The Digitally Native Podcast with Fungai Machirori

AI for African Languages: A Conversation with Bonaventure Dossou

My guest today is scientist, Bonaventure Doussou, who works with Lelapa AI which is developing AI solutions in African languages including isiZulu and Sesotho. It’s an episode in which we discuss some of the science behind AI, language technologies and the difference between large language models (like Chat GPT) and natural language processors (predecessors like Siri and predictive text).

Shifting Narratives about Africa: A Conversation with Moky Makura

In this episode, I am joined by Moky Makura, Executive Director of Africa No Filter. We talk through the importance of the organisation's work in shifting narratives about the African continent using storytelling,  the diverse storytelling techniques it supports and how. We also go into a deep dive around the narrative change work of Bird, the news agency Africa No Filter supports to champion the production and dissemination of African content. And we also explore the role and influence of new social media platforms like TikTok on Gen Z. 
Tune in!

Generational Digital Shifts in Kenya: A Conversation with Mark Kaigwa (Part 2)

In the second part of my interview with Kenyan digital and marketing strategist, Mark Kaigwa, we go into a deep dive around generations shifts in the Kenyan online space. Millennials, once the only generation with claims to being digital natives, have been usurped by Gen-Z. And ironically, they too have begun to adopt similar critiques of Gen-Z to those that they themselves experienced at the height of their digital output. We explore these dynamics, and many others, in greater detail.

A Brief History of Uganda’s #KONY2012: A Conversation with Rosebell Kagumire

On this episode, my guest is Ugandan feminist, thinker and writer, Rosebell Kagumire. Together we walk through the history of #KONY2012, a viral social media hashtag and online movement in response to the Youtube documentary, Kony 2012, produced by Invisible Children Inc, a United States based NGO. The film sought to bring a Ugandan warlord, Joseph Kony, to justice and garnered support from various Western celebrities and activists. But as it eventually turned out, the documentary featured many inaccuracies which Ugandans took to social media to redress. We talk through this moment and the role of Western social media framing  of Uganda and Africa at that time, and today.  

Archiving Sungura Music Online: A Conversation with Ranga Mberi

In this week's podcast episode, I am joined by Ranga Mberi, a Zimbabwean social commentator and curator of Sungura Central, a platform that he manages via Twitter/ X and on Tumblr, where he brings facts and history about  the Zimbabwean musical genre of Sungura to collective public consciousness. We discuss classist historical perspectives on the genre, why he does this work and why the Zimbabwean public digital archive matters.

Narratives, Storytelling and Agency Online: A Conversation with Brett Davidson

My guest on this week's episode is Brett Davidson, a consultant with many years' experience in looking at narratives, storytelling, agency and social justice and social change. We go on a wide and diverse conversation about the the role of social media in mediating what we believe about the world and look at this from a lens of current affairs  with among other issues - an exploration of the ongoing conflict in Gaza currently filling social media space. 

A Brief History of Kenya’s Digital Rise: An Interview with Mark Kaigwa (Part 1)

In this podcast episode I am joined by Mark Kaigwa, a Kenyan digital entrepreneur and commentator. We talk through the history of Kenya's digital presence, which remains one of the most powerful on the African continent  and for which the nation has been popularly referred to as the Silicon Savannah. We also talk through the 2007 Kenyan elections, the emergence of Ushahidi and spaces of digital communality like the iHub and the renowned digital force that is Kenyans on Twitter, or #KOT. Beyond digitality, we look at other factors that facilitated Kenya's digital rise the early 2000s and 2010s.

Documenting the history of Africa Is A Country: An Interview with Professor Sean Jacobs (Part 2)

In this second part of my interview with Professor Sean Jacobs, we explore more about the history of Africa Is a A Country, a blog promoting African thought leadership. We also delve into some narrative power dynamics about the platform, looking at why - for a long time - African diasporic voices dominated the platform's perspectives. 

What Made Alex Magaisa An Outlier Zimbabwean Social Media Influencer?

Zimbabwean influencers can largely be categorised along two lines; political influencers who engage in activism and politics and entertainers who thrive on comedic humour and/ or controversy. In this week's episode, I explore an outlier influencer - the late public intellectual, Alex Magaisa - who found the sweet spot between academia, acclaim and simplicity. 

Documenting the history of Africa Is A Country: An Interview with Professor Sean Jacobs (Part 1)

In this episode I interview Professor Sean Jacobs, founder of Africa Is A Country on the history of setting up this platform that has promoted pan-African digital intellectualism for over a decade. We talk through his impetus for setting up the platform as a South African given the often insular nature of South Africa’s content and knowledge production, and politics. We also talk about some precursors to digitality, like Dstv, which fomented inter-African cultural exchanges through the media.