I am starting a club for academics who agree that there is too much nonsense being published that asks no critical questions, omits engaging with theory and makes zero difference to the world.

The international development community isn’t adapting fast enough to official aid cuts. That’s a big problem. On the urgent need for a pivot to spending more time trying to supporting specific countries interested in boosting their state capacity; and catalyzing commercial revolutions in low-income countries.

The international development community isn’t adapting fast enough to official aid cuts. That’s a big problem.
open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...

Nnedi Okorafor to Deliver Prestigious Terry Lectureship at Yale University Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okorafor will deliver the Dwight H. Terry Lectureship at Yale University on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Established in 1905, the Terry Lecturesh...

Excited and nervous about this event. Ah yes, 2026 is 2026-ing. 😊: brittlepaper.com/2026/01/nned...

Living with palindromic rheumatism: a qualitative interview study AbstractObjectives. Palindromic rheumatism (PR) is an unpredictable and under-researched inflammatory condition, and patients with PR are at risk of develo

Palindromic rheumatism is unpredictable and under-researched

New study by Chapman et al captures valuable patient insights

➡️ Unpredictable flares & psychological distress
➡️ Frequent diagnostic delays
➡️ Lack of info on progression to RA

@rheumjnl.bsky.social #palindromic doi.org/10.1093/rap/...

Just a reminder: you are NOT unusual, weird, or unlovable if you have:

- no one to see on Christmas Day,
- no presents, or
- no contactable relatives.

Very few people live the idealised version on TV. Those of us who live differently—whether by choice or trauma—matter as much.

For many of us, sadness and grief are inescapable at this time of year. Knowing that millions of other people feel the same way isn't particularly comforting. But at least we know that there's nothing wrong with us.

What a line-up! An @antipodeonline.bsky.social first: a "longread" of 68 pages! Expect a splendid New Year's gift, when the issue goes to print early Jan!
@udadisi.bsky.social
@samar42.bsky.social @demonicgrounds.bsky.social
#geosky @darajapress.bsky.social

“We are nothing on earth if we are not first of all slaves to a cause — the cause of the people, the cause of justice and freedom.”
— Frantz Fanon, who died on this day in 1961.

🚨 🎉 Keep a lookout: ROAPE’s special issue Fanon at 100 drops in the next 10 days 🚨 🔥

#Fanon100

My former colleagues at French in Bristol are hosting the wonderful Prof Soulemayne Bachir Diagne, one of the most interesting contemporary philosophers thinking critically about the limits and potential of universalism.

You are looking back by discussing it here.

'Death of the Author' Is on the 100 Must-Read Books of 2025 Here's why it made the list

My novel DEATH OF THE AUTHOR is a Time Magazine “Must-Read Book of the 2025”, 🥰.

I’m pleased that they at least said the genre is “hard to pin down” (that’s an understatement because the novel contains multitudes).

Full list here: time.com/collections/...

“Island of Peace” - Mirage and shattered illusion Kisiwa cha Amani. Island of peace It was a beautiful story, a picture, a mirage — Tanzania, an “Island of Peace” floating in a turbulent region. We repeated the phrase until it became gospel, even as ...

“As the Swahili saying goes: ‘Mdharau maradhi, kifo humuumbua’ – He who ignores an illness is humbled by death.

udadisi.com/island-of-pe...

Tragic October 29: Tanzania’s Turning Point? - The Chanzo Who or what exactly halted the brief repose that characterized the then-celebrated first 100 days in office of President Samia Suluhu Hassan in 2021?

'Tragic #October29: #Tanzania’s Turning Point?' - thechanzo.com/2025/11/08/t... 🇹🇿🩸#MO29

Join TZ is Bleeding 🩸- Post faux-election trauma You were invited to join this live room

www.clubhouse.com/room/vgWcWAb...

Generations that have experienced double trauma as youth/children in #Tanzania 🇹🇿:

#GenX:

War in 1978-1979&Economic Crisis in 1982-1983+

#GenZ:

Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020+& #M029 Crackdown in 2025.

#truthandreconciliation #uhuru #freedom #haki #justice #healing #life #peace

A newly constructed high-rise apartment building rises into the gray sky above a tree-lined street lined with older, low-rise houses.

China dominates the narrative on Africa’s urban development — but what about Turkey? In Maputo, Turkish construction firms are quietly reshaping the city, largely unnoticed by researchers. Not all of these companies are here for fun—many of them are run by exiles linked to the Gülen movement.

@nnedi.bsky.social have you spotted one here?

😅

Also, because this conference is part of the Africana Studies Department and the audience was full of African professors, I could discuss what it means to be the child of African immigrants & how it defines my work & my understanding of masquerades without having to spend much time on context.

It’s always a joy to be in an academic space. I can discuss africanfuturism as opposed to defend it.

In academic spaces, I can finally move past the basic (you get a lot more time to discuss other things when you don’t spend it all rehashing definitions).

🎶🎵

This Little Light of Mine YouTube video by danaeandrea

"This little light of mine" Danae Andrea Howe with POCC Choir www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4wD... #music #freedom

This Little Light of Mine YouTube video by Fannie Lou Hamer - Topic

"This little light of mine" Fannie Lou Hamer www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhiV... #music #freedom

We Shall Not Be Moved YouTube video by Mavis Staples - Topic

"We shall not be moved" Mavis Staples www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQnl... #music #freedom

The Million Dollar Quartet - I Shall Not Be Moved YouTube video by Wesley7HD

"I shall not be moved" Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe6G... #music #freedom

Natasha Cloud at the podium on stage.

"I refuse to accept a world where people are punished for seeking safety or silenced for speaking the truth. I refuse a system that values profit over people and power over love." - Natasha Cloud

📞AAC 📍Seeing Like and Beyond James C. Scott (1936-2024)📍
📅Deadline : 28.11.25
👥Thomas Caubet, Pablo Corroyer, Donatien Costa, Coralie Douat, Léo Grillet, Guillaume Fauvel, Soline Schweisguth @ehess.fr @crh.ehess.fr , Margot Verdier
▶️ crh.ehess.fr/index.php?10...

Uses and abuses of the Murdock Atlas in social science research

CALL FOR PAPERS
A workshop at LSE next April on 'Uses and Abuses of the Murdock Atlas in Social Science Research'. We're looking for cross-disciplinary engagement to think critically about what this widely used source means, what it can & can't tell us. Submit by Nov 14
www.lse.ac.uk/economic-his...

▶ Rebecca Ferguson - Amazing Grace - X Factor YouTube video by Emma Allen

"Amazing grace" Rebecca Ferguson www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCVc... #music #gospel #spiritual