Episode 167: Alexis Okeowo

Alexis Okeowo is a staff writer for the New Yorker whose debut book was published earlier this month. The book,  A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa has been getting rave reviews --  rightfully so.

The book tells the story of subtle forms of resistance; how individuals, in their own way, are pushing back against injustice. In doing so, she shines a light on some important though often overlooked global stories, like slavery in the country of Mauritania or the plight of former child soldiers in Uganda.

Alexis traces her interest in these issues to her upbringing as an American born child of Nigerian immigrants to Montgomery, Alabama where Rosa Parks' act of resistance ignited the Civil Rights movement. Alexis also discusses her career in journalism, including some key stories she reported on like the Chibok School girls kidnapping in 2014.

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