I spoke with hosts Carli and Laura for their podcast, Unconventional Dyad, where psychology and psychoanalysis meets social justice, feminism, politics, climate change, critical theory, graduate student mental health, and the arts.
American politics have long influenced abortion rights abroad, but health care providers in Kenya say no U.S. president has done more damage to their cause than Donald Trump. The Trump administration’s iteration of the Global Gag Rule is exceptionally severe, pulling millions in funding from groups that prevent unsafe abortions and protect women’s health. Meanwhile, local anti-abortion activists are borrowing tactics from American groups like Operation Rescue, designed to shame local abortion providers and the patients they serve. Read my investigation with Mother Jones and Type Investigations.
‘When we lose our fear, they lose their power!’ Meet the women fighting back against police brutality in Kenya.
Start listening at 12:23 mins to hear my radio report for IRE Radio World Report with John Burke on the factors contributing to high rates of early child marriage in Kenya, including climate change and COVID19.
Video by Vania Turner, produced by Neha Wadekar and Will Swanson. With support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
In north-east Kenya, climate change is driving up rates of child marriage. I traveled to Marsabit county for TIME Magazine to meet the child brides of this region and tell their stories. Video by the talented Vania Turner and Will Swanson.
Start listening at 14:47 mins to hear my radio report on factors contributing to high rates of teenage pregnancy in Kenya, including COVID19, insufficient funding for reproductive health organizations and lack of sex education in Kenyan schools.
‘When you talk about women’s empowerment… it’s going to be affected by what is happening right now.’
Read my latest on the systemic challenges – including lack of funding for reproductive health services and a lack of comprehensive sexuality education in Kenyan schools – contributing to a long history of high teenage pregnancy rates in the country.
With no date set for religious buildings to reopen, an innovative priest brings his own brand of musical service to apartment complexes.
The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed a global recession that threatens the colossal international loan program that is a symbol of China’s growing prestige and a centerpiece of President Xi Jinping’s reign. The Belt and Road Initiative — China’s effort to finance nearly half a trillion dollars in new infrastructure across Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America — took flight during a period of global expansion and easy travel that has now slammed into a sober reckoning. Beijing faces mounting calls to reschedule loans for shipping hubs, electrical plants and transport links that look unsustainable as economies struggle and globalization slows.