TROUBLEMAKERS

Beautiful Trouble

At TROUBLEMAKERS, we explore how to rebel in an age when a few elite have so much control. We speak with inspiring people from all walks of life across the planet on the tools they use to subvert and seize power for the transformation of our world. TROUBLEMAKERS is a place to learn from each other about how to make change. This podcast is a transcontinental operation brought to you by Beautiful Trouble, MOVE the Global Social Movement Centre, MS TCDC, and Global Platforms.

  1. 11 sep

    Ep 54: The Battle of Ideas, with Sefu Sanni

    Politicians pass laws, but culture shapes belief, and belief shapes everything else. In this episode, Thompson Luzendi sits with Sefu Sanni to unpack the battle of ideas: how culture becomes the real terrain of power, and how the creative arts can move people where speeches and laws cannot. About the guest Sefu Sanni is a Kenyan musician, poet, and self-described communication strategist and propagandist. She leads the Pan-African Women's Network, helps coordinate the Kenya Left Alliance in Nairobi, and organizes from an openly leftist, feminist, Pan-African position. Three lessons from the episode Culture is the real battleground. Whoever shapes what feels normal, in dress, music, politics, and taste, quietly shapes what people believe is possible. Sefu names Hollywood and cultural imperialism as the force holding Africa in chains. Art is not entertainment; it is strategy. From Mekatilili wa Menza using the Kifudu dance to mobilise the Mijikenda against British invasion, to today's artivism and youth uprisings from Kenya to Nepal to Nigeria, creativity has always been a tool to organise and disrupt. Political education is how you win. Reclaiming African identity at the grassroots matters, but lasting change needs awakened consciousness: to unlearn, relearn, and build new knowledge, then take back the narrative from the ruling class. Follow Troublemakers wherever you get your podcasts, and share this one with someone who needs to hear it. License of use: © Troublemakers Podcast. Free to share with credit to Troublemakers Podcast. Not for commercial reuse or editing without permission.

  2. 7 ago

    Ep 53: No One Is Coming to Save You, with Nalishebo Sinyama

    What makes someone walk to the utility company with a placard instead of posting complaints online? Nalishebo Sinyama has been answering that since 2019, when a load shedding protest in her Lusaka suburb turned her into an organizer overnight. She sits with Given Kapolyo to trace her path from a grassroots ward organizer to national work, and now to feminist organizing in Somaliland. With Zambia's general election a week away, her message to young people is blunt: no one is coming to save you. What you'll hear The 2019 load shedding protest that started it all, and getting arrested before she even knew what organizing was Finding Youth for Parliament as a safe space to be radical as a young woman Feminism as a hard conversation, and the question from a young girl she still cannot answer Being sexualized during the Patriotic Front adoption process, and naming it for what it is In her words "The principle of organising does not change. What changes is the context." "Activism is a way of life. It is not a hobby. It is not a job." "Gender does not define how radical or how powerful someone should be." "No one is coming to help you. You have to stand up and speak out for yourself." About the guest Nalishebo Sinyama is a grassroots organizer from Zambia, now based in Somaliland, working to put young people and young women at the front line of change. Credits Hosted by Given Kapolyo. A Troublemakers production, made at MS TCDC in partnership with Beautiful Trouble and MOVE.

  3. 10 jul

    TM Smoke Signals: From Protest to Power, with Boniface Mwangi

    Human rights defender, activist, and presidential candidate for the Republic of Kenya, Boniface Mwangi joins Smoke Signals for a direct, unfiltered conversation on what it will actually take for Kenya's Gen Z movement to convert street energy into political power by 2027. This is not a motivational talk. It is a strategic briefing. What We Cover From occupation to ballot revolution. Boniface breaks down why "Ruto must go" is not enough. The movement needs political formations, a clear agenda, and serious civic education, not just for themselves but for the voters who still do not see young people as leaders. Decentralisation without leaderlessness. A horizontal movement still needs a council of voices. Boniface argues that formal leadership is no longer optional if Gen Z wants to win. Avoiding co-optation. You only get absorbed by the system if you have no agenda of your own. A movement with a clear vision is corruption-proof. Individual leaders may sell out. A movement with a mandate cannot. The cost of challenging power. Surveillance, arrests, infiltration. Boniface gives practical advice on operational security: no routines, no technology in sensitive meetings, cell-based organising, and leaking misinformation to identify moles. What governance must look like after 2027. Rule of law, social security, free education, free healthcare, land restitution, and full accountability for economic theft since independence. The biggest mistake Gen Z could make. Joining or aligning with the current political class. Stay as far away as possible. Closing message to those still in fear. When you lose your fear, they lose their power. Organise in spite of the threats. You are not only fighting for a better life. You are fighting for your right to exist.

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At TROUBLEMAKERS, we explore how to rebel in an age when a few elite have so much control. We speak with inspiring people from all walks of life across the planet on the tools they use to subvert and seize power for the transformation of our world. TROUBLEMAKERS is a place to learn from each other about how to make change. This podcast is a transcontinental operation brought to you by Beautiful Trouble, MOVE the Global Social Movement Centre, MS TCDC, and Global Platforms.