© 2024 Iowa Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Africa, Behind the Headlines

Twitter.com
First Lady Michelle Obama

The kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian girls has captured world attention.  But the Nigerian government has been unsuccessfully trying to put down an insurgency by Boko Haram for years.  Host Ben Kieffer talks with Pita Agbese, Professor of Political Science at University of Northern Iowa about the social media campaign that included a photo tweeted by First Lady Michelle Obama and how that has forced the Nigerian government to act.  He also speaks with Moses Bomett, Founder and President of Hope for Africa, a non-profit that raises money to support schools in Kenya.  And he talk with Jim and Jay Norton, a father and son from Cedar Falls who have developed a Multifunction Farm Implement to help African farmers work the land more sustainably.

Ben Kieffer is the host of IPR's River to River
Katherine Perkins is IPR's Program Director for News and Talk