The LRB Podcast

On Binyavanga Wainaina


Listen Later

In the latest issue of the LRB, Jeremy Harding reviews How to Write about Africa, a posthumous collection of essays and stories by Binyavanga Wainaina, one of postcolonial Africa’s great anglophone satirists. Jeremy joins Tom to talk about Wainaina’s life and work, including the title essay and his ambivalent response to its popularity (‘I went viral,’ he later said, ‘I became spam’); his reporting from South Sudan; the ‘lost chapter’ from his memoir in which he imagines coming out to his parents; and his account of travelling to Senegal to interview the musician Youssou N'Dour, a piece that Harding describes as both ‘beautifully done’ and ‘extremely funny’.


Find further reading and external links on the episode page: https://lrb.me/wainainapod


Sponsored links:

Use the code ’LRB’ to get £100 off Serious Readers lights here: https://www.seriousreaders.com/lrb

Find out more about ACE Cultural Tours: https://aceculturaltours.co.uk

See Hansel and Gretel at the Royal Opera House: https://www.rbo.org.uk/tickets-and-events/hansel-and-gretel-details

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The LRB PodcastBy The London Review of Books

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

244 ratings


More shows like The LRB Podcast

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,408 Listeners

Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

294 Listeners

Books and Authors by BBC Radio 4

Books and Authors

368 Listeners

New Books in Critical Theory by Marshall Poe

New Books in Critical Theory

143 Listeners

London Review Bookshop Podcast by London Review Bookshop

London Review Bookshop Podcast

121 Listeners

The TLS Podcast by The TLS

The TLS Podcast

181 Listeners

Novara Media by Novara Media

Novara Media

161 Listeners

Backlisted by Backlisted

Backlisted

573 Listeners

The Book Club by The Spectator

The Book Club

10 Listeners

Politics Theory Other by Politics Theory Other

Politics Theory Other

153 Listeners

What's Left of Philosophy by Lillian Cicerchia, Owen Glyn-Williams, Gil Morejón, and William Paris

What's Left of Philosophy

258 Listeners

Ones and Tooze by Foreign  Policy

Ones and Tooze

342 Listeners

Macrodose by Planet B Productions

Macrodose

26 Listeners

Close Readings by London Review of Books

Close Readings

58 Listeners

Past Present Future by David Runciman

Past Present Future

313 Listeners

The Belgrano Diary by The London Review of Books

The Belgrano Diary

62 Listeners

Medieval Beginnings by London Review of Books

Medieval Beginnings

0 Listeners

Political Poems by London Review of Books

Political Poems

2 Listeners

Among the Ancients by Anthony Wilks

Among the Ancients

2 Listeners

On Satire by London Review of Books

On Satire

5 Listeners

Human Conditions by London Review of Books

Human Conditions

3 Listeners

Among the Ancients II by Anthony Wilks

Among the Ancients II

1 Listeners

Medieval LOLs by London Review of Books

Medieval LOLs

3 Listeners

Modern-ish Poets: Series 2 by Anthony Wilks

Modern-ish Poets: Series 2

3 Listeners