I spoke with Berlin-based British writer, poet, broadcaster and musician Musa Okwonga, who also co-hosts the popular football podcast Stadio. Musa frequently writes for The Bylines Times and for The Guardian, among others.

Musa was a guest of my previous podcast, Hummus For Thought, and I wanted to have him on here to hear his reflections of these past several weeks now under social distancing. We spoke about his experience growing up black in the UK, his move to Germany and how both countries have dealth with the Covid-19 pandemic. We also spoke about the treatment of refugees trying to reach Fortress Europe’s borders, how the world failed Syria and about the importance of acknowledging how widespread the dehumanisation of racialised groups of people has become.

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• Musa’s essays at Byline Times and The Guardian
• Afua Hirsh’s essay: In the UK, white immigration is an asset – while everyone else is undesirable
• The Last Days of James Baldwin’s House in the South of France
• Syria’s Revenge on the World Will Be a Second Wave of Coronavirus
• My essay on the Byline Times: Why Fortress Europe and the European Union Can’t Coexist