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Citing Africa Podcast

Critical investigations into knowledge production

Hosted by the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa

There is no way we can succeed in the eradication of poverty if the developing world is not part of knowledge creation, its dissemination and utilization to promote innovation."

Mamphela Ramphele, 2000

The Citing Africa podcast investigates knowledge production about and from the African continent. It explores the structural factors shaping the type of information we value, how these inform ideas within universities and international organisations, and what this means for debates on decolonisation.

Topics discussed on the podcast include journal publishing, international research funding, differences between African Studies and other Area Studies, hegemonic ideas within international organisations and the application of postcolonial theory to global health, digital sectors and social policy.

Listen to the podcast on Soundcloud, Apple Musicor by clicking on the episode descriptions below.

Podcast background

From 1993 to 2013, the proportion of articles written by Africa-based academics in two leading Africa-focussed journals declined from 30 per cent to 15 per cent. This was not because scholars were submitting fewer articles (submissions had actually increased). In fact, it was as a result of declining acceptance rates.

How did this happen? Answering this question led to the birth of Citing Africa.

We talked to as many people as possible to understand the matter: scholars, funders, journal editors, policy makers, students. Our enlightening conversations have formed the basis for the podcast.

Series 1

Series 1 explores academic knowledge production about and from African countries, looking at the ways in which current journal publishing and research funding re-enforces the domination of Northern based scholars in framing academic and policy debates about the continent.

Series 2

Series 2 examines the ways ideas and biases become hegemonic within international organisations working in African countries, focussing on how knowledge and technology shape economic and social development. Upcoming episodes explore topics including how data is collected and used in African countries, and how neglected tropical diseases became a global health issue. This year’s podcasts are all produced by LSE Master’s students from the Department of International Development.

Series 3

Series 3 of the Citing Africa Podcast pursues the politics of knowledge, and debates around its ownership. The series explores organisations including the World Bank and IMF to discuss economic justice, the meaning of which helps to contextualise knowledge production in the African context. Episodes in this series will address IMF creditworthiness, debt trap diplomacy and the Pan African University as a tool for knowledge production about Africa.


Citing Africa is edited and mixed by Boikhutso Tsikane and Syerramia Ohene.

Citing Africa is funded by the LSE Knowledge Exchange and Impact Fund, the LSE Department of International Development and the Review of African Political Economy (ROAPE) journal.