Liberia: Remembering the Future is an independently produced podcast in which co-hosts Aaron Weah and Gerry Naughton explore how Liberia’s past shapes its present – from history, culture and politics to war, peace, and everyday life. The podcast is not funded by New Narratives or the Swedish Government; New Narratives facilitates the syndication of selected episodes on Liberian radio.
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The Ebola epidemic brought a different kind of crisis to Liberia. Schools closed, hospitals became places of fear, physical contact became dangerous and even the familiar Liberian handshake had to disappear.
Aaron remembers living and working through the epidemic, using radio to get information and education to communities and children confined to their homes.
Then the conversation becomes personal. Aaron recalls the death of his mother from a heart attack during the epidemic — and the hours his family spent trying to find a hospital willing to examine her.
A conversation about Ebola, fear, public health and the human consequences of an invisible enemy.
A companion to Episode 17, our conversation about Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her presidency.
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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liberiartf.substack.com/subscribe (https://liberiartf.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)
7 Oct 2026
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
After 14 years of conflict, Liberia finally had peace. Then came the job of putting the country back together.
In 2005, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf defeated George Weah to become Liberia’s first post-war president – and Africa’s first elected female head of state.
For Aaron, this was the first election in which he voted, and the beginning of his own professional life working on Liberia’s post-war reconstruction.
We talk about the excitement surrounding Ellen’s election; the international reputation she brought to the presidency; her ability to speak to Liberians in both formal speeches and Liberian English; and the promise that there would be “no business as usual”.
We also look at what happened once the expectations of 2005 met the reality of governing a country emerging from war.
What did Ellen actually rebuild? Why did some Liberians feel that 12 years should have produced more? And how much of the stability Liberia has enjoyed since the war can be traced back to those first post-war years?
Aaron also remembers seeing the newly elected Ellen on the streets of Monrovia – and Gerry remembers a rather different assessment of her presidency from a Liberian colleague, involving a road that she failed to build.
And we begin to reach the issue that leads into our next episode: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s difficult relationship with Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Liberia: Remembering the Future — the conversation shaping the understanding of Liberia’s history.
* If you know anyone who is interested in Liberia or African history, feel free to share this post with them.
* And if you want to subscribe, and receive updates on everything we post direct to your inbox, you can do so below.
* You can also follow the podcast on Apple or Spotify, as well as on podcast apps like Pocket Casts and Podcast Addict.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liberiartf.substack.com/subscribe (https://liberiartf.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)
16 Sept 2026
The End of the Road for Charles Taylor
By 2003, Charles Taylor was running out of options.
Rebel forces were advancing on Monrovia. His standing across West Africa had collapsed. An indictment from the Special Court for Sierra Leone was hanging over him. And inside Liberia, a remarkable movement of women was demanding an end to the war.
In this episode, Aaron Weah remembers those final months from inside Monrovia – including waking up to 78 missed calls to discover that LURD rebels had crossed the bridge and he was effectively behind their lines. His response was to flee through the fighting carrying one possession he wasn’t prepared to abandon: his guitar.
Aaron and Gerry also discuss the international pressure building around Taylor, the Liberian women’s peace movement and its cultural significance, the Accra negotiations, and Taylor’s eventual departure for exile in Nigeria.
Finally, they ask what became of the armed factions that had dominated more than a decade of Liberian history – and how some of their political and ethnic constituencies survived the transition from war to peace.
In this episode:
* LURD’s advance into Monrovia
* Aaron behind rebel lines – with his guitar
* The international isolation of Charles Taylor
* The Special Court for Sierra Leone indictment
* Liberia’s women’s peace movement
* Taylor’s departure for Nigeria in August 2003
* ECOMIL, UNMIL and the beginning of Liberia’s transition
* What happened to Liberia’s wartime factions?
Liberia: Remembering the Future is presented by Gerry Naughton and Dr Aaron Weah.
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In the next episode, we’ll turn our attention to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the woman who became Africa’s first elected female president. We are Aaron Weah and Gerry Naughton. Thanks for listening.
You can find Liberia Remembering the Future on Substack and wherever you get your podcasts. Search for Liberia Remembering the Future to hear the whole series.
* If you know anyone who is interested in Liberia or African history, feel free to share this post with them.
* And if you want to subscribe, and receive updates on everything we post direct to your inbox, you can do so below.
* You can also follow the podcast on Apple or Spotify, as well as on podcast apps like Pocket Casts and Podcast Addict.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit liberiartf.substack.com/subscribe (https://liberiartf.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)
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