The Africa Program Podcast
Unfiltered. Unapologetic. Insightful.
Dizolele Advisory | Reliable Sources, Trusted Analysis
THE PODCAST
THE ADDED VALUE
THE HOST
THE PODCAST
The Africa Program Podcast is the signature audio and video series from Dizolele Advisory — your gateway to sharp, unfiltered conversations about the forces and dynamics shaping Africa today.
Hosted by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, the program brings in policymakers, business leaders, academics, journalists, and cultural voices for in-depth discussions on politics, governance, security, and the ideas defining Africa’s next chapter. This is not another news recap.
It’s a space for strategic insight — where data meets lived experience, and analysis meets candor.
THE ADDED VALUE
Africa’s story is too often told from an outside perspective, not with Africans. This podcast flips that script — providing a platform rooted in African agency and evidence-based storytelling.
You’ll gain:
– Context-rich analysis of current affairs, elections, and economic trends.
– Firsthand insights from African experts, reformers, and thought leaders.
– Deep dives into geopolitics, climate, technology, and regional integration.
– Practical lessons for policymakers, investors, and citizens shaping the continent’s future.
THE HOST
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele is the Founder and Managing Director of Dizolele Advisory.
A seasoned policy analyst, writer, and broadcaster, he has advised Fortune 500 companies, multilateral institutions, and non-governmental organizations on governance, security, and development issues across the continent. A former senior fellow and director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), he brings depth, balance, and authenticity to global conversations on Africa’s future.
Suggestions or guest ideas? Email podcast[@]dizolele.com.
The episodes
Unfiltered. Unapologetic. Insightful.
Welcome to The Africa Program, your essential podcast for fearless conversations and sharp analysis on everything Africa. Tune in for thought-provoking dialogue with changemakers, thinkers, writers, and leaders from Africa and beyond. Whether you’re seeking context, challenge, or clarity, The Africa Program delivers unfiltered insights and unapologetic truths.
Hosted by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — storyteller, analyst, and founder of Dizolele Advisory — this show connects the dots across the continent’s political shifts, artistic movements, economic transformations, and security dynamics. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts — and join the conversation at www.Dizolele.com.
The relationship between the United States and Africa has been shaped by the Cold War, decolonization, the civil rights movement, economic interests, and generations of leaders on both sides of the Atlantic. Yet despite decades of engagement, the United States has struggled to build the kind of consistent strategic partnerships with African countries that it maintains elsewhere in the world.
In this episode of The Africa Program Podcast, Mvemba Phezo Dizolele speaks with Ambassador Andrew Young, civil rights leader, former member of Congress, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under President Jimmy Carter, and former mayor of Atlanta. Drawing on a lifetime at the intersection of civil rights, diplomacy, politics, and business, Young reflects on the evolution of U.S.-Africa relations and the personal relationships that helped shape American engagement with the continent.
The conversation revisits the Carter administration's approach to Africa, Young's encounters with leaders including Robert Mugabe and Olusegun Obasanjo, and the role of the Congressional Black Caucus in advancing African issues in Washington. Young reflects on the failures of American policymakers to understand African political movements during the Cold War and why personal relationships and firsthand knowledge often allowed him to see the continent differently from the foreign policy establishment.
The discussion also looks forward. Young considers what today's African leaders can learn from earlier generations about solidarity and political influence, what the United States still gets wrong about engaging Africa, and how his experience transforming Atlanta offers lessons for African cities. From diplomacy and congressional power to business and public-private partnerships, he argues that successful relationships ultimately depend on honesty, fairness, trust, and the ability to work together.
A wide-ranging conversation with one of the most consequential American voices in U.S.-Africa relations about history, leadership, diplomacy, and what a stronger partnership between Africa and the United States could look like.