When we think of the fight for independence, we often think of the part of that struggle that involves weapons. But, at the same time there was a war fought over territory, a parallel war was being fought for minds. In fact, many of the Mau Mau fighters would not have decided to join the freedom fight if it weren't for the work of many small, independent African publications that opened up new, important spaces for public discourse. This was the golden age of the vernacular paper. Kenya would never again have a diverse, grassroots-level journalism ecosystem like this again.

It was the power of the printed word—now in the hands of Africans—which allowed ideas to spread. And spread. And spread. Published it in a way to help Africans in his time—in this fast-changing time—to help them understand their own power. Their cultural power. And their political power.

In this episode, we tell the story of two Kenyan journalists. Their work may not resemble the work of journalists today, but it was nothing short of foundational—and may help us rethink what the role of journalists today ought to be.