Here, we pause the noise to ask: How do ethics, identity, and power shape our world and (digital) futures? Join me, Zainab Taonga Chirwa, for conversations on community, governance, equity, and the systems that govern us. Remember, Governance is about building communities. Welcome to the neighbourhood!
Dr Jane Munga on DPI, Geopolitics, and the India AI Summit
Is there a "Third Way" for African technology that avoids the binary choice between the US and China? In the wake of the 2026 India AI Impact Summit, I sit down with Africa Tech Policy expert, Dr Jane Munga, Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, to unpack the shifting power structures of the global digital economy. This episode explores why the future of African sovereignty isn't found in a software stack, but also in the strength of our institutions.
30 Jan 2026
Who Governs Africa's Waters? Maritime Security & BBNJ Explained
In this episode of StrangersX, Zainab Taonga Chirwa speaks with maritime security researcher David Willima from the Institute for Security Studies. We discuss how Africa’s coastal cities are facing growing insecurity, the opportunities and challenges in the blue economy, and how the BBNJ Treaty intersects with African sovereignty and digital infrastructure.
20 Jan 2026
One Zambia, One Nation: Tribalism is Not a Campaign Strategy
Zambia is a country of many peoples, languages, and histories. That diversity is often described as our strength. However, it also places a responsibility on how we speak about one another, especially in moments of political competition.In this episode of StrangersX, Zainab Taonga Chirwa sits down with writer, communications specialist, and journalist Moono Chungu for a reflective conversation on identity, belonging, and national cohesion in Zambia.Drawing on her work and her public writing during the last election cycle, Moono reflects on why ethnic identity should never be treated as a campaign strategy, how political language shapes democratic culture, and what the phrase “One Zambia, One Nation” asks of leaders and citizens alike.This is not a partisan discussion, nor a debate about policies or personalities. It is a conversation about people, and about how we live together in difference, how trust is built or broken through language, and what it takes to hold a plural nation together beyond slogans.This episode opens a short StrangersX series reflecting on Zambia’s recent constitutional moment, beginning with democratic culture, belonging, and responsibility.
29 Jul 2025
Not Just Observers Ep3: Does AI Really Benefit the Public? | Sovereignty | Strangers x Philani Mdingi [Tech4Good]
What does it mean to build artificial intelligence that genuinely serves the public good and who gets to decide?
In this episode, I sit down with Philani Mdingi, Executive Director of Tech for Good and a seasoned technology leader known for delivering mission-aligned digital solutions for civil society and philanthropic networks. We explore the civic potential and political risks of AI in African contexts, and ask whether the current trajectories of innovation are truly aligned with public interest.
Drawing from his experience leading digital security and tech strategy at global human rights organisations, Philani reflects on how African actors can shape AI systems that empower rather than exclude and why protecting digital infrastructure is foundational to democratic participation.
8 Jul 2025
Ep 2: The New Scramble – How Africa’s Minerals Became the Frontline of the AI War | DRC-Rwanda Deal
Zainab Taonga Chirwa analyzes the DRC-Rwanda peace deal and reveals how Africa's mineral wealth, like cobalt, fuels the AI race between global powers and impacts African sovereignty in this interview.
1 Jul 2025
Strangers x Wasseem Emam: Can Seafood Ever be Ethical? | Ethical Seafood Research| Egypt | Tilapia
Wasseem Emam, founder of Ethical Seafood Research, discusses aquatic welfare and ethical seafood practices in Africa, offering insights into policy and research in this interview.
11 Jun 2025
Copper Kings vs Cloud Lords
Zainab Taonga Chirwa examines the dual extraction of physical resources and digital data in Africa, highlighting the continent's potential to assert agency in the AI revolution.
8 Jun 2025
Unlearning the Father, Rethinking Power, Care and Masculinity
Writer Dumoluhle Mazwemzini Moyo explores transcending inherited masculinity models, examining mental check-ins as resistance and rethinking leadership beyond patriarchal traps in an interview with Zainab Taonga Chirwa.
16 May 2025
"Land Isn’t Just Land" - A Zimbabwean-Irish Scholar on Migration, Memory & Justice
Takudzwa Zoe Chitare explores migration, memory, and land justice, focusing on land tenure and rural women's rights in South Africa, in an interview with host Zainab Taonga Chirwa.
5 May 2025
Faith, Media & Violence
Journalist Nontobeko Aisha Mkhwanazi discusses the intersection of identity, faith, and gendered violence in South Africa, highlighting the power of storytelling as a tool for resistance in an interview with Zainab Taonga Chirwa.
27 Apr 2025
"Strangers! You Do Not Belong Here"- Nationalism, Citizenship & Belonging Reel
The premiere episode of Strangers X podcast explores the growing trends of nationalism, belonging, and digital democracy.
Host Zainab Taonga Chirwa explores the intricate concepts of belonging, nationalism, and citizenship, particularly concerning youth in the Global South, through personal insights and political analysis.
Who has been a guest on STRANGERS X
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Wasseem Emam
Dumoluhle Mazwemzini Moyo
Takudzwa Zoe Chitare
Nontobeko Aisha Mkhwanazi
Podcast Authority Score: 8 / 100
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