Global Souths Hub Podcast

Dr Maísa Edwards is a Lecturer in Foreign Policy and Grand Strategy Education in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London (KCL). She holds a Joint PhD in International Relations from KCL and the University of São Paulo, where her doctoral research focused on Brazil, the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (ZOPACAS), and the wider South Atlantic region. In addition to her lectureship at KCL, she is a Research Fellow at the Department of Military History at Stellenbosch University and serves as Co-Convenor of the British International Studies Association (BISA) Foreign Policy Working Group (Nov 2025 – Present).

In this episode, Bethlehem Attfield talks to Kassahun Checole, the founder of Africa World Press (1983) and The Red Sea Press (1985), which, to date, have published more than 3,000 titles on the culture, history, and politics of Africa and the African diaspora. Kassahun gave up his successful academic career in the US in 1983 to focus on destabilising the system that hindered the widespread accessibility of the works of fellow African scholar-activists by establishing publishing houses tailored to their needs.

His social activism, innovative entrepreneurial efforts, and meaningful contributions have earned him many recognitions and awards. These include induction into the International Literary Hall of Fame, receiving the 2006 Distinguished Africanist Award at the University of Texas at Austin, and honours from the African Studies Association in 2011. That same year, he also received the American Dream Award from the International Institute of New Jersey.

“Degenerative and non-productive conversation such as ‘When you invest in women, they get married, they will only produce children and no longer work’ – this kind of nonsense has to end. As we know, women are always productive, always doing something, always economically engaged – but it's not counted that way. […] It’s a lens we need to change.”

Baela Raza Jamil

In our fourth Global Souths Hub podcast episode, Bethlehem Attfield talks to Baela Raza Jamil. Baela is a public policy specialist, a former technical adviser to Pakistan's Federal Ministry of Education, and a leading advocate for educational reform. She is the CEO of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (Centre for Education and Consciousness) and founded the Pakistan Children’s Literature Festival. Her leadership has driven national social movements focused on early childhood development, inclusive girls’ education, citizen-led foundational assessments and learning, second-chance learning programmes for adolescent girls, life skills, and livelihoods. In 2022, she mobilized Pakistan's first Education Parliamentarians Caucus (EPC). Baela also works tirelessly to eliminate violence against women and to prevent early and forced child marriages a powerful voice on national and provincial boards and govt committees. Internationally, she is an Advisor Yidan Prize Foundation, Founder and Director Board People’s Action for learning Network Champion for the Learning Generation Initiative former Commissioner of the Education Commission, a UNESCO IBE Council member, andformer Delivery Board Advisor for Research on Improving Systems of Education. She has also advised various global organisations and led several international networks and task forces.

“There’s a common goal of taking care of the land and mapping the knowledge that already exists in the collective memory of the community.”

María Alvarez Malvido

In this episode, Bethlehem Attfield talks to Maria Alvarez Malvido about her experience researching indigenous radio stations, digital storytelling and community-based uses of digital technologies.

María was born in Mexico City and currently lives in London. She holds an M.A. in Communication and Technology from the University of Alberta and a B.A. in Social Anthropology from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana–Iztapalapa. During her graduate studies, she collaborated with DigitalNWT, a train-the-trainer initiative supporting community networks across Canada’s Northwest Territories. María is also a member of the Research Centre on Technology and Community Knowledge (CITSAC) and Tierra Común, and has published a number of journalistic pieces on community media and technological autonomy.

As a member of Redes A.C she collaborated on research and participatory methodologies for the design and development of community networks to access, share and preserve local content. She also collaborates with Rising Voices, co-writing journalistic articles with Indigenous researchers and digital linguistic activists from communities in Asia, Africa, and Latin America involved in the project. She currently works at Awana Digital, supporting local partners in East Africa who use participatory mapping and monitoring tools to protect their territories.

Dr. Chimmuanya Pearl was not born blind, losing her sight later in life presented a daunting challenge. In this podcast, Pearl touches on the importance of maintaining a positive mindest, how Ai can facilitate access, and her TedTalk, Excelling in blindness.

A graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Dr. Pearl emerged as the best graduating student in her class in 2005. Since then, she has risen to become one of the youngest Associate Professors at the University. Her career demonstrates both academic distinction and a sustained engagement with issues of inclusion and accessibility within higher education.

Living with visual impairment for over two decades, Dr. Pearl draws on her lived experience in her advocacy and counselling work with persons with disabilities and their caregivers. Her work reflects a commitment to expanding access, strengthening support systems, and encouraging resilience among individuals facing structural and personal barriers.

In this episode, Pearl highlights the broader importance of inclusive practices in institutional contexts.

"You can't make a difference unless you have a seat at the table." – Anni Domingo

In our first Global Souths Hub podcast, our host Bethlehem Attfield talks to actress, director and writer, Anni Domingo on what it's like to study a PhD in your 70s.

Anni Domingo was born in London, England, to Sierra Leonean parents, who when she was four years old decided to travel back to Africa. After spending her early years in Sierra Leone, Anni returned to the UK. She was accepted onto a drama course to train as a performer and, in her early twenties, qualified as a teacher of Speech and Drama at Rose Bruford College. During her three years of study, she worked with the BBC at Bush House, contributing to radio plays broadcast across the Commonwealth.

In her mid-fifties, Anni completed a first-class BA (Honours) in Literature, a further first-class BA (Honours) in Humanities with Creative Writing from The Open University, and an MA in Creative Writing from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. She later received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree. She is now working on Ominira, her second novel, as part of her PhD at Kings College London.

Anni's acting career spans theatre, television, radio, and film. You may know her from her appearance on screens in numerous television series and feature films, including Outland (1981) to Wondrous Oblivion (2003) and more recently, in 2019, she appeared in several episodes of EastEnders on BBC One. Her extensive theatre work includes productions such as Blood Wedding at the National Theatre, Treasure Island at Birmingham Rep, The Last Bloom at the Traverse Theatre, The Crucible at Regent’s Park, The Children’s Hour and Yerma at the Royal Exchange, Blithe Spirit at the Leicester Haymarket, and No Boys Cricket Club at Theatre Royal Stratford East and she has performed on stage in Inua Ellams’ adaptation of Three Sisters at the National Theatre.