Trinidad and Tobago (S4.05)

November 10, 2019November 11, 2019 / lukejkelly / Leave a comment

In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we’ll be talking about Trinidad & Tobago, a twin island nation, located just off the northern coast of the South American mainland, around 11 kilometres or 7 miles from Venezuela. It is the southernmost of the West Indies island group, and today is home to around 1.3 million people.

Trinidad, the southernmost and larger of the two islands, has a landmass of around 4,760 km2 (1,840 sq miles), comprising 93% of the country’s territory. Tobago, around 40km or 25 miles to the northeast, is around 300 km2 (120 sq mi) in total. The islands enjoy a warm, tropical climate, and only have two seasons – a dry season for the first five months of the year, and a wet season for the remaining seven. Occupied by Amerindian tribes up to 1498, the islands were then discovered by Christopher Columbus and later became a Spanish colony. Sovereignty over the islands was disputed throughout the 19th century, before the two were unified as one British colony in 1888. Independent since 1962, the country has benefited greatly from the discovery of oil in 1857, and is today one of the richest and most ethnically diverse countries in the region. Trinidad and Tobago is also famous for its extravagant carnival celebrations, and is known as the birthplace of limbo dancing.

This episode, just like all of our recent ones, is supported by our Patreon backers. If you want to help out the show, you can help out by joining us over on www.patreon.com/80dayspodcast to give us whatever you can in terms of financial support and avail of all the lovely awards and extras that entitles you to. If you’re unable to support us financially, you can always leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts from.

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Your hosts, as always, are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly in Hong Kong, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 in the UK, and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Ireland . (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle @thatthomasfella)

Some further reading:

Arie Boomert’s book on the indigenous people of these islands can be found here.
“An Introduction to the History of Trinidad and Tobago” by Bridget Brereton
“A Vision for the Indigenous People of Trinidad and Tobago” video
The Collared Peccary, which was obviously delicious to early peoples, can be researched on Wikipedia here.
As discussed in this episode, the native name for Trinidad was Caeri or Iere. You can find more on the native traditions here.
The Caribbean History Archives blog has a wealth of information on Trinidad and Tobago, and has a whole post on Jean-Baptise Philippe’s civil rights campaign on behalf of these islands.
MinorityRights.org also has extensive information on the current-day minority groups of Trinidad and Tobago.
“How Tobago Got its Name”
“A History of Tobago” from MyTobago.info
“1876 Labour Riot in Tobago” – an article from the National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago’s blog about the “Belmanna Riots”
British National Archives information about Trinidad and Tobago in World War 1
Documentary about the country’s participation in World War 2
“A White Guy’s Guide to Canival” from blog The Constant Rambler
Arriana Talma’s article about slang you should know before going to these islands
VICE’s interview with Abu Bakr, the leader of the 1990 attempted coup makes for an interesting watch
CNN Special on the 1990 coup, with footage broadcast from the national television studios

Music that might interest listeners:

“A Celebration of Parang” Documentary by A Tree Without Roots Music, inlcuding “Bienvenido” by The Guerrero Sisters of Lopinot
Trinidad All Stars – Steel pan band
Yuke Yume Indigenous People music performance
Documentary about making a Tobago tambarin drum
Compilation of Tobago folk songs and dances
Calypso “Power” sung by David Bureau
Calypso “Black Power” by Mighty Fluke about the 1970 protests
Carnival Theme 2015, Soca song “Ola” by Olatunji
There is also soca produced by Indian-descended artists, such as Ravi: “D Key”
“O Maninga” by Jiahao Dong is an example of “chutney soca”
History of steelband music

The Gambia (S2.07)

July 10, 2017April 10, 2019 / Joe / 1 Comment

S02E07 The Gambia Audio

In this episode of 80 Days: an exploration podcast, we’ll be talking about the Gambia, the smallest country on the African mainland. Cutting a small sliver out of the Western coastline of Senegal, the Gambia is one of just a handful of nations on earth to share a border with just one country. The entirety of the country surrounds its namesake the Gambia River, with the border running parallel to both banks of the river inland for about 250 km. Gambia’s population of around 2 million is largely impoverished. It’s GDP is ranked at 167th out of 188 countries around the world, and like much of West Africa, it’s history has been impacted heavily by the slave trade. Having gained its independence in 1965 from the British empire, the Gambia has come to rely on its growing reputation as a tourist destination, and recently made headlines following a political power struggle between presidential candidates.

Your hosts are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly in Hong Kong, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 in the UK, and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Switzerland . (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle)

Table of Contents:

[02:01] Early exploration and the Stone Circles
[05:52] Influence of Islam and trade
[07:14] Mali and Songhai Empires
[09:43] Mandinka culture and scary masks
[18:07] Arrival of Europeans
[21:35] Start of trans-Atlantic slave trade
[26:15] First permanent European settlement
[26:55] Royal African Company founded in London
[30:26] Niall visits Nemban (clip)
[31:24] English and French vie for control
[35:01]The English liberalise the slave trade
[37:49] Pirate taking everything not nailed down
[39:20] Francis Moore’s reports
[42:32] The man who returned from slavery
[46:52] “Roots”
[49:59] Interview with tourguide
[53:24] Decline of the Royal African Company and searching for Timbuktoo
[55:38] Abolition of the slave trade and colony formation
[58:50] A colony for free slaves
[1:02:00] The kora and storytelling
[1:03:50] Setting the boundaries
[1:06:05] 20th Century, evolving colony and the world wars
[1:14:02] After the war… voting for all!
[1:16:45] Green Revolution and the PPP
[1:20:00] An awful flag
[1:22:32] An attempted coup and Senegambia
[1:29:32] A new character enters the stage: Jammeh
[1:39:42] Jammeh’s home town
[1:44:32] The Magic Presidential Powers – “hard on AIDS, hard on witches”
[1:47:56] 2016 Election kerfuffle
[1:50:25] A new president elected
[1:55:43] Food, wildlife, tourism and sport

Here are a few things you may want to read/watch more about:

Of general interest are: “A History of the Gambia” (J. M. Grey), “The Gambia Colony and Protectorate: An Official Handbook” (Francis Bisset Archer), Access Gambia‘s history section, and the concisely titled “Gambia Its History Ancient Medieval And Modern Together With Geographical Geological And Ethnological Conditions And A Description Of The Birds , Beasts And Fishes Found Therein” (Henry Fenwick Reeve, 1913)
The Voyage of Hanno the Navigator may have included the river Gambia
The Stone Circles of Senegambia are inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites (here is a video of them)
Kenyaleng Kafo are associations of childless women who play a unique role in Gambian society
Kankarang masks play a role in cermonies in Mandinka culture. As well as the photo below of the mask, you can watch this short tourist video from the Gambia, or this longer more professional piece from neighbouring Senegal (in French)

Photographs of Kenyaleng women in various roles, exhibiting distinctive dress

The Kankurang mask – associated with circumcision rituals

Exploration on behalf of Portugal was carried out by Italian Luís de Cadamosto and Antoniotto Usodimare; a book about their voyage, including their troubles in the Gambia can be found on Google Books
“The Impact of the slave trade on Africa” (Elikia M’bokolo, Le Monde Diplomatique, 1998) – the source of Luke’s quote
“What was the Royal African Company?” – History.com
“Travels to the Inland Parts of Africa” by Francis Moore is a 1730s book giving insight into the operations of the RAC at the time, as well as the practices and geography of the various tribes in the Gambia. It also includes a version of the story of Job ben Solomon
Another source for this story is the original account by Thomas Bluett with the catchy title: “Some Memoirs of the Life of Job, the Son of Solomon, the High Priest of Boonda in Africa; Who was a Slave About Two Years in Maryland; and Afterwards Being Brought to England, was Set Free, and Sent to His Native Land in the Year 1734”
Article VIII of the Treaty of Utrecht deals with the right of Britain to sell slaves to the Spanish colonies
Kunta Kinteh Island (formerly James Island) is a popular tousist drawn, particularly because of the book (by Alex Haley) and TV series Roots (1977 series; 2016 remake)
Videos of James Island from GCTN Africa and CNN Inside Africa

Map showing the fort on James Island/Kunta Kinteh Island from Juffreh, the Gambia

An account of King Kementeng and the consolidation of the British colony can be found in the book above by Archer
The ‘griot’ or ‘jali’ storytelling singers are an important cultural fixture in Gambian society, preserving music and folklore through generations, usually playing the ‘kora’. This tradition is spread throughout the former Mali Empire in West Africa: here is Prince Diabete talking about the tradition generally; and here Tata Dindin Jobarteh from the Gambia talks about his music
Atlas Obscura article about the Gambia’s odd-shaped borders and the cannon-ball myth

The West African Frontier Force fought in the First World War

“A Political History of the Gambia, 1816-1994” by Arnold Hughes and David Perfect gives details about the approach to independence towards the modern day
“How West Africa helped win World War II” (Kwei Quartey, Foreign Policy in Focus, 2012)
Franklin D. Roosevelt – “Excerpts from the Press Conference for the Negro Newspaper Publishers Association” (February 5, 1944) – his observations from his visits to the Gambia
“That Hell Hole of Yours” – article in American Heritage about FDR’s trip to Bathurst en route to the 1943 Casablanca Conference and his very critical impressions of colonialism
Dawda Jawara, the first president of the Gambia, is a significant figure in its history

The original flag of the Gambia, which we all think is pretty terrible

“Supranationalism in the African context: A critical look at past and
present attempts at building supranational organisations in Africa” from the doctoral thesis of Babatunde Olaitan Fagbayibo, assessing the outcomes of the Senegambian confederation
A Daily Observer retrospective (2015) on the 1981 coup; “Taylor’s Man Dies in Mali” (All Africa, 2013) report on the death of coup-leader Kokoi Sanyang and his relationship with Liberian dictator Charles Taylor

: Newspaper front pages from the day of Jammeh’s 1994 coup

: Newspaper front pages from the day of Jammeh’s 1994 coup

: Newspaper front pages from the day of Jammeh’s 1994 coup

“Gambia’s President declares Islamic statehood” – Al Jazeera
Mark quotes this article from Freedom Radio Gambia: “Gambia: Breaking News: Jammeh Is Sleeping Around With Women In Kanilai, While On His So Called Vacation!” – it’s quite partisan and inflammatory!
Al Jazeera documentary interviewing President Jammeh about his claimed ability to cure AIDS… (YouTube)
“Yahya Jammeh: The Loneliest Man Alive” – article in Pulse (Nigeria)
“A Gambian village mourns its most famous son – a dictator in exile” – Lorraine Mallinder, The Irish Times, 2017, about Kanilai; The Guardian has an article on Jammeh agreeing to go into exile
BBC clip on Gambian voting system using marbles

Music you heard was largely from field recordings by our friend Niall Ó Laoighaire (who is also responsible for most of the photos above, you may also want to listen to music from the following sources:

“Born Musicians: Traditional Music in the Gambia”, 1984 documentary from the Repercussions series. (Directed by Geoffrey Haydon with narration and interviews by Sidia Jatta)
Music from the ‘griot’ performance with the ‘kora’ instrument was from a show of jali Alagi MBye – there are many videos of MBye on YouTube, including this one “The Kora Story“

A massive thanks to John Keating and Lorraine Mounsey, two of the backers of our recent Kickstarter Campaign – thank you for making Season 2 possible. And special thanks this week to Niall Ó Laoighaire for his research in the Gambia, providing the photos above and some audio that you heard. Thanks too to our sponsor Hairy Baby, who in addition to making the funniest Irish-themed t-shirts, have also produced the official 80 Days shirt for our supporters. Find it by clicking here. You can get 10% off anything on www.hairybaby.com by using our promo code “80DAYS”.

Cuba: Part 1 (S2.06A)

June 12, 2017April 10, 2019 / Joe / 1 Comment

S02E06a: Cuba (part 1) Audio

In this episode of 80 Days: an exploration podcast, we’ll be talking about Cuba, an island in the Caribbean Ocean, just 90 miles south of the US state of Florida. Cuba is home to over 11 million inhabitants, and is the second-largest island in the Caribbean after Hispanola. The country has been subject to numerous territorial disputes and conflicts throughout its long and complex history, but finally emerged into independence in 1902. Following a turbulent revolution which spanned almost the entire 1950s, the Communist Party of Cuba, under the leadership of Fidel Castro, took control of the country in 1965. Although poverty is widespread, modern Cuba has an outstanding health care and education system and relations with the US are currently beginning to thaw after a protracted embargo that has been in place since the 1960s. Since Cuba has an awful lot of history, particularly in the 20th Century, we decided to split this episode into two parts: this is the first part.

Your hosts are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly in Hong Kong, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 in the UK, Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Switzerland and – as a new voice for regular listeners – we’re joined in this episode by Erin Barclay in the USA. (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle).

Table of Contents:

[03:28] Early History – Taíno and others
[05:50] In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue… and stuff happened
[09:25] Spanish Colony, ‘serfdom’ and Hatuey’s Uprising
[12:25] Slavery, Slave Rebellions and Pirates
[13:55] Trade monopolies and disputes
[19:00] Sugar boom and population imbalance, and Haitian influx
[20:39] Break
[21:10] “What could go wrong?” – just six revolutions
[27:52] Leopoldo O’Donnell and ‘The Year of the Lash’
[29:00 ] The Cuban Wars of Independence
[34:33] Sinking of the USS Maine and US entry into the war
[35:57] Break
[36:22] The Spanish-American War (and Teddy Roosevelt’s ‘Rough Riders’)
[39:49] An independent Cuba, the Banana Wars and US Interventions
[43:45] World War 1 and, inter-war years and President Muchado
[46:42] Batista leads the Uprising of the Sergeants
[47:25] World War 2 ,Ernest Hemingway’s ‘Crook Factory’, and the ‘St Louis Affair’
[50:58] America’s Playground and a handful of boring presidents
[53:52] Return of Batista: who needs democracy?

Here are a few things you may want to read/watch more about:

“Guide to Pre-Columbian Cuba” (ThoughtCo, archaeology etc)
A translation of the contemporary account of Columbus’ First Voyage
Story of Hatuey’s Rebellion of indigenous people and also an account from History of Cuba
“Slave Resistance in Latin America” (Joseph E. Holloway) – an article with a general view of slavery in the region including Cuba
Article about the “sugar boom” on Cuba History (which gives a clear and concise overview of a number of topics)
The Haitian Revolution is covered in detail by the Revolutions podcast by Mike Duncan (season 4), which is highly recommended for its level of detail! So if you want to learn more about slavery in the Caribbean in the late 18th century, give it a listen
“Origins of Wealth and the Sugar Revolution in Cuba, 1750-1850” (Franklin W. Knight) – an article in Hispanic American Historical Review
Revolutionary figures and movements from the 19th century include: Juaquin Infante (ES), José Aponte [link to a book about his rebellion], The Suns and Rays of Bolívar, the Venerable Félix Varela (priest and independence leader), Carlos Manuel de Céspedes (Ten Years War), Máximo Gómez (promoter of the “machete charge” tactic), José Marti
José Marti, as well as a revolutionary, was a poet, and his words form the lyrics of the famous song “Guantanamera” (YouTube, Pete Seeger performance)
“The Year of the Lash: Free People of Color in Cuba and the Nineteenth Century” (Michele Reid-Vazquez)
Origin of the Cuban flag and Venezuelan Narciso López
The sinking of the USS Maine and US entry into the Cuban War of Independence (including Theodore Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders“)
Second US Occupation of Cuba (1906-09)
“The Banana Wars: US Intervention in the Caribbean 1898-1934” (Lester D. Langley)
A summary of the so-called “Negro Rebellion” in 1912 (also called the “1912 Massacre“), which arose from inequality
President Gerardo Muchado was deposed and followed by the short-lived Pentarchy of Five Government, set up by the Sergeants’ Revolt and introducing Fulgencio Batista to the national stage
“SS St Louis: The Ship of Jewish Refugees Nobody Wanted” – BBC article on the ship turned away from both the US and Cuba
The comments by Walter Cronkeit about the US view of Cuba come from this much longer video
“When the Mob owned Cuba” (Simon Worall, Smithsonian Journals Quarterly) – an article that gives a sense of Mafia involvement in 1950s Cuba

Thanks to our sponsor Hairy Baby, who in addition to making the funniest Irish-themed t-shirts, have also produced the official 80 Days shirt for our supporters. Find it by clicking here. You can get 10% off anything on www.hairybaby.com by using our promo code “80DAYS”.

Uruguay (S2.05)

May 29, 2017April 10, 2019 / Joe / 1 Comment

S02E05: Uruguay Audio

In this episode of 80 Days: an exploration podcast, we’ll be talking about Uruguay, a small but prosperous country sandwiched between two massive South American powerhouses, Brazil and Argentina. Widely considered one of the most politically stable and progressive countries in Latin America, Uruguay is home to just over 3.5 Million people and almost ten times as many sheep.

By land mass, it is the second-smallest nation in the region. After a four-way struggle between Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Brazil, Uruguay declared its independence in 1825. The country then stabilised until the 1950s, when political turmoil ensued.
In more recent years, Uruguay escaped the recession that spread throughout South America in the early 2000s, and has since emerged as a bastion of democracy, progressive policies and free speech.

Your hosts are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly in Hong Kong, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 in the UK, and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Switzerland. (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle).

Table of Contents:

[02:12] Intro – Homer Simpson and trampy birds
[08:30] Horny dirty Europeans and laissez faire gauchoing
[15:00] The inevitable British interest
[18:08] Artigas uncontemplative – not a calm guy
[27:23] If you liked Artigas you’ll love many endless wars forever
[33:46] Colorados vs Blancos – mob on mob violence
[40:39] Flores – Warlords don’t like peace, shoot your gauchos
[49:30] Jose Batlle – Mr 20th Century Uruguay
[57:54] WW2 – neutral, until it’s over and then they’re totally against Hitler
[1:06:08] Old timey radio show on Uruguay… is a bit dismissive of poor women
[1:14:46] Pacheqism – NOT to be confused with pacifism, too much torture for that
[1:16:30] Alive – plane crash and things only get worse from there
[1:23:28] South America in the 80s, how do you think it’s gonna go – “Politics is finished, I’m the leader.”
[1:30:38] Modern day – cannabis, football, music and good times

Here are a few things you may want to read/watch more about:

Firstly, a link to the discussion on the Uruguay subreddit, and some useful and interesting suggestions made by Uruguayans
Article in the Journal of Lithic Studies about early archaeological finds in Uruguay
Some information (in Spanish) on beliefs and customs of the indigenous people, and an article in The Prisma marking the 180th anniversary of the extinction of the Charrúa people
Early European visitors to the area include: Juan Diaz de Solis, Sebastian Cabot and Governor of Buenos Aires, Henandarias
An overview of the history of Afro-Uruguayans (by historian George Reid Andrews) can be found on BlackPast.com
Watch this documentary about “Candombe in Uruguay” to hear this unique style of music and further understand where it comes from
Guillermo Brown and Peter Campbell are the fathers of the Argentinian and Uruguayan navies, respectively – not bad for two Irish lads.
“Uruguay” by Leslie Jermyn (from the Marshall Cavendish Cultures of the World series) gives a great overview of the country’s history
Also, particularly for the various wars, Uruguay: a country study, edited by Rex A. Hudson and Sandra W. Meditz for the US Library of Congress, gives a lot more details than we did
Significant political figures include José Gervasio Artigas Arnal (father of the nation), Fructuoso Rivera (first Colorado), Manuel Oribe (first Blanco), José Batlle (radical reformer and 20th century leader)
The US Office of Inter-American Affairs made a number of short films about Uruguay. We mentioned this one, about life in Montevideo, but there was also a video entitled “Young Uruguay” and one that shows gauchos at work
On the topic of gauchos, read this article in the Telegraph about modern gauchos and the annual gaucho festival in Uruguay
Uruguay Airforce Flight 571 plane crash in the Andes in 1972 has had movies, books, documentaries and podcasts made about it, more than we could possibly include in our episode; some recommendations: Disaster Area Podcast, Air Crash Investigation Disasters (YouTube), Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado (a book by one of the survivors) and Alive, the famous movie based on the event
On President José Mujica (the world’s “poorest president”) you can watch this documentary from Vice and also read this article from Mic about the impact of his recent laws to decriminalise marijuana
And finally, here’s the full clip of Luís Suarez sharing a cup of mate with a young Liverpool FC fan

Some of the music we used in this episode, and other music we recommend:

A Spotify playlist of Uruguayan music prepared for us by some users on http://www.reddit.com/r/uruguay
An example of some candombe music
And another called “Maestros del Candombe”
Los Shakers were Uruguay’s answer to the Beatles, to such an extent that they dressed like them and sang in English. You heard “Rompan Todo/Break It All”
Famous artist Rubén Rada plays the well known tune “Candombe para Gardel”
At the end of the episode, there is a clip from a comedy song “Uruguay is the Best Country”, by by musicians Aleksey Igudesman and Richard Hyung-ki Joo. It opens with the dramatic lyrics “I am going to Uruguay / Because I like the people. / I am going to Uruguay / because the weather is nearly always hot”

Thanks this week to Nick Ison and Eoin Byrne, who backed our Kickstarter campaign. Your t-shirts should be on their way to you already. Thanks to our sponsor Hairy Baby, who in addition to making the funniest Irish-themed t-shirts, have also produced the official 80 Days shirt for our supporters. Find it by clicking here. You can get 10% off anything on www.hairybaby.com by using our promo code “80DAYS”.

Liberia (S1.06)

September 11, 2016April 10, 2019 / Joe / 4 Comments

Audio: S1E06 Liberia

This week in 80 Days, we looked at Liberia, a small country on the west coast of Africa. Founded by freed American and Caribbean slaves, Liberia is Africa’s oldest republic and takes its name from the the Latin phrase meaning “Land of the Free.” Unfortunately, the country is best known for a long and bloody civil war that look place in the 1990s and 2000s, and more recently for the Ebola epidemic of 2014. The lush, rainforested country is just 700 kilometres or 430 miles north of the equator, and is bordered by Sierra Leone to its west, Guinea to its north and Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) to its east. Today, the country is home to around 4.5 million inhabitants, although most are native Africans rather than the descendants of freed slaves. It maintains strong ties to America, and even has a flag that strongly resembles the flag of the US, although it has only one star and 11 stripes. Discussing Liberia are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Hong Kong, the UK and Switzerland, respectively. (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle)

We thought when we researched Nauru previously that it was the most depressing place we would ever encounter. But we were wrong! Liberia is at the bottom end of most tables you want to be near the top in (GDP, communications infrastructure, life expectancy, infant mortality) and has suffered from all the plights you can expect in the region and more, all as a result of inequality, corruption, disease and civil war, but nonetheless, it has a unique story worth telling. Some sources which we found particularly useful in researching the episode were:

“Firestone and the Warlord” a very comprehensive and well-made documentary by FRONTLINE and ProPublica investigating the secret history of Firestone Rubber Company in Liberia, in particular their relationship with former warlord and president Charles Taylor. (Original Upload Date: 11/18/2014)
“VICE Guide to Liberia” – VICE sent a crew to Liberia in 2012 to look at the devastating effects of the civil war on life, particularly in the capital Monrovia. Features interviews with various former civil war generals, including General Bin Laden and General Butt Naked (who is now a Christian evangelist).
“Liberians – an Introduction to their History and Culture“ – Donald A. Ranard, Editor, Culture Profile No. 19, April 2005, Published by the Cultural Orientation Resource Center)
“Tell Me the One About Ebola: How Jokes Spread Awareness“, article by Pauline Bax and Makiko Kitamura on Bloomberg about the unusual strategies used to raise awareness of Ebola in Liberia
“Liberia Past and Present” a website by Dr Fred van der Kraaij about Liberia
“Ebola in Liberia: An Epidemic of Rumours“: article by Helen Epstein in The New York Review of Books, December 2014. Deals with suspicion of government and conspiracy theories which complicated the reaction to the spread of the disease
“US Covert and Overt Operations in Liberia, 1970s to 2003” academic article by Neils Hahn, Air & Space Power Journal – Africa and Francophonie Fall 2014
Liberia has famously unprofessional-looking county flags, such as River Gee County and Gbarpolu County
Music from Monrovian street musician Weesay; you can see the video of his song “Oh Chips!” on YouTube and an article explaining the story behind it
An Ebola awareness song “Ebola in Town” was produced by Liberian musicians D12, Kuzzy and Kuzzy of 2 Kings (link to PRI article about the song)

I would recommend you read, watch and listen to some of these sources if you want to learn more about the country than we could cram into the podcast.