In the larger context of development in Africa, often criticized for its colonial underpinnings, African women demonstrate resilience and empowerment in ways that often go unrecognized.
One visible form of empowerment is where women address community needs as leaders and visionaries. In this episode, we explore the intersection of race, gender, and work through stories of women who are creatively shaping their fields and creating change.

WTNTK: Africa - Ep. 5 African Women Shaping the Future: Leadership, Resilience, and Possibility

Climate change, habitat loss, and the endangerment of wildlife has brought about international interventions and conservation efforts throughout Africa. However, policies and programs are not without their problems. Throughout Africa, questions of environmental and climate justice are raised when communal lifestyles are threatened by initiatives that are not designed with a mindfulness of the needs of people throughout Africa. In this episode, we explore the human toll taken by climate change and sometimes even by efforts to protect the environment.

WTNTK: Africa - Ep. 6 Environmental Africa: Climate Change, Conservation, and Communal Cooperation

There are over fifty cities throughout Africa with a population of more than one million inhabitants. However, urban spaces tend to be left out of America's collective imagination of the continent. Cities are cosmopolitan places where ideas circulate, people mix and mingle, trends are set, and influences of innumerable origins meld together. In this episode, we explore the experiences of young people in urban settings throughout Africa. We focus on the ways youth cultures can affirm a vision of Africa that cuts against the grain of stereotypes and dominant narratives.

WTNTK: Africa - Ep. 7 Urban Effervescence: Youth Culture, City Space, and Afropolitan Projects

In the aftermath of violence and oppression, nations face the dilemma of confronting past suffering while also rebuilding and preventing future injustice. There is no formula for avoiding vengeance, soliciting forgiveness, and exacting truth and justice. However, recent history offers examples of societies that have navigated these quandaries. In the wake of apartheid in South Africa and genocide in Rwanda, both societies developed legal, political, and cultural campaigns meant to expose and record oppression and violence while attempting to restore the wounded nations. In this episode, we explore the attempts at healing South Africa and Rwanda. We focus on the pain and hope that are built into campaigns for truth, justice, and reconciliation.

WTNTK: Africa - Ep. 8 Healing the Nation: Seeking Truth and Justice in South Africa and Rwanda

In this episode, we explore the vastness of Nubian history while also examining the racial politics of knowledge and memory. We focus on the way Nubia has been misunderstood and how classrooms can be sites where Africa’s ancient civilizations can be remembered and appreciated in renewed and dynamic ways.

WTNTK: Africa - Ep. 9 Nubia on the Nile: African Civilization and the Racial Politics of Memory

The study of Africa is not limited to one continent. Africa itself is entwined with the rest of the world through politics, cultures, foodways, and technologies. Also, over the course of centuries, African and African descendant people have taken root around the world. The story of the African diaspora intersects with the history and legacy of slavery and imperialism but also with the search for economic and educational opportunity. The African diaspora brings into focus the way people survive, adapt, flourish, forge new identities, and take root, even when displaced from an ancestral home. In this episode, we explore the African diaspora, considering its origins and the way communities outside of Africa maintain a sense of Africanness in their forms of expression and communication.

WTNTK: Africa - Ep. 10 Africans Outside Africa: Life in Diaspora Around the World

Museums make the world of human creativity and expressiveness accessible to the public. It is through curation and display that museums play an important role in constructing meaning and understanding of Africa’s histories, societies, and belief systems. Throughout Europe and the United States, there are museums exhibiting material culture originating in Africa. Yet, the history of “exhibiting Africa” intersects with colonial exploitation and is fraught with problems. From theft and coercion to control over narrative formation, there are numerous critical questions that must be addressed in order to understand what is found in museums. In this episode, we examine the history of how African cultural products made their way into Western museums and discuss the politics and possibilities of reckoning with this history today.

WTNTK: Africa - Ep. 11 Exhibiting Africa: The Politics of Museums

Africa has long been associated with disease and illness, at the expense of widespread recognition of the continent’s history with healing and medicine. Reports of malaria, yellow fever, ebola, and HIV from travelers, colonial personnel, and contemporary media have long eclipsed an understanding of the continent’s contributions to health and science from its herbal pharmacopeia through 21st century laboratory research. In this episode, we examine the associations with Africa and disease while also recognizing the innovations that are owed to the continent.

WTNTK: Africa - Ep 12 Research and Remedies: Africa’s History of Health and Healing

Helping K-12 teachers bring the modern Middle East & North Africa to their classrooms, one topic at a time. Because there’s so much more to the region than conflict. Learn more at www.primarysource.org/podcasts

Musics credits:
"Last Lights" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Kim Arar" by Wind of Anatolia (with permission)
"The Secret" by Soft and Furious (public domain)
"Détermination" by Monplaisir (public domain)
"-Drum Solo" by Turku (CC BY 4.0)
"Human" by Borrtex (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Venndet" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Image Credit: "Map of the Turkish Empire" by an unknown mapmaker, via the Qatar National Library and the World Digital Library: https://www.wdl.org/en/item/14673/#q=Middle+East+Map&qla=en

WTNTK: Middle East- Episode 1 What and Where is the Middle East Anyway?

Why do some Middle Eastern women wear headscarves or full-body coverings? The answers might just surprise you. Joining us are Barbara Petzen, Director of Middle East Connections, who explains the social, political, and economic reasons for veiling, and Subheen Razzaqui, a hijab-wearing world history and political science teacher in Newton, Massachusetts. Learn more at www.primarysource.org/podcasts

Music Credits:
"Kim Arar" by Wind of Anatolia (with permission)
"Rocinante's Lament" by Doctor Turtle (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"The Sickness" by Monplaisir (public domain)
"Brave" by Borrtex (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Venndet" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"One Quiet Conversation" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Milkwood" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Turning on the Lights" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"West Coast" by Ryan Little (CC BY 4.0)

Image Credit:
"Iranian Beauty" by Hamed Saber, via Flickr Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0)

WTNTK: Middle East- Ep. 2 Underneath the Veil

Hussein Rashid of Barnard / Columbia discusses the importance of thinking critically about news, information, and stories relating to the Middle East. We also highlight five activities you can do to promote media literacy in your classrooms. Learn more at www.primarysource.org/podcasts

Music credits:
"Kim Arar" by Wind of Anatolia
"Sueur" by Monplaisir
"Waterbourne" by Blue Dot Sessions
"Thread of Clouds" by Blue Dot Sessions
"Tower of Mirrors" by Blue Dot Sessions
"Spins and Never Falls" by Blue Dot Sessions
"Filing Away" by Blue Dot Sessions
"Thannoid" by Blue Dot Sessions
"-Yesilim" by Turku

WTNTK: Middle East- Ep 3 Media Literacy & the Middle East

Peter Krause of Boston College breaks down the crisis in Syria and shares strategies for teaching about Syria in the K-12 classroom. Learn more at www.primarysource.org/podcasts

Music credits:
"Kim Arar" by Wind of Anatolia
"White Filament" by Blue Dot Sessions
"Stillness" by Blue Dot Sessions
"Drone Pine" by Blue Dot Sessions
"White Limit" by Blue Dot Sessions
"As Dust Gathers" by Blue Dot Sessions
"Cirrus" by Blue Dot Sessions

Image Credit:
"Aleppo" by Joshua Tabti, via Flickr Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0)

WTNTK: Middle East- Ep 4 Syria, Explained

David Siddhartha Patel of Brandeis University explains the regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, including how this rivalry is playing out in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Qatar. For more information visit www.primarysource.org/podcasts

Credits:
"Kim Arar" by Wind of Anatolia (with permission)
"March on Gumdrop Field" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Cold War Echo" by Kai Engel (CC BY 4.0)
"Vik Fenceta" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Vik Fence Haflak" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Soothe" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Lacquer Groove" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Transit Vidal" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Eventual Victory" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Just the Feeling in the Room" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Felt Lining" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Distill" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Image:
"Aircraft_Fighter_Jet_F-15_Eagle_Royal_Saudi_Air_Force" by Matt Morgan (CC BY-SA 2.0)

WTNTK: Middle East- Ep 5 The Saudi-Iran Cold War

Ali Asani of Harvard University explores the diversity of ideology and practice within Islam. We also talk with Rachel Otty, a public high school history teacher in Cambridge, MA, about why and how she teaches religious literacy. Learn more at www.primarysource.org/podcasts

Music Credits:
"Kim Arar" by Wind of Anatolia (with permission)
"Cicle Ariel" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Cicle Veroni" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Thread Indigo" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Cach" by Blue Dot Session (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Algea Tender" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Feathered" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Sage the Hunter" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"When in the West" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"The Summit" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Image Credit:
"Moroccan Design: Mosaic 13" by Mikołaj Pasiński via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

WTNTK: Middle East- Ep 6 The Diversity of Islam

Steven Caton of Harvard University breaks down the civil war, famine, and water crisis in Yemen. Learn more at www.primarysource.org/podcasts

Music Credits:
"Kim Arar" by Wind of Anatolia, with permission
"Stipple" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Szaree" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Temporal Slip" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"The Telling" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"The Air Escaping" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"La Costilla" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Stillness" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Cobweb Transit" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
"Sunset at Sandy Isle" by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Image Credit:
"Old City Sana'a" by Rick McCharles via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

WTNTK: Middle East- Ep 7 Water & War in Yemen

Betty Anderson of Boston University explains the pressures and hopes that have motivated Arab youth to speak out for change in the past and at present.  Learn more at www.primarysource.org/podcasts

Music Credits:
"Kim Arar" by Wind of Anatolia, with permission
“Too Far Gone” by Ryan Little (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Valley of Shadows” by Ryan Little (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Sword Fight, Are We Still in a Dream?” by Monplaisir (CC BY-NC 1.0)
“Alum Drum Solo” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Chilvat” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Image Credit:
“Anti-Sexual Harassment, Anti-Police Failures Demo, Press Syndicate,” by Hossam El-Hamalawy via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

WTNTK: Middle East- Ep 8 Arab Youth & Youth Activism

Nadya Hajj, a political scientist from Wellesley College, and Rachel Barker, a middle school social studies teacher in Wayland, Massachusetts join us to discuss the many lessons we can learn from refugees. Learn more at www.primarysource.org/for-teachers/podcasts.

Music Credits:
“Kim Arar,” by Wind of Anatolia, with permission
“Last Lights,” by Blue Dot Sessions(CC BY-NC 4.0)
“One Little Triumph,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Warm Fingers,” by Blue Dot Sessions(CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Dolly Pop,” by Blue Dot Sessions(CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Strange Dog Walk,” by Blue Dot Sessions(CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Base Camp,” by Blue Dot Sessions(CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Clay Pawn Shop,” by Blue Dot Sessions(CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Dance of Felt,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Aourourou,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Image Credit:
“Working together to help Syrian refugee children in Lebanon,” by Russell Watkins/Department for International Development, via Flickr(CC BY 2.0). The image has been cropped.

WTNTK: Middle East- Ep 9 Learning from Refugees

Naghmeh Sohrabi of Brandeis University unpacks the rise of nationalism in the Middle East, highlighting contending visions of national ideology while offering a reminder that nationhood was not always a foregone conclusion across the region.

Music Credits:
“Kim Arar,” by Wind of Anatolia (with permission
“Line Exchange,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Three Stories,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Greyleaf Willow,”by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Awaiting on Arrival,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Tumblehome,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Flashing Runner,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Building the Sled,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Tiptoe Treadline,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Roundpine,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Image Credit:
“25 piastres,” by Ronald Chan, used under Public Domain Mark 1.0.

WTNTK: Middle East- Ep 11 Imagining Nationhood in the Middle East

Jerusalem is a city that has captivated the imagination and devotion of people for thousands of years. Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, a rabbi and Wheaton College professor of religion, illuminates the connections between each of the Abrahamic traditions and the historical and theological ties grounding them in Jerusalem. Learn more at www.primarysource.org/for-teachers/podcasts.

Music Credits:
“Kim Arar,” by Wind of Anatolia (with permission)
“Leave the TV on,” by Blue Dot Sessions(CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Lahaina,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“The Records,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Sals Place,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Our Names Engraved,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Strange Dog Walk,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Dolly and Pad,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Slate Tracker,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Drone Pine,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Wistful,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)
“Morning Colorwheel,” by Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Image Credit:
Photo of Jerusalem taken by Daniel Osborn

WTNTK: Middle East- Ep 12 Rooted in Jerusalem: The Abrahamic Faiths

Episode Acknowledgements 

Special thanks to the Qatar Foundation International, which provided the seed funding and support to develop and launch this podcast and to produce this episode.

Thanks to Nawal Nasrallah for generously sharing her expertise in this episode. 

Featured Music

“Kim Arar,” by Wind of Anatolia, from the album Live at the 2014 Golden Festival, used with permission from Wind of Anatolia. The track has been excerpted and mixed with narrative.
“Arizona Moon,” by Blue Dot Sessions, from the album Cholate, used under Creative Commons License Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). The track has been overlaid with narrative.
“Borough,” by Blue Dot Sessions, from the album Molerider, used under Creative Commons License Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). The track has been overlaid with narrative.
“Trailrunner,” by Blue Dot Sessions, from the album Zander, used under Creative Commons License Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). The track has been remixed and overlaid with narrative.
“Vernouillet,” by Blue Dot Sessions, from the album The Sweet Hots, used under Creative Commons License Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). The track has been remixed and overlaid with narrative.
“When in the West,” by Blue Dot Sessions, from the album Landsman Duets, used under Creative Commons License Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). The track has been overlaid with narrative.
“Great, Great Lengths,” by Blue Dot Sessions, from the album The Balloonist, used under Creative Commons License Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). The track has been overlaid with narrative.
“Delamine,” by Blue Dot Sessions, from the album Bitters, used under Creative Commons License Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). The track has been overlaid with narrative.

Image Credits

Photo of spice display provided by Daniel Osborn. 
Photo of Nawal Nasrallah provided by Nawal Nasrallah.

More about Primary Source at primarysource.org

WTNTK: Middle East-  13 Into the Souq: Culture, Cuisine, and Cacophony

Africa has disparagingly been referred to as the “Dark Continent,” concealing the fullness and diversity of its history, culture, and humanity. In this episode, we explore stereotypes about Africa and begin the process of dispelling them by listening to underappreciated narratives, showcasing Africa’s vibrancy and global interconnectedness. We are joined by Barbara Brown, Boston University’s Africa Studies Center, Amy Lake, Lee H. Kellogg School, and ten individuals with intimate connections to life and community throughout Africa.

Image Credits 

Photo of Barbara Brown provided by Teaching Africa Outreach Program website. 
Photo of Claude Kaitare provided by Claude Kaitare.

WTNTK: Africa - Ep. 1 What We Talk About When We Talk About Africa

Democracy Lab: Active Civic Learning

Democracy Lab: Students, Identities, And Civics

Democracy Lab: The Challenges To Teaching Civics

Africa’s global connections span millennia and have resulted in the development of sophisticated trade networks and cultural hybridity. In this episode, we examine two global systems of movement and exchange, focusing on the transport of material culture and goods in the Indian Ocean World and the transatlantic slave trade in the Atlantic World.

Episode Acknowledgements 

Thanks to Carina Ray and Kristin Strobel for sharing their expertise in this episode. 

Thanks to Nico Rivers for audio editing, mixing and mastering.

Special thanks to the Boston University Africa Studies Center and the Teaching Africa Outreach Program for collaborating and providing support for this podcast.

www.primarysource.org

WTNTK: Africa - Ep. 2 Interconnected Africa: Movements Across the Indian and Atlantic Ocean Worlds

Art and culture often intersect with politics and music has been a potent instrument of social movements. In this episode, we explore recent historical and contemporary examples of protest music throughout Africa as musicians and communities turned their creative talents towards anticolonial, antiapartheid, and anti-corruption campaigns.

WTNTK: Africa - Ep. 3 Soundscapes of Protest: Music in Social Movements Across Africa

Participation in democratic society takes many forms but voting holds a particularly central role in the functioning of U.S. political life. However, as esteemed as this right may be, one constant throughout U.S. history has been the contested nature of access to the ballot. For African Americans, in particular, disenfranchisement and voter suppression has interfered with full engagement. Yet, activism has spurred on legislation in the ongoing efforts to fortify a more inclusive and just society.

We spoke to Dr. Marilyn Davis, an associate professor of political science at Spelman College, about the longstanding and ongoing struggle among African Americans to secure voting rights in the United States. In each of these short podcast episodes, Dr. Davis shares her insights into different facets of the vibrant history of African Americans and the difficult reality that political participation has not always been full, fair, or free.

Ep. 9 Teaching History and Law for Civic Committment with Dr. Marilyn Davis

Ep. 4 A Closer Look at Voter Suppression with Dr. Marilyn Davis

Ep. 3 With Disenfranchisement comes Activism with Dr. Marilyn Davis

African decolonization has a complex history, involving resistance against and liberation from European colonial subjugation. In this episode, we examine the political and cultural interplay between race, resistance, and decolonization across Africa while considering ways to teach about racism in classrooms today.


Episode Acknowledgements:

Thanks to Michael Ralph, Julian Braxton, Linda Morse, and Malcolm Cawthorne for sharing their expertise in this episode. 

Thanks to Nico Rivers for audio editing, mixing, and mastering. 

Special thanks to the Boston University Africa Studies Center and the Teaching Africa Outreach Program for collaborating and providing support for this podcast.

WTNTK: Africa - Ep. 4 Ending the Scramble: Decolonization Across Africa

Do you teach about global cultures or world events in your classroom? If so, this podcast for you! What Teachers Need to Know offers vital insight for understanding current events, history, global cultures, and social issues, so that you can facilitate deeper learning about a particular region with your students. Meet subject-matter experts and explore online resources that can help make this information accessible for K-12 classrooms. Together, we can prepare the next generation to be informed and engaged global citizens. 

This podcast was created by Primary Source, a nonprofit organization that provides professional development programs and services in global learning to K-12 educators nationwide.

Popular tracks by What Teachers Need to Know