Charl Blignaut
@poptartology.bsky.social
Writer, reader, editor, poptart, flaming queer.
"Skit-making is estimated to be Nigeria’s third largest entertainment industry sector, with a net worth of over US$31 million." theconversation.com/the-comedy-e...
The comedy economy: Nigeria’s online video skits are making millions
The skit economy is estimated to be Nigeria’s third-largest entertainment sector, with a net worth of over US$31 million.
theconversation.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:06 PM
"Skit-making is estimated to be Nigeria’s third largest entertainment industry sector, with a net worth of over US$31 million." theconversation.com/the-comedy-e...
"What the New Generation African Poets Chapbook Series tells us: that African poetry is thriving, diverse and globally mobile. What it does not tell us: how poets working entirely from the continent might imagine and enact African poetics differently." theconversation.com/african-poet...
African poetry is celebrated in a groundbreaking publishing project
The project has highlighted a new generation of African poets and created a visually beautiful archive in the process.
theconversation.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:03 PM
"What the New Generation African Poets Chapbook Series tells us: that African poetry is thriving, diverse and globally mobile. What it does not tell us: how poets working entirely from the continent might imagine and enact African poetics differently." theconversation.com/african-poet...
"This proposed route is counter to the current belief among most scientists that the Out-of-Africa migration began in eastern Africa and not southern Africa." theconversation.com/where-did-th...
Where did the first people come from? The case for a coastal migration from southern Africa
A coastal migration up and out of Africa was more likely to succeed than an overland journey.
theconversation.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:30 PM
"This proposed route is counter to the current belief among most scientists that the Out-of-Africa migration began in eastern Africa and not southern Africa." theconversation.com/where-did-th...
"Admitting the variety, embracing the fractures, this was the lesson of all of Wicomb’s writing." theconversation.com/south-africa...
South African writer Zoë Wicomb embraced humanity in all its complexity
Admitting the variety, embracing the fractures, this was the lesson of all of Wicomb’s writing.
theconversation.com
October 29, 2025 at 11:50 AM
"Admitting the variety, embracing the fractures, this was the lesson of all of Wicomb’s writing." theconversation.com/south-africa...
"Tango dancers showed brains that appeared more than seven years younger than their chronological age. Musicians and visual artists had brains about five to six years younger. Gamers, about four years younger." theconversation.com/creativity-i...
Creativity is good for the brain and might even slow down its ageing – new study
Taking up a hobby like art, dance or music classes could have significant hidden benefits.
theconversation.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:36 PM
"Tango dancers showed brains that appeared more than seven years younger than their chronological age. Musicians and visual artists had brains about five to six years younger. Gamers, about four years younger." theconversation.com/creativity-i...
"In what sense does a person belong to a place, or a place to a person? Does one carry belonging with one, or is it something one leaves behind when one moves?" #RIPZoëWicomb theconversation.com/zoe-wicomb-t...
Zoë Wicomb, the South African-Scottish writer who told powerful stories about belonging
A guide to the work of an acclaimed writer who represented the marginalised in society.
theconversation.com
October 17, 2025 at 9:21 AM
"In what sense does a person belong to a place, or a place to a person? Does one carry belonging with one, or is it something one leaves behind when one moves?" #RIPZoëWicomb theconversation.com/zoe-wicomb-t...
"When a language isn’t in the data, its speakers aren’t in the product, and AI cannot be safe, useful or fair for them." theconversation.com/african-lang...
African languages for AI: the project that’s gathering a huge new dataset
When a language isn’t in the data, its speakers aren’t in the product – and AI cannot be safe, useful, or fair for them.
theconversation.com
October 16, 2025 at 4:42 PM
"When a language isn’t in the data, its speakers aren’t in the product, and AI cannot be safe, useful or fair for them." theconversation.com/african-lang...
"Participants in my marital rape research expressed how police sometimes mock wives seeking help. They believe it’s not possible for a husband to rape a wife." theconversation.com/rape-within-...
Rape within marriage is still silenced in South Africa – why women are being failed
It’s not uncommon that rape by a spouse happens alongside other forms of abuse.
theconversation.com
October 14, 2025 at 2:32 PM
"Participants in my marital rape research expressed how police sometimes mock wives seeking help. They believe it’s not possible for a husband to rape a wife." theconversation.com/rape-within-...
"Those still alive to remember get fewer." theconversation.com/windhoeks-ol...
Windhoek’s Old Location was a place of pain, but also joy – new book
Former residents recall a community nurtured by a spirit of extended family and solidarity.
theconversation.com
October 2, 2025 at 2:21 PM
"Those still alive to remember get fewer." theconversation.com/windhoeks-ol...
"The Caine Prize made a decision early on to accept entries from internet publications. This proved prescient. Online platforms have inspired a boom in short stories. The art form has links with age-old traditions of storytelling in Africa." theconversation.com/noviolet-bul...
NoViolet Bulawayo wins the best of 25 years of the Caine Prize. Why she deserves it
She experiments with form while capturing the hopes and contradictions of our times.
theconversation.com
September 29, 2025 at 2:37 PM
"The Caine Prize made a decision early on to accept entries from internet publications. This proved prescient. Online platforms have inspired a boom in short stories. The art form has links with age-old traditions of storytelling in Africa." theconversation.com/noviolet-bul...
"Any argument that surnames underpin bloodlines, identity and leadership succession should recognise that marital surnames are a colonial import." theconversation.com/south-africa...
South African men may now take their wife’s surname – why traditional leaders are upset
Although the judgment promotes gender equality, it opens another chapter in the struggle between customs and constitutional rights.
theconversation.com
September 19, 2025 at 1:44 PM
"Any argument that surnames underpin bloodlines, identity and leadership succession should recognise that marital surnames are a colonial import." theconversation.com/south-africa...
"People say their prayers with words, and I’m saying my prayers with a painting." theconversation.com/zimbabwean-a...
Zimbabwean artist Portia Zvavahera turns her prayers into paintings
African artists are not only present on the global stage but are shaping the languages of art itself.
theconversation.com
September 18, 2025 at 3:23 PM
"People say their prayers with words, and I’m saying my prayers with a painting." theconversation.com/zimbabwean-a...
"These women’s high-risk journeys struck me as being characteristic of what journalist and scholar Mahvish Ahmad describes as a musāfir: an activist-traveller in a politically hostile environment who breaks new ground for others so they may be free." theconversation.com/travel-as-ac...
Travel as activism: 6 stories of Black women who refused to ‘stay put’ in apartheid South Africa
The stories of six South African women who travelled to fight for workers and for women’s rights, and risked it all.
theconversation.com
September 18, 2025 at 3:21 PM
"These women’s high-risk journeys struck me as being characteristic of what journalist and scholar Mahvish Ahmad describes as a musāfir: an activist-traveller in a politically hostile environment who breaks new ground for others so they may be free." theconversation.com/travel-as-ac...
"As South Africa moves towards a national AI strategy, the focus must be on broadening access to reliable information on AI, not just through schools, but also for older generations and others who feel left out of the discourse." theconversation.com/one-in-three....
One in three South Africans have never heard of AI – what this means for policy
As South Africa moves towards a national AI strategy, the focus must be on people and not just technology.
theconversation.com
September 17, 2025 at 1:59 PM
"As South Africa moves towards a national AI strategy, the focus must be on broadening access to reliable information on AI, not just through schools, but also for older generations and others who feel left out of the discourse." theconversation.com/one-in-three....
"The maulidi festival became a medium for social reform, a symbol of change." theconversation.com/muslim-ritua...
Muslim ritual meets Swahili culture at Kenya’s unique annual maulidi festival
In the Lamu Archipelago, the mention of maulidi elicits an sense of happiness.
theconversation.com
September 15, 2025 at 3:53 PM
"The maulidi festival became a medium for social reform, a symbol of change." theconversation.com/muslim-ritua...
"South Africans’ deep collective investment in the power of the occult masks other, more pressing realities. They offer easy explanations that defer the real causes, and the real responsibilities, for the crime, violence and insecurity that plague daily life." theconversation.com/satanic-pani...
Satanic panic: 5 ‘occult’ crimes that gripped South Africa’s imagination
From demon-possessed killers to charismatic cultists, it can sometimes seem as though South Africa is at war with evil itself.
theconversation.com
September 11, 2025 at 2:39 PM
"South Africans’ deep collective investment in the power of the occult masks other, more pressing realities. They offer easy explanations that defer the real causes, and the real responsibilities, for the crime, violence and insecurity that plague daily life." theconversation.com/satanic-pani...
"His photographs offer complexity, dignity and humanity in a world that often seems to lack it." theconversation.com/nigerian-pho...
Nigerian photographer Michael Oyinbokure challenges stereotypes about migrants
His photographs reveal what immigrants carry with them: resilience, creativity and cultural knowledge.
theconversation.com
September 11, 2025 at 2:38 PM
"His photographs offer complexity, dignity and humanity in a world that often seems to lack it." theconversation.com/nigerian-pho...
"The question I ask in my study is what might help Black women with disabilities to be empowered to dismantle ableist microaggressions. The answer lies in the past." theconversation.com/what-is-able....
What is ableism? Words can hurt people but African culture offers an alternative
Ableist microaggressions are made by able-bodied people who don’t understand the realities of living with a disability.
theconversation.com
September 11, 2025 at 2:37 PM
"The question I ask in my study is what might help Black women with disabilities to be empowered to dismantle ableist microaggressions. The answer lies in the past." theconversation.com/what-is-able....
"Evangelical filmmakers simply retooled the formula, swapping out witchdoctors for pastors, charms for prayer, and gods for Christ." theconversation.com/god-and-noll....
God and Nollywood: how Pentecostal churches have shaped Nigerian film
Evangelical filmmakers turned prayers into special effects and spiritual battles into dramatic storylines and created a new genre.
theconversation.com
September 4, 2025 at 2:29 PM
"Evangelical filmmakers simply retooled the formula, swapping out witchdoctors for pastors, charms for prayer, and gods for Christ." theconversation.com/god-and-noll....
"Her crime? Seeking a traditional Akan remedy for a simple cat bite." theconversation.com/monicas-stor...
Mónica’s story: the woman shipped from Ghana to Portugal in 1556 to stand trial for using traditional medicine
Colonialism criminalised local knowledge systems.
theconversation.com
September 4, 2025 at 2:27 PM
"Her crime? Seeking a traditional Akan remedy for a simple cat bite." theconversation.com/monicas-stor...
The end of colonisation did not dismantle the BBC’s operation – the style was already embedded in the broadcasting system. theconversation.com/bbc-has-a-lo...
BBC has a long history in Africa. New book offers a critical take on the broadcaster
The end of colonisation did not dismantle the BBC’s operation – the style was already embedded in the broadcasting system.
theconversation.com
September 4, 2025 at 2:26 PM
The end of colonisation did not dismantle the BBC’s operation – the style was already embedded in the broadcasting system. theconversation.com/bbc-has-a-lo...
"Filmmakers were very optimistic about technology, but deeply sceptical of what existing platforms could do for them." theconversation.com/ghanas-films...
Ghana’s films don’t often make it to Netflix – local solutions may be the answer
Ghanaian film-makers struggle to access international distribution.
theconversation.com
September 4, 2025 at 2:25 PM
"Filmmakers were very optimistic about technology, but deeply sceptical of what existing platforms could do for them." theconversation.com/ghanas-films...
"Despite facing challenges like high unemployment and limited resources, many participants expressed pride in their ability to care for others. They saw responsibility as a source of meaning." theconversation.com/what-does-it...
What does it mean to become an adult? In Namibia, it’s caring for others
There is no single way of becoming an adult in the world.
theconversation.com
September 1, 2025 at 2:33 PM
"Despite facing challenges like high unemployment and limited resources, many participants expressed pride in their ability to care for others. They saw responsibility as a source of meaning." theconversation.com/what-does-it...
"It allows English readers to encounter African novels as they were first imagined, in the rhythms, idioms, and sensibilities of African languages. It helps counter the erasure of African languages in world literature." theconversation.com/african-nove...
African novels are being translated to English in a bold new trend. We review Ignatius Mabasa’s The Mad
English readers can now encounter African novels as they were first imagined, in the rhythms of their own languages.
theconversation.com
August 28, 2025 at 2:58 PM
"It allows English readers to encounter African novels as they were first imagined, in the rhythms, idioms, and sensibilities of African languages. It helps counter the erasure of African languages in world literature." theconversation.com/african-nove...