Ryan Lenora Brown - South Africa - Christian Science Monitor

What insanity inspires 20,000 normal people to run 56 miles (90 kilometers) every year in South Africa? Ryan Lenora Brown (@ryanlenorabrown) tells us how Apartheid helped make this race a phenomenon. She talks about trying to tell stories that don’t revert to stereotypes of Africa, even as we ponder the ethics of white foreigners reporting on South Africa or Latin America.

Countries featured: South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo

Publications featured: Runner’s World, Christian Science Monitor

Ryan discusses venturing out for a story during the pandemic (4:57), how journalism helped her conquer her shyness (8:11), how the Fulbright program brought her to South Africa (12:17), becoming an intern churning out content for Chrisitian Science Monitor (14:38), giving up a fellowship in Asia to move to South Africa as a freelancer (20:50), what is the Christian Science Monitor anyway (36:06), the Eritrean soccer team defecting to Botswana (40:00), an anthropologist who bought beer on the WHO’s dime to help confront the Ebola crisis (43:24), the ultramarathon (50:47), how a racial reckoning has yet to come for foreign correspondents (57:27), and finally the lightning round (1:03:52)

 

Here are links to some of the things we talked about:

Ryan’s story on the 99th day of South Africa’s pandemic - https://bit.ly/2FLCRjn

The Luce Fellowship - https://bit.ly/32ibZ1X

Ryan’s story Congo Ebola crisis: To fight disease, an anthropologist heals distrust - https://bit.ly/3gisT5P

Her article on the Comrades ultramarathon - https://bit.ly/2ErxTHU

Her story on the reading runner - https://bit.ly/2CQQvRj

South Africa’s Mail and Guardian - https://bit.ly/2QiaCe8

By the Book podcast - https://apple.co/3j3DiUC

WaPo’s The Lives Upended Around a $20 Cheeseburger - https://wapo.st/3lbs3eM

Ryan’s book A Native of Nowhere - https://amzn.to/2QjezPH

The Writers' Co-op podcast - https://apple.co/3hy2nqc

 

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Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats

From: freemusicarchive.org

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