Eric Newman speaks with Jon Hickey about his debut novel Big Chief. The book is a gripping political thriller about the struggle for power, belonging, and destiny set against a tribal election campaign on a fictional reservation. It follows the story of Mitch Caddo and his childhood friend Max Beck, who is seeking reelection as the tribal president…

It’s important to have a good balance between pushing ourselves and encouraging ourselves. I have found myself wanting in the latter, so recently I have been making it a conscious practice to express positive things about myself aloud at the end of each day, just to remind myself of all I’m doing for my present and future selves. Life is hard enoug…

Medaya Ocher is joined by TV writer, memoirist and librettist Sarah Labrie, author of the book No One Gets to Fall Apart. The book is a memoir of LaBrie’s fraught relationship with her mother, who suffers a psychotic break in 2017 and is found on the side of a freeway, convinced that she is being followed by FBI agents. LaBrie is then forced to con…

​Robert Francis Prevost, l'archevêque américain a été élu nouveau pape par les 133 cardinaux électeurs (venus de 70 pays). Il a choisi de s'appeler Léon XIV. Âgé de 69 ans, il devient le 267e souverain pontife de l’histoire, succédant à François, mort le 21 avril. À l'occasion de son élection, Eric Topona et ses invités reviennent sur l'influence d…

Sometimes when I have one too many difficult days in a row (or just one difficult day full stop!), my circumstances seem all-encompassing - that is when I need to zoom out and see that in the bigger picture, this moment is temporary. Sometimes I have so much to do in the grand scheme of things that I feel stuck, frozen - that is when I need to zoom…

Depuis plusieurs années, une partie de l'opinion africaine exige la suppression du franc CFA et la création d'une nouvelle monnaie. C'est ainsi que le 21 décembre 2019, huit pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest et la France ont décidé de sa réforme. Cette monnaie, vestige de la colonisation, sera remplacée en principe en 2027 par l'Éco. Eric Topona en débat, …

Eric Newman and Kate Wolf speak with Sarah Schulman about her latest book, The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity. With a focus on practical politics, Schulman explores both how we imagine solidarity and what the work of solidarity requires. Rather than a horizontal movement, the book focuses on the ways achieving today's most pressing political g…

Maggie Nelson joins Kate Wolf to discuss her new book Pathemata, Or, The Story of My Mouth. It is at once a compressed record of her long struggle with chronic pain and a document of the boundless blur of the pandemic era. It combines vignettes of daily life and doctor’s visits with dreams and memories, pushing at the partition between interior and…

​La Communauté économique des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (Cedeao) a été créée le 28 mai 1975 à Lagos (Nigeria). 50 ans après, l'institution sous-régionale est à la croisée des chemins. Eric Topona et ses invités se penchent sur les mutations que doit opérer la Cédéao, afin de s'arrimer à la nouvelle donne géopolitique en Afrique de l'ouest.…

The difficult thing about doing our best, other than how demanding it can be, is navigating how different our ‘best’ can look at any given time. To be able to look at ourselves, see our efforts and know we’ve given everything we can to the things we know are important, is no small feat. To do so consistently is something to be extremely proud of - …

​Il y a deux ans, le 15 avril 2023, débutait la guerre civile qui, depuis, continue de faire des dégâts humains et métiers. Eric Topona et ses invités reviennent sous l'Arbre à palabres sur les raisons de ce conflit et proposent des voies de sortie de crise.Av DW

Eric Newman and Medaya Ocher speak with writer Katie Kitamura about her recent novel, "Audition," which explores a tense, complex relationship between a middle-aged actress and a young man who may or may not be her son. The book raises questions about the roles we play, the stories we inhabit, and the many choices we make. “Audition” is LARB’s Book…

​Les Gabonais en âge de voter vont se rendre aux urnes ce samedi 12 avril. Huit candidats brigue le fauteuil présidentiel. Parmi eux, une femme, Gninga Zenaba Chaning. Le président de la transition, le général Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, fait figure de favori et Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, considéré comme le candidat le plus sérieux face au présid…

Eric Newman and Medaya Ocher speak with Andrea Long Chu about Authority a collection of previously published and new essays and criticism. Authority interrogates what it means to be a critic today, analyzing the work that the critic does in interpreting a book, film, or TV show for us as well as how the status of the critic has developed from antiq…

When I was young I was always told, ‘if you’re going to do something, do it properly’. A phrase which once felt burdensome, is now a huge liberator in my life. Not only does it remind me to choose my responsibilities with care, it helps me to always give my best even when it feels difficult to do so, because the effort I put into things is always i…

En Guinée l'ancien chef de la junte militaire (2008-2010), le capitaine Moussa Dadis Camara a été gracié pour "raison de santé" par le général Mamadi Doumbouya, le vendredi 28 mars 2025. Eric Topona et ses invités analysent les implications politiques et juridiques de cette grâce.Av DW

Kate Wolf and Medaya Ocher speak to Lynne Tillman about her latest book, Thrilled to Death, a collection of short stories selected from over four decades of her work. The stories in Thrilled to Death attest to Tillman’s range as a writer and stylist, showcasing her frenetic humor, deep psychological insight, and her innovation of the form. Ever pla…

Fall asleep to the description of falling asleep in the back of a car, with accompanying gentle ambient sounds. I hope this brings you peace and calm. (Story begins at 05:15) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The writer Pankaj Mishra joins Kate Wolf and Medaya Ocher to discuss his new book, The World After Gaza: A History. It probes how the legacy of the Holocaust has shaped the contemporary world order, including how it has shaped the government of Israel, and the current war in Gaza. The book grapples with how, within the relentless violence of the 20…

À l'occasion de la prise de fonction, mi-février, du nouveau président de la Commission de l'Union africaine, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Eric Topona et ses invités se penchent sous l'arbre à palabres sur les difficultés qui plombent le bon fonctionnement de l'organisation panafricaine.Av DW

There are times in life when we need to push ourselves to do the things we want to do or become the things we want to be. How do we do this, navigate the inevitable discomfort, in a way that’s still kind and healthy for ourselves? For me, the distinction is in being strict with myself rather than being hard on myself - pushing myself in moments to …

Sous l'Arbre à palabres, Eric Topona et ses invités abordent cette semaine plusieurs sujets d'actualité, notamment l'annonce de retrait de l'OIF des trois pays de l'AES (Niger, Mali et Burkina Faso). Il sera aussi question du rapport d'Amnesty International sur le Niger et les massacres de civils au Burkina Faso.…

Eric Newman speaks with Bruce Robbins about his latest book, Atrocity: A Literary History, which explores how literary accounts of mass killing came to shape our collective moral indignation against such violence. Moving from the pre-modern era to the twentieth century, Robbins's book wrestles with how texts from the Bible to Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaug…

Les Gabonais en âge de voter éliront le 12 avril leur nouveau président de la République. Sur les 23 dossiers de candidatures déposés, quatre seulement ont été retenus, dont celui du président de la transition militaire, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, et de l'ancien Premier ministre Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze. Eric Topona et ses invités en débattent …

Eric Newman speaks with Torrey Peters about her new story collection, Stag Dance, which spans genre, time, and place to explore the shifting sands of gender, sex, desire, and identity. From a post-apocalyptic world in which everyone is trans to a pirate logging camp in the early 1900s where desire and gender explode in surprising ways, the stories …

Episode 50! Half a century of episodes! Thank you for every second of the time you’ve spent here with me. Thank you for your encouragement, support, understanding and feedback at every stage of this creative journey. I love making these episodes and will keep doing so as long as they are wanted. Happy listening, and here’s to 50 episodes of Mindful…

La Cour des comptes du Sénégal a publié il y a une vingtaine de jours un rapport sur la gestion des finances publiques sous Macky Sall. À la suite de cet audit, les dirigeants actuels ont annoncé des poursuites judiciaires contre l'ancien président qui vit au Maroc et certains de ses anciens collaborateurs. Eric Topona et ses invités en discutent s…

Kate Wolf and Medaya Ocher speak to writer Haley Mlotek about No Fault: A Memoir of Divorce and Romance. The book blends the history of divorce law and custom in North America over the last century with cultural criticism on the way divorce has been portrayed in literature, film, and online. Mlotek also records her own experience of ending a marria…

​Début février 2025, Célestin Doh Serey, ministre délégué auprès du ministre des transports et membre du RHDP, au pouvoir, a remis en cause la nationalité ivoirienne de Tidjane Thiam. Ces propos ont ressuscité le vieux débat sur l'ivoirité à l'origine des crises politico-militaires en Côte d'Ivoire. Eric Topona et ses invités en débattent sous l'Ar…