This Helen DeWitt story is insane on so many levels.

because this country is so small, I know a kid who attends the school knocked out for referencing "Singapore"

In 1900, German colonial authorities hanged Mangi Molelia for resisting their expansion into what is now Tanzania. A few days ago, his great-grandson Tony Molelia visited German to pray with Mangi Molelia's bones, held in one museum, and to wrap himself in the cloak his murders also stole.

new year, and the neighbourhood nursery school is now a church with loud speakers and a shouty pastor. Pre-service choir practice started at 7.30 am 😩 *cue victory sounds!

To the Mother I Outlived — Off Assignment “You died 15 weeks after I was born. You and I, we breathed the same Nairobi air for 110 days. Hospital, home, clinic, maybe a church or two: These were the only places we saw together. Before tha...

" It’s an exercise in ridiculousness, being older than your mother." www.offassignment.com/articles/lut...

BES x Nairobi Print Project We've teamed up to feature some of the brightest writers, curators, and artists in Nairobi

For BES x Nairobi Print Project's feature I wrote about Dennis Muraguri's art. blackembodiments.substack.com/p/bes-x-nair...

the ducks were last seen two weeks ago! 🫣

Time. I remember watching the initial raid on Deya's house in Mountain View, and there were older children also.

"Having all recently received birth certificates...Some have chosen the name of one of the staff members who have acted as their de facto parents over the last decade, and they have all ditched the surnames Deya and Odera." www.vice.com/en/article/w...

the multiple Kenyan pronunciations of Black-backed Puffback are a source of joy

I had a conversation with Sera na Sauti podcast about my essay: seranasauti.substack.com/p/the-missin...

Shades of Green by Mwende Ngao - Stedelijk Studies Through a personal essay Mwende Ngao explores the complex relationship between urban life and nature in a rapidly developing Nairobi.

"Nairobi is an ugly city when it rains. The rain always rudely reminds us that it indeed is a swamp, and lately, the weather has become increasingly unpredictable. Climate change won’t leave any of us unpunished." stedelijkstudies.com/shades-of-gr...

were there ever maps/directories of towns listing all the locations of phone booths? Anyone know where I could find one of Nairobi?

Photo Essay: Breaking the ice Lewis Glacier, Mount Kenya's most studied, has lost over 90% of its mass since 1934. This dramatic loss is driven by rising temperatures and declining rainfall, both tied to climate change.

Photo Essay: Lewis Glacier, Mount Kenya's most studied, has lost over 90% of its mass since 1934. This dramatic loss is driven by rising temperatures and declining rainfall, both tied to climate change.

Nature’s secret soundscape: listen with me to the world’s quietest creatures While humans are more boisterous than ever, other species are talking too – this is what you will hear if you really listen

www.theguardian.com/science/ng-i...

East African Housekeepers Face Rape, Assault and Death in Saudi Arabia (Gift Article) East African leaders and Saudi royals are among those profiting off a lucrative, deadly trade in domestic workers.

For more than a year, my colleague Justin Scheck and I looked into why domestic workers from across East Africa, who are promised jobs and a better life in Saudi Arabia, continued to face abuse, starvation and death. Here's what we found.

So happy to have my writing in this edition

Too Many Cookbooks: A Vittles Sunday Supplement By Jonathan Meades, Yemisí Aríbisálà, Rosa Lyster, Ruby Tandoh, Guan Chua, Christie Dietz, Anissa Helou, Ibrahim Hirsi, Saba Imtiaz, TW Lim, Lutivini Majanja, Meher Mirza, Marie Mitchell, Rachel Roddy

Our first Sunday supplement is out today and it’s all about cookbooks - why we love them, why sometimes we don’t, and the feeling there may be too many.

Five essays and guides, featuring Jonathan Meades, Yemisi Aribisala, Rosa Lyster, Ruby Tandoh & more!

www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/too-many-c...

Odanga Is Still Fighting My maternal great-grandfathers were both directly affected by the First World War. Only one of them lived to tell his story.

I've been searching for my great grandfather, a Carrier Corp, who didn't return after the First World War, and I may have found him! Here's my essay about this journey republic.com.ng/vol9-no1/oda...

A screenshot of a Nate Silver skeet and response. It says: As an Elon Musk biographer, I would peg his IQ as between 100 and 110. There's zero evidence in his biography of anything higher And I want to repeat that now lest you think it a typo There's zero evidence, from his life history, of musk having anything higher than 110 IQ Nate Silver responds: He's an exceptionally smart and accomplished guy. The much better take is that high IQs serve as a force multiplier for both positive and negative traits. Like how can you be a remotely competent historian without recognizing that major events in human history are shaped by high IQ, high-agency people who are bad and/or flawed and/or dangerous.

Hi! Disability scholar here. IQ is a deeply racist and classist metric weaponized by eugenicists and used to claim the innate superiority of the white ruling class.

Stop listening to ppl who crow about IQ. Intelligence means nothing without compassion, humbleness, and owning one’s mistakes.

wueh!

"Did the fact of global abuse negate the necessity to speak on what was happening locally, I asked? Or was it one more insidious reason for killing the right to question what was going on?" bookartville.com/from-the-hor...

Lord Spikeheart: The Adept Read Stephen Kearse’s review of the album.

It's growing on me pitchfork.com/reviews/albu...

Why Kenyan scholar’s pit latrine has a ‘stinking statue’ of Trump African literature icon David Maillu has built a latrine with an imposing statue of Donald Trump.

The Kenyan Lit scene is lit or it's in the pits?🤭 nation.africa/kenya/counti...

🎉 yay!

did the thing I planned to do in January 2024 yesterday. A win is a win :)

Time to be blunt. With the disintegration of trad social media, AI BS, & the constant stream of distracting bad news, it is harder than ever to get readers for SFF magazines. If what we do is important to you, please boost our posts wherever you see them. ❤️🦄

It's 5 days till Christmas --- help us get some mums home for the holidays!

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