NYAC S4 E11: Empathy, What is it Good for‪?‬ Not Your African Cliché

NYAC S4 E11: Empathy, What is it Good for?


On this episode we speak with literature buff, writer and embodiment of Pan-Africanism, Clarisse Baleja Saidi about her Rwandese, Ugandan, Congolese and Ivorian roots, and her journey to becoming a writer. We examine the clarifying power of writing; discuss the challenge of truthful, authentic storytelling while trying to avoid pandering; and ask, what is the role of empathy in literature ?

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Resources

https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/03/02/the-banality-of-empathy/ https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/bloody-image-double-standard https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/03/ethiopian-airlines-302/584533/ https://wereherelove.com/podcastguests/#ClarisseBalejaSaïdi

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Reading
- John Carryrou’s Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
- Claire Adam’s Golden Child
- Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird
- Peter Kreeft’s Practical Theology: Spiritual Direction from Saint Thomas Aquinas

Listening
- PJ Morton and Yebba’s How Deep is Your Love
- P J Morton’s Christmas with PJ Morton

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Episode was mixed by Ifeoluwa Olokode, theme song is Ayo by Femi Leye