“Immediately you say I am menopausal or I’m approaching 40 years, in our culture they will brand you as an old person.”

Do you know what the menopause and perimenopause are?

It can mean hot flushes, sore limbs, brain fog and depression – but the symptoms are almost as varied as women are. All women will go through it – but many people don’t know anything about it.

Two women on the continent who are determined to change that are Irene Ngadire, head of Menopause Initiative Uganda, and Nigerian Sherry Nwadike, who’s going through the menopause herself.

PRESENTER: Mimi Fawaz @mimosafawaz

Cardinals from around the world are meeting at the Vatican to elect the next head of the catholic church in a secret conclave. There are thought to have been three popes from Africa in the past, but the last of those was more than 1,500 years ago. So, could the new pope come from Africa? And what is at stake for the continent as the catholic church chooses its next leader?

‘’When the bush is on fire, the chameleon must abandon the walking styles of its ancestors.’’

Save the Children Fund says international aid cuts have significantly impacted school feeding programs in Africa, affecting millions of children who rely on these meals.

Across the continent 86 million children benefit from subsidised programmes which make sure that even those below the poverty line can get at least one nutritious meal a day.

In this episode of Africa Daily podcast Peter Musembi explores new research which suggests ways countries can fund their own programmes – and become more resilient.

He speaks to Betty Kibaara who works on school feeding programmes at the Rockefeller Foundation - which also co-produced the report.

Aano Qabiil - or Clan Vengeance - is a short film which explores the vendettas between clans which have led to many senseless deaths in Somalia. One of the actors in the film is veteran poet and songwriter, Guudey Mohamed Geedi. He plays a man who tries to intervene to stop the owner of the teashop from being killed by a rival clan.

After filming finished, Guudey Mohamed Geedi went to his village outside Warsheikh, in the Middle Shabelle region, to see his family. He was shot dead outside his home by armed men.

Africa Daily’s Peter Musembi has been speaking to BBC Somali journalist Abdinasir Ali about how the tragedy has started a discussion about clan revenge killings.

“This was on another level, but a typical Nigerian wedding is usually big, bold, and rich in tradition and culture - it's a show of our heritage.”

When Tanzanian music star Juma Jux married Nigerian influencer Priscilla Ojo, the hashtag #JP2025 took over social media feeds across Africa and beyond. Their lavish Lagos wedding had flamboyant fashion, a 15-foot cake entrance, and a celebrity-filled guestlist. It became one of the continent's most talked-about weddings.

But in times of economic hardship for many, it also raises deeper questions: What do these extravagant weddings reveal about culture, class, and celebration in Africa today?

Mpho Lakaje speaks to Nigerian content creator Anyanwu Chioma, known online as AnChi Vibes, and Tanzanian journalist Meenah Ally, who were both at the wedding.

In January 2024, protests erupted across Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa as Kenyans demanded justice for women killed in a wave of femicides.

The government promised action, launching a 90 day task force to deliver recommendations to President William Ruto.

But that deadline has long passed and there’s still no clear plan.

”It has been a week and a half since we heard that Joseph Kabila was leaving South Africa for DRC. Since then, however, we haven’t heard much more about whether he arrived in Goma” - Goma resident.

Last week the news that former President Joseph Kabila had returned to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo grabbed the attention of the world’s media. But why has his presence in that part of the country been such a hot topic, even against the backdrop of a potential, imminent deal between the governments of the DRC and Rwanda?

Today on the podcast, Alan Kasujja speaks to the BBC’s Emery Makumeno in Kinshasa, Erik Kennes, a senior research fellow for the Africa Programme, while our reporter Ikaba Koyi gets opinions from residents in Goma.

“I can see that president Trump is trying to play some kind of a chess [game] to put the other nations in the context of a prisoner’s dilemma to say, okay, if I do this, what happens? If I do that, what happens?” - Professor Gowokani Chijere Chirwa, University of Malawi

His second tenure at the White House has been marred by controversial Executive Orders and heated exchanges with foreign governments.

“This generation of storytellers are ageing. Our elders are ageing. I am the one who needs to start this preservation process — at least in my family,” says Hana Baba, a Sudanese-American journalist and podcaster.

The relationship between Algeria and France - often sensitive, sometimes strained, but usually restrained - has soured horribly in recent weeks.