In our latest episode we speak with the author and academic Frank Gerits, whose most recent work explores the history of the intense ideological battle which took place in the 1950s and 1960s for African hearts and minds. His book, The Ideological Scramble for Africa, explores how this competition wasn't just between Cold War superpowers, but among African leaders themselves who were projecting competing visions of what African modernity should look like.

In this conversation with Robert Amsterdam, Dr. Gerits gives an informed portrait of key figures such as Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah, whose revolutionary call for immediate continental unity challenged both colonial powers and fellow African leaders. While leaders like Senegal's Senghor favored maintaining ties with Europe and others promoted regional federations, Nkrumah demanded complete independence and a "Monroe Doctrine for Africa" that would keep the continent out of global power struggles entirely.

Gerits discussess his views on the fascinating psychological dimension of decolonization, showing how Western powers promoted "modernization" programs designed to psychologically transform Africans, while leaders like Nkrumah and intellectuals like Frantz Fanon fought to reclaim African cultural identity. The louder Africans demanded independence, the more Western powers interpreted this as evidence they needed more assistance—a dynamic that continues today.

Be sure to explore our library of past podcast episodes, which include more than a dozen recent books on Africa.

Following an early Spring hiatus, we're pleased to bring the Departures podcast back with a very special guest, the Canadian author and Adjunct Fellow at the Manhattan Institute Eric Kaufmann.

Eric joins Robert Amsterdam to discuss his interesting new book "Taboo: How Making Race Sacred Produced a Cultural Revolution."

Kaufmann argues that the anti-racism taboo established in the mid-1960s became the "Big Bang of our moral universe," giving immense power to those who wield it. The conversation explores how progressive moral foundations focused solely on equality and care have created policy failures, how expanding definitions of racism have failed to protect minorities but instead serve to silence debate, and why self-censorship today exceeds that of the McCarthy era.

Kaufmann's work examines the implications of these cultural shifts on institutions, free speech, and political discourse while offering thoughts on potential solutions, including recent American political developments.

Issues of religious freedom, in theory, should not be controversial or disputed - there is a general consensus among public opinion that all peoples should have the right to worship according to their beliefs. And yet, it seems that we are going backwards on this basic right, with governments and political parties all around the world seeking to weaponize divides among faith communities to their partisan advantages and dubious agendas.

This week on Departures we are very privileged to have the special guest Robert Destro, law professor at the Columbus School of Law of Catholic University, who served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at State Department from 2019-2021.

Destro discusses with host Robert Amsterdam many of the global challenges he faced in his official role in the previous administration, from China to the Middle East, as well as the Ukrainian government's campaign of persecution against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. (Disclosure: Robert Amsterdam is an international lawyer representing the UOC).