A new African speculative fiction podcast titled Griots & Galaxies just launched and it looks incredible! It is hosted by Chinelo Onwualu, Yvette Lisa Ndlovu, and Arizona State University professor Jenna Hanchey.

Produced by the ASU Center for Science and the Imagination, the podcast aims to examine Black and African Speculative Fiction as a tool for social and technological change. How do stories of time travel, epic fantasy, androids, and aliens reckon with the legacy of colonialism and inspire transformative futures?

In this ten-episode series, the hosts interview a range of exciting authors working in African speculative fiction such as Wole Talabi, Suyi Davies, Tlotlo Tsamaase, and Kemi Ashing-Giwa. Read about the brilliant hosts below.

Chinelo Onwualu is a Nigerian editor and a speculative fiction writer. She is the co-founder and previous editor-in-chief of Omenana Magazine. She is also co-editor at Anathema Magazine.

Yvette Lisa Ndlovu is a Zimbabwean author. Her debut short story collection Drinking from Graveyard Wells ( 2023) was selected for the 2021 UPK New Poetry & Prose Series. She is pursuing her MFA at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst where she teaches in the Writing Program. ​

Jenna N. Hanchey is Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Critical/Cultural Studies at Arizona State University. In her research, she uses decolonial and anti-racist theory to examine Western aid and development initiatives in Africa, and how such future trajectories are resisted and reimagined in the continent.

New episodes of Griots & Galaxies drop every Tuesday and Friday. It is available at most podcast platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the ASU Center for Science and the Imagination website.

Check out the highlights from some of the episodes below:

Episode 1 – Griots & Galaxies: Wole Talabi

In this conversation, Nigerian author Wole Talabi speaks about gods going on heists and how technologies hold the potential to bring us together in alternative histories and imagined futures. Listen here.

Episode 2 – Griots & Galaxies: Kemi Ashing-Giwa

In this conversation, Nigerian writer Kemi Ashing-Giwa takes us to galaxies far, far away, reimagining the hero’s journey through African-centered space opera. Listen here.

Episode 3 – Griots & Galaxies: Suyi Davies

In this conversation, Nigerian author Suyi Davies talks about godpunk, Stranger Things, and how to support African and other marginalized writers in the publishing industry. Listen here.

Episode 4 – Griots & Galaxies: Tlotlo Tsamaase

In this conversation, Motswana writer Tlotlo Tsamaase talks about queerness, the dead, and how African surrealist stories illuminate the politics of African urban landscapes. Listen here.

New episodes are released every Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so you don’t miss out!