u:africa-lab_students, the "little sister" of u:africa-lab, was launched in June 2025 as a collaborative initiative between the podcast editorial team and students from the Departments of African Studies and Comparative Literature at the University of Vienna. We are proud to provide this platform to showcase the remarkable creativity and enthusiasm of our students!

Welcome to the introductory episode of our podcast series, created as part of the course “Reading African Nobelists”. This course aimed to explore the works of African Nobel laureates and examine their contributions within the broader context of the Nobel Prize. In this episode we talk about the prize as an institution. We discuss the official criteria, highlight trends and apparent biases. With a critical eye we talk about the big questions around the famous literary prize. Who wins, who doesn’t? What languages do they write in? Why has Sweden more winners than the whole of Africa? With this sentiment we want to open the series for you.

Hosts: Caio Fernandes, Filippo Orlandi and Marvin Savic

In this episode of Reading African Nobelists, Maria Bojan, Luisa Polli, and Luca Alberti dive into King Baabu, Wole Soyinka’s biting satirical play about dictatorship and corruption. They explore the play’s dark humor, its critique of power-hungry leaders, and its place within Nigerian literature. The discussion also expands to the politics of the Nobel Prize, the legacy of Soyinka’s work, and contemporary political figures who eerily resemble King Baabu—whose very name translates to "King Nothing". Tune in for a sharp and insightful conversation on literature, politics, and the power of satire.

Hosts: Maria Bojan, Luisa Polli and Luca Alberti

In this episode of POMPcast, our sagacious host (Sascha Erwin) has assembled the voices of West African expert Teri Baabu (KC Degenaar), Frederick Lugard professor emeritus of history at the University of Leeds and visiting professor of Chrislam Studies at the University of Ibadan, Harry S. Dusting (Rob Tibke), and the much-famed and mythical Papa D (KC Degenaar) himself. Even Alfred Nobel (Katharina Sophie Kühnel) has risen from the dead to laud Wole Soyinka’s novel Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth.

In true Soyinkan satirical style, the hosts bring the world of Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth, written by the Nobel Prize-Winning author Wole Soyinka, to life. Enjoy an episode where even the ad breaks are absorbing!

Hosts: Katharina Kühnel, Sascha Erwin, KC Wayne Pilling Degenaar and Rob Tibke

In this episode, we examine Nadine Gordimer’s July's People (1981), where a white family seeks refuge in their Black servant's village during societal upheaval, reversing racial and social roles. Gordimer critiques white liberals who oppose apartheid but rely on its privileges, exposing the fragility of their ideals. Through the Smales and July's evolving relationship, the novel explores identity, oppression, and intersectionality during a key moment in South Africa’s history.

Hosts: Elżbieta Dąbrowska, Lea Maria Williwald and Jakob Wolff Plottegg