Ep. 93: A conversation with Kim Yi Dionne and Ken Opalo about the politics and policy of the COVID-19 pandemic and more

This week's news wrap featured discussions about recent election updates in Burundi and Benin, leadership changes in Lesotho, and more news regarding summer bonus content!In this episode, we highlight a panel discussion from an event with the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Our very own cohost, Kim Yi Dionne, was a part of the panel, along side a familiar face, or we should say voice, to our Ufahamu Africa community — Ken Opalo. Peter Lewis moderated the panel. Peter Lewis is the Warren Weinstein Chair of African Studies and the director of Africa and Middle East programs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (@SAISAfrica). His research and teaching focuses on economic reform and political transition in developing countries, particularly with an emphasis on government and development in Sub-Saharan Africa. He has most recently authored a book called Coping with Crisis in African States, which examines sources of resiliency and fragility across African countries. His writings can be found in World Politics, World Development, the Journal of Democracy, the Journal of Modern African Studies, African Affairs, and others.Kim Yi Dionne (@dadakim) is an assistant professor of political science at UC Riverside. Her research, shockingly, focuses on African politics, especially interventions to improve the human condition, public opinion, and political behavior. She is an editor at The Monkey Cage Blog (@monkeycageblog), a blog ran by the Washington Post dealing with politics and political science. Additionally, she serves on the board of #WomenAlsoKnowStuff, an initiative to promote the scholarship of women in political science. She is also the author of the book Doomed Interventions: The Failure of Global Responses to AIDS in Africa.Ken Opalo (@kopalo) is an assistant professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. His research interests include international political economy, international politics, and legislative politics. Ken is the author of Legislative Development in Africa: Politics and Post-Colonial Legacies, which examines the evolution of legislatures in emerging democracies. Ken's writing has been featured in multiple publications, including the British Journal of Political Science, Governance, the Journal of Eastern African Studies, and the Journal of Democracy.Find the books, links, and articles we mentioned in this episode on our website, ufahamuafrica.com.