
April 04
South Africa: Cape Fever - a Haunting New Novel From Award-Winning South African Writer Nadia Davids
There's a line in Cape Fever, the new book by award-winning South African novelist and playwright Nadia Davids, that doesn't just establish the story, it also makes a haunting… Read more »
March 26
Nigeria: Makemation - a Nollywood Movie That Shows AI in Action in Africa
A new feature film, Makemation, is an African coming-of-age story set in a time of artificial intelligence (AI). Read more »
March 20
South Africa: Diana Ferrus - the South African Poet Whose Words Reclaimed History
South African poet, storyteller, publisher, editor and activist Diana Ferrus (1953-2026) received a provincial funeral when she passed on 30 January. Read more »
March 19
South Africa: Zanele Muholi - Queer South African Visual Activist Cements Their Global Influence
South African visual activist Zanele Muholi's celebrated work centres the lives and experiences of Black lesbians and trans people. For more than two decades Muholi has used… Read more »
March 06
Africa: Why You Can Remember Every Word of a Song From 25 Years Ago - but Not Why You Walked Into the Room
While driving recently, a long-forgotten song came on the radio. I found myself singing along; not only did I know all the lyrics to a song I hadn't heard in 25 years or more, but… Read more »
March 15
South Africa: Memory Is Not to Be Trusted - a South African Memoir Traces the Search for a Family Secret
South African-born literary scholar Dennis Walder recently published an evocative life story called Amid the Alien Corn: A Son's Memoir. In it, he tracks how, even as a child, he… Read more »
March 12
Nigeria: Afrobeats Celebrates Cybercrime and It's Becoming a Global Problem
When former US secretary of state Colin Powell took to a London stage alongside Nigerian artist Olu Maintain in 2008 and danced to a song called Yahoozee, he almost certainly… Read more »
Tunisia: The Voice of Hind Rajab - Tunisian Director's Devastating Film About Palestine Is Up for an Oscar
The Voice of Hind Rajab made an immediate impact when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2025, receiving a 23-minute standing ovation and seven awards. More were to follow… Read more »
Senegal: Khaby Lame Is the World's Most Followed Tiktoker - the Story of a Senegalese-Born Star Who Sold His Identity
His name is Khabane Lame, but he is known worldwide as Khaby Lame. Born in Dakar, Senegal, he is the most followed content creator on TikTok. Read more »
March 11
Mali: Mali's Maestro of African Salsa - How Boncana Maïga Shaped Dance Music
The passing of celebrated Malian flautist, composer and arranger Boncana Maïga at the age of 77 truly marks the end of an era in the music of west Africa. Read more »
March 02
Africa: Why Are So Many Statues Naked? an Art Historian Explains This Tradition's Ancient Roots
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you'd like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Read more »
March 05
Ghana: Ebo Taylor Took Highlife to the World and Changed Ghanaian Music Forever
The news of the passing of Ghanaian highlife star Ebo Taylor on 7 February 2026 felt less like the loss of a public musical figure and more like the closing of a living chapter of… Read more »
Zimbabwe: Zimbabwean Artist Option Nyahunzvi Explores Cultural Values in a Bold New Exhibition
In Zimbabwe, hunhu is a cultural belief system that instructs us to embrace our neighbours, honour our elders and respect each other's rights. Also known as ubuntu, it's a way of… Read more »
March 04
South Africa: A New Face for 'Little Foot', the Most Complete Australopithecus Skeleton to Date
What did the face of our ancestors look like 3 million years ago? Meet the reconstructed face of "Little Foot" - the most complete biological Australopithecus specimen that ever… Read more »
February 26
Malawi: Prophets and Profits - the Art of the Sell in Shepherd Bushiri's YouTube Sermons
In a widely viewed YouTube sermon called 3 Types of Keys, a preacher, dressed in a sky blue Italian suit, holds a microphone and speaks with great assurance about spiritual… Read more »
Africa: Dance Scenes in South African Rock Art - a Closer Look At Ritual, Music and Movement
Rock art is widespread across southern Africa and includes a wide range of depictions such as human figures, animals, dots, handprints, and other painted or engraved imagery on… Read more »
February 12
South Africa: History With a Human Face and Voice - How Museum Theatre Gets Kids to Care About the Past
The facts of history are important, but try telling that to a classroom full of bored youngsters. One way to liven up the subject is to show that real people lived through… Read more »
February 05
South Africa: South African Novelist Lauretta Ngcobo Is the Subject of a Tender and Urgent New Film
Lauretta Ngcobo, who passed away in 2015, left a singular and impactful literary legacy in South Africa. Even in a life of exile and resistance to apartheid and white minority rule… Read more »
