Hyphenated, the Podcast

This episode features an interview with childhood friend of mine, Jane Igharo who just released her debut novel Ties that Tether. Mid-way through the episode we are joined by friend of the show, Kondwani Mwase from the podcast 54 Lights.Ties that Tether is available wherever books are sold.

Quotes referenced in this episode are from Wilkerson, Isabel. (2020). Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Random House Publishing

At the time of recording, Nigeria is experiencing a democratic revolution where it's citizens are asking for freedom from the oppressive police brutality, from the corruption, and demanding accountability for the acts of the state.This is huge for Nigeria, and this episode is a brief summary of the movement and its history.#EndSars#EndPoliceBrutality#AfricaisBleeding#AccountabilityNow

This episode is about the nomination of Donald J. Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and what it says about the prize itself.References:https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54092960http://www.nobelpeacesummit.com/nobel-peace-prize-copy/#:~:text=The%20Peace%20Prize%20has%20been%20Awarded%20to%20134%20Nobel%20Laureates%20since%201901&text=Alfred%20Nobel%20was%20interested%20in,his%20own%20views%20on%20peace.

This episode is a response to the horrific backlash that has come from Black and Brown communities after the shooting of Jacob Blake. It explores an immigrant theory and typology that helps listeners make sense of the harmful ideas.

An interview with Anita Rex, discussing the politics of love and beauty as depicted in the Netflix original series, Indian Matchmaking.

In this episode, we discuss the incredibly harmful treatment and complete disregard of the welfare of international students by the White House and then continue into a discussion of Tobi Oluwole's experience as an international student and the company he built to help them succeed.Learn more about Tobi and his team's work at www.the3skills.com

This episode includes my musings on the international human rights movement that has taken over the world. I speak about how I feel it might serve not only Black/Africans people in white countries, but Black/Africans and people everywhere.

This episode discusses two instances of anti-African sentiment that has arisen since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The racism and xenophobia against the WHO Director-General by the Chinese/Taiwanese and the post-colonial, white supremacist sentiments made re: clinical trials in Africa by the French.History of the Speculumhttps://www.history.com/news/the-father-of-modern-gynecology-performed-shocking-experiments-on-slaves

This episode is about interracial relationships and the depiction of Lauren Speed and Cameron Reid Hamilton's relationship on Netflix's hit show Love is Blind.

In this episode I discuss how Black History can often be convoluted with African History and how they can only be the same thing if we acknowledge each others contribution to the general movement against anti-Black racism.Sources:https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/the-most-successful-ethnic-group-in-the-u-s-may-surprise-you/86885/https://medium.com/@joecarleton/why-nigerian-immigrants-are-the-most-successful-ethnic-group-in-the-u-s-23a7ea5a0832

https://www.chimamanda.com/about-chimamanda/https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/3/15/14910900/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-transgender-women-comments-apologyhttps://thenewinquiry.com/blog/chimamanda-ngozi-adichies-solid-personal-achievements/Chimamanda is a 42 year old writer from Eastern Nigeria who has made her mark on African History through literature, but she is known and reputed by Africans for her refusal to accept the widespread ignorance about Africa and its various stereotypes.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is many firsts: (1) she is one of the first Liberians to receive a Nobel Peace Prize - she received her prize along with another one of her compatriots, Leymah Gbowee; (2) she is the first woman to serve as Head of State for Liberia; (3) she is the first INDIGENOUS Liberian to serve as Head of State for Liberia; (4) she was also the first woman to serve as Head of State of any African country - when she became president in 2006. Sources for this episode include: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Ghankay-Taylorhttps://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2011/johnson_sirleaf/lecture/https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/10/09/the-tearing-down-of-ellen-johnson-sirleaf-liberia-elections/

Fela Kuti was a controversial man, musician and activist and this Black History Month I have to give him his glory. He called out the greediness of Nigeria’s elite and discounted the legitimacy of western powers. A true freedom fighter who fought for those who were disempowered, Fela had a heart of gold and showed us what it means to have integrity and follow a moral code.

Today's episode is an interview with Nosa; in this interview we both discuss what we know about pre-colonial West African history and his new book, A Cry to War. It's a pre-black history month treat! A Cry to War is published by Ghagerian Publishing, RRP £8.18. ISBN 978-1-9162220-0-7. Available on Amazon paperback and Amazon Kindle.About the AuthorsNosa Odiase is a Kings College London graduate, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is a chartered engineer and has been working in the industry for over six years. Karen Pumpuni has been a primary school teacher for a year now, she enjoys being around kids and teaching them, although they can be a handful sometimes.https://www.facebook.com/A-Cry-to-War-113161640058314/Instagram: @odiase and @karyn_ntiamoaaTwitter: @enosa1Email: Ghagerianpublishing@gmail.com

This episode is a recap of the 2019 federal party platforms in Canada. It is being released 12 days in advance of the battle of 6 national parties who are all clamouring for the votes of Canadian citizens.

I learned about Melilla because they have a crazy wall that separates their little exclave, from the rest of what I will call for the purposes of this episode, Arab Morocco. Their wall makes the U.S.-Mexico border wall look like those flimsy child gates you have in your house when you have a toddler. In Melilla, the Spanish have erected a double fence lined with razor wire designed primarily to keep African migrants out.This episode is about the brutal attempts to keep migrants from sub-Saharan Africa out of the glorious hinterland known as the European Union - and it's an interesting take.

This episode will make the argument that xenophobia, nationalism and ethnic cleansing are interconnected and are all part of the continent of Africa’s recent history. First, I will discuss the ongoing xenophobic violence in South Africa, then I will explore the phenomenon of expulsion and deportation in both Nigeria and Ghana.References:https://qz.com/africa/1382194/xenophobic-attacks-on-migrants-in-south-africa-hasnt-stopped/https://www.dw.com/en/south-africas-politicians-feed-anti-foreigner-violence/a-48157900www.twitter.com/burnaboyhttp://atavist.mg.co.za/ghana-must-go-the-ugly-history-of-africas-most-famous-bag

Last week I went to watch Burna Boy perform at Rebel and unfortunately for me, he never showed up. Apparently he was stuck at the U.S. border for hours resulting in a very upset group of fans (myself included) berating him with negative commentary on his lack of professionalism and poor planning. As a disclaimer I should add that this is all conjecture. I have no idea why the man was stuck at the Detroit airport and why he waited until 10:48pm to let his fans know that he wouldn’t make it to the 8pm concert.This episode is a reflection of how I felt a few days after that Burna Boy concert, when I woke up with a slightly different perspective. I’ve spoken about this before but now I really want to drill down on the power of a passport.

Over the course of the 8 days that I spent there we explored urban and rural settlements and I got the chance to talk to Swiss people about their country, my countries and the world. This episode is about my experience and what I learned specifically about how the Swiss are handling their newfound immigration.. or what they call their “migrant influx”.

This episode of the podcast is an interview with my childhood friend Zakaria who ran for a municipal position in the city of Toronto in 2018. He ran at 28 years old as a Black, African, Muslim man--I felt that was brave and wanted to see how he did it.This is part of his story.

This episode is an interview with Zakaria Abdulle, a childhood friend of mine who ran for School Trustee in northwest Toronto in 2018. In this episode we discuss coming from humble beginnings, running for office in grade 8; how Jungle (a nickname for our neighbourhood) helped both of us explore our leadership abilities; how help shows up in the most unexpected ways; and how alive and well white, Christian privilege is in the city of Toronto.

Episode is all about the term alien and its implications on those who are referred to as such.Sources:Rosenman, Elizabeth. (2019). "This Year Let's Stop Using the Word Alien". Retreived from TheHill.com https://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/423570-this-new-year-lets-stop-using-the-word-alien

Growing up I was not allowed to go on sleepovers with people who’s parents my parents did not have intimate relationships with. I really felt like I missed out especially because my brothers could sleep on the sidewalk if they wanted to and it didn't feel fair. I also felt like my classmates were growing closer and closer. Eventually I just chalked it up to African parents don’t do the sleepover thing for their girls and that’s just that. Phillips, Lauren. (2018). Fifteen experts rise up to address sexual violence at Canadian universities. University of Calgary. Retrieved from: https://www.ucalgary.ca/utoday/issue/2018-10-24/fifteen-experts-rise-address-sexual-violence-canadian-universitiesRo, Christine. (2018). Why most rape victims never acknowledge what happened. BBC News. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20181102-why-dont-rape-and-sexual-assault-victims-come-forwardScully, Diana and Marolla, Joseph. (1985). “Riding the Bull at Gilley’s: Convicted Rapists Describe the Rewards of Rape. Social Problems 32:3, 251-263.

Investopedia says that wealth is is the accumulation of resources.First, I want to make you feel better about yourself by reminding you not to compare yourself with the white people at your workplace who have cottages!!! These properties are handed down from generation to generation. That cottage is likely the leftovers of a lineage of great wealth. Throughout this episode I want you to remember that we are not running the same race as them… and if you want to run that race, know that you will never catch up. Frankly, the best you can do is to hope your grandchildren do.Second, through this argument I want to illustrate how unfair of an advantage Europeans have over the rest of us. As I am making this world-systems argument I want to challenge you to humanize your favourite corrupt African leader—mine is Sani Abacha, we’ll hear more about him near the end of the episode.

Recently I was listening to Melinda Gates as she was interviewed by Oprah and she spoke about the work that she and her husband do in South Asia and Subsaharan Africa and I fell in love with her. This episode lists the reasons why.

This episode is the season finale of Season 2 of Hyphenated, the Podcast. This season was themed, Your Culture Raises You.UNESCO claims that there are currently 7,000 languages that are dying - they put them on a spectrum from vulnerable to extinct and they even track how many living speakers exist. I believe the data comes from the census data collected by each national government. My tribal/native tongue is called Idoma, and although it is not on the list. We are pretty sure this language is at-risk of extinction in the next generation.My central questions for this episode are: Is it healthy for languages to never die? What do we lose when a language dies?

Recently, I was at the Mayor's Black History Month celebration and to my surprise I heard Afrobeats. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would EVER hear Afrobeats in Toronto City Hall. That led me to think of how Chinedu's events and presence in the city has changed peoples awareness of Afrobeats and permitted the widespread acceptance of African culture as part of Black culture in Toronto.Today we’re talking about what it means to spread the culture. I had the chance to sit down with Chinedu Ukabam the creator responsible for Supafrik, Chinedesign, and is now putting his support behind “She Be Lady”. He is known as a tastemaker, known largely for the authentic vibe he creates at this events “Jollof Wars” and “Gumbo” and is a lover of African culture.The conversation you’re about to listen to highlights African culture’s journey to the top in the City of Toronto.

Often when Black History Month rolls around, we focus on the emancipation efforts that happened in North America. I get pretty offended that we don't pay homage to the emancipation efforts that took place in other Black spaces around the world, so this month I profiled people (their history, their accomplishments, and their legacy) in the hopes in expanding conversations about Black History to include all of the interconnected revolutions that have allowed for us to enjoy the freedoms we have today across the African Diaspora. Episode 38 is about Winnie Madikizela Mandela, the mother of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement.

Recently people have started to say things like “this person just so happens to be white, or so happens to be a man” I think it’s meant to say that we should not hold people accountable for things that are beyond their control.I agree with the premise.However, every single day people are held accountable for where they were born. 21 Savage is a recent.. and very public.. example of this.In early February, 21 Savage was arrested and held for 9 days because of an expired visitor visa. His visa expired 13 years ago. When 21 came to the U.S. He was 7 years old, just a child who was traveling with his mom.

Often when Black History Month rolls around, we focus on the emancipation efforts that happened in North America. I get pretty offended that we don't pay homage to the emancipation efforts that took place in other Black spaces around the world, so this month I will profile 4 people. Their history, their accomplishments and their legacy in the hopes in sparking conversations about what happened across the African Diaspora. Last week's episode was Kwame Nkrumah, this week is the Democratic Republic of Congo's first democratically-elected President, Patrice Lumumba.References:Smyth, Patrick. (2018). Brussels sets straight historical wrong over Patrice Lumumba killing. Irish Times (July 5).Wallerstein, Immanuel & Cordell, Dennis D. (2019). Patrice Lumumba: Congolese Politician. Encyclopedia Britannica.

Often when Black History Month rolls around, we focus on the emancipation efforts that happened in North America. I get pretty offended that we don't pay homage to the emancipation efforts that took place in other Black spaces around the world, so this month I will profile 4 people--their history, their accomplishments, and their legacy--in the hopes in expanding conversations about Black History to include all of the interconnected revolutions that have allowed for us to enjoy the freedoms we have today across the African Diaspora. Episode 35 is about Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, Sub-Saharan Africa's first independent state.References:Botwe-Asamoah, Kwame. (2004). Kwame Nkrumah's Politico-Cultural Thought and Policies. Routledge.Nkrumah, Kwame. (1972). I Speak of Freedom: a Statement of African Ideology. Greenwood Press: Westport, CT.

This episode is about how African celebrities are using their power and influence to redirect positive attention to Africa. In line with the value of Sankofa, these celebrities are really drawing attention to the continent and highlighting the importance of investing in small or large ways in the Black continent.

I recently celebrated by 28th birthday and felt invited my closest friends to my home to celebrate. This episode provides insight into the thoughts of four millennial African-Canadian women on the concept of womanhood and all that it encompasses.I think it is important to take moments in time to reflect on where you thought you'd be, what the world says you should be, and who you are.This is also a time when #metoo and #timesup have started to reshape womanhood and what we can come to expect.Thank you to Ashe, Cynthia and Janine for joining me on this episode; for being some of the best friends a woman could ask for; and for loving me unconditionally.

This episode is a reflection on how we give and receive from our loved ones in the African culture. I want us to remain cautious of some of our cultural tendencies and start to give more thoughtfully, carefully and wholly.Wishing all of my listeners a wonderful holiday season.

In this episode, King and I talk about what it’s like to be disconnected, poor, and Black in the City of Toronto. Music in this episode is “Black” by King. Available on iTunes and Spotify.

This episode is a reaction to a story in the paper about asylum-seeking refugees. It starts the discussion of how Canada wants and thrives off of its refugee programs, but those programs are anti-Black. I make the argument that this is one of the indirect ways that they show us that Blackness is not part of the Canadian national identity.

This episode is a reflection on the results of the 2018 U.S. elections for Congress, the Senate and Governorship.

This episode is a result of a discussion I was having with my friend about the problematic nature of the relationship between #MichaelandAngela on #90DayFiance and its implications for the way North Americans feel about immigrants.Music featured in this episode is "No Fake Love" by Lil Kesh.

This episode is an interview with Aisha Addo, the CEO and Founder of DriveHER, a ridesharing app based out of the city of Toronto (www.driveher.ca). Repping Ghana, Aisha was super down-to-earth, and a boss lady on all accounts. This interview touched on feminism, culture, Africa, sexual assault and much more.

On October 13th I lost a dear friend and a previous guest of the podcast, Nicole Lewis. I am reposting this episode to honour her, to remember her, and because at this stage in the grieving process I do not have the energy to record and release new material. Cancer kills. I hope to release a new episode for you all next week.Take good care of yourselves.

In honour of World Mental Health Day - observed on Wednesday October 10, 2018 - this episode is a discussion of how the experience of anxiety, depression and suicide are different for migrant communities, African migrant communities in particular.

During my time in Accra, Ghana I made time to sit down and speak to Bridget Boakye. Bridget is a partner in three startups in Ghana - Talents in Africa (talentsinafrica.com), Chale Kasa (chalekasa.com) and Africa Schools Online (africaschoolsonline.com). A true change maker and thought leader in Ghana.Since a majority of the interview was deleted, I have decided to make an interview out of the conversation we had after the real interview about being a part of the diaspora and the politics of the countries we know, love and hope to return to.

This episode is a recap of my recent trip to Ghana and Togo. There are a few surprises in this episode, and it provides insight into my experiences in Accra, Cape Coast, Kumasi and Tema in Ghana and Lome in Togo. Music heard in this episode is CCTV by Ghanaian artists King Promise, Sarkodie and Mugeez. P.S. I am moving to Monday release dates, Friday is too competitive lol.

This is the season finale of Season 1 of Hyphenated the Podcast. Season 2 will start on the first Friday of October. In this episode my father returns to speak about his migration journey. Migration for my family starts from migrating from a rural to urban context, to migrating from Nigeria to Canada. Personally, I find my father’s migration from the rural to urban context in Nigeria much more interesting than his travels to Nigeria. This episode includes a bit of both. Really what this episode focuses on is the burden that immigration places on the migrant. I have alluded in past episodes to issues I’ve had managing my dads financial support of his family, in this episode you hear his side of the story. Alcoholism is a big thing in my family, I clipped out the part where my dad spoke about both of his older brothers ruining their lives through alcohol addiction. There is a great tidbit at the end about my dad flying to Canada for the first time in first class! My dad and I really grew closer as a result of this episode and I’m happy to be able to reconcile our relationship as I’m sure some of you have had difficult relationships with parents not only from a different generation but from a different cultural context.

This episode is JAM PACKED! It includes my father’s migration story, continues with more Nigerian history than you could ever ask for and ends with a serious but brief discussion of the Nigerian Civil War, known as the Biafra War. My father’s story is the story of the subaltern. Oftentimes we place so much emphasis on how people with the same place of birth are the same and minimize the differences that make us who we are. When the British were colonizing Africa, they were unable to penetrate the Northern Region, thus Southern, Western and Eastern Nigerians were more affected by European influence, and received more access to education under colonization. My family is from the Middle Belt - located in what Nigerians call the North. Note that my father called me “Mommy” it’s an Idoma thing. Also, my mother appears in this episode, she was listening in, participating occasionally.

Music featured is "Africa Rising" by Davido, Diamond, Lola Rae, Mi Casa, Sarkodie & Tiwa Savage. This episode is the third edition of the My Africa series on Hyphenated. I sat down with my sorority sister (shout out to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated) Eden Hagos, widely known as Black Foodie, to talk about being Hyphenated. Eden is an Ethiopian-Canadian, born and raised in the small border town of Windsor, Ontario. In this episode we talk about Ethiopian Airlines, history, colonization, power, war, leadership, religion, culture and patriotism. In this episode, Eden reminds us that Ethiopia is an ancient, Holy land complete with palaces, monasteries, pieces of architectural history that colonization robbed from most of sub-Saharan Africa. We actually conducted the interview in an Ethiopian coffeeshop located in the Junction neighbourhood (St. Clair West and Oakwood) in Toronto. The spot is called Mofer Coffee, check it out!

Music featured is "Africa Rising" by Davido, Diamond, Lola Rae, Mi Casa, Sarkodie & Tiwa Savage. This episode is the second edition of the My Africa series on Hyphenated. In this episode, I interviewed Arthur Nsenga who is representing for the Central Africans. The Democratic Republic of Congo is perhaps best known for the reign of President Mobutu and the civil war they had from 1997 to 2003—a war that lines up with the years in which Arthur remembers leaving the Congo. But I think this interview is important because I know Congo as the home of some of the most friendly people, vibrant music (shout out to Awilo Longomba) and, beautiful cultures. In parts of the episode you can hear from K-Shana, Arthur’s beautiful girlfriend who helped to nudge Arthur through the telling of his story.

Music featured is "Africa Rising" by Davido, Diamond, Lola Rae, Mi Casa, Sarkodie & Tiwa Savage. I have recently been bothered by the majority of Canadians and Americans referring to Africa as one country. So I am recording five interviews with African immigrants to speak about their migration story. This episode features Nicole, an architect who is Zimbabwe-born, South-African raised. Nicole speaks a lot about the differences between the various places she’s lived and visited, and shares her knowledge with us offering a new perspective on development and progress.

I edited and reposted this episode, no need to listen again if you've already heard it. I interviewed my two younger brothers Joseph (who goes by Josef Adamu) and Idoko Adamu about their first trip to Nigeria and its effect on their personal and cultural identities. Nigeria was an experience in itself, but also allowed my brothers to meet many of our cousins for the first time. We discussed lots of aspects of our travel including: identity, empathy, corruption, family, support, and expectations. We also discussed difficulties around being Idoma, from a smaller tribe, a less fortunate background and from a large family. Music featured is “Not lucky, I’m Loved” by Jonathan McReynolds

Conversations about France's World Cup win have been trending since their big win on Sunday July 15th. So this episode adds a new perspective to the conversation while allowing me to get back to the crux of why I started this podcast... and that is that we are allowed to be two things at once.