Stories: Radio
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Mali’s Voice of Reason
This June, as Mali’s three-year civil war sputtered to an end, representatives of the government, loyalist militias, and the rebels gathered here in the capital to discuss their country’s future. Just days earlier they had signed a provisional peace agreement. Now, they came together for a public discussion of the deal: not in...
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Senegal’s Sufi Celebrities
Parting a sea of bystanders and inquiring fans, a man with the air of a rock star strode into the Sen TV studios, in Dakar, Senegal. Inside, he silenced his four cell phones and sat in front of the green screen, a massive Koran displayed prominently before him, and got ready to hold forth for his audience, out there in...
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Radio y móvil, armas campesinas
Hace siete años en su casa de Nambala, un pueblo chiquito al norte de Tanzania, Mariam Ally, 50 años, rostro redondo y lozano, labios como gajos de naranja, pensó que se moría. Su marido acababa de fallecer de sida y ella enfermó del estómago durante cinco meses, medio má...;
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In Tanzania, Farmers Reap the Benefits of Radio
How do you share ideas – including potentially transformative ones – with people who do not have Internet access, are largely illiterate, and live far from paved roads? Even in today’s hyper-connected world, most farmers in Tanzania – who make up 75 percent of the country’s population of 48 million –...
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Hearing (New) Voices
Sue Schardt wants to mess with your mind. Specifically, she wants to mess with how you think about public media. A public radio veteran, Schardt is the executive director of the Association of Independents in Radio, a network of nearly 1,000 indie producers (disclosure: including me) whose voices keep you company on your commute. Schardt is also the mastermind of...