This week’s encore episode is a timely flashbackconnection with my guest, the Soul Food Scholar, Adrian Miller. Adrian and I went to primary and secondary school in the same school district—Denver Public Schools, and we also both attended Stanford University. I selected this episode to revisit this week because it represents two locals that have been integral to my global self. I’ve just arrived in Colorado from my undergraduate homecoming reunion weekend in California at Stanford University. What a time was had! And more on that later!

Adrian, known as the Soul Food Scholar, is an award-winning food writer, attorney, and certified barbecue judge. His latest book, Asian Heritage Chefs in White House History: Cooking to the President’s Taste, is the first-ever history of the many chefs of Asian heritage who have prepared meals for the president. Two of his books, his first in 2014 Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time and his 2022 Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue are the James Beard Foundation Award for Reference, History, and Scholarship winners. His second book, The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, From the Washingtons to the Obamas was a finalist for a 2018 NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction.” He is also featured in the Netflix hit docus-eries, High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America. In addition to his writing and speaking engagements, he is the executive director of the Colorado Councitl of Churches and, as such, is the first African American, and the first layperson, to hold that position.

Along with fascinating anecdotes about foods common on three sides of the Atlantic Ocean, you'll get a sense of how this lawyer by training found himself on a career path in service not only to his dreams, but to the uncovering, elevation and preservation of narratives about culture defining foods and food practices.

Where to find Adrian?
adrianemiller.com
EP135 on Glocal Citizens

Special Guest: Adrian Miller.

This week we continue to reflect on GlocalCitizens@5 and we’re flashing back to our Womens' Herstory series in March 202. Ghana-based, London-born international award-winning journalist, playwright, global public speaker and entrepreneur, Esther Armah – a self-described ‘global black chick’ – has lived, worked, loved, and created across three cities in three countries on three continents – London, New York, and Accra. She is the Executive Director of the Esther Armah Institute of Emotional Justice and she leads a global team in Ghana, Chicago and London. Her most applauded work, which she describes as “more of a purpose than a profession” is centred on the concept of EMOTIONAL JUSTICE.

Pubilshed in 2022, her groundbreaking book Emotional Justice: A Roadmap for Racial Healing argues that the crucial missing piece to racial healing and sustainable equity is emotional justice—a new racial healing language to help us do our emotional work. She continues to build on this apparatus with complementary storytelling expressed via her breadth of creative media expertise. As part of EAIEJ’s third annual September event HEALING HARM | HEEDING HISTORY, themed WELLNESS in the face of WARFARE she’ll be hosting a screening and dialogue for her short film '...goodbye to the EMOTIONAL MAMMY' later this week.
Saturday, 20th September @ 6pm
African Film Society
East Legon, ACCRA
Tickets are SOLD OUT but be sure to follow and sign up for a screening near you!

Where to find Esther?
www.theaiej.com
On LinkedIn
On Facebook
On Instagram
On YouTube

Other topics of interest:
Million Women March
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Steve Beko
Oliver Tambo
Women in the ANC
Truth and Reconciliation Commission South Africa
New Heritage Theatre Group
Danceworks London
www.iamadinkra.com
ICYMI - Nana Amoako-Anin's episodes - Part 1 and Part 2

Special Guest: Esther Armah.

This week’s guest, Tina Mbachu Obodozie first joined me in conversation in 2021, thanks fo the #BWiD Connect Whatsapp group. Since our first chat, she has shifted to a bi-continental lifestyle, based mostly in Nigeria as the new Exectuive Director of the Innovate Africa Foundation, while also managing her business activities in Canada. As a business and sustainable development expert specializing in business design, social impact assessment, and strategy development, her cross-sector career includes technology, natural resources, and the creative economy, where she has led teams, formed partnerships, and built development programs and incubators supporting market-creating innovations. Tina has worked with organizations like DMZ-a Toronto-based tech incubator and global startup ecosystem as well as Plan Canada, securing millions in funding and driving social and economic change. A recognized thought leader and ecosystem builder, she was named The Peak Emerging Leader 2024 in the Entrepreneurship category.

Where to find Tina?
@catalyst Venture
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What’s Tina reading?
Conjure Women by Afia Atakora

Other topics of interest:
About World Product Day
What is Product Development all about?
More about Innovate Africa Foundation founder, Christian Idiodi
What is a susu?

Special Guest: Tina Mbachu Obodozie.

This week’s guest is a dynamic activist that I had the pleasure of working with while distributing a documentary (see other topics of interest) featuring the work that has become his origin story in the world of Pan-African development. Hamzat “Hamzy!” Lawal is a global citizen, community organizer, an award-winning advocate and humanitarian who has successfully led grassroots campaigns in over 40 African countries. He specializes in practical issues associated with climate change, open data, advocacy and development policies affecting rural and deprived communities. He is the Founder of Follow The Money, a home-grown, Pan-African grassroots, data-driven initiative currently in 10 African countries. As the Chief Executive of Connected Development (CODE), an organization he also founded, CODE won the ONE Africa 2016 Award recognizing, rewards, and advances the exceptional work of African organizations; dedicated to helping the continent achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

When he is not social entrpreneuring, Hamzy sits on the Executive Board of the largest Youth Movement in Africa: African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC), and has joined his voice on different platforms and policy influencing coalitions across Africa such as the Not Too Young To Run movement which drives youth political inclusion. And also serves as an Education Champion with the Malala Fund, organization working for a world where all girls can learn for 12 years and lead without fear.

This is definitely a listening and learning opportunity with wonderful insights into the work of empowering the youth that are poised to lead the Continent.

Where to find Hamzy?
On LinkedIn
On Facebook
On Instagram

What’s Hamzy reading?
Love Does not Win Elections by Glocal Citizen Ayisha Osori

Other topics of interest:
The documentary that started it all Perspective
About Kogi State, Nigeria and the Ebira people
About #SaveBagega
Another side of Bauchi State

Special Guest: Hamzat Lawal.

This week on the podcast, our first guest, Cordie Aziz is back with fresh insights from her work and life changes since our first conversation. Cordie, now a mother of three is Founder and Executive Director of Enviornment360 an NGO turned social enterprise that has successfully executed sustainable waste management projects in urban and coastal communities in Greater Accra and Kumasi. Cordie’s achievements include creating of the first successful community plastic collection program in Accra; developing the first waste picker-run sorting center in West Africa; and successfully partnering with local and national agencies as the recycling coordinator for the city of Accra, to name a few. We recorded this conversation during the ramp up to their 10th anniversary celebration at their new headquarters. In this conversation, we catch up on how Cordie is designing her work-life balance with purpose, allowing her to continue to evolve as an entreprenuer while staying rooted in her new role as a working mother.

Where to find Cordie?
Check out the show notes from her first appearance.

Other topics of interest:
Jackson State University
GhScientific
About Australian Aid
What is Verra?

Special Guest: Cordie Aziz.

This week is the final installment in our collaboration with Bisi Bright’s Livewell Initiative and the Women of Africa Post-Pandemic Empowerment and Advocacy Programme with support from Gilead Sciences USA. In a fitting conclusion, Aggrey Aluso, the Director, Africa Region and global policy lead for the Pandemic Action Network, driving strategic advocacy efforts in Africa and globally joins the conversation. Born, raised and currently based in Kenya, Aggrey also serves as the incoming Executive Director of Resilience Action Network Africa (RANA), PAN’s networked advocacy partner, where he is mobilizing advocates to champion an Africa-centric, globally-facing resilience agenda.

He brings over 15 years of experience in advancing intersectional justice, using citizen-led, rights-based approaches in Africa. Previously, he served as an Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa’s (OSIEA) Health and Rights program senior manager. He also coordinated the Open Society Africa (Pan Africa) Vaccine Justice to advance Africa’s vaccine-related research, development, and manufacturing. He served as the University of Manitoba’s Global Institute for Public Health’s East African Policy and Advocacy Manager.

Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic, Aggrey offers excellent insights into the current M-pox crisis as well as a thoughtful discussion on the global policy landscape around elevating health as a human right for all.
All are invited to join this week’s program on Thursday, October 31st at 1PM WAT using this link

Where to find Aggrey?
On LinkedIn
On [Instragram](linnk https://www.instagram.com/aggreyaluso/)
On Facebook
On X

What’s Aggrey reading?
As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
21 Lessons for the 21st Century and other books by Yuval Noah Harari

Whats Aggrey watching?
The Lincoln Lawyer
New Amsterdam

Other topics of interest:
Nyanza, Kenya
More on Mpox and zoonotic diseases
UN Summit of the Future
The Global Fund
Kenya Finance Bill Protests
About Wangari Maathai
About the [Mpox Joint Action Plan](https://www.afro.who.int/news/african-cdc-and-who-launch-joint-continental-plan-scale-mpox-outbreak-response#:~:text=Priority%20actions%20are%20outlined%20for,comprising%20members%20from%20key%20partners.&text=About%20Africa%20CDC-,The%20Africa%20Centres%20for%20Disease%20Control%20and%20Prevention%20(Africa%20CDC,prevention%20and%20control%20of%20diseases.)
The Man Died Film

Special Guests: Adebisi Bright and Aggrey Aluso.

This week we're back in East Africa in conversation with Kenyan, Farhan Guled, coming to you in two parts. Farhan takes us with him from his native homeland to Europe and back to East Africa where he is currently Executive Director of Salaam Bank Limited in Kampala, Uganda; he has been instrumental is building the bank's start-up operation in the country. Born and raised in Kenya he began his entreprenuearship journey as founder of Maisha Fitness Center in Nairobi. Wearing many professional hats, Farhan is a "Multipotentialite Creative Thinker" offering an off the shelf business growth consultancy. As a visionary strategist, he helps businesses with the right intuitive and informative strategies that guarantee transformational growth. In his service endeavors, he is a board member of The Young Leaders of Finance (Le Club des Jeunes Dirigeants Financiers), which gathers young and mid-level professionals with various backgrounds who work with or within the financial sector taken in the broad sense. Some highlights of our conversation are Farhan's in depth tutorial on the links between Islamic finance and sustainable development goals as well as his delight with the sites and sounds of Uganda. Like me, I think you'll be ready to book your visit straight away!

Where to find Farhan?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On X

What’s Farhan Reading?
Burn the Boats: Toss Plan B Overboard and Unleash Your Full Potential by Matt Higgins

Other topics of interest:
On Islamic Banking and Finance
Salaam African Bank
Jinja, Uganda
Fort Portal, Uganda and traditions of the Tooro Kingdom
Kabale, Uganda: City of Peace
About Merck HQ Germany
Afrika Kommt

Special Guest: Farhan Guled.

This week we're back in East Africa in conversation with Kenyan, Farhan Guled, coming to you in two parts. Farhan takes us with him from his native homeland to Europe and back to East Africa where he is currently Executive Director of Salaam Bank Limited in Kampala, Uganda; he has been instrumental is building the bank's start-up operation in the country. Born and raised in Kenya he began his entreprenuearship journey as founder of Maisha Fitness Center in Nairobi. Wearing many professional hats, Farhan is a "Multipotentialite Creative Thinker" offering an off the shelf business growth consultancy. As a visionary strategist, he helps businesses with the right intuitive and informative strategies that guarantee transformational growth. In his service endeavors, he is a board member of The Young Leaders of Finance (Le Club des Jeunes Dirigeants Financiers), which gathers young and mid-level professionals with various backgrounds who work with or within the financial sector taken in the broad sense. Some highlights of our conversation are Farhan's in depth tutorial on the links between Islamic finance and sustainable development goals as well as his delight with the sites and sounds of Uganda. Like me, I think you'll be ready to book your visit straight away!

Where to find Farhan?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On X

What’s Farhan Reading?
Burn the Boats: Toss Plan B Overboard and Unleash Your Full Potential by Matt Higgins

Other topics of interest:
On Islamic Banking and Finance
Salaam African Bank
Jinja, Uganda
Fort Portal, Uganda and traditions of the Tooro Kingdom
Kabale, Uganda: City of Peace
About Merck HQ Germany
Afrika Kommt

Special Guest: Farhan Guled.

In addition to fascinating anecdotes about foods common on three sides of the Atlantic Ocean, you'll get a sense of how this lawyer by training found himself on a career path in service not only to his dreams, but to the uncovering, elevation and preservation of narratives about culture defining foods and food practices.

Where to find Adrian?
www.adrianemiller.com
On LinkedIn
On Twitter
On Instagram
On Facebook

What's Adrian watching?
Star Trek
Law and Order

Other topics of interest:
One America Initiative
John Egerton's Soul Food Cookbook
Southern Foodways Alliance
Red Drinks in Black Culture
Edna Lewis
Ultimate Braai Master
Kebab, Suya, Shawarma, Yakatori, Asada

Special Guest: Adrian Miller.

Where to find Bisi?
On LinkedIn
On Twitter
On Instagram
On Facebook

What's Bisi reading?
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

What's Bisi watching?
From Paris with Love

Other topics of interest:
Arewa24
Kanuri Language
IDP Camps
Lego Foundation
Shipt

When you click and purchase books using the link(s) above, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support!

Special Guest: Ayobisi Osuntusa.