Podcasts about blackness africa

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Best podcasts about blackness africa

Latest podcast episodes about blackness africa

Think Again
Slavery in the Americas and the foundation of colonial narratives and practices

Think Again

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2023


Jacques and Jennifer talk about slavery in the Americas - how the enslaving of millions of Africans and their transport to the Carribean and the early US has played into colonial practices and narratives to this day, and has become integral to the global political-economy of capitalism. Indeed, without the 'labour resource' of slaves, capitalism would probably not have been as 'successful' in the US as it has ... And the traces of slavery in Australia are discussed with more to come next week...References:A terrific book has been a major source of information for this and the following program:French, Howard (2021 ) Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World (1471 to the Second World War) New York: Liveright Publishing CorporationAnd those who prefer a more narrative approach to this issue can read Isabel Allende's Island Beneath the Sea (2010) London: Fourth Estate (Collins); it depicts the last 30 years of the 1700s in Saint-Domingue, as it was to become Haiti thanks to the Toussaint Louverture rebellion. Many of the French colonists then moved to Louisiana just as it was to be sold to the growing US, where the cotton plantations took over the lead from the earlier sugar plantations in the West Indies... but always based on slave labour... A strong historical novel!

The Last Negroes at Harvard
Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War.

The Last Negroes at Harvard

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2023 65:00


 Howard French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for the Caribbean and Central America, West and Central Africa, Tokyo, and Shanghai. His book re-frames the story of medieval and emerging Africa, demonstrating how the economic ascendancy of Europe, the anchoring of democracy in the West, and the fulfillment of so-called Enlightenment ideals all grew out of Europe's dehumanizing engagement with the “dark” continent.

Ufahamu Africa
Bonus: Hear Laura Seay's review of "Born in Blackness"

Ufahamu Africa

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2022 6:53 Transcription Available


In this review from The Monkey Cage's African Politics Summer Reading Spectacular, Laura Seay tells us that Born in Blackness is a compelling, unforgettable read.  Hear the full review on today's bonus episode!Review read by Ami Tamakloe.Books, Links, & ArticlesBorn in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War by Howard French"Born in Blackness is a compelling, unforgettable read" by Laura Seay

Sinica Podcast
Overreach and overreaction, with Susan Shirk

Sinica Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2022 66:22


This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Susan Shirk, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Pacific and Research Professor and Chair of the 21st Century China Center at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UCSD, about how the deliberately collective leadership of the Hu Jintao years set the stage for the over-concentration of power under Xi Jinping and created conditions for overreach. She argues that Chinese overreach was met with American overreaction — not just in the Trump years, but continuing into the Biden administration.11:35 – The thesis of Overreach and misconceptions based on the title15:50 – The decline of collective leadership 19:57 – Selection process of politburo members27:48 – The advantages of China's former collective leadership system31:40 – How collective leadership often lead to overreach39:40 – How personalistic, overly centralized rule can also result in overreach43:02 – Increased paranoia, insecurity, and “permanent purge” culture under Xi49:59 – American overreaction to China's ambitionsA transcript of this episode is available at TheChinaProject.com.Recommendations: Susan – Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World by Howard French Kaiser – His hobby of Asian archery and finding a community/activity you're passionate about outside your professional line of workSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Europeans
Golden passports, anal beads, and the world's most complicated elections

The Europeans

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2022 37:38


With fourteen governments and a three-person presidency, Bosnia and Herzegovina's political system is often described as the most complicated in the world. It's a system that was designed to keep the peace after a devastating war. But three decades on, is it still working? This week we give Aleksandar Brezar the near-impossible task of untangling the weekend's elections for us. We're also talking about Malta's golden passports and a chess scandal involving anal beads. Yes, you heard that correctly. Aleksandar is a journalist mostly covering the Western Balkans. You can find him on Twitter here. Thanks for listening! If you enjoy our podcast and would like to help us keep making it, we'd love it if you'd consider chipping in a few bucks a month at patreon.com/europeanspodcast (many currencies are available). You can also help new listeners find the show by leaving us a review or giving us five stars on Spotify. This week's Isolation Inspiration: 'Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War', by Howard W. French The ZOE podcast: 'How to control blood sugar spikes', with Jessie Inchauspé 02:42 Good Week: A challenge to Malta's golden passport scheme 09:33 Bad Week: Anal bead scandal strikes the chess world 18:44 Interview: Aleksandar Brezar on the Bosnian elections 30:46 Isolation Inspiration: 'Born in Blackness' and Jessie Inchauspé on the ZOE podcast 34:41 Happy Ending: The power of cow poo Producers: Katy Lee and Wojciech Oleksiak Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina This podcast is part of the Are We Europe family. Find more like-minded European podcasts at areweeurope.com/audio-family. Twitter | Instagram | hello@europeanspodcast.com

Ufahamu Africa
Ep. 151: A rerun of our conversation with Naunihal Singh about coups

Ufahamu Africa

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2022 50:09


This week's episode is a rerun of a conversation we had with coup expert Naunihal Singh, inspired by his recent tweets about another coup attempt in Burkina Faso.In this conversation from April 2022, Singh breaks down what coups are, shares how he began studying them, and what we should know about what was happening on the continent at the time.Books, Links, & ArticlesSeizing Power: The Strategic Logic of Military Coups by Naunihal SinghBorn in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War by Howard W. French Decolonizing Politics: An Introduction by Robbie ShilliamRemote Control by Nnedi Okorafor 

The Portico Podcast
Howard French on "Born in Blackness"

The Portico Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2022 51:48


In today's episode, Mike Casey interviews Howard French, the author of the urgent and essential book Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War.  It is, simply, one of the most important books I've read. I encourage you to read it and wrestle with its implications.Howard is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for the Caribbean and Central America, West and Central Africa, Tokyo, and Shanghai.In our discussion, we explore the role his career as a reporter in the Atlantic basin played in inspiring him to write Born in Blackness, several of the themes in his book, the findings that most surprised him during his research, and the role Africa and Africans might play in the 21st Century.Speaking with Howard was a genuine privilege.I hope that you enjoy our conversation and that you come away with a yearning to learn more.This podcast was recorded in June 2022.—————Learn more about the book.Learn more about Howard.Follow Howard on Twitter.Read Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò's superb review of Born in Blackness in Foreign Affairs.On the inadequacy of the word “plantation” to describe the conditions of slavery, see, for example, chapter 1 (“The Property”) in C.L.R. James's The Black Jacobins.—————Music credit: Daniel Allan, “Too Close” released on Sound. You can learn more about Daniel's community-owned DAO that underwrote his latest EP here. (Disclosure: In addition to the “Too Close” NFT, Portico's founder Michael Casey owns $OVERSTIM tokens, as well as many other music NFTs; his Sound collector profile is available here).

Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
276. Howard W. French with Drego Little: A Vital Reframing of World History

Town Hall Seattle Civics Series

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2022 58:15


When we think about how the “modern world” came to be, history tends to focus on Eurocentric milestones: The Age of Discovery, which centered the expeditions of seafaring European explorers; the scientific contributions of great thinkers like Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton, Descartes, and Galileo; and countless other narratives centered on Western achievements. But despite attempts to push an entire continent to the outskirts of global history, as Howard W. French argued in his new book Born in Blackness, Africa and African people are pivotal to our thinking about modernity. Born in Blackness spans six centuries to reframe the story of medieval and emerging Africa. French revealed how Western wealth, structures of democracy, and ideals of so-called Enlightenment all grew out of Europe's dehumanizing engagement with the “dark” continent. French elevated a history that has essentially been erased, revealing that it wasn't Europe's yearning for ties with Asia that initially spurred maritime exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries, but rather a desire for Africa's gold. Through this shift in the narrative of global history, French showed just how critical Africa and the African people were to increased growth and wealth in other regions of the world. Join us in discussion with the author and Drego Little, who reframed how we think about world history and global connections of the past and present. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and former bureau chief in the Caribbean and Central America, West and Central Africa, Tokyo, and Shanghai for The New York Times. The author of five books, French lives in New York City. Buy the Book: Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War (Hardcover) from Elliott Bay Books Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

Ufahamu Africa
Ep. 134: A conversation with Emmanuel Balogun about how to fight coups

Ufahamu Africa

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2022 45:33


How can ECOWAS and the African Union combat ongoing coups in Mali and Burkina Faso? We spoke with international relations scholar Emmanuel Balogun about the tools that ECOWAS and the AU have at their disposal to fight coups and about the obstacles the intergovernmental agencies will face in trying to use them.Books, Links, & ArticlesEmmanuel BalogunWorldmaking after Empire: The Rise and Fall of Self-Determination by Adom GetachewBorn in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War by Howard W French Neither Settler nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities by Mahmood Mamdani  Previous Episodes We MentionedEp. 108: A conversation with Adom Getachew on postcolonialism, worldmaking, and more Ep. 133: A conversation with Naunihal Singh about coups

The Parley in All Blue with Mark Dawson
Ep 14 Born in Blackness with Howard French

The Parley in All Blue with Mark Dawson

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2022 72:18


On this week's episode of the Parley in All Blue Podcast, Mark sits down with Howard W. French, an author and a professor of journalism at Columbia University. Today's discussion delves deep into Professor French's book: Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War. Highlights from the episode:Price of Gold Mansa MusaEurope in 1471The Fort of El MinaPortugal & West  Africa Resources: Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World WarConnect with Mark Dawson:Instagram: @iammarkdawsonLinkedIN: @mark-a-dawsonWebsite: www.bentonmuse.comTwitter: @Iammarkdawson

Ufahamu Africa
Ep. 133: A conversation with Naunihal Singh about coups

Ufahamu Africa

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2022 72:21 Transcription Available


Coups are on our minds this week, especially with recent events in Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau. Kim and Rachel talk about their own views on "coup contagion" and how their perspectives have changed over time. Then, Kim talks to coup expert Naunihal Singh, who breaks down what coups are, shares how he began studying them, and what we should know about what's happening on the continent now. Books, Links, & ArticlesSeizing Power: The Strategic Logic of Military Coups by Naunihal Singh"Burkina Faso's Coup Makers Capitalized on Wider Grievances within Ranks" by Maggie Dwyer"Burkina Faso's Coup Is Deja Vu All Over Again" by Chris Olaoluwa Ogunmodede"Failed Attack in Guinea-Bissau Shakes Coup Weary West Africa" by Vagner Barbosa"Strategies of Repression: Judicial and Extrajudicial Methods of Autocratic Survival" by Fiona Shen-Bayh"What Happens When Coups Fail? The Problem of Identifying and Weakening the Enemy Within" by Josef Woldense"Pro Footballer Sadio Mane is Providing UBI to a Poor Region of Senegal""Anyone Planning A Coup Should Read This First" by Kim Yi Dionne  "There Wasn't A Coup In Lesotho But Will There Be?" by Kim Yi Dionne Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War by Howard W. French Decolonizing Politics: An Introduction by Robbie ShilliamRemote Control by Nnedi Okorafor

Wonders of the World
091 - The Great Mosque of Djenné

Wonders of the World

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2022 32:59


The best example of Sahelian mud-brick architecture, the great mosque seems like a sandcastle rising from the Niger Inland Delta in Mali. Originally built in the early days of the Mali Empire, the mosque also connects with the Songhai, Africa's largest and strongest empire, whose collapse came at key moment in world history. We'll follow the fates of two great kings and see how choices made in the early 1500s echo today. And we'll eat tiguedegana, a peanut tomato stew that is just so freaking delicious. Sources: Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sa'di. Tarikh al-sudan Davidson, Basil, et al. A History of West Africa to the Nineteenth Century Dorsey, James Michael. “Mud and infidels: Djenné, Mali” in the San Diego Reader Dubois, Félix. Notre beau Niger… French, Howard W. Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War. Ibn Mukhtar.  Tarikh al-fattash Lonely Planet West Africa Meredith, Martin. The Fortunes of Africa: A 5000-year History of Wealth, Greed, and Endeavour Reader, John. Africa: A Biography of the Continent Wilson, Joe. “In search of Askia Mohammed: The epic of Askia Mohammed as cultural history and Songhay foundational myth”   Photograph by Francesco Bandarin CC 3.0

Active Allyship...it's more than a #hashtag!
EP #79: Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War with Howard French

Active Allyship...it's more than a #hashtag!"

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2022 53:44


Lisa is hosting solo today and is joined by Howard French to talk about his latest book, Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War.  Howard French is a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Prior to joining the Columbia faculty, in 2008, he was a reporter and senior writer for The New York Times, where he worked as a foreign correspondent for more than two decades. During this time, French served as the paper's bureau chief in Shanghai, Tokyo, Abidjan and Miami (covering Central America and the Caribbean).French's documentary photography has featured in solo and group exhibitions on four continents, and collected by the Mildred Lane Kemper Museum in St. Louis.For more information about his work, please visit his website: howardwfrench.com or follow him on twitter: @hofrench.Book Description: Revealing the central yet intentionally obliterated role of Africa in the creation of modernity, Born in Blackness vitally reframes our understanding of world history.Traditional accounts of the making of the modern world afford a place of primacy to European history. Some credit the fifteenth-century Age of Discovery and the maritime connection it established between West and East; others the accidental unearthing of the “New World.” Still others point to the development of the scientific method, or the spread of Judeo-Christian beliefs; and so on, ad infinitum. The history of Africa, by contrast, has long been relegated to the remote outskirts of our global story. What if, instead, we put Africa and Africans at the very center of our thinking about the origins of modernity?In a sweeping narrative spanning more than six centuries, Howard W. French does just that, for Born in Blackness vitally reframes the story of medieval and emerging Africa, demonstrating how the economic ascendancy of Europe, the anchoring of democracy in the West, and the fulfillment of so-called Enlightenment ideals all grew out of Europe's dehumanizing engagement with the “dark” continent. In fact, French reveals, the first impetus for the Age of Discovery was not―as we are so often told, even today―Europe's yearning for ties with Asia, but rather its centuries-old desire to forge a trade in gold with legendarily rich Black societies sequestered away in the heart of West Africa.Creating a historical narrative that begins with the commencement of commercial relations between Portugal and Africa in the fifteenth century and ends with the onset of World War II, Born in Blackness interweaves precise historical detail with poignant, personal reportage. In so doing, it dramatically retrieves the lives of major African historical figures, from the unimaginably rich medieval emperors who traded with the Near East and beyond, to the Kongo sovereigns who heroically battled seventeenth-century European powers, to the ex-slaves who liberated Haitians from bondage and profoundly altered the course of American history.While French cogently demonstrates the centrality of Africa to the rise of the modern world, Born in Blackness becomes, at the same time, a far more significant narrative, one that reveals a long-concealed history of trivialization and, more often, elision in depictions of African history throughout the last five hundred years. As French shows, the achievements of sovereign African nations and their now-far-flung peoples have time and again been etiolated and deliberately erased from modern history. As the West ascended, their stories―siloed and piecemeal―were swept into secluded corners, thus setting the stage for the hagiographic “rise of the West” theories that have endured to this day.

Pod Save the World
Trump endorses a dictator

Pod Save the World

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 5, 2022 82:25


Tommy and Ben talk about Trump's endorsement of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and what it says about the future of democracy, the latest on Biden's efforts to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine, China and Lithuania, a major election in Chile, and a look ahead at some of the world's most important elections in 2022. Then Ben talks with author Howard French about his new book “Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alain Guillot Show
467 Howard French: How Africa and Africans are at the center of our modern world

Alain Guillot Show

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2021 37:01


https://www.alainguillot.com/howard-french/ Howard Waring French is a journalist, author, and photographer, as well as professor since 2008 at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His book is Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War. Get the book here: https://amzn.to/3oRf6uv

Tell Us The Truth
Glynda Carr & Howard W. French Tell Us The Truth

Tell Us The Truth

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2021 59:07


Episode 60 : Glynda Carr & Howard W. FrenchGlynda Carr is the CEO Co-Founder of Higher Heights For America; An organization focused on growing Black Women's political power from the voting booth to elected office. Listen as Glynda deep dives into the fact Black women remain severely underrepresented as officeholders at the statewide executive level, how the Election of Ayanna Pressley into Congress served as a "Blueprint" for what is proven to be possible and why Higher Heights For America is hopeful regarding further progress in 2022 and beyond. Glynda also opens up about her passion for helping others and what she would tell her Younger Self looking back on the incremental progress she's experienced despite systemic challenges Black Women face in Political Work and Advocacy. Acclaimed Journalist & Columbia University Professor Howard W. French has a new book; Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War. In the book and during this conversation, Howard is laser focused as he details various ways the United States, England, France and Portugal have all gained enormous through Trans Atlantic Slavery that has lasted to this present day. How hammers these facts home the most clear by deep diving into how Enslaved Africans who cultivated Sugar in the West Indies and Cotton in the Southern United States are what we would refer to today as "killer apps" because of the extreme wealth generated from them. This is one conversation and one book you do NOT want to miss! *You can Subscribe to Tell Us The Truth on all leading podcast apps including the iHeart Radio App, Spreaker and iTunes/Apple Podcasts. Join us on Facebook and Twitter for daily discussion about top news.*

Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York
Howard W. French on Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans & the Making of the Modern World

Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2021 55:18


(11/29/21) The history of Africa has long been relegated to the remote outskirts of our global story. What if, instead, we put Africans at the center of our thinking about the origins of modernity? Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism professor and former New York Times foreign correspondent Howard W. French does just that in his new book Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471, a sweeping narrative spanning more than six centuries. Join us for a look at the trivialization in depictions of African societies throughout the last 500 years and how to overcome it for a more accurate understanding of human history in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

PRI: Arts and Entertainment
'Born into Blackness': A new book centers Africa in the expansive history of slavery

PRI: Arts and Entertainment

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2021


Major aspects of the trans-Atlantic slave trade from an African perspective have gotten erased throughout time. Howard French set out to illuminate a more expansive understanding in a new book called, "Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War."

The Real News Podcast
The painful, erased history of how Africa made Western modernity possible

The Real News Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2021 34:45


With few exceptions, traditional accounts of the development of the modern world put European history at the center of everything, often focusing on the “Age of Discovery” and global expansion, the Enlightenment, and so on. “The history of Africa, by contrast, has long been relegated to the remote outskirts of our global story,” as Howard W. French asserts in his critically acclaimed and game-changing new book. “What if, instead, we put Africa and Africans at the very center of our thinking about the origins of modernity?”In this segment of The Marc Steiner Show, Marc talks with French about his new book, Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War, and about the forcibly forgotten history of Africa's central place in the making of the modern world. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and former New York Times bureau chief in the Caribbean and Central America, West and Central Africa, Tokyo, and Shanghai. He is the author of numerous books, including A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa and China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa.Tune in for new episodes of The Marc Steiner Show every Tuesday and Friday on TRNN.Pre-Production/Studio/Post Production: Stephen FrankHelp us continue producing The Marc Steiner Show by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer:Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-mssSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-stGet The Marc Steiner Show updates: https://therealnews.com/up-pod-stLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnews

The Marc Steiner Show
The painful, erased history of how Africa made Western modernity possible

The Marc Steiner Show

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2021 34:45


With few exceptions, traditional accounts of the development of the modern world put European history at the center of everything, often focusing on the “Age of Discovery” and global expansion, the Enlightenment, and so on. “The history of Africa, by contrast, has long been relegated to the remote outskirts of our global story,” as Howard W. French asserts in his critically acclaimed and game-changing new book. “What if, instead, we put Africa and Africans at the very center of our thinking about the origins of modernity?”In this segment of The Marc Steiner Show, Marc talks with French about his new book, Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War, and about the forcibly forgotten history of Africa's central place in the making of the modern world. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and former New York Times bureau chief in the Caribbean and Central America, West and Central Africa, Tokyo, and Shanghai. He is the author of numerous books, including A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa and China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa.Tune in for new episodes of The Marc Steiner Show every Tuesday and Friday on TRNN.Pre-Production/Studio/Post Production: Stephen FrankHelp us continue producing The Marc Steiner Show by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer:Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-mssSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-stGet The Marc Steiner Show updates: https://therealnews.com/up-pod-stLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnews

Trend Lines
‘Born in Blackness': A Conversation With Howard French

Trend Lines

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2021 91:45


The history of Europe's Age of Exploration and Empire usually follows a familiar narrative. Starting in the late 15th century, European explorers set out to find maritime trade routes to the lucrative spice and textile markets of Asia. Happening by chance upon the “New World” of the Americas, they quickly established colonies whose wealth, mainly in the form of gold and silver, combined with advances in military technology, propelled what would become known as the West to centuries of global dominance that has only begun to wane today. In this narrative, Africa and Africans are all but invisible, except as a tragic footnote when it comes to the history and legacy of slavery. WPR columnist Howard French's fifth and latest book, “Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War,” convincingly argues that almost everything about this familiar narrative is wrong. Far from being peripheral to the Age of Exploration, Africa was in fact the central focus of its early period. And far from being anecdotal to the wealth and power generated by Europe's colonies in the Americas, Africans were the irreplaceable producers of it. This week on Trend Lines, Howard French joins WPR's Judah Grunstein to discuss “Born in Blackness,” which will be released on Oct.12 and is already available for pre-order. Howard is a career foreign correspondent and global affairs writer. From 1990 to 2008, he reported overseas for The New York Times, serving as bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China. He is a member of the board of the Columbia Journalism Review and a professor at the Columbia Journalism School. His website is HowardWFrench.com, his Twitter handle is @hofrench, and his weekly WPR column appears every Wednesday. If you would like to request a full transcript of the episode, please send an email to podcast@worldpoliticsreview.com. Relevant Articles on WPR: African Urbanization Is a Matter of Global Importance   Haiti's Crisis Is Familiar. Its History, Less So   Africa's ‘Big States Crisis' Has Deep Historical Roots   Africa's ‘Demographic Dividend' Won't Pay Off Without Purpose and Policy  Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter Dörrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing on security and resource politics in Africa. You can follow him on Twitter at @peterdoerrie. To send feedback or questions, email us at podcast@worldpoliticsreview.com.